00=Scene= It's the evening of the 25th. After their little dance lesson concluded, Vasquez returned to making sure everything was ready for the wedding. She's now retreated to her and Jason's room since a while back, not having been seen outside since.
#RedrockAgency – October 17, 2017
Jason went about his daily routine which mostly consists of spending a few hours in his office pretending to work and then hitting the gym. Eventually, he makes his way back to their quarters when he's ready for a shower. As the door opens he steps inside, dressed in his typical workout attire. Jogging pants, running shoes and a long white workout shirt. A damp towel is strewn over his left shoulder.
Vasquez is sitting in bed when he enters. She's changed into sweatpants and her ever-present favorite t-shirt. It seems to go through laundry quite often to be ever available. Her legs are pulled close to her body, resting her chin on her arms, which are crossed over her knees. She's facing the TV, which is playing post-game commentary for an asajura match. It's quite obvious she's paying no attention to it, her gaze
distant, staring through the screen, but when Jason enters she lifts her head a little, looking his way. "Hey..." she says quietly, a faint hint of a smile tugging briefly at the corner of her lips but not quite manifesting. "Had a good workout?"
Jason's attention shoots over to the TV as he steps further into the room. As scores cross the screen, he studies them, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. After running some quick math through his head, carrying the two, round up-.... he ends up looking even more confused. As Vasquez speaks up, his attention snaps her way. "Huh? Oh. Yeah." he says, scooping his towel up off his shoulder and giving it a quick run over his head.
"Still getting accustomed to the new routine. Gonna take some time." he explains as he meanders her way. "So what are you doing in here so early? Don't you have another 10-or-so hours of work to get done?" he teases as that familiar lopsided grin crosses his face.
Vasquez lets out a half-hearted chuckle. "I think everything is ready for... tomorrow." she responds. "Figured I'd turn in early." She allows one of her legs to stretch out, folding her arms around the leg that remains close as she studies Jason.
Jason steps over to the bed as he slings his towel back over his shoulder. His grin widens as he looks down at her. "Excited?"
Vasquez gains a somewhat uncomfortable smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I-... of course. You?" Her smile fades, and before he has a chance to respond she says: "You can still run away... last chance." She's trying to pass it off as a joke, judging by the short-lived attempt at a chuckle that follows, but her expression is far from jovial. Indeed, there's an underlying discomfort to every word she speaks.
Jason gives a brief chuckle, but one it becomes obvious that there's some actual concern behind her words, his grin slowly fades away. He leans his head to the side as he studies her in silence for a moment. Finally, he sucks in a deep breath and lifts his knee onto the edge of the bed. In his dirty workout clothes, shoes, and covered in a layer of sweat, he climbs into bed on his knees and inches up in front of her dropping
Vasquez doesn't seem to care about Jason messing up the sheets, at least not at the moment. She studies him as he climbs into bed, focused on the features of his face. "No..." she sighs, looking off to the side.
Jason reaches out and places his hands over her arms, giving them a slight squeeze. His hands, unlike the rest of him, aren't sweating. Not like they should be. They're room temperature and without bodyheat. His own gaze focuses on the difference between their arms. Prosthetic against flesh. More than enough of a small reminder of the difficulties they've faced. But face them they have. Together. "Good. Because I'm not. Hell,
I've got a reputation to consider!" he jokes as he props his grin back up, his usual mechanism for coping with complicated situations, "I've never run from a fight. Not gonna start now." He gives her arm a playful little shake in hopes of lifting her spirits.
Vasquez ' gaze returns to Jason as she feels the synthetic hands against her skin. Her gaze comes to focus on his right shoulder. His attempt at a joke has quite the opposite effect, and she closes her eyes, drawing in a breath before letting out a joyless chuckle, looking down at what she can see of his hands as well. "'Fight'. Yeah... guess that's the right word." she says quietly.
Jason's grin fades away once again. "Linda, I didn't mean-..." he begins but simply trails off. He brings his hands down to the sides of Vasquez' legs and gives each one a pat before pressing his hands against the bed to keep himself propped up. "I love you, Linda." he says in absolute sincerity, looking almost angry for the briefest of moments. Angry at himself. "Maybe I don't-..." he stammers and looks off to the side,
lowering his voice slightly before trying again. "Maybe I don't say it enough. Maybe I don't-... I don't know. But I love you. Fuck do I love you." he continues, a humorless chuckle escaping him as he looks back to the woman in front of him. "And yeah, it's been a rough few years. For both of us. But I don't regret it. I don't regret any of it."
Vasquez swallows hard, looking up to meet Jason's gaze only when he looks back at her. Her expression is an odd mixture of affection and almost pained sadness. No, guilt. "Why?!" she blurts out, frustration taking hold as she stares at him. "After everything that's-... how can you-..." she trails off, eyebrows furrowed as she looks off to the side again. "I do. I... have so many regrets." she says quietly, her voice
almost a little shaky. Her gaze snaps back to Jason and she shifts to sit cross-legged, anger returning to her voice. "Why are you doing this? Why are you here with me?! It's fucking stupid! You've gotta know that. Just-... just why?! After all the shit I've put you through... how can you still say that like you mean it?" She pulls her arms back as she almost shouts at him, a confused, frustrated glare on her
face. She's trembling slightly as she chokes up towards the end, her gaze falling down to his hands again.
