Author’s Note: This is an idea born from a prompt given by a friend of “having a bad day and the other noticing”.
Headcanon Notes: My Zig MC (Tillie) and my Jax MC (Faye) are sisters through adoption.
Summary: Jax comes home to find Faye very obviously in a bad mood and tries to make it better.
There was an elephant in their apartment. Or maybe a very pissed off rhino. Whatever it was, it had an unsavory vocabulary that would send a sailor into shock and – if the nearly empty bottle on the counter was any indication- a healthy taste for fine red wine.
It was a damn good thing they had the entire basement floor to themselves, Jax thought, making his way toward the source of the ruckus. Between the excessively colorful language being artful spewed at high volume and the stomping, slamming, and banging, anyone nearby would be a fool not report them for a noise disturbance.
It didn’t take him long to find the battlefield- the bedroom. Several drawers of their dark wooden dresser sat partially open. A laundry basket on the floor nearby still contained clothes, all of which appeared as though a toddler had tried to fold them. One of the sliding doors to the closet was obviously off its hinges- probably due to excess slamming, Jax thought- and leaning precariously against the door frame.
And amidst all the chaos, a straight shot from the doorway, Faye was currently wrangling the fitted sheet onto their mattress with the veracity of a professional wrestler during a Smackdown.
“Woah, Buffy the Laundry Slayer, what did the bed do to cross you?” Jax said, a slow smirk spreading across his lips.
Faye whipped her head towards him, the expression on her face so fierce Jax wondered if he’d be the first victim of spontaneous combustion. Clearly his comment, which was meant to lighten the mood, had not hit the mark.
But despite the fury etched across her features, pain flickered in the depths of her sea-green eyes.
“Hey, what happened. What’s wrong?” His voice was soft but serious as he edged closer.
She didn’t answer, simply turned away and returned to the task at hand with renewed enthusiasm.
“Faye, your heart is beating faster than a chipmunk on cocaine. You managed to turn a domestic chore into a fight to the death- and I’m not sure you’re winning. You can’t pretend with me. I know you. I know something is wrong. Tell me.”
He was close enough now that when she turned again, she could land a blow on him…if he let her. And he would, if that’s what she needed right now.
His stance was wide and low, effectively trapping her between himself, the bed, and the wall behind her. Cornering a wild animal, particularly an agitated one, wasn’t usually a good idea. But Jax had learned during their time together that, for some reason, Faye responded best when he forced her focus solely on him.
He usually felt a little like a soldier jumping on a live grenade in an attempt to minimize casualties. In a way, he was.
Because emotions were never easy for his girlfriend to express, despite her human need to do so, and he’d do anything to help her when the need arose.
She didn’t throw a punch when she turned to face him completely, but the look in her eyes – all hurt, frustration, and even a sprinkle of despair- landed a blow to his gut nonetheless.
“Zig called,” Faye said finally, in the low somber tone that always sent shivers up his spine.
His heart dropped. He knew what was coming next. He knew why he’d had a sinking feeling in his gut since first stepping into their home minutes earlier.
“Tillie? The baby?”
“Yeah. Again.”
“Damn it! Faye I’m…”
She shot him a staying look. He didn’t bother finishing his meaningless platitude. Instead, he pulled her into his arms.
For a moment she resisted, standing stiff as a steel beam in his embrace. But when she finally gave in, she pressed herself against him with such force he was thankful for his superior strength. Her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him so close he wasn’t sure where he ended and she began.
He didn’t speak.There was nothing to say. He knew that when she was ready, Faye would pick up the conversation. His chin settled on the crown of her head, he simply held her, allowing himself to get lost in her unique scent – a mix of coffee, wine, and almond shampoo- and the steady thumping of her heart.
“Sometimes I hate that she’s so damn easy to love,” Faye stated when she pulled back some moments later.
They released their hold on one another, but Jax quickly captured Faye’s hands in his own in an attempt to keep one point of comforting contact. She didn’t fight him.
“It hurts too damn much sometimes- loving her this hard. Knowing she’s miserable and suffering and not being able to do a fucking thing to make it better for her. It hurts so much I can’t breathe. It hurts more than…more than…”
“More than twin daggers to the gut?” He finished for her, watching as her hand brushed instinctively over her abdomen, over the jagged scars hidden beneath the thin fabric of her shirt.
There was no nod in reply. They both knew the answer. They’d had this same discussion before far too many times.
“If, for once in my life, I hadn’t been so goddamn impulsive that day in Boston, if I’d just waited for the rest of you to show up, then maybe…”
“If you hadn’t acted on impulse,” Jax interrupted, “you wouldn’t be you, the kickass woman I love. If you’d waited, those kids wouldn’t be alive today. You did what you needed to do and paid a horrible price for it. It sucks ass but it’s done.” A heavy sigh escaped his lips.
“Just be there for her Faye. That’s all you can do and all she expects. I happen to know you have a pretty big heart underneath that badass ice-queen body armor you wear. A heart that has a particular soft spot for that sister of yours. Use it to make sure she knows you care about and support her.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You say that every time.” Faye rolled her eyes, but the action didn’t quite distract from the hint of color spreading across her cheeks.
“And everytime I mean it,” he said, giving her hands a squeeze before dropping them.
“In the morning you can order some of Till’s favorite things on Amazon for her. You know that makes you both feel better. But first…” A glimmer of mirth lit up his dark eyes and a smirk played at the corners of his mouth “…let’s go spar. We’ll pull out the katanas. And if you’re lucky, I may let you get a hit on me.”
A familiar glow of defiance filled Faye’s eyes, a mischievous grin turning up the corner of her mouth.
“In your dreams, Vampire Boy. You’re going down. Again.”
“For you, Love, I’ll always go down,” Jax said with a wink. “But let’s stick to sparring first.”
A snort of laughter filled the entirety of the apartment.
And just like that, Jax’s world shifted back into place.
His Faye was going to be just fine.
– The End
