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"Jensen, no. No." Pooch took a cautious step backwards, holding up his hands in what could be a warning or an attempt to protect himself. It was difficult to tell. "No, Jensen, don't you dare. Jense—!"
Whatever else Pooch had intended to say was smothered by the handful of snow Jake threw at his face. Jess really would have believed Pooch capable of ducking, but, then again, he had probably thought that Jake wouldn't go through with it. Which proved just how much Pooch overestimated Jake's level of maturity as soon as snow was involved.
The fact that Jake gave Beth an enthusiastic high five while Pooch was busy spitting out snow only seemed to confirm that fact.
"For fu— fudge's sake! Jensen!" Pooch snapped, no doubt attempting to chastise, even if it sounded a lot more like whining.
Jess snorted on a laugh and took a sip from her coffee cup. She stood at a safe distance, leaning against the back porch railing while watching the others frolic in the snow. Swear words were not allowed in the presence of her daughter and that was a rather creative save, she must admit.
"What?" Jake was grinning, his cheeks pink from the cold and knitted hat askew. Much like his glasses, which he proceeded to push back into place. "It was funny. That was funny, right?" He turned to Beth, as if to ask for her input, and Beth, naturally, nodded enthusiastically. As if she would ever take Pooch's side over her beloved uncle's. "See! Beth thinks it was funny!"
"She's eight, Jensen," Pooch replied testily, rubbing the sleeve of his jacket across his face to wipe away the last remnants of snow.
"And three quarters!" Beth piped up, clearly offended to have her age so grievously mislabeled.
"Yes, and three quarters," Jake agreed, nodding seriously. Beth grinned up at him and Jess fought an urge to shake her head. Sometimes she wasn't sure who was the older and more responsible of the two, but, on most given days, she'd be inclined to say Beth.
This was made even more obvious by how Jake was whispering to Beth and subtly pointing towards Pooch, no doubt convincing her to get in on the fun of snowball throwing. A part of Jess knew that she should probably intervene, but, at the same time, she was fairly certain that Pooch could handle the combined forced of her brother and daughter.
Maybe.
Jess glanced over her shoulder when the door behind her opened and Jolene stepped out onto the porch. She looked a bit tired, as most people with a small baby would, but still unmistakably content — also like most people with a small baby would. Jolene wrapped her arms around herself, a smile growing on her lips when she saw Pooch trying to persuade Jake not to throw more snow at him. Little did Pooch know Beth was circling around to surprise him from behind, while Jake was merely a diversion.
That was undoubtedly Jake's brilliant idea — only he would treat a snowball fight like a military operation.
"The baby's asleep?" Jess asked when Jolene came to stand next to her.
Jolene nodded, her smile soft and gentle, no doubt imagining the peaceful, sleeping face of her baby boy. Jess couldn't help feeling a tiny squeeze in her chest, almost longing for the days when she'd worn that very same smile. However tiring and trying it had been to care for a growing child — even with Jake's help — she wouldn't change it for the world. Nothing could ever quite compare and to see Beth now, happy and laughing, made it all worth it.
"What did I miss?" Jolene asked, even as she was taking in the scene playing out before her.
The snowball fight was inevitable at that point, no matter how much Pooch was trying to deter it.
"Your husband is about to find out what happens when two Jensens gang up on him," Jess replied, taking another sip from her coffee cup.
"Oh, this I gotta see." Jolene looked almost disturbingly pleased, but she paused for a second when she took note of the fourth person currently occupying Jess's yard. "Is Cougar building a snowman?" she asked, somewhat incredulously.
"That he is," Jess confirmed, hiding her grin behind her cup.
Because Cougar was, in fact, building a snowman; with the same kind of calm patience and ruthless precision that he devoted to every task he performed. He seemed completely unaware — or unbothered, more likely — by the increasingly unstable situation between the other three out there in the snow with him. He just kept tweaking and adding adjustments to the, by then, impressively elaborate snowman.
