This definitely was not how Jake had imagined his leave.
He had imagined that he would be with Javy - maybe in Texas, maybe somewhere else - getting drunk for a full two weeks and seeing where their debauchery would take them. During these times, he was a creature of habit, often going back to the same places, drinking the same beverages, and pulling the same lines on the girls who came flocking.
But here, laying in bed with Natasha tucked under his arm and curled against his chest? This was perfection.
He had been awake for several minutes, running lazy circles on her back with his fingers as he watched her sleep. They had spent the early hours of the morning talking and laughing, wrapped in each other's arms. Had he ever considered that Phoenix may be a cuddler? Not a chance. But man, was it a great surprise.
One week. No titles. No long-term commitment.
Those three simple statements rang in his head. He had easily agreed to them on the spot, anxiously optimistic that she had even considered the idea - but now that the sun was up and the alcohol was mostly out of his system, he found himself wishing that he could have said more.
A quiet voice from his side interrupted his thoughts. "Stop touching me," Natasha grumbled, sleepily swatting at his chest before she rolled to her other side. "Try'na sleep."
Jake bit down on his lip in an attempt to stop his laugh before it started. Instead, he let a grin form as he leaned over and gently pressed his lips on her temple. "I'm going to go make some coffee," he murmured into her ear, to which her only response was a grunt.
He slowly stood up from the bed and grabbed his discarded shirt from the floor. He slid the article back on as he opened and closed the door to the bedroom, careful to not make too much noise. He could smell fresh coffee as he walked down the stairs - as he turned the corner from the hallway into the living room, he was met with the bright, slightly judging eyes of his sister.
"G'morning, Natalie," he smiled, walking past her towards the kitchen.
"Jake," he could hear her smile in her voice.
He poured himself a cup of coffee and glanced at the clock. It was only eight-thirty, meaning he had managed to get about four and a half hours of sleep. Now that he thought about it, it may have been the most sound he had slept for as long as he could remember.
"Earth to Jake, come in." A soft knocking sensation on the side of his head brought him back to reality as he turned to face Natalie, standing next to him and grinning wide behind her coffee cup.
"Sorry, you were saying?" He smiled before raising the mug to his lips, drinking nearly half the cup. The warmth and the caffeine felt fantastic.
"Just asking how your night was last night."
"It was quite pleasant, thank you for asking. How was taking care of dear Sarah?"
"No, I'd rather talk about your night." Natalie set her cup down and pressed her elbows onto the countertop, leaning forward to rest her chin in the palms of her hands. "I take it that your talk with Natasha went well."
"It was… productive."
"That's the word you're choosing to use? Productive?"
"Would you rather I tell you that my romantic sentiments made her panties fall off?"
Natalie's nose wrinkled. "Too much information, Jake."
"I won't tell you that because it didn't happen." He laughed and took another long sip of his coffee, turning away to pour more.
"What didn't happen - your romantic sentiments or her panties falling off?"
"The latter," he grinned wide as he turned back. "In case you're unaware, I am a gentleman and don't sleep with people on the first date."
"But haven't you already slept with her?"
"That -" he pointed a finger at his sister, "- was a technicality. We weren't together then."
"And you're together now?"
"Kind of?" He shrugged one shoulder. "We agreed to see where this week would take us but, and I quote, 'No titles, no long-term commitment.'"
"But you want those two things," Natalie's voice was quiet.
Jake sighed. "I can find a way not to want them if it comes down to it."
"I just don't want you setting yourself up to get hurt," Natalie reached for her mug and took a sip. "It's been a long time since I've seen you like this."
"Like what?" He teased gently.
"Like a lovesick fool."
Before he could respond, Natasha's tired voice drifted from downstairs. "Is there still coffee down there?"
"You bet there is. Come down and grab some," Jake called back as he moved to grab another cup from the cupboard. He added a splash of cream to the bottom before filling the rest with coffee and slowly turning back toward the counter. "You better hurry or else I'm going to drink it myse–"
He felt his voice catch in his throat as he watched her turn from the hallway into the living room, making her way to the kitchen. He had always thought that she was beautiful, but this was a sight to be seen - especially when he recognized the shirt she was wearing.
He hadn't seen the shirt in years; it had been one of his favorites until it fell victim to multiple bleach stains. Jake had easily shrugged it off and simply bought another one - shirts supporting the University of Texas were not hard to come by - and the ratty, stained shirt had fallen off his radar. But he could recognize the distinct bleach patterns against the burnt orange anywhere, and the fact that she was wearing it was enough to make every inch of him quiver.
Holy shit.
All it took was one look at her to recall all of the sensations from earlier that morning. He could still feel the way that her body pressed against his, their mouths smashed together as they fumbled up the stairs to her bedroom. He felt goosebumps on his arms as he thought about her hands sliding under his shirt, her nails gently raking against his skin as she moved to pull the article of clothing over his head.
"I…" His voice faltered, his mouth suddenly dry. Natasha stopped walking and raised an eyebrow. "You good, Seresin?"
It took him a moment to respond. "Coffee." He thrust his arms out to hold the mug out to her, liquid close to spilling over the edges. "For you."
Natasha's look of confusion only grew. "Thanks," her response was slow as she stepped forward to grab the mug out of his hands. "I'm going to take this upstairs. Bob should be calling me any moment."
"Uh huh," Jake nodded his head, a little too quickly. Way to be smooth, you fucking idiot, his mind was cackling at his reaction.
"You're so weird," Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pursed. And just like that, she turned and walked back to the hallway, the sound of her feet on the stairs filling the quiet kitchen.
"Oh my god," Natalie whispered, and Jake nearly jumped out of his skin. For just a moment, he had forgotten she was there. "You're so whipped."
"Tell me something I don't know," he responded, slowly shaking his head.
