Pairings: Jack Atlas x Carly Nagisa
Timeline: Slightly AU but post-ending of 5D's
Warnings: Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5D's
Authors Note: These two give me a lot of feels, especially considering how poorly their relationship was handled season 3 onwards.
They've been living together for three weeks now and the stacked boxes along the walls could attest to that. When they found this place, they both agreed to keep Jack's bed but Carly's sofa. The rest they really didn't care about. Still, both of them had to admit after fitting all the boxes into their decently sized apartment, they still had way too much crap.
Carly had very few sentimental belongings and those she did have, she refused to give up. Jack wasn't much different. Carly suggested they get a storage pod and Jack argued that those 'pod' people couldn't be trusted. She reminded him they could just as easily be robbed here. Jack remained firm on his stance and they haven't brought it back up in the last few weeks. Maybe it was easier to just ignore the problems; it wasn't healthy, but it was easy.
And at this moment, Carly would do anything to keep things light between them. Jack had been resistant to the idea of moving in together even though they've been dating for four years. Carly blamed her time as a Dark Signer entirely.
Carly set the coffees down on the cluttered table, strategically placing Jack's mug between a stack of cards and his helmet. She made sure to put her own mug far enough away from his cards so Jack wouldn't peek at her out of the corner of his eye to make sure she wouldn't spill. Although she knew he was more concerned about the potential burns she could inflict on herself, it was still amusing to watch him snag whatever was closest to her whenever she fumbled slightly.
"There's a tournament coming up," he informed her, sorting through a stack of cards in his large hands. "Thank you," he added, almost as an afterthought.
She smiled, placing her hands on her knees and leaned against his side. He glanced at her, a tender smile pulling at his lips, before returning his eyes to the cards. She read the cards as he flipped through them, a semblance of memory flickering alive when she saw Changing Destiny. Her hands squeezed her knees, and she hoped he didn't notice how white her knuckles were.
Suddenly, Jack set his cards down, gripped Carly's shoulders and pulled her into his embrace. Feeling the effects of whiplash, she dizzily put her arms around his neck and when she tried to look at him, he only held her tighter. Once her head ceased spinning, she was acutely aware that he was shaking.
"Jack?"
He pressed his lips against her collarbone, his hot breath warming her through the layers of cotton. He didn't say anything at first but when he finally found his voice, it was quiet, hesitant and so unlike him.
"I love you, Carly," he muttered, his fingers tightening in the fabric of her shirt.
She's been so good at keeping the truth from him these past years, that one day she was bound to slipup and accidentally reveal it all. Today was that day. "I'm glad I got to hear those words again," she whispered, her lips brushing against his earlobe.
Jack tensed and Carly's slipup reverberated in her mind. His arms slowly fell away from her, and he backed up slightly. His eyes were wide, maybe a little horrified but right at the exterior of his expression, anger overcame his shock.
"What did you just say?" his voice was clipped.
Carly averted her eyes, staring at the black TV screen. "Ha ha, what are you getting so upset about Jack? Honestly…" Shit, shit, shit! These last few years that they've been dating, he's been so careful around her, keeping his emotions at bay all because he thought she didn't remember her time as a Dark Signer. And now she's gone and blown it. Why she just didn't admit it outright in the beginning was a mystery to her.
He gripped her chin, firmly but not hard enough to hurt her or keep hold of her if she jerked her face away. She let him force her to look into his eyes. The anger, hurt and betrayal swirling in his violet gaze should hurt her.
"Carly…" Jack didn't have to say more. Tears bubbled in Carly's eyes and before she realized it, they were wetting his fingers. His eyes softened, just a tad and he gently removed her glasses. His thumb brushed over her cheek. "Why are you lying to me?"
"I—I… Jack I…" she swallowed her sob. "I remember everything about being a Dark Signer." He didn't move his hand but his thumb was frozen in place.
"What do you mean you 'remember' everything?" he growled.
She folded her hands in her lap and tried not to wince when his hand fell away from her cheek. She didn't take her eyes off his face, however, a feat she chalked up to adrenaline. "When I was resurrected, I saw the way you looked at me. It wasn't hard to notice, to be honest. You didn't even hold me. I knew right then and there that if I told you I held all my memories of being a Dark Signer, you push me away further to protect me. So I lied. It wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done in my life but… Jack if I hadn't lied to you, you know you would've pushed me away."
His eyes fell away from her face. Her heart clenched and her stomach twisted so violently she thought she might be sick. "I might not have…" was all he could choke out.
"I guess you're right," Carly lamented, grasping his chin, replicating his hold from a few minutes ago. "But we'll never know. We both did stupid things to keep the other person from getting hurt and all I can say is I'm truly sorry for lying to you this whole time Jack."
His eyes wavered and Carly's stomach plummeted. She wasn't used to seeing him so vulnerable and she wasn't going to leave it like this. "Did you… were you lying that time?"
Hurt flickered across her face but the rational part of Carly reminded her that he was hurting too – she did that and probably did deserve his question. "Jack Atlas, I may have lied to you about my memories as a Dark Signer but let me tell you the absolute truth of the matter. I have and always will love you and I'm so sorry I've lied to you for so long." Gathering her courage, or what was left of it, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. It took him a moment to reciprocate but when he did the kiss turned passionate, leaving them both light-headed and gasping for air. Carly breaks the kiss and bumped their foreheads. "I love you, Jack, and nothing will ever change that."
Jack remained quiet for a long moment before he hauled Carly onto his lap. She squeaked from the sudden motion and quickly manoeuvred her leg to straddle him.
"That damn well better not change," he said, his voice rough and deep. "Don't think I've forgiven you yet."
Carly furrowed her brow. "Jack?"
He smirked, placing his warm hands on her hips and rolled her into him. She knew then – how could she have missed it? – that he was growing painfully hard. She wasn't sure how much of her skin wasn't red at this point.
Leaning forward, he peppered kisses along her flushed skin until he reached her ear. He nibbled on her earlobe and she figured her heart might explode and she'd turn into a messy pile of goo any minute.
"I guess you'll just have to make it up to me," he groaned, jerking his hips to emphasize his point.
Instead of letting her answer, he covered her lips with his own. It was about time to christen the apartment, after all.
… Well that happened. I liked it ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I've looked over this about a hundred times mulling over whether or not to publish it and here we are lol.
~Emerald~