"I think Beth and Jake started it but got bored halfway through, so Cougar decided to finish it," Jess explained, her cheeks almost aching from how wide her grin was getting. She just couldn't help it.
It was adorable.
She wasn't ashamed to admit that the first time she had met Cougar, she had been slightly intimidated by him. Or maybe that was the wrong word, considering how elusive he was, but she had definitely been wary. She had more experience dealing with brash, confident alpha males than she did someone who was quiet and subtle, but undoubtedly just as dangerous. It was unsettling to meet someone she knew was calmly observing and analyzing everything in his environment, to better make himself less noticeable and, consequentially, an even bigger threat.
She was more concerned about Cougar than she had ever been about Roque, because that was hostility she would see coming a mile away. But Cougar? She probably wouldn't even see it after the fact.
Not that Cougar would ever harm her. Despite that he had never said anything to imply it — considering how little he spoke in general — Jess knew that Cougar regarded her and Beth as people he had to protect at all cost. That was probably both because of how much he had begun to care for them on a personal level, and how much they meant to Jake.
Cougar would do anything for Jake.
Sometimes, Jess still couldn't believe what she was seeing, but Cougar was unmistakably and unapologetically head-over-heels in love with her dorky little brother.
Love might even be too small a word to describe the absolute devotion and affection Cougar felt for Jake.
"Oh, that's gonna hurt in the morning."
Jess was brought back to the present by Jolene's words, catching the wince — and grin — on the other woman's face. Beth had flawlessly executed her part of the attack plan, leaving Pooch on all fours in the snow after having gotten hit at the back of his head by Beth's snowball.
Beth had an impressive throwing arm and might even have a better aim than her uncle, military training be damned. Jess felt pride blossom in her chest, though if anyone ever asked, she would deny it vehemently. It probably wasn't mature to admit that you were proud of your daughter's ability to bring fully grown men to their knees, armed with nothing more than a handful of snow.
Then again, Jess wasn't all that sure if she cared about being mature. Jake sure didn't.
"Okay, that's it!" Pooch declared as he started scooping up snow, not even bothering to rise before retaliating.
"Snowball fight!" Jake shrieked — in a pitch way too high for a grown man — his long, bright red scarf dancing as he dove to gather some ammunition for himself.
Beth's delighted giggle turned into a squeal when the snowballs started flying and Jess couldn't hold back a soft chuckle as she watched the trio engage in a very enthusiastic — if slightly disorganized — snowball fight.
"He's going to be a great dad," Jess found herself saying, watching Pooch get hit by one of Beth's snowballs. He was clearly putting on a bit of a show to exaggerate how effective the hit had actually been, just to give Beth an opportunity to beam with pride.
"I know." Jolene's voice was soft, brimming with warmth and happiness.
Jess might be a tiny bit envious.
Still, she couldn't complain as she stood there on her back porch, laughter and shouts echoing through the cold air while her daughter, brother, and friend peppered each other with snowballs. She should probably head inside soon — or fetch herself more clothes — but she felt so content standing there, drinking her coffee and soaking in the joy of the moment.
They hadn't had a lot of that, these past couple of months. Most of the time, Jess tried not to think about how it had been, believing that Jake was dead. Or having to tell Beth that her uncle wasn't coming back. If it hadn't been for the fact that it wasn't Jake's fault, Jess would have explained, in detail, just how often Beth had cried and how she had been unable to sleep alone for weeks after getting the news.
But Jess knew how bad Jake felt about the whole ordeal. She had seen the way he had clung to Beth when he finally got back — how she seemed to be the center of his world while he helplessly held on, trying to make it all right again. The lingering pain and grief might still be there and it would never be entirely forgotten, but at least they were beginning to move past it.
Beth was smiling again, delighted to have her uncle back, and didn't mind in the slightest that Cougar came along for the ride. If anything, she seemed to enjoy having two grown men to wrap around her little finger, rather than just the one.
Beth demonstrated that beautifully in the very next moment.
