Elliot was watching him when he woke up and they both smiled groggily.
"'Morning," JD yawned.
"Morning," Elliot repeated softly.
JD stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes then let his arm fall against the mattress and just watched her.
In the morning light, the disarrayed threads of Elliott's hair glowed around the edge of her silhouette. As she tucked the stray hairs away behind her ear and held the sheets in place across her chest, JD couldn't help but think she was beautiful. She had no makeup on, her eyes were puffy, but there was no one else in the world that JD wished to be there right then.
They were finally, finally, finally back together again. Elliot had realized, yet again, that JD was the right guy for her. It was hard playing the role of just-friend when she went through one boyfriend after another but the moments like this when they were actually together made up for it.
Life had been bleak for JD lately and it was wonderful to finally have one part of his life in the right place, even if everything else was beginning to fall out from underneath him. Since Carla and Turk had announced their engagement, JD rarely saw Turk. Things had been strained beforehand as their relationship went from casual to serious, but when Carla had finally accepted Turk's proposal, the dynamic had changed dramatically. Some small part of JD had come to resent them both. It was an extremely small part of him, a bitter little boy pouting in some corner of his mind that he scolded for immaturity, but it was there.
None of that mattered in the slightest as JD stared into the eyes of the girl of his dreams on an early Tuesday morning.
"Mmm," JD half moaned, half chuckled.
"What?" Elliot asked.
JD leaned in closely and kissed her before pulling back and sighing, "I was just thinking that there's nothing I'd rather do than just lie here and watch you, but I'm starving."
Elliot laughed, "Yeah, me too."
"All right," JD grunted as he got up and out of bed. He picked up his T-shirt from the floor and put it on as he walked into the kitchen. Elliot gathered the bed sheet around her shoulders and followed and took a seat at the kitchen island.
"The specials of the day," JD said grandly as he opened cabinets and looked around, "Are…oatmeal…a can of black olives…" he stooped to look inside the fridge and pulled out what looked like an old carton of Chinese food.
"Or whatever the hell this is," he continued as he opened the container and gave it an apprehensive sniff. He winced, gagged and then added, "Or might I suggest Cocoa Puffs? They are the chef's specialty."
Elliot pretended to tap her chin in thought then answered, "Well, since it is the specialty."
"All right!" JD chuckled as he went rummaging through the cabinets and drawers, "Good choice."
He placed the bowls, spoons, milk and box of cereal on the counter and sat down himself. Elliot watched as he furrowed his brow with childish concentration as he poured his own cereal. He caught her and asked, "What?"
"Nothing," Elliot replied, "It's just – I really missed you. I missed this," she gestured, "You know?"
"Yeah," JD agreed, passing the box of cereal to her and grabbing the milk carton.
"I mean, it just always feels like we're just skirting around the inevitable," Elliot continued as the brown puffs tinkled against the bottom of her own bowl, "The whole world is always going in these big circles but it always seems to come back to the same things, doesn't it?"
"Uh-huh," JD choked through a mouthful of food.
Elliot looked up and shook her head to herself.
"What?"
"You're such a dork," Elliot smiled, "Here I am trying to tell you something important and you're not even listening."
"I am too," JD contradicted seriously, "And I know exactly what you mean. The thing is: you've got no idea how important this is to me. I really needed this; I really needed you."
JD leaned across the kitchen island and gave Elliot a slow, soft, silent kiss. When JD opened his eyes again, Elliot was staring at him, speechless and pink in the ears.
Their gaze was broken when a knock at the door startled them both. Elliot gave JD a questioning look and he got up to answer it.
He undid the lock, opened the door and was gob smacked. He couldn't even quite remember the man's name for a second, he was so out of place. But Elliot did.
"SEAN!"
JD bounced to the side as a whir of blonde hair and bed sheet lunged passed and humped onto the man standing outside the door. There was a chorus of shrieks and laughter that soon gave way to silence as Elliot and the man at the door stopped to stare at one another then tore at one another with violent kissing.
JD felt his face go limp and the rest of his body go numb.