Chapter Text
Even now, with Fontaine adjusting pillows beside her in bed, Jess couldn't shake the panic. The horror. The disgust with herself at having been the person responsible for hurting Fontaine in anyway.
The sight of the small bandage over Fontaine's throat only served to make her feel infinitely worse.
Fontaine glanced up and smiled slightly. "You got a side you prefer?"
Jess bit back a response. Yes, she did, she preferred to face the door, so she was the first in danger if someone broke in, but she didn't dare to say it. "You pick."
"Window for you then." Fontaine smiled. "You'll sleep better, trust me."
Jess nodded slowly, shifting herself into the spot and pulling the cover over herself. Fontaine followed suit, jumping off the bed, untying her hair so it fell out in gentle curls all around her, before snuggling into the spot beside Jess and pulling the blanket over so that they could share it.
Jess had never felt worse in her life.
She'd woken Fontaine, smashed all of the boundaries that she'd put up to protect herself and Fontaine, sobbed like a fool and admitted to the terror she felt at the prospect of ever having to lose the girl who was now casually waiting for Jess to go to sleep as if she hadn't just tried to slice her throat from ear to ear.
"Relax." Fontaine insisted, and Jess hadn't realised how deeply she'd slipped into her own mind until she felt Fontaine's lips press gently against a scar on her throat. "Everything is fine."
Jess wanted to respond, she really did, but she couldn't find it in herself to speak beyond the lump in her throat that was slowly suffocating her. She managed a nod and rested a hand on the arm that was casually draped around Jess's waist.
Fontaine pulled her closer, and Jess was glad that she did because she found it impossible to do it herself, even when she so desperately wanted to, some sort of fear holding her back even when she wished it wouldn't.
"Thank you." Jess whispered.
"You don't have to thank me. Go to sleep, ok?" Fontaine responded softly.
Jess didn't know when she'd fallen asleep.
~~~
She woke first, in a sort of soft, warm morning haze, something that she didn't do often. She'd awoken at 2am, and it was close to 9 now, meaning she'd slept a hell of a lot longer than usual, in peaceful comfort which had her longing for more.
Jess lifted her head slowly to examine the situation. Her sweatshirt was riding up her chest, and Fontaine's hand was splayed across her stomach. She felt stupid for the giddiness that enveloped her and settled in her chest, but for once, she let herself enjoy it.
Shortly after, Fontaine awoke, curling herself into Jess's side in a sleep sort of daze. "Morning." She yawned.
"Morning, pretty girl." Jess whispered. "Sleep ok?"
"Fuck yeah." Fontaine grinned sleepily. She tucked her face further into Jess's neck and breathed in. "Not enough."
"I second that." Jess yawned. "But I'm starving."
"Shhhh." Fontaine grumbled. "You're ruining the morning."
Jess rolled her eyes in mock annoyance but fell silent. Fontaine remained in her position a little longer before she agreed to get up, slipping into her room, collecting a hoodie and slipping it onto her tiny frame before they met up again in the hallway.
And before Jess could do something impulsive, like kiss her, because they had so much to talk about and it wasn't the time and she didn't know if Fontaine had forgiven her or if she even understood why she was so afraid, Jess draped an arm loosely over Fontaine's shoulder and guided her into the kitchen.
"You hungry?" She asked Fontaine, who'd hoisted herself up onto the Kitchen island and was watching Jess pull things from the fridge.
"Yes." Fontaine groaned. "Like, starving."
"Okay. I'm going to make an omelet." Jess informed her.
"Ooooh, sounds great, make me one!" Harry chirped, barging into the kitchen and pulling out the orange juice, before popping open the cap and drinking it straight from the bottle.
"Oh my God you're disgusting." Jess grimaced. "I am not making you anything."
"Pleeease?" Harry begged. "You're the only decent cook here other than Ant, and he's occupado-"
"Dude." Fontaine interrupted, scowling at him. Jess pretended not to know what they were talking about.
