October 10th, 2013 -- evening
Ben getting an early jump on the day wasn't anything for Jackie to be concerned about, but it wasn't exactly standard for him lately (he tended, these days, to linger a little later in the morning and eat breakfast with Jackie and Adam before leaving for the office), and could've tipped her off that something might be up. Either way, the note he left folded on the dashboard of her truck should give it away:
?
Working late tonight, but how about I make it up to you with a movie night, birdy? I already picked one out, I think you'll like it.
?
I left something for you to wear on my dresser. Meet you on the couch at 10. Love you.
?
When Jackie eventually checks for what he'd left out for her to wear, it's maybe not what she'd expected -- not lingerie or anything even overtly suggestive -- in fact, it's his clothing, a worn soft-and-thin heathered grey tee and a pair of flannel pajama pants. Nothing that would've raised an eyebrow if she'd noticed it this morning.
Ben rising before Jackie was a standard thing, even if he did take his time these days to eat with the family. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her when she got Adam off to school, did the dishes from breakfast, or got dressed so she could go run her errands for the day.
It's only when she read the note that she got her first clue but it didn't tell her much. The moment her thoughts would settle on one idea something would sway her and send her guess about what he could have in store for them bouncing in another direction. That's how majority of her day in the market went.
Eventually she makes it home and drops her bags off in the kitchen without even unloading them so she can see what he put out. Something pink and lacy? Or was it going to be black with just a bit of bite to it? It's when she finds his clothing, his worn pajamas, that it finally clicks for her and it puts her anticipation for the evening to the edge.
The rest of the day ticked by at a turtle's pace because she was so excited but she did what she had to. Adam was fed, completed his homework, and promptly banished himself to his room for video games before falling asleep. Jackie had taken to checking on him at night the same that Ben did.
Once Jackie was positive he was out she slipped into the pajamas left out for her and when Ben got home she was in the kitchen. After he gets settled she made her way out to the couch, a bowl of fresh air popped popcorn held against the bulge of her belly beneath the grey tee.
True to his word, he's home just before ten, and he's already in the process of getting comfortable, ditching his shoes by the door, pulling off his jacket to throw over the back of the couch once he's close enough, loosening his tie. He doesn't hesitate to take a seat next to her.
"I wouldn't have bought all that maternity lingerie if I would had known this is where your tastes lie, Mr. Sullivan." Sinking into the couch cushion beside him and leaning up to display puckered lips urging for a kiss.
Just like before -- one year ago, exactly -- the sight of her wearing his clothes gets him going a little, hooks him well enough that he can't help but stare for a few heartbeats. It's different, too -- the swell of her belly. The security they have in each other. That night a year ago had been important, Ben's sure of it, but look at how everything had come together in the year since.
He watches her make her way over to him, but her comment breaks him out of his mild daze, the obvious display of his infatuation, and he smiles into the soft kiss he presses to her mouth, taking her chin in his fingers to hold her there for it. "We've still got a few months to put all that lingerie to good use. This isn't an indicator of my general tastes," except it was, some nights. Not that he didn't enjoy her in black lacy nothings and heels, but there was just something about her in his own clothes that always did him in.
"Adam sleeping?" He puts an arm around Jackie's shoulders, grabs the remote so he can turn the TV on and start the movie. Once that's done, his free hand is working at loosening the knot of his tie even further.
Even when he pulls away from the kiss her lips are still gently pursed, held in place by the soft urging of his fingers. "Oh, please. With the Sullivan army in the works that lingerie will be gettin' some use out of it for years to come." Lips spread into a content smile and she dips her chin to land a stray kiss to his hand.
"Yes he is. Homework is done and I already checked on him before you got home. Did you want to check again?" Nothing rude or teasing in her tone, she understood the ritual. That doesn't stop her from settling into place against his arm, resting the popcorn on her lap so her hand closest to him can reach aside and help with the loosening of the tie. "Well, if we're dressin' each other up in the clothes that make our hearts skip a beat I might just have you leave the tie on." Giving the knot of fabric a playful tug and she shot a sly smile his way.
"I like the sound of that, years to come. May as well get your money's worth, right?" The grin he gives her is sly, but it softens some when her lips brush his hand. His expression changes yet again when she asks if he wants to go check on Adam. The answer, of course, is yes, but after a moment of biting his lower lip while she settles in against his arm and shoos his hand away to get at his tie, he shrugs, just slightly. "No, that's alright. If you checked on him, I'm sure he's fine." Had to get out of the compulsive habit someday. Tonight was as good a night as any to start.
