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petra looked around at all the smiling faces.
she was happy that she and her friends had all made it through this adventure in one piece, including romeo.
jack was talking to the group, going on about the power of teamwork or something or the other. petra tuned it out, knowing how jack could get with his speeches.
she looked at radar who was bouncing in place, staring wide eyed up at jack. at romeo who stood nervously, wearing a sheepish but grateful smile. he'd been invited to join their little huddle by jesse because she'd never liked to leave anyone out. petra grinned at lukas, who shot her a smile from his place next to jesse.
jesse. jesse had freaking defeated the admin. petra couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of pride and love that rose in her chest when she thought about her best friend. her grin grew wider as she shifted her gaze to jesse, only to fall away.
jesse was standing slightly behind lukas, almost as if she was using him to shield herself. her gaze was fixed on the floor; black hair falling around her face and disguising her expression. her arms were wrapped tightly around herself and from where petra was standing she could tell her brows were knit tightly together.
petra moved her head slightly to see jesse more clearly, concern making itself known on her face.
lukas had seen petra's face fall, and almost opened his mouth to say something, when petra quickly shot him a look as if to say don't, you know what jesse's like.
as though she knew that her best friends had noticed what state she was in, jesse had starting slowly backing away from the group. she'd moved back a few paces without anyone noticing, all caught up in jack's exaggerated story.
jesse then turned around and briskly walked away. petra watched as she dropped her arms to her sides, then thread her hands through her hair. her hands buried in her hair as she pulled at it, strides lightening fast.
lukas turned around, watching jesse as she left. he then took petra's arm.
lukas pulled petra towards him and then turned to the group. "sorry everyone, we've got some things to sort out. you know, about beacontown and all." petra nodded along half heartedly and they quickly turned and left without waiting for a response, heading in the same direction jesse had.
"lukas..." petra's speech paused slightly, having no idea what to say as they walked side by side. "did you see that?" her tone was laced with surprise and a whole lot of worry.
lukas nodded grimly, looking sideways at petra. "yeah. petra, did anything happen in there? when she was fighting the admin?"
"well, apart from the intense battle between human and powerful entity, not really, no." despite her choice of wording petra spoke with no hint of sarcasm.
lukas looked thoughtful. "i hope it's just the stress of everything catching up to her. i mean, not that it's a good thing, but it's good to let things out every once in a while. jesse doesn't do it a lot. i'm just glad she's not hurt."
petra hummed, looking down as they walked. her brown eyes shone with concern.
lukas and petra soon reached the order hall. petra turned to lukas.
"lukas. can you just give me a minute with her? i mean, no offense but she's closer to me and-" lukas smiled understandingly, cutting off petra who was struggling to phrase what she wanted to say.
"hey. don't sweat it, you're fine. i understand."
petra smiled in relief, before shooting lukas a slightly nervous expression and pushing open the big doors to the order hall.
petra stepped in, shivering slightly at how cold it was. she rubbed her unsleeved arm as she looked around. no sign of jesse. she quickly headed for the meeting room, where she'd often found jesse working in the past.
petra reached the door, abruptly stopping as she heard something. she frowned as she focused on the sound, gasping slightly once she realized it was crying. sobbing, even.
petra bit her lip, resisting the urge to tear up herself at hearing her best friend in such pain.
jesse had only cried so intensely a very few times before and petra had been there to comfort her each time. notable times were when petra had appeared at the order's temple after escaping the witherstorm, when they had first created reuben's memorial and after jesse had freed petra and the citizens of crown mesa from pama's clutches ("i was so freaking scared i would lose you petra, you have no idea").
petra shook her head, her thoughts returning back to the present. she quickly but quietly pushed open the door, glancing around the room.
jesse was sitting at the head of the big meeting table, head laying on her arms. her body was visibly shaking and her cries were echoing throughout the room.
she was practically choking on her breaths, each cry fighting to come out faster than the other. petra's heart fell at the sight before her. it was like everything that had happened to jesse since the start of this adventure had caught up to her, and she had finally broken once she'd reached a space and state where she could do so.
petra quickly left the doorframe, rushing over to jesse. she dropped to the floor next to jesse's chair, wasting no time in enveloping the smaller girl into her arms, hugging her from the back and pressing her head onto her shoulder.
jesse jumped at the contact, breath catching and body freezing, her sobs ceasing. she remained like that for a second until she recognised petra's familiar touch, losing control of her body again.
the sobs returned, albeit not as heavy as before and she fought to mute them by shoving her face into the crook of her elbow. she made no move to fight off petra as she made herself even smaller in the redhead's arms.
