11/11 Issue: Put the Ring on It

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Slarti
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Title: Damn Not Given
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11/11 Issue: Put the Ring on It

Post by Slarti »

Timelined directly after Shit Happens.

Jamie: Jamie waited until Beth had pulled away in her car before he pushed Jean to arms length so he could look down at her properly. "Jeannie... what else got broken?" He had felt her flail twice before he had gotten home. Now he knew the cause of the second, but still not the cause of the first. Was he worried about it? Maybe just a bit.

Jean: Jean's brows shot up and she wracked her brain. "...nothing?" They hadn't even broken the hoodrat, although he had screamed like a girl before he ran off.

Jamie: Jamie's brows drew together as he studied her face. "Then... do I have mice here? Because Figaro Prime needs to get on that."

Jean: "I... haven't seen any mice?" She wrinkled her nose. "Beth did meet the Figaros! She suggested you try to smoosh them back together. I said it didn't work that way, and also, ew, no."

Jamie: "Yeeeaaah... that would just make Prime reaaaaallyyyyy mad at me. And they've snuggled each other before, so if that were going to work, it would have happened then, anyway." No breakage. No mice. What then? "So... did one of you trip on something? Or get scared by the super creepy upstairs?"

Jean: "I gave her a tour, so we did go upstai-" Oh. Jean swallowed. "You, uh, felt something from me?" Fuuuuuuck. She was sure he wasn't paying attention!

Jamie: And now she was acting weird again. He could feel it, kind of. Jamie tilted his head and he looked at her, worried. "Babe, what's wrong?" His hands rubbed gently up and down her arms. "I tend to sit up and take notice when your emotions get that panicky. Talk to me."

Jean: Jean chewed at her lower lip. She'd thought about going with Beth's idea. Pretend she'd never found it, but he'd know. He already did. In fact, she was making it worse right now. Her nose wrinkled. "I wasn't, like, snooping around. We were looking at the toolboxes upstairs. Beth didn't want to mess with your stuff since she brought her own..."

Jamie: One of Jamie's eyebrows went up, wondering where this was headed. "Okay? Y' know you're welcome to look at everything, so snooping isn't really a thing. Not with us."

Jean: She filed that thought away. "I found the ring," she said quietly, watching him through her lashes.

Jamie: "The... ring...?" Did he even own a copy of that movie? He didn't think he'd seen it since it came out and he couldn't go near the well on the farm for weeks. "If I own a copy of that, we should burn it."

Jean: Jean pulled her head back in surprise and cocked it like a dog. "Huuuuuh? I don't think you can burn-" Oh. The movie. "Not that ring."

Jamie: What other ring was th... ohhh. "Oh yeah?" Wow. Lots of memories brought up there. He had been such an awkward little jackass back then. "Do you want it?"

Jean: "D-do I- what?" Now Jean was the confused one, so her head tilted the other way.

Jamie: "Do you want it?" He shrugged, "I mean, I bought it with you in mind. I wouldn't give it to anyone else even if we'd never found each other again. And I couldn't bring myself to do anything with it because in my head it was yours, even if you did say no. So, do you want it?" How did that not make sense?

Jean: "I was goddamn evil shrew bitch about that..." Jean moved in and raised up on her toes to slide her arms around his neck. She couldn't quite meet his eyes yet, so she pressed her face into his neck.

Jamie: Jamie wrapped her up in his arms and held her close, swaying a bit to the ever-present music in his head. "No, you were right. I was an awkward little jackass and should have scrapped my plan of proposing in the snow when Bacon tripped me." He smiled, "Next time I'll do better. Promise."

Jean: Next time. Her heart fluttered and she closed her eyes, swaying with him. "Next time I'll say yes."

Jamie: "Well that's good news. Maybe I should've checked with you before I asked last time." Jamie laughed and leaned his head against hers. "So... do you want it?"

Jean: "Yes, I want it," she giggled, raising her head to smile up at him. "It was a surprise, but also not? My reaction was just..." Jean rolled her eyes. "We weren't ready, I know that now, but still... lots of regrets."

Jamie: "Nah, Jeannie," he grinned. "Don't regret. You wouldn't be the badass you are now if you hadn't gone through everything you went through. Including those regrets." Jamie kissed her and pulled back to take her hand, leading her to the stairs.

