A/N: Sorry for the long delay! I took a short time off of work and ended up just lazing around, and streaming Persona 5, which pretty much got to the "holy crap!" point of the game, so streaming that sort of took up a lot of my free time xD

Fear not! I have no intentions of stopping my writing! Though, given my job in a meat department and it being Thanksgiving, I've been pretty much too sore to think about anything other than that, but definitely, after the holidays, I should be regularly updating!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year though, so expect a short story or two of just some cute little fluffy vignettes or something :D If you're ever interested in contacting me about my status on uploading (like if it's been a week and you're all, "is he dead?!") you can find me on Twitter posting stuff that's only funny to me :p

Happy reading, and Happy Holidays! :D

Jesse's eyes opened slowly, his old habits still not having exactly died off. Even the slightest pressure at his back managed to wake him up; it was an old skill he had managed to learn, or rather, was required to, on the ocean. He had used to work on prison ship, transporting criminals from one port to another, usually due to some extraditions, and when it came to being aboard a small wooden nation in and of itself, he had learned to sleep lightly, enough aware of his surrounds even in sleep to act if needed.

His life had changed radically since then, and yet, those habits hadn't. Even in this comfortable bed, wrapped up in warm, woolen blankets, he couldn't help but refuse those deepest of sleeps. He never dreamed, and constantly held a mask of tired darkness around his eyes, though it was hardly noticeable in the sunlight that accompanied ship decks.

His wife, Leslie, could see them, though. Especially when all they had to see one another was candlelight. She had always tried so hard to ease his exhaustion, and indeed, there had been a few nights where she had managed such things, keeping him wrapped up tightly in her arms as he slept. Though, there were some mornings where she couldn't help herself and reluctantly indulged in some fun.

Such was the scenario this morning, as the young light of day passed through their bedroom window as a soft veil of orange crossing their bed. She was awake, laying on her side as she watched her husband sleeping, though her hand mischievously slid along the thin sheets below them, gently pushing down into the mattress just beside Jesse's arm.

Suddenly, his eyes peeked open, staring restlessly up toward the ceiling before his head fell toward Leslie, his face turning into an unamused glare, "You did that on purpose."

She grinned, "I'm just having some fun is all."

Jesse turned over onto his stomach, burying his head into his pillow, "At the expense of my sleep."

"You know I always get like this before you go away," Leslie grinned, sliding closer toward him so that her fingers could sit atop the muscular curves of his back, two of them walking up the length up toward his broad shoulders, "I so take it for granted when you're home, it seems. Then, you know, it's all I can to tease you so that I can see all your cute sides that nobody ever gets to see."

"I have no cute sides," he grumbled into his pillow, his head just barely shaking in disagreement.

Leslie smiled faintly, though with a total air of contentedness, her fingers carefully crawling up and around the bones between in shoulder and neck, "No, I think you have a few of 'em."

She quickly dug a finger in between two bones, his body immediately shivering as he lifted himself from laying down, reaching up to grab at her wrist, gently, his face turning blank as she laid there, giggling, "That was pretty cute."

Jesse exhaled deeply, his grasp still at his lover's wrist, slowly eyeing her with a serious glare before pulling her even closer toward him, his body becoming more of a cave for her to fall into. She continued giggling as he let go of her, wrapping his arm around her as he leaned down onto her, his free hand reaching up to slowly brush the hair away from her face so that their eyes could play with one another.

"Speaking of sides," he spoke, quietly, "What are we going to do about this side of you?"

"What side of me?"

He lowered his head down into the nape of her neck, gently taking a kiss from her skin before breathing into her in reply, "This side that's so goddamn beautiful."

She laughed with a shallow air, her heart growing weak as she tried to reflect his words, though she knew very well that it would be bordering on impossible with his sturdy body wrapped around her. Suddenly, his lips began to yank at her skin, leaving her hands to rush up to his head as she began to laugh with a childish air, pushing him away.

"Stop! You're gonna leave a mark!" she giggled, her head instinctively falling into his due to the sensation.

He paused for a moment, looking up toward her, "I need to make sure everybody knows that you already belong to somebody."

Scoffing, Leslie rolled her eyes, "Like the name wasn't enough to ward people off?"

