Work Text:
There were moments where Jake remembered.
He remembered the darkness that he had been trapped in for so long. The helplessness that he felt, the swirl of emotions that enveloped him. Hurt, sadness, anger, guilt, and misery. He remembered seeing his ex with another man, hearing Shawn tell him about their grandma, his family’s disapproving looks as they sent him away, his brother’s absence, Jake's will to simply stop it all, and the memory of his face.
Tom’s face.
Those beautiful cyan eyes that he had once lost himself in had such utter hatred in the glare. His heart had cracked into a thousand pieces, and every time he tried to pick them up he was cut by one of the shards. He tried not to believe that it was all his fault, but for so long…
Now he blinked his eyes open, looked up, and he saw them again. The same eyes that had purposefully avoided him for two horrible years. The eyes that either had stared at him with an unknown feeling that looked like guilt, or anger, now looked at him with utter adoration. Jake felt his scarred hand on his cheek as he gazed up at him, his head resting on Tom’s lap.
“Hey, babe. You went all quiet. Everything okay?” His voice. His voice.
Jake couldn’t help but feel this way sometimes. After all the shit he had been put through, he was so much better now and with the absolute love of his life. He deserved to relish in the bliss of comfort. He struggled to answer, the sudden rush of love for the other man he felt a bit overwhelming.
“I’m just… so thankful.” Jake smiled as he heard a light chuckle from his boyfriend. The older man’s hand brushed some loose locks of blue hair off Jake’s face.
“What for? Me having the day off work to finally spend some well-earned time with my Jakey-wakey? My blueberry donut?” Now it was Jake’s turn to laugh. He exhaled a smile, heaving himself up and suddenly embracing Tom in a tight hug. Tom let out a little hum of surprise but quickly wrapped his arm around the other man.
“Jake, is something wrong? I’m a little worried.” Jake buried his face in his neck, before pulling back and resting his forehead against Tom’s.
“It’s what I said. I’m just so thankful. I’m so grateful that you’re here with me.”
Tom smiled so warmly, his cheeks tinting a bit pink, and at the sight of that, god, Jake wouldn’t be surprised if he passed away then and there.
“Why so mushy?” Tom said, smirking, before relaxing his shoulders a little. “I mean… I feel the same. Of course I do. I don’t know what I would’ve done with myself if you hadn’t forgiven me.”
“How could I have not forgiven you?”
“I ghosted you for two years.”
“You’ve already said sorry about three thousand times, Tom, and I’ve told you it's fine about double that amount.”
“But–” Tom didn’t get the opportunity to finish before Jake rolled his eyes and cut him off with a kiss. Despite initially taking him by surprise, Tom melted into the kiss, his eyes fluttering shut before lifting both his hands to cup Jake’s cheeks. They stayed like that for a moment, the world having stopped spinning and time stopped moving, everything dissolving away until it was just them.
Eventually, Jake pulled away, his hands finding their way to Tom’s, panting slightly as their breaths mingled in the air between them.
“Jake, I’m so lucky to have you.” Tom said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“I know. And I’m even luckier to have you. ” Jake shot back, grinning.
Tom laughed, and was about to lean back in before he felt the couch sink a little beside him.
“Aww, and we love you too, Gabs!” He exclaimed, picking the gray oval of fur up and bringing her close to her chest. Jake sighed in contentment, rubbing their cat on the back as she purred in delight. This was perfect.
Everything was perfect.
There were moments where Jake remembered.
He remembered the darkness that he had been trapped in for so long. The helplessness that he felt, the swirl of emotions that enveloped him. But now he felt so much love. He felt so cared for, appreciated, and sure, some days were still hard, but he had people to lean on now. His friends, his new-found family, hell, now even Shawn was added back to the list. And he remembers his happiness that he feels almost every day. Waking up with his beloved every morning, baking with Miriam, hanging out with the best friends he ever dreamed of, having told his parents off and having them out of his life, and everyday now having the joy of seeing his loving face.
Tom's face.