"Right. Sorry. Look the point is......wait.....are you guys friends again?" Harry asked. "You look a lot lighter, grumpy assassin."
"If you call me that one more time-"
"Grumpy assassin grumpy assassin grumpy assassin-"
"Seriously, Big Nekton, I will stab you, and I won't miss." Jess scowled.
"Awww, Tainey, tell your girlfriend not to threaten her friends." Harry whined.
"I told you not to piss her off." Fontaine shrugged.
Jess wasn't sure if the warmth in her chest was because Fontaine hadn't denied it when Harry said "girlfriend" or if it was because Harry had called her his friend, but she supposed it didn't matter, not when Ant showed up a few seconds later, hair a mess.
"What are you doing here?" Jess narrowed her eyes.
"Fontaine tell your grumpy assassin not to be so grumpy at this time of day." Ant grunted, voice thick from sleep.
"Stop calling me grumpy assassin!" Jess bellowed.
"Wow. You're in a great mood." Ant rolled his eyes. "Your sister needs water."
Jess narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm going to kill you."
"What did I-"
"Bro, run." Harry urged, waving a hand. "You gotta go!"
"Jess maybe don't-" Fontaine started.
"Pretty girl you've got 2 seconds to let me go." Jess directed her attention to Fontaine, who'd gripped Jess's upper arm in an effort to calm her down, and it was working.
"Come on, you knew where he was, there's no need to get angry now." Fontaine soothed. "Please?"
"Fine." Jess grumbled. "Asshole."
Harry wisely took the opportunity to tease Jess some more, which turned her attention on to him. "Wow! You're calling her that adorable nickname again! Are we to assume that you don't hate each other anymore?"
"We never hated each other." Jess scowled. "And you are walking thin ice here."
"Ha. All Fontaine has to do is say please and you're like putty in her hands." Harry smirked. "I'll take my chances."
"You're dead." Jess spat. "Taine?"
"All yours." Fontaine shrugged, and Harry gasped with horror, then bolted, leaving a laughing Fontaine and a pissed off Jess in the kitchen. "You're still bad tempered."
"Yeah, whatever." Jess rolled her eyes.
And that was it.
They didn't talk about it, not yet. Jess wasn't sure if she was ready. But things were settled, and Fontaine understood now, even if Jess never said it, and that was all that mattered.
And Jess decided that if she could put off talking about it for as long as possible, she didn't mind what happened.
~~~~~~
Fontaine wasn't sure if anyone else noticed (who was she kidding, everyone had noticed) but while they still weren't really talking about what had happened between them or where things were going now, Jess had been far more affectionate and willing to spend time with Fontaine then she had been before.
It had started gradually.
Little hugs from behind when Jess was cooking, little kisses on the cheek when they were talking, hands clasped whenever they were outside of the compound (this, and only this, Jess had discussed, claiming that she wanted to know she was close to Fontaine at all times when she couldn't guarantee her safety.) hands clasped together whenever they watched a movie.
From there, it was the way that Jess kept stealing her shampoo and finding her way into Fontaine's room at night, her presence keeping the nightmares at bay, and the way that Jess always pulled Fontaine into her lap when they were watching movies. The way that she would follow Fontaine, and Fontaine only, whenever she was in a room.
And Fontaine loved it.
She'd never been showered with affection before and Jess was more than willing to give it, even if they didn't talk about what it meant, and who was she to complain?
"Taine. Need to talk to you for a sec." Ant called, pulling her from the distraction that Jess in her stupid half shirts had caused, because really, why did she need to see that much of Jess's skin right now? She glanced up at her brother, who looked nervous, and Jess caught her eye, a knowing smirk etched into her features.
"Out, Big Nekton. Need a sec." Jess ordered.
"Ok." Ant agreed, pulling the door closed.
"Like what you see, pretty girl?" Jess asked.
"Why do you get to walk around in stupid half shirts?" Fontaine grumbled, folding her arms. "It's not fair."
