Characters: Jack (manofexploits) & Kate (unravler) Date/Time: Friday, February 17, evening Location: Kate's dorm room Rating: pg-13 Warnings: the clothes are coming off here, folks. Summary: Kate plans a surprise for Jack's birthday and for his Valentines day present.
Kate had just spent the last fifteen minutes saying goodbye to Jack. They had just returned from his birthday dinner with her parents, and his via Skype, and now she had to prepare her surprise for him. Even though their departure from one another was going to be brief, it was still hard to say goodbye. She found herself wanting to spend every minute of every day with him lately. She should have found that odd, considering how well they typically got along, but questioning it didn’t seem necessary. Being with Jack made her happy, now it was her turn to return the favor.
Since it had been Valentine’s day Tuesday, and today was Jack’s birthday, Kate had something special planned. She had been preparing for this all week. Hopefully her plans would pay off.
She went over to the large box that sat on her bed and opened it. She had told Jack that the box contained his birthday presents from her parents. She didn’t doubt that he was suspicious as to why he couldn’t open them while they were at her parents house, but he didn’t question, thankfully.
Kate pulled out a garment bag, anxious to see what her mother had picked out for her. In the bag was a vibrant red dress. It had short, somewhat puffy sleeves, a deep sweetheart neckline, and a full skirt that fell just below the knee. It was a simple dress, embellished with only a single red button at the center of the neckline. Kate was not big on dresses, but this one fit her style, very simple, modest but beautiful. She had been nervous when she asked her mother to pick out a dress for her, but she had done well. She changed clothes quickly, changing everything about her outfit but her jewelry. She wore a thick tan cord around her neck. Jewelry was not something she typically wore, but this cord and the bauble attached to the end had become a nearly permanent fixture as of Tuesday. The cord was long, and the bauble lay nestled between her breasts, hidden from sight but exactly where she wanted it to be, which was close to her heart. Jack had asked about the new addition once or twice, but she remained mum on the subject. The reveal was all part of tonight’s surprise.
Next to the garment back was a small make up bag. After they had finished dinner, she and her mother had retreated upstairs so she could show Kate the dress she had picked out for her and give her a crash course on make up. It had seemed pretty straight forward, and Kate found she had a pretty good hand at it. It was very precise work, and Kate loved work that required good precision. With a slow but steady hand, Kate neatly applied the eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara. She brushed a dab of color over the apples of her cheeks and applied a bright red lipstick to her lips. She barely recognized the reflection that looked back at her.
She let her hair down and brushed a gentle curl into the ends, parting it on the side as her mother suggested and pinning just a little bit back with a hair pin. The overall look was very soft and natural. Whether it was pleasing or not remained to be seen.
Now that she was ready, she went into the mini fridge that occupied a corner of her room and took out a small chocolate cake. Draping a cloth over her desk created a table, and she set the cake in the middle of it. The cake was surrounded by two lit pillar candles and her computer was playing love songs quietly in the background thanks to Pandora. Now all she needed was Jack.
She pressed her lips together, praying it didn’t smudge her lipstick, and texted Jack her room number. All she had to do now was wait. Hopefully he wouldn’t make her wait long. She was worried the butterflies in her stomach would find a way to escape if he did.
The pit of anxiety in his stomach was different than it had been before; gone were the hesitant feelings, the worry that if he came too close to her, Kate would undoubtedly retreat. There had been a stirring revelation gradually occurring since early Saturday morning, starting some few hours after their surprisingly pleasant date had ended. It was suddenly completely okay for him to toss flirty come ons her way, or to sit closer to her than he otherwise would without permission. A sense of deep familiarity and comfort around her was no surprise; it’d been made more poignant after the pub events. But now it seemed more natural, as if that was possible. Jack didn’t waste time wondering if it was because of Odysseus and Penelope’s influence, or if perhaps Kate had decided to warm up to him after all. He couldn’t afford to sit around waiting, wondering if this was a fluke or not. He knew only what he felt for her--let Odysseus feel for Penelope what he would, Jack was much more concerned with what he was feeling for Kate.
No, this was no opportunity to waste.
Instead, the churning feelings within him were that of a drowning man looking upon the safety of the nearby shore. If only he could swim faster to it, if only he was not having to wait for whatever Kate’s surprise was. He wanted to be near her again, that was all it had to be, surely. The desire was intense and consuming; when his phone rang out a cheerful jingle, he grinned in relief, heading downstairs to find her dorm after a few extra minutes to make sure he looked (and smelled) all right. Thankfully, he was still dressed from dinner with her parents--as well as his own, so to speak (and hadn’t that been an interesting experience? Kate’s and his mother’s excited commentary about the two of them together no longer seemed to bother him, except for the slight excessive quality of it. In fact, he found it reassuring, welcoming. Everything seemed to be coming together, though at a much faster pace than he’d ever imagined. And for that matter, he’d never imagined things getting to this point.
