Watching the birds fly high in the hot summer sky, Stephanie laid against the hard concrete of the roof and looked over to Jason who was sharpening his favourite knife. They had gone out the night before and patrolled the streets looking for a lead on a case. They broke into only a few places that had appeared on their radar over the last couple days. In one place Jason tried using his knife to open some sealed documents and when it didn't cut smoothly, Jason almost stabbed the next person he saw with it.
"I think I have her back to the way she used to be," Jason said, holding his knife up so the sunlight reflected off it, proud of his work.
"That's good, you can test her out soon," Stephanie replied, sitting up so she could look at Jason, the sun almost blinding her as she did so.
"We could always go out if you're up for it," Jason suggested, offering her a hand and pulling her to her feet.
"I would love to go out but I have a paper due in two days and I haven't finished it yet," Stephanie replied, pouting slightly.
"Are you sure you're up to heading back to class?" Jason asked, concerned.
"I think if I don't go back I may end up deferring for a year and I can't do that," Stephanie replied, feeling Jason cup her face softly.
"Steph, you were tied up and tortured by the man who killed you once already. You were screaming in your sleep last night, begging for it to stop, I think you should take some time to forget about school and focus on yourself. I don't want to see you burnt out," Jason said, knowing that Stephanie needed to hear it from someone who cared about her deeply.
"If I take some time to focus on myself I don't think I'll be able to do it," Stephanie admitted, knowing that Jason wouldn't judge her.
"How about for tonight we focus on relaxing. I can run you a bubble bath, we can order in Chinese, and we can watch a movie, I'll even let you pick which one," Jason replied, willing to do almost anything for her.
"You have bubble bath?" Stephanie questioned, not having noticed it.
"It's under the sink, hidden behind the first aid kit," Jason admitted, not looking at Stephanie.
"I find that adorable," Stephanie smiled, wrapping her arms around Jason's neck.
Picking Stephanie up with ease, Jason placed a tender kiss on the end of her nose and carried her down the stairs and to his safe house. "I just had a thought, do you want to go to the nature reserve and go swimming in the swimming hole?"
"That actually sounds like a good idea, it's hot and I haven't been swimming in ages and I'd love to go," Stephanie replied, deciding to take care of her mental health over her studies for once.
Heading into the bedroom, Stephanie dug through her clothing until she found her swimsuit. Pulling the purple item of clothing out from the bottom of the pile, she shook it out and gave it a once over. Noticing Jason enter the room, she gave him a smile before pulling off her shirt and changing into her swimsuit.
"I'm gonna grab us some snacks and water, do you want anything in particular?" Jason asked, already having changed into his swimwear.
"Not really," Stephanie replied, heading out of the bedroom and to the linen press.
Gathering everything he thought they needed for a trip to the local swimming hole, Jason packed it all into two different bags and smiled at Stephanie, noticing she was ready to leave. Heading down to the car, Jason popped the trunk and put the bags inside before getting into the driver's seat and getting them on the road, the air conditioning on max.
Blasting music as they drove down the long roads to get to the swimming hole, Jason and Stephanie sang along to Jason's secret playlist of Disney songs as large trees passed them and the road turned to dirt. Pulling up to the makeshift parking lot that everyone used, Jason parked the car and popped the trunk.
Getting out of the car, Stephanie pulled their towels and two bottles of water out of the bags and handed them to Jason. Closing the trunk, they found a spot on the grass to leave their belongings and set up their towels. Looking around, Stephanie noticed that there were no other people around even though there were a few other cars parked around them.
"Shall we go test the water?" Jason asked, tucking his phone under the towel.
"Let's go," Stephanie replied, taking the hand offered to her.
Heading down the small slope onto the small patch of sand, they walked around the large rocks and stood at the edge of the water.
Letting go of Stephanie's hand, Jason walked into the water and let out a sigh of relief as he felt the coolness around his body. Turning around in the water, he looked at Stephanie and smiled. "Come on in, it's beautiful."
Entering the water, Stephanie dove under it and swam over to Jason, coming up in front of him. Standing up on her tippy toes so her head was above the water, she felt Jason's strong arms hold her as he lifted her up. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
Wickedly smiling at Stephanie, Jason dunked them both under the water and swam them out a bit further. Letting go of Stephanie, he broke the surface of the water and swam a little bit further out. Noticing Stephanie raise an eyebrow at him, she took her time and swam over to him, stopping just far enough away to splash him for dragging her under the water.
Dodging the water that Jason splashed back at her, she innocently smiled at him and tilted her head. "Race ya to the flat rocks!" she said, swimming away, leaving Jason on the spot.
Shaking his head as he watched Stephanie swim away, Jason dived under the water and came up close to her, swimming as fast as he could. Easily overtaking Steph, he took long strokes and made it to the other side of the swimming hole in just over a minute. Standing on one of the deeper submerged flat rocks so only his shoulders were visible, Jason watched as Stephanie swam over to him.
Reaching out, Jason pulled Stephanie into his arms and kissed her, enjoying the feeling of Stephanie's soft lips against his own. Gently breaking the kiss he rested their foreheads together and closed his eyes.
"Thank you," Stephanie softly whispered, feeling herself relax into Jason's embrace.
"Any time; anything for you," Jason replied, placing a gentle kiss on Stephanie's forehead.
Turning in Jason's arms, Stephanie felt him lean up against one of the smooth rocks behind him. Relaxing into his embrace, Stephanie felt him hold her just that little bit closer as they watched the water softly rippling as colourful birds flew overhead, landing on the branches of the large trees around them.