Warning: Smut!

X

They blissfully continue to cling to each other. The echoes of their love declarations still linger around them, while they just remain standing there, bodies pressed against each other for a long silent moment even as the air in the room is beginning to grow heavy with desire all over again.

Tara pulls away just enough to look up at him, to meet his eyes and that is all it takes for Jax to frame her face in his hands again and place yet another scorching kiss against those perfectly plump lips of hers, and she returns the kiss with just as much urgency, with her hands flat on his back drawing him closer into her.

His hands travel down to the small of her waist and he firmly grabs onto her, lifting her onto the edge of the bathroom counter with such ease as if she doesn't weigh a thing, and she can't help the little moan that escapes against his open mouth when he wedges himself between her thighs again. Jesus Christ!

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't just as turned on as him all over again at the moment, but still she's the one that manages to pry her lips away from his, bracing her hands flat against his chest to create some illusion of distance again, when there really isn't any.

"Jax." She huffs breathlessly against his ear, when his freed lips now shamelessly begin to travel across the skin on her neck instead. "I thought we were leaving." She tries to add as a halfhearted excuse, but judging by the breathy rasp to her own voice, she doesn't sound all that convincing to herself either, never mind the way her arms are suddenly wrapped around his neck again as if by their own accord.

Jax kisses and nips at her ear, his teeth gracing her earlobe before he blows some air against her wet kissed skin, making her shutter a little against him at the prickly sensation it causes.

"I'll make it fast." He rasps out the words against her ear, and even though the lust in his voice, along with his hot breath on her skin makes her practically quiver against him already, she can't help but smile a little about the lie he just told when his hands slip under her shirt and begin to caress her breasts.

She has one hand curled around the back of his head, guiding him where she wants his lips to stay, when she can't help but let out a soft little chuckle. "Liar ... you couldn't make it fast even if you tried."

She's telling the truth, after all the sex they've been having, he's a bit desensitized by now, making him last longer each time without even consciously trying to hold back anymore. Tara on the other hand seems to be having almost the opposite problem, she's feeling kind of overstimulated at this point and will probably climax more than once before he's even getting close.

"We'll see." Is all Jax utters in a lust-filled voice in reply, completely undeterred by what she said, and reaches between them with just one hand, undoing the button of her jeans with a quick flick of his skilled long fingers.

His lips are back on hers, kissing her feverishly when he suddenly grabs her by her hips and slips her ass off of the edge of the little bathroom counter again.

He pulls away from the kiss, his hands stilling on her waist, pausing everything he's been doing to her for a moment, leaving her breathless, chest heaving, and a bit confused and needy looking up at him.

But then he surprises her when he reaches up, and tenderly runs his knuckles over her cheekbone, with his eyes locked on hers again, and his voice sounding dark and hungry with need when he suddenly says, "I wanna be a little rough with you, Babe."

Tara swallows the sudden lump in her throat when she notices the dangerous glint in his eyes reflecting back at hers ... and oh, what that look combined with his words do to her body!

Goosebumps are forming all over, the little peach fuzz on the back of her neck is standing up, her nipples suddenly puckered, her core is throbbing with want for him, muscles pulled so tautly she fears they might snap and every nerve ending in her body crackling with anticipation of what's to come.

She bats her eyes at him in the most innocent way she can muster, yet her cheeks are already flushing, and one corner of her lips is pulling upward in a little devilish smirk that completely contradicts the look she's giving him when she answers him.

"I'm all yours, Jackson." The words in themselves sound harmless enough, yet in the current context they take on a whole other meaning, because they're basically her way of permitting him to do what he wants with her, and if he wasn't hard as a rock already, those words from her just now would've definitely done the trick.

And of course, Jax can't help the little smirk that appears on his lips now too, nor the little crinkles that are forming at the corner of his eyes when he narrows them a bit at her in obvious amusement and mischief. He just loves those contradicting sides of hers, the reserved yet smart innocence she has about her that she usually presents as a front to the rest of the world, which is inadvertently intertwined with the lust and thrill-seeking, and rebellious side of hers that she tends to only let shine through for him, or with him around.

