Ficlet: Please Forgive Me (GH, Lana/Jake)
Title: Please Forgive Me
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 95 - Please Forgive Me
Pairing/Character(s): Lana/Jake
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly.
Word Count: 1058
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lana!AU.
Summary: "What are you doing here Jake?"
Author's Notes: Written for theechochorus.
Lana sat on the edge of the pool dangling her feet in the water. It was just past dusk and the crickets were beginning to chirp.
Jake let himself through the backyard gate, carefully latching it behind him. He rounded the corner of the house and caught sight of Lana’s seated form. He stopped in his tracks and for a long moment, all he could do was stare.
She was and always would be the most beautiful girl in the world to him. When he’d broken up with her, nearly three years ago to the day, he’d been running away from that fact. He’d been able to justify it then, to say that it was because they’d be 3000 miles apart, that it wasn’t fair to ask her to go through the rest of high school with an always absent boyfriend. He even thought he’d made her believe those were the reasons. But the truth of it, then and now, was that Lana Drake scared him to death.
People weren’t supposed to fall in forever love before they even understood what that meant, and yet that’s exactly what had happened. There wasn’t a time in his life that he didn’t remember Lana as part of, from when they were kids and when she was always tagging along behind him, to when they were suddenly teenagers and he realized just how pretty she’d become, and for those few short months when they’d actually been together, she was a part of him. He knew now that no matter what he did, it would never go away, and he was finally willing to admit to himself that he didn’t want it to.
The only question that remained was how she felt. Whether the selfishness of his younger self had ruined things forever, or whether she’d be able to look past all that and start again.
As all those thoughts ran through his head, Lana’s voice called out.
“I can hear you lurking, you know.”
Jake shook his head to regain his equilibrium. “You can hear me?” he asked skeptically, walking towards her again.
She nodded, eyes still fixed on the water in front of her. “I’ve always had a sixth sense where you’re concerned, you know that.”
“True,” he acknowledged, as he toed out of his sneakers and sat down beside her. “But I would have thought that three years of me living in a different state might have lessened it.”
She shrugged, finally looking up at him. In the ever darkening light, he could still see the questions in her eyes. "What are you doing here, Jake?”
He tried for levity. “What, didn’t you your mother teach you any manners?” he teased. “Mine always told me that you were supposed to say hello before starting an interrogation.”
“Hello,” she said flatly. “I repeat, what are you doing here, Jake?”
“Can’t a guy just want to stop by and see one of his oldest friends?” he tried.
She shook her head. “Maybe if that’s all we were, old friends, that is. But we’re not, and I’m not stupid, Jake. You’ve obviously been up to something all summer, and now the summers almost over and I wish you’d just say whatever it is already.” She stared up at him expectantly, daring him to come out and say it.
Jake had never been able to back down from a dare, so he took a deep breath and mentally braced himself to get his heart handed back to him. “You’re right,” he acknowledged. “I did come for a reason.”
“And that reason would be?” she prompted.
He laughed a little then. “Not going to make this easy for me are you?”
An impish grin appeared on her face and her dimples winked out. “Have I ever?” she countered, laughing a little herself.
“No,” he said wryly. “I can’t say that you have.”
They smiled at each other for a moment, before she looked away and back out over the water.
Jake sighed and realized that this couldn’t be put off any longer. “I’m sorry,” he started.
Now Lana looked at him with confusion. “Sorry for what?”
“Just let me get through this, okay?”
She nodded, and didn’t say anything more.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I’m sorry that three years ago I was too stupid to know what I wanted, and that I left. I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to realize that I couldn’t run away from you, from us, even if I tried.” He hazarded a glance at Lana and found her staring back at him agape, eyes wide.
He took a risk and reached out for her hand, twining their fingers together. When she let him without protest he gave a mental sigh of relief.
More confident now, he continued. “I still love you, you know that.” At that her eyes went wider and the expression shifted to shock. “And if you didn’t, well that’s another thing for me to be sorry for.”
She shook her head, and opened her mouth to speak, but he pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.
“I have loved you for what seems like forever, and whether or not you’ll let me or even if you want me to, I understand now that I’m going to love you forever.”
A few tears trickled down her cheeks, and he rushed to brush them away.
He smiled now. “So Lana, what I’m hoping you’ll say, what I need you to say, is that it’s not too late. That you can forgive me for being stubborn and slow and that you’ll - ”
Jake found himself cut off by Lana pressing her lips urgently to his. His mind went blank, and all he could do was tug her closer to him, desperate to be close to her after all this time.
They kissed frantically, deeply, for what seemed like forever. Eventually, the kisses became brief, languid, as though neither wanted to give up the contact entirely.
Finally, Jake pulled back and looked down at Lana who was staring up at him with something close to wonder in her eyes. He pulled her head gently to his chest, and ran his fingers through her long, brown hair, and breathed her in.