"hey, hey, jesse, it's okay." petra's voice cracked as she spoke, blurting out variations of 'it's okay' and 'everything's fine' as she pulled her arms tighter around jesse, rubbing her back and trying her best to support her.
petra knew she should let jesse get her emotions out before even attempting to talk to her. it was the healthy thing to do. so she sat there, cradling the shaking girl in her arms. the leader of her town looked so small and vulnerable and petra was almost grateful she was able to be the one to comfort jesse.
after a few minutes, jesse's sobs had turned into small sniffles. she'd leaned into petra's touch, letting petra's arms blanket her while her head stayed buried in her own arms.
petra gently pulled away from jesse, putting her hand on the shorter's shoulder to encourage her to raise her head. jesse did just that, looking up at petra.
jesse's green eyes seemed dull, tears staining her face. her hair was a nest, bangs sticking to her forehead and hair clip lost somewhere in the tangled mess.
petra looked at jesse, devastation taking over her face. she immediately pulled jesse into another hug, not ready to say anything yet. jesse pressed her trembling lips together and hugged petra tight, squeezing her eyes shut.
petra eventually convinced jesse to take a seat next to her on one side of the table so they could sit adjacently. they sat close together, jesse leaning into petra as she couldn't help but feel slightly weak.
petra glanced down at jesse, inhaling a breath to speak when she got interrupted.
"i'm sorry."
this caused petra to pause in confusion, frown taking over her face.
"hey. you have nothing to be sorry about, okay? there's no reason on earth why you would need to be apologising to me right now. i just want to know what's wrong. are you okay?" petra shifted so her arm was around jesse, pulling her head onto her shoulder.
there was a moment of silence, jesse playing with her fingers while trying to muster up the words to reply. petra waited patiently.
"when i was fighting romeo with the gauntlet," jesse mumbled stiffly, voice still raw from crying. she squeezed her fingers together to have something to do with her hands. "he blipped us away for a while, remember? he took us to some different places, he turned himself into vos, fred ...and you."
petra gasped at this. seeing her best friend's face and knowing it wasn't really her underneath was insane in itself, but for that to happen to herself? without her knowing? she shuddered involuntarily. jesse felt it and nudged petra almost apologetically as she carried on.
"and i- i know, i know it wasn't you but it was just- so incredibly creepy, it was you, your face, your body, your voice, i-"
petra interrupted jesse by squeezing her wrist, realizing how worked up the smaller was getting. after a beat of silence, jesse spoke again, hand moving on top of the one on her wrist.
"it was like some freaky mix of you and romeo. it was you, but not you. it was his skin, but your face? and your voice but also his voice. it just- remember pama? i couldn't think of anything else in that moment. it was like the same thing happening all over again. your voice and it's voice overlapping. i'll never forget that." jesse's voice got quieter and quieter as she spoke.
"i let him hit me. i had to. that was you, petra, it- i couldn't help it. just like i did with pama. but this time it wasn't even your body, and i still let him hit me. i didn't even strike him, not even once." frustration was evident in the hero's voice.
petra sighed sadly, shifting so she could face jesse. jesse straightened up to do the same, their frowns reflecting in each other's eyes.
"jesse. i know that you probably felt weak in that moment, and you probably still do. but jesse, that doesn't say anything about you. it says something about the awful things that villains and entities and freaking machines will do to get under your skin. it doesn't mean anything that you weren't able to stab me or an admin-y version of me through the chest. because, well, i'm your best friend. i would hope, actually, that it wouldn't be so easy for you." the warrior joked, eliciting a small giggle from jesse.
"dummy. of course i wouldn't. that's why it was so hard." a heavy sigh. "why is it always you? why do they know how much you mean to me?"
petra smiled at this, squeezing jesse's hand. "you just love me that much, huh?" causing jesse's eyes to widen slightly as she glanced to the side.
"in all seriousness, it's because villains use things that mean a lot to the hero as leverage. and i know i mean a lot to you. hell, you mean even more to me. and it would absolutely kill me if someone was to go against me and use you as leverage. it was never your fault that any of the things that happened to me happened. how would you predict that we'd end up in a crazy robot world? or we'd end up freaking dying, you know? and i know you've been through so much more worse things than me."
jesse frowned at this. "hey, now that's a lie. we've literally been together since the witherstorm." the mention of the terrifying monster sending a small shiver down her spine.
"we have, but i know that things were way worse for you. for one, you were the one to destroy the command block, not me. you were the one who was forced against two of your best friends, not me. you had to fight the admin head on, not me. of course, being under pama's control was scary, as was having wither sickness, but you can't undermine your pain because i know it's a lot worse than mine, than anyone's. you're a true hero jesse. and heroes don't have to pretend they're not in pain."
jesse sniffed, sparse tears involuntarily making their way down her face. petra took jesse into her arms again, armour clanging against armour as she pulled her towards herself and jesse buried her face into the crook of her neck. jesse's chair was left vacant and their legs were a tangled mess as they relaxed, just existing in each other's arms.
after a long few minutes of silence as they sat in the same position, petra on the verge of falling asleep, jesse suddenly moves back onto her own chair, facing petra. she doesn't break contact with the older girl, their hands still entwined and legs touching.
