Elements of Us /// Jimmy Butler

Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I ONLY own the plot and characters that I have created. I don't own anything related to the Bulls, thank you.

It'd been almost six months since Allison had said yes to rejoining her old Olympic crew, and it'd also been a year since she officially started dating Jimmy. She thought that everything was going pretty smooth, at least, smoother than she had hoped for.

She wasn't really sure what kind of toll this new commitment would have on her job or, more importantly, with her relationship with Jimmy. But, everything seemed to work together. She would train for five hours every morning, go to work, and then have the rest of the night to spend with Jimmy, if he wasn't out of town. And, of course there had been some problems, like little fights between them, but she figured that that was just something that came with every relationship. But, since work had died down a little with the season coming to a close and her and him getting a little more time off, things were maybe even better than they had been before. At least that's what she thought.

She was leaving for California the next day, where she'd be gone for a month. She had her mandatory training for three weeks and then the last week would be actual competition, the real Olympic games. This was her last opportunity to prove herself, and she knew her and her teammates had been pushing harder than ever before. But, that wasn't her concern.

She was worried that things were going good with Jimmy, and maybe even a little too good, and then eventually something would cause a problem. Being gone for a month isn't the healthiest thing for their relationship, but she didn't really know how else to avoid it. She just needed to get through it.

They could get through it.

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"I don't want you to go." Jimmy admitted, with exaggerated begging in his voice, as he lay out on Allison's bed as she was packing her bags.

"I don't wanna leave you either," she laughed, giving up on packing for now and sitting down next to him, "but it'll fly by, plus you could probably use a little break from me anyways." She joked.

"Nah," he shook his head, stretching his arms out and then eventually putting them around her, "You're gonna leave me here with Taj, all by myself. How am I supposed to handle that?"

"Oh," she whispered, "I believe in you, really I just know you'll be able to handle him." She said sarcastically, putting her hands on the sides of his face.

"I don't think I can." He chuckled, burying his face in her hands.

"Well, you're gonna have to try." She said, "Maybe the two of you will bond, like become twins or something."

Jimmy looked up at her to give her an eye roll, "Stop." He laughed, shaking his head.

"C'mon let's get up," she urged, untangling herself from him, "Let's go get dinner, it's gonna be our last one for a month." She said

"But, I was just getting comfortable." He joked, not moving from his spot on her bed.

"But I'm hungry." She insisted, grabbing his hand and tugging a little.

He let out an exhausted groan in response, closing his eyes. Allison gave up and let go of his hand.

"What if I go pick up food, and bring it here?" She asked with a grin.

"Yeah?" he asked, surprised, "I don't wanna make you go alone..."

"No," she shook her head, "I'll go, you stay." She offered, "just tell me what you want."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "If I go to the place a couple blocks east, you want the usual?"