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SAYA ──────────── ' waiting is so, so, easy '
—MANY things need cooling off periods— anything straight off the fire is bound to burst—, from cupcakes to prepaid funeral services. If you leave something to set for a second too long, however, the surface becomes hard to crack.
Jake and Saya's cooling off period was once four years— now it was barely four hours.
While everyone packed away their belongings, periodically bringing herds of boxes and suitcases out to the cars, Jake and Saya had found a bigger priority in her now-empty room, discovering that the satin sheets were an excellent support for an overdue conversation.
"I want to make this work," Jake said, his fingers playing with the distressed denim dangling from the rips in Saya jeans. The two sat crisscrossed in front of one another, trying to fill in all the holes they'd drilled within the ten minutes they had left before Jay would burst through the door and drag them both to their respective cars.
"We're really doing this?"
Jake's eyes met Saya's, his knuckles still brushing her knee as he fidgeted with the fabric around it. "I've been wanting to do this—" He gestured between himself and Saya— "Forever. I want to wake up in a world where I don't feel regret each time I look at you. I want to care for you properly, Saya, the way you deserve to be."
It grew silent, the imaginary clock in the corner ticking away each second they were wasting.
Jake twisted one of the strings hanging off of the distress in her pants around his finger, pressing his thumb against her knee for balance to rip the fabric off like any other loose thread in a sweater. He let the piece of her jeans stay wrapped around his knuckle, even as his finger started to turn white.
"If you'll let me," Jake added.
Saya took his hand in both of hers. "You can do whatever you want, Sim, as long as I get to do it too."
The little smile that was tattooed on Jake's face grew as he added his other hand on top of Saya's. "When we get back, we're gonna do things differently— I'm gonna do things differently. Just wait a little longer, yeah? I'll make it worth it. I promise."
He was speaking to her, but his eyes stayed glued on their pile of hands, almost surveying the tangled appendages to make sure Saya didn't slip through his.
She nodded, taking advantage of Jake's downturned attention and letting her forehead fall against his.
"I've waited four years, I can wait a little longer," She whispered. Her words breathed against Jake's lips, a shiver cascading down his arms at the proximity. Saya giggled at the reaction, somehow moving in closer. "You're cute."
