Ficlet: Just a Matter of Time
Author: on_the_ground
Title: Just a Matter of Time
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Stiles/Jackson
Character/s: Stiles, Jackson
Summary: The first time Jackson was pregnant he didn't handle it as well as he expected.
In chapter 34 ("The Big Spoon") Jackson told Stiles:
"The thing is," Jackson continues, "I don't know if you've asked Scott or anybody, but it was difficult, okay? Now I look at Daniel and I look back, and I know that I said and did a lot of stupid things but when you see your body changing in that way... well, I'm not looking for excuses, but yeah, I thought I was ready and I realized that nothing can really prepare you to go through such a huge change... especially if you've been in good shape all your life. So yeah, it's true that I hated how I looked pretty much since I started to show and I had a no-pictures policy which you broke a few times." Jackson can't help but smile as he remembers one of those moments.
"And I know I didn't make it easy for you either," Jackson says. "But you were nothing but supportive. You knew how to deal with my mood changes and crazy hormones..."
Content Notes: Angst, nobody is dead, future fic, mpreg.
Warnings: None
Submission Type: Ficlet
Word Count: 986 words
Prompt: #210 - Favor
Author's Notes: It's a flashback, so you don't need to have read other chapters of the series. This will be part of my series "All I Saw Was You."
"Jackson!" Stiles says when he doesn't see his husband in the living room. Stiles enters the kitchen area but there's nobody there either.
Stiles takes off his jacket and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge before heading upstairs. He figures that Jackson might be taking a shower but instead, he finds their room with the lights out. It's only thanks to the moonlight coming through the window he can distinguish Jackson lying on the bed under the covers.
It's only around eight so this picture feels totally wrong and Stiles is instantly worried.
"Jackson, what's going on? Are you sleeping?"
"If I had been sleeping, you'd have woken me up, don't you think?" Jackson's tone drips with sarcasm.
And that's not what Stiles expected. He knows well all of Jackson's different tones and what they mean and that tone is not something he likes.
He could say he's sorry but he really isn't. What did Jackson expect? It's normal that he asks what is going on.
"Are you okay? Why aren't you downstairs?" Stiles asks sitting sideways on his side of the bed.
"Define okay." Jackson says simply.
"Jackson, come on, you're making me nervous." Stiles reaches out to run his right hand through Jackson's hair but Jackson's hand stops it, grabbing it and pushing it away.
"Don't touch me, okay?" Jackson says, which only confuses Stiles more. "Just, stay away."
"What? What's going on?"
"I'm just sick of all this." Because Jackson thought he could do it but apparently he was just kidding himself.
"Sick of what?" Stiles frowns, unsure of what Jackson means exactly.
"This! All this!" Jackson says waving his arms. "Everything!"
"Jackson..." Stiles starts but he's not sure what to say.
"My feet hurt, my back hurts, my face is swollen and I'm fat as hell. Haven't you seen me?" He can't look at himself in the mirror because he can't recognize who he sees anymore. He knows that Stiles can't really understand that. Nobody does.
"Yeah, I can see you right now and you're not fat, you're pregnant. It's totally different!"
"Yeah, I'm pregnant and I'm fat and being here twenty four seven is driving crazy! I need to get out of here! I miss my job, okay? And I miss my body! I miss my fucking life!"
Stiles thought that things were going well but obviously he was wrong. It's true that Jackson had been less communicative lately and maybe he should have been more concerned about it but he thought it was just a phase of the pregnancy and that Jackson just needed some space like he does sometimes. He knows how Jackson can get when people worry about him and try to take care of him and that's what he was trying to avoid this time. Besides, this situation is new for them, he didn't know what to expect and he still doesn't.
"This is your life, you know?" Stiles moves closer forward and tries to grab Jackson right hand with his own but Jackson pushes them away.
"I said don't touch me! What part of that don't you understand?" Jackson says harshly.
