Honestly, you weren't entirely sure how you had ended up like this, face pressed so close to Jason's mask that you could see your own breath pluming across its surface. One moment you had been laughing, launching yourself into his arms as he hooked an elbow around your waist - and the next, one wrong step had sent you both tumbling to the ground.
Jason's breathing was ragged, chest rising and falling against your own. His broad, muscular body had broken your fall but now here you were, trapping him beneath you. Well, you were certain he could simply toss you off of him if he wanted; but he hadn't moved an inch. For that matter, neither had you.
This was possibly the closest you had ever been to him, the closest he had ever let you be to him, and you didn't want it to end. You stared at him with wide eyes, lips parted in a soft oh as you shifted on top of him. Your legs were beginning to go numb from the awkward way they were tossed across his hips. Straddling him. You didn't care.
Your hands inched upward, toying with the neckline of his grey t-shirt. There was a sliver of skin showing, pale in the dim light, between t-shirt and mask. His skin was always so warm, soft despite his line of 'work'. Slowly your hand travelled up, trailing across his shoulder, his collarbone, his neck.
Jason watched you through lidded eyes, a sigh escaping his hidden lips. It wasn't until your exploring hand reached the edge of his mask that he froze up, his own hand snapping up to stop you. Even then, he was so gentle.
"May I?" you whispered.
You expected refusal, of course, but your heart still plummeted as he turned his face away. Jason scrambled to his knees and you slid from him, the floor cold even beneath your jeans.
He stood - and you stood too, eye level barely reaching his broad chest. Jason never spoke - yet he didn't need to. The tense way in which he held himself, the tilt of his head that made eye contact impossible. It spoke volumes.
You had seen Jason tear the limbs from victims, seen him blood splattered and enraged, and it had never made you bat an eye. But this, seeing him so vulnerable, it hurt. Without thinking you reached out a hand, cupping his cheek - Jason flinched, but allowed the contact. "I won't judge, you know," you murmured. Then, standing on your toes, you pressed a kiss to his mask.
He relaxed then, shoulders slumping as he leaned into your touch.
You smiled, heart swelling with love. Yet you couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to kiss him properly. "I love you," you murmured against the cold mask, "you know that, don't you? Whatever you're so afraid to show me, I'll love that part of you too."
His hand twitched, perhaps to reach out to you, before dropping heavily back to his side. For a moment the two of you just stared, not quite meeting each other's eyes. Then Jason turned to you, his one visible eye downcast. Large hands made a sweeping motion toward his face, gesturing for you to… close your eyes?
Anxiously, you obeyed. Eyes fluttered close, heart skittering in your chest. You knew what was coming, had longed for it for so long - yet with your deepest desire within grasp you found your pulse quickening. You supposed many people would have built up an image in their mind, would have a - probably inaccurate - mental picture. You never had. Jason was just - well, Jason.
But as you heard the click of his mask unlatching and the quiet shuffle of nervous feet, your breath hitched.
A tap on your shoulder told you he was ready. You gave him a moment to step back, heart aching to see him, and your eyes fluttered open.
The mask sat on the coffee table in the corner, Jason's face on full display. Yet even still he tried to hide from you, head tilted away, calloused hands covering the right side of his features. When you stepped forward he scrambled back, a little gasp caught in his throat.
Gentle, oh so gently, you pried his hands from his face. One hand stayed laced with his while the other cupped his cheek, turning him to face you. He simply huffed in response, finally allowing you to see him in full.
The left corer of his lip pulled upward, a deep crevice revealing uneven teeth. Yet it wasn't his left side that caught your attention but his right, where almost every inch of skin seemed marred. His right eye milked over, either by cataracts or damage you couldn't tell. When his gaze shifted to you, that milky white eye didn't move in time with his right. The entire left side of his face was misaligned; blind eye sitting lower than the other, his jaw jutting to one side in a considerable underbite. He didn't even have an ear; just a mess of overgrown cartilage.
You couldn't deny that Jason was an… acquired sight. But God, he was gorgeous.
Jason twitched under your gaze, eyes downcast as if waiting for rejection. Yet he didn't pull away when you reached up to ghost a hand across his cheek. Instead he smiled, twisted lips curving in a way that didn't seem possible.
Your own lips tugged into a smile as you leaned in close. It was making him uncomfortable - this affection, this closeness - but you couldn't take your eyes away from him. "I love you," you murmur again, lips pressing to his jaw, "I love you, and I love your face, and I'm so grateful that you trust me enough to let me see you."
He was shaking under your gentle touch, shoulders hunching as he wrapped his enormous frame around yours. You thought he might have been holding back tears - but Jason never cried, so you gave him the benefit of pretending not to notice. Instead you looped one arm around his waist, tugging him close to pepper kisses across his face. You started with his neck, giggling as he squirmed under your attention. Before long your attentive touch moved to his jaw, travelling across the expanse of marred skin.
Finally you let your kisses wander to his twisted lips. He flinched at first, tensing up, but as soon as you huffed out a little sigh he melted.
His lips moved in tandem with your own, skin so soft despite the way it looked. You could have lost yourself in his embrace, soaking up his warmth. You pushed closer, desperate for his touch as you deepened the kiss. His inexperienced showed in his awkward movements, teeth bumping against yours - but it was perfect.
When you caught his bottom lip between your teeth, Jason whined. Such a tiny sound from such an enormous man caught you off guard and you giggled against his mouth - but soon enough his arms were around you. Pulling you closer, desperate to feel you against him.
By the time you broke away, your cheeks were flushed crimson. A laugh escaped you and for a moment you were left reeling. Even better was the sight of Jason, grinning so broadly as he held you close. You reached up to brush a hand across the left side of his face, wishing you could stare at him all day.
After a moment he snapped back to reality - and he must have remembered he was still on display because he reached for the hockey mask still lying on the coffee table, movements flustered. There was panic in his eyes - panic that only dimmed when you caught his hand in yours.
"You don't need that around me," you assured gently, "I won't stop you, but do you think you could keep it off? Just for a while?"
His hesitance was clear, brows furrowed - but then he nodded, the mask dropping back onto the table with a dull thud.
"Perfect," you murmured, reaching up for another kiss.