"Same reason why you thought it was funny to come home with an extra tattoo and no warning, whatsoever, the other day." Jess murmured with a little twinkle in her eye. "Now go help your brother and stop being a perv."
"Says you." Fontaine rolled her eyes. She kissed Jess's cheek before stepping outside, to where her brother was patiently waiting. "What's up?"
"It's Maddy's birthday in a week." Ant informed her. "And I know Jess is worried about you, with the whole, "Father threatened your life thing" but I need your help."
"Okay." Fontaine agreed, not really worried. "Sounds good."
"You sure? Jess might get angry if-"
"Jess is going around in stupid fucking half shirts and laughing because she knows I don't like it." Fontaine grumbled. "She can deal."
Ant shrugged. "Ok. That's a debate for another time. Come on!"
~~~~~~
Her afternoon with her brother was nice. It was fun and light and harmless and she'd needed time to get out of the house and not feel like she was going to turn around and jump Jess, consequences and conversations be damned.
But their afternoon had gone from 'nice' to 'disaster' quicker than she'd anticipated.
It was no secret that people knew they were SHIELD agents, even though it was supposed to be a secret. The problem was what happened when enemy agents recognised them, which had only happened one other time; Jess had therefore demanded that she not leave the complex unless she was with them.
In hindsight, it might've been a good idea to listen.
When they eventually returned, Fontaine had lugged her brother all the way back after they'd been sleep gassed; she'd narrowly missed inhaling it, Ant had caught a slight whiff and his body had gone lax. Fighting whilst trying to protect her older brother was no mean feat. By the time they got home, the gas had worn off for him, but the damage was already done.
Fontaine sported a black eye, at least 3 broken ribs, a shallow stab wound in her arm, and several other cuts and bruises that were startlingly obvious when they arrived home.
Jess, of course, had been the first to realise they'd gotten back. Fontaine caught Jess's gaze with some guilt, and noted that the taller girl wasted on time in assessing her. "You're hurt."
"We got ambushed." Fontaine answered. She caught the sight of light reflecting off a piece of jewellery and her eyes lit up. "You got a piercing?"
"Snap out of it, Taine. We're in trouble." Ant interrupted.
"He's damn right." Jess scowled. "I tell you not to leave without me and what do you do? You get ambushed, because of the very reason I told you to stay here!"
"Jess we were just going shopping." Fontaine argued. "And I'd appreciate the lecture after-"
"Hey there sweetheart." Kaiko's voice interrupted. "Let's see about those injuries. You did well."
"Thanks, Mom." Fontaine said pointedly. "At least someone sees that I fought my ass off out there-"
"I can see that, but if you'd listened, you wouldn't have had to!" Jess cut her off.
"You can't stop me from leaving the house, Jess, it's not-"
"Girls." Kaiko interrupted. "This isn't the time. Fontaine needs a check up and Ant does too. Jess you may voice your concerns after that."
Jess nodded once, helping Ant to stand properly, and carrying him behind a stumbling Fontaine who was leaning on her mother for support. Fontaine allowed herself to be checked over, bandaged up and reprimanded gently, before Kaiko left and allowed a still annoyed Jess into the room.
"How are you feeling?" Jess asked, arms folded.
"Good, mom works wonders." Fontaine smiled.
"Good. Then what the hell were you thinking?" Jess demanded. "You knew that it was dangerous and you went, unarmed, without thinking things through. And it bit you in the ass."
"I wanted to spend time with my brother." Fontaine frowned.
"You should've let me come. You know how I feel about that-"
"Jess." Fontaine interrupted. "No, I don't. Not really. You never talk to me about that, and you haven't, and I let you, but you can't then throw a tantrum because you want me to listen."
"My father won't stop trying to get us back until he has no choice." Jess murmured, looking away. "You wanna know what my nightmares are about? That. Because even if you're not smart enough to stay away from me, you should be smart enough to know that he's a monster. And he's going to do whatever it takes to get back at me for what I've done."
"Come here." Fontaine said softly.
