JJ Maybank Oneshots

Spill

Summary- jj drops a glass and breaks it. flashbacks insure. kiara helps him back to reality.

In her defense, Kiara told him the movie was bad. JJ didn't believe her when they sat down to watch it from the comfort of their home. Barbie had been incredibly advertised. Kie even started calling him Ken as a small joke.

Moments into the film, JJ started laughing at scenes that weren't really supposed to be funny. It seemed that it was so bad, it was hilarious. Kiara and JJ seemed to enjoy hating the movie more than anything else.

"They totally should've added Ryan! Like from Barbie Life in the Dream House!" Kie laughed.

JJ didn't watch tv all that much as a child, but he agreed with her anyway. Movie night was going according to plan, until he decided his throat was dry.

"I'll be right back, I'm getting water. You need anything while I'm up?" He stood as he spoke, retying the drawstring on his grey sweatpants.

"Nah." She'd replied, chuckling at another awkward moment onscreen.

So he walked out into the kitchen, humming a small tune as he did so. The glasses were at the top of the cabinet, so he reached a little to grab it.

There was a small miscalculation on his part. The cup slipped out of his hand just before he would've set it on the counter. At first he paid no mind to the sound, though it was louder than he'd expected.

He watched it shatter at the immediate contact, and the shards flew in various directions. It was the panic, flooding through his chest and spreading. He had to clean this up, and fast. Except his brain wasn't functioning logically.

He found himself trying to pick up the pieces with his bare hands. Small cuts leaked drops of blood, but he couldn't really feel it yet. The pain in his chest was growing. He was slowly losing the ability to breathe.

"JJ?"

The sound made him flinch, shoving the hand with glass in his pocket and attempting to cover the rest displayed in front of him. He wanted to speak, to distract her. She couldn't see this, she'd be so disappointed.

JJ spluttered when he couldn't find the strength to stand. He looked up at her, and her face went from confused to stunned instantly. He sunk back to the floor, leaning against the bottom of the kitchen sink.

His own audible sob brought him back to reality. The glass on the floor, the stickiness between the shards in his hand, his girlfriend wondering what the hell happened. He wanted to cry so bad. Could he do that? Should he do that...?

His body didn't consult his brain. Then Kiara sat beside him, silently pulling him into a hug. She didn't say anything. Her fingers twisted in his hair through the embrace, letting his shaking sigh roll of her shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He's quiet. She thinks maybe he didn't hear her. Maybe he didn't want to hear her. She can feel his heartbeat, it hasn't slowed. His breathing hitched, exhaling in labored puffs as his fist tightens around the back of her shirt.

If he's communicating, she can't quite understand. She tries anyway, continuing to play with his hair. Her whispers aren't comprehended, but the tone of it; that's what JJ focuses on.

"Okay." She says after a moment. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Just breathe. You gotta breathe."

His legs are outstretched under hers now as he moved to lay his head on her shoulder from the side. They're silent. She's waiting for him to say something, but she doesn't expect it. He's staring into the broken glass.

At one point, his free hand goes up to his chest, kneading the pressure there until his shoulders willingly drop. Then he takes his other hand out of his pocket. The pain is a good sign. It means he's coming down from whatever the fuck just happened.

"Did you try to pick it up with your hands?" Kiara sounds more clear now, worried, but stable.

"No..." She gives him a look. He avoids eye contact.

"Why?" She says instead of confronting him.

"Uh..." His heart starts to hurt again. He clears his throat. "I didn't want you to see it."

"The glass?" She sounds confused. "I would've helped you."

"No, no, I thought..." His mind wanders. "I got..."

Then it clicked. Kiara finally put the pieces together. JJ had a flashback. He'd broken the glass and anticipated a terrible reaction on her end. He'd anticipated his father's reaction. Oh, fuck. Fuck...

"It's cool, you don't have to explain." She quickly says.

The glint in eyes is somewhere between embarrassed and relieved. "I want to."

This surprised her. The Carrera stands for just a moments, grabbing the tweezers from the drawer above. As she sits back beside him, she cups his hand from the bottom.

"I'm all ears." Then she looks down pointedly. "May I?"

He actually smiles. "Yeah..."

She plucks the first icy shard out of his skin quite easily.

"You remember my dad..." And she nods, still staring at the crimson on his fingers. "If I'd have done that, dropped the glass I mean, in the past... He would've beat my ass. I think I just forgot things were different now."

"I understand..." She says, and his eyes are glued to the tweezers. "You know I'd never do anything like that... right?"

He nods instantly. "Yeah, yeah, I mean there's a pretty big height difference. I don't think you really could."

"Okay, hilarious." She chuckles, just so he'll relax his shoulders. "But seriously..."

"Yeah, I know." His voice drops. "I'm sorry."

She doesn't have to say it, her look is enough. That he doesn't have to apologize. That she understands. He forces himself to smile, and it's tough for the first few seconds. But then he sinks into the grin, watching Kiara pull the last of the glass out of his fingers.

"Thanks."

"No problem." She perks up, grabbing gauze from the cabinet behind him. He winces only once between the wraps.

And then its over. He's standing, grabbing a broom while she grabs a dust pan. It doesn't appear that JJ is thirsty anymore. Kiara doesn't ask if he still wants water. They walk wordlessly back toward the couch to finish the movie.

It isn't until the end that she catches him off guard with a kiss. His reciprocation was clear, as a bandaged  hand reaches up to her cheek. The credits continue to roll as they move together, whispered "I love yous" interrupting the rhythm for just a few seconds every moment.

It's the look in her eyes, something he knows he won't achieve elsewhere. This is why Kiara is the one. This is why Kiara is his person. He'd never let anyone convince him otherwise.