Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing! You guys make my day!
This is a Valentine's Day chapter, and I know its a little late, but it took me forever to figure out an ending. HUGE thanks to TeamBlaus4Ever for helping me with it! She's got an awesome Juice/OC story, you should check out!
This chapter is pure fluff. You've been warned.
This takes place during The Ortiz family's first Valentine's Day in Texas, just to give y'all a time line! ;)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Angela, Evie, and Jazzy
It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Chapter 49: Valentine's Day and the Goonies
By Love Ink
Kenny came home from football practice exhausted, though his mind was going into overdrive. He was well aware that Valentine's Day was that weekend. His first one with his girlfriend. They'd been dating for a few weeks now, and he wanted to make it special for Jasmine. He just had no idea what to do for her. Walking into the living room, he found Juice playing some video game by himself. He smirked; if anyone knew how to do Valentine's right, it had to be Juice. He and Angela were one of the closest couples he'd ever seen, so in love that it was disgusting. Juice had to have some good ideas for how to impress Jazzy on Valentine's Day.
He sat down on the couch next to him with a heavy sigh. "Hey Dad?"
Juice immediately paused the game without hesitation. It was something he loved about both of his adoptive parents; the second he wanted to talk, they dropped what they were doing to listen. "What's up, Ken?"
"Valentine's Day is comin' up 'n' it me and Jazzy's first and I…I don't know what to do," he managed to get out without turning completely red. "Any advice?"
He ran a hand over his face, grimacing. "Shit, its already that time, huh?" he asked on a sigh. "Flowers and candy is always good, I guess."
"Dad, it's the first one ever. Kinda want to impress her with somethin' more than flowers and candy," he explained on a frown. "Like what'd you do for Mama on your guys' first Valentine's?"
A smirk turned up the corner of Juice's mouth as he chuckled. "Oh. I took her to a nice restaurant, bought her roses, showered her in jewelry, took her on a moonlit walk on the beach. We kissed in the rain and fell asleep cuddled together in a blanket."
"Bull shit," Kenny muttered with a chuckle. "Ma doesn't like any of that shit. Maybe the beach part, but a nice restaurant when you first started out? You had tattoos on the side of your head! I doubt either of you would like goin' somewhere where all eyes are on you."
Juice chuckled and nodded. "Truth is, I totally forgot. Gemma reminded me so I rushed over to buy her a bracelet and some tiger lilies to surprise her at the funeral home. Turns out, she forgot too. We ended up goin' to the mall 'cause she needed to make a Victoria's Secret run and we…had some fun trying shit on at Victoria's Secret. Well, she tried stuff on, and I helped her take it off…if you know what I mean."
"Seriously? A quickie at Victoria's Secret? That's real romantic, Dad," he muttered wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"Hey, you asked," he quipped hands in the air.
"Okay, what about the second Valentine's Day?" he asked, hoping that would be more help. Juice shrugged a shoulder, his smile spreading like a Cheshire cat's. Kenny scowled in response. "Jesus. Again? Seriously?"
"What? It's a tradition!" he exclaimed, totally unashamed. "I mean, we do other shit too! One year we cooked dinner together…that ended up being a mess. Fun, but it ended up with pasta sauce like...everywhere."
"Is sex all you guys did?"
Juice shook his head slowly. "Nah. Your Ma is the best friend I've ever had. Yeah, we've had a lot of sex and its…phenomenal…"
"Gross," Kenny interjected, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"But," he continued undeterred by him. "But at the end of the day, she is still my best friend. Can't tell you the amount of times we just hung out, played video games, went for rides, and just...talked. She's never needed or asked for romance. We're happy just to be together. And that's what you should focus on with Jazzy. Just pick a cool spot where you can hang out and goof around and have fun."
He considered it for a moment, thinking of all the times he'd come home to see them just talking on the couch, the TV on mute as they laughed about something the other one said. "So besides having sex in public places…"
"Woah!" Angela exclaimed as she walked into the room, Evie in her arms. "Earmuffs, Eves!"
Evie quickly covered her ears, giggling as she did so. She wriggled out of her mother's arms, toddling over to Juice. "I play!" she exclaimed, pointing at the controllers.
"All right, Monk, c'mere," he said, kissing her cheek as he gave her a controller without batteries and settled her on his lap. He started the game, behind her back, making sure she was too enthralled with it to notice he was the one actually playing.
Angela smiled at the two of them, leaning over the back of the couch to kiss Juice's cheek then Kenny's. "Now, what the hell are you two talking about?"