That shocks Stiles and he doesn't know how to react at first. They've had countless arguments but Stiles can't remember the last time Jackson talked to him that way... it had to be in high school. He's trying to be understanding but it's not easy when he's being talked to that way. Jackson's wolf has to know how he's making him feel and still, he doesn't seem to care and that worries him. Usually touching Jackson makes him relax and makes them feel connected and his husband rejecting any kind of contact doesn't make any sense.
"Fine." He can stay away if that is what Jackson needs right now.
"I know it's hard. I know that" Stiles tries. "But you're getting your body back. It's just a matter of time. Once the baby is born everything will go back to normal... your body, your job --"
"You don't know that!" Jackson says louder than Stiles would like. "You think everything is so easy..."
"I don't --"
"Yes, you do! You always do!" Jackson interrupts him again. "This was your fucking idea. Have you forgotten? You did this to me! You did. You fucked me and here I am."
And shit, that's the last thing that Stiles was expecting to hear from Jackson. He wants to think it's Jackson's hormones talking right now because otherwise, he doesn't understand anything.
"Yeah, well, I fuck you all the time, so I don't think that's the problem and you know it. We talked about it many times and you agreed. You did. I didn't do anything that you didn't want me to do! And I'm sorry that this is being so hard on you. I never wanted that. And I wish I could do something to help you but I can't... I can't!" Stiles says with frustration.
"Damn right you can't. So just... do me a favor just go, okay? Just leave me alone."
"Now you're kicking me out? Seriously?"
"I'm not..." Jackson licks his lips and Stiles thinks he can see tears appearing in Jackson's eyes but it's dark and he's not totally sure. "I just don't want to talk anymore. I want to be alone, okay?"
"Alone," Stiles repeats with disbelief.
When Jackson doesn't answer, Stiles gets up from the bed.
"I can't believe this shit." Stiles spreads his arms wide. He doesn't want to leave... he wants to figure things out. He wants Jackson to feel better. Shit, he wants him to be happy about having this kid... and despite what he's said, he knows that he is, but it's clear that when Jackson gets this way, there's nothing he can do and he knows that too well.
"Fine. I'm going. Knock yourself out," Stiles says before closing the door behind him.
To be continued...
Title: Just a Matter of Time
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Stiles/Jackson
Character/s: Stiles, Jackson
Summary: The first time Jackson was pregnant he didn't handle it as well as he expected.
In chapter 34 ("The Big Spoon") Jackson told Stiles:
"The thing is," Jackson continues, "I don't know if you've asked Scott or anybody, but it was difficult, okay? Now I look at Daniel and I look back, and I know that I said and did a lot of stupid things but when you see your body changing in that way... well, I'm not looking for excuses, but yeah, I thought I was ready and I realized that nothing can really prepare you to go through such a huge change... especially if you've been in good shape all your life. So yeah, it's true that I hated how I looked pretty much since I started to show and I had a no-pictures policy which you broke a few times." Jackson can't help but smile as he remembers one of those moments.
"And I know I didn't make it easy for you either," Jackson says. "But you were nothing but supportive. You knew how to deal with my mood changes and crazy hormones..."
Content Notes: Angst, nobody is dead, future fic, mpreg.
Warnings: None
Submission Type: Ficlet
Word Count: 986 words
Prompt: #210 - Favor
Author's Notes: It's a flashback, so you don't need to have read other chapters of the series. This will be part of my series "All I Saw Was You."
"Jackson!" Stiles says when he doesn't see his husband in the living room. Stiles enters the kitchen area but there's nobody there either.
Stiles takes off his jacket and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge before heading upstairs. He figures that Jackson might be taking a shower but instead, he finds their room with the lights out. It's only thanks to the moonlight coming through the window he can distinguish Jackson lying on the bed under the covers.
It's only around eight so this picture feels totally wrong and Stiles is instantly worried.
"Jackson, what's going on? Are you sleeping?"
"If I had been sleeping, you'd have woken me up, don't you think?" Jackson's tone drips with sarcasm.
And that's not what Stiles expected. He knows well all of Jackson's different tones and what they mean and that tone is not something he likes.
He could say he's sorry but he really isn't. What did Jackson expect? It's normal that he asks what is going on.