His own grin matches hers when she pulls on his tie, though it's more crooked, devilish. "Alright, leave it on, then. Maybe if you're distracted enough by it, you won't end up crying at the end." He knows that isn't likely, but he settles in to watch the movie anyway, letting her do whatever she likes when it comes to the tie.
She looks equally surprised and impressed when he says he doesn't have to check on Adam. Aside from the fleeting look she tries to not linger on it too long, to take it for the gigantic step that it is and move on so he doesn't let it gnaw at the back of his mind. He knows it's unlikely for her to not cry and she's woman enough to admit it. "I won't cry at The Notebook when you'll pass by a hockey game on TV in favor for somethin' else. In other words, not going to happen."
He's seen the movie a handful of times already with Jackie, but this time around, all those lines that seemed to apply directly to the two of them, the ones that had hit so hard a year ago -- those draw his attention more than usual tonight. Doesn't really look at Jackie during the movie, but at those parts, the lines she'd always mouth along with, his fingers drew idle shapes along the bare skin of her arm, or his hold on her shifted so he could tangle his fingers in her hair. By the end of it, he's ready, as always, to gather her up into a hug when she starts to really cry, if she ends up getting to that point.
The tie is loosened a bit more but it's left in place, fingers finding it and absently toying with the fabric now and then throughout the movie even though she's completely enraptured for the most part as always. It doesn't matter how many times she's seen this film, she happily mouths the words to herself until it comes to the very end which always guarantees water works. With her shifting throughout the movie she ended with the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table so she's free to drape her legs over his lap and her arm around his shoulder, fingers of her other hand tangling in the fabric of his shirt at his chest. She cries openly, laughing at the same time. "This stupid movie." It's always stupid by the end.
"It is stupid," and he always agrees. "Really stupid." Slowly dragging his fingers through her hair, his other arm around her waist. He presses a lingering kiss to her forehead, then rests his cheek against the spot, closing his eyes. Jackie may have been laughing, and maybe Ben had been, too, subdued, but he was all seriousness when he asked his question, voice low enough that a hint of that gravel crept into it. "When did you know?" And after a little pause, "That that was us."
Ben getting an early jump on the day wasn't anything for Jackie to be concerned about, but it wasn't exactly standard for him lately (he tended, these days, to linger a little later in the morning and eat breakfast with Jackie and Adam before leaving for the office), and could've tipped her off that something might be up. Either way, the note he left folded on the dashboard of her truck should give it away:
?
Working late tonight, but how about I make it up to you with a movie night, birdy? I already picked one out, I think you'll like it.
?
I left something for you to wear on my dresser. Meet you on the couch at 10. Love you.
?
When Jackie eventually checks for what he'd left out for her to wear, it's maybe not what she'd expected -- not lingerie or anything even overtly suggestive -- in fact, it's his clothing, a worn soft-and-thin heathered grey tee and a pair of flannel pajama pants. Nothing that would've raised an eyebrow if she'd noticed it this morning.
Ben rising before Jackie was a standard thing, even if he did take his time these days to eat with the family. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her when she got Adam off to school, did the dishes from breakfast, or got dressed so she could go run her errands for the day.
It's only when she read the note that she got her first clue but it didn't tell her much. The moment her thoughts would settle on one idea something would sway her and send her guess about what he could have in store for them bouncing in another direction. That's how majority of her day in the market went.
Eventually she makes it home and drops her bags off in the kitchen without even unloading them so she can see what he put out. Something pink and lacy? Or was it going to be black with just a bit of bite to it? It's when she finds his clothing, his worn pajamas, that it finally clicks for her and it puts her anticipation for the evening to the edge.
The rest of the day ticked by at a turtle's pace because she was so excited but she did what she had to. Adam was fed, completed his homework, and promptly banished himself to his room for video games before falling asleep. Jackie had taken to checking on him at night the same that Ben did.
Once Jackie was positive he was out she slipped into the pajamas left out for her and when Ben got home she was in the kitchen. After he gets settled she made her way out to the couch, a bowl of fresh air popped popcorn held against the bulge of her belly beneath the grey tee.
True to his word, he's home just before ten, and he's already in the process of getting comfortable, ditching his shoes by the door, pulling off his jacket to throw over the back of the couch once he's close enough, loosening his tie. He doesn't hesitate to take a seat next to her.
