thecatinahat | (no subject)

"The charms were a present for you," Cougar explains, his eyes latched onto each one as he moves his thumb over them. "It's a message for you. That I love you," he murmurs. "That I want you. You were supposed to see and understand." He kisses one her cheeks, then the other, easing back as he smiles and keeps his hand over the ring.

"You could not speak Spanish," he points out. "Had to buy them."

In hindsight, it's ridiculous that it took her so long to notice what Cougar was doing, but she's never claimed to be very perceptive, that's Cougar's job. "I'm sorry it took me so long to understand," she murmurs, her eyes closing as he kisses her cheeks.

"I'm working on it," she promises. Her progress may be slow, but she's better now than she used to be. Living immersed in a culture where most people don't speak any English has forced her comprehension to improve, if nothing else.

He doesn't know how a cat, then a heart, then a computer could have been seen as anything but a message and a come on, but then, he should have known that subtlety would never play with Jake. He gives her a fond smile as he eases in close and slides his hand down to her ass to grab hold, hitching her against his body.

"Say you want to be with me, only me, forever."

"This is my kind of proposal," she giggles, pressing herself close and draping her arms over his shoulders as he grabs her ass.

"I want to be with you, and only you," she promises obediently, smiling tenderly at him as she fiddles with the curling ends of his hair. "Forever."

He still can't believe she goes along with whatever he asks of her, because he knows he can be a difficult man and he tries to make up for it, but sometimes, it just doesn't work. He leans in to kiss her softly, sinking down to his knees. "Jaqueline," he starts, with a serious look as he stares up at her, shifting onto a single knee as if to do this perfectly. "You're the only person I could ever imagine being with. You're the only person who understands me and makes up my other half."

"I couldn't live without that and you're the only one I'd ever want to marry."

It's the most he's ever said, he thinks, and he'd been preparing for it since the jewellery store. He digs out the little sapphire ring, flanked by stones that make it look like a flower. "Marry me."

Sure, Cougar can be difficult, but then again, so can Jake. She's too loud, obnoxious, stubborn, doesn't take orders well, forgets her weapon in the field, and tends to get far too wrapped up in what she's doing to the detriment of her own well-being and the well-being of those around her.

But Cougar loves her anyway, and that makes up for just about anything.

She takes a deep breath as he settles on one knee in front of her, well aware this is just a formality, but finding herself swept up in it anyway. "Don't call me Jacqueline," she complains half-heartedly, unable to keep the smile off her face.

If she smiles any wider, she's going to sprain something in her face. Still, she makes a pretty good effort, her breath hitching a little when he pulls out the ring. "Oh, Cougs, it's beautiful," she breathes, holding out her hand so he can slide the ring onto it. "Yes. I will happily marry you."

He gets comfortable on his knee down here, the ring still held out until he can tenderly slide it on. "Jake," he says. "JJ," soon after, because it's still his preferred name for her. "JJ Alvarez," he says, with a grin because it's a way to keep her using Jensen as a name, too.

He slides to his feet and lifts that beringed hand in order to kiss it, brushing his lips over her knuckles before he ducks down to lift her into a honeymoon carry in his arms, bringing her to the bedroom.

Every now and then, the others try calling her JJ the way Cougar does, but she never lets them. It doesn't sound right with the hard unvoiced beginning, too harsh and strident. She much prefers it in Cougar's voice, all soft and lilting like that. She likes it even more preceding Alvarez.

When he sweeps her into his arms, she laughs, cradling her left hand to her chest so she can admire the sapphire surrounded by its tiny diamond petals.

"Carlito, the food!" she protests, still laughing, letting him carry her through their apartment.

He pretends to be indecisive, swiveling back and forth with her in his arms, grinning at her as he lets her down, sighing. "The food," he echoes, with a soft laugh as he leans in to kiss her. "I like when you call me Carlito. Makes me think of my family," he murmurs tenderly, bringing her back to the kitchen.

If it weren't for the fact that this is very expensive food, he'd just let it spoil. Still, it's very expensive, but also very good.

