Jake-
Dinner was absolutely delicious. It had been a while since he'd had burgers and he actually managed to eat two, along with the side of broccoli and chocolate pudding Rose made. "You are an amazing cook, ma'am." He praised as he leaned back on his heels where he sat. He'd opted for the pillow beside Jade's chair, even though the man had offered him a seat at the table.
He thought that it would feel strange after eating at Adam's table for so long, but it honestly made him completely content to be beside Jade as he'd worked on his food. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jacob. There are plenty of leftovers for you to take home tomorrow. I always make extra."
Jake glanced up at Jade as the man smiled down at him and rustled his hair. "Thank you Rose. I'm sure he'd love to take the leftovers home." Mirroring Jade's expression, Jake turned and nodded to Rose. "Yes please, ma'am."
Rose gave him a little chuckle and turned to head back toward the kitchen as she spoke. "Very good. I shall get that all packed up for you and set it in the front of the fridge so that you can fetch it on your way out tomorrow."
Jake called a "Thank you" to her from where he sat, then waited patiently for Jade to finish picking at what he wanted on his own plate. The man hadn't eaten a whole lot, but he had mentioned that he'd eaten lunch late and hadn't really planned on having dinner. Jake appreciated him eating a bit, none the less. He would have felt really awkward sitting and eating alone in someone else's home. Especially after eating with Adam for the past few weeks.
A soft brush of Jade's fingers against his hair drew Jake's head against his leg. "Something on your mind, Jacob?" Jade asked as Jake heard the sound of his fork being set down, likely not to be picked up again considering how uninterested Jade seemed to have been in finishing off his remaining portion.
His stomach twisted a little at the thought of the food going to waste, but he had seen how much Jade had taken and how much he'd managed to finish. He didn't put food on his plate anticipating that he might eat it. He only took what he knew he wanted, and he'd finished a good deal of it.
So used to not being able to afford to leave even scraps, but I'm so full.
Jake sighed and closed his eyes as he nuzzled his cheek against Jade's leg. "Nothing important, sir." He paused for a moment, then looked up with a small smile. "May I take your dish to the kitchen, please?"
He knew that Jade wouldn't let him wash the dishes or clean, but he didn't think helping clear the table would be frowned upon. When Jade nodded and stood, offering Jake his hand, he took it gladly and allowed the larger man to easily pull him to his feet.
"You definitely have gained some weight." Jade said as Jake straightened. "I'm glad." He said as he ran his fingers through Jake's hair, then slid his hand down his back and handed him the plate he wanted to clear, before using his hand on his back to gently usher him in the direction of the kitchen.
"Go ahead. You can help Rose for a few minutes, if she allows. I need to run upstairs and check my phone." Jade said, surprising Jake that he had actually forgotten to bring his phone down with them.
I thought he always had it in his pocket. I guess he set it down by mistake.
Doing as told, Jake headed for the kitchen and helped Rose clean up. They finished after only a few minutes, having loaded the dish washer and wiped down the counters. He was then shooed out of the kitchen so Rose could turn the light off and head up to bed. "Jade must have gotten caught up in a business call, best to go upstairs to your room until he finishes. He doesn't like being disturbed when dealing with his staff." Rose told him.
Understanding, Jake nodded and told her goodnight before making his way up to his room. He could, indeed, hear Jade speaking on the phone on the other side of the wall their rooms shared, but his words were muffled. The faint sounds were comforting as Jake began to get himself ready for bed, figuring that the call would take Jade a while to complete.
Closing the door to his room, but not locking it, Jake got busy removing his clothing. He folded the garments and set them in his bag before heading into the bathroom. Switching on the light, he felt his heart give a little leap in his chest at seeing one of Jade's shirts neatly folded on the counter with a new toothbrush, still in the package, sitting on top of it. He'd brought his own, but had honestly forgotten it in the small pocket of his backpack.
Is it bad that I want to use the one he's offering instead? He wondered. He didn't want to waste a clean toothbrush, but at the same time, he also didn't want to make it seem like he didn't appreciate the thought.
Before he could talk himself out of it, he removed the brush from the packaging and used the toothpaste sitting neatly on the edge of the sink. He scrubbed his mouth more so than normal, though he didn't dwell on why. When he felt satisfied that his breath smelled good and he'd cleaned his teeth well, he rinsed his mouth and the brush, then set it beside the toothpaste and turned toward the shower. It was clearly more fancy than Adam's was, but the spigot dial and whatnot were still generally the same.
He got the water started, then sat down on the edge, taking a moment to just relax as he tested the water temperature every few seconds. "Perfect." He said after a few moments. Standing up, Jake hopped into the shower right as he heard a knock sound on the door to his room.
"Uh oh."
Panicking, not wanting to make Jade wait at the door, Jake jumped back out of the shower and onto the non-slip mat right outside it. Snagging the soft, dark blue towel hanging on the bar to his right, he quickly wrapped it around himself and ran for the door. Skidding to a stop on the carpet, he hurried to swing the door open, only to see Jade half-turned away, about to head back to his own room.
Without really thinking, Jake straightened up and smiled. "Hey," he said cheerfully, and slightly out of breath.
Jade had seemed a bit startled at first, but as he slowly turned back to face Jake, his eyebrows began to go up. "I... hello, Jacob." He said, managing to stutter slightly as his eyes seemed to get caught on Jake's damp neck.
Feeling heat warm his face at the realization that he was standing nearly naked in front of Jade, dripping wet, Jake really wanted to slam the door shut and go hide under the bed. He knew, however, that such a thing wouldn't be tolerated. He'd made a mistake by forgetting to at least dry off real quick or put on the shirt sitting on the counter in the bathroom. He wanted to at least hunch or raise the towel a bit to cover more of his upper half, but he forced himself to not fidget with it and instead stood a little straighter.