"You don't like using it though," he noted, sincerely.

"Only because it sounds silly. "Mrs. McCree"? Any more Ms and I'd be bagged up as a candy."

Jesse gave her another gentle kiss as he sucked at her skin, pulling away slowly, "I wish I could bag you up and keep you as my sweet."

"Cute side," she reminded, grinning, earning a disinterested glance from her husband.

She bit her lip as her husband returned to praising her body, her hand reaching up under his arm to grasp his shoulder, pulling his taut frame closer into her body as she whispered, "You know the kids will be up soon."

Jesse paused with his lips still against her sweet skin, a gentle, warm breeze running over her as he sighed, "I'm willing to accept that challenge."

Smirking, Leslie muttered in reply, "And where would that leave me?"

He pushed himself up so that she could see his rolling eyes, though he quickly gave a sort of grim smile as he contorted his body away toward the side of the mattress, pulling himself up so that he was sitting there, his body draped forward into his hand as he massaged his sleepless face. Leslie watched him sadly, reaching over to gently scratch at his back.

"I don't want to go," he quietly murmured, his face still buried in his hand.

His wife watched him, sadly, from the middle of the bed, "You never let superstitions bother you in the past."

He remained quiet for only a moment, "That was before I had you three."

Leslie's face dropped slightly as she listened to his words, her lips curving into a gentle frown as she looked down toward the mattress the two of them shared. She slowly pushed herself upward, pulling her knees just behind Jesse so that she was kneeling at his back, her arms reaching over his shoulders and wrapping around his neck in a tender, gentle embrace as she lowered her head onto his own.

"Well you have me around your neck as well," she smiled, hopefully, "And I'm not just some figment of anybody's imagination. I know you'll come back home; you always do."

Jesse sighed quietly as he reached up to his shoulder, massaging her arm as he spoke up, "You're too good to an old dog like me."

"Hey, your claims to age apply to me too," she laughed, quickly, "Watch it."

He could only smile as he spun his head around as best he could to receive her kiss, her arms wrapping tighter around him as the pull from his lips began to entrance her from his gentle sucking. Finally, the two jumped in surprise as a sudden shout came through the air from their children's room, all that way into theirs.

"Daddyyy!" "Daaaad!" came the cries as the two patted, Leslie giving her husband a teasing smirk.

"They did ask for you," she poked, sticking her tongue out at him.

Jesse groaned as he stood rubbing his face with both hands, "Must be because I'm leaving."

Leslie swiftly crawled onto her own side of the bed, sitting on its edge as the sheets fell away, leaving her nude as she reached down to the ground to recover her pajamas. She pulled her spoken shirt up to her, turning her head over her shoulder with a teasing grin as Jesse eyed her, boyishly.

"One good thing about you being gone," she opined, teasingly, as she put on her shirt, "You always stare at me like a high schooler with more hormones than brains."

Jesse grinned as he wonder around the bed, pulling his own shirt over him, "You've yet to lose any of your beauty since then."

She smugly eyed him, reminding, "I've borne three children for you; I'd have to think I've missed a-"

Out of nowhere, Jesse leaned before her, stealing a kiss from her mid-sentence before just pulling away, "No you haven't. Take your time; I'll get breakfast going."

His wife left with only her blushing, Jesse returned to his previous posture before turning to leave the room, closing the door behind him as a massive yawn left him, his hand reaching up to scratch his neck as he trudged down the hallway, the cheerful conversation of his children coming in louder and louder as he approached their room, slowly opening the door and peeking in, the two kids immediately, and excitedly, bouncing up and down on their beds.

"The floor's too cold, dad!" the younger of the two, Nathan, happily jeered.

"Yeah!" his sister, Heather, chided in, reaching her arms out toward her father, "You need to carry us!"

Jesse eyed them suspiciously, "Need to, huh? You two have never carried me to the table."

Heather smiled with a grin than knew she needed nothing more than such a thing to earn her father's acceptance, "We're nowhere near as strong as you, daddy! It took both of us just to carry home the sack of rice!"

"Yeah!" Nathan repeated with a less convincing whine, obviously having learned to follow his sister's lead when it came to such things.

Jesse sighed dramatically, his head falling backward as he entered the room, returning it proper as it shook, "Well, birthdays are coming up. Maybe this will count as one for each of you."