Jess obeyed, crossing the room and carefully sitting beside Fontaine with a slight grimace. "I don't want to hurt you."
"First off, who the hell did that piercing?" Fontaine asked with a light chuckle.
"If I told you that Harry drunk me under the table and offered and I said yes, would you believe me?" Jess asked, resisting the urge to play with the nose ring.
"Yeah, actually. I would." Fontaine giggled. "You're such a dork sometimes. Now, serious talk. If you're scared that your dad will hurt me, I get it. But you can't keep me inside forever because of that."
"Can too." Jess argued. "Actually, no. I can just be there every time you leave the house so that I know you're safe."
"Why does it matter that you're the one who comes?" Fontaine asked softly. "Ant was with me."
"I don't care who else was." Jess said seriously. "It's my job, Fontaine, and I don't know what the hell is going to happen with my Dad, or my sister, or even my future, but I don't want the future to happen if you're not in it."
Fontaine glanced up. "So selfish with me." She murmured. Jess furrowed her brow, but shrugged unashamedly. The brunette pressed a soft kiss to the under Jess's sharp jaw, then pulled away, tucking her head under Jess's chin. Jess pulled away and watched her, for a second, eyes dark, in a way that usually made it impossible to tell what the blonde was thinking.
This time, Jess didn't leave her wondering. She cupped Fontaine's cheek, tilting her jaw gently. Fontaine's breath hitched in her throat. Jess kissed her gently, at first, carefully, her chapped lips meetings Fontaine's.
The smaller girl's hands found purchase in Jess's shirt, pulling her closer. Jess propped her weight up with one of her arms, scared to put any weight on the smaller girl at all, and Fontaine allowed her fingers to wander, slipping up underneath the shirt Jess was wearing, tracing patterns and earning a sharp hiss from Jess's throat.
Her kiss became more insistent, prodding at Fontaine's mouth urgently until heavy breaths escaped from reddened lips. Her nails scrapped down Jess's back, and she shivered, and this wasn't enough, even as Jess explored her mouth eagerly.
She wasn't sure when the hem of her shirt had been lifted. Jess peppered gentle kisses along her jaw, soft and needy, following the line all the way down her throat. At a particularly sensitive spot, Fontaine whimpered, and the sound pulled a deep chuckle from Jess. "Pretty girl, I know you don't realise this, but losing you would kill me." Jess murmured softly against her lips. "So I need you to be careful when you leave the compound."
"Mmmhmmm." Fontaine moaned, hips jerking upwards, and Jess just laughed, low and rumbly where their bodies met, soothing hands trailing a pattern down her abdomen and settling against her thigh. "J-Jess...."
"Fontaine, darling-"
Two things happened in quick succession; Jess's head flew up, and she jerked backwards, falling off the bed with little grace and smacking her elbow against the medical cabinet behind the bed that Fontaine was sitting on. Second, Kaiko swung the door open, taking stock of the situation with a motherly, knowing look, and assisted Jess to stand. Fontaine hastily pulled down her shirt and tossed the blanket back over her body, face bright red as Jess subtly adjusted her own clothing and stood at Fontaine's side again.
"I wanted to tell you that you're not supposed to move around in any large way for a few days, and apparently, that's a necessary reminder for both of you." Kaiko smiled, and Jess had the good grace to look embarrassed.
Fontaine's head dropped back. "Mom!"
"Oh don't mind me." Kaiko teased. "I'm serious, though, girls. Please be careful. Jess, I don't assume that I'll need to tell you again, considering. It could seriously hurt her."
"No ma'am." Jess shook her head seriously. Fontaine caught a slight hint of guilt in Jess's gaze and reached for her hand.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that Jess avoided it, but it still hurt when the older girl stepped out of the room and left her there with Kaiko, who nodded to herself. "Darling, I know that she's important to you, but your physical health is important."
"She was just upset over the situation, Mom, and now you scared her away." Fontaine complained.
"I'm sorry." Kaiko apologised. "Just give her time. She feels a lot of things and I don't know if she knows how to deal with them."
