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Ship: Jack/Angela
Spoilers: 2x10 - "The Headless Witch In The woods"
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Angela watched as the scenery whizzed by her window. It was a gorgeous evening; there was the tiniest spattering of snow on the ground and everything sparkled.
D.C. was a beautiful city. It was normally full of life, but somehow still felt quaint to Angela. The architecture was breathtaking and the city had been thoughtfully laid out, with many open parks and green areas. In fact, despite the snow, many trees were still clinging to their share of greenery.
She watched as the 6 lane main thruway narrowed down to 4, and then eventually to 2. The street lights became farther and farther apart, but the architecture never stopped and the parks only became more dense. Modernized buildings gave way to old Victorian style homes, but under Angela's sleepy gaze it all shone with beauty.
She turned to look at Jack, resting her head against the seat. He was driving with one hand on the wheel, and his eyes focused on the road, but he shifted slightly and she knew he felt her eyes on him.
"Jack."
He glanced at her, but not right away. She didn't miss the moment he took to compose himself before looking her way.
"Yeah?"
"We're not going to sleep together tonight."
This time he didn't even spare her a look; too busy focusing on keeping his expression blank.
Angela faced forward again, sliding further down in the seat to find a comfortable position. She closed her eyes.
"I just thought I should let you know."
"Well, baby, you should know I'd be willing to put money against that." He replied, a hint of a smirk on his lips.
Angela did her best to suppress a smile. She'd never admit it, but she loved when he was cocky, even if she could see right through it.
"Wait. Angela, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. That was totally.. inappropriate."
She turned to look at him again and found him staring back, a touch of fear behind his eyes, all pretense of bravado gone. She allowed herself a soft smile and fought the urge to give him a hard time.
"I know."
It seemed like an eternity before he turned his gaze back to the road, gripping the wheel tight with both hands. They lapsed into silence again as he made the familiar turns to his home. Not long after they were pulling into the driveway.
After putting the car into park Jack sat back with a sigh.
"I can't believe I.. I mean.. Angela, you.. This is a lot more than just.. you know." He finally managed, roughly. When he looked at her then, she could see in his eyes what he couldn't put into words. Her heart jumped into her throat, and even if she'd known what to say her voice would have failed her.
At her silence Jack looked away. She watched as he fumbled to get his own door open, but despite his shakiness he was around to open her door for her before she was able to get herself together.
He stood outside the car, shoulders hunched against the cold, one hand resting on the door, the other jammed into a pocket. She made a move to get out, but Jack took a step closer, blocking her way. She looked at him questioningly and he held her gaze.
"I shouldn't have said.. what I said before, I know how you feel and I'm not going to push you. We're friends.. And, to be candid, I'll take whatever I can get. And now that I've said that I realize how presumptuous that must sound..""
"Jack.. Let's not tonight"
She reached out and gently laced her fingers through his.
"You don't have to say anything. We're just us and.."
"Angela, I care about you, a lot." He blurted, cutting her off.
She smiled, wanly and watched their hands. Jack was idly running his thumb across the back of her hand. Despite her own distraction and confused mind she could feel his gaze never move from her face.
"And I care about you. But we don't need to figure this out now, or tonight.. Not even tomorrow. There's already enough crazy stuff going on around us. What I said before about being friends.. Let's just be us and see what happens. Ok?"
"Ok."
She hadn't expected him to put up a fight, but she'd thought he might protest her vague 'go with the flow' philosophy. However, when she looked into his eyes, she saw he was right there with her; A little afraid maybe, but willing to leave caution to the wind in favour of where it may lead them. When he spoke again there was a touch of playfulness lacing his voice.
"Come on, let's get inside.. You never know what's lurking in the woods."
Angela glanced into the shadows around them and shuddered as the events of the day came back to her. She felt some of the bravado she'd been holding onto slip away from her. Jack helped her out of the car, and she let him wrap his arm around her as they made their way to the warmth of the house.
The city was quiet, and the snow sparkled. D.C. had its share of bad corners, but the everyday beauty more than made up for it.