I Wish I Were the One You're Looking For (Jack/Liz)
Title: I Wish I Were the One You're Looking For
For: ham_napkin
Prompt: unrequited love
Pairings: Jack/Liz, Jack/Other
Spoilers: through "Black Light Attack!"
Word Count: 1,200
Rating: PG
Note: This is the second time I've written this prompt. I guess I'm in the mood for Liz to pine.
Summary: Today, Jack is getting married.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.
*
Today, Jack is getting married. Liz's best friend is getting married. She's the best man -- though Jack said she can refer to herself as 'best maid' if she'd prefer, and she wouldn't; she'd rather be the butt of 'you're like a guy' jokes than 'hey old maid, I mean best maid' type comments -- and, in a few minutes, she'll stand up at the altar next to him. She smoothes out the skirt of her black dress even though there are no wrinkles in the fabric, turns around and looks back at her reflection in the mirror to make sure the white sash looks okay, just to have something else to focus on. Because if she really *thinks* about this, considers the fact that Jack is getting married, she'll lose it. Freak out. Take the wedding ring out of her black and white purse -- this outfit was Marina's idea, and wow, isn't Jack's fiancée such a fashion genius, so wonderful, and wow, Liz knows her inner monologue is a bitch -- and try it on. With her luck, it would get stuck. She'd have a series of wacky adventures as she tried to get it off, and Jack would walk in as she was sticking her hand in a tub of butter. She'd pretend she was preparing to eat a handful of it. Weakly say, "Yay butter." He'd frown at her compulsive need to raise her cholesterol.
Or she'd run into the next room where Jack is getting ready and say, "I love you. I love you more than she could ever love you. She's known you, what, three months? You can't know someone that well in three months. I know you so well, Jack, and I still love you, even the stuff about you that kind of sucks."
Or she'll let the terrible part of herself come out, the part that ends up firing the girlfriend of a guy whose name she doesn't know or sets off a chain of events that results in someone getting roofied, and she'll lock Marina in a closet or set a fire. A controlled burn, of course, because she's not a monster. She's not going to burn down a church. But she never means to do any of the crazy things she does when she gets in her I'm going to make this guy like me mindset. And she can't *make* Jack want her. Well, she's never *made* someone want her, since she's won those guys over despite her insanity. But there's nothing for Jack to discover about her, no way to even out the bad with a bit of good. He knows the good and the bad, and ruining his wedding would just tip the scale in the wrong direction.
Or she'll burst into tears, and when Jack comes in, he'll assume she's upset because she hasn't found the man of her dreams the way he's found the woman of his. He'll give her a pep talk, and it won't make anything better. But she'll pretend it makes things better.
Even the last option is unappealing, so she's gonna go with not thinking.
Though, okay. She thinks a little bit.
Like how Jack would never be attracted to her anyway, so she shouldn't bother worrying about him marrying someone else.
(For a while, she was defiant about this fact. About the fact that he couldn't want her. Not to his face, but in her head. Like, Almost every guy who's been attracted to me is better looking than him, so why does he think he's out of my league? She's daydreamed about telling him off, about: "Danny couldn't stand to lose thirty pounds, Drew doesn't carry around a picture of himself from decades ago to reminisce about the time he was super hot, Floyd doesn't have a giant melon of a head. *I* am too cute for *you.* Suck on that." Other times, she'd consider channeling this defiance to convince him he was wrong to be grossed out by the thought of sleeping with her. "I showed you a picture of Drew. You saw him. A man with that face considered me pretty, so take off your pants and let's do this."
That she'd consider seducing him with the phrase, "Let's do this," is probably part of the reason why he could never find her sexy.)
Like how happy he is, so she wouldn't want to ruin this even if there was a chance of something happening between them.
(It's not that she hasn't seen him look at any of his previous girlfriends the way he looks at Marina. But this is the first time he's made it this far, to an actual wedding. He's happy, he's in love, and it's finally working out. Even if she could make him happy, she isn't the one who does make him happy.)
Like how maybe they could never have a chance, even if it was possible for him to want her.
(Maybe knowing everything about each other would be a disadvantage. Maybe you're supposed to have some sense of mystery, of surprise, to make a marriage work. Maybe people don't marry their best friends because you need that divide. A person to spend your life with and a person to listen to your complaints about the person you're spending your life with. And what about sex? Sex is incredibly important to him, and it's not so important to her. One of the first things he said to her about Marina was, "And the sex... is fantastic."
"Well," she said, "don't feel free to elaborate."
"I remember whom I'm talking to, Lemon."
And sex with her could never be fantastic. She doesn't have a bunch of tricks, and she doesn't want a bunch of tricks. Jack would never go to... well, not Danny. If they did get together, he wouldn't talk to a guy she fooled around with about their sex life. He wouldn't go to... whoever else he'd exchange bedroom stories with and say, "Last night was incredible. She kept her bra on for as long as she could, then while I was making love to her, she whispered in my ear, 'Could you speed this up? Top Chef is on and I'd rather watch it live.' I've never been so turned on.")
Like how it's best to keep her mouth shut.
(That is what's best, right?)
There's a knock on the door. Liz smoothes out her skirt one last time. "Come in."
The door opens, and Jack stands there, hand on the knob. "Are you ready?"
She twists the strap of her bag around her finger. "I've been ready, my friend."
He smiles at her. She likes this more than she should, and she has to will herself not to bow her head like a schoolgirl with a crush. "Then," he says, "let's go."
As they walk together, his fingers wrap around her arm. The unnecessary touching both calms Liz and makes her want to pull herself out of his grasp. Makes her want to stop and say, "Don't marry her. Okay? Don't marry her."
