Hope for the Hopeless [Jemily]

Let Fate Decide

I eventually pulled away and looked into her eyes as I cooed, "I guess Heaven came to Earth, huh?"

Emily sighed, "I guess it did." She gently set me back down on the ground, never breaking eye contact.

I stammered, "I-I can't believe, I-I mean you're really... you're really... here. Here. With me."

"I can't believe it either."

I swallowed hard and breathed out, "When did you... When did you get back?" My hands were gripped tightly to her blazer.

"Well I moved back for college. And then I was in Chicago for a while. Then St. Louis. But I came back to DC for this job."

"So in other words you've been in the States for like 10 years?"

She sighed, "I couldn't find you."

I blushed, "You looked?"

"Of course I did."

A smile crept over my face as I took her hand, "It's okay, you're here now." I led her back upstairs so I could grab all my stuff. Garcia was understandably confused when she saw us walking out of the elevator, deep in giggly conversation.

"So I take it you two... know each other?"

I nodded, "Yeah. But it's a long story."

Garcia started to smirk, "Shall we have a girls' night?" I looked up at Emily, who just shrugged in soft approval.

"Sure, Pen, lemme just grab my stuff." I retrieved my purse from the floor by Emily's desk, said a quick goodbye to Spence, and wrote down my address for Emily so she could meet us there for a girls' night. My heart was pounding at 300 MPH the whole ride home, and a permanent smile was plastered onto my face. I couldn't believe I got her back. What were the chances? I was the first one to arrive at my apartment and impatiently waited for the other two to join me. Emily showed up first, just the way I wanted. I opened up the door and let her in, "Welcome to my tiny home."

She looked around and chuckled, "Wow..."

"What is it?"

"It's just the way I imagined it to be."

"You imagined how I'd be living now? Like... my house?"

She turned around and raised an eyebrow, "You're gonna tell me you haven't imagined mine?" I blushed and tucked some hair behind my ear. It's true— I have.

"Come sit." I shuffled over to my living room and plopped on the couch, making a space for Emily to sit next to me, which she happily did.

She sighed as gazed at me, "You know... You look the same."

"Oh shut up, I do not! I was 16 the last time I saw you!"

"I remember. And you look the same."

"Well you've..." I took a deep breath as I looked her up and down. "Grown up."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good. Very good." A knock was heard on my door. I yelled from the couch, "Come in, Penny!"

Penelope danced inside and swooned, "Ooh I see we're getting reacquainted already, hmm?" Emily and I blushed looking at each other, shooting suggestive glances back and forth. Garcia slipped off her heels and took out some slippers all while narrating, "Okay I am changing out of my horrid heels and putting on my cozy comfy fuzzy slippers so I can sit here all night if I have to and here the surely fantastical story about how you two darlings know each other because I can tell something special is going on here. Now begin." She plopped onto a chair across from us and prepared for the onslaught.

Emily looked at me and laughed, "Where should we start?"

"You go. Start with that first night."

Emily cleared her throat and sat up a little more, "So uh, when I was 17 I was living in Paris with my mother. It was great because France is awesome but it sucked because I couldn't really enjoy it like a normal kid. Mother always dragged me to these tedious political events and they made me wanna rip my hair out. One night I'd really had enough, so I snuck out of the Embassy during a gathering and walked a little ways to a garden called the Jardin des Tuileries. I walked around for a while, sipping champagne, and then decided to stop and sit on a bench. I got up at one point to look at some statue nearby and bumped into Jennifer. Literally, like I backed into her. And uh, we became... pretty close... over the next day or two. We went to shops and bakeries and all kinds other cute little tucked away places in Paris. But then she had to leave, because she was just visiting, ya know? And uh... it was really hard on both of us but I... I never forgot her, just like I told her I wouldn't. And I see she didn't forget me either."

I smiled at Emily, "How could I?"

Penelope tilted her head and asked, "Why do you call your mom 'Mother?'"

I laughed, "Really, Garcia? That's all you got out of that whole thing?"

"Oh no, I picked up on the whole soulmates thing too."

Emily and I simultaneously questioned, "Soulmates!?"

"Yeah? There is clearly some almighty force in the universe drawing you two together."

I put my hands up and nervously laughed, "Slow down, Pen, I mean... this is the first time we're seeing each other in 12 years."

Emily agreed, "Yeah it's all a little much right now. I don't really think we know where one another stands anyway."

I scrunched my brows at her, "What do you mean?"

"Well I-I was just saying that we... We can't just pick up where we left off. Can we?"

"Oh. I uh, I guess not."

Penelope scoffed, "Why not?"

Emily murmured, "It's just a little much right now. I think the best thing to do is just... see what happens. Right?"

Penelope nodded in understanding, "Let it come naturally."

"Exactly."

She pointed at Emily and whispered to me, "I like her."

I giggled, "Me too." Emily looked down at me and gave me a reassuring smile. That smile could send 12 years worth of adoration flooding right back into me. What would be so bad about picking up where we left off? Or are Emily and Penelope right? Is it better to go slow? To just let fate decide? What if I don't like where fate brings us?