"Are you okay? Why aren't you downstairs?" Stiles asks sitting sideways on his side of the bed.
"Define okay." Jackson says simply.
"Jackson, come on, you're making me nervous." Stiles reaches out to run his right hand through Jackson's hair but Jackson's hand stops it, grabbing it and pushing it away.
"Don't touch me, okay?" Jackson says, which only confuses Stiles more. "Just, stay away."
"What? What's going on?"
"I'm just sick of all this." Because Jackson thought he could do it but apparently he was just kidding himself.
"Sick of what?" Stiles frowns, unsure of what Jackson means exactly.
"This! All this!" Jackson says waving his arms. "Everything!"
"Jackson..." Stiles starts but he's not sure what to say.
"My feet hurt, my back hurts, my face is swollen and I'm fat as hell. Haven't you seen me?" He can't look at himself in the mirror because he can't recognize who he sees anymore. He knows that Stiles can't really understand that. Nobody does.
"Yeah, I can see you right now and you're not fat, you're pregnant. It's totally different!"
"Yeah, I'm pregnant and I'm fat and being here twenty four seven is driving crazy! I need to get out of here! I miss my job, okay? And I miss my body! I miss my fucking life!"
Stiles thought that things were going well but obviously he was wrong. It's true that Jackson had been less communicative lately and maybe he should have been more concerned about it but he thought it was just a phase of the pregnancy and that Jackson just needed some space like he does sometimes. He knows how Jackson can get when people worry about him and try to take care of him and that's what he was trying to avoid this time. Besides, this situation is new for them, he didn't know what to expect and he still doesn't.
"This is your life, you know?" Stiles moves closer forward and tries to grab Jackson right hand with his own but Jackson pushes them away.
"I said don't touch me! What part of that don't you understand?" Jackson says harshly.
That shocks Stiles and he doesn't know how to react at first. They've had countless arguments but Stiles can't remember the last time Jackson talked to him that way... it had to be in high school. He's trying to be understanding but it's not easy when he's being talked to that way. Jackson's wolf has to know how he's making him feel and still, he doesn't seem to care and that worries him. Usually touching Jackson makes him relax and makes them feel connected and his husband rejecting any kind of contact doesn't make any sense.
"Fine." He can stay away if that is what Jackson needs right now.
"I know it's hard. I know that" Stiles tries. "But you're getting your body back. It's just a matter of time. Once the baby is born everything will go back to normal... your body, your job --"
"You don't know that!" Jackson says louder than Stiles would like. "You think everything is so easy..."
"I don't --"
"Yes, you do! You always do!" Jackson interrupts him again. "This was your fucking idea. Have you forgotten? You did this to me! You did. You fucked me and here I am."
And shit, that's the last thing that Stiles was expecting to hear from Jackson. He wants to think it's Jackson's hormones talking right now because otherwise, he doesn't understand anything.
"Yeah, well, I fuck you all the time, so I don't think that's the problem and you know it. We talked about it many times and you agreed. You did. I didn't do anything that you didn't want me to do! And I'm sorry that this is being so hard on you. I never wanted that. And I wish I could do something to help you but I can't... I can't!" Stiles says with frustration.
"Damn right you can't. So just... do me a favor just go, okay? Just leave me alone."
"Now you're kicking me out? Seriously?"
"I'm not..." Jackson licks his lips and Stiles thinks he can see tears appearing in Jackson's eyes but it's dark and he's not totally sure. "I just don't want to talk anymore. I want to be alone, okay?"
"Alone," Stiles repeats with disbelief.
When Jackson doesn't answer, Stiles gets up from the bed.
"I can't believe this shit." Stiles spreads his arms wide. He doesn't want to leave... he wants to figure things out. He wants Jackson to feel better. Shit, he wants him to be happy about having this kid... and despite what he's said, he knows that he is, but it's clear that when Jackson gets this way, there's nothing he can do and he knows that too well.
"Fine. I'm going. Knock yourself out," Stiles says before closing the door behind him.
To be continued...