A/N: So my muse is playing hard to get and I'm going to have to kind of dodge around it to keep this story moving. I had originally hoped to have this chapter be pure domestic fluff, but with Simone Biles making an amazing return to competition last week, my brain only wants to write the thrill of competition. So you'll have to bear with me if it feels a little rushed for a while, as I'm super pumped to get to the absolute peak of the story, and I'm going to try and get there quickly without missing anything that is worth including. So buckle in, we're going to… wherever my brain wants to go!
"Jayje? I'm home!"
Startled by the sudden call, JJ jerked awake when Will's voice rang out through the house. A full day of training had left her beat, and when she'd settled down on the couch after arriving home, it hadn't taken long for her eyes to start drooping. Rolling onto her back, she was unable to stifle a yawn as Will walked into the living room, a brown paper bag clutched in his hand.
"Hey sleepyhead," he laughed softly, walking towards her and setting the bag down on the coffee table before leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. "Big day at trainin'?"
"Nick suddenly thinks I'm superhuman or something," JJ replied through another yawn. "My Achilles is holding up to the test, so now we're upgrading stuff"
Will chuckled. "Do you want to be upgradin'?"
"Oh, I don't mind, I love doing new skills, it's just… with having time off for the wedding and our honeymoon, we're under a bit of a time crunch. I'll be alright by Nationals, I'm just tired"
"Well, I brought you one of your favourites for dinner," Will said with a smile, gesturing towards the bag. "Orange chicken"
JJ pushed herself up, her face suddenly bright with excitement. "From Panda Express?"
"The one and only"
"Oh my god, I love you!"
Will laughed, picking up her legs and moving them so he could sit down beside her. "Is that all I am to you? Food delivery service?"
JJ smirked, giving him a playful kick as he began rifling through the bag. "Shut up and give me my chicken"
"If I'd known I could just buy your love with food, I'd have proposed with a takeout box from Panda Express instead of a ring," he teased as he handed her one of the containers. "Would've saved me a fortune"
JJ laughed, snapping apart her chopsticks and eagerly plucking a piece of the sticky chicken from the container. She popped it in her mouth, flopping back against the cushions with a happy smile. "I'd have said yes"
"Easy to please," Will said with a chuckle.
JJ cocked an eyebrow. "In more ways than one"
"Down girl, finish your chicken," Will laughed. "I didn't slave away in the waitin' area of Panda Express for nothin'"
JJ giggled, digging her chopsticks into her container and bringing another piece of chicken to her mouth. "Thanks for dinner babe. I appreciate you"
Smiling, Will reached over and placed a hand on her leg, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Any time. Gotta keep my lil' world champ in tip top shape"
|beamqueenjareau|
There's something almost… suspicious about how stunning JJ is. How is someone that photogenic and also that talented at gymnastics?
|flylikesimone|
Honestly if she were gay, imagine how pretty that couple would be? People would just be sidelined by how gorgeous they would be HAHA
|jareaumanar|
That's a question I wanna ask her now. Who would you date if you were gay?
|golden-butterflies|
Probably Aly. But Aly's not into blondes. So Simone is a hot second.
|tenxworldchampion|
Aw thanks boo, I'd date you too
|beamqueenjareau|
*GIF of someone spitting out their drink and laughing*
|tkatchevmeifyoucan|
Fucking magnificent.
The ringing of her phone cut through the silence, pulling her out of a dead sleep. She groggily patted around on her nightstand, trying to find it. She cracked open her eyes, the bleary numbers on the alarm clock reading 2:18. Finally grabbing her phone, she flipped it over, squinting at the screen until she could just make out a picture of her and Aly.
What the heck?
Sliding across the answer the call, she lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she mumbled.
"JJ! What took you so long?" Aly hissed.
"Wha… Aly, it's two in the morning!"
"I need you!"
"Alright, alright…"
Will turned over, yawning as he peered through the darkness. "What's wrong?"
JJ clumsily patted at his face with a yawn. "Shhh. Go back to sleep." She slid out from under the covers, snagging her glasses from the bedside table as she went.
"I think I'm about to do something dumb"
"How dumb? Like, eat an entire pizza by yourself dumb?"
"Like lose my virginity dumb"
JJ was now much more awake. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Yes! Do you understand the urgency now?"
JJ paused for a moment as she reached the kitchen. In the background of the call, she could hear water running. "Where are you?"
"The bathroom"
"Whose bathroom?"
"His. Austin's"
"Ooooh-"
"JJ, I am seriously freaking out here!"
"Okay, alright. Why are you freaking out?" JJ asked, pulling open the fridge and reaching in to grab a bottle of water.
"Because… Because! I haven't done it! And I don't know if I should"
JJ took a swig of water, leaning back against the counter. "Why shouldn't you?"
Aly huffed into the phone. "Because! This is going to overcomplicate everything!"
"But why? I mean, you're both adults. You're hot, he's hot, you both like each other. If you both want to, then that doesn't sound complicated at all"
"But what if… ughhhhh"
JJ laughed. "What exactly happened?"
"When he got out of practice, we went out for dinner and then we came back here because I had been complaining about how I hadn't watched this week's episode of the Bachelorette-"
"Oh God, you have to! Marco goes insane and throws-"
"We came back so that I could watch it but we only got like fifteen minutes in and then we were making out on his couch. And then suddenly we were in his room, on the bed, and no one was wearing their shirt-"
"Ooh la la!"
"Stop it!"
JJ couldn't help but laugh. "Aly, it's really okay, I promise."
"I don't know!"
"Have you been drinking?"
"No. I had like, one glass of wine at dinner and that's it"
"Then you're sober, you're completely in control over this. It's gonna be okay."
