#jm2

Summary: Moments before impact on Venus, Miller asks proto-Julie a question. “What does rain taste like?” A man born and raised on an asteroid. Never seen rain before. Never felt it. Never tasted it.

-or-

Julie and Miller roam the known and unknown universes, searching for the taste of rain.

Pairing: Julie Mao/Joe Miller (post-protomolecule) Rating: G Wordcount: 654 words

I try to keep true to the source material when I do something like this, so thank you!

My mind hasn’t changed when it comes to Julie and Miller. I chose not to include it in the post because I know it’s a dividing point in the fandom and didn’t want to highjack the post with my shipping as it was more about Julie as a person and not about ships. I am still very much a Julie/Miller shipper.

In my mind, in this universe, it is a slow burn to rival slow burns. At least on Julie’s end. Miller stays in love with her but learns to keep it closer to his chest.

He had this whole period of time where he built her up in his head and it takes a little bit to get rid of that and replace it with the women in front of him. And when he does, it’s like being taken down by a shockwave. This blow that takes his breath away. Her phantom is nothing compared to this woman. The way she puts everything she has into an arguement, how she believes without reservation. The smiles everyone else manages to draw from her during family dinners.

And yes, they usually end up fighting, an it’s the best thing in his life.

He has no place on a ship. He wasn’t made for zero g. So he gets a job on Tycho and gets a tight beam invitation to dinner and drinks every time they’re in port. But after Medina happens, Drummer specifically asks him to come join the belter station. She makes sure to remind him of his place, but he’ll be responsible for making sure the station is peaceful. It’s a chance at redemption and he’s not going to pass it up.

He catches a ride on the Roci as they head out as well. He expects that once she hears about his new role Julie will drag him into conversation about all the ways the police on Ceres were the worst human beings, but shes quiet. Pensieve. He remembers the news about Clarissa and Amos tells him about how Julie had gone down the well on their last pass to visit her, and the visit hadn’t gone well.

She’s in the mess waiting for Alex to finish his shift, bulb of tea cooling in her hands as she stares at the plants Prax installed and thinks of her sister, when he walks in. It’s been a couple years and the awkwardness has mostly dissipated. He’s come to be, if not a comforting presence, then at least a steady one. He gets something to drink and, leaning against the counter as he drinks, he starts recalling a story about his time with the Star Helix. Something about some brothers who got pulled into some crime ring or another. She doesn’t remember most of the story because she starts crying. The first time since everything with Clarissa happened and she’s crying into her cold tea.

He comes to sit next to her, places a tentative hand over hers, and tells her about growing up in the foster system. Says he never had siblings, or parents, but he can’t imagine it’s easy.