The snowball fight took a drastic turn when Beth, in an attempt to get away from the onslaught of projectiles, ran to hide behind Cougar. This, of course, put him in the line of fire. The entire yard seemed to freeze when one of the snowballs intended for Beth hit Cougar in the side, making him pause in the middle of adding the last finishing touches to his snowman.
Jess was pretty certain that you could hear a pin drop.
Cougar was the first to move, turning to looking down at Beth. She was huddling behind him, her small hands — covered in a pair of pink mittens — clinging to the edge of his coat. She was looking back up at him with her big, blue eyes, wide with sincerity and a wordless plea to avenge her honor.
Maybe Jess should ask if Beth wanted to take acting classes? She was ruthless. And a natural talent, by the looks of it.
Cougar seemed almost curious at first — as if he couldn't quite grasp what Beth was trying to do — but eventually smiled and patted her head comfortingly, obviously having come to a decision.
He then turned to face the two grown men standing a couple of feet away. The smile was nowhere in sight. And, judging by the nearly identical looks of dread on both Jake and Pooch's faces, those meager feet between them clearly wasn't enough. An entire continent might not have been enough.
Cougar raised an eyebrow and Jake and Pooch hastily pointed at each other. It was difficult to say who was the culprit; both of them looked pretty guilty.
Jake cleared his throat, weighting insecurely on his heels.
"Whoa, hey man." His smile was just this side of terrified. "Cougar, let's take a moment to calm down here, okay?"
"Yeah," Pooch agreed readily, "let's not do anything drastic."
Cougar remained silent before looking back at Beth, who was — bless her soul — definitely wise enough to see the strategic benefits of recruiting Cougar as her ally and protector. He was probably well aware of her scheming, but Cougar had always been a bit of a softie when it came to Beth. He seemed to have a hard time denying her anything, lavishing her with attention and affection that almost surprised Jess with its intensity.
Every once in a while, she actually forgot that Cougar wasn't related to Beth, since he treated her so much like Jake did — albeit with a more mature and dependable undertone.
"Who did it?" he asked severely, as if they were discussing something relating to their national security rather than a wayward snowball.
Beth peeked out from behind Cougar, looking at Pooch and her uncle, both of whom were trying to plead for forgiveness with a series of subtle gestures and sincere facial expressions.
Too bad Jess had raised Beth to be ruthless and take no prisoners.
"Both of them," she replied, merciless and a maybe just a tiny bit terrifying.
"Wha—! No!" Jake protested shrilly, clearly scandalized that his own niece was selling him out. "She started it!"
Jake's attempt to blame Beth for the whole situation was pathetic, at best.
"Actually, Jensen started it so you should totally punish him, not me," Pooch put in. He strategically stepped further away from Jake, either not to be caught in the crossfire or to pose as a less convenient target.
"Traitor!" Jake hissed before holding up his hands, still trying to keep Cougar from engaging in the momentarily sidetracked snowball fight. "You love me, remember? And I'm too young and too pretty to die."
"And I'm a father!" Pooch proclaimed, much to Jolene's visible amusement. "Have mercy, Cougar."
Cougar obviously had no such thing. The word might not even exist in his vocabulary, judging by the slow smile that spread on his lips. Jess had to give it to him; it looked fucking menacing.
"Jesus Christ, I'm gonna die!" Jake shouted as he, without further ado, leaped for any kind of cover he could find in the snow-covered yard.
Pooch wasn't far behind.
"No, no, no, no! Cougar! You—" Pooh gave up his ineffective attempts at diverting the incoming disaster and instead chose — rather wisely, in Jess's opinion — to narrowly dodge the first incoming missile.
Jess couldn't help but burst out laughing as Cougar, with Beth's considerable assistance, sent Pooch and Jake running across the yard, both of them shouting panicked and increasingly breathless pleas for him to stop. Jolene joined in the laughter, clearly enjoying the spectacle, despite the fact that her husband was one of the prime targets.
"Coming to visit was a great idea," Jolene said smiling, her eyes bright.
