Work Text:
JJ continues to lay there as he thinks about how to respond until he eventually sits up with a sigh.
me: i’ll tell him when he wakes up
me: no to everything else though
sarah: jj i swear to god
me: bye
And with that he turns his phone off and puts it on the bedside table before pulling on his shorts and digging a shirt out of Rafe’s dresser. Then he quietly slips out the door and heads downstairs to find the kitchen.
He’s never really had the opportunity to explore the house before, because even on the nights that nobody was there they’d still spent most of their time in Rafe’s room, and he can’t help but be in awe at how fucking huge it all is.
As JJ walks around his mind drifts to Sarah’s request. He isn’t entitled to know everything that goes on between the Cameron’s; the day he starts telling Rafe everything about his relationship with his father will be the day he asks to know the same. Besides, JJ likes to think that they’ll tell him if and when they need to.
He can’t help but be curious anyway.
When he gets to the kitchen he beelines for the door that seems most like a pantry and opens it. There’s one thing that catches his eye immediately. He leans in to reach for it only to lose a few years off his life when he hears someone pointedly clear their throat from behind him.
JJ jerks so hard he hits his head on the shelf above his head and only narrowly escapes doing it again on the doorframe in his speed to turn around.
He’s met with the sight of an unimpressed looking Wheezie sitting at the bar and shoveling cereal into her mouth.
He clears his throat. “Good morning,” he greets with an awkward wave.
She inclines her head at him. “Good morning,” she parrots.
They don’t break eye contact as she continues eating. He clears his throat again. “So,” he says slowly, “how long have you been back?”
Wheezie shrugs. “Only an hour.” She takes a bite of cereal before adding, “I wanted to make sure it was safe to come back.”
JJ can’t stand the knowing look in her eyes; her and Sarah are way too comfortable teasing him about his sex life with their brother.
Don’t forget we’re all hanging out tomorrow, so make sure you’re able to walk!
He crosses his arms and leans against the counter. “I'll have you know,” he counters affronted, “that it was ‘safe’ the entire time.”
Air quotes necessary and subsequently applied.
Wheezie looks like she doesn’t believe it and so, indignation getting the best of him, JJ gestures to his spotless neck. Rafe is possessive and it shows; he always leaves marks on JJ, and it’s been a long time since he’s had the chance.
Suffice to say, if they’d done anything last night then JJ’s neck would be a fucking mess. (Again, he hates that she knows this.)
Wheezie purses her lips. “So what you’re telling me is that I could’ve slept in my own bed without being traumatized,” she grumbles as she brings her spoon back to her mouth.
He has no idea what to say to that, so he reaches with his index finger to twirl the signet ring just to give himself something to do. He freezes for a split second when he doesn’t feel it on his thumb because holy fuck how could I lose it I never take it off before he remembers he’d given it back to Rafe last night. He frowns.
Wheezie eventually breaks the silence for him. “He looks better, don’t you think?” she asks before taking another bite.
“Better because of the haircut or better because of the rehab,” JJ responds without thinking.
She shoots him another deadpan look. Damn, he thinks, Kie’s judgmental face has nothing on this.
“The rehab,” she answers flatly, though now he’s starting to see a hint of laughter in her eyes. “Glad to know you like his new hair, though.”
To say he likes it would be a bit of an understatement, but that’s neither here nor there.
“He really does, though,” JJ admits quietly. “Look better, I mean.”
Wheezie nods.
“It’s not going to just be that way you know,” she starts, “some days he—”
“Sarah was saying this same shit last night,” he groans, cutting her off. “I already know that. And even if I didn’t, don’t you guys think it’s a bit late to be giving me all these warnings?“
Wheezie shrugs. “Just wanted to remind you.” She holds his gaze. “And to tell you to be careful with him.”
JJ scoffs. “Okay, if it’s too late for the warnings then it’s definitely too late for a shovel talk.”
“It’s not a shovel talk,” she counters with a roll of her eyes. “For one, Rafe would kill anyone who so much as thought about giving a shovel talk in his honor.”
He can’t help but nod as she pauses to take another bite of cereal; he can vividly see Rafe doing that.
“You’re also—”
JJ never does find out what she was going to say because right then Rafe walks in and unceremoniously tosses JJ’s phone at him, which he barely manages to catch before it falls onto the tiles. He immediately feels it vibrating in his hands, and he resolutely does not look at it as he turns it back off and puts it on the counter.
“Sarah’s going to kill you,” Rafe declares in lieu of a greeting as he grabs the coffee maker next to JJ and brings it to the other side of the counter. “Hey, Wheezie.”
JJ’s grumble of well, good morning to you too goes completely ignored.
“Hey,” she responds before tilting her head in curiosity. “Why is Sarah gonna kill JJ?”
“Well,” Rafe drawls as he walks back over to where JJ is standing and opens the cabinet next to his head. “It’s funny you ask.”
He stays silent for a moment as he grabs three mugs by the hilt. Holding them that way leaves one of Rafe’s hands free, which he uses to flick JJ on the forehead. JJ swats him off. “He’s ignoring her.”
