Piper was slightly frightened when Alex's doorbell rang. Nobody was meant to come over and Alex was out on a date for the night. He wasn't supposed to be back till, well, the next morning if things were to go well, and he had a key. She hadn't invited anyone herself, so as she walked up to the door to see who it was, she grabbed a a riding crop along the way out of the umbrella rack near the door from Alex's embarrassing horseback riding phase when he was younger.
With her eyebrows furrowed, she got on her tiptoes and looked through the peephole. Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar figure of JJ, dressed casually in an oversized hoodie and a wool beanie. And she was holding a paper bag in her hands.
Piper frowned again and finally opened the door. JJ was grinning wide. "What are you doing here?"
JJ took a little step back, smiling sheepishly behind her reading glasses. "Uh... I mean, I can leave?"
Piper shook her head furiously and opened the door wider. "No, no I didn't mean— I mean, of course, come in, I'm just... I'm surprised."
JJ chuckled softly and stepped inside, little hesitantly. "I heard you needed sustenance. So..." She held up the brown paper bag with the large yellow M printed on the front.
"Did you get me a McFlurry?" Piper whispered, staring wide-eyed right at the bag.
"Oreo with extra chocolate sauce?" JJ grinned crookedly holding the bag out to Piper.
"Oh my gosh, I love you!" Piper exclaimed, snatching the bag in her free hand and using her foot to kick the door closed after JJ.
"Uh, I hate to ask, but, why are you carrying a— is that whip or a...?"
Piper glanced down at the leather crop and let out a small laugh as she flipped it over in her hand.
"It's a riding crop, you kinky bastard!" She snapped it playfully over JJ's arm, gentle enough not to hurt her, before tossing it back in the bin behind the umbrellas. "Alex had a phase."
"And, erm," JJ rubbed the spot that Piper had just run the crop over with her hand, her eyebrows furrowed in wonder. "What were you doing with a riding crop?"
Piper turned around, effectively hiding her face and leading the way to the kitchen. "I didn't know who was at the door. I needed something to protect myself, in case someone wanted to murder me," she explained, like that made it any better.
Silently cursing herself, she placed the bag on the counter and pulled out the containers of ice cream. She was pleasantly surprised to have found two large orders of fries in there as well.
"And a riding crop was going to save you against, I don't know, some psycho with a gun or a knife?" JJ asked, standing behind Piper and sneaking a fry from one of the two containers.
"It can be quite painful," Piper explained and grabbed two spoons from the drawer to her right. "I had a nasty bruise on my bum for days once."
Yep.
So, essentially, all in the same day, Piper had admitted through text that she found JJ hot, and now, with her own words, she had just accidentally sounded incredibly kinky.
Her eyes slowly widened in realisation and she placed the spoons down on the counter carefully. "It wasn't like that, I swear. Adrian and I were sword fighting with the crops, and he accidentally got me on the arse. It was funny, actually. I think I've got it recorded somewhere..."
Piper was horrified. JJ on the other looked amused. Her eyes were bright under the kitchen light and her lips were twitching, fighting back a smile.
"Sword fight, huh?"
Piper nodded. "Yeah, lightsabers actually. Swords sounded cooler. We were doing wooshy noises and everything. It was intense."
JJ couldn't hold it in anymore. She snorted, loudly, and began laughing. "Okay, nerd," she teased.
"Hey! It's really hard! I don't think you could last a minute in a lightsaber fight!" Piper exclaimed defensively.
JJ gasped as she reached around Piper to grab her ice cream and a spoon. "I think I can last a lot longer than a minute. Give me some credit, I'm not that old!"
"I wasn't saying you were old. I was just... suggesting that you might be less experienced when it comes to the fine art of fighting with lightsabers!"
"You mean... riding crops, used as lightsaber props," JJ corrected, holding a spoonful of vanilla ice cream in the air.
"Whatever," Piper dismissed it, shoving an entire spoonful in her mouth. "Come on."
JJ followed Piper toward the living room where she had been previously sitting. It was kind of a mess, with blankets strewn wrinkled on the couch and empty mugs and bowls over every possible surface.
"I'm sorry about the mess," Piper explained, flopping down in the corner of the safe. "Neither Alex nor I are very good at the whole... tidying up thing."
"Oh, trust me, you're good," JJ chuckled softly and sat down on the armchair opposite Piper. "You should see my hotel room right now."
Piper gasp dramatically. "How... promiscuous. Are you inviting me over?"
JJ rolled her eyes and dipped a long piece of fry into her ice cream. "Wouldn't it be easier for you to invite me over, considering I'm already here? Besides, hotel affairs? Too cliché."
"Affairs in the guest bedroom of your best friend's house, on the other hand...?" Piper raised a suggestive eyebrow and they both burst out laughing after.
Piper completely ignored the way her stomach fluttered.
"Good practice for next week's scene," Piper joked, trying to lighten the mood.