Jean: "I am kind of a badass," she smirked, still proud of her trick to dry out the kitchen. Oh yeah. Jean dismissed the pink teke construct above them and let him lead her.

Jamie: Jamie led her up to the third floor and let go of her hand to go digging in the toolboxes. He had forgotten he'd put it there, so he had no idea which one it was in. "More than 'kind of,' babe."

Jean: "It's in that one," she pointed. "Hey... maybe if you learned a little more about how my powers work it'd help? With the fire thing?"

Jamie: "Um. I don't know that anything will help me with the fire thing. Not the real fire thing, anyway. I'm trying to be better about your specific fire, though." He found the box and pulled it out, triumphant, but only because she pointed him to the box he wasn't digging in. "Ah ha!" Jamie grinned and debated tossing it to her, but that just seemed too casual about it, so he walked back to her with it and handed the box over. "Yours."

Jean: "I meant the me-fire," she said with a small smile. "I just used real fire for the heat to dry it out, since my fire's not hot." Jean took the little box back and flipped it open, considering. She smirked and held it back out to him. "Do the honors? Seems fitting." She gave him a fond smile. "Replace that shitty memory with a better one for this poor ring?"

Jamie: Jamie laughed and took the box back, "Literal shit, yeah. Pig shit. But, to be fair, it was mostly mud. And none got on the ring." How to do this without proposing? His lower lip escaped into his mouth as he looked down at the open box in his hand. Hmm. Jamie pulled the ring out and held it up to one eye, looking at Jean through the circle. "Do you think it'll fit?"

Jean: She felt her face heat up a bit. "Oh, I think it will." Because she'd already had it on earlier, but hey. Jean grinned at his antics. "There was definitely a little bit of pig shit involved, yes," she laughed. "I remember, because a dupe saved the ring."

Jamie: "He saved it because I would've saved it. Because he's me. Duh." Should he get down on one knee? No... That was corny and he wasn't proposing so he didn't need to. Did he? Why the hell not? Jamie lowered to one knee and smiled up at her, "Jean Anne Grey, will you not marry me?"

Jean: Jean started to roll her eyes at his cute rambling, because like she didn't know that by now? Her heart skipped a beat when he went down on one knee. For just a moment, time stopped, then she grinned. "I'd not marry you any day," she giggled. He just couldn't get more adorable! Unable to resist, she tackled him in a hug.

Jamie: Jamie laughed and grabbed her, forcing himself to keep his balance because this was the third floor and the third floor was littered with gross. "I'm the happiest man in the world!" He squeezed her tight and plopped her onto his knee, taking her right hand to put the ring on. "I dub thee, not my fiancee."

Jean: With her other arm looped around his neck, she watched him slide the little pink stone onto her finger. Jean turned her bright smile to him and giggled again. "Yay, we're not engaged!"

Jamie: "Call the papers! Let's make an announcement!" He grinned and slid one hand up to cup the back of her head and bring her down for a kiss. "I love you, Jeannie. Happy not-engagement."

Jean: "I love you, too." She returned the kiss, her ringed hand on his scruffy cheek. Jean closed her eyes and lingered in the kiss, letting him feel her joy. When she pulled back, she wrinkled her nose. "Well, you gave me jewelry, now you're never gonna get rid of me."

Jamie: Jamie decided not to tell her that he gave her jewelry a long time ago and lost her anyway. Don't ruin the moment. He smiled instead. "That's the plan, Wren. What kind of noir detective would I be without my best femme fatale?"

Jean: "Well, that's a good plan." She brushed back his hair, taking in his face and biting down on her lower lip. Where would they be now, if she'd done this right the first time? His little speech about regrets earlier was nice, but she still had them.

Jamie: Jamie growled low in his throat and stood up, scooping her into his arms as he went. "Stooop. Focus on us now." He ducked his head to give her neck a loud, sucking kiss. "No use going back. I'm just glad we're here."

Jean: She squeaked and wrapped both arms around him, throwing her head back to laugh, and let him have his way with her neck. "Okay, okay! You win!"

Jamie: "Ha! Awesome!" He turned the sucking kiss into more of a mouthing, making his way to her most sensitive spots. "What do I win?" he asked between kisses.

Jean: Jean groaned, thinking of several prizes she could give him, like right now. All the hanky panky! As she shared those ideas, she spotted movement from the corner of her eye. Figaro's door was open. Shit.

