Back to School - Chokeberry #12, Vanilla Custard #27, Cotton Candy #23, with Cherry - More Than That
Author: askingxalice
Title: More Than That
Summary: Jessica and Penn’s relationship as it evolves and they learn to be with each other.
Story: Second Genesis
Timeline: September 2041 - September 2043. Penn is 28-30, Jessica is 27-29.
Challenge: Chokeberry #12 (My Treat - Penn and Jessica: learning to be with each other), Vanilla Custard #27 (Reveal to me my true name. - Nemo by Nightwish), Cotton Candy #23 (experiment)
Toppings/Extras: Cherry (Present tense), Fresh Peaches (Things between you seem to be improving by leaps and bounds.), Fresh Blueberries (We can recover from them.), Rainbow Sprinkles
Word Count: 955
Rating: R
She asks permission for stuff for a long time. Not to talk, or hold his hand, or to even leave the room when he’s present, though he sees her hesitating every time she speaks up, or reaches for him, or starts to stand. Instead, she asks if she can kiss him, if he’ll hug her, if it’s okay for her to call him tomorrow.
He never says no, even though it worries him. He knows that this is her way of healing, and slowing gaining control of her life back, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t wish he could somehow magically make it all better.
~~~
She hates crowds, and anything with high energy, but tries to get over it for him. She knows his family is anything but small, and she especially knows Chloe and her family are anything but calm. So when they get invited to dinner by Andy and Oz, she puts on her good dress and puts on a mask, and does her best not to flinch away from every hug that Chloe gives her.
She knows he watches her the entire time, looking for any sign to rescue her and get her home. It makes her fall for him even more, even as she forces herself to deal with it. She doesn’t want to need rescuing. She wants to prove to both of them that she can do this.
~~~
Their first try at anything physical is a disaster. She’s only in a shirt and underwear, and his shirt is somewhere on the floor. His hands are at her waist, and she’s grinding against him, and then it goes bad. She pushes herself too far, and he doesn’t realize that anything is wrong until she pulls away from him and starts to cry, and he can hear her chanting through the sobs that she doesn’t have anything to be scared about, because it’s just Penn, it’s just Penn.
He calms her down, and finds the rest of their clothes. She doesn’t bring it up, and neither does he. They don’t speak about it again.
~~~
He has to always remind himself that he can’t act like he usually would with her. He doesn’t treat her like glass, but he’s still cautious. He can’t just hug her from behind, or jokingly tell her to do something, or call her nicknames for fear of making her fall back into that place she’s trying to escape. But more often than not, she helps him remember when he forgets.
They’re cooking something, and he’s working on a sauce, and he tells her to get him something from the fridge. There’s a please tossed in, but she still tenses and asks if she has to. Too late, he realizes his mistake, and changes it to a question, a request.
Her smile tells him there’s no harm done, but that doesn’t stop him from feeling like a grade-a jackass.
~~~
It takes a long while for them to actually have sex. He does his best to let her take control of their relationship and make all of the first steps, a role that isn’t given up without some difficulties. He can’t just grab her and kiss her silly like he wants to, but he’d rather give up pride that he doesn’t even need instead of lose her. Besides, he’s pretty sure he loves her at this point, and he’d be an idiot to do something to mess it up.
So it surprises the hell out of him when her kisses linger so soon after the horrible attempt at their first try, when her fingers lace through his before leading his hands under her shirt. The foreplay is long and slow, and he asks if she’s sure, if she’s ready so much that she nearly gets annoyed with him. But she knows he means well, and the fact that he even keeps asking after her first approval strikes a chord somewhere in here that makes the entire night seem almost surreal. Eventually, they make it to the bed without their clothes and with a condom in place, and she asks him to be on top.
He whispers into the dark that he loves her before he starts to move. The sex is even slower than the foreplay, but sweeter. She cries afterward, and he’s never really quite sure if he buys her assurances that they’re completely happy tears.
~~~
Even after he has the ring, he isn’t sure how to propose. She hates surprises, and hates being the center of attention, so asking while they're on a date was out. Not only would other patrons at whatever restaurant they were at be staring, but the paparazzi would start having a field day, and he really doesn’t feel like punching another photographer in the face.
The fact that he doesn’t have a plan ends up being the best thing for him. She’s watching TV, and he’s watching her. She laughs at something, and he’s mesmerized by her smile, and the next thing he knows, he’s handing her the ring box.
~~~
He loves that she’s willing to travel with him. The fact that all she needs for her job is a laptop and an internet connection helps with that, and it doesn’t even bother him that she doesn’t go to see him perform. It takes so much for her to be around Chloe on tour, though it’s gotten a lot better over the years. But she can watch the shows through the live webcast that Chloe insists on having for the fans that couldn’t get tickets, and when he comes back to the tour bus, or back to the hotel, she only has eyes for him.