JJ let out a soft chuckle and diverted her gaze to her ice cream. "Are you questioning my abilities?"
"Hm, I don't know," Piper responded, narrowing her eyes playfully. "Can you handle it?"
"Making out with you for a scene?"
Hearing the words out loud... it made Piper's throat tighten. She leaned forward, keeping her playful expression. "Yes."
JJ smirked a little and sat back comfortably in the armchair. "We'll find out next week."
Piper leaned back in her seat. She cleared her throat and shifted so her legs were tucked under her. She ate her dessert quietly.
JJ cleared her throat after a few beats. "So... Valentine's day is coming up. Any plans?"
"Hm... Send my mum a card, have dinner with Alex, Sam, and Adrian, get pissed, come back home before midnight. And, sleep!"
JJ chuckled, twirling her spoon around in the ice cream. "That sounds like a solid plan. No dates?"
"Nah, why would I want to spend my night with someone who's only going to be gone before the next morning?"
"You're right," JJ murmured softly, licking her spoon clean. Piper watched her in earnest.
"What about you?"
She shrugged, smiling a little tightly. "Probably work on the following day's scenes. Maybe have a bath and a glass of wine if I'm feeling frisky."
Piper frowned. "No Patrick?"
"No," JJ sighed quietly. "Neither one of us can leave work for a day. He's not exactly a fan of the holiday either. Something about a capitalistic scam to steal your money."
Piper's mouth formed an "O" as she tried her best not to laugh, so as to not hurt JJ. "So, he's one of those guys."
JJ nodded quietly. Piper could tell it bothered her, but it wasn't really her place to butt in. They weren't that close, were they?
"You're more than welcome to come hang out with me and Alex. It'll really be just a lowkey night. Usually, we have dinner here, and if Mitch and Sarah are in town, they come over too. Then, the couples leave, leaving us drunk singles alone! It's really fun, we do karaoke."
Piper pointed with her chin at the karaoke machine in the corner of the room and JJ turned to find it, breathing out laugh when she spotted it.
"That doesn't sound too bad," she finally responded. "I think I can pass by."
"You will! I'll be cooking, and I don't mean to brag, but my pasta is kind of really great," Piper grinned smugly. "You're vegan, right?"
"Vegetarian," JJ corrected. "I can't quite give up the dairy."
Piper laughed. "I get it. That's perfect. You'll love my pesto."
JJ grimaced. "I'm allergic to nuts."
"All nuts?" Piper asked innocently.
"Yeah, unfortunately," JJ replied and a second later she doubled over, bursting out in laughter.
"What?" Piper asked, frowning in confusion. Until... it hit her. "Christ, that's real mature!" And then, she was laughing along.
Nuts... Jesus.
"Poor Patrick," Piper muttered, which made JJ wheeze. Literally wheeze.
"He'll be fine," JJ managed to get out, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, making her glasses ride up her face. She pushed them back in place and grinned at Piper.
"I'm never like this, I swear," JJ admitted, still laughing softly under her breath.
"Me neither, kind of," Piper chuckled. "You bring out the worst in me!"
"Sorry," JJ whispered, sending her a subtle wink.
Piper rolled her eyes and dunked a bunch of fries into her ice cream. "Strike two."
JJ cracked a smile and leaned back, observing Piper intently. "I've been meaning to ask..."
Piper raised her eyebrows while shoving the handful of fries into her mouth, rather inelegantly.
JJ chuckled. "You know, about the role. And what it demands... of us, I guess. Are you worried, you know, about, I don't know..."
"People thinking I'm gay?" Piper asked.
JJ seemed slightly taken aback by her question. "I was going to say backlash. You know, it's pretty controversial."
"I suppose, but it is a pretty popular story," Piper responded softly, focused on scooping the last bits of chocolate syrup and melted vanilla ice cream from the bottom of the container.
"Yeah, but you've got a Chinese-American actress playing the role of a very british woman, who also happens to be a lesbian," JJ said with a cold chuckle.
Piper looked up with a small frown on her face. She set the empty container down on the coffee table and dropped her legs to the floor. "You're scared people are going to be racist and homophobic?"
JJ shrugged. "It's expected. I mean, it's not exactly new. You've read news articles about me. They talk shit because of, I don't stereotypes, I guess. And you know the people in this industry. They don't exactly like successful women who are vocal about inequality and don't take shit from anyone."
Piper nodded as she took in her words. "You're right. It's a very shitty industry, I can't say that I understand your experience, exactly, but I get it. I have read the articles, and I've never really understood them. You're literally the nicest person I've ever met."
JJ chuckled and glanced down at her hands. "Thanks, Pipes. I made the mistake once of telling off a show runner and he made sure to talk shit about me. Rumours catch on fast in Hollywood."
Piper frowned. "They do... wait, when was this?"
"Do you know that cop show I was on?"
"Yeah, for like the first three seasons?"
JJ nodded. "Yeah, they wanted my character to say a line that was homophobic. I wouldn't do it, and it didn't sit well with the creators of the show. I left the next season."
