Thoughts
He could hear her breaths increase out of annoyance. His didn't falter, but his anger did grow.
"…You know, you're being a real ass right now."
"Right back at ya supergirl!"
"I can't help it if Chris needs me! He's my-"
And he slammed his phone down and rubbed his temples. Jake Muller was a wiseass of a hothead and he knew that very well. However, it was hard to stay mad at a particular person who probably knew him best.
Sure, they just met, but they were allies. Sure, they got along famously considering all the crap they experienced together. Sure, they were temporarily living together in a shabby rundown shack.
And sure, they were just friends.
DSO had ordered her to lay low until further notice after she made contact with Jake Muller in the Middle East of Jordan. Her newest mission, let the BSAA finish BOW business at the underground mines near the city of Al Jafr. Yet, here she was running around doing free lancing work and personal favors without letting the agency know for none other than-
"Fuckin' Redfield."
He can understand the personal favors from Leon; the older brother-slash-parent-slash-guardian type of person. But Chris Redfield?
"Its like he needs her for every damn mission for chrissake! His gorilla ass can take care of himself!" Jake shook his head and grabbed whatever was in the fruit basket. When the texture of the fruit caught him off guard he angrily searched for his fix. "Now there's no more apples in this joint!"
He looked out the window and noticed the horizon setting in once again. And his peripherals glanced at the untouched folded cotton blankets on the springy mattress. Sherry didn't come home last night, or even the night before that. Meaning she spent the nights with Redfield on the mission; two nights in a row and the third one awaiting at sundown.
Questions ran in and out of his head. Was he taking care of her? Making sure she slept well?
'Is she thinking about me?'
Jake Muller scowled at himself and grimaced at his subconscious question. Since when did he start thinking differently about Sherry Birkin? Why did he start to care more than he should have?
She was rude to him, stubborn as hell, bossy as a partner, and chatty like a monkey. But she was also protective, caring, witty… beautiful.
And that sweet smile he awed at…
"Argh!" Jake screamed out of embarrassment and tried to cool his hot head. "What the hell's wrong with me?!"
The feeling just dawned upon him; he liked her.
It was weird to realize what just happened. Sherry this… Sherry that. Sherry, sherry, she-
He jumped at the sudden ring on his phone. Jake collected himself from the 'mental breakdown' and grabbed it looking at the incoming caller
Speak of the devil.
"What?..." His greeting came out more harsh than it was supposed to; even though he was admittedly ecstatic to hear her voice.
"Don't answer like that you grouch! You hung up on me!"
"Yeah, yeah. Calm down. What's up?"
"You're angry at me. I wanna know why." She sighed and it honestly stung him.
"I'm not angry." He gritted his teeth to calm his nerves.
He heard the click of her tongue and she breathed out. "Jake…" The softness of her voice when she called his name sent chills down, his cheeks flushed, and he closed his eyes to soak up the chimed tone.
Alright he mentally admitted it; he loved the girl.
"…Sherry." Jake sat down against the wall and rubbed his head in frustration.
All he needed to hear was her voice, and he was okay. To hear that she was breathing, was calming enough. After a few seconds of listening to silence, he broke it.
"Later." Once again, he hung up bidding a goodbye. That 30 second phone call was soothing for the both of them. The sound of their names was heavenly coming from the other's mouth.
It was already midnight and she was still not home. He lit up the last two dusty candles and set it on the broken nightstand.
"Ah well. Going stag again tonight." There was one good thing about having the place all to himself. He got to sleep comfortably in his boxers. He threw his shirt, suspenders, pants, and all his gear on Sherry's bed. He even took her unused sheets and lined it on his bed for more comfort and warmth for tonight's cold weather. Jake jumped onto his springy and creaky mattress and laid his arms underneath his head. He glanced at the empty bed across the room and rolled his eyes accepting another dull night alone.