"Ken wants to know what we do for Valentine's Day. He thinks all we do is…boink in Victoria's Secret," Juice explained with a smirk. "I was tellin' him how…boinking isn't all we do."
"Boink, boink, boink," Evie repeated, giggling as Juice started bouncing her up and down on his knee.
"No boinking for you 'til you're fifty," Juice said, tickling her sides and grinning as her laughter filled the room.
Angela laughed, shaking her head at them. "C'mon, Ken, help me set the table. We can talk some more. Our situation was a little different than yours our first Valentine's considering we weren't sixteen."
Kenny leaned over and pressed a big kiss to his little sister's cheek before getting up off the couch with a grunt. He followed Angela into the kitchen, smiling at the pizza boxes piled on the counter. "Pizza?"
"Mm-hm. My day to cook, and I'm tired. Had Dad call that place we like and order our favorites for me to pick up," she explained with a small smile. "So what's the plan for you and Jazz?"
"Definitely not having a quickie in Victoria's Secret," he told her, putting the placemats out. "I just want somethin' special. Dad said we should just hang out and have fun, but…is that enough?"
Angela shrugged a shoulder as she mulled it over. "Flowers don't hurt. Neither does jewelry or candy."
Kenny looked over his shoulder to make sure his Dad and Evie were still preoccupied before clearing his throat. "What about…what about you and that Mayan? What'd he do for you back in high school?"
She looked surprised for a moment before she laughed lightly. "Oh Esai was the typical dude. A dozen roses, fancy restaurant, chocolates…whatever he saw in the movies, he did."
"Did you like that?"
"When I was fifteen, yeah, I did. I was still in shock that he was giving me the time of day, much less taking me out places," she answered honestly. "It was nice. Showy and flashy, but nice."
He nodded slowly, trying to process it ad align it with her own plans. "Which did you like better? The quickies in a dressing room or the romantic dinner?"
"The romantic dinner was nice, but I would take a quickie in a dressing room with your Dad over a romantic dinner with Esai any day. It wasn't what we were doing that mattered it was who I was doing it with," she explained with a small smile. "I love Juice. He's my best friend. I honestly would rather embalm a body with him sitting in the corner, joking around and laughing with me than go out to the nicest restaurant for dinner with anyone else."
Kenny looked over to see Juice grinning behind her back, Evie perched on his hip. "See, Monk? Mama loves me," he murmured to his daughter, kissing her cheek. "Much more than the Mayan douche bag."
"Douche!" Evie repeated with a big smile.
"That's right, Monk," Juice exclaimed with a proud grin. "You're so smart, baby girl."
"Should you guys be encouraging that?" Kenny asked, looking between them as if they were crazy.
Angela shrugged a shoulder. "She doesn't know what it means yet. When she's older, we'll figure it out, but for now, its just a fun word to say."
"Whatever," Kenny muttered, still feeling a little lost about what to do for the holiday. "What do I tell Jazz about Saturday then? What are you guys doing?"
Her dark eyes locked on Juice's, and he winked at her. Kenny cringed at the look in their eyes; he knew exactly what they were going to do. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head at them. "Nevermind," he muttered, opening the pizza box and serving himself.
Angela got Evie settled in her high chair, giving a small piece of cheese pizza to Juice for him to cut into tiny pieces for her while she served them from the veggie pizza. "Well, what do you two like to do together?"
"We go to the movies a lot, hang out at the lake, the diner after games," he explained, hating how boring they sounded. Nothing like the passion his adopted parents had.
Juice's eyebrows perked up a bit as if he'd gotten an idea. "Movies, huh? What's her favorite?"
"The Goonies, actually," he answered on a smirk. "Followed closely by the Sandlot."
Angela grinned widely. "I knew I liked her."
Kenny looked pleased with her praise and sighed. "Was thinking of watching the movie with her some where. Dunno where, but it feels kinda lame. Its still a kids movie. Not really romantic."
Juice looked over at Angela, a small smile on his face as if some sweet memory was playing through his head again. "Goonies is one of my favorite too," he mused, rubbing at the black square tattooed on his arm. "Y'know, that movie is the reason I asked your Ma to move in with me."
Even Angela looked surprised to hear that. "Really?" she asked around a bite of pizza.
He nodded slowly, an almost embarrassed smile on his face as he looked down at his plate. "Yeah," he answered softly. "I um…you were stayin' at my place after what happened at Sack's wake 'n' I came home and you were on one of my ugly bean bag chairs watchin' the Goonies with a pizza in the oven just…hanging out. And I couldn't believe that out of all the channels I had, you not only found the Goonies, but you decided to sit and watch it too. And that's kind of when I decided that you were the right one for me. That no matter what, I wanted to keep you around, so I…asked you to move in with me."
