Jacob & Emma – I Need Your Fire
It was the first drops falling on the roof over my head that did it.
Over the two years that my peculiar friends had resided in this same stretch of time that I occupied – relics in the modern world – they had been able to find themselves a new house to call their own, of course with Miss Peregrine using her own brand of charm and skill every step of the way. Along with that came the growth of my friendships between them all as they began to grow up, find themselves jobs of sorts, and continue to learn under Miss Peregrine's wing (no pun intended). And, of course, something else between Emma and myself only grew from a single spark…
So it was no surprise to me that that particular night found me nearly asleep in my bedroom that I kept inside that house – Miss Peregrine's and Emma's requests – when the rain began to fall. It was a gentle, almost soothing sound, yet I had almost forgotten what it sounded like. It never rained that much in Florida in recent times.
Slowly parting the covers away from my body clad only in a thin shirt and sweatpants, I quietly let my padded feet carry me out of my room and to the balcony just across the hall, the doors leading to it opening just enough to let me outside without getting myself wet. I took a deep breath in and ever so slowly let it out, letting the aroma of freshly descending rain fill my lungs. If there was one way to relax that was better than sleep, not many things could match up to this.
Or so I thought. Until I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and a Welsh-tinted voice whisper, "I thought I heard something out here."
I let a soft smile paint across my face as I turned around to see Emma just behind my form, a perplexed look on her face. She was the one person who, more than anyone else over those last two years since she and my peculiar friends saved me, had changed my life for the better – so many pure words exchanged, so many moments and connections, many memories…and many feelings.
"What are you doing out here, Jacob? You'll catch your death of cold", Emma worried, her hand slowly gliding down my arm.
"Ah…I was just enjoying the fresh air, Emma. Not often it rains like this either", I answered truthfully, reaching up to gently take her hand in mine and pull her outside with me, both of us now fully under the curtain of softly falling rain. I'd already known this, but by the look on her face, I could tell Emma was pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the night that seemed to pass through into the light drops that fell upon us.
"You know, it does feel pleasant enough", she finally admitted, "especially after everything that happened two years ago." At this mention of the past, her lovely face fell in mild sadness, her head looking down and away from me. I knew full well what she meant – I'd had to deal with the death of my grandfather, months of pointless therapy, and much more besides since I first stumbled across Miss Peregrine's home. Not the least of which were Emma's feelings for my grandfather, who had found the loop that kept her and the rest of the peculiar children safe and practically ageless, and had stolen her heart the most. Now, though…
"Do you ever think about him at all, Em?" A soft smile tugged at the corner of her lips at the utterance of my nickname for her, and she raised her head up to look back at me.
"I miss him as much as you do, certainly", Emma confessed, as I remained unable to tell what were raindrops on her face and what may have been tears at the mention of my grandfather. "But…he did what he had to do because he felt like he had no other choice. I can't say I understand his choice, but I can understand why he made it." This brought a nod of agreement from me – it was during a mad science experiment that my grandfather inadvertently lost what made him peculiar in the first place, and sent him on the journey away from the loop and back to a 'normal' life. But…
"As can I…but who knows what would've happened if he didn't come back and just…lived?" I asked her softly.
"Who knows indeed", Emma replied in kind, moving closer to me and bringing her wet hands together, drying them quickly before making a soft shimmer of red and orange flame appear between them, floating there warmly. I looked down upon it with her, gently wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her close to me.
"All the same though…it won't do to dwell on the past", she said, almost to herself. "Besides…so many more important things have happened; some bad, but from that came all the better things." At this, Emma turned her face to look at me once again; her gentle and rain-moistened smile mere inches from mine as the tip of our noses touched.
Nodding lightly at her words, I responded, "And I know the one thing that would never change."
"What would that be…Jake?"
"How I feel about you now", I whispered softly, a quiet chuckle escaping me as I eskimo-kissed her and drew a light laugh from her in response, the fire between her hands flicking only marginally even as the rain picked up in intensity by just a bit.