"I know that." Fontaine grumbled. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to get through to her?"
~~~~~~
Fontaine had expected Jess to distance herself for fear of injuring the smaller agent.
But Jess had slipped into bed that night and pulled her close, even as she was cautious not to hurt her, and she'd stupidly assumed that everything would be fine.
It wasn't until a message sent by her father, through one of his agents at their next mission, that Jess distanced herself from Fontaine again, and it took a great deal of patience to wait for Jess to come back around.
She could still see the terror in Jess's eyes. See the panicked way that she'd murdered the man who'd said it, then rushed towards Fontaine like maybe her father was there, waiting to deal the finishing blow. Jess had taken her back and Fontaine had tried to calm her. They'd shared a kiss, Jess had settled into bed with her, and when Fontaine woke, she was gone.
She'd barely seen any of Jess for the rest of the night.
"What are you doing out here?" Maddy asked, settled in and watching tv in the dorm. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"I could ask you the same." Fontaine yawned, sinking into the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. In truth, she couldn't sleep when Jess wasn't there, and while she understood far better than before the distance that had been put between them, it still hurt, and trying to get any sleep was proving fruitless.
Jess hadn't unlocked their door in 4 days.
"Your brother is being stubborn."
"So is your sister. What did Ant do?" Fontaine enquired. She'd grown to like the girl, and they'd shared many conversations over the past few weeks.
"I....asked to maybe be considered to join a mission." Maddy offered quietly. "Jess didn't like it, but she said she'd support me. Ant lost it. Not at me but at the thought of father....hurting me in anyway."
"Jess hasn't spoken to me since your father sent that message." Fontaine responded softly. "I get it."
"What do I do with Ant?" Maddy asked.
"He's upset because he wants to keep you safe. And he won't feel like he can, not forever." Fontaine explained.
"Jess loves you and she thinks it's her fault that you're in danger right now." Maddy responded.
"Ant's really confrontational. He fights these things out until you come to an understanding." Fontaine explained softly.
"Jess needs you to give her time to come to terms with it."
"We're not even anything right now."
"When she's ready, then you can make clear what you want and find out what she wants. But right now you have to be patient. Just...try to remember that she's always doing her best. Even if it scares her."
Fontaine nodded. They settled in and watched the movie until Ant showed up, and carried a sound asleep Maddy back to their dorm. It didn't make her feel any better, knowing that Jess wasn't going to do the same for her.
Except she registered it when Jess walked into the building. When the tall blonde girl settled herself against the living room wall with folded arms and watched Fontaine for a few seconds.
"You aren't coming to bed." Jess said, tone soft.
Fontaine's head flew up. Her heart hurt, and less for herself than for what Jess must've been processing but even still, Jess was the one who'd shut her out. "I couldn't sleep. You weren't there."
"I am now. Let's go to bed." Jess offered.
Fontaine paused. "Maybe it's better if-"
"I know I hurt you. And I'm sorry. I don't know how to do this and every time I think I'm going to lose you, I feel like I have to push myself away so that it doesn't hurt either of us." Jess didn't meet her gaze. "But right now I'm really tired. And I know I don't deserve it, but it would mean the world to me if you'd come to bed."
Fontaine nodded slowly, standing and pulling the blanket with her. She followed Jess into her room, closing and locking the door, and settled into her bed before she realised that Jess hadn't followed her. When she looked up, Jess had pressed her back against the door, bright blue eyes watching Fontaine with an expression she couldn't decipher.
She almost filled the tense silence, but stopped herself. Jess had sought her out, and Maddy was right. She needed to be patient.
"The other day i acted without thinking about how it would impact you." Jess said, slowly. "And your mom had to tell me to be careful."
"Ok..." Fontaine said, slowly.
"But it's not the only time that I've acted around you without thinking. I killed 47 people with a decision I made in 20 seconds for you. I lost my temper for you. I always put my feelings ahead of what you need and.....this time it scared me. Because acting how I did means my father hates you. And he's not going to stop trying to punish you for my fuck ups."
