A/N: Keep telling me what you think! It really does help the writing! Also, Piper pointed out that I might as well label these with the couples, since it's pretty obvious which part belongs to which, so….ENJOY!:
Brazen:
Brenda awoke at the sound of knocking at the front door. She gently moved the sleeping Isabella off her lap before heading to answer the door. Anxiety quickly attacked when she saw who stood before her. "Hey Jason"
"Hey" he smiled at her broadly. Despite the headache that was lingering, he felt instantly better in her presence.
"You don't look so good" Brenda noted as she let him in.
"Yeah, it's just a little cold" Jason shrugged off his hangover.
"Right" Brenda nodded, allowing Jason the lie. "So what's up?" Brenda couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by his presence since she still wasn't sure what she wanted to do the day after his revelation. One thing seemed clear though, Jason didn't seem to have any memory of it.
"Well, I thought we had plans for the park this afternoon. You know, before it gets too cold and all" Jason looked at her sadly. Am I really that unimportant to her that she forgot?
"Oh! Of course….I don't know how I could forget that" she looked at him closely. As much as she needed to not be with him right now while she was figuring this out, he looked far too sad to turn down. Maybe this is all the confirmation I needed of the truth…Brenda sighed. "Let me just wake Isabella up and we can change and leave"
Jason nodded but couldn't help but feel that Brenda had something on her mind. Even worse, it felt like that something pertained to him.
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An hour later they were sitting on a park bench as Isabella played tag with some other kids. Brenda wrapped her arms tightly around herself and Jason scooted a little closer to her. "Cold?"
"A little. I didn't realize it would be windy" Brenda kept watching Isabella and avoided Jason's eyes.
Silently he moved next to her and wrapped his arm around her pulling her close. She sighed as she felt the warmth and comfort of his body close to hers. As much as she knew she should push him away, not lead him to think she felt that way, she couldn't. Besides, she still didn't know how she felt anyways. But this is Jason! Brenda berated herself. She knew she cared about Jason. Over the years he had become a best friend, someone she could always count on. They had gone from hating each other to loving each other's company. And he was always so wonderful with Isabella. So what isn't there to love about Jason? After all, his body is heavenly, and his eyes have a certain charm to them…Brenda stopped her train of thought. She didn't want to force feelings out of guilt or loneliness. But in truth, these thoughts hadn't started with Jason's confession. However she was very conscious of the fact that they were only really surfacing now.
Before Brenda could think anymore she noticed Isabella running towards them. The game had seemingly ended and her daughter was now running full force in their direction. Brenda smiled as Isabella ran up and tagged her "You're it!!!"
"Wait, a minute. I thought the game was over!" Brenda laughed as her daughter ran away again, stopping to look at her from a safe distance.
"Nu-uh. I was it, so I'm going to keep playing!!!" she called back as she bounced around the playground.
"Okaaayyy…..Tag! You're it!" Brenda slapped Jason's thigh before quickly sprinting out of his reach.
"Hey! That's really not fair!" Jason cried back as he watched Brenda run towards her daughter.
"Then come get us!" Brenda called back.
It didn't take much encouragement and Jason leapt off the bench and ran towards them. Screaming, the girls ran in different directions, with Jason choosing to pursue Brenda. "Isabella, you help me get your mom and I'll buy you a cookie on the way home!"
"YEAH!"
"What! I can't believe you're bribing my daughter against me!" Brenda feigned shock as she turned to look at her two pursuers.
Isabella giggled at the turn of events as she clung to Jason's leg and tried to keep pace. Jason suddenly stopped and whispered something to the little girl before chasing Brenda again. Brenda soon realized she was cornered and decided it was time to give in.
"Okay, okay. You got me. Just tag me so we can go home!" she smiled at him.
Jason took in her beautiful face, now flushed from the running as her breathing came quickly. But he wasn't going to let her get away easily. He lunged forward, his hands going to her ribs and tickling her before she could move away. Brenda struggled to get away but was laughing too hard to move. Before she knew it she was lying in the grass with Jason sitting next to her laughing.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" Brenda struggled to catch her breath.
"Yeah, definitely" Jason grinned back at her.
Isabella, who had been watching the whole scene from the bench, came over smiling. "That was fun!"
"Oh, yeah. My daughter turning against me was great. You owe me now, do you know that?" Brenda asked.
Isabella simply nodded in response and also started to smile as Brenda shook her head in Jason's direction. "So, you think it's funny that I'm ticklish?"
"Yep. Hilarious"
"Then you should enjoy this" Brenda smiled at him devilishly.
Jason immediately recognized the threat and tried to move, but it was too late as both Isabella and Brenda were now attacking him. He laughed, but less from being ticklish than from the joy of being so close to two people he had come to love so deeply. The three soon collapsed back onto the grass laughing and trying to catch their breath. Jason looked at Isabella on one side and Brenda on the other. He smiled, pretending for a moment what it would be like if they really were his family.