Kenny glanced at Angela to see her staring at him in wonder, the love she felt for him written all over her face. "Seriously, goofy?" she asked around a laugh. "That's what made you decide to keep me around? The Goonies?"
"Yeah," he admitted, unashamed after her positive reaction.
"Why?" Kenny put in there, looking between them as if they were insane.
Juice shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno. It just...made everything click."
Angela smiled warmly at him, her hand reaching across the table for his. "Love you, goof," she said, squeezing his hand when he put it in hers.
Kenny groaned around his bite of pizza; his parents could be really disgusting when they wanted to be. "Still doesn't help me with Valentine's Day," he reminded them with a roll of his eyes.
"I got an idea. Just trust. I'll set it up," Juice told with a wide grin. "You just get her favorite food and somethin' sparkly. I'll handle the rest."
Kenny felt nervous as he drove his truck towards his Dad's office. Juice had let him in on some of his plans, but he still wasn't sure it was good enough. His mind was on overdrive, filled with frustration at not being able to give her what she deserved. A light laugh pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked over to see Jazzy's pretty eyes studying him. "You are thinking way too hard, Ken," she told him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "What is goin' on?"
"Nothin'," he said, giving her a nervous smile. "Just thinkin' about the game last night."
"Well, you did great," she stated as if she knew what she was talking about. "You helped score all the goals or whatever. It was brilliant."
"Points, babe," he corrected with a light laugh. "Goals are in soccer. 'less you're talkin' about field goals in which case…I don't do any of those."
Jazzy smirked, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. You didn't get hurt, so it was a good game in my book."
"My number one fan doesn't know how to play football," he muttered, shaking his head at her.
"Maybe that's why I'm your number one fan. I don't know when you're playing like shit," she teased, laughing when he reached over and squeezed her thigh. She slapped his hand away before grabbing it and weaving her fingers in between his. "I'm playin'. You know I love watching you on the field."
Kenny nodded, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. " 'course I do. Need you there. You're my lucky charm."
Jasmine grinned at him like she'd won the lottery. Her smiling face was so incredibly gorgeous, it took his breath away. "That's me," she said proudly. She turned in her seat to face him better an excited gleam in her eyes. "Oh my gosh. You'll never guess what Sadie just texted me."
He fought the urge to roll his eyes; Sadie was Jasmine's best friend and a total wild child at that. She was obnoxious and definitely not one of Kenny's favorite people. Mostly because she insisted on calling him 'Shrek'. "What?"
"So she works at Victoria's Secret and apparently, this couple walks in. Like almost old enough to be our parents aged. The dude goes straight to look at the sets while the lady hangs back, slips Sadie a fifty if she promises to get them a fitting room and to keep people out of the fitting area for like twenty minutes. The dude comes back with a ton of shit, pushes the lady to go in front of him and gives Sadie another fifty to keep people out. They go in and "try on" these uber expensive sets," she explained, using air quotes around 'try on'. "Sadie says she swears they had sex, but she didn't give a shit; she got a hundred bucks out of it, and whatever perks they get when they make a big sale 'cause this guy bought like five hundred dollars' worth of stuff! Crazy, right?"
Kenny grimaced in response; he knew exactly what couple she was talking about. His own parents. Juice had mentioned it was a tradition, but he'd never thought they'd do it this year. At least they got smart and bribed the sales girl, so they wouldn't get caught. "Yeah. Crazy," he answered flatly, not wanting to dwell on the…crazy sex life of his parents. He pulled into the parking lot of Juice's office, thankful it meant their conversation had to end. "So…here's your surprise."
She cocked her head to the side, staring at the big building. "Your Dad's office?"
"Yeah. Just…hold on," he said, getting out of the truck and running around to the other side. He opened the door for her, helping her get out of the high truck. She grinned up at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. He leaned forward and kissed her quickly. "You're beautiful."
Her grin widened as she grabbed his hand. "I love how you say that. You never say I 'look' beautiful, it's always you 'are' beautiful. I don't know many guys who do that."
"I dunno. Somethin' my Dad always says to my Ma," he explained on a shrug. He didn't know how many times he'd heard Juice tell Angela that. The only time he ever told her she 'looked' some way was when he said she looked 'hot'. "Anyway, c'mon...let's go."
He used the key card Juice had given him to let them in, raising an eyebrow when he saw the plastic gold coins on the floor; his Dad really went all out for this. "Think we're s'posed to follow these."
