That Smile - T - Jake/Haley - Drabble
Title: That Smile
Rating: T
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Jake/Haley
Summary: Those lips were magic.
That Smile
-Drabble-
It was her smile that got him originally; always so bright and sunny and friendly. Sure she had a biting sense of humor, but it was immediately combated by that smile of hers. Sometimes, he couldn't even breathe, he was so... intoxicated by her. It didn't change over the years, not even after he was forced to run away with his daughter, putting years between them. When he got back, she was there with that smile, just the same as it had always been. For him at least. It wasn't as warm for Nathan who he knew she was in the middle of a messy divorce from. And that smile dimmed some when she saw her other friends; as if she was trying not to show her failure in her face, keeping up a façade for them.
He assumed her smile was so big for him because she hadn't seen him in so long. He dared not give in to his wishful thinking. But then the weeks passed and so did the months and it seemed like every time they saw each other, which was often - he'd stop in to listen to every one of her gigs at TRIC and she'd bring Jamie over to play with Jenny - her smile didn't lessen. Not with him. It was still that sweet, warm Haley James smile from when he was sixteen years old and crushing on her bad. And when the divorce was finalized and she stood before him as a free woman, her eyes were filled with tears but her smile didn't fade.
"Take me somewhere," she told him. "Somewhere I can breathe."
And he took her hand, walked her down to the Rivercourt. It was empty and quiet and beautiful as they stared out over the water, leaning against a tree. She put her head on his shoulder, looping an arm with his, and they watched the sun rise in the distance, painting the sky with its brilliant pale colors.
"I think you're the only one that I feel like myself with anymore," she admitted, quiet as a whisper as if she were afraid to interrupt the morning.
"Why?" he wondered, brows furrowing. She'd never lacked confidence; in fact she was instilled with the trait. He admired it in her.
She looked up at him, eyes wide and honest. "You don't expect me to be any more than who I am." She shook her head slightly. "And you make me smile." Her lips curved up and she let that warmth he'd always known her to have come out.
He grinned. He didn't know what he was doing that made that smile appear, but he wanted to keep doing it. "It's my goal in life, you know?" He lifted a brow. "Earning a Haley James smile."
She chuckled, shaking her head. She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and he found himself falling even deeper for her. Those lips were magic.
Author's Note: I adore this couple. I hope you enjoyed this. Reviews are sustenance, readers! Luv yas - Fina!