They’d work the rest out later, but for now, he was content to just be.
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 95 - Please Forgive Me
Pairing/Character(s): Lana/Jake
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly.
Word Count: 1058
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lana!AU.
Summary: "What are you doing here Jake?"
Author's Notes: Written for theechochorus.
Lana sat on the edge of the pool dangling her feet in the water. It was just past dusk and the crickets were beginning to chirp.
Jake let himself through the backyard gate, carefully latching it behind him. He rounded the corner of the house and caught sight of Lana’s seated form. He stopped in his tracks and for a long moment, all he could do was stare.
She was and always would be the most beautiful girl in the world to him. When he’d broken up with her, nearly three years ago to the day, he’d been running away from that fact. He’d been able to justify it then, to say that it was because they’d be 3000 miles apart, that it wasn’t fair to ask her to go through the rest of high school with an always absent boyfriend. He even thought he’d made her believe those were the reasons. But the truth of it, then and now, was that Lana Drake scared him to death.
People weren’t supposed to fall in forever love before they even understood what that meant, and yet that’s exactly what had happened. There wasn’t a time in his life that he didn’t remember Lana as part of, from when they were kids and when she was always tagging along behind him, to when they were suddenly teenagers and he realized just how pretty she’d become, and for those few short months when they’d actually been together, she was a part of him. He knew now that no matter what he did, it would never go away, and he was finally willing to admit to himself that he didn’t want it to.
The only question that remained was how she felt. Whether the selfishness of his younger self had ruined things forever, or whether she’d be able to look past all that and start again.
As all those thoughts ran through his head, Lana’s voice called out.
“I can hear you lurking, you know.”
Jake shook his head to regain his equilibrium. “You can hear me?” he asked skeptically, walking towards her again.
She nodded, eyes still fixed on the water in front of her. “I’ve always had a sixth sense where you’re concerned, you know that.”
“True,” he acknowledged, as he toed out of his sneakers and sat down beside her. “But I would have thought that three years of me living in a different state might have lessened it.”
She shrugged, finally looking up at him. In the ever darkening light, he could still see the questions in her eyes. "What are you doing here, Jake?”
He tried for levity. “What, didn’t you your mother teach you any manners?” he teased. “Mine always told me that you were supposed to say hello before starting an interrogation.”
“Hello,” she said flatly. “I repeat, what are you doing here, Jake?”
“Can’t a guy just want to stop by and see one of his oldest friends?” he tried.
She shook her head. “Maybe if that’s all we were, old friends, that is. But we’re not, and I’m not stupid, Jake. You’ve obviously been up to something all summer, and now the summers almost over and I wish you’d just say whatever it is already.” She stared up at him expectantly, daring him to come out and say it.
Jake had never been able to back down from a dare, so he took a deep breath and mentally braced himself to get his heart handed back to him. “You’re right,” he acknowledged. “I did come for a reason.”
“And that reason would be?” she prompted.
He laughed a little then. “Not going to make this easy for me are you?”
An impish grin appeared on her face and her dimples winked out. “Have I ever?” she countered, laughing a little herself.
“No,” he said wryly. “I can’t say that you have.”
They smiled at each other for a moment, before she looked away and back out over the water.
Jake sighed and realized that this couldn’t be put off any longer. “I’m sorry,” he started.
Now Lana looked at him with confusion. “Sorry for what?”
“Just let me get through this, okay?”
She nodded, and didn’t say anything more.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I’m sorry that three years ago I was too stupid to know what I wanted, and that I left. I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to realize that I couldn’t run away from you, from us, even if I tried.” He hazarded a glance at Lana and found her staring back at him agape, eyes wide.
He took a risk and reached out for her hand, twining their fingers together. When she let him without protest he gave a mental sigh of relief.
More confident now, he continued. “I still love you, you know that.” At that her eyes went wider and the expression shifted to shock. “And if you didn’t, well that’s another thing for me to be sorry for.”
She shook her head, and opened her mouth to speak, but he pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.
“I have loved you for what seems like forever, and whether or not you’ll let me or even if you want me to, I understand now that I’m going to love you forever.”
A few tears trickled down her cheeks, and he rushed to brush them away.
He smiled now. “So Lana, what I’m hoping you’ll say, what I need you to say, is that it’s not too late. That you can forgive me for being stubborn and slow and that you’ll - ”
Jake found himself cut off by Lana pressing her lips urgently to his. His mind went blank, and all he could do was tug her closer to him, desperate to be close to her after all this time.
They kissed frantically, deeply, for what seemed like forever. Eventually, the kisses became brief, languid, as though neither wanted to give up the contact entirely.
Finally, Jake pulled back and looked down at Lana who was staring up at him with something close to wonder in her eyes. He pulled her head gently to his chest, and ran his fingers through her long, brown hair, and breathed her in.
They’d work the rest out later, but for now, he was content to just be.