"Angels east. Angels west. North and south, just do your best. To watch and guide her while she rests ." He quietly pled and closed his eyes after he got tired of looking at the flickering candlelight from the end of the room.
Once he closed them, he found himself thinking about her again. But he was more in control and accepting of his feelings now, than earlier. He would rather deal with the emotions later, at least until he reached the states. For now, it was just a lingering fuzzy feeling that calmed him more than frustrate him.
The more he thought about the dilemma, the more he felt the need she should know.
Then he thought about the after effects of confessing.
"It'd be hell for her." He smirked at the thought of Sherry's blushing. Knowing her, she'd be shy and embarrassed.
Out of nowhere Jake felt an instinctive shiver. He vigilantly blew out the candles and crouched against the wall once he heard the unfamiliar creaks of the old wooden building. He wasn't alone anymore. There was an unknown threat making noise just a few feet away from him.
'Mission's been compromised?! B. found us?!' He felt the sweat run down his forehead out of pure adrenaline.
He scanned the room for his gun and cursed to himself when he stupidly realized he threw it somewhere on Sherry's side... along with the rest of his clothes. Jake listened intently to the sound of the footsteps and the doorknob rattling.
And when he heard the sound of the front door being busted open, he knew he was dealing with a hostile B.O.W.
'Christ… they did find us!' He balled his fists and cracked his neck, relying on his mercenary reflexes to kick in. He even heard the safety trigger being pulled back on the handgun. He saw the petite figure trudge towards the kitchen, gun in hand. His eyes adjusted to the minimal laser light and quickly focused on the dark figure's back.
The element of surprise was on his side. "You picked a bad night to carry out a mission jackass!" He hauled himself towards the threat and wrapped his arms around its body, preparing to overthrow it with his German Suplex.
Just when he lifted the B.O.W up in the air, he felt an elbow to the face and heard the gun drop and skid through the kitchen, hitting the wall.
"J-Jake!"
The red warmth sprung across his face once he felt the familiar body in his arms. "S-Sherry?!" He dropped her suddenly, and when he heard the thud of her body hitting the ground he froze in his place. She yelped at the collision with the floor and rubbed her bottom.
"Ugh… Geez, What's wrong with you?" She slowly sat up and wobbled to stand up.
"Sorry super girl. Thought you were a B.O.W. You shouldn't be sneaking around like that. Or even kicking the door open for that matter." He tried to coolly shrug it off.
"The door was locked. You never lock the door unless I'm home." There was a painful tone in her voice.
Jake grabbed her hand, seeing as she was struggling to balance herself. "The hell happened to you? Why are you easily staggering?"
She groaned and managed to lean her whole self on him. "I have a piece of shrapnel stuck in my ribs."
His eyes widened. "W-What?"
"L-Long story…" Sherry sighed and handed him a combat knife. "You need to get it out."
"I-I-I cant do-"
"Just do it." He helped her to his bed and she laid down. Her breathing slowed down when she locked eyes with him. He gently caressed the hair out of her face and nervously scanned her torso now wondering what else hidden wounds and damage she took in.
Of course she got hurt, but of course she healed herself.
"Redfield was supposed to take care of you, idiot!" He cursed and watched her unbutton her ripped bloodied shirt. Jake cleared his throat and slightly looked away from her bare stomach.
"Yeah well, he did. BSAA took him off the field on a stretcher after he absorbed most of the shrapnel to protect Jill."
"Jill?"
"His partner. It's a long story!" She miserably groaned again. "Are you going to help me or not?"
"Alright! Alright!" Jake lit up both the candles with the lighter and brought it at their bedside. "Just so you know, I'm no surgeon."
Sherry wept in pain again and just threw her shirt to the side, leaving her bra and bare stomach exposed. Jake just cleared his throat and shook off the mild stripping. "I regenerated too fast before I could take it out, so now its just residing there." She flopped back and squirmed on the bed.