She keeps walking.
END
For: ham_napkin
Prompt: unrequited love
Pairings: Jack/Liz, Jack/Other
Spoilers: through "Black Light Attack!"
Word Count: 1,200
Rating: PG
Note: This is the second time I've written this prompt. I guess I'm in the mood for Liz to pine.
Summary: Today, Jack is getting married.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.
*
Today, Jack is getting married. Liz's best friend is getting married. She's the best man -- though Jack said she can refer to herself as 'best maid' if she'd prefer, and she wouldn't; she'd rather be the butt of 'you're like a guy' jokes than 'hey old maid, I mean best maid' type comments -- and, in a few minutes, she'll stand up at the altar next to him. She smoothes out the skirt of her black dress even though there are no wrinkles in the fabric, turns around and looks back at her reflection in the mirror to make sure the white sash looks okay, just to have something else to focus on. Because if she really *thinks* about this, considers the fact that Jack is getting married, she'll lose it. Freak out. Take the wedding ring out of her black and white purse -- this outfit was Marina's idea, and wow, isn't Jack's fiancée such a fashion genius, so wonderful, and wow, Liz knows her inner monologue is a bitch -- and try it on. With her luck, it would get stuck. She'd have a series of wacky adventures as she tried to get it off, and Jack would walk in as she was sticking her hand in a tub of butter. She'd pretend she was preparing to eat a handful of it. Weakly say, "Yay butter." He'd frown at her compulsive need to raise her cholesterol.
Or she'd run into the next room where Jack is getting ready and say, "I love you. I love you more than she could ever love you. She's known you, what, three months? You can't know someone that well in three months. I know you so well, Jack, and I still love you, even the stuff about you that kind of sucks."
Or she'll let the terrible part of herself come out, the part that ends up firing the girlfriend of a guy whose name she doesn't know or sets off a chain of events that results in someone getting roofied, and she'll lock Marina in a closet or set a fire. A controlled burn, of course, because she's not a monster. She's not going to burn down a church. But she never means to do any of the crazy things she does when she gets in her I'm going to make this guy like me mindset. And she can't *make* Jack want her. Well, she's never *made* someone want her, since she's won those guys over despite her insanity. But there's nothing for Jack to discover about her, no way to even out the bad with a bit of good. He knows the good and the bad, and ruining his wedding would just tip the scale in the wrong direction.
Or she'll burst into tears, and when Jack comes in, he'll assume she's upset because she hasn't found the man of her dreams the way he's found the woman of his. He'll give her a pep talk, and it won't make anything better. But she'll pretend it makes things better.
Even the last option is unappealing, so she's gonna go with not thinking.
Though, okay. She thinks a little bit.
Like how Jack would never be attracted to her anyway, so she shouldn't bother worrying about him marrying someone else.
(For a while, she was defiant about this fact. About the fact that he couldn't want her. Not to his face, but in her head. Like, Almost every guy who's been attracted to me is better looking than him, so why does he think he's out of my league? She's daydreamed about telling him off, about: "Danny couldn't stand to lose thirty pounds, Drew doesn't carry around a picture of himself from decades ago to reminisce about the time he was super hot, Floyd doesn't have a giant melon of a head. *I* am too cute for *you.* Suck on that." Other times, she'd consider channeling this defiance to convince him he was wrong to be grossed out by the thought of sleeping with her. "I showed you a picture of Drew. You saw him. A man with that face considered me pretty, so take off your pants and let's do this."
That she'd consider seducing him with the phrase, "Let's do this," is probably part of the reason why he could never find her sexy.)
Like how happy he is, so she wouldn't want to ruin this even if there was a chance of something happening between them.
(It's not that she hasn't seen him look at any of his previous girlfriends the way he looks at Marina. But this is the first time he's made it this far, to an actual wedding. He's happy, he's in love, and it's finally working out. Even if she could make him happy, she isn't the one who does make him happy.)
Like how maybe they could never have a chance, even if it was possible for him to want her.
(Maybe knowing everything about each other would be a disadvantage. Maybe you're supposed to have some sense of mystery, of surprise, to make a marriage work. Maybe people don't marry their best friends because you need that divide. A person to spend your life with and a person to listen to your complaints about the person you're spending your life with. And what about sex? Sex is incredibly important to him, and it's not so important to her. One of the first things he said to her about Marina was, "And the sex... is fantastic."
"Well," she said, "don't feel free to elaborate."
"I remember whom I'm talking to, Lemon."
And sex with her could never be fantastic. She doesn't have a bunch of tricks, and she doesn't want a bunch of tricks. Jack would never go to... well, not Danny. If they did get together, he wouldn't talk to a guy she fooled around with about their sex life. He wouldn't go to... whoever else he'd exchange bedroom stories with and say, "Last night was incredible. She kept her bra on for as long as she could, then while I was making love to her, she whispered in my ear, 'Could you speed this up? Top Chef is on and I'd rather watch it live.' I've never been so turned on.")
Like how it's best to keep her mouth shut.
(That is what's best, right?)
There's a knock on the door. Liz smoothes out her skirt one last time. "Come in."
The door opens, and Jack stands there, hand on the knob. "Are you ready?"
She twists the strap of her bag around her finger. "I've been ready, my friend."
He smiles at her. She likes this more than she should, and she has to will herself not to bow her head like a schoolgirl with a crush. "Then," he says, "let's go."
As they walk together, his fingers wrap around her arm. The unnecessary touching both calms Liz and makes her want to pull herself out of his grasp. Makes her want to stop and say, "Don't marry her. Okay? Don't marry her."
She keeps walking.
END