Sherry had been having trouble sleeping since her more recent escape from captivity. In fact it felt like she hadn't had a decent night's rest for the last six months. Even curled beneath the duvet of her king size bed, in the elegantly decorated hotel room the D.S.O were using as a base point, Sherry couldn't stop feeling like something wasn't right.
Sliding her bare legs from the bed she wiggled her toes in the plush carpet and sighed, rubbing her hands over her tired face before wrapping them around herself. How many days had they been here? She'd lost count. The interviews, the debriefings... everything had been so chaotic that each day bled into the next. Sherry moved to the wardrobe and searched for the clothes she'd been given. Pulling on a fitted white blouse and black jeans she picked up her security pass and decided to try going for a walk to soothe her restless mind. She took the stairs to the lobby. It was almost one in the morning and other than staff and security there wasn't a single soul in sight.
Sherry nodded at the soldiers still on duty as they patrolled the halls and offered a sympathetic smile. The last recorded attacks had occurred over a week ago, miles away from where they were. Yet every available guard was awake and prepared to act just in case. Sherry wondered why it didn't make her feel any safer.
Heading toward the large dining hall Sherry found herself surprised to find the lights at the far end of the were on. She softly closed the door behind her as the sound of music reached her ears. A figure was hunched over the grand piano in the middle of the stage surrounded by empty seats and table. She studied the way the familiar shadow rested his chin in one hand while the other idly danced over the keys. He seemed bored, but more than that, he radiated a loneliness she'd never really sensed in him before. She'd been smart enough to know his quick wit and carefree attitude was little more than a mask.
He hadn't seem to notice her enter the room, or feel her eyes on his hunched shoulders. Sherry approached quietly before clearing her throat and stepping onto the stage to join him. The soft lights made his eyes glow a warm grey when he looked up to acknowledge her.
"What are you playing?" she asked.
"Piano."
Sherry didn't know whether to roll her eyes or laugh. She realised just how many days it had been since they'd last spoken and suddenly felt a little awkward.
"I remember you playing back in that mansion we were trapped in, right? You were really good, I was surprised."
Jake rose an eyebrow at her but his expression remained stoney. "Why? You don't have to be a genius to play. Or are you implying that someone like me is too much of a brute to enjoy a little culture?"
His bitter tone left Sherry fishing for words. She hadn't meant any of those things. In fact, she wasn't sure what she meant. Or why she was here. He clearly didn't want company.
"I'll leave you alone." she told him quietly. Turning to leave she wondered how the easy companionship they'd developed had so suddenly evaporated. Of course, she told herself, he probably had his money by now and just wanted to get back to his life doing... whatever the hell it was he used to do before she turned up and turned his world upside down.
"You don't have to." Jake suddenly muttered.
"Excuse me?" she asked, peering over her shoulder.
"You can stay. It doesn't bother me." He shrugged without taking his eyes off the keys his fingers ghosted over.
Sherry hesitated for a second before Jake shifted along the bench he was sat on and began softly playing out a melody that reminded Sherry of a lullaby. He gave no other signal, but still she knew that this was an invitation for her to sit beside him. Her legs moved her to his side and she found herself sat before those black and white keys with her arm and leg pressed against his. His eyes were fixed firmly in front of him as he sat up straight.
"I bet even you could play." he said, throwing her a look with a hint of playfulness in his eyes.
Sherry frowned. He was acting... really weird. Where was the cocky smart-mouth she'd grown to know and, well not love, but tolerate.
"So teach me something." she challenged, spreading her fingers mockingly over the keys. Jake immediately took her small hands and manipulated their stance.
"It's all in the wrists." he told her, his voice unusually hushed. "Here, bend your fingers a little. Don't be so stiff."
Sherry, for reasons she couldn't fathom, felt a warmth rising in her cheeks. This man had seen her beaten and bloody. Hell, she'd even noticed him catching an eyeful back in the locker room and it had barely fazed her. So why now, as his hands lingered over hers and his eyes slowly travelled the length of her arms to her face did she feel so exposed to him.
"Where did you learn?" she suddenly asked, needing something to distract her from those eyes.
Jake's hands started moving her own. The keys sung a gentle melody, simple, easy. "My mother." he replied in a carefully controlled tone. "She loved to play. She used to travel and play all the time, it's how she earned a living... until she got sick."
Sherry nodded sympathetically and kept her eyes on the rough hands still controlling her own. The song was unfamiliar, sad and haunting. She remembered her briefing when she'd been sent to Edonia. Ms Muller had died several years ago from an unknown ailment. Foul play had been suspected, poison being administered over a period of time. She wondered if Jake knew about this, if her superiors had informed him of the information they had regarding her employment by Umbrella a year before his conception when Anita Muller had apparently fallen in love with Albert Wesker.
The silence between them lingered, but did not grow uncomfortable. In fact Sherry leant her head against Jake's shoulder and tilted her face against the fabric of his shirt to breathe him in. This was why she hadn't been able to sleep, she realised. Jake had been there, in her mind, waiting for her to go to him...