"Nooo!" "Noooo!" they both shouted in protest, though they remained fixed atop their beds as Jesse made his way over to Nathan, wrapping his arm around his stomach and picking him up like a small barrel, leaving the boy in a giggling fit as he left gravity momentarily.

Heather excited bounded atop her bed at the sight, and easily allowed her father to do the same to her with his other hand, her own laughter now joining her brother's as Jesse turned back toward the door, careful to keep either of them to hit the frame of the door.

"Now if you squirm so much, I'll drop you," Jesse reminded, both children's laughter making both of them quake, though neither of them stopped after his directive.

He carried them to the dining room, which sat adjacent to the kitchen, with a bar in between for serving. Jesse let both kids down, both of them rushing to their seats to relieve their feet from the cold floor beneath them, as their father walked into the kitchen, another yawn escaping him as he began preparing their breakfast.

"You look like lion when you do that daddy!" Nathan giggled as he saw his father's yawn.

Jesse eyed him from the kitchen, "Maybe I am, buddy."

Nathan laughed again at the thought, the two children chatting amongst themselves as they left their father to making breakfast. Jesse did so, dutifully enough, only allowing his attention to wander off once Leslie walked in a bit later, met with a thunderous pair of shouting from the children.

"Mom!" "Mommy!" went the two as she happily leaned over the table, giving both of them hugs and kisses.

"Daddy carried us in here!" Heather shouted, excitedly, waving her arms in front of herself as if she were flying, "It was so cool!"

Leslie smiled, crouching down at the end of the table between the two, "Oh really? He didn't drop you again, did he?"

Jesse's eyes rolled from behind the bar, "That's what happens to squirming children."

His wife shot him a wry grin as Heather laughed innocently, Leslie pushing herself back up to her feet before entering the kitchen, standing beside Jesse and he cooked everybody's breakfast, hungrily watching his spatula stirring up the ingredients in the pan. She pushed her weight against him affectionately before pulling away, opening up their cooler and pulling out a container of cookie dough, a tradition for the family before their patriarch would leave on another voyage.

Leslie happily pulled out a small cube and happily took out a bite, earning Jesse's ire, "You're gonna get sick."

She only stuck her tongue out at him before finishing the piece in her hand, leaving Jesse only to shake his head with as much of a grin as he would ever allow, "I swear, you're such a child."

"Am not," she replied, dispassionately, as she returned the container to their cooler, quickly returning to her husband's side.

"You certainly are," Jesse accused, again, "You get out pumpkins to carve faster than the kids do."

Heather's young voice burst through the air, "We're carving pumpkins?!"

"Not for a few more months, dear," Leslie replied alongside a droll look at her husband, "I know it's what you love about me."

Jesse easily nodded, wrapping an arm around her to hug her from his side, "You bring so much life here that I don't have out at sea. I'd feel shallow if it was just your body I ran home to."

Leslie managed an elbow to dig into his shoulder as she giggled, her husband pushing her away in retaliation, "Now go sit down; I'll bring it out when it's done."

She returned a sort of daring glare above a mischievous smirk, though after Jesse had leaned over to kiss her forehead, she acquiesced and turned to round the bar, taking her seat with their children as Jesse finished up breakfast. He heard their cheerful speech as his eyes slowed to a narrow sight as he peered down at the swirl of egg, sausage, and bacon, the warmth of his family, the sights, sounds, the smell of his wife in the morning, his daughter's begging stare, his son's improbable ability to crack an unknowing joke, leaving even his father with a chuckle.

He reached up, grasping at the nape of his neck, almost lifelessly. He had grown to hate having to go off, away from his family, though the thought inevitably crossed his mind that this next trip could, potentially, turn out to be his la-

"Daddy! Tell a story!" Heather goaded, though after a quick snap of her mother's fingers, the girl finished properly, "Please!"

Her chiming voice broke Jesse from his reverie, shaking his head to clear his mind, "O-Oh, yeah. I don't know; what do you two wanna-"

"Blacktalon! Blacktalon!" Nathan chanted, though his sister inevitably joined in, "Blacktalon! Black-!"