Title: More Than That
Summary: Jessica and Penn’s relationship as it evolves and they learn to be with each other.
Story: Second Genesis
Timeline: September 2041 - September 2043. Penn is 28-30, Jessica is 27-29.
Challenge: Chokeberry #12 (My Treat - Penn and Jessica: learning to be with each other), Vanilla Custard #27 (Reveal to me my true name. - Nemo by Nightwish), Cotton Candy #23 (experiment)
Toppings/Extras: Cherry (Present tense), Fresh Peaches (Things between you seem to be improving by leaps and bounds.), Fresh Blueberries (We can recover from them.), Rainbow Sprinkles
Word Count: 955
Rating: R
She asks permission for stuff for a long time. Not to talk, or hold his hand, or to even leave the room when he’s present, though he sees her hesitating every time she speaks up, or reaches for him, or starts to stand. Instead, she asks if she can kiss him, if he’ll hug her, if it’s okay for her to call him tomorrow.
He never says no, even though it worries him. He knows that this is her way of healing, and slowing gaining control of her life back, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t wish he could somehow magically make it all better.
~~~
She hates crowds, and anything with high energy, but tries to get over it for him. She knows his family is anything but small, and she especially knows Chloe and her family are anything but calm. So when they get invited to dinner by Andy and Oz, she puts on her good dress and puts on a mask, and does her best not to flinch away from every hug that Chloe gives her.
She knows he watches her the entire time, looking for any sign to rescue her and get her home. It makes her fall for him even more, even as she forces herself to deal with it. She doesn’t want to need rescuing. She wants to prove to both of them that she can do this.
~~~
Their first try at anything physical is a disaster. She’s only in a shirt and underwear, and his shirt is somewhere on the floor. His hands are at her waist, and she’s grinding against him, and then it goes bad. She pushes herself too far, and he doesn’t realize that anything is wrong until she pulls away from him and starts to cry, and he can hear her chanting through the sobs that she doesn’t have anything to be scared about, because it’s just Penn, it’s just Penn.
He calms her down, and finds the rest of their clothes. She doesn’t bring it up, and neither does he. They don’t speak about it again.
~~~
He has to always remind himself that he can’t act like he usually would with her. He doesn’t treat her like glass, but he’s still cautious. He can’t just hug her from behind, or jokingly tell her to do something, or call her nicknames for fear of making her fall back into that place she’s trying to escape. But more often than not, she helps him remember when he forgets.
They’re cooking something, and he’s working on a sauce, and he tells her to get him something from the fridge. There’s a please tossed in, but she still tenses and asks if she has to. Too late, he realizes his mistake, and changes it to a question, a request.
Her smile tells him there’s no harm done, but that doesn’t stop him from feeling like a grade-a jackass.
~~~
It takes a long while for them to actually have sex. He does his best to let her take control of their relationship and make all of the first steps, a role that isn’t given up without some difficulties. He can’t just grab her and kiss her silly like he wants to, but he’d rather give up pride that he doesn’t even need instead of lose her. Besides, he’s pretty sure he loves her at this point, and he’d be an idiot to do something to mess it up.
So it surprises the hell out of him when her kisses linger so soon after the horrible attempt at their first try, when her fingers lace through his before leading his hands under her shirt. The foreplay is long and slow, and he asks if she’s sure, if she’s ready so much that she nearly gets annoyed with him. But she knows he means well, and the fact that he even keeps asking after her first approval strikes a chord somewhere in here that makes the entire night seem almost surreal. Eventually, they make it to the bed without their clothes and with a condom in place, and she asks him to be on top.
He whispers into the dark that he loves her before he starts to move. The sex is even slower than the foreplay, but sweeter. She cries afterward, and he’s never really quite sure if he buys her assurances that they’re completely happy tears.
~~~
Even after he has the ring, he isn’t sure how to propose. She hates surprises, and hates being the center of attention, so asking while they're on a date was out. Not only would other patrons at whatever restaurant they were at be staring, but the paparazzi would start having a field day, and he really doesn’t feel like punching another photographer in the face.
The fact that he doesn’t have a plan ends up being the best thing for him. She’s watching TV, and he’s watching her. She laughs at something, and he’s mesmerized by her smile, and the next thing he knows, he’s handing her the ring box.
~~~
He loves that she’s willing to travel with him. The fact that all she needs for her job is a laptop and an internet connection helps with that, and it doesn’t even bother him that she doesn’t go to see him perform. It takes so much for her to be around Chloe on tour, though it’s gotten a lot better over the years. But she can watch the shows through the live webcast that Chloe insists on having for the fans that couldn’t get tickets, and when he comes back to the tour bus, or back to the hotel, she only has eyes for him.