"Give me a kiss." He demands and she complies without hesitation, leaning up while he leans down and their lips crush against each other before both open their mouths to let the kiss turn more passionate again too.

Jax doesn't waste another second though, and promptly jerks her jeans down over her curvy hips, just low enough to expose her ass, then he abruptly pulls away from the kiss and meets her eyes for just a fraction of a second when he commands her in a gruff sounding voice to turn around now, but before Tara can even process what he just said, he has her already spun around and hastily bend over the counter and the sink in front of her.

Tara's breathing heavily in anticipation of what's to come, bracing herself with one hand on the counter, the other flat against the mirror where she's still watching him standing right behind her.

And it's all happening at a dizzying speed, it's merely taking him seconds really, as he's quickly undoing his belt, pushes down his jeans and briefs just enough to let his dick spring free, and then hooks his left thumb into her panties, the seam breaking with a snapping sound as he's pulling them aside impatiently and rough. Next, he practically kicks her feet wider apart, positions himself just right, and surges forward, thrusting all the way into her at once, letting out a grunt-like sound when he does so that mingles in the air with her moans when he begins to move.

Tara's letting out the smallest of moans while she's watching him in the mirror, his eyes downcast and from her point of view, she's pretty sure he's staring at the junction where they're connecting, watching himself slip in and out of her. But then he suddenly flicks the hem of her shirt up, off of her lower back to expose the crow, she can see and feel him trace the outline of the tattoo with his hand for a moment, and how his eyes zero in on it now instead, before he grabs a hold of both her hips and speeds up his powerful thrusts even more.

Then his eyes flicker up to the mirror, meeting hers in the reflection and he shoots her a satisfied little grin before he quickly shifts his focus back on the crow again, and at this point, Tara finally closes her eyes and lowers her head in complete and utter surrender to him.

She's still bracing herself with her hands against the earth-shattering movement of his hips, but is letting go in every other sense, letting herself be consumed by the feeling of him taking her like this, with fast and hard thrusts, that obscene sound of his skin connecting with her skin echoing through the small bathroom, and it's quickly proven to be enough for her to slowly fall over the edge for the first time.

They continue their love-making for a while longer, and Tara honestly doesn't know where he's even finding the strength or the stamina to keep at it as he does, pounding into her without losing neither speed or rhythm. She has been feeling her second orgasm slowly building up for a while, and it's finally approaching its peak now, but at the same time she's feeling completely spent, almost thankful to be bent over the counter, because her arms feel too heavy, and she's so weak in the knees right now, she doesn't think she'd have the strength to keep up with him otherwise.

And as if on cue, that's when Jax grips her hips even harder, so hard in fact that she's sure she'll have two hand-sized bruises appear by tomorrow morning, but in a sick and twisted way she loves that she can make him lose control like this, so lost in the moment that he's unable to control his own strength any more, and it also tells her that this time he's almost there to fall over the edge along with her too.

Her suspicions are confirmed when suddenly his hands leave her hips altogether and he yanks her upper body hard up against his instead. Her back is pressed firmly against his chest, one of his arms wrapped across her front in a vice-like grip, holding her to him, molding himself against her while he's holding her in place, at the same time as the other hand quickly slips down her stomach to find and tease that sweet spot between her legs instead.

His lips are on her neck again, teasing her and kissing her between hot breathy pants, and before she knows it her core clenches and throbs around him, milking him, and she finally comes along with him, his hips jerking against her plump ass, spilling himself inside of her, when they both moan out loud in the moment of joint sexual release.

"Babe." Jax practically moans his pet name for her against her ear, still clinging to her, still lodged inside of her, but then he suddenly staggers back, still holding on to her, before he quickly reaches out and grips the edge of the counter and sink to steady himself, along with her, instead, before they almost toppled over together.

Tara watches him in the mirror, but quickly twists her head around toward him, to actually look at him face to face, concern edged in her facial features as well as her voice when she speaks up, "Are you okay?"

At that he actually lets out a little laugh now, a big happy smile on his face, blue eyes shining contently when he leans down and kisses her sloppily against her lips, still trying to catch his breath between the words when he answers her. "I'm fine ... I just ... just got a little lightheaded for a second."