We both looked up into the dark and cloudy Florida sky and let the rain fall down upon our faces, soaking into my shirt to make it cling to my chest and into her nightgown to coat tighter around her form. I couldn't help but let my gaze wander, bringing a blush to my face. Clearly I'm not that subtle of a person, especially around Emma.
As if she knew exactly what I was doing, she gave me a gentle nudge to the shoulder before she said, "Oi, future boy. We'd better get back inside before I am rendered unable to bring even the slightest spark forward."
"Then why not put this fire out for a while?" My free hand reached up to softly wrap across the back of hers, the fire fading out as I brought it to my cheek.
"Jacob… She chuckled as she inquired about my sudden moves. "How do you manage to make me feel like you do?"
Keeping my gaze locked warmly onto hers as I stepped closer to her, I gently moved her hand over to my heart, beating calmly and slowly beneath the soaked fabric of my shirt. "Because, Emma…bright soul…I need your fire. The one inside you."
Even through the darkness, I could see the blush rise up into her soft face to which her dripping blond locks clung. As Emma's free hand moved to take the hand I had around her waist, she moved even closer to me, closing the distance between our bodies. Right then, I wanted nothing more than to again close all the little spaces that still managed to linger through even that.
"You mean…this fire?" Emma whispered breathily against my lips, taking her hand and leading it to where her own heart beat away. And in that moment…everything seemed to fade away around us.
Our heartbeats matched each other's, pulse for each soothing pulse. I couldn't stand it any longer.
I had a growing urge to kiss her right there, and felt I had no other choice but to obey it, my lips descending to softly yet – dare I say – heatedly meet hers, our heartbeats growing just a touch harder, a pace faster. In that moment, I knew nothing else but this – the rain falling around and on us, our hands meeting each other's hearts and waists as we kissed for that brief eternity.
As soon as it came, the kiss was broken and our eyes lifted to connect once again, smiles spreading across our faces. No matter how much Emma's had stated otherwise and, I'm sure, would continue to do so in future, her smile still had mine beat any and every day. I'd have to keep telling her the same thing as well, and I'd never get tired of reminding her.
We slowly turned to face outward from the balcony on which we stood, holding each other tightly around the waist as her head slowly leaned against my shoulder and our hands moved away from each other's chest. "Jacob?"
"Yeah, Emma?"
She let out another soft, musical laugh. "You were right…the rain does feel nice."
Who knows how long we stayed out there…but when we came back in, things weren't feeling quite so pleasant anymore.
Even with my best efforts to suppress the shivering that came to me, Emma could still tell. She always could. "Come with me, love", she said as she took my hand and led me into her bedroom. As soon as it registered that that was where she was taken me, a feeling that I can describe best as a mixture of nervousness, excitement, and hope started to creep in.
Emma led me over to the bed and made me sit down on the edge of it before clambering atop it herself, standing on her knees behind my seated form and beginning to tug my damp shirt off. I was too cold to even complain about it as she slung the garment over the chair at her desk, the air breezing over my back for just a second before being replaced by the heat of Emma's hands.
"Well…just goes to show nice things like that can last only so long", she stated matter-of-factly but with a teasing undertone to her words, the increasing heat from her hands coursing pleasantly into my back and throughout the rest of my body. I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh of agreement.
"True…but the people who make those things happen, that's a different story, right?" I asked, turning my head back slightly as her hands made their way around my sides and up to my ribs.
"Thanks to me, in this case, yes", Emma replied sarcastically before she wiggled the tips of her heated fingers up and across my ribs, drawing ticklish laughs out of me. Wriggling around proved fruitless, as no matter where I went, she still had me in her grasp until finally… "Alright, that's it, you!" I turned around and tackled her onto the bed, my hands tickling up her stomach and back and making her laugh in a quiet musical uproar. The playful battle went on for several seconds until we finally both collapsed against each other, bright smiles on both of our faces as I looked down into her eyes.
Then I realized something. If the nightgown she was wearing was soaked by the rain…
"Emma? You're not…"
"Not what, dear?"
