A/N: I LOVE THESE IDIOTS IN LOVE.
They had one last day of gorgeous Hawaiian sun ahead of them. Later that evening, they would fly out, reluctant to leave behind island paradise for the snowy reality of real life in Pittsburgh.
Happy to spend the day relaxing by the infinity pool, the two of them were cuddled up in one of the cabanas. It was a lush little setup, with a double day bed and plenty of cushions to keep them comfortable. Currently, Will was laying on JJ's stomach, one of his arms wrapped around her waist. She had her fingers nestled in his hair, lazily stroking his scalp. The air was filled with the sounds of gentle chatter from around the pool, the water lapping over the infinity edge.
Reaching over with her free hand, JJ picked up her phone and opened the camera. Holding it out at arm's length, she snapped a few quick pictures of them. Will lifted his head slightly, cheesing hard for the camera. JJ laughed, continuing to snap pictures as he pulled himself up enough to press his lips to hers in a loving kiss. Managing to click the shutter a few more times, JJ dropped her phone on the lounge beside them, bringing her hand back to rest on Will's back.
"I don't wanna go home," Will murmured as they broke apart. "No more seeing you in a bikini every day"
JJ giggled, patting his cheek. "Of course that's why you don't wanna go home"
"Well, also because it's beautiful here. Can't complain about cocktails by the pool, all day every day"
"Speaking of which, I'm almost out," JJ said with a wink, nodding towards her near empty glass on the table beside them. Will chuckled, kissing her once more before pushing himself up.
"One refill, comin' right up"
She watched with a smile as he got to his feet and ambled out of the canopy, stretching as he went. His muscles rippled in the sunlight, more prominent than ever beneath the tan he'd gained since they'd been away. He ran a hand through his hair, turning to his left and walking off towards the bar.
In a happy little bubble, JJ reached out and picked up her phone again. Opening up Instagram, she clicked the button to add a new post. She looked over the photos she had snapped before, smiling at the happiness that seemed to ooze from each one.
While she shared a lot of her life on social media, she had actually never posted anything showcasing her and Will engaging in PDA. Part of her had always felt too private to put something like that up, but as she looked at the photo of the two of them sharing a kiss, she felt her heart swell.
They were so in love, so happy... and that photo clearly showed that.
Selecting it as the photo she wanted to post, she left it with no filter, before typing out a caption.
I love this beautiful man so much *heart eye emoji*. We've had the most magical week out here on the beautiful island of Maui, and every single day, I think I couldn't possibly love him anymore, but every single day, he proves me wrong. I love you will_lamontagne94. Happy three years baby!
Without another thought, she clicked POST, sending it out into the online world. As she locked her phone and put it down beside her, Will returned carrying another Mai Tai for her and a pint of beer for himself.
"Here you go m'lady," he said sweetly, beaming at her as he passed her the drink.
"Thanks," JJ laughed, taking it from his hand and taking a sip. He sat down beside her, taking a swig of his beer before setting it down on the table and lifting an arm around JJ's shoulders.
"You've gotten so tan these last few days," he said with a grin, stroking the smooth skin of her thigh with his other hand.
"I mean it's not hard when I'm basically the colour of fresh snow," JJ said dryly. Will laughed, nuzzling the top of her head as she absently stirred the drink in her hands.
"Are you nervous? For next year?" he asked after a few minutes, his thumb gently stroking back and forth on her upper arm.
"I... I don't know how I feel," she admitted softly. "There's so much happening right now, between gym, and my dad, it's just... I don't feel as anxious as I did this time last year, but I'm definitely not as settled as I would like to be. I just want to go back into the gym with a clear mind and be the best I can be"
"I know you can do it. I'm excited to watch you through this whole process... but I'm also excited to be your supporter through it all. More so than last time because, well, we weren't dating then," Will said with a chuckle. "Even though I was head over heels in love with my best friend"
Giggling, JJ tipped her head back, looking up at her boyfriend with a loving smile. "We got there in the end. I'd say I'm pretty head over heels in love with my best friend too"
"Well, wherever the next year takes you, you know I'm always here. If you need me to be the safe place for you to fall, I'll make sure of that," he replied warmly, tipping his chin down and pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead. "And this time next year... hopefully we can be here again, celebrating the year gone"
|jareaumanar|
OMGGG, look at JJ's latest post! Her and Will are so damn cute, I can't even deal!
