Chapter Text
She looks beautiful like this, he thinks, as he stands in the doorway, watching her. She snug out of bed, before he was awake, and now she’s here, in his living room. Wearing noting but his white button-down shirt, leaving most of her lovely legs, free for his eyes to roam over.
The sun is just coming over the rooftops, shining its light into the room in warm, diagonal beams, making James realize just how early it is. Too early, for a morning he had planned for them to spend in bed. She should still be curled up between his bed sheets, deep asleep, so he could wake up to the sight of her and not an empty bed. Although, he can’t deny that he’s quite enjoying seeing her like this, too.
She hasn’t seen him yet, and even if she knows he’s there (James knows there is a squeaky floorboard between his bedroom and here), she doesn’t let him know. Instead she just keeps her eyes on one of the bookcases, James has lining the walls of his living room.
Her eyes scan the back of the books and from time to time, she pulls a book out, studies it more closely and then puts it back where it was. James doesn’t have a system, although he really should, with the vast number of books he has. But he hasn’t, so if she put one in the wrong place, he’d never know. It’s one of the times when she does that, that he sees the cup of coffee in her hands. She must have been awake longer than he thought. Couldn’t she sleep?
James was just about to ponder what could have been the reason for it, when Juliet stretches to reach a book on the top shelf. It’s not so much the stretch that catches his eyes, but the way his shirt moves with her body and slides just high enough, for him to see where her thighs become her lovely, well-shaped, ass.
Well hello…
James smirks and tilts his head to get a better look. Unfortunately it doesn’t last. When Juliet rolls her feet back down, so she’s not on her tiptoes anymore and brings the book down for her to look over, his shirt slides back into place.
What a shame..
“How’s the view?” She asks casually as ever and if he knows her well enough, she’s not even smirking, at least not on the outside. She could have been an actress, with the way she can look totally unaffected, when she really wants to laugh.
James does smirk though, first at the floor, scratching his neck, then at her. Although she still has her back turned to him. “Heavenly” He replies softly and pushes away from the doorframe. Keeping his hands on his back he walks over to her, all the way up close and presses a kiss into her hair. Juliet turns her head and looks up at him, “Morning” she smiles that soft smile that never fails to make him want to kiss her. Which he normally does, ever since he was allowed to. Now is no exception.
He kisses her slowly, softly, savors it. Like he had imagined himself kissing her, if they had woken up in bed together. Bringing up a hand, he places it at her jaw, his hand cupping her face and his thumb, stroking slowly back and forth, while the tips of his other fingers curl around her neck.
When they come apart, he’s smiling down at her “Happy birthday” The smile on her face, goes from pleased to surprised, before it goes back to pleased. “Thank you” Her smile grows again, sparkling in her eyes.
Finally James brings the other hand out from behind his back, presenting her with a small, square present. To free up her hands, he reaches over and takes her coffee. Casually taking a sip of it, as she starts to unwrap it.
The gift is a framed picture, of when they went skating with Rachel, in December. It had been kind of a big deal, as she had been and still was, in remission from her cancer and it had been a sort of celebration. Since Rachel and Juliet both loved skating. The picture was from after the skating, when they were having some hot cocoa on a bench, trying to keep warm. James had taken the picture of the two of them himself. They had been absolutely glowing, so so happy, leaning into each other and grinning on a scale he had never seen them do before.
Juliet lets the paper fall to the floor, as her eyes looks over the picture. “I thought you deleted this.. you said it came out blurry” The surprised look on her face turns slowly into a fond smile, as her eyes stays glued to the photo. James shrugs casually, drinking more of her coffee, “That .. wasn’t all true” He hopes that Juliet won’t scold him for that. Luckily she doesn’t seem to notice it much, instead she turns around fully and kisses him again, quite a bit more firmly than the previous kiss. “I love it. Thank you” “You’re welcome” James smiles and puts his, now free, hand around her waist, pulling her close to him. “But.. I’d like to have my shirt back now”
Now she smirks, lifting an eyebrow in his direction, as he empties her cup and puts it down on a free spot in the book case. “Maybe if you ask nicely” She quips back, as James puts both arms around her and starts walking backwards with her, towards the bedroom. “Can I please have my shirt back?”
“I’ll think about it”
It doesn’t take much longer, before she returns the shirt. Although it’s not to him, but to the bedroom floor.