Tara gives him a scolding look. "No more sex until you eat something. Doctor's orders." She adds that last part with a hint of a smile gracing her lips again, unable to keep the pretense up that she could possibly be mad at him right now, after the way he just made her feel.

"Yes, ma'am." Jax simply agrees and is looking sheepishly back at her before he leans in for another long lingering kiss.

X

Tara pulls the scarf tighter around her neck when the cold wind sends chills through her in the instant they leave the warmth of their motel room. The sudden coldness makes the way her body aches all the more noticeable to her, and she doesn't just mean the delicious soreness she can feel between her legs, but her body as a whole. Muscles feel heavy and sore now, and she's not sure if it's lack of sleep, lack of sustenance, or just the fact that she hasn't used some of those muscles since that last time she made real love to Jax almost a whole year ago on the day she was almost murdered.

She watches Jax, as he pulls the motel room door closed behind them, giving it a quick jolt to ensure it has locked in place before he turns his attention back to her. Without another word, but with an unfaltering little smile on his face he simply reaches for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers, and pulls her along beside him toward the little gas station with the attached diner on the other end of the truck stop lot.

Jax holds the door open for her to walk inside ahead of him and both embrace the warmth once more as their eyes start to scan around the small convenience store they enter through. There are all kinds of goodies to choose from, and Tara's already making a mental note of things to remember to pick up before they head back to their room later.

Jax reaches for her hand once more, and they walk on through, zigzagging their way through the little aisles to avoid other customers and follow the path of least resistance toward the other side of the building where the diner is located at.

His arm is curled around her shoulder, pulling her closer so he can kiss her lips several times, a happy blissful smile on both their faces while they're waiting in line to be shown to an empty table by one of the waitresses on the staff.

They finally settle into a booth, shrugging out of their jackets, Tara taking off her scarf too, sitting across from each other and sharing looks between looking over the menu. Carrying on small talk about how the smell of food in the air is making both their stomachs growl, or about what sounds good and what doesn't on the menu, before the waitress shows back up and swiftly begins to take their orders.

It's already past noon by now, but the diner serves breakfast all day, so Tara just orders an omelet, with a side of bacon and a piece of toast, while Jax goes all out and orders himself some sort of breakfast platter that is meant for two to share and comes with all the fixings.

And Tara lets out a little chuckle when the waitress comes back to double-check the order with him, but when she disappears, he looks over at Tara and smirks, before he says in his defense. "You said I needed to eat."

"I did." She nods her head in agreement at first, but then purses her lips trying to contain the smirk that's forming.

"I'm just following Doctor's orders here, and besides, I gotta get my strength back up for later too." Jax continues to tease with amusement shining in his blue eyes, loving the playful banter with her and he can't stop himself from adding. "What can I say, Babe, ... you are wearing me out, letting me do all the work."

Tara scoffs at that, but it's all in good humor when she shakes her head at him and the comment he made, before she goes on the defense herself this time. "You know I've tried countless times to take the lead and do 'all the work' as you've put it, only for you, Mister-Control-Freak, to intervene and take over again."

"I know, you're right," Jax smirks when he replies, nodding in complete agreement with what she's just said, before he lets out a little chuckle, bites his lip, and reaches across the small table to hold her hand in his, and the look he's giving her now is one of pure contentment and joy, with just a tad bit of smugness mixed in. "I admit that I like being in control, but I think you like it too, don't you?" He gestures with his hand between them, pointing back and forth between her and him, when he adds, "It's our thing, it's how we work, Babe, it's our dynamic."

"I guess that's true," Tara replies, a little sparkle in her eyes when she looks back at him from the other side of the table while reminiscent thoughts of their most recent sexual encounter flicker through her mind, and it makes her blush just a little.

Just then the waitress suddenly appears with their coffees, placing the hot steaming cups on the table in front of them, before she disappears again just as fast.

They both start to add some sugar to their cups and stir them, while their eyes meet repeatedly and Jax suddenly blurts out. "Maybe I'll let you take the reins next time."