Jamie: Jamie's groan echoed hers and he shifted her in his arms so his mouth could go lower. "I'm good with that." His voice had gone rough already at the visuals she had put in his head. Time to find the stairs.

Jean: Horny battled with alarm until he shifted her and she got a good look at the hallway. Figaro was watching them, unblinking. The fluffy white cat was sitting primly, his poufy tail swishing. "Jamie," she whispered.

Jamie: "Hmm?" Jamie's horny negated any panic he felt from her. "I won't drop you, babe." He nipped at her collarbone, "Promise."

Jean: Jean swallowed. The horny was powerful indeed, but... "I know you won't, not worried about that..." They were getting closer to the stairs, but that also meant closer to Figaro, who hadn't moved.

Jamie: Jamie finally looked up to her face and stopped moving, frowning in concern. "What's wrong? Do you not want to?" He fumbled with his thoughts. "Of course, if you don't, that's okay. I mean, it won't hurt my feelings or anything."

Jean: Jean's eyes flicked back to his in dismay. Like there was ever a time she didn't want to fuck him?! Um, no! She pointedly turned her head to look at Figaro, who was still just watching them. His tail went flip, flip.

Jamie: Jamie followed her gaze and froze. Uh oh. "That's not my cat is it?" He slowly put Jean down on her feet and put his hands up to show Figaro he had let her go completely.

Jean: Well this sucked. Jean moved in front of Jamie, grabbing his hand to pull him close. She closed her eyes and nudged Figaro's little cat brain with the most simplified get over it, she could manage.

Jean: After a moment, Figaro blinked. His evil cat stare turned into a bout of furious chest licking, as if he'd been doing that all along instead of plotting Jamie's death. Then, he got up and trotted off.

Jamie: Jamie was fairly certain that if Jean had been watching him, he would have looked exactly like Figaro did when he just blinked at her. What was that? What just happened? "Does... does he like me now? Or at least tolerate my existence?" Was it safe up here now?

Jean: Jean laughed and turned around, wrapping her arms back around his neck. "Well, I won that round anyway," she grinned. "Hopefully it'll stick."

Jamie: "Please, God, let it stick." His arms slipped around her waist and he buried his nose in her hair. Mmm. She smelled better than Beth had. "Should we go downstairs anyway just in case it unsticks?"

Jean: "Yes, absolutely." She smirked and floated a bit to wrap her legs loosely around his hips. "Clock's running on our two hours."

Jamie: Jamie grabbed her under her hips and started for the stairs again. "I totally forgot we only had two hours..." There was a lot they could do in two hours. But also, not enough. Damn. Where to start? He bounded down the stairs, jostling her on purpose with a grin on his face. "Maybe she can come back and fix it laaaaaater later."

Jean: She giggled and bounced, wriggling against him and tightening her thighmaster hold. "That's a greeaaaaat idea, but I'd have to teeeext her." And her phone was downstairs. And... oh.

Jamie: "I can wait fifteen seconds for you to text her, I think," Jamie ran the fingers of one hand over her bare thigh. "Maybe. Not very nice to wear my shirt and not much else. Unless you were wanting me to ravage you in front of your friend. Because if there had been no fire and no fountain, I totally would have."

Jean: Oh shit. Why did he have to be ridiculously hot when she had to be responsible? And when they were almost to his bed, too! "Uuugnh, I think she would have had heart failure," she said, voice getting breathy as she thought about the possibilities of ravaging.

Jamie: "I know CPR, babe." Jamie's tongue wet his lips as his eyes traced every line of her face and neck. "But I guess we can't have her walking in and having heart failure, either, huh?" He heaved an overly dramatic sigh, "Where's your phoooone?"

Jean: "Downstairs." Goddammit! She couldn't resist anymore, grabbing the back of his head for a hard, fast kiss. Before they could get too carried away - even though he was still carrying her - she broke contact. "Gotta tell you something first."

Jamie: Jamie groaned when she broke the kiss and clomped heavily down the stairs towards what used to be his office kitchen space. "Tell me quick? 'Cause I don't want to fuck you on this dirty floor, but I might have to if it takes too long."