"Well, shit," Piper murmured, twisting her fingers together. "Fuck 'em, anyway. ACAB, right?"
"Oh, you're absolutely right," JJ sighed, setting down the empty containers on the table and sitting back down with her legs crossed. "They can talk shit all they want. I've made it a point since then to always speak up whenever I can."
"Right! Honestly, good for you."
JJ smiled softly and nodded along. She crossed her arms together and tilted her head back against the armchair. "So... are you worried?"
"What about?"
JJ shrugged. "The usual backlash. And, I guess... people thinking you're gay?"
Piper shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She sat up straight and stared down at the rug. "The usual backlash is nothing we can't handle, I guess."
JJ raised an eyebrow, but she remained quiet. Piper understood, she meant to ask about the other point, but wasn't exactly sure how.
Piper fiddled with her fingers, a nervous tick of hers. "I don't think it would really bother me."
"Really?"
JJ's voice was quiet and soft. It wasn't judgemental, or mean or anything. She was just genuinely interested in what Piper had to say.
"Frankly, it'd be kind of a relief that I wouldn't have to do it myself," she chuckled.
"What do you mean?" JJ asked, frowning in confusion.
Piper grimaced a little. "Wow, I actually haven't done this since I was like, eighteen," she exhaled shakily.
"What?" JJ murmured.
Piper took in a deep breath and smiled a little nervously. "Well... come out, I suppose. Properly."
"Oh... so—"
"Yeah, I'm gay," Piper finally breathed out. And then she let out an elated laugh. "God, I feel like a teenager all over again. I haven't had to say that out loud since, well, since coming out to my parents."
Piper couldn't exactly read JJ's reaction. She looked... lost, in her own thoughts. "Thank you... for trusting me enough to tell me."
Piper shrugged, smiling a little shyly at her friend. "I mean, I suppose I kind of felt compelled to tell you because, we're going to be kissing and I might enjoy it a lot more than you will, and I don't want you to eventually find out and think that I was getting off on it or taking advantage or something."
"Oh, god no," JJ shook her head. "I would never think that, don't worry! And I mean, you never know, if you are as a good a kisser as you say you are, I might enjoy it just as well!"
Piper knew she hadn't meant it like that... but her bloody hormones did not. Fucking gay hormones. Ugh. Her whole body shivered.
"Well, then, I guess we'll have to wait and find out!"
"Yeah," JJ smiled, running her palms down to her knees. "Yeah, I guess, everything'll work itself out in the end, right?"
"It always does."
Piper heard a pair of keys jingle and the door was shut closed a moment after. "Ah, that'll be Alex."
"Hey, you'll never believe how the date fucking went," Alex called out.
Piper winced when she heard his shoes hitting the floor with a heavy thud. Wow, so he wasn't going to be subtle at all. She smiled apologetically at JJ and closed her eyes, embarrassed.
"Bad, I presume," Piper called back. "I'm in here, with company."
"What? Who's here?"
Alex strolled into the room, denim jacket hanging from his arm. His green eyes slowly widened and his face split into a lopsided grin. "Oh, hello. Sorry, I didn't know anyone was over. Hi... I'm Alex!"
He scrambled over to JJ's side and held out his hand. Okay, he was going to be polite. Piper dared to relax a little.
"Hey, I'm JJ," she responded with a soft chuckle, shaking Alex's hand.
"I know," he said and turned around to walk toward the sofa. JJ gave Piper a small, intrigued look and Piper just shook her head. She was not going to delve into that. No way. "I sense I've just interrupted a very emotional conversation."
Alex eyed the empty ice cream containers.
Piper rolled her eyes. "You know, you always think you have, and it's never the case."
Alex flopped down next to Piper and threw his arm around the back of the couch. "Okay, okay..." he met Piper's gaze and then grinned knowingly. "Oh, Pipes, you've told her about the big fat crush you have on me?"
Piper smacked him with a pillow playfully. "No, she knew that already. I told her the other big secret."
"Oh, the gay one. Right. You didn't out me in the process, did you?"
Piper buried her face in her hands.
"I think, you just did that yourself," JJ said with a little laugh.
"Right, whoops," Alex grinned sheepishly. He pushed himself up and leaned down to kiss Piper's forehead, before ruffling her hair. "Alright, I'm going to wash up and wallow in my sadness."
"Write a song about it," Piper joked.
"I just might," he chuckled. "JJ, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you. Pipes, I'll see you at six sharp."
"Eight-thirty."
"Seven."
"Nine."
"Do you even know how to bargain?"
"I don't bargain, darling. I get my way."
"Doesn't matter, I'll have Bacon and Ham wake you up at six!"
JJ snorted and Piper turned to her with a wide grin.
"You'll be dead if you do!"
"We'll see! Good night! Don't have too much fun, ladies! Really thin walls!"
Piper really wanted to rip his head off.