This was not a bad birthday, not one bit.
He found her dorm with no incredible difficulty, which was a feat all by itself. Jack counted to three and then knocked a few times in a row, precise, crisp knocks. He let out a breath, smoothed down the dark blue dress shirt he wore, absentmindedly checked his watch for the time (what did time mean right now? What did it ever mean, when they two were happy just being around one another’s presence, and were about to be reunited yet again?). Briefly, he wondered if anyone would venture down the hallway and see him waiting outside of Kate’s dorm. Let them say what they wanted. He was only here to see her, to discover what she’d gotten him for his birthday. She’d made a big fuss about it being a huge secret, and he’d tossed many an idea through his mind while he waited for her to get it ready. There seemed no end to the possibilities.
Kate froze when she heard the knock at the door. She straightened the dress for the millionth time, and drew in a nervous breath as she told him to come in. She hadn’t worn a dress since she was a little girl. Her mother would force her into a dress for every family outing with the Davenports. Jack had seen her in a dress plenty of times before, but this was different. To be on the safe side, though, she left off the tights. She remembered how much he enjoyed making her ruin her tights as a child, she didn’t want to run the risk of having him ruin them tonight, even by accident. Tights were expensive when you were over the age of five.
When she saw the door handle turn but not open, she frowned and hurried forward to correct the situation.
“Just a second!”
She had forgotten to unlock the door. This was extremely embarrassing and ruined her big reveal, but oh well. She supposed it wasn’t really how she revealed the surprise that mattered, it was the surprise itself.
She opened the door and peeked around it, letting the door hide her body, revealing only her face. She smiled at him uncertainly, resisting the urge to bite her lip,still fearful of smudging.
“Hi.”
Even though she was hidden, the cake and the candles were not. She glanced back at them to make sure the cake was still there and the candles were still lit, nervous and unsure. She felt exposed without her pants and cardigan, she fought her instincts to cover up. This was for Jack. He was worth stepping outside of her comfort zone.
She waited for him to enter the room before she revealed herself. Closing the door, she kept her back against it, holding onto the handle for a sense of security. It gave her something to do with her hands and made her feel less awkward.
“Happy birthday.”
He was locked out; now, this was a surprise. Things were going too smoothly for it to be a vindictive act, and so Jack waited, his face lighting up when Kate peered around the door, a flash of red, delicately applied make-up, and perfectly brushed out hair. He returned her greeting, the smile upon his face genuine, devoid, for once, of any ulterior motives or tricks up his sleeve.
Kate did not do anything half-assed, and after Jack entered her dorm, it became all the more clear to him. He’d spotted the cake when she’d opened the door, candles glowing cheerfully in the darkened room. It was a sentimental, thoughtful touch to the evening. The low murmur of a radio could be heard as well, but it was Kate who had his full attention when he turned to see her, the closing of the door a chord of finality and privacy that caused his heart to beat a slight amount faster.
Hard to miss Kate in the cherry red dress, dangerously provocative by no means other than being what it was: openly bold, daring, and revealing just enough of her ample chest to make an average man’s mouth go dry. He gave her an unabashedly appreciative once over, words unable to process immediately in his mind. She was a woman transformed; though Jack found Kate curiously attractive even in her lumpy cardigans, tightly pulled back hair, and face devoid of make-up, there was something about this other side of her that he could not deny was incredibly appealing on a different level.
His mouth, indeed, had gone dry. With some difficulty, he found his voice, lips quirking up at the corners playfully.
“This is a surprise,” he said, the pleasure unmistakable in his tone. “You look amazing, Kate,” Jack added at a much quieter volume, not wanting to disrupt the moment. There was pure sincerity in what he said, no trace of mockery here. Not tonight. He knew he ought to go see the cake in closer detail, to give the usual polite comments of how her room was tidy and neat (unlike his own), but it was far too hard to take his eyes off her. Jack had thought that notion was only the poet’s gift of exaggeration, something that simply did not happen in reality. Kate, however, was proving him wrong.
She swallowed the huge lump that had risen up in her throat, and her tremulous smile became more confident. The way he was looking at her made her cheeks flame brighter than the blush that colored them, and the knot of tension that had settled in her midsection melted into a pleasant warmth. He had never looked at her that way before. She had never been overly concerned with her appearance before, she had never seen the need. Her poor mother had tried repeatedly to spark an interest in clothes and fashion in her daughter, but she never succeeded. Kate had never seen the point. If someone was going to be interested in her, she felt the needed to see her as is, no tricks, no gimmicks, just Kate. She may have to reconsider that stance if it meant Jack would look at her like this again.