"I wouldn't have bought all that maternity lingerie if I would had known this is where your tastes lie, Mr. Sullivan." Sinking into the couch cushion beside him and leaning up to display puckered lips urging for a kiss.
Just like before -- one year ago, exactly -- the sight of her wearing his clothes gets him going a little, hooks him well enough that he can't help but stare for a few heartbeats. It's different, too -- the swell of her belly. The security they have in each other. That night a year ago had been important, Ben's sure of it, but look at how everything had come together in the year since.
He watches her make her way over to him, but her comment breaks him out of his mild daze, the obvious display of his infatuation, and he smiles into the soft kiss he presses to her mouth, taking her chin in his fingers to hold her there for it. "We've still got a few months to put all that lingerie to good use. This isn't an indicator of my general tastes," except it was, some nights. Not that he didn't enjoy her in black lacy nothings and heels, but there was just something about her in his own clothes that always did him in.
"Adam sleeping?" He puts an arm around Jackie's shoulders, grabs the remote so he can turn the TV on and start the movie. Once that's done, his free hand is working at loosening the knot of his tie even further.
Even when he pulls away from the kiss her lips are still gently pursed, held in place by the soft urging of his fingers. "Oh, please. With the Sullivan army in the works that lingerie will be gettin' some use out of it for years to come." Lips spread into a content smile and she dips her chin to land a stray kiss to his hand.
"Yes he is. Homework is done and I already checked on him before you got home. Did you want to check again?" Nothing rude or teasing in her tone, she understood the ritual. That doesn't stop her from settling into place against his arm, resting the popcorn on her lap so her hand closest to him can reach aside and help with the loosening of the tie. "Well, if we're dressin' each other up in the clothes that make our hearts skip a beat I might just have you leave the tie on." Giving the knot of fabric a playful tug and she shot a sly smile his way.
"I like the sound of that, years to come. May as well get your money's worth, right?" The grin he gives her is sly, but it softens some when her lips brush his hand. His expression changes yet again when she asks if he wants to go check on Adam. The answer, of course, is yes, but after a moment of biting his lower lip while she settles in against his arm and shoos his hand away to get at his tie, he shrugs, just slightly. "No, that's alright. If you checked on him, I'm sure he's fine." Had to get out of the compulsive habit someday. Tonight was as good a night as any to start.
His own grin matches hers when she pulls on his tie, though it's more crooked, devilish. "Alright, leave it on, then. Maybe if you're distracted enough by it, you won't end up crying at the end." He knows that isn't likely, but he settles in to watch the movie anyway, letting her do whatever she likes when it comes to the tie.
She looks equally surprised and impressed when he says he doesn't have to check on Adam. Aside from the fleeting look she tries to not linger on it too long, to take it for the gigantic step that it is and move on so he doesn't let it gnaw at the back of his mind. He knows it's unlikely for her to not cry and she's woman enough to admit it. "I won't cry at The Notebook when you'll pass by a hockey game on TV in favor for somethin' else. In other words, not going to happen."
He's seen the movie a handful of times already with Jackie, but this time around, all those lines that seemed to apply directly to the two of them, the ones that had hit so hard a year ago -- those draw his attention more than usual tonight. Doesn't really look at Jackie during the movie, but at those parts, the lines she'd always mouth along with, his fingers drew idle shapes along the bare skin of her arm, or his hold on her shifted so he could tangle his fingers in her hair. By the end of it, he's ready, as always, to gather her up into a hug when she starts to really cry, if she ends up getting to that point.
The tie is loosened a bit more but it's left in place, fingers finding it and absently toying with the fabric now and then throughout the movie even though she's completely enraptured for the most part as always. It doesn't matter how many times she's seen this film, she happily mouths the words to herself until it comes to the very end which always guarantees water works. With her shifting throughout the movie she ended with the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table so she's free to drape her legs over his lap and her arm around his shoulder, fingers of her other hand tangling in the fabric of his shirt at his chest. She cries openly, laughing at the same time. "This stupid movie." It's always stupid by the end.
"It is stupid," and he always agrees. "Really stupid." Slowly dragging his fingers through her hair, his other arm around her waist. He presses a lingering kiss to her forehead, then rests his cheek against the spot, closing his eyes. Jackie may have been laughing, and maybe Ben had been, too, subdued, but he was all seriousness when he asked his question, voice low enough that a hint of that gravel crept into it. "When did you know?" And after a little pause, "That that was us."