|catalinaponors|
I LOVE THEM SM, they look so happy!
|laymeinthemeadow|
I can't believe they've been together for 3 years! I remember when we first found out she had a boyfriend... wonder if he's gonna propose soon?
|jareaumanar|
I'LL DIE, LITERALLY, they're so cute!
The following afternoon, they were back in Pittsburgh, rugged up against the cold after leaving the warmth and sunshine of Hawaii behind.
"Holy hell it's cold out there," JJ grumbled as she shrugged her jacket off once she was through the door. "It wasn't this cold in Chicago when we had the layover!"
"We always get colder here, you should've been expecting that," Sandy chuckled, rolling JJ's suitcase out of the doorway as Will and her brother came in behind her. "Did you have a good trip?"
JJ nodded, smiling happily. "It was just what I needed, I think"
"Good, I'm glad," Sandy nodded. "I hope you didn't spend the entire time worrying about your dad though"
JJ steeled herself as her mind wandered back to that first evening, Will ducking past her quickly as he too found himself revisiting that night. "No, I was ok," she replied quickly. "Where is Dad?"
"Probably asleep upstairs," Sandy said, watching as JJ immediately turned and headed upstairs in search of her father.
Reaching the door of her parents' bedroom, JJ had just started to push it open when she heard the sounds of retching coming from the master bathroom. Grabbing a hand towel and a washcloth from the stack her mom kept prepared in the corner of the room, she crossed the room and pushed open the bathroom door. Inside, she found her father crouched over the toilet bowl, his head in his hands as he seemed to will away the nausea. He didn't seem to have heard JJ enter the room.
Walking to the basin, JJ quickly dampened both the washcloth and hand towel with cold water, before going back to her dad and draping the hand towel around the back of his neck. The motion made him look up, his face brightening to see JJ kneeling down beside him.
"Hey Jaybird," he said weakly, managing a smile. "I didn't realise you were home"
"I only just got home now," JJ said with a soft smile, reaching out and gently wiping her dad's face with the cool cloth. "Are you alright?"
Michael nodded, slowly lowering himself down to lean against the wall. "I will be. Just the chemo... making me feel shitty. Hopefully that means its working"
A tiny stab of fear wound its way into JJ's stomach at the word 'hopefully', but she just as quickly forced it away.
"How was Hawaii?" Michael asked, the exhaustion on his face now seeping into every word he spoke.
"So much fun, and so beautiful. But surely you'd rather hear about it when you're not throwing up your lunch," JJ teased lightly, getting half a chuckle out of her dad.
"Fair point," he said softly, slowly starting to pull himself to his feet. Reaching over and flushing the toilet, he dragged his tired body back out to the bedroom, where he climbed back into the comfort of the bed as JJ came back into the room behind him.
"I'm just going to go and say goodbye to Will, because he wants to go home, but I'll be right back to tell you everything," JJ said with a smile.
"No rush," Michael chuckled as she headed for the door. "I'm not going anywhere"
Who do you think the USA is going to send to the American Cup next year?
Well, the spots have to be offered to Simone and JJ first since they were the ones who earned them. I think JJ may accept hers – she's never competed at an American Cup, and all her routines are pretty much set now, unlike this year when she wasn't quite ready. I'm pretty sure I remember Aimee saying that Simone won't be competing there this time, she's going to open her Olympic season at the Pacific Rims. If she doesn't accept, it'll go to Maggie, Gabby, or Aly most likely. Unless Marta wants to give a new senior a chance, like Laurie Hernandez or Ragan Smith. We'll see.
Which gymnasts do you think are definitely in contention for a spot on the Olympic team for the USA?