Tara scoffs again at first, but then there's a little smirk on her lips when she replies. "I've heard that before, Teller ... and yet somehow it always goes back to you being the one in control."

"I just can't help myself with you." He replies, his baby-blue eyes still sparkling mischievously when they connect with hers all over again, but his voice sounds entirely serious this time, and it's giving her that notorious butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling again, that he's been giving her since high school.

X

After they ate and paid their bill, they walked aimlessly around the little convenience store, doing a little shopping, but also trying to kill some time while remaining fully clothed for a change.

Tara's carrying a little shopping basket around, has half of it filled already with all sorts of junk food, from chips to sodas to cookies, and of course, the little necessities she'd been dying to get her hands on too. She's got a gray beanie, to keep her head warm, a deodorant, a razor, a hairbrush, conditioner, some pretty smelling lotion, and some leave-in-conditioner too, most of these things she's planning on using right away when they get back to the room, to make herself feel more presentable again, and to tame that birds nest on her head, formerly known as her hair.

Suddenly Jax appears and steps up behind her, pressing a quick little peck against her cheek, hiding both his hands behind his back when she turns around toward him and he speaks up. "Pick a side, Babe."

Tara's intrigued, putting the basket on the ground near her feet, hesitating only for a split-second in her decision to choose. "This one." She says, nods, and points to his right arm, and he presents her with a matching bra and panty set, both of which she's in desperate need of.

It isn't particularly cute or pretty, and has a logo plastered all over it that she doesn't recognize at first, but it is her size, so she takes it from him and gives it a once over. Then her eyes flicker up at him in question, because neither he nor she has ever cared much about football in the past.

"Seattle Seahawks? Really?" She asks out loud and raises her eyebrows in amusement at him.

"What's in your other hand?" She suddenly remembers to ask, and he presents her with yet another bra and panty set, this one with the Oregon Ducks logo on it instead.

"So, what do you think?" Jax asks, biting back the smirk caused by the less-than-thrilled expression currently on her face.

"These are my only options?" She reconfirms, her hazel-green eyes looking up at him in question again. Not only were they not very pretty, but kind of pricey too considering she didn't even like them.

"Beggars can't be choosers, sweetheart. I've looked through every single aisle in this joint, this is all they've got. It's either the Ducks, Hawks, or going commando? For the record, I'm fine with the latter." He cracks a little grin in her direction.

Tara sighs, ignoring his little joke altogether, and puts both sets in the shopping basket sitting on the ground, before she picks it back up. "I guess I'll take both."

"We're leaving tomorrow morning." Jax reminds her, taking the basket out of her hand to carry it for her, draping his other arm around her as they slowly start walking down the aisle together, still looking around at stuff they might want for the long ride home tomorrow.

"I know." She nods in reply, but she's not daft, realizing what he's getting at. "One set's for today, the other one's for tomorrow."

He places a sloppy wet kiss right smack against her ear and between an outraged little gasp and giggles, she's trying to squirm away from him, but he's tugging her even closer to him, trying to annoy her a little, get a little rise out of her all the while grinning like a Cheshire cat when he says, "You won't need any for today."

He lets go of her just long enough to tug playfully on her clothes to emphasize his meaning when he adds, "'Cause I'll get you right back out of these when we're in the room again." Then curls his arm right back around her neck, his hand hanging lazily off of her shoulder.

"Oh really?" Tara feigns disbelief and wipes the wetness from her ear, giving him a little shove with her elbow too, then smiles up at him with the hint of some unspoken challenge, daring him to do his kiss version of a 'wet-willy' to her again.

But Jax isn't even acknowledging that she's expressing some doubt about his ability to charm her pants back off of her, when he simply adds, "You and I are gonna ride the rest of the day and night out in the buff, au naturel, until it's time to hit the road tomorrow."

"What about dinner?" Tara asks, keeping her voice level, but her eyes are twinkling, giving away the fact that she's thoroughly enjoying this exchange just as much as he is. "Aren't we gonna eat dinner?"