He noticed the visible sharp lump in between her ribs and knew her smooth pale skin just blanketed over it. "Shrapnel's there alright." He rubbed his chin and grabbed the combat knife contemplating on exactly how to remove it without hurting her more.
Just seeing her in pain, pained him. Seeing her weep, made him weep inside too. "This is what you get for running around free lancing super girl." He quietly chided and lightly caressed her wound with his thumb.
Sherry shivered at his cold hands. "I wouldn't have gotten hurt if you joined in and stuck by me."
"I was listening to orders. Lay low."
"Since when do you listen to orders?"
He shook his head and chuckled. "Point taken." She crookedly smiled too and yet she frowned, biting her lip to take in the pain. "It hurts when I breathe and hurts more when I laugh! I cant take this torture anymore… Take it out!"
Jake took a deep breath and anxiously looked at her. "You need to try to stay quiet. B. roam these parts at night. Count to ten and it will all be over… okay?"
She nodded and placed her fist in her mouth, preparing for pain.
It pained him more to be the one hurting her, but it had to be done. And when he noticed her breathing sped up out of anxiety, he hesitantly bent down and planted a small kiss on a spot near the shrapnel wound. It seemed like the gentle thing to do to put her at ease. "You have to calm down Sherry…" She twitched at the abrupt action, but eventually she kept still and closed her eyes.
When she started counting, he started cutting. And she squealed out the rest of the numbers quickly
Lucky for him, the shrapnel poked out once he made the slit. He slipped it out of her ribs and watched her body close the cut and regenerate. Jake threw the shrapnel on the ground and watched her scream quietly.
He couldn't take the pain she showed, so he slapped her fist away and spontaneously kissed her. Jake's mind went wild when Sherry grabbed him closer and bit his bottom lip.
He finally broke the kiss to breathe. She breathed too and rested her forehead against his out of relief. "What are you thinking?" And that sweet voice he loved to hear was no longer in pain.
He raised a brow in confusion
"You were mad at me, then you scolded me, and then y-you… you kissed me." Her startled voice was very delicate and innocent. It just made him more crazy for her.
It was the perfect time to confess. Instead, he smirked and made a mischievous grin. "Kept you on your toes did I, super girl?"
"You seemed to enjoy it more. Besides, you're the one in an embarrassing position to be just in your boxers."
He was dumbfounded; but she was right about being at a disadvantage considering he forgot what he was wearing. "I thought you weren't coming home tonight, so I sleep in my boxers." He shrugged it off and turned around to save face. Although, it was embarrassing to be in boxers in the first place- he felt like an awkward school boy making a fool out of himself in front of his crush.
Sherry just grabbed his hand for the attention and he turned around, finding that she clutched her clean blanket and unfolded it to drape around herself on the bed. She then kicked off her boots and let them fall off the side and scooted to the far left to make room for another person. "Sleepy then?"
The first candle died out, minimizing even more of the lack of light and making it easier for Jake to display his red hot emotions out in the open. "Well, when you ask like that… yeah." He climbed in next to her and ignored all his morals and boundaries. Jake couldn't help it if Sherry needed his company. If anything, he craved for hers.
He laid out his arm for her as a comforting pillow and she gladly rested upon it.
"You missed me?" She quietly asked.
"Tch. Not really."
"Liar."
"Whatever." He scoffed and closed his eyes. The slumber kicked in when he felt Sherry's body radiating gentle heat against his chest. "Shut up and sleep already."
"Worried about me?"
"No."
"Admit it."
His lip twitched with playful annoyance at her blunt questions. There was no need to tell her how he felt if she already felt the same. It was just pure actions and body language that made him realize that. "Yes already. I was worried about you. Now go to sleep. Its late and I'm fuckin' tired. And you need rest."
She made a small chuckle and moved closer to him, snuggling in the nooks and crannies of his neck. He let out a chortle too and adjusted his sleeping position to fit Sherry's. "Its okay Jake. I was thinking about you too."