Jason let's her speak without interruption. There's little reaction from him until she's through. He sucks in a deep breath as he gives a single nod. "Because I do mean it." he says simply, as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world. "Shit, Linda... Do you have any idea what was going through my mind when you were gone? Yeah, I mean... your recovery was rough. Hospital bills. Rent. A dead end job. Scraping
together whatever I could just to make sure we had a place to sleep..." he gives a shake of his head as he recalls their time on Earth, "It was tough, but it was nothing compared to losing you. When-... when they had you, I was losing my fucking mind. Because all of this?" he gestures around the room. "Everything we've fought for? Everything we've been through to get to where we are? None of it means shit if you're
not here with me, Linda. So no. I don't have a single fucking regret. And you don't either." he decides for her, brow furrowed. "We're here. Together. And we're going to spend the rest of our lives that way. Whatever bullshit we had to stomp through-... whatever bullshit we'll have to stop through?" he reaches out for her hand, gripping it tightly in his own. "It's worth it."
Vasquez closes her eyes when Jason talks about her recovery. One in a long line of debts she'd never be able to repay. As he continues she exhales unevenly. There are tears in her eyes when they open again upon feeling his hand around hers, and for a moment she just stares at their hands before looking up to meet his gaze again. She furrows her eyebrows, a sad, lopsided smile on her lips as she studies him. "What the
fuck did I do to deserve you...?" she wonders half-whispered, squeezing his hand and sniffling as a few tears escape, rolling down her cheeks. She seems for a brief moment like she's going to hug him, but instead she pulls her hand free, placing it over her mouth to muffle a sob. She pulls her legs up to her chest again with her other arm, hair falling in her face as she looks down at her knees. "It's not-.. it
isn't fair, I'm just-... what if I hurt you again? I can't-... why are you like this?!" she blurts out with several shakes of her head, as if a sudden panic has taken a hold of her. Quick, shallow breaths are all that follow.
Jason sucks in another deep breath through his nose as Vasquez begins to sob. He rolls to the side to sit on his rear and scoots up beside Vasquez, facing the same direction as her with his legs extended out in front of him. "Linda..." he says softly as he wraps his left arm around her, nudging her to rest her head against his shoulder. "You've gotta let all of that go. You didn't-..." he pauses, patting her leg with his right
hand, "...You didn't do this. Okay? You didn't hurt me. You've gotta let that go and stop blaming yourself because I sure as hell don't blame you." he repeats. He lifts his hand and brushes a bit of hair out of her face so he can look at her.
Vasquez initially tries to shrug Jason's arm off but she gives up on the idea quite quickly. "That's not the only time I've hurt you and you know it." she snarls without looking toward him, refusing his nudge to lean on him. She doesn't acknowledge his claim that she's not to blame for the obvious instance. "I'm a fucking mess, Jason. All you've ever done is be there for me, keeping me from falling apart. You-... you
convinced me my life wasn't over on Omega. You fucking dragged me out of that jungle, worked your ass off while I laid there useless. You risked your life to save me from..." she chokes up, failing to even mention her mother as she shakes her head, turning to look at him now. "...after what I did-... you didn't even give up on me then. Why?! What the fuck did I ever do to earn that? When the hell did I
ever-...?! Why-... why are you like this?! Why won't you just get away before I get you killed?!" She tries to push him away now, shrugging to try and remove his arm. It's a strange, conflicting set of emotions she expresses as she stares at him, tears flowing freely now. Simultaneously furious that he won't leave and absolutely terrified that he will.
Jason doesn't allow himself to be shrugged off so easily. He tightens the side-hug. "Linda..." he sighs, his tone still patient and calm despite her outburst. "You have no idea what you've done for me. You act like those were all selfless acts or some shit." He falls silent for a moment, his gaze moving to the bed as he licks at his dry lips and considers his words. "They weren't. Omega was supposed to be my swansong. There
Jason wasn't supposed to be any 'coming back' from that." There's a sense of shame in his voice as he recalls who he was when they had first met. "You gave me a reason to come back." he finally continues softly, returning his attention to Vasquez. "And the jungle-... your recovery-... Cerberus-..." he lists each one off with a shake of his head, "...I risked my life to save you because there is no life without you. You
Jason understand? You are my life." He blinks hard as he feels his eyes begin to water up at having said it out loud. "Face it, Linda. We need each other. You need me. I need you." he says, bringing his free hand up to quickly rub at his eyes in an attempt at preventing any tears from escaping. "So... You're just going to have to accept that we're stuck with each other for life."
