Winter Kisses
Title: Tea Time
Author: dxoverdt
Fandom: AD:JL
Pairing: JakexRose
Theme: #22, cradle
Rating: PG
Words: 1,468
Disclaimer: I don't own AD:JL, this is for fan enjoyment only.
Happy New Year everyone! Ok, so this was supposed to go out a few weeks ago, but I kinda forgot. Oops. Hopefully not too much magic has been stripped since now the holidays are over. As always, thanks to Techman for the beta read. Enjoy!
000
Rose quietly steps into Canal Street Electronics and promptly pauses to sneeze then shiver, blowing her chances of trying to sneak up on Jake and plant a quick kiss behind his left ear. Perhaps it is better this way, because her frigid lips and nose pressed against his warm skin might have caused him to yelp in surprise and accidentally smack her across the room, unaware it was only her trying to act devious. Knowing she no longer has to be stealthily quiet anymore, Rose proceeds to stomp the thick layer of snow off her boots and brushes the rest off her cap, jacket and frilly pink mittens. She never really understood why she liked pink so much, being in the Huntsclan and all. Maybe it was a way to shield her self from the harsh personality the Huntsclan imposed on her, an identity of sorts. As Rose, she could slip under the radar undetected by the masses and live her life as a normal teenage girl, pretending all the Clan related nightmares were just that: nightmares.
“Hey,” a distant voice muffled by walls and curtains calls out to her, “come back here, I have something to show you.”
She smiles. Jake can identify her not only from the soft whisper of her voice, but by the cute sounds of her sneezes and coughs. She treads lightly through the shop, taking careful measure to not drop piles of dirty snow on Lao Shi’s clean floors.
“Hi,” she says, ducking under the thick blue drape that separates the private back room from the rest of the store. Her eyes take in the sight of several narrow shelves and cabinets packed to the brim with a disarray of oddly shaped bottles, flasks, jars filled with glittering powders and translucent urns containing animal organs and bits of skin, something she decides not to dwell to deeply on. In the center of the room she spies a cherry wood table supporting two steaming hot cups of tea. She moves to the table to sit.
“You wanted to show me something, dragon boy?” she asks as Jake sits down next to her at the table.
“Girl, I thought you were so over that nickname,” he mocks her, playfully pushing at her arm. Apparently, the Machiavellian manner never left her as she watches his every move and expression, waiting for the opportune moment to surprise him with a kiss on his ‘special’ spot, because it is ever so fun to watch him melt into a pile of blissful goo. Eyes not leaving him, she reaches to wrap her fingers around the handle-less teacup to warm up her chilly hands and stop the shivers from traveling up her spine. The realization never clicks in her head that the shivers have nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with sitting so close to a beamingly happy Jake.
“I’ll never get over that nickname, dra-gon-boy,” she tells him coyly, drawing out the name as she caresses each syllable on her silky pink tongue before letting them escape through her lips one by one. She swears she sees him slightly flinch and almost choke on his sip of tea. He sets the cup down and stares at her, mimicking the sly grin plastered across her face. His eyes, however, gleam with excitement, and she can tell from his body langue that if he doesn’t show her whatever it is he wants to show her within the next few minutes, she’s going to be combing pieces of exploded jubilant Jake out of her hair for weeks.
“So what did you want to show me?” she recedes, acknowledging that any attempts of carrying out her mission of seduction will have little to no effect on Jake right now. Her eyes turn to the teacup and watch as wisps of steam waft up the sweet fragrant sent then evaporate into the air. Tea, Jake is always drinking tea, and not the prepackaged sad excuse for tea leaves stuff found in supermarkets. Jake drinks the good stuff: hand rolled and perfectly dried baby green tea leaves brewed in scalding hot water for the perfect claiming cup each time. Caffeine, yes, that’s a plus, but it doesn’t have nearly the same effect as coffee or the less preferred magical steroids the Huntsclan forced her to take during extreme training. She sighs into her cup wondering how her thoughts managed to tangle with the Huntsclan again. The sound of Jake’s giddy voice tears her from her daydreaming.
“This,” he almost squeaks, trying very hard to control his excitement, “is for you.” He presents to her a small box wrapped in festive holiday foil with a charming lopsided bow resting on top. An astonished Rose stares at the package for a few seconds before her brain starts up again and she realizes today is the day her and Jake are suppose to exchange holiday gifts. The words “crap” and a few other explicatives (bad words) pass through her mind as she feels her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. How could she forget? Why did she allow herself to become so wrapped up into Huntsclan matters and school, only to completely forget about the simple things that are important to her? She opens her mouth to spew out some lame excuse.
“Jake, I-”
“Well? What are you waiting for? Open it!” he cuts her off. Complying, Rose unties the bow and lifts the lid. Her heart sinks a little more. Inside lays a ring shaped gold pendent strung on a delicate, iridescent pixie chain. The main body is engraved with Chinese characters and hollow gold tubes hang down from the circle supported by elvish style hooks. As she lifts the necklace out of the box, the pipes clang together in a pleasing chord, reminding her of the old unicorn wind chime that hung from her room’s balcony in the old gothic apartment in upstate Manhattan that the Huntsmaster and she used to live in.
