Hi! So I've not published anything in a looong time and my documents app is overflowing with so many fics that I thought I might aswell start to. This is a very fluffy one shot for you Jonnie shippers out there during these turbulent times. Enjoy!
"When someone hugs me, I don't want a rub on the back...No... I want them to embrace my whole body and squeeze me so tight that they become my anchor to the world... So that I feel like I'll be safe in their warm arms forever and ever..."
"Can't you turn this soppy nuisance off for a bit? I'm trying to type here..." Muttered an exasperated Connie to Jacob, whose long body was sprawled out on the sofa opposite her.
It was gone midnight and the Clinical Lead's living room was illuminated by several crystal lamp shades and a small chandelier hanging down from the centre of her pure white ceiling. Legs crossed beneath her, a glass of rosé to her right, Connie had been quite content on her cream settee, writing up official reports for the next week. Then her 'partner' as she liked to call him, had turned on the television to some new romantic comedy and she couldn't concentrate enough to read the words off her screen, let alone type some more.
"Are you honestly telling me that the woman who has watched both Notting Hill and Love Actually more times than she can remember, doesn't want to watch the new Hugh Grant flick? When did you get so sick?" Jacob asked sarcastically, chuckling as he did.
"Jacob, I'm really not in the mood right now ok? Just please switch it off..."
"Well if I am your anchor to this world then you must surely be the ship to the next one... I always knew you were quite heavenly..."
"Jaaacob!" She moaned as the sound of wet movie kissing reached her ears.
"Alright alright... Goodbye Mr Grant..."
Silence.
Then some tapping on the keyboard.
Silence.
"Well I've lost my thread now..."
Connie heaved a great sigh upon the realisation that she would get no work done, and the smug looking man across from her was probably right in thinking she should have a break. She pushed the top of her laptop down with rather too much force which earned a raised eyebrow from Jacob. Connie replied with an irritated roll of her hazel eyes followed by an automatic grin which she tried her best to conceal by biting her bottom lip.
"Connie Beauchamp that isn't fair!" Groaned Jacob as an amused smile swept across his face after seeing her look so gorgeously seductive.
"Right, I'm going outside to shut the back gate... Maybe some fresh air will clear my mind..." Connie said, changing the subject before being tempted into a certain kind of distraction.
"Don't be too long sweet cheeks, it's freezing out there," came the soft reply, as the man picked up the Radio Times and flicked to the sports section
"I won't,"
Connie unhooked her scarf from the cloakroom door in the hall. She only ventured into her garden after wrapping the black silk around her neck twice over and buttoning her jacket up.
The grass had already begun to freeze and it crunched under her boots loudly. Her breath could be seen in misty puffs infront of her, and shadows seemed to follow her as she walked.
That was the problem. It was not only the shadow of a slender woman with classy curls in her hair that followed Connie's every step, but that of a towering stranger, lurking in the cloak of night.
A soft clink accompanied the gate being closed too, and had Connie walked back up her glistening grass immediately after this sound, all might have been well...but a movement just by the brick walled corner grabbed her attention, causing her to hesitate. Her abrupt stop in movement was the perfect opportunity for the hidden mystery to be revealed.
Following a step into the moonlight, the figure of a middle aged man was illuminated, his gaunt and wrinkled face contoured naturally by the pale light, his black eyes scintillating with a sinister gleam. He was breathing heavily, as if he'd been running, however the mist that was emitted from his mouth in the night air didn't appear to be beautiful or poetic as Connie had previously seen it, but frightening and threatening, like smoke escaping from an impending explosion. Purposefully, his sombre face contorted into a sadistic grin, revealing a set of crooked teeth.
Connie gave a harsh screech in fear and took a hasty step behind her, into the darkness, slipping on the grass as she did so. In slow motion, she felt herself lose balance and come crashing to the ground onto her back. Scrambling frantically to get back up and escape the menacing man, her head jerked from side to side in a desperate attempt to find the figure lurking in the shadows again. But he was long gone, continuing his escape down the road now that his cover had been blown.
Within moments, the all too familiar sharp scream of sirens could be heard, quickly accompanied by an equally harsh beam of blue light. The flashes from the police car bounced off of the windows and walls, rendering the street a vibrant aquamarine colour against the cloak of night.
The criminal continued his plight, sprinting now to avoid his already sealed fate. As he sped up, so did the police car, and soon all was still and quiet again.
A familiar voice reached Connie's momentarily over-sensitive ears just when she needed reassurance of the real world, and it got closer as a pair of feet crunched down the garden.
"Con? Baby are you alright down there? I heard screechin' and sirens..." Jacob's concern was clear as he sprinted down to the end of the garden.
"Connie?! What happened?!" Jacob instantly bounded over to Connie and knelt down next to her quivering body. She was sitting up on the ground, shaking, falling naturally into his strong, waiting arms. His scent was wonderfully comforting; a combination of his crisp aftershave, the musty smell of coffee and an undefinable perfume which was unique to him.
"There was...a man and he was just so... But he's gone now...He didn't hurt me, he was just...there. But it's alright.., And I'm with you..." She whispered, trying to compose herself.
"You're always going to be with me darlin'- every second, ok? You just remember that,"
Seeing that this was calming her down he continued, trying his best to suffocate the burning fire of rage within him that appeared whenever Connie was threatened. Maintaining a calm voice he said
"If the man's gone then he's gone, we can worry about that another time. Right now we need to get you warm..."
"Jacob..." The brunette breathed the word, clinging to his body out of habit.
And in that moment he squeezed her tight and kept her warm and became her very own anchor to the world. She was safe.
Gently he pulled his head away to get a better look at her face, which was made to glow in the moonlight. Her pink lips curved up into a small smile as he softly cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her head up to look deep into her glistening eyes. The eyes had the intensity of someone who was trying so hard to be brave, but also the waver that came with uncontrollable fear. Brushing a stray lock of hair from her face, like he had done many times before, Jacob then whispered the single word he believed summed up the woman in front of him,
"Heavenly"