thecatinahat | (no subject)

Jake collapses across Cougar's chest, trembling slightly as the fireworks zinging up her spine ebb until all she's got left is a beautiful, rosy afterglow. She hums, making no move to shift her weight off him, and turns her head to nuzzle at the hinge of his jaw, pressing sweet little kisses into his skin as she tries to catch her breath.

Laughing breathlessly, she does as he asks, moving her hand to pinch the thin skin over his ribs sharply. "That feel like a dream to you?" she asks, sounding smug as fuck.

He doesn't even flinch at the pinch, but he feels it and it makes him feel even better, knowing that this is reality. He wraps his arms around her a little tighter, stroking his fingers absently through her hair. "If you hadn't kissed me, I would never have known. You never were..." he gestures, to indicate 'interested in me'.

The way Cougar runs his fingers through her hair makes her sigh happily, tucking her head in against his shoulder and holding on, letting herself soak in their new reality.

"I was," she protests quietly, her left hand settling on Cougar's neck. The fake wedding ring she wears winks at her, and she stares at it, mesmerized. Without this stupid, cheap little ring, she'd never have this. "I just... If I flirted with you and you weren't interested..." She licks her lips and tries again, glad she's speaking to his collarbone and not to his face. "I didn't want to advertise something that wasn't for sale. I've had guys in other units treat me like I was...well. You know. And I was too afraid of losing you guys if I made it seem I was available. Of having you not take me seriously anymore."

His breathing settles into something steady and calm as he lifts his head enough to be able to look at her, continuing to stroke his fingers through her hair. "Now, you have me. And this," he says, because now that he has her, there isn't anything that will prevent him from keeping this as long as he can. "Mine," is what he says.

"No other men."

Cougar's caveman speech brings a smile to her face. He's ridiculous.

"You're ridiculous," she tells him, lifting her head, shifting so that she can cross her arms across his chest and prop her head up on them. "You seriously think I'd be interested in another man when I have you to come home to?" she continues, reaching out to smooth his sweaty hair off his temple. "I haven't looked at another man in years."

He stares up at her, dazed and happy. He knows that she hasn't wanted him as long as he's wanted her, but bringing that up seems unnecessary when they're locked together like this. "No, Jake," he says calmly, wanting her to understand. "I want to date you, for real. No more fake."

It seems a little silly to focus on the whole dating thing, but it's such a Cougar thing to do. He's so finicky about details, so particular about how he does things, and it shouldn't come as a surprise that he wants to do this by the book.

"Yeah, alright," she agrees, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I guess I could date you for real."

He wants to marry her for real, but Cougar doesn't think that's how you start a relationship. Maybe slow at first before ramping up to those things. He kisses the corner of her lips, sighing when he remembers that they're not home and they still have to research a way back. "Sleep," he requests. "And then you owe me a blowjob."

She's reluctant to clamber off him, enjoying the warmth of his body pressed up against hers, and the fullness of his cock still pressed inside her, but she knows they can't stay like this forever. Sighing, she pushes up and slides off him, grumbling a little as she rolls over onto her back and stretches out across the bed.

"I'll wake you up with one," she promises, grinning. "Go get me a washcloth? I'm all sticky." She flutters her lashes at him in lieu of saying please, wanting to see how much he'll let her get away with.

Cougar sighs, knowing that he's been whipped by this woman long before tonight, but he's always been good about her not figuring it out. He slowly slides to his feet, a little unsteady as he fetches a damp washcloth, crawling back to the bed, but refusing to relinquish the cloth as he begins his slow wash of her skin.

"Have to call the boys back tomorrow," he says, disappointed. "Work to do."

Jake's surprised when he starts to wash her himself, but hell, she's not going to complain about being waited on hand and foot. She shifts when he prompts her to so that he can reach whatever he's planning to wash next.

Sighing happily, she tucks one arm behind her head and watches as he wipes her down, pointing her toes at him.

"I bet we can get at least one quickie in before they show up," she points out with a grin.

Cougar finishes up with her, heading back to wash himself off quickly and splash some water on his face before he pads back to bed, sprawling out beside her and curling up at her side. "At least one," he agrees, thinking that being in the shower with her wouldn't be so bad either. He draws his fingers over her bare skin and thinks 'I love you' and 'I want to marry you', but doesn't say either.

They only just figured this out, after all.

She reaches out and fumbles for her phone, only just realizing that she's left it behind in the kitchen.

"Fuck, my phone," she whines, knowing she needs to have it plugged in to charge so they can use it for the alarm. She doesn't want to roll out of Cougar's arms, not when he's stroking his fingertips over her skin in lazy patterns the way he is. Taking a deep breath, she forces herself to sit up, leaning over to give him a firm kiss. "Okay, stay there."