His appreciation gave her enough confidence to push away from the door and walk towards him. She was grateful she was so well practiced at walking in heels because everything in her felt shaky.
“I wanted to do something special for you.” She stopped in front of him and started to adjust his collar. Kate had to keep her hands busy to refrain from tugging at her hair or her dress. He seemed to like the look so much she wanted to leave it exactly as it was.
“You’ve always been so patient with me. I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with.” She swallowed again and lifted her eyes from his collar to his face. “But you never completely gave up on me. You’ve been the one constant presence in my life that I could count on to be there to frustrate me, challenge me, drive me absolutely crazy and to keep me on my toes.”
She smiled somewhat wryly. “Those hardly sound like things someone would want, but I missed them so much when you were gone. I think, if you can miss the most frustrating aspects of a person along with the most endearing aspects, that person must be pretty special. What better time to tell someone how special they are than on their birthday?”
Kate strolled over to him, well-practiced in the heels he initially disliked simply because he could, and because it annoyed her for him to disapprove of something she wore. It didn’t help that she’d hit him with her shoes on more than several occasions when they were children. But in truth, heels on her never failed to look good; they looked even better with Kate’s legs bare underneath her dress (a detail he could in no way ignore).
Her vivid presence closer to him created a stark contrast; Kate, brilliant in red, and him, dressed in subdued blue. It was a soft metaphor she’d probably dislike, but it amused him nonetheless. Those tremulous hands of hers moved to his collar, throwing him back to their youth, when she’d often fix his mussed hair, the buttons on his shirt, and yes, even his collar before a picture was taken. Kate wanted everything to look nice, while Jack had always wanted to run free, unburdened by propriety.
Though Kate was taller in her beloved heels, she was still short enough that Jack had to look down at her. And he did so, surprised by her confession. They’d been closer in the past week, there was no denying it, but this was something new. Nothing Kate said was a lie, this was perhaps the most blunt and earnest she’d ever been with him before. Not in her tempers nor her tearful fits had she spoken words like these. He let her say her piece, politely quiet, acceptance written upon his face, coupled with admiration. There were unspoken depths in her brown eyes he found himself trying his damnedest to fathom.
Maybe it was the mood she’d set up for this, for his birthday, for him, making him feel the welling up of emotions within his chest, somewhere in the general vicinity of his heart. The tenderness in Kate’s expression moved him, and she was so undeniably real, this flesh and blood woman whose companionship he somehow had been granted in a second life. Jack reached up, covered her hands with his--they were still on his collar, as if it could get any straighter than what it already was.
“And here I thought you were unhappy to see me,” he murmured teasingly, gently plucking her hands from his shirt collar and lowering them. Jack grew serious, though the hint of a smile remained upon his face. “How could I give up on someone so equally frustrating? Kate, there’s nothing that would make me give up on you. I found you again, didn’t I?” Releasing her hands, Jack cupped her face, thumbs drawing reassuring circles on those lovely highlighted cheekbones of hers. “I found you,” he repeated, as if it needed extra emphasis.
He was casually ignoring that he technically hadn’t sought her out consciously, but suppose subconsciously he’d been drawn to her? Had Odysseus aided him somehow? Whatever the reason, he was glad he was with Kate again. Being here with her now was more than he could have hoped for; Jack bent down, lightly brushing her lips with his own, then pulled back.
“Thank you, Kate.”
She didn’t know what to say in return. He had found her, and in doing so, had made her heart full and happy. She wasn’t sure what brought on the sudden change, or where her fear of being hurt had gone. In hindsight, here in his arms, it felt silly to be so afraid. This felt as natural as breathing. Her nerves competed with the euphoria she felt at finally being whole. How much of that euphoria was her and how much of it was Penelope was unknown. She was interested in finding a way to judge that, but she was more interested in kissing him right now. The scale of Penelope to Kate could definitely wait.
Kate stood up on her toes and pressed her lips to his, locking her arms around his neck. This had been an extremely pleasant development that occurred over the week, it was probably the one she enjoyed the most. Touching him, kissing him, bringing their bodies together to a point where none could get between them gave her a sense of wholeness, like she was coming home after being lost for ages. Somehow, in the span of a week, Jack had become home. The idea didn’t seem that foreign or strange to her It felt like she had known this for some time, but had chosen to fight it. Her mind was relieved she had finally given up.