Jean: "Well okay then! That should totally gross me out... yet it does not!" She sighed and broke the news. "My mom called me this morning. She saw the press conference. Let's say she likes to question my life choices." Jean's nose wrinkled.

Jamie: Jamie stepped into the kitchen and looked around for her phone. "Well, yeah, but what's new about that? Didn't you say before that your parents are the reason you went to Xavier's? Like, because they wouldn't want you to or something?"

Jean: She rested her head against his neck, eyes unfocusing. "I went to Xavier's because I wasn't gonna go home after they sent me off to get my brain washed. Didn't really have anywhere else to go."

Jamie: Jamie winced. He had tried to not bring up the brainwashing bit. But since she did, "So, they must think you're really brainwashed now, huh? What'd you tell her?"

Jean: "Well she was pissed I hadn't told her myself, 'cause the next door neighbor saw me on the news and called her." She smirked and raised her head to look at him again. "Not so much brainwashed as they're convinced I'm gonna do a Rachel. More ruining of the Grey name."

Jamie: "You're not ruining the Grey name. Pshaw. Do they really think I'd let you go psycho crazy killer bird like your cousin? C'mon. I'm a one-man army and so far, your bird thing likes me. ...I think." He frowned, "It likes me, right? It's not like Figaro where it's just brainwashed into it?"

Jean: "Yes," she chuckled. "She's me, and I love you, so she does, too." Jean licked her lips and moved her hand to play with his hair. "But, yeaaaah, I haven't told them about you yet, either."

Jamie: Jamie frowned for a completely different reason. Not know about him? Why would they not? "Um. Are you... do you not want to be with me?" There had to be another reason. But, Occam's razor...

Jamie: He slowly set her down. "It's, um... It's okay. If you don't. I'll be fine. I'm a big boy now."

Jean: Jean felt her eyes bug slightly. What part of 'I wished I'd fucking married you when you asked me five fucking years ago' wasn't fucking clear? Her inner Jess voice kicked in and she did a quick telepathy breathing exercise. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands.

Jean: "Jamie," she started, using the not-bitchy voice. "I want to be with you." She swallowed before her voice did any weird quavery things. "You're... everything I've ever wanted."

Jamie: "Then I don't understand why you wouldn't want to tell your parents that we're back together. Do they think I'm a bad person? Is that it?" So many scenarios were floating through his head of various conversations they could have had about him and his mind was spinning. "Jeannie, I love you. I've never not loved you. You know that."

Jean: "No. Nonono..." Shit, she really should have thought this through first. "I want to tell them. I mean, they need to know. I want them to know, because, well... I've never not loved you either. Everything has been crazy busy and even though I get along with them, like, a lot better, they're still..." Jean rolled her eyes. "Full of opinions."

Jamie: Jamie took her hands and slipped them around his neck, sliding his back into place around her waist. "Babe," he said softly, "everyone is full of opinions. The only ones that matter, though, are ours. Right?"

Jean: "Right," she said, sighing a little and relaxing against him. "Believe me, they'll like you if for no other reason than that you're male, 'cause they were not happy about me skipping along the rainbow path. Also too Rachel-y."

Jamie: "...I hope they like me for more than that." His lips pushed out and his nose wrinkled as he thought about that. Nope. Don't go down that rabbit hole. Too much. Gross. Climbing back out now. "Do they know I'm the reason why you did that?"

Jean: "I'm sure they will. You may not have noticed, but you're quite the catch," she laughed softly and ran her fingertip down his nose to iron out those wrinkles. Then, he nailed it. Whoops. "Um... yeaaaah, there's also that..."

Jamie: "Oh..." His lips flattened together. "Hmm. Well. That blows." Jamie nipped lightly at the finger that had been on his nose. "Sure they'll like me, still?"

Jean: "Yes, because if they don't I could always Figaro them." She giggled at the nip and booped him on the lips. "JK." Maybe. "They should be happy that I'm finally fucking happy again."

Jamie: "But it was my fault you weren't. What if they think I've brainwashed you? Gasp! Babe! They may like me because of that!"

Jean: "Brainwashed me back to guys?" She thought about that. "I mean, that's kinda accurate..."

Jamie: That brainwashed his brain to a halt. "Whaaat? I did not do that. Don't say that! That's a horrible thing to say about someone you love."

Jean: "Um... I was joking, babe." She shifted her arms around his ribs, avoiding his recently bruised one, to give him a real hug.