"Pooch might not agree with you," Jess replied with a grin, just as Pooch slipped and went sprawling in the snow. Beth took the opportunity to shove some down the back of his jacket, to Pooch's great dismay.
"Holy shi— shenanigans that's cold!" Pooch tried to crawl away but Beth was persistent, coming at him with another handful. "I yield! I yield!" Pooch shouted desperately, raising his hands in surrender.
Beth's triumphant grin sent another flare of pride through Jess, and she felt her heart soften at the sight of Pooch collapsing onto the snow, breathing hard but with an unmistakable smile lurking on his lips all the same.
"Bested by an eight-year-old," Jolene mused, but she didn't sound the least bit surprised.
"Eight and three quarters," Jess corrected automatically, smiling fondly.
Jess's gaze travelled to the other pair, just in time to see Jake stumble and go down after a particularly well-aimed snowball from Cougar hit him high on the shoulder. Cougar was on Jake the next second, somehow managing to straddle him despite how Jake was squirming and flailing in an attempt to get away.
"No, no, no! Cougar! Mercy!" Jake raised his hands to shield himself from possible attacks.
Cougar wasn't reaching for more snow, though. He was just sitting there, looking down at Jake with a smug smile, clearly pleased with his victory. It took a couple of seconds before Jake eventually dared to peek out from behind his hands, cautiously trying to confirm that the danger was over.
"I have to admit, those two took me by surprise," Jolene said, her voice so soft that only Jess could hear it. Pooch and Beth were busy inspecting Cougar's snowman anyway.
"Yeah, me too," Jess admitted, watching as Jake relaxed, letting his arms flop outwards into a starfish formation, obviously not minding having Cougar straddling his hips.
It only took another couple of seconds before Jess saw the shift pass through them both. It was nothing too obvious — most people wouldn't notice unless they knew both Jake and Cougar to the extent that she did — but, every once in a while, they just seemed to align.
There was no other word for it.
Their postures eased, their expressions softened and, ever so slowly, they would gravitate towards each other. Just lean in an inch or two, melting into the other's personal space as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe it was. Sometimes it was eerie to see how synchronized they were and how effortlessly each could find the other and know what he wanted or needed.
Like now, when Cougar pulled off one of his gloves to wipe away some lingering snow from Jake's face, his touch so achingly gentle that it almost made Jess's throat seize up, just from watching it. She couldn't hear what they were saying — they were speaking much too low for that — but there was no mistaking the reverence in Cougar's eyes and the awed, breathless love coloring Jake's smile.
"I'm glad they're happy, though," Jolene continued, just as softly.
Jess wasn't sure if Jolene was seeing the same thing she was seeing, but she could do nothing but nod in agreement.
It had worried Jess at first, when she had noticed the feelings her brother harbored for Cougar. Jake, despite being a trained soldier with more kills to his name than Jess even wanted to consider, was trusting and emotionally vulnerable. He wanted to be loved so badly that he didn't know how to hold back — how to guard himself against heartbreak and betrayal. He could so easily be taken advantage of and, before Jess really got to know Cougar, she feared that he was the kind of person who would. She feared that there wouldn't be much left of Jake's heart, if Cougar decided to crush him.
But of course Cougar hadn't.
Since then, Jess had learned that not only was Cougar a much better man than she had ever given him credit for, but he was as committed and sincere as Jake — maybe even more so. Cougar seemed to love Jake with every fiber of his being and, despite their differences, Jess could tell that they fit each other seamlessly.
They had an effortless quality to them that few couples ever achieved.
How on earth someone like Cougar could put up with Jake was a bit of a mystery sometimes, but, on the other hand, Jess knew they weren't the same in private. She knew that Jake gave as much as Cougar did. She had heard it, that night when she had startled awake — not really knowing why — until she had realized that she had been woken up by Cougar's scream.
Jess knew all about the nightmares a soldier could get from his service — she had sat up with Jake after some of his — and when she had quietly made her way towards the guestroom, just to make sure that they were okay, she hadn't been surprised to hear the soft, low mumble of Jake's voice. Soothing, sweet and unmistakably loving.