Vasquez ' anger slowly fades as she listens to Jason, her attempts at extracting herself stopping when she realizes he's not letting go of her. She ought to know most of this already, but his honesty, and the sight of his eyes watering up causes her hand to cover her mouth again as another sob escapes her. For a moment she just stares at him, an incoherent and conflicting mixture of emotions in her expressive brown
Vasquez eyes, but then she leans in in a sudden movement, wrapping her left arm around his right shoulder and burying her face against his chest just under his chin, no regard given to his sweat-soaked shirt. Her back bounces up and down as she starts to cry uncontrollably, holding on tight to his shoulder.
Jason tightly closes his hug around Vasquez with both arms, his attempts at halting the flow of tears entirely futile in the face of such affection. "I'm so lucky to have you in my life, Linda..." he says, pressing a brief kiss against the top of her head before he rests his chin against her hair. He runs his right hand back and forth across her upper back as his own tears flow freely down his cheeks. With a deep breath, he
Jason closes his eyes and allows himself to enjoy the moment of being in the arms of the woman he loves.
Vasquez continues to cry into Jason's shirt for several minutes, her only response to his words a change in the pitch of one of her sobs. When her violent crying eventually slows down as she begins to run out of tears, her ribcage is aching and Jason's shirt is dirtier than it already was. Both her arms have already wrapped around him by now, but as she lifts her head she places her left on his shoulder, pushing off
Vasquez slightly from it to look at him. Her face is a mess of puffy red eyes, tear-stained cheeks and a runny nose which she's quick to wipe on the back of her hand with the briefest hint of an embarrassed sniffle. "You're..." she pauses briefly as she searches for the right word, sliding her hand up to his neck. "...amazing. You know that?" she finishes, moving her hand up to his cheek and using her thumb to wipe away
Jason sniffs hard, his own eyes a bit reddened from the tears. It's not the state he's used to being seen in, but there's a comfort, a familiarity, and a trust that has been built on a solid foundation that keeps him from trying to hide it. Nevertheless, he's not exactly one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so he responds to her words in the only way he knows how: "I do, actually." he jokes with a short, soft chuckle. He closes
Jason his eyes once again as her forehead presses against his and just enjoys the closeness for a few moments. "...You're not so bad yourself." he eventually says as he opens his eyes once again.
Vasquez lets out a quiet, choked up chuckle, opening her eyes and moving her head back slightly. A faint smile crosses her lips and lightly punches Jason's chest with her now-free left hand, but the brief moment of playfulness passes almost immediately, her smile fading. "I'm sorry..." she says, her voice a little hoarse from crying. She glances off to the side. "For being... me. For-...." she takes a deep breath,
looking back to him. "...for acting like such a fucking mess." she finishes with a shake of her head, moving her hand up to rub her eyes as she sits back a little, an exhausted sigh escaping her. "I'm... not going to pretend to understand where you get that patience from." she says, looking back at him as she drops her hands into her lap. "I'm... so grateful we found each other. And-... and for everything
you-... I love you so much, Jason. I can't-..." There's a quiet sob and a sniffle, but she's all out of tears. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You mean fucking everything to me..." Her gaze falls to her own hands. "...even if I'm kind of shit at showing it sometimes."
Jason allows his smirk to return for the moment when it seems like Vasquez' mood is lifting. He looks to her as she speaks, his only reaction a few shakes of his head as she nears the end. "No, Linda, that's-..." He reaches out and places a hand over hers and gives them a pat. "...You show me in your own way. Like when you're down there in your office?" He raises his hands, pantomiming typing at a terminal, "...Looking all sexy
behind your desk..." he snickers, but as he lowers his hands, his expression grows sincere and he gives a nod. "Working your ass off? I know you're doing that for me. For us. So we can have a good life."
Vasquez looks up at Jason when he places his hand over hers. As he mimics her typing she can't help but let out a snicker, sniffling right afterwards and gaining a faint, emotionally exhausted, but very much genuine smile as he continues. She looks down for a moment, intertwining her fingers with his and brushing her thumb along the base of his synthetic palm. The nature of his hand inevitably makes the gesture less
intimate, but it's what comes naturally. She looks back at him with a heavy sigh, but her shoulders seem lighter for it. "This is-... this is really happening." she says with a sudden chuckle, a strange amazement in her face.
Jason's gaze follows Vasquez', settling on their hands. The small amount of pressure felt through his inorganic limbs certainly doesn't bring the comfort it once did, but it's all he has at this point and it's better than nothing. The lopsided grin returns to his face as he hears her speak. "It's really happening." he says, seeming every bit as amazed by the fact that they're less than a day from being husband and wife as she
is. He shifts a bit to better face her. "One last night as a free woman. How do you want to spend it?"
Vasquez is facing Jason as well, her legs folded to her side and leaning lightly against the bedframe. She squeezes his hand, but the nature of his arms is always on her mind, and a faint frown crosses her face as she lets go of it, moving her hand to his face, running her thumb across his cheek instead, letting out a quiet snicker. "Nowhere I'd rather be..." she says softly as her smile returns, opting for sincerity
Jason's grin widens as his hand moves to Vasquez' side. "That so?" he asks, craning his neck slightly to press a kiss against the palm of the hand against his cheek. "Well that makes two of us." he adds as he shuffles closer to snuggle up to Vasquez.