"Look, if we were something to each other before, maybe we're supposed to be something to each other now."
When they finally broke apart, they simply stood there in each other's arms for a moment. Their foreheads resting together, smoke continued to curl around them as they held onto each other in the darkness. Finally, Zane dropped his hand to grab a hold of Jo's.
"C'mon" he said, gently tugging at her in the direction of the door. Or what used to be the door. "Let's go."
She looked up at him, eyes questioning.
"I ruined your house," he said, and then added a smile, "the least I can do is give you a place to stay."
"Zane, I…"
He widened his smile and tugged at her hand again. "I won't take 'No' for an answer."
She sighed, shook her head, and offered a tremulous smile of her own. "Thanks."
They walked together through the debris, hand in hand, Zane slightly ahead as he pulled Jo along to her car. Lost in their own thoughts, the ride to Zane's apartment was a silent one.
Inside, his apartment looked much as Jo remembered it, though there were some things missing; pictures of the two of them, the Star Wars poster she had bought him, and the blanket he had retrieved out of his closet and moved to the couch so that she had easy access to it. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering and grieving, and then with a deep breath, she let it all go.
Zane had moved past her and into the bedroom down the hall.
"Go ahead and sit down," he said, his voice muffled slightly as it carried back into the living room, "I'll take the couch and I'll get the bed ready for…Oh, hey there."
Jo had appeared behind him and had wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning against the strength of his back.
"Don't," she whispered.
He turned around in her arms. "I'm just trying to be a gentleman," he said, smiling at her.
She couldn't help it and let out a little snort. "You? A gentleman? In what universe?" She grinned wryly and kissed him gently before pulling away and looking at him seriously again. "I just want to share the bed." She swatted at him as he raised his eyebrows at her, grinning with that maddening smile that crinkled his nose. "No funny business!" she laughed, shaking her head, "I just don't want to be alone."
He nodded in acquiescence and motioned toward the bed. "So which side is yours?"
She grinned at him. "Left side."
He started to pout and she laughed again. "You wanted to know what we were," she said and she gave him a triumphant smile, "so you had better just get used to it."
He laughed then too, and crawled onto his new side of the bed. "I suppose I can deal with it."
They lay there staring at each other for a moment before Zane turned away from her and rummaged for something in the nightstand by his head. He turned back to her, clasping something in his hand. He kept his eyes down, hesitating while trying to find the right words to say. He was never very good at this.
"I can't say that I love you right now, Jo, " he said quietly, before opening his hand and revealing his grandmother's ring. "But I can say this." He began toying with the ring between his fingers, letting the occasional sparkle distract him. "This ring is very important to me. My grandmother gave it to me just before she died." He let out a soft chuckle then and looked back up at Jo, who was smiling at him. "You would've liked her," he said, "I think you two would have gotten along very well." He shook his head, breaking her gaze as he collected his thoughts again. "Anyway, I wouldn't just give this ring to anyone. I know that for certain. And six months ago, I couldn't imagine giving it to anyone any time soon. But now…" he trailed off and looked intently at Jo. "Now, I'm starting to understand how this ring came into your possession."
Suddenly he was off of the bed and walking around to her, offering his hands to help her up. She looked at him quizzically, but then grabbed his hands and let him pull her to her feet. He then reached behind her neck and began unclasping the empty chain that lay there. Speechless, Jo just watched as he put the ring on the chain and placed it back around her neck. The familiar weight, once weighing her down with grief, now felt reassuring. She reached up to touch it, smiling at Zane as he spoke again.
"Give me a chance, JoJo. That's all I want." And then he kissed her. And she kissed him back. And for now, she was home.