"since you opened up to me in that cabin, i've been feeling like i really need to tell you this." jesse looked nervous, her big eyes uncertain but holding a hint of determination.
petra blinked a few times before looking straight into jesse's eyes. "go ahead," she murmured softly. "what's up?"
"when you said all that, in the cabin. i couldn't help but think about how fast i agreed to come with you." she paused to suck in a breath and petra took this as an opportunity to speak.
"is this you saying you don't agree anymore?" her tone held a hint of humour.
"shush, no! so, i was thinking, and i came to a conclusion. petra, you've been there with me since the start. since the witherstorm and all our adventures beyond that. even when the order's adventures died down and when everyone left and it would just be us two. you never left here, you never left me. you're my number one, my best friend. and it's been so hectic that i didn't even get a chance to think about how i feel before now, but petra, the thought of you leaving without me? it makes me want to throw myself into a wall. i would never let you go anywhere without me. what i'm trying to say is, i love you. i love you so much. a-and i'll go wherever you want, as long as it's with you."
jesse's eyes were squeezed shut and she was practically red in the face, from spitting the words out so fast as well as because of what the words themselves were. petra was staring wide eyed at jesse, jaw slightly slack and pink on her cheeks which almost made jesse do a double take when she opened her eyes because petra literally never blushed.
petra then broke out into a big happy smile. "jesse, i-" she cut herself off with a small laugh, disbelief evident in it. pulling jesse's hands closer, she continued. "you don't know how long i've been waiting to hear you say that."
jesse gaped as petra went on. "i love you too, jesse. i always have. going on these adventures with you and fighting alongside you... i'd never want it to be anyone else. i would do anything for you, jesse. that's why i was so prepared to leave without you, as bad as it sounds, i wanted you to be happy more than anything, even if that meant you not coming with me." petra's voice was thick as she fought to hide her emotions.
"oh, petra. i would never be happy if you left. you being with me is the sole cause of my happiness." jesse frowned slightly, but couldn't help but smile again as her happiness took over. "oh my god. i can't believe you like me back. oh wow." she sounded like she'd just gotten the wind knocked out of her as she looked at petra, eyes glistening.
petra returned the look as they stared into each other's eyes for a while.
petra broke the silence. "so... what does this make us? are we dating now?" her voice was quiet, almost cautious.
"i would definitely love for us to be dating, if you'd like that," jesse smiled as petra nodded, her comforting gaze easing petra's nerves.
the sound of metal scraping against itself echoed throughout the room as jesse shifted so she was kneeling on the floor. "so, petra, my best friend, best warrior in the city, love of my life, will you be my girlfriend?" she grinned up at petra's shocked expression as she clasped the taller's hand.
petra's face melted into one of pure adoration as she pulled jesse up off the floor. "of course i will, dummy." her voice heavy with affection towards the girl in front of her.
jesse clambered into petra's lap once again, shimmying around to make herself comfortable before sighing and sitting up, throwing random pieces of her armour off her body. petra giggled at the sight.
"hey, come on. let's go put our armour away, properly, and then we can go home. maybe get something to eat first i'm starving." she rubbed her hand comfortingly up jesse's now unarmoured left arm as she spoke.
jesse huffed, begrudgingly turning so she could put her feet on the ground and stand up. she grabbed the pieces of armour and tucked them into her inventory, grabbing petra's hand to lead her to the main room of the order hall.
realising that she was used to this, petra started to wonder how obvious it could have been that she liked jesse. they held hands all the time, as well as hugged, and they would never shy away from spending time with each other. she let out a small breath of happiness, just happy that jesse loved her too.
they neared the armour stands, jesse wordlessly walking up the steps to dragonsbane's empty stand and carefully setting her beloved armour onto it. petra did the same, switching out her sorry excuse for armour ("i'm attached to it, okay?") for her usual vest, shorts and boots. when she finished, jesse was bounding down the steps, clad in her signature denim overalls.
petra looked at her now girlfriend, a feeling of fondness rising in her chest. she loved how jesse looked when she wasn't in armour, holding an enchanted diamond sword. the fact that jesse was a legendary hero and leader was amazing, but like this, jesse was just jesse. the dork she'd been back in that treehouse, who loved reading books and practiced with a shabby wooden sword on an armour stand.
petra pulled jesse into a tender hug. jesse made a small noise of surprise but relaxed into it, nestling her head onto petra's shoulder like clockwork.
after a while of the two girls relishing in each other's presence, petra pulled away. "come on. let's go get something to eat." turning, petra took her girlfriend's hand and walked out of the order hall, leading jesse along beside her.