"Jess.....if i cared about any of that, would we even be here? Your father might've made a huge mistake, but I haven't. I don't care about anything except for you. Honestly, what hurts me more is never knowing if you're thinking the same thing." Fontaine responded gently.
"You think I don't?" Jess blinked, stepping towards her. "Pretty girl, I can't stop when it comes to you. It didn't stop with one glance, one inside joke, one flirt." Jess whispered. "I couldn't settle for one hug. One night sleeping beside you. One kiss. Not even one fight."
"M-me either." Fontaine said, her mouth dry. "I... I don’t want to stop at just one. We can go at whatever pace makes you the most comfortable, but I’d really like to kiss you again. The rest we can take our time figuring out."
Jess smiled softly, leaning forward and kissing her. "I'm sorry." She murmured against her mouth. "I love you."
"I love you too." Fontaine's words were soft, but her eyes lit up, relief, and joy, and want flooding her system all at once. Jess scooped her up and tucked her into the bed, tangling their legs and allowing Fontaine to tuck her face into her neck.
"It's such a relief to actually say that outloud." Jess murmured, happily, kissing her cheek and her forehead and anywhere that her lips could touch, until Fontaine pulled at her shirt and Jess rolled the smaller girl onto her back, caging her in with her arms propping her up above Fontaine. "I love you." She repeated softly.
The kiss that they shared next was anything but. Later that evening, when Kaiko Nekton popped her head into the girl's dorm, she caught the sight of clothes strewn everywhere and a blanket that had been haphazardly tossed over the sleeping forms of both girls. With an amused headshake, she decided that her advice to Jess must've been heeded, and padded out of the dormitory feeling infinitely lighter.
~~~~~~
1 year later.
~~~~~~
Jess scowled at the new face in the dormitories, who had somehow arrived while she was on assignment with Ant; Fontaine's injuries in a previous fight had prevented her from joining, and Kaiko and Will had wanted to continue their assault against the Shadow Counsel.
While her father was by no means defeated, he was weaker, and cutting off his means at getting stronger once more was a high point on their priority list. Jess had been gone for 3 days and when she'd returned, some new, stupid, nice girl with a name so dumb that Jess couldn't even remember it (was it Ashley? Aspen? Asshole? the last one was probably right.) had made herself more than comfortable in the dorms.
Jess was that close to ringing her neck when she'd come back to find the girl shamelessly flirting with Fontaine. She'd been a little too eager to set the record straight. In hindsight, maybe she hadn't been flirting, but Jess had been overcome by the green eyed monster.
"Hey, pretty girl," Jess greeted smoothly, kissing her. "Missed you."
"Oh, hi!" Nameless girl chirped. "You must be Jess! I'm Ashley, new here. Fontaine's told me all about you."
"Funny, she never mentioned you." Jess sneered.
"Babe." Fontaine said, warningly.
"No, no, go ahead. What did you hear about my fiancé?" Jess drawled, hands settling on Fontaine's waist. "I hope she mentioned that we're engaged. Oh, did she tell you about the little boy she's practically adopted? What about the tattoo with my name?"
"Jess. This is Harry's new girlfriend." Fontaine rolled her eyes. "And while I love seeing you jealous, you're making Ash uncomfortable."
"Oh." Jess said, feeling a little stupid. "Sorry."
"Don't be, it's sort of adorable." Ashley laughed. "I like you already. I'm only in these dorms temporarily, but I hope we'll get along."
"Second I found out you had a boyfriend, we were totally fine." Jess said, not quite ready to let go of Fontaine. Nate barreled into the kitchen and Fontaine eagerly pulled away from her fiancé, bending down to scoop the tiny child into her arms.
"Hey bubba! Where'd you come from?"
"I had a nap!" Nate chirped. "Jess! You home!"
