Duskwood & Moonvale one-shots

Merry Christmas, my love (Jake x MC)

Annie thought that when all of it was finally over, she would be able to see Jake, get to know him better. She trembled at the thought of the first meeting, imagined beautiful dates and cozy evenings together. She couldn't imagine how wrong she'd been in her naive romantic fantasies.

It didn't go right from the beginning, from that very first meeting, which took place much earlier than the end of "all this mess". From the moment when he is wounded, barely remained in the consciousness came to her home. With a shudder, Annie recalled those days and the look he gave her as he reclined on wall in the hallway of the entrance hall and whispered: "Annie, I'm sorry, I..."

It had been six months since they'd found Hannah, and they'd lived together even longer, but the relationship hadn't budged. Sometimes it even seemed to that Jake was meeting his work, not her.

He was in the office room from morning to night, almost without looking up from the screen. He even slept at his desk - she'd seen it myself when she woke up from time to time at night and her bare feet making no sound on the cold floor. She would shake her head and make sure to throw a blanket over the persistent hacker.

If in the first days Annie tried to bring Jake back to reality, to remind him of her presence and that she needed a little attention, then in the end she gave up and began to live as before. It was as if she and her beloved cat were the only ones in the house.

On Christmas Eve, Annie sat in the tiny living room. The lights were off, the fireplace crackled behind her, and an artificial Christmas tree glittered in the corner. Annie had recently finished a conversation with the Duskwood guys and was still smiling as she hugged her furry pet and watched a Christmas comedy - as always with her headphones on. It was almost a normal holiday night, and she didn't expect anything to change, but...

He brushed his lips against the top of her head before sinking down on the couch next to her.

"Jake?" putting the film on pause, Annie was surprised. She looked at him, at the deep shadows under his gray eyes, and ran her hand over his pale skin.

"Annie, thank you for your patience," he smiled and put his arm around her.  "Boss gave me a few days off and now we can be together. Only I didn't have time to make a gift..."

"Jake!" Annie interrupted. "You're my best gift! I'm really glad you came out of the office room."

She snuggled up to him, hugging him back.

"Shall we watch it together?"

Annie nodded and turned the movie back on.

No more than half an hour had passed when Annie felt a weight on her shoulder. Turning her head slightly, she noticed that Jake was asleep. He slept with his head on her shoulder. She smiled, trying not to move, and started watching the comedy again, squinting at Jake. It might not be very comfortable to sit like this, but she knew she was willing to sit like this forever, just to feel his warmth, to know that he was there.

Surprisingly, the movie ended when the clock showed exactly midnight. Still not moving, she glanced at her boyfriend and whispered:

"Merry Christmas, my love."