Jamie: "Oh." Jamie happily hugged her back. "So then you were joking about telling Beth about what we do during the hanky panky, too, then. That makes sense." He laughed at himself. "Too uptight today, I guess."

Jean: Yup, way too uptight for her to say what just popped into her head. "Just the thought of it occurring is enough to make her smack me, so no, I don't," she laughed.

Jamie: "Why would she smack you for having sex with m- Ohhhh." There were two scenarios that made the most sense and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know which was true. Because either way, his self esteem would take a hit. Nah, he wanted to know. "Because she wants me. And you. Or both of us together." Oooh, good addition!

Jean: Jean snorted. "Well, definitely me, because... yeah." She widened her eyes at him. "And she likes guys, too, sooo..." She shrugged one shoulder. "We have not discussed if she finds you fuckable, babe. She probably figures I'd mindwipe her."

Jamie: "I'm sure you would. But you don't need to do that. Or discuss it for that matter." Jamie gave her his toothiest grin, "We all know I'm fuckable."

Jean: Jean paused for a moment, then giggled. "Uh, yeah you are." She smirked, one hand sliding down his back to give his ass a pinch.

Jamie: Jamie jumped a little and reached around to retaliate in kind, still grinning. "Well, then... Let's get this stuff over with so we can get down to the fucking!" He moved to grab her phone from where he'd seen it on the counter and took a quick, grinning selfie with Jean in the background.

Jamie: Then he opened her phone and sent it to her mom. Easy enough since she had been the last text. [I'm baaaack!] And send. Switch to Beth text... He passed the phone to Jean, "text her so we can get it on," the last was done in his very horrible Marvin Gaye impression.

Jean: He moved fast, and Jean in no way had anticipated he'd do that. Not a precog! "Jamie!" She was laughing, and while she was mortified she was also, NGL, kinda relieved. "Oh my God," she snorted, taking it from him to see he'd pulled up Beth's text from earlier.

Jean: Jean was telling Beth [We're competing with ghosts! Take your time!] when her phone buzzed again. Mom. She opened the message and wrinkled her nose at the message: [Who is that?] Fuck me. Thanks, mom!

Jamie: Jamie frowned at the face she made and ran his finger over the wrinkles in her nose just like she had done to him a minute ago. "What? Does Beth want pineapple on her pizza? Because, no."

Jean: [You know who he is] she quickly responded, looking up at him with a grin she really hoped didn't look forced. "Hey, pineapple is a valid life choice too."

Jamie: "Only if it's on the same pizza as Canadian bacon. It makes no sense with any other topping." He eyed her for a second while he tried to read her face. Oh right! Jamie felt around in his head until he found the link and tapped it. "What's wrong, Jeannie?"

Jean: The phone buzzed. [Isn't he on TV?] Whaaaat? Jean growled and fired off her pithy response. [OMG MOM] "My mom is a pain in my ass," she said, giving up and letting him see the screen.

Jamie: Jamie blinked at the screen. She didn't know who he was but she did know who he was? But from television? What? "Um. I would say my feelings are hurt, but I think the more important thing is that your mom may be having a stroke."

Jean: "Okay, yeah, I don't know what crack she's smoking there." Jean felt him still in her head and smiled, tapping back. "Don't be hurt," she said, sliding her arm around his waist again and leaning into him. "She's seen pictures of you... of us." Jean's voice was soft. "But it's not like I kept them out or anything." It'd hurt too much.

Jamie: He took the phone from her and held it up for a selfie of the two of them holding each other. "Then let's remind her what one of those pictures looks like," he whispered. Click! Jamie pulled up the photo and smiled, showing it to her for approval and kissing the top of her head. "It doesn't have to hurt anymore."

Jean: "Nope, it doesn't." Jean grinned at the picture and took the phone back to respond one-handed. [Me and Jamie are back together] She sort of wanted to add 'get used to it,' or something else snarky, but her Jess voice again interjected. "They're gonna want to meet you now. You ready for that?"

Jamie: "I'm ready for anything, babe. ...except fire in my kitchen. I don't wanna do that again, 'kay?" Jamie wrinkled his nose at the memory of the smell of fire in his home and managed to suppress the shudder that wanted to follow said memory. "Besides, who wouldn't love me? I'm adorable!"
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