She couldn't hear the exact words — that was none of her business — but she didn't doubt for a second that as much as Cougar seemed to be the center around which Jake orbited like an overexcited moon, Cougar wouldn't know what to do without Jake there to comfort and ground him.
Their relationship was nowhere near as uneven as some might think. Jess had been hesitant at first, granted, but it was things like this — seeing them there in the snow, sinking deeper into an intimacy that had nothing to do with physical touch, but everything to do with belonging — that made her relax.
Their personalities might be almost complete polar opposites, but they fit together perfectly as a whole. What her brother had found in Cougar — what they had found in each other — was clearly not within the realms of what normal mortals had.
Call her a romantic, but Jess just couldn't see them any other way now that she had gotten used to them as an item. It wasn't that they disappeared into the other or even changed to fit as a whole; they just were, simple as that.
She was actually kind of envious.
"You think this is enough excitement for one day?" Jolene asked, shivering slightly where she stood next to Jess on the porch.
Jess glanced down at her coffee, realizing that it had gone cold before she managed to finish it.
"Yeah, I think so." She straightened, looking to where Beth and Pooch were adding their own contributions to Cougar's snowman. "Beth! Time to go back inside!"
"But moooom!" Beth whined, trying her luck with those big puppy eyes of hers. "We're not done!"
"You can finish later. If you come inside now, I'll make hot chocolate."
Beth brightened remarkably at that and grabbed Pooch's hand, pulling him along as she raced towards the porch, as if she thought that lingering too long would make Jess revoke her hot chocolate privileges. Pooch, to his credit, followed easily, grinning at Jolene in a way that suggested that yes, he was definitely looking forward to doing this with their son as soon as he got big enough.
Jess almost wanted to coo.
"Jake! Did you hear that?" Jess called out to her brother, who had yet to move from where he lay sprawled in the snow. Granted that Jake would have to push Cougar off in that case, and he didn't look very inclined to do so. "Hot chocolate!"
Jake showed that he had heard by giving her a thumbs up, but didn't even bother to look away from Cougar, whose hand now rested against the bright red scarf wrapped around Jake's neck. They got like that sometimes, lost in their own little world of gentle touches and softly spoken words.
Jess shook her head and shooed Pooch and Beth into the house, but she couldn't help looking back over her shoulder. She still couldn't hear what they were saying, but the tenderness was unmistakable as Jake took Cougar's hand to kiss his no doubt cold fingers.
Those stupid, adorable dorks.
"They'll come when they're ready," Jess explained as she gestured for Jolene to ignore Jake and his equally distracted boyfriend. "They do this a lot."
Jolene smiled as she stepped through the door Jess was holding open for her, but she didn't say anything. There really wasn't much to add.
As unlikely as Cougar and Jake's relationship had seemed at first, Jess was happy for her brother. She hadn't seriously believed that it would ever work out when someone as loud and energetic as Jake was in a relationship with someone as calm and steadfast as Cougar, but it did. They were happy and stupidly in love. The fact that they had a lot of other things on their minds — things Jess wasn't allowed to hear about since it would only put her in danger — obviously didn't stop them from cherishing what they had together.
And seeing the two of them come tumbling in through the door ten minutes later, both of them shivering slightly from the cold but so obviously content, made Jess smile. It was just impossible not to, what with the way Jake hovered behind Cougar, his nose buried in Cougar's hair and a goofy smile on his lips.
And when Jake got bold enough to tug off his mittens and shove his hands in under Cougar's clothes to warm them — and Cougar didn't punch him in the face for it, or even elbow him — Jess knew that she didn't have to worry about her brother's heart anymore. It was safe with Cougar. He seemed to understand exactly how precious and vulnerable Jake was, and had no intention, whatsoever, of jeopardizing his well-being.
The fact was proven further by how Cougar was struggling valiantly not to squirm from Jake's cold hands, while Jake hummed happily and nuzzled Cougar's ear, the big, stupid dork.
If that wasn't love, Jess didn't know what was.