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Emma’s life had been a lot different since Julian had the accident. She was always sure that he would outlive her in his full state, but she couldn’t bring herself to stay at the Institute when everything that night went wrong. The children were old enough to take care of themselves now, and Mark was always around. They were only a portal away in Idris where the Clave had been very generous due to Julian’s position and involvement during the Dark War and many other events gone past. She just couldn’t have thought out this path of her life, but this wasn't something that was going to change.
~ 6 months ago ~
It was just like any other training exercise, only this time the real thing. She stood at the door with Julian, rain pouring down, reaching only to their toes as they stood under a large cover.
“Julian, are you ready?” She went clutched his hand and squeeze it in her own but she stopped herself, pulling her hand to her pocket.
“I can’t be any more ready, let’s go.” Then they stepped out, Emma using her hand to cover her eyes from the belting rain and half ran, half walked to the large gates and into the car. They both sighed as they strapped in and Emma looked at her phone to find the map app and find the quickest route through the city. Emma found her mind wandering, watching the raindrops hit the window and the sound of them hitting the roof of the car making a somewhat soothing sound.
“Jules, I know that we’ve dealt with this for a while, but we need to talk about it. I love you and you know that and I don’t think we should have to answer to the Clave about our private lives so I want you to stay with me tonight. In my room. With me.” She slowly started to tense up.
Jules stayed silent for a while, concentrating on the road. He pulled over at a small coffee shop and got out. Emma waited in the car, fiddling with her fingers and rubbing her hands together to keep warm while the cars heater was off. Jules came back, with a cardboard cup holder and 2 hot chocolates, as well as some warm muffins in a bag.
“Okay. I love you too. But you heard what Jem said about the parabatai curse. I can’t just ignore that. I mean, you have a point, we can’t just stop loving each other so I guess the curse is redundant. I can’t not love you Emma and that’s what I’m afraid of.” Jules looked at her silently.
“I-“ he stuttered. “I’ll stay with you.” Emma smiled and took her muffin and took a bite.
~
Jules heartbeat was irregular skipping beats as he settled back into his seat and sipped as his chocolate. He felt Emma’s warm hand caress his leg. He hope that the mission would end quickly so he could get home and cook food, a special meal for Emma. His mind wandered to recipes he could cook and what he needed while he drove toward the place they were inspecting with Emma’s navigation.
It was a small trip where they listened to music and all round happiness in the car. They arrived at a house with a picket fence and chipping paint. It was unlike the two to not do regular checks before entering a building, but both were filled with unmeasurable happiness, Emma pulled out Cortana and Jules a seraph blade and tucked some throwing knives into his belt.
~
Even a mundane could have felt the disturbance around the house, yet neither of them had bothered, just walked in. A wave of demons descended upon them. Emma and Jules whipped out their blades and begun to slice in every direction. Demon blood spilling everywhere. The two had ploughed through until they were not longer surrounded and continued tracking through the house, up the rickety stairs that creaked when you put your foot down, shifted your weight or picking your foot up. Then it happened. They had missed one. One hell of a demon. He jumped at Jules from his left side where he stood, virtually unarmed and pinned down.
“Emma!” he called to his parabati.
“Julian!” his name seemed to stretch on forever in her mind. “Julian, oh Julian, I’m so sorry.” Emma slashed at the demon with Cortana, severing it in half and fell to her knees beside her friend.
In that moment, she drew iratzes, mendelin and amissio runes all over Julians body, sobbing as she went. Nothing helped him from falling out of consciousness. Her arms heavy as she slid them under his limp body and held him close to her chest, feet clomping down the stairs. Julians legs swaying with her step. Emma laid Julian in the back pulled the keys from his jeans and groggily started the car, engine roaring to life. She couldn’t let this happen to her parabatai. The streets of Los Angeles blurred past her windows until she got to the Institute where Mark met her and helped her carry Julian inside. Emma's hair stuck to her forehead with sweat as she took a large breath in before stepping into the Institute, already calling the Silent Brothers.
Waiting outside the door of the infirmary was like hell when she could feel the pain that her parabati could. The Silent Brothers had been attending to Julian for over 2 hours before anyone came out. A Silent Brother closed the heavy doors behind him and Emma stood up to ask if she could see her parabatai now.
“Julian Blackthorn will not walk again, but he is stable, Emma Carstairs.” His lips didn’t move, but Emma heard his voice in her head.
“Thank you.” she said quietly before pushing the door open and became confronted by Julian, sitting in a small bed looking as his hands.
“Hey Jules, how do you feel?” she whispered to him.
“I feel like someone who has been told they’re never going to walk again. What am I going to do, Emma?” It wasn’t that she was repulsed by the idea, she just couldn’t look in his eyes, knowing it was her fault.
“I’ll take you to Idris, and we can have a small house and a simple life. I will be your caretaker, so I can stay with you always, the Clave needn’t know that we’re more than what they think. I will always love you Julian Atticus Blackthorn.” Her voice sounded hopeful, and to be with Emma was what he always wanted, yet it still pained him that it wasn’t the way he wanted it to be.
~ Present ~
So here she was, preparing food in the kitchen to Julian and her own Idris house kitchen according to Julian’s instructions from a cookbook he was reading. The music was cheerful, but neither of them felt that way. This isn’t what they had ever expected or wanted. Julian to be housebound, often in pain that Emma could feel, but it was her duty as parabati, friend, lover, to help him in any way she could. She was content, but couldn’t find true happiness here like this.