Venomous (Jax Teller)

fifteen

Julia had been up to the cabin for a long time. Not since she was younger. But she could still vaguely remember the layout. Not that she was happy about being there. Being at the cabin meant going underground. It meant something dangerous was going on and you had to disappear for a little while. Julia didn't like the thought of ever having to disappear.

"Nate called," Piney announced as they walked in, "Wants to make a deal on the rest of those AKs."

"Russell knows nobody will touch them. Ten grand for all 36," Opie added.

Julia scoffed, "Ridiculous. No offense, Piney, but after the shit they put us through, they should be kissing our asses."

Bobby agreed, "Those guns are worth 10 times that."

Jax was quiet for a moment before he came to a decision, "Aight, set it up. Me and Ope will make the run."

"You can't go without me," Piney said, "They won't trust you."

"You ok tying up this loose end?" Jax asked.

"You don't have to ask me that," Piney exited the room.

Julia could tell this was gonna hit Piney hard. She didn't know what she'd do if she were in his place. She had thought of it plenty of times. What would happen if Eli got on SAMCROs bad side, or Vince. Hell, she was thinking about Tara now too. She knew that as much as she loved this club, she wouldn't kill the people she loved for it. She would sooner get them out of dodge and be excommunicated. But she wouldn't let it get that far either.

~

By the time Clay got there a few hours later, the guns were already on the table. They still smelled like shit and it took a long time to clean them off, but it was worth it knowing the feds didn't find a single thing.

Chibs was the first to greet Clay with a laugh, "Welcome home!"

Jax brought him in for a hug, "Welcome home, bro."

Julia just gave the man a short nod from her seat. She still wasn't his biggest fan after what he did to Gemma. So, until Gemma gave her the alright, she would continue to give him the cold shoulder.

"Well, feds trashed the clubhouse, but the search turned up nothing. We got the guns out," Jax reported.

Chibs stepped in, "Oh, wait a minute. Jackie boy got all the guns out."

"Good. ATFs got shit. It's all smoke."

"Yeah, they were onto the oil barrels," Bobby told him.

"We'll just have to find a smarter way to get the guns in is all. By the time the warehouse is rebuilt, we'll be a distant memory for the A, T, and F."

"As long as it's not another septic tank, I don't care if we're hiding them in fucking pinatas," Julia muttered as Jax leaned on the back of her chair.

"Mom home?" Jax asked.

Julia didn't even want to think of Gemma being in a cell right now. Apparently she had seen the girl Clay had cheated on her with and smacked her in the face with a skateboard. Not that Julia blamed the woman.

Clay paused, "She wouldn't let me post bail."

Jax burst out in laughter, "Oh, she is pissed."

"And I don't blame her. If I was her, I would've done a lot worse," Julia gave Jax a pointed look from the corner of her eyes.

Jax slid his hand on her shoulder, tracing his thumb over where her t-shirt ended around her neck, "Well, we're handling Meineke and his crew. Piney set up a meet for tomorrow. We're gonna clean this up."

Clay stopped him from talking any more, "You know what? I'm tired. And my head hurts. And you'll handle it. I'm just gonna crash here tonight."

"Talk in the daylight."

"Yeah. In the daylight."

Julia stood up, grabbing something from her bag before walking after Clay, "Hey."

Clay turned as Julia tossed him a bottle of Tylenol.

"Take one for your head," Julia sighed, "Gemma will come around. Just give her the night to cool off. But you gotta reassure her about this. Make sure she knows she's still your number one. Yeah?"

Clay nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, kid."

"No problem, Clay."

~

Julia finished hanging up another shirt before closing the closet door. She felt like buying her mom new clothes was overdoing it a little bit, but she didn't want her mom to be wearing a prison uniform when she got out. She had been saving up money for this since she started earning her own money. She had dreamed about it for the last 16 years. Getting a nice place, finally getting to live the life she deserved with her mother. The life her mother deserved.

Julia had been counting down days since her mom got sentenced and now that there was only a few weeks left to scratch off, she found herself more confused than ever. Sure she had visited, but she didn't even know what kind of woman Kimberly would be when she came out. She hadn't even told her mom she was involved in SAMCRO. She said she hung around, knew the people, but nothing more. The thought of her mom having a bad reaction to it kind of freaked her out.

Julia closed the door to what would be her mother's door behind her and walked out to the kitchen. She reached into the fridge for a bottle of water only for a knock to sound on the front door. Her eyes immediately flickered over to the picture frame near the doorway, the dining table, and the front closet. Three places with three hidden guns.

Julia cautiously walked over to the door and peered through the peephole, sighing in relief when she recognized the person standing on the other side. She unlocked the locks on the door and pulled it open.

"Should've texted me first. Almost thought it might've been the cops and shit went wrong," Julia said, moving aside for Jax to come inside the house.

"We settled that shit. Went and saw Abel before I came. Eli was giving Tara a ride home. Something going on there?" Jax asked.

"I think so. Would that bother you?"

Jax took her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over her cheeks with a smile, "Nah. Good for them."

"Hmm..." Julia leaned into his touch, "What brings you here then?"

"I wanted to see you."

Julia pulled back, "Well, you've seen me."

Jax laughed, "Don't pull that shit, Jules. I'm not gonna do what Clay did to my mom."

Julia shrugged, "Yeah."

"I mean it."

Julia sighed, wringing her hands around her wrists, "I know, Jax. Doesn't mean I'm not still scared. It isn't that I don't trust you, I'm just tired of pain."

Jax took her hands, "Hey, I'm in if you are."

Julia bit the inside of her cheek as she thought before allowing herself to relax, "I'm in."

"Good," Jax smiled and pulled her in for a kiss.

Slow and steady had never been either of their fortes in life. When they did something, they put their all into it, and that included right here and now with each other.

Jax's hands had tangled into her hair and hers had pushed beneath the fabric of his kutte, pushing it off his shoulders. Julia couldn't remember the last time she had let someone get this close to her and actually wanted it or reciprocated rather than just mindlessly jumping in and dissociating until it was all over.

Here and now, she let herself feel every bit of it. His breaths against her skin, his touch, the pleasure, the ecstasy. For once she knew what it felt like to actually give herself to someone and enjoy it. For once, she found herself asking if this is what love was supposed to feel like.