Hopping off the bed, she has to brace herself for a moment to regain her balance on unsteady legs before she goes padding through their tiny apartment towards the kitchen, stark naked and seemingly completely unselfconscious about it.

Cougar lifts his head to watch her go, thinking that it's the most beautiful sight he's seen since he first got his rifle. He tucks his arm behind his head and smiles, ridiculously satisfied, patting his chest as he waits for her to come back to him. "No clothes, ever," is his new rule, drawing Jake into his arms as he presses a firm kiss to her shoulder. "New rule."

Seeing the look on his face when she returns, Jake feels an impotent wash of heat crawl through her, her body seriously considering another round.

"I don't think Roque would appreciate that rule," she teases, falling into his arms and curling up against him. Sleeping curled up in his arms has become incredibly comfortable for her, after all these weeks of living together, but it's so much better when there's nothing but skin between them.

Once the phone is plugged in and an alarm is set just in case they oversleep (or get too wrapped up in each other), she rolls back towards him and tucks herself in close, one leg curling over his and her arm sliding over his chest.

"So how long have they been betting on us?"

"Years," is Cougar's response, seeing as he's nursed this little crush of his for years (if it can be considered a crush when he'd realized a long time ago that he's very much in love with her). "Pooch, at least. He's known for years," he says, because while Jake can read Cougar most of the time, Pooch had been particularly perceptive about his feelings for Jake. He tugs her in against him, pressing his lips to her temple as he brushes constant kisses there. "I may have been obvious about you."

At least, to them. "Wonder how much money they spent."

"You were?" She props herself up slightly, wanting to see his face, her hand lifting to smooth his hair out of his face and then continue to just stroke along his temple. "Cougar."

Smiling, she kisses the corner of his mouth. "I wish I would have known, we could have tried to get in on it and fleece them out of some of their cash."

He gives her a dubious look. "I stopped you seeing other men. I kept touching you, I kept giving you gifts," he says. "You can read my twitches," he complains, "I thought you had understood I wanted you, that you knew and acted that way because you didn't want me."

Clearly, given their current situation, it's all worked out. "I get enough money from them. Will just play cards with them," he says with a shrug, knowing he can get the money that way.

"Okay, the cockblocking was fucking annoying," she starts, but shrugs as she continues, seemingly not that upset about it. "The rest... I just thought you were being nice to me! Treating me like a lady. It was nice. I liked it. Nobody treats me like a lady." Probably because she's worked hard not to be seen as a lady, so that she'd be treated like one of the guys. Just the thought of Roque opening doors for her or shouldering her pack as well as his own so she didn't have to strain herself is horrifying.

"You deserve respect," he says heatedly, because none of his affections should rule out the fact that people should treat her with respect. "The feelings, they helped, but you deserve everything."

He tangles his fingers through her hair and adjusts in the bed, trying to tug the blanket over his feet. "I treated you with extra respect because I love you." And then, the words are out of his mouth and he can't take them back.

She'd been smiling through his heated speech, charmed by his passion, but when he says he loves her like that, blunt and with no effort to qualify it in any way, her face just crumples. "You love me?" she whispers, her voice trembling.

"Of course I do," he says, a touch aggressive. Now that it's out there, he refuses to take it back because he stands behind it, completely. "I love you, JJ," he says, wondering if he's really been that bad at showing it that she reacts like this. He brushes his thumb gently across her cheek to wipe away the tears that come, a tender look in his eyes.

"If I didn't," he says, lips smirking, "I would have fake-married Pooch."

She thumps him on the chest with a closed fist, laughing wetly and blinking rapidly to try and dispel the tears that insist on beading along her lashline. "Don't you dare," she threatens shakily, letting out a breath that's half a laugh, half a sob.

To forestall too much more embarrassing emotion, she tucks herself back in against him, hiding her face in his neck, her fingers clutching at his shoulder. "Carlos," she murmurs.

He strokes his fingers through her hair and over her back, adoring as ever and still fond. "You're still crying," he accuses, because he can see the emotion in her eyes and on her face. "It's not so bad, is it?" he soothes as best as he can. "Me, loving you."

"No," she whispers, closing her eyes in an effort to stop the tears leaking out onto his neck and shoulder. "It's wonderful." She's never been in love before, never had anyone love her. Sure, Julie loves her, and so does Beth, but that's different, they're family, they have to love her. (She's discovered this about families. It had been a surprise.) To have Cougar choose to love her...that's special.