There was nothing reluctant about the way Jack returned her kiss, giving himself over to the feeling of her in his arms, hands sliding down to rest upon her hips, pulling Kate closer to him. This was right, this was how it was supposed to be. Eons of time could not deny them this passion, this unashamed display of affection. Nothing mattered but her, everything else was all but forgotten.
Frankly, he didn’t care about Odysseus and Penelope right now. Kate was in his arms, not Penelope. He wanted her, not Odysseus’ wife; he wanted the one person in his life who constantly beat him at his own game, never failed to match his wits, and refused to bend to anyone’s will save her own. She fit against him like no other, the missing piece in the puzzle he’d sought to complete for years. The fabric of Kate’s dress was soft against Jack’s splayed fingers as his hands trailed along the curve of her sides, the small of her back, one hand going further north to cradle her head as he deepened their kiss.
It seemed that, for once, everything was going as planned. Or rather, since Jack hadn’t any plan upon going to Kate’s dorm other than being near her again, circumstances were choosing to be particularly enjoyable. He was more than happy to let them take him where they must, and if that path was to keep Kate close to him like this, then so be it. This past week, after all, had been a week of unreserved emotions, the two of them simply giving themselves over to their shared moments with much enthusiasm. When Jack’s hand managed to find the zipper on the back of Kate’s dress, it was the first time he’d truly hesitated this evening.
That tingle she felt when they touched was intensified, there was an energy that thrummed between them in a familiar, exhilarating beat. Everything in her remembered this, welcomed this, wanted this, needed this, craved this. Her heart remembered what it felt like to be cherished by him, and it embraced the sensation. Every inch of her was aware of him and where their bodies met. She was coming to the realization that this was something she wanted. Penelope may be there in the background encouraging her to go forward, but the overwhelming bulk of the desire was hers. The realization made her weak, and she clung to him. Words would never be able to articulate what this realization meant to her, so she would have to show him.
Her heart thudded loudly in her chest when his hand paused on her zipper. She leaned back, keeping their bodies fused but parting their lips. She locked her eyes on his and reached behind her, covering the hand on her zipper with her smaller one.
There was no hesitation as she slowly guided his hand to lower the zipper, eyes unblinking, never straying from his, her eyes granting him permission, her hand guiding him forward. The tension hung heavy in the air, but, for once, the tension wasn’t antagonistic. The room was silent save for the whisper of fabric as she shrugged the dress from her shoulders and the quiet encouragement of the music. The dress stopped at her elbows. She stood as still as marble, quietly urging him to remove it the rest of the way. All of her life she had fought him, stubbornly refused to give an inch where he was concerned. That battle of wills had no place here, and this was her cue to him that she was done fighting him. Here, she was soft, pliant, willing to bend and give. Here she was willing to be his completely.
He was only vaguely aware of anything or anyone else existing save the pale, smooth shouldered being in front of him, warm brown eyes revealing more than the removal of her dress did, or ever could. An exposed sense of vulnerability was steeled by a definite resolve, though there was no challenge upon Kate’s delicately painted face. She was waiting, he knew, for him to make his move, and yet this was no longer a game of furtive, combative chess.
Jack swallowed, breaking their held gaze to slowly take in the sight before him, the delicate, soft lines of Kate unmasked and on display, though in no crass manner. He met her eyes again, reaching and taking hold of the dress sleeves, pulling them down further until they were completely removed, freeing her arms completely. Jack didn’t stop there--the obtrusive, if beautiful, garment couldn’t be left half-off; he inched the dress bottomward, over the curve of Kate’s hips, until it fell around her ankles in a puddle of vibrant red. Those heels of hers were still on, he noted with a private smile, pulling slightly away from her as he undid the top buttons of his shirt, working his way lower until it fell open.
As he shrugged his own confining clothing off his shoulders and tossed it to the floor, Jack noted an inkling of startling familiarity to this scene they were playing out with bold, fast beating hearts, and he knew, he knew they were making the right decisions, the right choices. He would not take Kate’s self exposure for granted, and the utter gravity of the situation was not lost on him. Once more he captured her lips with his, pulling her close, skin to skin, unable to touch enough of her. How perfectly his hand fit at the small of her back, how soft was the feel of her hair falling over his fingers, and it smelled forever of that curiously orange-scented shampoo she used. He decided in a distant fashion that he rather liked it.
The intense eye contact partnered with the achingly slow descent of fabric over hypersensitive skin made her head spin. She held her breath until the dress pooled at her feet. She stood before him now, clad only in her lingerie and necklace, held up by his support and a pair of four inch heels. When he pulled away from her she reached for him, missing his warmth and support the moment they parted. She paused when she realized why they had separated, her eyes following his fingers button by button, eager for the shirt to be removed so there would be one less layer between them. She used the moment to step out of her dress, the discarded garment kicked carelessly to the side, forgotten the moment it was pushed aside.