As Brenda looked over at Jason, she couldn't help but notice the love that was shining in his eyes. At that moment, she knew the answer to all her questions.
S&B
Brenda hoped to find some relief at arriving home, but her mind was still swirling with the things Sonny had said. After putting Isabella to bed, she wearily made her way to her bedroom. Sighing she opened her closet and reached into the back. Finding the box she slowly pulled it out and debated opening it. Knowing that she had to confront this issue she sat down, trying to get comfortable before sliding the cover off. She was struck immediately by the image before her and tears quickly welled in her eyes.
Before her lay a picture of herself wrapped in Sonny's arms; happiness apparent on their faces. She pulled it towards her letting her fingers run along the image. Brushing away the tears she picked up the next item; a cd of their songs. Putting the music to play, she continued through the box with Crazy Love in the background.
Hours later Brenda still sat in front of the box with the last item in her hands. The gold keychain glistened in the soft light and she thought about how long it had been since he had given it to her. It was strange to her that despite all their ups and downs, Sonny had been a constant force in her life. Even when he hadn't been present, he had always influenced her, giving her the strength she needed. No matter how hard she fought it she couldn't deny that connection they had. She smiled as she thought of how they had taken turns telling each other how good they would be together. The words he had told her years ago rang true: "We always end up right here, you know, inches apart! So close I can feel your breath." Laying back Brenda wondered what she should do. She loved him, but could she handle another heartbreak? But then again, it was almost impossible to fight was seemed inevitable to them. They wanted so badly to make it work that they couldn't miss any opportunities. Closing her eyes from exhaustion she allowed sleep to take over.
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Jason decided a little talk with Brenda was in order. After his conversation with Sonny he needed to discuss things with her. All he wanted was for her to get the happiness that she deserved. If that meant no Sonny Corinthos, he would help in any way he could.
Brenda felt the headache coming on as soon as Jason walked into the boutique. "Hey Jase" Brenda sighed.
"Hi. How's it going?"
"Well sales are definitely up, which is exciting…"
"Okay, I'll try that again. How are you?" Jason followed Brenda as she tried to avoid him.
"Good, good. How's Elizabeth?"
"Look, Brenda, I'm grateful for your help with her, but you need to stop avoiding this"
"Avoiding what?" Brenda asked innocently.
"You know what I'm talking about. I spoke with Sonny yesterday and he told me what happened. Now, I don't mind the fact that you told him we were dating, but you know you couldn't have pulled that off forever"
Brenda pulled a stool up to the counter and shrugged. "You know, I'm pretty busy…."
"Right. It's two in the afternoon and you don't have any customers at the moment. I think you can spare me five minutes"
Brenda sighed and nodded for him to go on.
"Bren, I just want you to be happy. I don't care if that means Sonny or not, I will support your decision. If you tell me you don't love him and don't want to be with him I am willing to tell him for you. But you're making the man desperate and I hate seeing either of you hurting."
"I'm not trying to hurt him Jason! I just don't know what to do!!"
Jason went around the counter and put his hand over Brenda's. "I know this is difficult for you…You've been through a lot with Sonny and you're not sure. But I can see how you feel in your eyes. You both deserve the chance to see if it could work out"
"Yeah, because I've never given it the chance before! You know, you should be discussing this with Sonny. He's the one who keeps leaving me in our relationship. He's the one who didn't want to forgive and who kept picking everything over me and what I wanted!" Brenda screamed at Jason.
Jason rubbed his temples, "He's changed Brenda. And you know why he left the last time. He loved you that much. And after losing you despite saving you he's realized he shouldn't have done it in the first place..."
Brenda quickly cut him off, "That's great now Jason. But what's going to be his reason next time? Look, we're just not meant to be…it never works for us. We just self-destruct"
"Are you sure about that? What if it's different this time?"
Those same thoughts had been running through Brenda's head the night before. Sighing she began to pace around the boutique. "I just don't know anymore Jason. I never seem to make the right decisions about the men in my life. And when I do it always crashes and burns! How am I supposed to trust myself again?!" Brenda began to cry and Jason quickly came to wrap his arms around her.
Once she had calmed down a little he handed her a tissue and sat her down. "You need to talk to Sonny about these things. He deserves that much at least"
Brenda nodded a little. "I just don't know if I can do any of this anymore"
"I'm going to tell you something and you're probably going to laugh, but you need to hear it…Listen to your heart, it will tell you what you need"
Brenda burst into laughter. "When did you become a romantic, Jason?!?"
"When I saw how much you mean to Sonny" Jason answered simply.
Brenda nodded soberly before hugging Jason tightly. "Thanks Jase"