Work Text:
Jake wakes slowly on his third day back at home. His brain just sort of flickers on, like a low flame on a stove. His barely-roused instincts travel like light waves to his muscles; his legs, his feet, his toes flex, along with his arms, his hands, and his fingers.
He’s dimly aware of the fact that his arms are wrapped around something warm and soft.
His awareness shoots from his extremities to his torso, which he shifts ever-so-slightly. The cushions beneath his left side are just a little too firm, a little too unforgiving, and his hip creaks in protest. The warm something spans almost all the way across his stomach, and it moves a little when he shifts; he feels muscles flex and ripple against his, and he hears a soft sigh in tandem with the slow fall of a sloping curve beneath the crook of his elbow.
He smells something fruity, like maybe strawberries or pineapples or something. It makes his heart flip and his stomach do this weird bottoming-out act, only intensifying when he nuzzles closer. Something soft and feathery tickles his face.
He sighs slowly, content to snuggle closer still and inhale this intoxicating scent, when suddenly his senses come roaring into complete clarity.
His eyes pop open. Most of his vision is obscured by a blessedly familiar head of raven hair, bowed in sleep on the same cushion as his own head. His heart lurches again when Amy mumbles something quietly in her sleep and wriggles back a little more to fit more snugly against him.
They must have fallen asleep on the couch watching that movie last night.
It’s still a little disorienting to wake up beside her. He’s grown so accustomed to silence and the empty stretch of stiff mattress greeting him in the morning that his body takes a moment to recognize the sounds of New York chattering outside the window and the presence of a person beside him.
Jake splays his hand across her belly; even through the folds of her too-big t-shirt, he can feel newly-hardened lines defining her abs and the crests of her ribs which now stand out harshly on her sides. It was jarring the first time he saw it, the first time she straddled his hips and peeled her shirt off, when all he could do was reach up and trace a new line of muscle with the pad of his thumb and stare up at her. It had been a drastic change in pace, a sudden and grating pause in what had been a flurry of activity, and he heard her breath catch in her throat as she studied his expression.
He knew he had that struck-dumb look on his face, the one he had back at the Maple Drip Inn when he first discovered that she had feelings for him, too. He recovered quickly, though, and later she told him in a soft, contented voice while tracing circles on his chest that she’d started going to the gym almost daily over the course of the investigation, sometimes working out for hours on end, as a coping mechanism.
He still hasn’t quite gotten used to it yet - he still expects the soft-but-toned curves of her tummy and hips every time he touches her - but it doesn’t matter. Because she’s still Amy.
He noses his way through her hair and presses his lips against the back of her neck, and a breathy hum rumbles through his chest, launched by the impossible swell of affection in his heart.
“I love you,” he whispers into her hair. “I missed you so much.” He slips his hand beneath her shirt, letting his fingers drift over her skin, and he stops to gently stroke a spot just above her tummy with his thumb that he discovered the second time they ever slept together. She hums hoarsely and turns her head a fraction of an inch, just enough for him to see her half-lidded eyes peering back at him. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
“You’re so loud,” she grumbles, elbowing him lightly in the side. He can hear the smile in her voice.
“Mmm,” he squeezes her tight enough to make her laugh, which in turn makes him chuckle into the space between her shoulder blades. “Can’t help it,” he says when her laughter fades. “I love you and I wanna talk to you all the time. And I missed you. I just…I don’t know.”
She wiggles until he lifts his arm, and in her newly widened space she spins around to face him. Her hands rise up in loose fists to rest against his chest and his hand is still under her shirt. He traces his nails along her back, drifting up her spine and bouncing between her shoulder blades. “I missed you, too, y’know,” she says, and she frowns as she fingers the neck of his shirt. “I haven’t said it enough since you got home.”
“You’ve said it plenty of times,” he shrugs. “You know me, I just can’t shut up. Like, ever.” He leans forward and kisses her slowly, and when he pulls away, her eyelids flutter open, which sends a jolt of pride straight to his ego. “I love you, babe.”
A slow, sleepy smile winds across her face. “You’re ridiculous and I love you so much.”
He ducks his head to kiss her neck, and she sighs until he blows a raspberry on the underside of her jaw.
“Jake!” She shoves him away instinctively with so much force that his shoulders hit the back of the couch and she actually tips over the side and lands hard on her back.
“Oh, God, Ames!” He’s chortling, but he still swings his legs over the side and crouches over her. She’s laughing so hard no noise is coming out; she presses one hand against her face, which is rapidly becoming a deep shade of red, and tears begin leaking out of the corners of her eyes. “Are you,” he pauses, gasping for breath between his own uncontrollable laughs. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she chokes through her laughter.
He stays crouched beside her for a few minutes, laughing until his head begins to ache. “Alright, get up, you weirdo,” he chuckles as he stands, reaching down to offer her his hand. She takes it and lets him pull her to her feet.
She’s still got a bit of forward momentum when she gets upright, so when she falls into him, he’s prepared. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and holds her close, grinning against the side of her head when her arms immediately circle around his waist. He starts shifting his weight from foot to foot, leading her into a gentle swaying motion. He feels her lungs expand pretty substantially, and then she sighs, and he closes his eyes.
One of her hands slides beneath his shirt, followed quickly by her other, and she starts scratching his back lightly. He shivers involuntarily as gooseflesh erupts across his skin, and she giggles. “I love you,” he hears her murmur, her breath warm against the base of his throat.
“I love you, too. And I’m never leaving you again. Ever.” He runs his hand through her hair, watching the silky locks slip around his fingers in fascination. “Never gonna leave.” He says a little more quietly, finding the shell of her ear through her hair with his lips. “Love you.” He mumbles, and she squeezes him closer.
She draws a heart on his back and presses her lips against his neck. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I love you so much and you’re never allowed to leave again.” She says it quickly, all in one breath, and Jake chuckles.
He thinks of the ring tucked away in his sock drawer and smiles. “I’d like to see you try to make me leave, Santiago.”
"Is that a challenge?"