Work Text:
One thing about Janine Teagues is that she is not one to give up! After her students failed their practice test, yet again, Janine spent all afternoon and evening trying to figure out how to improve their scores. Not even a quick FaceTime call from Jacob could distract Janine from the mock standardized test. Even acting fake jealous over a customer service email that Gregory received could not deter her mind. She was focused on finding a solution. She had to!
It’s currently 6:30 pm and Janine has been sitting at her table and working on this practice test since she and Gregory got back to her apartment from the school day. Gregory, sitting on the couch, has been reading for the past hour and has now grown tired of his book. Now, he just wants to unwind and relax with his girlfriend.
“Janine!” Gregory yells from the couch, “Take a break!”
A defeated Janine, who hasn’t had much luck, rolls her eyes and sighs.
“Ugh…okay fine. I’ll take a break.”
Janine gets up from her table and sits right next to Gregory on the couch. She looks up at him smiling. And there it was, that infectious smile. Gregory can’t help but smile back. Yes, Janine was driving him a bit insane with this test, but god, he thought she was so beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world.
Here they were, from friends, to it was a whoopsie, back to two people who liked each other but chose to remain friends to, finally, now lovers. There was no one else in the entire world that could make Gregory feel the way that Janine did. She was different from the rest and Gregory knew that she was the one. She was smart, brave, and cared so much about those around her.
It didn’t shock him that she was so fixated on this test. He knows that Janine takes her job as a teacher seriously and wants to be her absolute best for her students. That’s what he admires about her. She never gives up. This woman could drive him insane for the rest of his life and he wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Whatever shenanigans she was up to, he was along for the ride. He just absolutely adored her! He was going to support her and be by her side no matter what. He knows he’s in love with this woman even though they hadn’t said the L word yet.
“Hi Gregory,” Janine says sweetly. Gregory smiles, bringing his hand to her face.
“Hey Janine” as he’s stroking her cheek.
She leans in and gives him the sweetest kiss that lingers on his lips. She tastes like candy, although Gregory does not like candy, she was the only exception. You could call it an addiction.
Breathing each other’s scent in, she lightly touches his cheek, and barely whispers,
“How was your day?”
“It was good, better now” smiling at her. Grateful to be here with her.
“Although” Gregory says sarcastically, “this 4’11 girl that I know, who is beautiful by the way, has been a bit obsessed with a standardized test for her second graders.” Gregory would be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned about his girlfriend.
Janine signs. “Yeah, I’m sorry for acting so crazy these last two days. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I just don’t understand what went wrong,” Janine says in an almost defeated tone.
Janine knew that perhaps she was going a wee bit overboard over this standardized test. But for the life of her, she could not understand after nearly five years of being a teacher, why all of a sudden her usual methods stopped working. It was driving her mad. She couldn’t help it, she had to find a solution.
“I guess, if my kids are failing, what does that say about me as a teacher? I know I shouldn’t be so fixated on it, but I can’t help it. I just…I just don’t know what to do. What if…what if I’m becoming a bad teacher? I don’t wanna fail at this.” Janine’s face looks frazzled. She was in distress!
Gregory looks at Janine, puts his hands on her waist, and pulls her into his lap. He just wanted to hold onto her and soothe her pain and frustration. She wraps her arms around his shoulders.
He’s looking deeply into her eyes as he holds on to her. With his deep voice he tells her,
“Janine, baby, you are an amazing teacher. Don’t let this setback make you think otherwise. Hey, the thing about teaching is that it’s always changing. What may have worked on last year’s students may not work on this year’s students. That’s okay, it’s a part of the journey. I know you’re going to figure out what works best for your students, you always do. I know you care, but stressing yourself out over this isn’t helping. Why not just take a breather for the rest of the evening, and approach it again with fresh eyes in the morning? How does that sound?”
Although reluctant, Janine knew her boyfriend was right. She does admit,
“Well…maybe that’s not a bad idea. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a break and not think about it for the rest of the night.”
Gregory continues to wrap his arms around her tightly, as Janine snuggles into his neck, not wanting to let each other go. For the first time this evening, Janine finally feels calm and relaxed.
“Thank you, Gregory. Thank you for always being there for me. I know I can be too much sometimes.”
Gregory looks straight into her face while holding her chin up and says
“Hey…you are not too much, okay?” He chuckles. “I actually can’t get enough of you”, he says smiling from ear to ear. That damn, Gregory! Always reassuring Janine. Always straight up and certain about his feelings for her. She can’t help but feel butterflies in her stomach.
Janine giggles and can’t help but display the biggest grin before leaning in to kiss him. He deepens the kiss and they stay like that for a while. Intertwined. A headass couple they were indeed.
She knows nobody’s perfect, but Gregory always seemed to prove otherwise. She has never felt this safe before. Seen like this before. To be raw and vulnerable with this man and know that he’s not going anywhere made Janine feel so secure. She knew no matter what, Gregory would always be there for her. He was so soft with her. Gentle. A provider. Janine knew deep down that he was it for her. No man could ever match the way she feels about Gregory. The way he looks at her, touches her, listens to her made Janine feel like a princess. She was forever grateful that fate brought her and Gregory together in the kids' bathroom on that chaotic day.
As the rest of the evening sets in, the couple decide to put on a movie, deciding on an underrated 90s classic, Sister Act 2.
Cuddling on the couch with the man of her dreams, Janine thought to herself “I think — no, I know, I am in love with this man.” She was hoping he felt the same.