He's so stuffed after eating every last bite of that breakfast platter, just because Tara bet him that he couldn't. So he can't believe she's already thinking about their next meal again. "Good God, woman, how can you even think about food right now? I literally just fed you?" He teases her back in faux outrage.

Tara nudges her hips against him while they're walking, trying to get him off-kilter, "I mean later, smart-ass, as in tonight. I realize you just ate enough for two, but you should definitely eat something again, you know, to keep your blood sugar up. We wouldn't want another little episode like earlier in the bathroom to happen, when you got lightheaded, almost took the both of us down in a very, very compromising state." She gives him a pointed look.

"Fine." He concedes without any further argument, because he doesn't feel too manly about the fact that he almost passed out after sex, so she won't hear him argue with her about it.

A few silent moments pass between them as they're looking around the store. "Hey, Babe, would you like to have dinner with me later?" He suddenly asks her in a very serious tone of voice.

"Yes, I would love to, thanks for asking," Tara answers in reply sounding just as serious, but then she has to hold back the laugh that's threatening to spill from her lips, when he adds. "I guess buying you dinner is the right thing to do considering you're letting me back in your pants."

Tara smirks up at him but ignores his words, and instead finally brings the conversation back to the starting point when she says, "Okay then, so we agree that I'll need clean underwear for our dinner date, hence, I'm buying both sets."

"Well played, Knowles, well played."

X

They eventually return back to the room, and Tara disappears into the bathroom with a bag full of things she'd just bought, and when Jax smirks at her and tries to follow her she banishes him to the bedroom with orders to 'cool it, Teller' and watch some TV - anything but porn - for a little bit and let her do her own girly-things in here. She even goes as far as to lock the door behind her, so she can be sure she won't be interrupted five minutes from now.

She takes another shower without him, taking her time working the conditioner into her hair and letting it just sit to do its magic, while she proceeds to carefully shave her legs and under her arms too.

Once out of the shower, she now uses some of the leave-in-conditioner before she blows dries, and brushes her long brown hair out again, much more pleased with the outcome this time around. She applies some of the nice-smelling body lotions she's bought, letting them dry and soak into her skin a little while she brushes her teeth again.

Tara snaps the tags off of her new underwear, quickly putting them on, and despite that she's not happy with the design, she's still glad to find that they fit her perfectly. She gets dressed all the way again, shoes and all, powders her nose, even apply a little lipstick and mascara, and in the end is actually feeling happy with the way she looks, when she catches one last glance of herself in the mirror before she opens the bathroom door and steps into the bedroom with Jax again.

"Hey." He says looking up at her from his spot on the bed, remote control in hand, muting the sound of the sitcom he'd been watching, before he quickly puts the remote aside. "Are you done doing your girly stuff?"

Tara simply nods her head in reply when she sits down on the foot of the bed, near his feet, letting her fingers run across his toes over the socks he's wearing, smirking a little when he suddenly jerks his foot away, clearly, she's found a ticklish spot.

She has to admit, she figured he'd be passed out in a deep slumber by now considering neither of them got a whole lot of sleep last night, but finds it actually really sweet that he's just been laying here, staying awake and waiting for her to reappear.

"So ... how do they fit?" He inquires, undoubtedly he's talking about the underwear, and smiles a little when she answers with a smile of her own. "Perfect."

"Good." He replies, before they look at each other for a long quiet moment until he suddenly sits up, leans forward, and pulls her feet into his lap, taking off her shoes, one by one, and tossing them to the floor right beside the bed.

Then he reaches out and grabs her hand. "Come here." He says with a demanding tone of voice, tugging on her hand, pulling her toward him, not letting up until she's back where he wants her, back in his arms, laying down right beside him, snuggled into her spot, with her head on his left shoulder and her hand playing with the barely-there-stubble on his chin.

"You smell nice. Like a girl!" Jax says, kisses her forehead, and closes his eyes for just a couple of seconds, relishing in the feeling of being completely content, at peace with her right now, right here. But then his left hand that's wrapped around her reaches down, gently caressing the curve of her plump behind. "Hmm." He hums, before he mumbles against her hair, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Babe?"

"Probably not," Tara replies rather dryly, but immediately has to smirk when his chest quakes as he's laughing out loud in response to her answer.