She grabbed his hand, tugging him down the hall as she followed the coins. He had to jog to keep up with her, feeling his heart skip a beat when her laughter filled the air. "Theater, huh?" she asked, reading the sign over the door where the coins led.
"Yeah," he said, opening the door for her. The theater was small, intimate, with bean bags instead of chairs. It was used to hot video game run throughs and epic games of Mario Kart. The menu for the Goonie's Blu-ray was playing on the big screen now, and he took pleasure in the look of awe on Jasmine's face when she saw it. "Your favorite right?"
"You remembered," she breathed, nodding enthusiastically. "I always wanted to see it on the big screen."
"I know," he said with a proud grin. "Got us some Hawaiian pizza and your favorite candy too. M&Ms and fresh popcorn."
Jasmine stared up at him in wonder. "Ken, this is amazing. You didn't have to do all this for me!" she exclaimed, dropping down onto one of the bean bags.
He threw himself down next to her. "I did. I really did," he stated, moving his arm around her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Jazzy."
She leaned up to kiss him, a soft, warm kiss that gave him butterflies. Pulling away, she nuzzled her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day, big guy."
Angela was just finishing drying the last plate when she felt his presence. After so many years together, she had a sixth sense for when he was nearby. It was like the minute he got close, a sense of calm washed over her, even if he was in another room. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feeling, smiling when she felt his arms slide around her waist. "Hey you," she greeted, leaning back into him with a content sigh. "Evie give you any trouble?"
"Nah. Read her a book, snuggled a bit, and she went to sleep," Juice replied, pressing a kiss to her neck as his fingers slid under the waist of her sweatpants to play with the waist of her panties. "She'll probably be screamin' for us in a couple hours."
"Probably." She smirked, tilting her head back to look up at him. "That Goonies story was really sweet, though. Think it really helped Kenny feel like his idea wasn't so stupid."
Juice chuckled, squeezing her softly. "It wasn't just a story, y'know. All that shit went down at Sack's wake with the bullets and your wrist, and everything was a little chaotic, and then I get home and you're sittin' there with food cookin' watchin' the Goonies, and I just thought…I wouldn't mind coming home to this every night for the rest of my life."
She turned around in his arms, lifting her hands to brush them over his cheeks. "You're such a mushhead. All romance with you, goof," she murmured, kissing him quickly.
"Nothin' says romance like a quickie at Vicky's," he teased, grinning like a fool when she laughed.
"And we didn't even get caught this time," she stated with a wicked smile, her nails dragging over the nape of his neck. He leaned in to kiss her again, a slow, lazy, hot kiss that she felt all the way to her toes. She'd been told once that the passion they had for each other would wear off eventually. That their "honeymoon" stage would be over once they got married and had kids, but it hadn't happened yet. She was still just as in love with him as she had been in the beginning. She moved her tongue into his mouth, enoying the warm, familiar taste of his mouth.
He leaned down, grabbing her thighs and lifting her up onto the counter. She laughed against his lips, wrapping her legs around his hips and pulling him in closer to her. Pulling away a little, he reached down to get something out of his pocket. "Got somethin' for you," he said, handing her the small jewelry box.
She raised her eyebrows at the ring box, watching as he opened it to reveal a gorgeous three-stoned diamond ring with a matching platinum band underneath it. A soft gasp left her lips. "Holy shit, Juice!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. "What..."
"I um...these are to...replace the ones you have," he explained, taking her left hand and playing with the ring she was already wearing. "This ring...the black diamond 'n' all...I gave it to you at the lowest point in my life. I'd just gotten the shit kicked outta me and we were in bed, and I kinda just did it. And the band...I mean, we were runnin' for a lives when I gave you that. When I see them, that's what I think about. They're not us anymore. I wanted to...to give you somethin' to...to represent our new life, y'know? The three stones are for me, Ken, and Eves, 'n' they're white this time 'cause we're done with all that dark shit we were into before. No more club, no more outlaw lifestyle. Just the three of us and Rigs. We're happy now, so I wanted the ring to kind of...resemble that."
A lump formed in Angela's throat at his words, and she swallowed hard to keep the tears at bay. "Baby, you didn't have to do this," she said, watching as he slipped her old rings off and the new ones on.
"I kinda did. You deserve so much more," he told her with a small smile as he looked at the new ring on her finger, seemingly pleased with the way it looked. "You like it? I ordered it from Tiffany's, so you know its good shit."
"Its beautiful," she replied, holding her hand out in front of her and watching the diamonds twinkle in the light. "I love it."
