It had started as another quiet afternoon, one of many they had spent together over the past few weeks. They were at Cameron's apartment this time, sprawled across the couch with a movie playing in the background, though neither of them were paying much attention to it. Jasmine had been unusually quiet that day, a soft kind of nervousness hanging in the air around her. Cameron noticed, but she didn't push. She knew by now that Jasmine would speak when she was ready.
And she did.
"Can I ask you something?" Jasmine finally murmured, her fingers absently tracing patterns on the couch cushion.
Cameron looked over at her, noting the way Jasmine was avoiding her gaze. "Yeah, of course."
Jasmine hesitated, inhaled deeply, then asked, "Do you think we could ever end up together again?"
Cameron blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. Jasmine still wasn't looking at her, instead staring ahead at the muted film on the screen, but her body was tense in a way that made it clear this wasn't a casual inquiry. Cameron opened her mouth, then closed it again, taking a second to process.
"Or have you already moved on?" Jasmine added quickly, as if she was afraid of the silence between them. There was something in her voice that made Cameron pause, an undertone she couldn't quite place.
"Moved on?" Cameron echoed, tilting her head slightly.
Jasmine hesitated again before speaking, her voice carefully measured. "I mean, you've been focusing on yourself. Healing. You've been spending time with people who are good for you." She let her words linger before adding, almost too casually, "Like Lena."
Cameron frowned slightly, her mind rewinding. She had never mentioned Lena much around Jasmine. Not because she was hiding anything, but because it simply hadn't come up. But the way Jasmine said her name—like it carried weight—made something stir in Cameron's chest.
"Lena?" Cameron repeated carefully, watching Jasmine's face for a clue.
Jasmine gave a small, lopsided shrug. "I just meant… it seemed like you had someone. I wouldn't blame you if you did." Her fingers twisted at the hem of her sleeve. "I guess I was just curious."
Cameron exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "Lena's just a friend," she said. "We've been helping each other out. That's it."
Jasmine finally met her gaze then, something shifting in her expression. Relief, maybe. Or understanding.
"So, do you think we could?" she asked, voice quieter now. "End up together again?"
Cameron swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. There was so much she wanted to say, but none of it felt easy. She had spent so long untangling herself from the version of Jasmine that had hurt her. But this Jasmine, sitting beside her now, looking at her with a kind of vulnerable sincerity—this was someone new. Or maybe, someone rediscovered.