She's never laughed with someone as much as she laughs with Cougar, which might seem strange if you only saw his stoic outer face, but she knows better. The way he swings her back and forth in the hallways makes her shriek, clutching at his shoulders, her skirt and her hair swaying.

"You're my family now," she says, stroking her hands over his hair before leaning in to kiss him. "My Carlito."

He lifts her up in the air, quite high, before settling her back down upon the ground, darting in to kiss her. "I am yours," he agrees, his eyes bright as he reaches for a plate. "And you owe me a ring, now," he says coyly.

"I'll get you a ring in the morning," she promises, finally letting him go so that they can grab their food. It does smell delicious, and she's looking forward to eating, but she's looking forward to something else more. "Since I have a feeling I'm going to be too busy tonight to do much shopping."

He smiles, secure and happy in the knowledge that he will also have a ring to go along with hers, something that isn't chintzy and fake. He takes the food and sets it all on the table, popping some of it past his lips. "Did you think about what your hips will let us do?"

She nibbles more than anything else, an unusual action for her as she's far more likely to shovel food past her mouth at any given moment. It's just that she's so distracted by the ring on her finger that she can't focus too much on her food. She's becoming a magpie, just like he is.

"I have a few ideas," she allows, smirking.

"Yes? Good," Cougar replies, that mischievous glint impossible to put out from where it's sparkling in his eyes as he settles down into his chair at their table. "We will have to see if we can do them all before midnight."

He picks up a fork. "For when tomorrow starts and I can't see you."

"Midnight?" She frowns at him, then scoffs and kicks him under the table. "Cougar. You can't be serious." They've been living together for years, basically, fake married for months, and he's going to try and whip out tradition on her now? No way.

He winces in pain, giving her a look that says he's plenty serious. "Bad luck," he insists sharply, and they've had their share of it. It might be old-fashioned, but Cougar is still superstitious enough to want to obey some of the rules. "I proposed, tomorrow we get married. A groom can't see his bride before the wedding."

It's true that they've had more than enough bad luck to last several lifetimes, but that doesn't mean she wants not to see him at all tomorrow. "But not for the whole day," she protests. "Did you talk to the Padre? When's the ceremony?"

"Midnight, until 3PM. The wedding," he clarifies firmly, because he has talked to the Father and has arranged the event. "I don't want to see you, because I want to be surprised when I see you, right before you become my wife," he says very seriously, starting to dig into the food.

"I can't believe you," she whines, but it's fond and she's laughing at him anyway, shifting in her seat so that she can prop her feet up in his lap. "Alright, fine. But then dinner better be fast."

Cougar inhales sharply when her feet suddenly find a place in his lap, because he knows that from here, it's only going to get harder for him. He's halfway through his plate, which is good, but he knows Jake can be plenty easing and mischievous when she gets her way.

"Tradition," he insists again, thinking it's very important. "Will make you more beautiful when I see you."

Oh, she can be teasing, alright. Footsie of this caliber has always seemed a little silly to her, but if it's all she's got right now, she's going to work with it. She wiggles around until she can press her toes teasingly against his crotch, kneading gently and quirking her eyebrows at him in challenge.

"If it's that important to you," she starts, setting her fork down to signify that it's important to her too, "then alright. I'll kick you out of the house at midnight and we won't see each other again until three."

Cougar hurries to eat more when she starts to work at him with her toes, knowing that fairly soon, he's not going to have much of a chance to do anything but be putty in her hands -- or toes, in this instance. "I'll go stay with Pooch," he says with a nod of his head. "And then go find a proper suit to marry you in."

"He's going to want to come to the wedding," she points out logically, nibbling at her food and enjoying watching the look on his face as he hurries to eat before he gets too distracted. "Unless you tell him we're fighting, and then he might try to mediate. Without Jolene around to keep him busy, I think he's using us as his substitute relationship."

"Just tell him you caught a cold and snore," Cougar says with a shrug. "He'll believe it. You can snore very loudly when sick," he reminds her, seeing as the whole team knows that. He digs into the food a little more, grinning as he stares at her and thinks of less than twenty-four hours away when she'll be his wife.

"Besides, he'll understand later, when we tell him."