A/N: Because I've never liked how the show's writers handled Jonesy and Nikki's first exchange of "I love you," this one-shot diverges from canon (per usual). Enjoy!
If she said she didn't know how this started, Nikki would be lying to herself.
As she and Jonesy sat on her bedroom floor, he had said something outrageous to her, resulting in her snatching a pillow from her bed and chucking it at him.
"Oh, you want a pillow fight?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "'Cause I'll give you a pillow fight."
"Bring it on, Garcia," she challenged, beckoning him with index and middle fingers.
Armed with such plush weapons, they chased each other around the room, assailing each other from all sides. Laughter and taunts resounded with each hit. However, a hasty move led to him tumbling to the ground, taking her on the trip with him. A loud thud reverberated. Had her parents been home, they surely would have investigated the sound (and kicked him out if they found their daughter pinned beneath him).
Despite this, an air of innocence surrounded them. After all, they remained clothed. Lust never reared her head.
In a tender tone, she asked, "You okay?"
His voice adopted the same tenderness. "Yeah. You?"
She nodded slowly beneath him. "Yeah."
"Good."
They rested there, not moving anything except for their chests as breath heaved in and out of their lungs. Their eyes remained on each other as their breathing slowed to normal.
Deep inhale. Deep exhale. Deep inhale. Deep exhale.
However, her heart continued its rapid thump-thump-thump. The words weighing on her brain instigated its movement. She would have told it to stop, but then she wouldn't get to pursue this moment any further. Even while lying on her back, the three words she'd kept on her tongue wanted to slide into the open. She didn't want to keep them captive anymore. Gravity couldn't even contain them.
"You feel anything for me?" she instead asked as she gazed at his features.
"Of course I do. You're my girl."
"I know that, but I'm asking: Do you ever feel anything… deeper?"
He licked his lips and nodded. "Yeah. All types of things. Things I've never ever felt before."
Her heart fluttered. Did they inch closer to a confession? "Like what?"
His golden cheeks gained a pink tint. He averted his eyes. "Like... love."
"Jonesy."
His cheeks remained flushed. He shook his head rapidly. "Just forget I said anything. I'm stupid."
"No, you're not. I… I feel it for you, too. And I've never felt that way about anyone, really."
She had become acquainted with love in its platonic and familial forms, but never in a romantic sense. However, she did know that romantic love existed as a one-to-one thing. She could love as many friends and relatives as she wanted, as that kind of love reached far. Romantic love, on the other hand, tethered her closer to one person… Well, polyamory existed, but her own view of romantic love centered around monogamy.
Hell, she didn't think she would even experience romantic love, something she had made her peace with. At this age, she expected nothing more than aimless crushes (like Hunter) and questionable hookups (like Stone). Yet she found herself tethered to one person (like Jonesy).
Love remained a liability and a neurological scam that tricked people into procreating, but—damn—falling in it didn't seem so bad anymore. Neither did admitting to it.
She placed her palm on his cheek. "I love you, Jonesy."
He closed the minuscule distance between them with a tender, sweet kiss. A grin tugged at the corners of her lips. The burden of telling him vacated her body, leaving her feather-light now.
Once they parted, he said, "I love you too, Nikki."
His voice sounded gentle and genuine when he uttered those words. He spoke them softly yet deliberately—like he'd been in love with her all along, like he'd been longing to say it in the right way.
Out of pure elation, she pulled him into another lingering kiss. Her relief turned into rejoicing. Wings fluttered around her stomach. She moaned in satisfaction.
His weight settled atop her.
Her body molded against his. The way one of her hands nestled in his hair, the way her other hand splayed across his back as her arm rested atop it, the way her lips parted for his tongue to sink into her mouth—it felt so natural. She felt at home with him. They coalesced.