"I just… I don't know. This is big, Jayje"
"I know, Al." JJ took a deep breath. "Okay, just take a second and calm down. Is this something you want to do?"
"I don't know!"
"Stop freaking out on me," JJ gently chastised. "Sex isn't the end of the world. And if you decide you don't want to? Then that's fine! I'm serious, that's fine. You don't have to have sex with him. But, if you want to, that's okay too." She paused for a second, letting her words sink in. "Before Will and I had sex for the first time, I was so nervous. I would get all worked up just thinking about it. But when it came down to it… all of that went away. And it just felt right. And I know it's a cliché but it did make us closer. Does that help at all?"
"No," Aly said bluntly. "You were supposed to tell me not to"
JJ started to laugh. "Well then you should have called a different friend. Are you okay?"
She could hear her take a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm fine. It's okay"
"What are you going to do?"
Aly paused. "I… don't know. I don't know. We'll just have to see"
"Okay well, either way, you should probably leave the bathroom. He's gonna think you're pooping"
"Oh God. Alright, bye"
Aly abruptly hung up. JJ smiled as she leaned back against the counter . She really didn't know if she had been of any help, but she couldn't wait to call Aly back in the morning and find out what had happened. She padded back into the bedroom, taking off her glasses and sliding back underneath the covers.
"Everythin' all right?" Will murmured as he pulled her under his chin.
"Yeah. I think our little girl is about to become a woman," she joked.
"What?"
"Nothing, baby. Go back to sleep, I'll tell you in the morning."
"So, what happened last night? You got up and left and when you came back, you said something about our little girl becoming a woman," was the first thing out of Will's mouth when JJ came downstairs the next morning. He grabbed his freshly cooked toast from the toaster and carried it to the opposite counter, a confused frown crossing his face as he looked over at his wife.
JJ laughed. "Oh, that"
"Are you pregnant?" Will asked suddenly.
"No!" JJ exclaimed, laughing again as Will's face dropped. "Will, we've had this discussion"
"I know, I know, I just couldn't think of anythin' that would make you say that last night"
JJ grinned. "Aly called me at 2am… completely freaking out because she was with this guy, Austin, and she thought they were going to end up having sex"
"Why was she freakin' out?" Will replied.
"Excuse me, do you not remember how flustered I always got if we started to go further than making out? It's kinda scary when you don't know what you're in for… it's a big deal for us!"
"I'm not sayin' it isn't for guys either… but it's Aly! She's spent years listenin' to you, and she's got enough confidence for the entire US Olympic Team"
JJ laughed. "That is true. But no… she was just nervous and a little overwhelmed. Needed an experienced voice to calm her down"
Will chuckled. "Because you're the resident sex maniac"
"Apparently so," JJ giggled. "I'll call her in a little while. Make sure she's ok"
X
Sitting on the sofa, JJ stared across the room at the TV screen as she waited for Aly to pick up. Luckily, she didn't have long to wait. On the third ring, the line clicked.
"JJ, oh my god, I have so much to tell you"
JJ laughed. "Hi to you too Aly"
"Hey!"
"So," JJ said with a smile, getting comfortable against the arm of the chair. "What happened last night?"
There was a short silence, before Aly let out a soft laugh. "Your best friend is no longer a virgin, that's what happened"
JJ laughed. "I kinda figured that's what would happen. How was it? I hope for your sake it wasn't totally terrible"
Aly chuckled. "No, it was… it was ok"
"Just ok?"
"I mean… I was kinda nervous"
"That's pretty standard Al"
There was another silence, until Aly spoke up again. "I… I cried, Jayje"
JJ felt a tug of sympathy in her chest. Normally, she would have made a joke to lighten the mood. But something told her this wasn't to be laughed at.
"Why? Did you not want to do it?" she asked gently. "Did it hurt?"
"No, it… it wasn't that. I wanted to do it and Austin was so sweet, it was just… I couldn't believe I finally made that step. I was so proud of myself for overcoming those fears… but I was also kinda sad for everything I've been through and what it took from me"
"Oh Al," JJ breathed, settling back even further. "It's ok. You of all people have definitely earned the right to a few tears after losing your virginity"
Aly let out a watery chuckle. "Did you cry?"
"No," JJ replied. "But I did bleed all over Will's bed, so you know, I definitely hit my awkward factor in other ways"
Aly laughed, and JJ felt the mood lift.
"I know what you meant now… about feeling weird afterwards but not in a bad way"
"Yeah… you'll just feel a bit… different. But it goes away. Eventually it's just another part of life that you won't even think twice about"
"Yeah," Aly said softly. "Austin was so sweet. When I started crying, he just hugged me and hugged me until I pulled myself together"
"He sounds like a keeper. Who I still need to meet," JJ said pointedly.
"Come up next weekend and I'll introduce you. Bring Will"
"I'll see if we can. Nick might kill me if I take more time off"
Aly laughed. "How dare you have a life after six worlds and two Olympics"
JJ rolled her eyes. "I know right. How selfish of me"
A comfortable silence washed over them, broken only when Aly spoke again, her voice soft.
"Thanks JJ. For everything. For constantly telling me all your advice, for answering the phone at 2am… just for everything"
"Hey," JJ said with a soft smile. "What are friends for if not to have an outstanding influence on your sex life?"
"If Aly thinks she's gettin' into bed with us… she's not entirely off track," Will said dryly as he walked through the room. JJ laughed, shooing him away as Aly giggled on the other end.
"You're the best. Both of you. And I love you so much. Thanks for being there for me always… especially the last couple of years"
"I've always got your back Al. You can call me for anything. Anytime"