thecatinahat | (no subject)

"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.

Cougar slides up so that he's a little over her, peering down with great fondness as he kisses her shoulder, up to her neck, then to her lips. "Good," is his emphatic, firm response. "You deserve it." He wraps his arms around her all the tighter, letting out a soft exhalation. He doesn't want to ask if she loves him, because he doesn't want to push her. Not yet.

"No more tears," he insists. "It's happy."

"They're happy tears," she tries to protest, though her smile wobbles as he kisses her. "I promise, I'm happy." Today has been a rollercoaster of a day, and despite pinching him, there's a part of her that still can't quite believe it's all real. It feels sacrilegious, somehow, to be so happy when their situation should be miserable, but here she is, crying because she's happy, something that only happened to her when she held baby Beth in her arms for the first time.

He knows that she is, but still, a woman in tears isn't something Cougar likes to deal with, mainly because it means that somehow, he might have made her upset. With Jake, that's the very last thing he'd ever, ever want to do. "Good," he says, leaning up to kiss her teasingly and affectionately.

"My JJ," he praises fondly.

"I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous." She laughs, clearing her throat, and lifts her hands to swipe at her face, dashing away her tears and rubbing at her eyes. "I'll stop."

She sniffles a few times, but it seems her tears really have stopped, and the smile she gives him is a lot steadier, if somewhat sheepish. "You must think I'm crazy."

Edited 2016-07-23 00:46 (UTC)

Cougar smirks as he gives her a waggle of his brows upwards. "Thought you were crazy long time ago," is his reply. "But I'm crazy too," he says with a casual shrug, so it just means their crazies match and get along.

Her laugh is loud and bright, almost a bark, and she shoves at his chest playfully. "You're so mean!" she complains, but it's clear he's reassured her, as the tension in her shoulders is easing, and she reaches up to cup his face in her hands as she lets out a small, satisfied sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Cougar just grins and kisses her temple as they settle back in. "Of course I'm right. We're Losers," he reminds her. "None of us are allowed to join if we aren't crazy."