"Ouch!" He sort of yelps next, trying to imply that his feelings got hurt, but he's still chuckling a little and she's chuckling now too, looking over at him so their eyes can meet in obvious banter again.

He takes a deep breath, no longer chuckling, eyes trained on hers, but still clearly amused, if the big grin on his face is any indication, when he says. "Well, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we should call our babies?" Tara says earnestly, her eyes never leaving his.

"You're right." He nods, his eyebrows raised, and he lets out another little laugh before he adds, "That was definitely not what I was thinking when I was cupping a feel."

But he reaches for his cell phone on the nightstand beside him, it's fully charged now, but still has no reception and he hands it to Tara to find the number. He then pulls the corded phone on the mattress beside him, doing so rather awkwardly, since he remains lying down, and starts dialing when Tara reads Christy's number back to him.

They finally get to talk to both Abel and Thomas for a little while, each one of them taking turns talking, pretty much repeating the same stories over again when they tell them about the snowstorm, and being snowed in, etcetera, etcetera, of course leaving out the juicy parts for their boys. And in turn, both Tara and he are told about everything they did at Greg's house yesterday, and what they've been up to so far today with Christy and Jason, some of which was described in way too great detail by an overzealous Abel.

X

Jax and Tara are outside, off to the side of the parking lot, near the oversized motel sign, standing in what would normally be a grassy field, yet it is covered in a deep blanket of snow right now instead.

They're trying to build a snowman. His hands are freezing by now, because he lets her use his brown gloves, but he loves the way they look too big on her smaller hands. They're piling on the snow, then packing it down, trying their best to make the tall heap of snow resemble a snowman.

"I'll go find some sticks and rocks," Jax says and pushes his hands into the pockets of his jacket to warm them up a little while he walks off to the side, where he finds a few skinny branches on a leftover tree stump, breaks them off and returns back to Tara side. He kicks his boots around on the snowy ground, hoping to find some rocks, or gravel, they can use for the eyes and mouth, happy when he does find just enough to complete their little project.

They work together to finish up the snowman, attaching the branches as arms, rocks as eyes, and more little rocks arranged in an upward-curved line to represent a smile. Last but not least, Jax puts a cigarette in place of the nose, and Tara scoffs at him, but he simply replies, "Sorry, Babe, I'm fresh out of carrots."

They use Jax's phone to take several pictures of the snowman, even do a short selfie-type video in which they both appear with the damn thing. They do all of that just to prove to Abel and Thomas that they did what they had promised them they would do in their phone conversation earlier. Abel's pleading still rings in his ear. You have to build a snowman, Daddy, you and Mommy together, you have to do it!

After the pictures and video, they somehow end up in a snowball fight, but neither of them will admit to being the instigator. Jax blames her for throwing the first ball, but she blames him for shoving a handful of snow under the front of her shirt first. So a fight ensues, with loud childlike laughter and high-pitched shrieks from Tara, chasing after each other with snowballs in their hands, until they are both freezing cold, and eventually cease fire, coming to a truce when Jax promises her that she'll enjoy his ways of warming her back up.

X

Jax is lying flat on his front, stark naked, head turned to the side, eyes closed, humming out little sounds of contentment when Tara runs her fingers across the few un-tattooed parts of the skin on his back, while she's still marveling that he really did this for her, went through with it and left SAMCRO.

She leans over him, over his back, strands of her long hair tickling his skin when she places a few sweet kisses against his blackened-out tattoo, before she lies down right beside him again on her side, facing him, running her hand over his short cropped hair for a second, watching him drift off to sleep.

But before Jax can fall into a deep sleep, Tara speaks up, awakening him again. "Baby?"

"Hmm?" He replies merely with a sound instead of an actual word, his eyes still shut closed as well.

Her fingers are now trailing his stubbly chin again, and she finally brings voice to the question that popped into her mind just a few moments ago. "So ... am I supposed to have my crow covered up too?"

"What?" His eyes fly open at once, zeroing in on her face that's just a few inches away from his, wondering if he's actually heard her right.