“It’s beautiful,” she mutters softly. The gift is so perfect she really has no idea what to say.
“It’s a healing charm,” he tells her proudly. His smile is so bright it could cut through her deepest fears. “I made it myself.” He grabs for the chimes and continues with an explanation, “These resonate at a certain magical frequency that is specific to your body type and encourage your cells to regenerate faster when you get a wound.” The chimes fall from his grasp and radiate out the peaceful harmonics. “Go on, try it on!”
She pulls the chain around her neck but ends up stumbling with the fastener in her disheartened state.
“Here,” Jake says as he grabs hold of the clasp and moves to fasten it behind her neck. Their cheeks graze against one another as he fiddles with the tiny clip. He pauses for a moment to drink in her sweet scent. “You smell good,” he murmurs into her ear, then pulls away to see a faint blush creep across her face. Instead he notices the glassy sheen in her eyes of unshed tears. He inwardly smiles at the situation.
“Jake I-”
“Forgot?” he finishes for her. She nods in affirmation because the thousands of things she wants to tell him have lodged themselves in her throat and refuse to let her speak.
“Hey,” he encompasses her trembling hands between the gentle warmth of his palms. Rose feels the tips of her ears grow hot. “Don’t worry about it,” he tells her sincerely.
“I’m such an idiot!” she manages to push out before tears start falling down her cheeks. Not letting her utter another word, Jake pulls her towards him into a deep embrace.
She tries to stifle her sobs as he presses her closer against his chest and entwines his fingers in her hair. “Shhh,” he breaths out softly. “Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.” He slowly rocks back and forth until she stops shuddering in his arms. After the wells in her eyes have run dry, she pulls back, only to receive a chaste kiss on her forehead. His lips are warm and soft, and she can’t help but think that her heart has just skipped a beat.
“So, wanna know how you can make it up to me?”
“How?” she asks skeptically, cocking an eyebrow.
“Buy me some boba.” She appreciates the gentleness of his voice and matches his smile.
“Sure,” she says, “lychee with mango jelly?”
“Girl, you know me too well.” He playfully pokes her in the side to lighten the mood, and she giggles in surprise. Her laugh is sharp and bright, like dandelions first blooming in the springtime.
Jake thinks to himself that this is the best present she could ever give him.
End.
Author: dxoverdt
Fandom: AD:JL
Pairing: JakexRose
Theme: #22, cradle
Rating: PG
Words: 1,468
Disclaimer: I don't own AD:JL, this is for fan enjoyment only.
Happy New Year everyone! Ok, so this was supposed to go out a few weeks ago, but I kinda forgot. Oops. Hopefully not too much magic has been stripped since now the holidays are over. As always, thanks to Techman for the beta read. Enjoy!
000
Rose quietly steps into Canal Street Electronics and promptly pauses to sneeze then shiver, blowing her chances of trying to sneak up on Jake and plant a quick kiss behind his left ear. Perhaps it is better this way, because her frigid lips and nose pressed against his warm skin might have caused him to yelp in surprise and accidentally smack her across the room, unaware it was only her trying to act devious. Knowing she no longer has to be stealthily quiet anymore, Rose proceeds to stomp the thick layer of snow off her boots and brushes the rest off her cap, jacket and frilly pink mittens. She never really understood why she liked pink so much, being in the Huntsclan and all. Maybe it was a way to shield her self from the harsh personality the Huntsclan imposed on her, an identity of sorts. As Rose, she could slip under the radar undetected by the masses and live her life as a normal teenage girl, pretending all the Clan related nightmares were just that: nightmares.
“Hey,” a distant voice muffled by walls and curtains calls out to her, “come back here, I have something to show you.”
She smiles. Jake can identify her not only from the soft whisper of her voice, but by the cute sounds of her sneezes and coughs. She treads lightly through the shop, taking careful measure to not drop piles of dirty snow on Lao Shi’s clean floors.
“Hi,” she says, ducking under the thick blue drape that separates the private back room from the rest of the store. Her eyes take in the sight of several narrow shelves and cabinets packed to the brim with a disarray of oddly shaped bottles, flasks, jars filled with glittering powders and translucent urns containing animal organs and bits of skin, something she decides not to dwell to deeply on. In the center of the room she spies a cherry wood table supporting two steaming hot cups of tea. She moves to the table to sit.
“You wanted to show me something, dragon boy?” she asks as Jake sits down next to her at the table.
“Girl, I thought you were so over that nickname,” he mocks her, playfully pushing at her arm. Apparently, the Machiavellian manner never left her as she watches his every move and expression, waiting for the opportune moment to surprise him with a kiss on his ‘special’ spot, because it is ever so fun to watch him melt into a pile of blissful goo. Eyes not leaving him, she reaches to wrap her fingers around the handle-less teacup to warm up her chilly hands and stop the shivers from traveling up her spine. The realization never clicks in her head that the shivers have nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with sitting so close to a beamingly happy Jake.