"I, um... I heard you knock. Sorry, I had just gotten in the shower, sir."
They stood there for several silent moments before Jade opened his mouth to speak, only to close it and force a swallow that Jake watched bob the Adam's Apple in his throat. When Jade tried again another minute later, he managed to stammer out a decent response.
"It's fine, I. We, my colleagues made me have an emergency meeting. They wanted me to come in but I told them I'd just Skype it..."
Jake waited for him to continue, mainly with the reason he knocked on the his door, but when Jade just continued to stare, Jake licked his lips and gave a tiny shrug. "Oh, well, that's okay, sir. I'm pretty tired so I was going to go to sleep early, anyways." He was only half lying, but he hoped that his words sounded genuine. He was tired, but at the same time, he had been eager to spend some time with Jade after they'd both taken a step back from each other to cool off earlier in the month.
"Oh, are you sure? I can call them back tomorrow..." His words drifted off into silence, telling Jake that he really couldn't call them back tomorrow. Of course, he probably could, but the meeting seemed like it was important, especially considering the stress he was beginning to see Jade showing. He kept glancing back toward his room, then back at him, then away again.
Instead of making him wait any longer, Jake offered Jade a tired smile. "I'm sure. Have a good evening, sir. I hope you sleep well after your meeting."
Jade blew out a quiet breath and returned Jake's smile before leaning over and pressing a kiss to the top of his damp hair. "Same to you, Jacob. Get some rest, and if you need anything, please wake me. I promise I won't be upset for any reason."
Nodding, Jake bid him another good night, then slowly shut the door. He leaned his back against it to try and calm his heartbeat. As he waited there, he didn't hear Jade's footsteps walk away like he thought they would. It actually took nearly two minutes, judging from the clock on the nightstand by the bed, for Jade to finally head back to his room.
Sighing, Jake stepped away from the door, only to jump when a rumble of thunder shook the window pane. He immediately wanted to run and bury himself in Jade's blankets, but that wasn't plausible. It's just thunder. You can handle some normal thunder. It wasn't even that loud, either, so he made himself walk back into the bathroom and continue his interrupted shower.
He was quicker this time, however, because the thunder was getting louder, likely because of an approaching storm. By the time he had scrubbed himself quickly and dried off, tugging on the shirt Jade had left for him that fell nearly to his knees, the storm was in full swing and he felt himself shaking with each loud crack of thunder that accompanied the bright flashes he saw lighting up his room every other second.
"It's fine. You were outside in storms. They didn't hurt you." He told himself, though he knew that that was the exact reason why he'd gained a healthy fear of them. They were loud, disorienting when the rain and lightning got bad, and he'd seen the damage they could do.
Taking a calming breath, he made himself turn off the light in the bathroom and walk over to the dresser. He took out a pair of clean boxers he'd put away and slipped them on, then turned and just stared at the large bed before him. There's nothing to worry about. Determined, he clenched his shaking fists and made himself climb into the bed. He pulled the blankets up and over his head immediately, shrinking into the mattress every time a bolt of lightning forced thunder to crack just outside his window.
By the time he felt a gentle brush atop the sheets covering his head, Jake was so wired from the constant crashing storm that he jumped back, throwing the blankets off him. His wide eyes rose to meet Jade's startled ones as he panted, trying to regain his breath. Silence stretched between them, the only sound coming from the storm rattling the house outside. When Jade finally did something, it was reaching his left hand back to, what Jake could assume, was turn off the black earpiece he had fastened on his earlobe.
He then leaned forward slightly and patted the edge of the bed. Jake hadn't even realized that he'd left the light on until right then as he was able to see Jade, but as if the weather were mocking him, the light flickered above their heads, then went out.
That seemed to snap Jade into action. He reached back to his ear and pushed a button on the little device. "Guys, my power just went out so I'm going to turn off the video portion of the call on my laptop to try and conserve my battery long enough to get through this. My internet is running off my phone, so that shouldn't go out as long as the battery lasts."
Jake couldn't hear the responses of whoever he was talking to, but when Jake hit two more buttons on the small earpiece, then patted the spot in front of him on the bed again, he licked his lips. Shakily, Jake crawled forward until he sat with his legs tucked beneath himself. He stared up at Jade worriedly. Instead of speaking, Jade gave him a smile in the dim room, then leaned over and easily picked him up.
Jake was surprised at first, but when Jade hugged him to his chest and said "You are free to do as you wish right nown" Jake eagerly wrapped his arms around the man's neck and buried his face there with a relieved whimper as lightning struck close to the house again.
Jade seemed to have no problems moving in the dark hall. There were a few tiny lights hanging high on the walls that had to have been battery powered for such situations, but Jake didn't try to look around much. He was perfectly content to stay right where he was and not catch any flashes of lightning. When they got to Jade's room he easily climbed into bed, still carrying Jake's weight as if it were nothing.
Once they were settled, Jade against the pillows stacked up along the headboard, and Jake snug in his arms, resting against his chest, he reached up and clicked a button on his earpiece.
"Thank you all for waiting. We can continue now." Jake could hear muffled responses from the device but didn't pay them any mind. His focus kept being stolen by the storm, but when Jade began to rub his back firmly in a soothing pattern, Jake slowly began to relax.
Jade spoke intermittently to his colleagues, but he never stopped giving Jake attention. If his hand stopped, then he would press gentle kisses to Jake's hair. If the kisses stopped, he would wrap Jake in a strong hug and slowly rock him from side to side. By the time the call finally ended, Jake was nearly asleep, even with the raging storm outside, he felt completely safe in Jade's arms.