"My tattoo, am I supposed to blacken it out too?" She rephrases her question.

"No." He shakes his head a little without lifting it off of the mattress, his voice sounding serious "You don't." No way in hell will he let her get rid of that crow, his crow.

"But you said that it means I belong to a Club member, that I'm the Old Lady of a Club member, which I'm not anymore." She furrows her brows as a sign of confusion, because logic tells her it should be removed or covered up just like his.

Jax swipes his hand down his face, trying to think of what to say. "Your tattoo, it's a show of solidarity, a show of commitment to your man, to me." As soon as the words leave his lips, he already knows he worded it wrong, and this won't placate her.

Since his answer obviously sucked, he expects her to basically voice the same question again, but is surprised when she takes this little talk into another direction instead.

Tara realizes the irony of her next question, because she herself had kept that crow on her back during their eleven years long split. After all, at the time it was the one thing in her life that would keep her forever connected to him. So who was she to judge Wendy now? Could she really blame another woman for still being in love with this amazing man? But still, she can't stop herself from asking. "So Wendy still has her crow, that's because she's still committed to you?"

Jax almost wants to laugh at that notion, because, to the best of his knowledge, the only thing Wendy's ever been truly committed to is crank.

He lets out a heavy sigh, he is incredibly tired, but he still pushes himself up so he can roll onto his side to face her completely. And now that Wendy is being brought into the conversation, he suddenly wonders if it might just be the right time for him to come all the way clean, after all this conversation has been a long time coming. "Look, don't worry about Wendy. I honestly could've cared less when she got it, and care even less why she's still keeping it."

He reaches out to her, brushing her hair out of her face, before he runs his hand from her arm down to her waist, and leaves it there, in the dip of her curves. He's hesitating now since he knows he's about to be treading on thin ice here, trying to think of the right way to put it. "You've gotta trust me on this, Wendy's and your crow are not the same, because Wendy and you never meant the same to me."

He can see the puzzled look in her eyes, but also the realization of something he's said, and it's clear to him that she's catching on.

And just like he suspects, she won't drop it at that, and searches his face when she inquires even further. "What does that mean, her crow and mine aren't the same?"

"You've seen your crow." He states rather matter-of-factly. "The tattoo artist showed it to you before he got started. And I took a Polaroid right after." He reminds her of the day she got the tattoo, before he adds, "It's not the same, it's not identical to Wendy's, it's not identical to anyone else's either." He bites his lip, waiting for her to process that little bit of information, however vague he's still making it sound.

"Will you cut the crap and just tell me how come I've never noticed that it's different? And what exactly makes it different from the rest?"

"Hold up, just give me a second, Babe." He says and pushes himself up high enough so he can look around the room and find his jeans. He quickly gets up out of bed and picks them off of the floor, reaching in his pocket for his phone.

Tara's propped up on her elbow, watching him climb back in bed beside her. "What are you doing?" She can't help but ask, getting impatient, wishing he'd just come out and tell her already.

"Lay down on your stomach." He instructs her, and when she gives him a puzzled look at first, he holds up his phone again, as a way of explanation. "I'm taking another picture so you can see it for yourself."

Tara complies and lays back down, allowing him to pull the sheet off of her, exposing all of the crow so he can take a quick couple of pictures, which he does, and Tara sits up, pulling the sheet up over her bare breast again and waits.

He looks at the pictures he just took for a long moment, ignoring Tara's stare burning a hole through him with impatience, while he uses his fingers on the touch screen to zoom in, zero in on what he needs to show her. And even taking into consideration how old the tattoo already is, it's still so much clearer to see in a picture like this, with the HD resolution, instead of those crappy Polaroid or 35mm film they used way back when. But then he zooms back out, curious to see if she can spot the difference herself. After all, she's never gotten a really good close-up look at the tattoo, considering where it is positioned.

"Jesus Christ, Jackson." She suddenly hisses in his direction. "You've had years to stare at the damn thing, can I get a look now?"

"Of course." He replies, but still lets out a little chuckle when he meets her eyes and sits back down beside her, "Here." He hands her the phone, but looks over her shoulder watching her take a closer look.

