The Hearts Mirror (Twisted Wonderland One-Shots + Requests)

Those Three Words (Jack x Reader)

Happy birthday Jack! 🥳
~~

"959... 960... 961..." You counted as Jack went up and down with his push ups. "962.. 963... 960 - hehe - 964, 965..."

You brief giggle was from Jack's hair tickling your nose. In hindsight, perhaps moving from your boyfriend's back to underneath him was not the greatest of ideas, even if it gave you a way to surprise him with the occasional kiss. Like the one you picked against his lips right now, his cheeks lighting up in a mix of embarrassment and delight.

"987... 988... 989..." There was still a slight part of you that couldn't fully believe how strong your boyfriend actually was. Sure, you'd been carried by him on multiple occasions, but the fact he could do 1000 push-ups consecutively? And as cool-down, no less? He was even more amazing than you'd already thought.

"996... 997... 998... 999..." As Jack lowers himself on his final push-up, you lightly clasp the sides of his face and push yourself up with him. "1000!"

The second the words leave your mouth, you place your lips against Jack, giggling at his huff. You knew he wasn't really mad at you though - he still looped his arms around your waist like usual.

As he pulls away, you hand him his water bottle. Jack mutters a quick thanks before downing the remaining water, wiping his mouth and finally letting out a series of deep breathes. You take the water off of him and trade it for his towel.

"How do you do this all the time?" You ask, a slight bit of laughter to your tone. "I mean, the muscles are worth it, but... damn, babe."

Jack dabs his face with the towel. "I've been building up my regime since I was 9."

"'Building up'?" You ask, eyebrow raised in confusion. "Don't you mean 'built up'?"

Jack shakes his head, tossing the towel around his shoulders. "I'm still building it up. I'm hoping to be able to do 1,500 push-ups by the time next year."

"1-1,500!?" You stammered as your eyes grew. Okay, this was going beyond the realm of impressive now... "Y-You're kidding...?"

Jack shakes his head. "Should I be?"

The look of innocent confusion on his face made you feel bad for considering his actions... well, over-the-top, to put it lightly. Still...

"W-Won't that end up being super long, though?" You ask, shock still on your face as you attempt to smile through it. "It might cut into your studies..."

Jack shakes his head. "I always make sure to build myself up in a way that makes my future routine only add a small amount of time to my original one. It works out - don't worry."

You sigh. Well, you could at least make a tease out of this.

You turn your confused look into a teasing smirk. "Well, at least my time with you isn't cut short."

Of course, just like usual, Jack's face lights up with a deep blush on his cheeks. You couldn't help the laughter that escaped your lips - even though you'd been dating the wolf beastman for almost a year now, he still got so adorably flustered whenever you expressed any kind of affection. Not that you minded, of course.

Jack lets out a sigh at your antics, though the blush doesn't fade. "Honestly..."

"C'mon, you love me anyway." You tease, enjoying watching the blush spread further across his face.

However, his next actions take you by surprise. Not so much him pulling you into his lap - he'd started doing that recently, burying his head into the crook of your neck to escape your eyes (though you would still tease him about how hot his face was). You didn't even bat an eye when he didn't hide his face this time - kissing you to shut you up wasn't off the table either.

"Yes, I do."

...Huh?

"W-What?" You stammer, thinking you misheard him. "S-Sorry, um..."

"I do love you." Jack confirms, resting his forehead against yours and looking you dead in the eyes.

This... was not part of the plan.

As your brain slowly processed the words, a blush of your own starts to creep up your neck. By the time the words "I love you" had finally settled in your head, your neck, face, even the tips of your ears, were all painted a brilliant red, even worse than Jack's. Your boyfriend's typical disgruntled expression had switched to a pleasant small smirk.

"What's wrong?" Jack asks, amused. "You say it so often. I thought you knew."

"W-Well, yes..." Technically, you didn't. You knew he liked you - you wouldn't be dating if he didn't - but full on love? You weren't sure if you were more shocked or happy.

"What about you, then?" He asks, a hint of seriousness now in his voice.

"Me... what?" You say dumbly, your brain to preoccupied to figure out what your boyfriend meant.

Jack seemed to tense slightly. "Do you... do you love me too?"

You blinked. Your face got hotter as you nodded and squeaked our a response. "Y-Yes... I l-lo... I love you... t-too..."

Jack breathes out a sigh of relief. His serious face changes once again, replaced this time by a soft smile. He nuzzles your foreheads together. Laughter bubbles out of him when he hears you practically whine in protest. He stops his nuzzling only to begin a chain of slow kisses from your forehead to your cheek, across your jawline and finally ending with a kiss on your lips. The last once caused another squeal from you, earning a chuckle from him.

Jack moves back to appreciate your face. He uses his large hand to cup your cheek. Compared to the hot blush, his hand was a cool blessing, so you couldn't stop yourself from leaning into his touch.

"If I'd known I'd get to see you blushing like this," Jack thinks out loud with an amused chuckle, "I would've told you long ago."

"Shush..." You reprimand, not used to being on the end of the teased. "...I'll just have to say it more to get you flustered first."

"I'd love that." Jack teases, causing you to angrily whine again.

You leaned up and kissed him to shut him up. Jack hand circles to the back of your head, holding you closer with the additional arm around your waist. He knew you didn't mind - you were smiling just as wide as him, after all. When the two of you pulled away, you leant your foreheads against each other, silently telling each other "I love you" over and over again.