"Hey big boy. Yeah, I'm home." Jess chuckled, pressing a kiss to Fontaine's cheek. The little boy had been rescued on one of their missions a couple of months back, and Fontaine had basically adopted him in the days that followed. He rarely wanted to be around anyone but Fontaine or Jess, and he'd been more than a little upset when Jess had gone on assignment.
"Can we watch nemo now?" Nate begged. "Pleaseeee?"
"I think we can manage that, little one." Fontaine agreed.
"Yaaaay!" Nate shrieked. "I'm gonna get Ant!"
He darted off, and Ashley had disappeared somewhere in between the few moments passed. It gave Jess the opportunity to properly hug Fontaine, press a kiss to her temple and breathe in her scent. "I missed you."
"Missed you more." Fontaine whispered. "Are you hurt?"
"Not a scratch." Jess assured. "I'm okay. You smell amazing, pretty girl."
"Used your shampoo while you were gone cause I missed you." Fontaine said quietly.
"Hmmm. I can smell that." Jess smiled, kissing her once more. "God I missed you."
"Mom said it was a hard mission." Fontaine murmured against her mouth. "Are you ok?"
"Nothing hard for a former assassin." Jess promised. "Plus, I had the prospect of coming home to you."
"So this is home now?" Fontaine asked softly.
Jess nodded, peppering her face with kisses. "Home is where you are, pretty girl." Jess assured. Nate rushed back in with Ant and Maddy, and she turned to look at the adorable little boy who'd latched onto Jess's leg. She'd had to get use to sudden affection; Fontaine had tells that she'd learned to read, but Nate was a ball of energy that launched himself at people with no warning at all.
And yet she loved that little boy with every piece of her slightly damaged heart.
"And me.....right?" Nate asked sweetly, clinging to Jess.
"Oh yes, baby boy, you too." Jess winked, picking him up and tucking him between herself and Fontaine.
"God, who would've thought you had a soft spot for kids?" Ant laughed. "And let's keep it pg you two, there are children around."
Jess shot him a dirty look. "Don't make me bring up last week's incident in the training room."
"In my defence-" Ant started to protest.
"No defence! That was horrifying." Fontaine shuddered. "At least close a door!"
"What happened?" Nate asked curiously.
"Nothing, sweetheart, don't even worry about it." Jess glared at Ant as her and Fontaine snuggled into the couch. Fontaine found her spot in Jess's lap, then pulled Nate into hers, the three of them cozy in their spot. Ant and Maddy snuggled up to their right, and the movie was switched on.
"We had fun on our mission, I think." Ant winked at his sister. "She hates me a little less."
"If you want to survive until the wedding I suggest you shut up." Jess snapped.
"Babe." Fontaine said in a warning tone. "Relax."
Jess sighed but nodded, relaxing into the couch a little further. A year ago, she'd never have dreamed of ever feeling safe enough to sit somewhere without a weapon. But Fontaine had changed that, and was still doing it even now, with her face pressed up against Jess throat, spasmodically pressing light kisses to the skin there, attentively watching the movie with one hand entwined with Jess's and the other protectively holding onto Nate.
Jess felt safe here. She felt loved here. And she knew that in a few months, she was going to be able to say that she could feel that way for the rest of her life. Because Fontaine wasn't going anywhere. She was hers as much as Jess was Fontaine's, and she would spend forever reminding the woman currently wrapped in her arms, wearing her diamond engagement ring, that this was the case.
As it was quite late in the evening, Nate had fallen asleep in Fontaine's arm not long after they'd hit play. Ant and Maddy had passed out too, leaving Jess and Fontaine the only ones who were still awake.
"I love you." Fontaine whispered.
"I love you too. Ready to go to sleep?" Jess asked sweetly.
"Can we stay here? I want Nate to be with us." Fontaine whispered back.
"Anything you want, pretty girl. As long as I have you, I don't mind the rest." Jess assured.
"In every lifetime." Fontaine said softly, drawing her into a deep kiss.
"In every timeline." Jess repeated back. "Goodnight, love."
"Night babe."
~~~~~~