Of Your Heart- Mikage x Jack

Chapter 2.1

OoO

Jack finally gave in to let Mikage choose the restaurant after they had argued about it for roughly five minutes in the car. It wasn't someplace particularly fancy. While Jack had offered to take her to the most expensive 5 star place in town, Mikage countered that she wouldn't feel all too comfortable there. She didn't mind eating high class food, but when it came to location and atmosphere, she was extremely picky. Even after so many months Jack still hadn't gotten that used to it. But, his desire to give her his best far outweighed his urges to cancel the date on the spot. He was far too stubborn to just give up like that. The great Jack Atlas would never-

"Is something wrong, Jack?" Mikage suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm What?" he nearly barked from being so immersed in his thoughts that he had temporarily forgotten where he was. It took a few blinks for him to fully snap out of it and he then gave Mikage his entire undivided attention. The shimmering luster of her entrancing eyes widened in expectancy had pilfered the air right out of him. The swoop of her bangs delicately framed her face, accompanied by the dangling of her drop earrings. He always thought their length was ridiculous, but being known as one to wear garish ear jewelry himself, he was not one to talk. The length of the jewelery had his eyes traveling down over the exposed skin of her shoulders and trickling over the dark blue straps of her dress. He never liked it when she wore that thing; every time he saw her in it, he'd find it fruitless to resist the urge to rip it off her. Was that even a bad thing? It was her favorite dress to wear to important events after all and he couldn't persuade her to wear anything else. Yet, he was certain she had no idea of the density the bewitching effects of her in that body glove of a dress stirred inside of him. He wanted her badly; he felt compelled to show his absolute love and devotion to her right now. But he couldn't do that because they were out in public. On a date. And it was all his idea!

Upon witnessing the growing scowl on her boyfriend's face, Mikage paused in her meal. Was something wrong? Maybe she shouldn't have persuaded him to come to this particular restaurant? He didn't seem to be enjoying any of it. Her eyes flickered over his untouched plate of food with concern before returning her gaze to him, "You haven't eaten since we got here. Is everything all-"

"Fine. It's fine. I'm not even hungry. Here, you can have my plate," he offered with obvious preoccupied thoughts elsewhere but here. A frosty expression ghosted over the woman's face, but she didn't say anything that matched its context. Instead, she reached into her purse and removed her credit card, "Please leave a tip for the waiter. I'm ready to go."

OoO

Their trip to the theater was much more gratifying than their previous spot. The two of them sat side by side; Mikage was immensely into the picture while Jack was nearly slouched in his seat. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying the feature, although the movie was something he'd label as an "over-emotional chick flick," it was a comedy nonetheless. He found himself snorting at a few jokes, but overall, his mind lingered on a distant plane. No matter what he tried to focus on in their date, his thoughts would teem with wondering how he would show Mikage the greatest love he could ever bestow. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, nibble at her ear and make love to her. The words Yüsei had urged upon him earlier returned and swirled within his head.

It wasn't just because his friend had recommended it that Jack had decided tonight would be THE night he would put the offer out there. He wanted to prove his affection for Mikage by physical, and spiritual, means long before that. But whenever he tried to ask her about it, it never came out right. For him, blurting out imperatives such as "Sleep with me tonight" and "Are you ready for sex yet, because I am" weren't exactly the best ways to woo the woman into bed with him. She either thought he was joking or that his demands sounded too unfounded to be considered taken seriously. Being together for 6 months seemed like a long time, but to Jack it nearly felt like a lifetime. He was a very physical person and needed touch in his relationship. In those earlier months, he hated being away from her for the majority of the week while his mindset was still partially submerged in his races. He had planned to retire soon in order to pursue a full relationship with the woman he deemed to be his bride. He wasn't one to dabble in halves; it was all or nothing for him. And any woman that he had chosen to remain with for life deserved all of his attention.

Without realizing, his eyes drifted over to her shaded profile. The illumination from the movie etched an outline of light along her skin and accentuated the length of her lashes. Along with the earrings and the shine of her lip gloss, she appeared like some movie starling from the 1950's. She was breathtaking, and the fact that she was immensely immersed into the film made her all the more desirable. Drawn into her beauty's gravity, Jack sat up and placed a hand atop hers along the armrest. The second he did, her expressive eyes swelled with tears.

"What the-!" Jack exclaimed, utterly flabbergasted and removed his hand as if he had done something wrong, "Mikage?"

"Oh Jack...!" she murmured, then turned her moistened eyes to him. A sweet curve touched her lips that made her eyes crescent. Staring at her with his mouth open, Jack didn't know whether to apologize or to lead her to the floor and have her right there. Yet, her next statement left him with neither option.

"How did you know?" she inquired in a gentle whisper. Jack lifted a brow, as well as the edge of his upper lip, "Know what," he returned in a snip. He didn't mean to sound rude; he was just deeply confused and had no idea if he hurt her or not. Yet, here she was warmly smiling at him. He didn't understand what was going on, nor what her shifting moods entailed, and was impatient with hearing an explanation. Merrily, she gave him one, "How did you know that this part was the sweetest one in the entire movie?"

"?"

"You held my hand just as the couple reunited and expressed their undying love!"

"I did?"

"Don't you remember? That is... the reason why you held my hand, isn't it?"

Jack snorted; it was a way to cover the obvious discomfort he was in from the lie he was about to boast, "Tch, Of...of course I knew! I've already seen this sappy movie! I just knew you'd like it."

"Oh...?" Her bright eyes dimmed and her eyelids lowered to half-mast, "You wouldn't watch a movie like this on your own. Did someone else come with you?"

Uh oh. He was in trouble now. "I...well.." He couldn't do this! "Of course not, Mikage! What kind of man do you think I am, cheating on the woman I love?"

"So, you admit to lying to me, then huh?"

"YES! I bloody lied!" It's better than being unfaithful, isn't it?

"Shhh!" Someone in the audience catcalled, to which, Jack "respectfully" delivered a "SHUT YOUR BLEEDIN' HOLE, TUBE!"

While her boyfriend was being his usual rude self, Mikage tugged on his shirt and urged him to calm down. As she did, she began to laugh. The fact that he lied to her didn't even bother her anymore. This was the person she wanted to be with. A silly, brash and rude man with a tender heart beneath his rough exterior. And she loved all of him.

"Jack, I think we should get out of here," Mikage lured in a sultry tone. It took Jack a moment to realize the exact context her words were leaning towards. With a start, he grabbed her by the hand and led her out of the theater.

OoO

To Be Continued