"Love you, Angel," he said, catching her lips in a soft kiss. "So much. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Love you too, goof," she murmured, kissing him again. She moved her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer as she deepened the kiss. His hands slid under her shirt, fingers teasing the lace cup of her bra as her fingernails raked over the back of his neck, a move that made him moan with pleasure.
"Jesus Christ!" a voice shouted from behind them.
Juice pulled away from her with a big grin. "That our son?"
She looked over his shoulder to find Kenny standing in the doorway, one hand over his eyes. "Yup. He's got great timing. Just like his sister," she answered, grinning at him. "Relax, Ken. We're both fully clothed this time."
"Thank God," Kenny muttered, dropping his hand from his eyes. He'd caught them going at it more than once both back in Charming and more recently in the laundry room in their new Texas house. He'd learned to knock before entering any room they were in together.
"How was your big date?" Juice asked, turning around and leaning back into her as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Good. She was…really happy about it," he answered, a warm, almost dazed smile on his face. "I gave her that Goonies bracelet from Etsy and she...her eyes got all bright and pretty and…yeah. She was really happy. It was...perfect. Watched the Goonies, then Sandlot, and then the Breakfast Club."
"Aww, our little Kenny's in love," Angela teased, rubbing her hands over Juice's chest. "Sounds like a perfect Valentine's Day."
The teenager rolled his eyes at her, but the smile on his face showed she wasn't far off. "Whatever," he muttered, staring down at his shoes. He looked up at them with a smirk. "Speaking of Valentine's Day, you guys know you both paid off the fitting room chick at Victoria's Secret?"
Angela's brows furrowed together in confusion. "What?"
"Yeah. Both of you. And I had to hear about it from my girlfriend who thought it was insane that two adults would pay someone off to let them have a quickie in the fitting room," he explained with a scowl. "Little did she know, those two adults were my parents."
"You paid off the fitting room girl?" she repeated, staring at Juice in disbelief.
"You did too!" Juice shot back, reaching back to squeeze her thigh.
Angela laughed, pecking his lips quickly. "Guess we're not as crazy as we used to be, huh?"
"Um…a quickie in a fitting room? Still crazy. Whether the lady was paid or not," Kenny pointed out on a smirk. "I'm goin' to bed. You guys…carry on, I guess."
"Love you, kiddo," Angela called out to him. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
He waved at them over his shoulder, continuing his trek up the stairs to his room. Once he was gone, Juice turned back around to face her. "You think we're doin' a good job with him?" he asked, his dark eyes honestly worried. "Know we're not the most…traditional parents…quickies in public places and all."
She laughed lightly, shrugging her shoulders as she considered the question. "I think so. He's doin' well at school, workin' at the garage, responsible, willing to help us with anything. He's a good kid. We're lucky. Teenagers tend to be real assholes."
"True," he agreed with a small smile. "Just want to do Ope and Donna justice, y'know. Raise their kid right."
Butterflies fluttered in Angela's stomach. The same ones she'd felt that very first time he'd smiled at her. God, she loved him. Loved how much he loved their family, their kids. Leaning forward, she gave him a lazy kiss. "I love you," she murmured, nuzzling her nose against his. "And their kid…our kid is happy, healthy, and safe. Who could ask for more?"
"Not me. This is everything I ever wanted," he told her leaning in to kiss her again. "Love you so much, my Angel."
Angela rolled her eyes at him, but smiled anyway. "Love you too, goof. Now, let's take this to the bedroom before our other kiddo wakes up and gets traumatized. Don't want to set a bad example for her."
Juice grinned at her, holding out his hand and helping her down off the counter. He wrinkled his nose a little as he thought of what she said. "She's never dating. Ever. She's going to be a nun."
"Whatever you say, goof," she said around a laugh, tugging him into their bedroom.
"I'm not kiddin'. Soon as she brings a boy home, I'm takin' her to the nearest convent. I swear it. Mark my..." he trailed off as he watched Angela pull her shirt over her head revealing a very lacy, very sexy red lingerie set. "Damn, baby."
She smirked at him, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning back a bit to accentuate the way the set made her breasts look. "You were saying?"
"You're beautiful," he murmured, climbing over her and catching her lips in a hot kiss. "You're beautiful 'n' I'm the luckiest man alive."
Angela grinned at him, her hands sliding through his hair. "Happy Valentine's Day, goof."
He stopped to smile at her, one of those bright smiles that had made her fall in love with him in the first place. "Happy Valentine's Day, Angel."
As always, let me know what y'all think! Any ideas/prompts/etc are welcome! I love hearing your thoughts and ideas!
Hope everyone had a very Happy Valentine's/Galentine's/Single Awareness day!
~Love Ink
