it's always ourselves that we find in the sea || jensoo

Chapter 24

"Are you sure you want to come to my house for Christmas?" Jennie asked, not for the first time, knowing that Jisoo liked her space and disliked meeting new people in settings she wasn't used to, and Minzy's house was about to get very packed for the holidays.

With an exasperated look, Jisoo tentatively reached out for the plate of biscuits and picked one up. Turning it over in her hands, she pursed her lips slightly. "You said you make gingerbread, right? Play board games and watch movies? My family was never that close. I never baked with my mom - we had a chef for that - and Jin taught me to play chess, but that was about as far as games went in my house. By the time I was old enough to do those things myself, it was like I was too old to do them, you know? I think ... a proper Christmas would be nice."

Reaching out, Jennie gripped Jisoo's forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze, "then I'll make sure we have enough gingerbread for an army and all of The Santa Claus movies."

Giving her a soft smile, Jisoo reached out, her hand seeking Jennie's face, and Jennie caught it midair, kissing her open palm and then pressing it to her cheek as she gazed lovingly back at her. "I love you," Jisoo quietly told her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

A shy smile on her lips, Jennie rose slightly from her seat so that she could lean over and gently kiss Jisoo on the cheek, and then the lips when Jisoo turned her head, an expectant look on her face, smiling into it as she closed her eyes slightly. Pulling back, Jennie sank back down onto her chair, feeling warm inside and excited at the prospect of spending the holidays with Jisoo and her family. Usually Minzy joined her and Chaeyoung in Seoul, but this year Chaeyoung was coming to Auckland, along with Lisa and Ruby, and Bobby and B.I., who also had nowhere else to go, and Jennie was excited at the prospect of having so many people she cared about in one place. The thought of Jisoo crammed into Minzy's kitchen while they all unwrapped presents and ate turkey and pulled crackers made her feel warm inside. That was supposed to be how it felt to bring someone home for the holidays - she finally understood how it felt to have all the things people talked about in relationships.

"I love you too," Jennie softly told her, "perhaps more than you think."

"Why?"

Jennie's expression softened as she set her teacup down, the cup rattling against the saucer, and leant across the table slightly, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Because you're you. You sit there and you write music for me, and it's so beautiful, and it makes me feel ... indescribable things. It makes me feel so loved and special, like you picked me . And then me ... I've tried writing about you, but I always seem to fail. I can't put it into words and I wish that I could, because I want you to know that I love you, but I just-"

"I don't want you to write about me," Jisoo interrupted her, sounding surprised, "I don't need your words to know how you feel, just like I'm sure you don't need my music to know how I feel, but if it's any consolation, the stories you tell me mean more to me than you know."

Letting out a quiet laugh, Jennie lovingly gazed at her, biting her lip slightly as she thought about how fortunate she'd been to come back to Auckland at just the right time. "For the record, I do love your music though."

"I know you do," Jisoo laughed, "and that makes me feel special too."

"Do you know what else would make you feel special? Telling me what you'd like for Christmas," Jennie prodded, her eyebrows rising slightly as she gave Jisoo an expectant look.

Sighing, Jisoo took a bite out of her gingerbread biscuit, looking straight ahead as Jennie watched her with an amused look in her eyes. She'd already bought Jisoo a few things, but she wanted to get her something that she knew for certain that Jisoo would like, and much to Jennie's exasperation, Jisoo was completely unhelpful.