“I’ll never get over that nickname, dra-gon-boy,” she tells him coyly, drawing out the name as she caresses each syllable on her silky pink tongue before letting them escape through her lips one by one. She swears she sees him slightly flinch and almost choke on his sip of tea. He sets the cup down and stares at her, mimicking the sly grin plastered across her face. His eyes, however, gleam with excitement, and she can tell from his body langue that if he doesn’t show her whatever it is he wants to show her within the next few minutes, she’s going to be combing pieces of exploded jubilant Jake out of her hair for weeks.
“So what did you want to show me?” she recedes, acknowledging that any attempts of carrying out her mission of seduction will have little to no effect on Jake right now. Her eyes turn to the teacup and watch as wisps of steam waft up the sweet fragrant sent then evaporate into the air. Tea, Jake is always drinking tea, and not the prepackaged sad excuse for tea leaves stuff found in supermarkets. Jake drinks the good stuff: hand rolled and perfectly dried baby green tea leaves brewed in scalding hot water for the perfect claiming cup each time. Caffeine, yes, that’s a plus, but it doesn’t have nearly the same effect as coffee or the less preferred magical steroids the Huntsclan forced her to take during extreme training. She sighs into her cup wondering how her thoughts managed to tangle with the Huntsclan again. The sound of Jake’s giddy voice tears her from her daydreaming.
“This,” he almost squeaks, trying very hard to control his excitement, “is for you.” He presents to her a small box wrapped in festive holiday foil with a charming lopsided bow resting on top. An astonished Rose stares at the package for a few seconds before her brain starts up again and she realizes today is the day her and Jake are suppose to exchange holiday gifts. The words “crap” and a few other explicatives (bad words) pass through her mind as she feels her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. How could she forget? Why did she allow herself to become so wrapped up into Huntsclan matters and school, only to completely forget about the simple things that are important to her? She opens her mouth to spew out some lame excuse.
“Jake, I-”
“Well? What are you waiting for? Open it!” he cuts her off. Complying, Rose unties the bow and lifts the lid. Her heart sinks a little more. Inside lays a ring shaped gold pendent strung on a delicate, iridescent pixie chain. The main body is engraved with Chinese characters and hollow gold tubes hang down from the circle supported by elvish style hooks. As she lifts the necklace out of the box, the pipes clang together in a pleasing chord, reminding her of the old unicorn wind chime that hung from her room’s balcony in the old gothic apartment in upstate Manhattan that the Huntsmaster and she used to live in.
“It’s beautiful,” she mutters softly. The gift is so perfect she really has no idea what to say.
“It’s a healing charm,” he tells her proudly. His smile is so bright it could cut through her deepest fears. “I made it myself.” He grabs for the chimes and continues with an explanation, “These resonate at a certain magical frequency that is specific to your body type and encourage your cells to regenerate faster when you get a wound.” The chimes fall from his grasp and radiate out the peaceful harmonics. “Go on, try it on!”
She pulls the chain around her neck but ends up stumbling with the fastener in her disheartened state.
“Here,” Jake says as he grabs hold of the clasp and moves to fasten it behind her neck. Their cheeks graze against one another as he fiddles with the tiny clip. He pauses for a moment to drink in her sweet scent. “You smell good,” he murmurs into her ear, then pulls away to see a faint blush creep across her face. Instead he notices the glassy sheen in her eyes of unshed tears. He inwardly smiles at the situation.
“Jake I-”
“Forgot?” he finishes for her. She nods in affirmation because the thousands of things she wants to tell him have lodged themselves in her throat and refuse to let her speak.
“Hey,” he encompasses her trembling hands between the gentle warmth of his palms. Rose feels the tips of her ears grow hot. “Don’t worry about it,” he tells her sincerely.
“I’m such an idiot!” she manages to push out before tears start falling down her cheeks. Not letting her utter another word, Jake pulls her towards him into a deep embrace.
She tries to stifle her sobs as he presses her closer against his chest and entwines his fingers in her hair. “Shhh,” he breaths out softly. “Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.” He slowly rocks back and forth until she stops shuddering in his arms. After the wells in her eyes have run dry, she pulls back, only to receive a chaste kiss on her forehead. His lips are warm and soft, and she can’t help but think that her heart has just skipped a beat.
“So, wanna know how you can make it up to me?”
“How?” she asks skeptically, cocking an eyebrow.
“Buy me some boba.” She appreciates the gentleness of his voice and matches his smile.
“Sure,” she says, “lychee with mango jelly?”
“Girl, you know me too well.” He playfully pokes her in the side to lighten the mood, and she giggles in surprise. Her laugh is sharp and bright, like dandelions first blooming in the springtime.
Jake thinks to himself that this is the best present she could ever give him.
End.