"Okay, okay," Jesse nodded in acceptance as he began plating their meal, his eyes peering up toward the table to find even his wife's eyes following him in anticipation, "Well, he wasn't always 'Blacktalon'. Though his name has been lost to time, he was once a man, or woman- nobody who has encountered this person has lived to tell which one."

Clearly having told the story many times before, Jesse had developed a sort of dramatic tone as he spoke, having learned which parts excited, frightened, or shocked the children. He slowly carried the plates around the bar, lowering them toward the table as he leaned over toward Nathan, dangerously close to the side of his head.

"He could even be just a child," Jesse muttered, hauntingly, "Nobody knows…"

Nathan giggled, shaking his head rapidly, "It's not me, dad!"

Jesse gave him an unsure frown as he pulled away, walking back for everybody's drinks as he continued the story, "Whatever the case, Blacktalon was just like any other sailor back before he turned to darkness. Some might say he was a bit too able to fit in… It made him good at concealing himself in a crowd; good at being…dangerous…"

Returning with two pairs of glass bottles of milk, Jesse sat them atop the table, standing behind Leslie before leaning forward, wrapping his arms around her neck, "One day, he found himself a bride, however; just like how I found your mother."

"Maybe you're Blacktalon!" Heather shouted, giddily, earning her father's noncommittal stare.

Jesse eyed her, his lips curling into a sinister grin as his hand suddenly shot forward, ahead of his wife's face, as a knife suddenly shot out from its chamber. The two children immediately jumped in surprise, but ultimately cheered between excited laughter, both of them having grown an affinity for their father demonstrating such skill. Try as they might, neither of them could tame his pocket-knife in such a way; Nathan had even accidentally thrown it into a vase one day.

Jesse gave a soft chuckle as he returned his knife to his pocket, moving on, "Blacktalon and his bride lived a happy life out at sea, but one day, the ocean stole her from him. He was so sad that he made it his mission to find heaven on earth, so that he could find her in death."

"However, when he found heaven on earth, he was given a choice, for one life cannot simply be returned to its dead body. He could have the love of his life back…if he gave up his own body."

Jesse stood up, running his arms along his wife's shoulders before raising a hand into the air, a single finger raised, dramatically, "In an instant, he agreed; and while heaven honored his agreement, love does not adhere to such concrete dealings. The love of his life returned, but upon seeing Blacktalon's deformed, body-less state, she left him, in fear, never to be seen by him again."

The children still managed to become silent as he told this portion of the story, despite having heard it repeatedly in their lives. Heather eyed him gravely, old enough to understand more and more what the story was telling, while Nathan was simply dumbfounded by the tone his father conveyed.

Heather quietly spoke up, "Would you give up your-"

"In a heartbeat," Jesse interrupted, easily, reaching down to grasp his wife's shoulder, "One of the morals of the story, after all, is to love somebody not only for their physical attributes. I would love your mother even if she were some smoky vapor, or a vial of sand."

He patted her shoulder as he boyishly muttered along, "I could carry her everywhere I went, in that case."

"Go on! Go on!" Nathan goaded, bored by his father's sudden, "gross" behavior.

"Well, there's the next lesson of the story," Jesse reminded, raising his hand once again with a second finger extended, "Left without a body, Blacktalon simply wandered the earth, aimlessly, searching for his love. Without a body, he no longer was given relief from that pain, and it endlessly gnaws at his soul in an eternal torture."

His lips contorted, pulling inward as he thought, as if a sudden thought came to him, surprisingly, given his many re-tellings of the tale, "As scary as death may seem, there's nothing scarier than the absence of death. Without that, you have nothing to fight to keep. You simply…wallow, with no hope of an ending to your story."

Both of the children had begun exchanging confused glances at one another, but Leslie's head had slowly lowered as her hand reached back behind her, grabbing on to whatever part of her husband's body that she could, which happened to be his leg, though he slowly returned his hand to her shoulder to ease her thoughts.

"Anyway, that's what I take from it. You could get a different viewpoint from each different person telling it," Jesse finished, patting Leslie's shoulder before leaving her side, heading toward his chair, "Who's hungry?"

"I am!" "ME!"

Jesse nodded approvingly as he passed out the plates, giving Leslie a reassuring glance, though her stare back at him was one of concern.