Their hands had stopped moving yet they did not separate. Both sets of eyes stared at the hands and their various scrapes and bruises.
"You haven't healed." Jake realised, surprised.
Sherry shrugged as best she could while still leaning against him. "It takes a lot out of me, seems pointless for a couple of scratches."
Jake chuckled and turned his face so his lips were dangerously close to her forehead. "You surprise me, Super Girl. I didn't know you could control it."
"Took me years to learn." Years, and a lot of testing, she thought somberly. Jake seemed to know instinctively what she was thinking. He closed his eyes for a moment and let his fingers squeeze hers tighter. He'd wondered if she'd come to him again. If she would even want to see him one last time. Her mission was over, after all. He was none of her concern anymore. He wrapped his hands around her own and brought them to where her leg pressed to his. This strange position they found themselves in, half turned toward each other, half touching. They'd been in more questionable situations when bullets had been flying through walls and over their heads. He wondered if she remembered that night in the snowy mountain when they'd shared a long look, no, an understanding. He'd seen her as more than the overeager first-timer just following orders.
He had hoped she'd realised he wasn't always a jackass when he'd begun to apologise for bringing up her father's death...
"What?"
Jake's eyes flew open to find Sherry blinking up at him. Her expression told him he'd spoken his thoughts out loud.
"I don't think you're a jackass." she told him, speaking loudly for the first time so her voice echoed a little in the room. Jake shook his head and pulled away, their hands breaking apart.
"Forget I said that, I'm just tired..."
"No." Sherry insisted, pressing a hand on his thigh as he made to stand. "Jake, I don't think anything bad about you at all."
"Really?" Jake said dryly, "I know I'm no angel super girl, you won't hurt my feelings by being honest."
Sherry frowned at him thoughtfully for a second as if weighing something up in her mind before suddenly stretching her small body up just enough that she closed the gap between their faces and pressed her lips hard against his.
Jake's eyes flew open at the contact as her hand moved from his thigh to his chest and fisted in his shirt to pull him closer.
"What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly when they finally pulled apart.
"Being honest." Sherry replied.
This time they both moved in together. Jake wound his arm around her frame and pulled her as close to him as was possible while they sat side by side. Sherry wrapped her arm around his neck, feeling the strength of him against her. She had been denying that she had wanted to do this for far too long. Now, without death chasing them down and the end of the world on her shoulders she stopped telling her body not to tingle like that when his hand slid down her throat. She stopped telling herself it would be wrong to move into his lap and let him wrap his arms around her waist as he lifted her and laid her against the cool lid of the piano.
"Sherry?" she heard him half moan, half question against her mouth. She ignored him and kissed his mouth with as much need and longing as she could muster. If he was questioning how far she wanted this to go she decided to give him a hint by letting her hand disappear between the parts of their bodies currently grinding mindlessly together. This time his groan was long and guttural.
Sherry had not been the only one ignoring her desire. Jake had felt it not long after they first met, when they had encountered Redfield and she had looked at the man with such respect. It had bothered him. He'd known she was special way before witnessing her healing power and was disgusted by the thought of any other man being close to her. He was possessive, always had been. Sherry deserved the best...
His movements stopped. Sherry peered at him from beneath her long lashes. "What's wrong?" she panted.
Jake suddenly realised what he was doing. He had been keeping away from her for this very reason. She didn't deserve this, not a man like him. His hands moved from where they'd been shamelessly exploring beneath her blouse and fell limply at his side as he stepped back. Sherry blinked up at him, confused. Had she done something wrong?
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let that happen." Jake told her, his gaze now stubbornly refusing to look anywhere near the piano as Sherry clumsily found her feet.
The shaking over her body was no longer due to his causing so much pleasure in her own. "I don't understand." she told him breathlessly.
He hunched his shoulders, his head dropping as he turned away. "It's not a good idea." was all he managed to come up with. Even as the words left his mouth he knew it wasn't enough of an explanation. It was as weak and feeble as he was being in that moment.
Sherry felt her throat begin to burn. Had she made a mistake? She had thought...
"You know what, screw you Jake." she managed to hiss without her voice breaking. Moving as quickly as she could as her eyes blurred with tears Sherry made for the exit. Jake didn't watch her go. He could take her anger, he'd swallow her hatred if it meant keeping her at a safe distance. She was too kind to understand that he was no good for a girl like her.
Sitting himself back at the piano he pressed his fingers against the keys and continued with his song. He couldn't remember what it was called. It had been one his mother had written, and he was sure it had been a tribute to a lost love. As much as he hated to think of her writing a piece as beautiful as this in memory of his father, it still made him feel connected somehow. He didn't like it, but he understood that sometimes love could hit you out of the blue. Even when it wasn't quite right.
Notes: I found this saved from back in 2013! Gave it a little edit and here you go!