He rapped his knuckles softly on the door to her bedroom about half an hour later. When there was no response from behind the door, he slowly cracked it open and peered in. Natasha was lying stomach-down on the bed, her phone propped up against a pillow. She was in the middle of a sentence - obviously, her conversation with Bob had gone longer than he thought it would - when her eyes slid from the screen to the man in the doorway. After a moment, she smiled softly. "We were just finishing up. Come over and say hi."
Relief spread through his entire body at her statement as he stepped toward the bed. He wasn't sure why - he had met Bob before; Hell, he even liked Bob. He was an insanely talented WSO and had earned his respect a long time ago, even if Jake refused to act like it half the time.
He finished the approach and leaned down to look at the screen. A smiling woman with blonde hair greeted him with a wave. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name," her voice was airy and light. "It's nice to meet you, Jake. I'm Christina."
Next to her was Bob, who looked nearly unrecognizable with a week's worth of stubble. His lips remained tight, and Jake could feel his hard stare through the screen.
"The pleasure is all mine, Christina," Jake let a smile creep across his face before his eyes shifted back to Bob. "Floyd."
"Seresin."
"We won't keep you guys. Nat mentioned that it's your last full day in Texas and I'm sure you have plans," Christina interjected, laying a hand on Bob's shoulder. Jake did his best to not stare at the gleaming, large diamond ring on her finger. "We have a doctor's appointment in an hour to find out the gender. We were supposed to find out a few weeks ago, but, y'know -" she leaned in to whisper, " - Bobby had a secret mission." She used air quotes with the last two words, and a hard laugh escaped both Natasha and Jake.
"You'll let me know?" Natasha asked, hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide the laughter.
"You'll be our first text," Bob confirmed, a smile finally spreading across his face for the first time since Jake had arrived. "We'll talk to you guys later."
His eyes moved across the screen, and Jake weirdly felt like the WSO was trying to tell him something. What that something was, he wasn't quite sure.
"Good to see you, Bob." He nodded his head at the screen. "Christina, in case no one has said it, I think that Jake would be a great name for a boy."
Christina laughed, turning towards Bob. "Oh, he's funny. I like him."
"Bye, guys." Natasha reached forward to end the call before flipping onto her back to stare up at Jake. Her hair was splayed across the comforter and a gentle smile was across her lips. "You didn't even make a baby joke. I'm proud of you."
He moved quickly, his hands cupping her face as he gently pressed his lips against hers. He felt her laugh beneath him, whispering against his mouth, "Good morning to you, too."
"Do you have any idea what seeing you in that shirt does to me?" He pulled back slightly to look at her, hands still gently on her face. "Where did you even find that?"
"It was in the closet and it looked comfortable." She narrowed her eyes teasingly. "Did I finally find the key to making Jake Seresin speechless? If I'd known that all it took was a Texas Longhorns shirt, I would have bought one six years ago."
"It just takes you wearing it," he brought his lips down to hers again, and she let out another laugh. He moved from her lips to her cheek, slowly moving down the side of her face.
"Jake," her voice hitched as his lips pressed in the crook between her jaw and neck." I think we need to set some ground rules so this doesn't get complicated."
"Mhm," he responded, his lips slowly trailing down her neck. "Ground rules. Go."
"We should probably keep this between us and not get any of the other Daggers involved."
"Didn't realize you were into that kind of thing, Phe," he murmured. "Not going to lie, it's kind of hot."
"That's not what I meant," her voice went an octave higher as he nipped gently at her neck. "You know what I mean."
"My version is more fun," his lips were on a mission toward the hollow of her neck. "But I consent. No Daggers involved besides Floyd?"
"Beside him."
"Fine," he sighed, hands moving down to grip her waist. "My turn. I'm big with pet names and would like permission to use one."
Natasha laughed in earnest beneath him. "Seriously?"
"You wound me," he huffed, pulling back to look at her. "I reminded you yesterday that I was the most romantic person on our deployment and you still don't believe me. Pet names are a thing and I strongly believe I am entitled to using one for the next week."
"As long as I can approve it beforehand." Her arms moved to casually drape around his neck. "Another rule - no posting about each other on social media."
"Accepted," Jake chuckled. "Not like I use it much anyway, so that's easy enough."
"You have anything you want to add?"
He paused, considering his next statement. "I like taking photos."
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "...Ok?"
"I like taking photos of things that make me happy - they make the time I have to spend away from my family a little more bearable." He tilted his head slightly, searching her face. "So, I'd like permission to take some photos of us throughout this week."
She didn't respond right away, and his mind raced with ways to take it back and make the situation less uncomfortable. While he fought for the right words, she nodded her head. "Acknowledged and approved."
"Pleasure doing business with you," he leaned down to press his lips quickly to hers for what felt like the first - and millionth - time. "Let's do it again sometime."
"How's later tonight sound?"
"It's a date." His phone vibrated in his pocket as he rose to his feet. "I'm going to go take a shower. You are going to get your bag together and be ready to head to Six Flags in twenty minutes." He felt his phone vibrate again.
"Aye aye, Lieutenant," Natasha smirked and gave a mock solute.
He walked towards the door, reaching for his phone - which vibrated for the third time in a matter of seconds. "Do me a favor, Phe? Keep the Texas shirt on." He listened to her let out a laugh from behind him as he glanced down at his cellular device.
Yote: Why did I get a text from Sarah in the middle of the night saying that she was going to have a bird as a sister?
The next text was a blurry photo from the night before on the dance floor at Billy Bob's, with Jake and Natasha pressed up against each other clear as day.
Yote: IS THAT PHOENIX?
"Uhh... Nat?" He chuckled, glancing over his shoulder to look at her. "I think we already have a broken rule."