She glares at the screen, not zoomed in yet, when she huffs, "This would be much easier if I had a side-by-side comparison." Her mind goes to those 'find the difference' picture games that Abel loves to do in his coloring books, but the boy has the advantage of two images right next to one another with the difference in them glaringly obvious, like night and day.

"You can't miss it, Babe. And really, once you see it, you can't believe you've missed it all this time." Jax explains, pulling a cigarette out of the pack on his nightstand, lighting it, and taking a drag without taking his eyes off of her face for even a second, wondering if he can pinpoint the moment when she finally sees it. And he's already preparing himself mentally for a bit of a fight, when she finally does.

"That's easy for you to say, I've only ever seen it in crappy resolution photos or with my back turned toward the mirror, craning my neck over my shoulder, not the best way to get a -" She suddenly stops her sentence mid-speech, and from the stunt expression on her face it's clear she's finally found the difference.

He's pursing his lips, trying so very hard to not let that grin slip on his face, and takes another drag, but he's failing when she finally turns to look at him and says, completely stunt. "I can't believe you did this. You sneaky son of a bitch!" She says, sounding outraged, and slaps him hard against his shoulder, and even though he's expecting it, it still jolts him a bit, but other than that there's no real damage done.

Her eyes go back to the picture on the phone screen in her hand, staring at it some more, like she still can't believe this is real. Right there, on the tiny claw of the crow, holding the arrows, are three little capitalized letters right next to one another, J N T, standing for Jackson Nathaniel Teller.

"The tattoo artist showed it to you before he got started on you, Babe," Jax says in defense, way too much amusement in his tone of voice and displayed on his face for Tara's liking.

She scoffs at him. "Yeah, he did, but he forgot to mention that my jerk of a boyfriend decided to add his initials to it, branding me like a piece of cattle."

He runs his hand over his Tara tattoo and replies in defense. "I've got your name right here on my chest too."

"But that was by your choice. Not me doing it behind your back." Tara answers him without missing a beat, and Jax has got to admit that he's having a hard time reading her right now, can't quite figure out if she's really mad, or just toying with him a bit, making him sweat, and he's obviously hoping for the latter.

And that's his cue to turn up the charm if he wants to salvage the rest of the day and night with her, so he leans closer to her, draping his arm around her shoulder. "Come on now, Babe, you remember that day you got tatted up as well as I do. We were fucking crazy about each other, and couldn't keep our hands off of each other. So can you honestly say that you wouldn't have gotten the tattoo if you'd seen my initials before he got started?" He's using his low and earnest-sounding tone of voice, and gives her the most innocent look he can muster, nudging her shoulder with his own for a moment.

She doesn't actually answer him, just clicks the screen on his phone off and meets his eyes when she hands it back to him and says, "You should've told me. That was kind of an asshole move."

"You're right." He agrees, but he wouldn't take it back either way, even if he could. "I just couldn't stand the thought that if you left me, that you'd just recycle my crow if you hooked up with someone else from SAMCRO. Like some of the other Old Ladies did, even my Mom, after JT died and she hooked up with Clay." He tries to explain his insecure reasoning behind it all and leans his forehead against hers. "Can you forgive me, Tara?" He waits for her answer that's taking a little bit longer than he thought it would.

"Yeah, I do." She eventually says, because she knows that in the grand scheme of things, his barely noticeable initials on her back seem downright trivial.

Finally, she even lets a little smile appear on her lips when she adds. "I still can't believe you did that though." And then she shakes her head. "And what in the world would ever make you think I'd hook up with someone else from the Club, like some Croweater."

"Not like some Croweater." He's quick to correct her. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that, sorry, that's not what I meant, Babe. I was ... I was still a kid, an insecure kid at that, who was just so fucking afraid to lose you to someone else." He finally admits everything out loud that had been going through his head way back then.

Tara finally allows herself to relax against him again, letting him tug her closer in his arms when she looks up at him, and gives him a sweet little kiss against his lips before she says, "You'll never lose me ever again, baby, I promise!"

X

Author's Note: I hope you like it. Please leave me a few words. Thank you.