I raised myself up onto my hands, curiosity having me in its grip, and looked down her form to find her clad in a different nightgown, this one still enough to cover her, but thin enough for me to feel every contour of her beneath myself. And here I was shirtless.
"Oh…well, uhm…" I couldn't work my way out of this one, not with this blush forcing its way to my cheeks and turning them hot red. Emma must have sensed what I was getting at, but her response was not what I expected to hear.
"Would you…want to see me that way?"
At this, my eyes widened. "Ah…well, I mean…I don't…"
"Jacob." One of her hands found its way to my hot face, caressing it soothingly. "It's alright. If you don't want to right now, it's fine. I just…want to show how much I trust you being with me." Her words rang gentle and sweet to my ears, sending my heart into a heightened pounding.
"You're…sure about this, Emma?" I asked, wanting to be sure. Definitely, it was something I'd thought about and had meant to ask her – and how could I not? It may have sounded clichéd to most others, but Emma meant the world to me. Her personality, her voice, her bravery and trustworthiness, the way she grew to understand me better than anyone else could have, even my grandfather.
And if it weren't for him, this wouldn't be happening. I wouldn't be holding an angel of fire in my arms right now.
All of this flashed through my mind in a second that seemed like hours before I snapped out of it at the sound of her response. "Absolutely sure. Like I said, I don't want to pressure you into this, and if you don't want to right now-"
"Emma." I slowly lowered myself down beside her on the bed, the arm I wasn't supporting my head with finding its way to her cheek, lightly stroking it back to her ear. As nervous as I was about this – me having never done anything like this before, since those kinds of things had taken a backseat to helping her and our friends through so many disasters – I could tell she was nervous too. This time, she wasn't hiding it or changing her nerves into the staunch and unrelenting bravery I so loved her for.
And I loved her even more for this too. After two years of us taking the time, the patience, and the effort to truly know and understand each other – even as the love there was between us began to truly spring forth – she still managed to surprise me.
"You're not pressuring me into anything, Emma. Honestly…I want to do this with you, I really do", I finally relented, practically hearing the pounding of my heart at this point. It wasn't slowed by the sight of her wide and bright smile across her face, especially when it slowly gave way to a gentler, alluring smirk.
"Then…what are we waiting for, future boy?" She pulled me in, her fingers entangling in the back of my dark locks, her other hand trailing down my chest as our lips met…
The darkness behind my closed eyelids slowly faded away at the sensation of a soft pair of lips against my forehead. I slowly turned my head to look over at Emma, the sunlight of the early morning shining through the window onto her.
"Mm…good morning", I managed to whisper through a gravelly throat, lifting myself up onto my arm to look into her eyes, shining just as brightly as her smile.
"Good morning", she replied, her voice a soft lilt. She held the blankets of her bed demurely over her chest with one hand, and I didn't need a bolt from the blue to tell me what she had on beneath them. It wouldn't have mattered to me anyway.
"You ok?" I asked.
"Better than ok, Jacob", Emma replied, her free hand gently moving to rub my shoulder, her smile widening. "Especially considering the long night we just had."
"And how long was it?"
"Well, considering we only fell asleep a couple hours ago…" She let out a soft and playful chuckle at her trailing-off words. We'd seriously been at it through the whole night?
Sure enough, Emma noticed the unbelievably perplexed look that came across my face with another playful chuckle before she grabbed a pillow from beneath her and tried to smack me across the face with it. I refused to take that lying down – even literally – and tugged it away from her onto the floor before rolling her onto her back and getting on top of her.
"Alright, you cheeky bugger", I chuckled as her arms wrapped around me tightly, only the sheets separating us at this point. "But…what was last night like for you, Emma?"
At this, she leaned up and left a feathery-light yet lingering kiss on my lips before whispering, "The same as my thoughts of you – very special and absolutely amazing." I leaned down to fully embrace her, our bodies almost completely yet comfortably bound together.
"Oh…and Jacob?"
"Yeah, Emma?"
Her wispy breath breezed softly into my ear with her last thoughts before we drifted off together…"You're cute when you blush."