Chapter 9

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I believe in love, I believe in love
Love that's real, love that's strong
Love that lives on and on
Yes I believe in love

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"I'm here because I wanted to see you."  Leo replied.  Piper didn't look up at him.  It still didn't seem real.  "Were you at my ceremony?" 

"Of course.  Had to have some reason to see you.  I was in the back and left after you walked down."

That made her smile.  "So you're really here?"

"I'm really here.  And I've done some sightseeing today and I don't know why you would think this place is boring."

"Well that's because..."

"Because..."

"Are we going to try and work this relationship out?  Because if we're not I want you to leave."

"Well I did come all the way to Paris just to watch you get a handshake.  I haven't even had some of your cooking."

"Leo..."

"I want you Piper.  I've missed you every day you were gone.  But I've let my pride stand in the way of calling you and apologizing.  And when you came to see me, it threw me for a loop.  I saw hope and the more I hoped the more I wanted us to be together again."

Piper didn't say anything.  It was too much to process.

"Would you like to come up?  I have leftovers."

"Okay."

Leo didn't understand Piper's sudden change, but he knew her and knew that when she was ready she would share.  There was a Piper that only he got to see.  Her sisters saw her cry and show deep emotion, they saw her closed off and sarcastic, but they never saw the parts that would be ashamed to admit that she possessed.  The slightly needy part.  The one that was scared to say 'I love you' to him.  The parts that made her uniquely her that no one else could pinpoint but him.  And that was a gift that Leo never wanted to give up.

Piper left Leo to explore her apartment and she went into the kitchen to heat up some food.  This was what she had wanted since they had split.  What she had wanted since she was a little girl.  He was the promise that Grams had made to her.  She had finally found someone who loved her.  She was his number one.  Or at least would be once they were back on track. 

She put the food on plates and walked to the dinner table.  "Food's ready."  she announced, but when Leo didn't move she walked over to where he was standing.  He was looking at the picture of them.  Taken a week before the whole Lily/Dan disaster took place.  He had his arms around her waist and she was leaning back on him.  They were happy.  Sure she was going to be leaving in two weeks for Paris and he couldn't join her, but that didn't matter.  Their love was worth the wait.

She touched his shoulder and he jumped.  She smiled, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you."  He turned to face her, "No, its okay.  I just got wrapped up in the memory of that day."  And the twinkle in his eyes let her know exactly what memories he had been thinking about.  Which made her blush and allowed him to laugh.

He took her hand and walked back to the table with her.  "Wow, this looks wonderful." he exclaimed and took a fork and started to eat.  Piper couldn't touch her food.  She sat and watched him.  She had always been able to tell if her cooking was good by the way that Leo ate it.  He was a terrible liar when it came to telling her if the food was good or not.  And by his expression now she could tell that he liked it.

After a few bitefuls  of food Leo noticed that Piper wasn't eating.  "What?" he asked suddenly very self-conscience.  She shook her head, "No, tell me what it is Piper."  "I've just missed this so much.  When everything was so screwed up and I was here telling myself I was happy..."

She stopped and took a breath, "I lied to myself all the time.  I kept having these dreams where you would be here and we would be happy..."

Leo took her hands and held them in his, "Piper I know things are screwed up, but if you're ready we can talk about it now."

"Okay, but we better eat because it might be awhile."  They both laughed.

~*~

After they finished eating Leo helped Piper wash and dry the dishes. They were playful and having fun, just like they use to.  And both knew that this was exactly what they wanted.

They moved to the couch.  Each facing the other.  Piper let her hair go and Leo watched it as it fell over shoulders.  "You're beautiful." he swore.  Piper blushed, "Thank-you, but that still isn't getting you out of this conversation."

"I wasn't trying to." he assured her.  "I don't know where to start."

"I guess we can start with what happened."

"I was just there studying Piper.  I had no idea that Lily would do something like that."

"But Leo I told you!  And that is what hurts.  That you didn't believe ME.  I was right about her."

"What about Dan?  Huh?  Didn't I tell you that he was bad news?"

"No.  You told me you weren't too crazy about him."

"Well I meant to.  Why did you start hanging out with Dan?"

"You were always with Lily.  And I was always jealous.  You guys would talk about school and work, and I felt left out.  You didn't do it intentionally.  You always tried to steer the conversation to other things, but Lily would start talking about what happened and then you were off on that subject again."

Leo took Piper's hand into his, "I'm sorry Piper.  I really am, but why didn't you tell me this before?"

Piper looked away trying to think of what the answer was, "I don't know.  I guess because on some level I thought you would figure it out.  That you would know what you were doing and stop.  Tell Lily that you could never see her again because she caused me pain and that she didn't stand a chance in Hell with you."

"She doesn't.  And she hasn't for a very long time.  I haven't talked to Lily since you left."

"I know she told me."

"She told you?"

"Yeah, after you left in the morning I thought you had gone for good and I needed some closure.  So I went to see her.  I had run into her at P3 the night before and she told me we needed to talk.  So I took her up on her offer."

"And what did you talk about?"

"She told me that you didn't want her, but that she still wanted you.  However, your friendship was important to her and that if she couldn't have you in a romantic way she still wanted to be your friend.  And I understood exactly how she felt."

"So you want me as a friend?"

"Do you ever listen to me?"

"I listen and I heard you.  But I don't want that kind of relationship with Lily.  I want it with you.  I don't think I could handle being just your friend."

"I couldn't either."

"So should we becoming to a conclusion now?"

Piper laughed.  "I suppose so."

"I want to be with you Piper."

"Me too."

They both smiled and kissed.

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End of Chapter 9