"What are you doing, Beth?" Jack asked as he saw her hunched over a canvas.
"Nothing," was Beth's reply.
"Uh-huh, sure. Let me see," Jack said as he tried to see what she was doing.
She pulled the mask off her face and said, "Jack, it's not finished yet and it looks like shit."
"No, it doesn't," Jack said. He stole a glance at the drawing, and Beth raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" she asked.
"Really," he said with a smile. He decided to not disturb her and went back inside. What's she doing with the graffiti? he thought. A few hours later, he caught sight of it in the garage of the apartment that he and Beth shared.
He stared at it for a moment, registering what it was. The graffiti depicted him and Beth holding each other against the Monarch tower. He had his arms around her waist and she had hers around his neck. Fitting, given what we've been through.
"Ahem!" Jack jumped and spun around, coming face-to-face with Beth. "I told you not to look," she said, a little irritated.
"Sorry, but I wanted to see what you did. It's great."
"Yeah, sure."
Jack took a step closer to her and held her hands in his. "No, I'm not. It's great, I mean it."
Beth rolled her eyes, and Jack went even closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his. Jack gazed into her eyes and loved how blue they were.
The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. "You're so beautiful, Beth."
Beth blinked, but didn't say anything. She closed her eyes and leaned into Jack a little more. Jack brushed his nose against hers and pressed his lips to hers, savoring her taste. He smiled after he pulled away.
To his surprise, Beth smiled too. He felt her fingers curl in his hair and pull him down for another kiss, this time longer, but no less loving and gentle. They parted after what felt like an eternity, and Jack felt like his heart could burst.
"Do you want to get lunch?" Beth asked.
"Sure," Jack said. They parted and walked out the garage, holding hands as they did so.