Out of the girls who are already senior, obviously Simone Biles, then Jennifer Jareau, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Ashton Locklear, Madison Kocian, Mykayla Skinner, and Maggie Nichols probably have the clearest chances. Rachel Gowey may be an outside shot, as well as Bailie Key, but we'll see. As for new seniors next year, Ragan Smith, Laurie Hernandez, and Jazmyn Foberg probably have the best chances. So that's a lot of girls vying for five places, two of which are arguably already locked down (Simone and JJ). So in reality, the fight is for the last three. It's going to be an intense year!
"Nice to have you back," Nick called out with a grin as JJ entered the gym early on the first morning of December, a blustery and cold Tuesday. "How was Hawaii?"
"So good," JJ sighed happily. "I miss it already. But I should also warn you that I'm going to LA next week. I've got an interview on Ellen!" JJ exclaimed, unable to conceal her excitement about getting to go on the famous host's show.
"Hey, that's exciting!" Nick exclaimed. "That's alright, I'm not starting your full-time training until after New Year, we're just going to work on skills for the next couple of weeks. And...," he trailed off, turning and leading her out towards the gym floor, where JJ could now see Elliott tightening the bars cables while someone else, a young woman, chalked them. "I'm assuming you got my message about having potentially found an assistant coach?" he said as JJ dropped her bag by the lockers along the front wall. She nodded, zipping her jacket up a little tighter to fight the chill inside the gym. Following Nick as he walked around the trampolines to stand at the edge of the floor, she rubbed her hands together vigorously to try and bring some feeling back into her freezing fingers.
"Hey Teagan!" Nick called out. The young woman turned, smiling as Nick waved for her to join them. Dropping the chalk back in the bucket, she jogged across the floor to meet them.
"JJ, this is Teagan, our extremely promising potential assistant coach," Nick said with a grin as Teagan beamed. "Teagan, I'm sure you know of her, but this is JJ, our senior elite"
"It's so nice to finally meet you!" Teagan said warmly, extending a hand, which JJ shook with a smile. "I'm hoping to learn a lot from working with you guys"
"I discovered last week while you were gone that Teagan is actually a brilliant choreographer; she did an amazing new routine for Kate in just a few days, and I was thinking, if you're ok with it, that maybe the two of you could work on a new floor routine for the new season," Nick suggested. JJ nodded enthusiastically.
"You know I love getting a new routine!" she said excitedly, making Nick and Teagan laugh.
"Well, go and get warm, then we'll go for stretching and conditioning, then we'll work our way to skills. Have a think about what you'd like to do for a new routine," Nick instructed. "Maybe a bit of a samba," he said jokingly, pretending to dance as he spoke, sending JJ into a fit of laughter.
"I thought I was the one who couldn't dance," she giggled as Teagan watched the two of them with a huge grin.
"Nah, I think it's you and me both kid," Nick laughed, waving her off to start her warmup, before heading across the floor with Teagan to continue preparing the equipment for the day ahead of them.
"Knock knock"
Looking up from her laptop, JJ smiled as she saw her brother poking his head into her room. "Hey, what's up?"
Jason took her response as an invitation to enter the room, pushing the door closed behind him before coming to sit on the edge of her bed. He let out a heavy sigh, giving his sister a reassuring smile. "I just wanted to talk to you... I feel like we don't get to talk as much these days, and with everything that's going on... you and I are the only two people who are going to understand each other's perspective. I wanted to check in and see how you're doing"
JJ smiled. "I'm doing ok, Jase. It's been... it's been tough, I won't lie. But I know that Dad's strong, and there's been so many advances in treating cancer. I guess I'm just trying to stay positive"
Jason nodded. "I get that. Just... don't bottle it up, ok? You've got so many people around you that you can talk to. And you know you can always call me. Any time"
"Thanks Jase. I'll remember that"
Reaching out, Jason gently knocked his fist against her shoulder, making her grin. "We got this. Jareaus are stronger than some bullshit like cancer"