He drew her back to him and they were nearly skin to skin. Every exposed inch was on fire, but it wasn’t enough. They still weren’t close enough, fabric still rustled between them, irritating her skin and frustrating her by preventing her from feeling nothing but the heat of his skin against hers.
She slid her hands down his sides, letting her nails graze over his ribs and her finger tips skim across his abdomen until they rested on the waist of his pants. She curled her fingers over the fabric, sliding them inward till her hands met at his belt buckle. She clumsily undid his belt, refusing to move any farther away from him than she had to and definitely not breaking their kiss. Their closeness, combined with her eager frustration made her fumble, her movements were ungraceful and clumsy, but determined. Her persistence paid off, and his belt parted, giving her access to the pants themselves. She undid the button and slid her fingers lower, resting on the zipper for only a moment before slowly lowering it, clutching the fabric and preventing them from falling from his hips. They were broaching the threshold of no return. There would be no going back in their relationship if they went further. Her mind began to race in typical Kate fashion, a million questions and possibilities forcing her to second guess herself.
She drew back, her brow furrowed as she searched his face for reassurance, looking for something to assuage the sudden and offensive doubts that had wormed their way into the new level of intimacy they were exploring. The questions in her eyes hid the anger and self loathing she was feeling for suddenly finding herself lost and unsure. When she found herself in situations like this, she turned to facts and information to guide her and reassure her, but here she was left with only Jack and hints of vague memories to turn to.
The clink of his belt being undone was surprisingly loud to Jack’s ears, though it couldn’t beat the quickening rhythm of his heart when Kate had touched him, her fingers easing ever lower towards their goal. All of his senses seemed heightened, and he was glad for this, as there wasn’t anything he wanted to forget about tonight, come what may. Jack was committing details to his memory both consciously and subconsciously, almost as if he needed to overcompensate for knowing too many fragmented details from Odysseus’ past. Maybe he wasn’t ready to know those things, or maybe he wouldn’t be able to handle them, but Jack promised himself that at least this, tonight, he wouldn’t forget. He’d be able to handle it, he’d be able to cherish Kate the way she deserved, show Kate how he sincerely felt about her, give to her with his actions all that his words could not.
He let out a sharp, quick intake of breath when Kate slid the zipper of his pants down. Jack moved to kiss her more completely, to press hard against her and quickly shed the rest of their clothing, but her pause caused him to halt in his affections. He eyed her quizzically, a second or three passing before he realized why Kate was staring at him in such a strange way. Though the two of them processed their thoughts in a vastly different manner, there was nonetheless a thread of similar cognitive function they shared, and they’d known each other too long to not realize, if only the generals, of what might be bothering the other. Jack understood, then, why Kate felt it necessary to hesitate.
Had they gone too far to stop now? Should they simply give in to their senses, and not bother worrying what the aftermath of their act would be? Palpable tension crowded in the smallest of inches separating them, and Jack decided in an instant that it was now or never. To hell with indecision, with uncertainty. Every fiber in his being wanted her, from the hot blood in his veins to the anxious coil of desire which rested in the base of his stomach. Though the marked intent in his eyes did not entirely change, Jack gave Kate a tender, confidential smile, loosening her grip on his pants so that he could aid them in their descent to the floor. In one of his less than graceful moments, Jack untangled himself from the disliked dress pants, kicking off his equally disliked dress shoes in the process.
Gray, plaid boxers in no way complimented the classy, well-cut lingerie Kate wore, but they’d have to do. He was having trouble taking his eyes off her, and drawing close to Kate he noticed, finally, what was attached to the cord she wore around her neck; it was the minuscule paper ship in a bottle he’d given her earlier in the week, the tiny glass affair snugly tucked in her cleavage. That she’d keep it so close to herself touched him, and surely his expression softened accordingly.
Jack ducked his head, kissing reverently above where the treasured bottle rested, which quickly led to scattering kisses along her collar bones, and up her neck to the small hollow behind one ear; meanwhile, his hands roamed comfortably along her hips, sides, and bottom--again, in the rational part of his mind, the familiarity of these actions still shocked him to some degree. Stopping himself and pulling the barest amount away from her, he looked pointedly at Kate, a small, mischievous grin upon his face. In a sudden, impulsive motion, Jack bent at the knees, sliding his arms underneath her upper bare thighs as support, lifting her up and to him. The bed was, he noted with a glance over his shoulder, mercifully not far away from them.
Good. He’d found her at last, and he intended on showing her just how thankful he was of this fact.