YOU HAVE ME ~ JAKE SULLY

16

The past six hours have consisted of Ness calming down from her first breakdown in front of Jake, to her screaming at Jake and throwing things around the room, to both of them laughing, and finally to them just sitting around and talking about random nothings.

Each wave that hit would last around an hour and a half to two hours, with about an hour of calm before another wave hit again. She apologized every time, no matter how often Jake told her not to.

They were currently laying on her bed, Ness completely on her back and Jake beside her on his stomach with his elbows propping him up.

She was staring up at the ceiling, hands resting on her stomach. Her hair fell messily on the bed and her eyes were still slightly red from all the crying that's been taking place.

Jake kept his eyes fixated on her face, not realizing how long he's been staring at her until her eyes turned to look straight back into his.

Jake took in a sharp breath, lips parting slightly.

He wouldn't realize it yet, but he's completely enamored by her. He didn't care what's happened the past three months, how she's treated him, screamed at him, overstepped, and ignored his existence.

None of it mattered, he saw her. Who she really was, her character, and the love she has for others.

Ness would easily be seen as argumentative and uncompromising, stubborn and hardheaded, but Jake saw all that she was. To him, she was easy to read.

She thought of others first, and herself last. Most arguments she got in started because she was intervening on behalf of someone else who felt like they couldn't.

Jake felt like they were eerily similar, though Ness would say that Jake was incredibly hard to read.

Jake knew how to hide it better than Nessa did.

Li'Nessa didn't care how much of her emotions were on display, who could read her and who couldn't. She would say 'this is how I feel, deal with it.'

Jake, on the other hand, was extremely slow to display any emotion that wasn't anger or happiness. Anything in between wasn't to be shown, and he was good at hiding those in-between emotions.

Sure, he had a certain gentleness about him when he was caring for others and he knew how to disarm himself, it was the 'harder' emotions Jake would never reveal.

No emotions that equated to being 'vulnerable'.

Parts of Jake are alarmed by the ease he felt around Nessa. The 'harder' 'in between' emotions constantly threaten to reveal themselves.

She was looking at Jake with a look that said she wanted nothing but him. To her surprise, all of the emotions from the past three months also include everything she's felt toward Jake.

All the moments when she wanted to reach out and kiss him. All the moments where all she wanted was him but instead she walked in the other direction.

It was all rising to the surface now.

She reached out and lifted Jake's arm, the one closest to her, and then maneuvered herself halfway underneath him. She placed her hand on his bicep and pulled him down so their faces were just inches apart from one another.

Jake's face inched towards her slightly, their breath now tangling together. All she had to do was close the gap.

Jake reached up and grabbed her jaw lightly as Ness leaned up to seal the space between them. He didn't say anything yet, just staring into her eyes and then around her face.