Wheezie stares at JJ incredulously, and in an effort to avoid eye contact JJ turns to watch as Rafe fiddles with the coffee machine. It’s one of the fancy ones that come with those little coffee pods and JJ kind of wants to throw it out the window.
“Make me a cup too,” he says instead, because if you can’t beat them join them.
Rafe looks at him condescendingly before pointedly gesturing to himself, JJ, and Wheezie. He then does the same with the three mugs.
JJ lifts his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “It could’ve been for Sarah,” he mumbles defensively.
“That implies you think Sarah is coming back soon,” Wheezie points out as Rafe gets back to work.
He winces at the thought but says nothing. It stays silent after that as Wheezie goes back to her cereal and Rafe continues making coffee. He doesn’t dole them out until all three are done; he hands one to Wheezie and puts another in front of the seat next to her. He shoves JJ’s into his hands before heading to sit at the bar.
JJ stares at it for a moment before looking back up at Rafe. “Thanks,” he whispers softly; Rafe says nothing in return, but JJ sees the fond expression on his face that he attempts to hide as he takes a sip of coffee.
The moment is ruined seconds later when they hear a loud bang.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Rafe mutters into his cup.
“JJ Maybank!” Sarah yells, and JJ’s amusement at Rafe’s reaction is gone immediately. He sends a desperate look at him and Wheezie, but they both just shrug in a ‘what can you do’ sort of gesture as if he isn’t about to be torn a new one by their sister.
Sarah storms into the kitchen as if on cue.
“What kind of response is ‘no to everything else bye’ and shutting your phone off?” she demands incredulously.
Deflect, deflect, deflect.
He holds out his tragically untouched coffee. “Sorry?” he offers sheepishly.
Sarah scowls at him reproachfully for a moment before snatching it out of his hand and hopping up to sit on the counter.
“But real talk,” JJ starts nervously, grabbing a chair from the table next to the bar. He tows it a couple feet away from the kitchen, flipping it so the back faces everyone. He straddles the chair, loosely resting his arms on the backrest. “What’s the damage?”
“Other than them getting kinda pissed? There isn’t any,” she responds before adding pointedly, “and there won’t be any. Because we’re all hanging out later, remember?”
“No thanks.”
Sarah sighs. “JJ, you knew that this was going to happen sooner or later,” she says, and he hates that she’s right.
He flicks his gaze to Wheezie and Rafe, who are observing with interested and unimpressed expressions respectively.
“Sarah…”
“How about I drive us both there? Maybe us showing up together will put the final piece in place so you don’t have to verbally say it.”
By this point Rafe is starting to look a bit miffed by the whole thing, though he attempts to hide it by taking another long sip of coffee.
Sarah sees it anyway. “Oh come off it, Rafe,” she tells him with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t exactly have the best track record. They still think you’re a piece of shit.”
“He is a piece of shit,” JJ grumbles.
Rafe smirks at him. “Insulting me just comes so naturally to you, doesn’t it,” he deadpans, an echo of a previous conversation.
JJ plays along. “Only because you provide so many opportunities,” he replies, and he has to hold back a wince at his tone; he’d been aiming for Rafe’s and missed by a mile.
Sarah must think so too, because she looks at Wheezie and sticks a finger in her mouth, pretending to gag. Wheezie snorts.
“But really,” she continues after a moment, “what do you think they’re gonna do? Hate you?”
“Of course not, but…” he trails off.
“But what?”
He glances at Rafe again, who simply raises his eyebrow expectantly. JJ quickly looks back to Sarah.
“You’re really hurting them, you know?” she pushes.
And JJ knows that she’s right, he does, because it’s hurting him too. He hates not telling them things, especially when they’re as big as this. But even still—
“—I just don’t want to, okay!” JJ yells.
He blinks a few times, surprised at his outburst, while Rafe sighs. “I don’t have time for this,” he announces as he grabs his phone and coffee. “I need to make a call.”
“What, now?” Sarah questions. “You—”
“It’s better than sitting here and having to witness this stupid conversation,” Rafe snaps, more exhausted than angry, as he walks over to hand his mug to JJ. “Have it,” he tells him.
Then he’s gone.
JJ looks back and forth between the coffee and the doorway before looking at Sarah. “What was that all about?”
Her expression is a mix of concerned and confused. “I’m not sure,” she answers slowly, “but the fact that he would rather—”
“It’s not like he actually wants you to tell them,” Wheezie interrupts, and JJ jumps at the sound of her voice. Somehow he almost forgot she was here. “I think it’s the fact that you’re acting like you would rather be publicly charged with a federal crime than even think about doing it. And I mean like international broadcast levels of publicly charged.”
“Well it does kind of feel like treason,” JJ jokes before taking a sip of Rafe’s coffee. It tastes way better than it should.
“He just got back from rehab,” Wheezie continues as if he hadn’t spoken. “I think he just didn’t wanna keep listening to you guys keep implying what an awful person he is.”
Sarah looks horrified now. “Wheezie…”
JJ frowns — what the hell is she talking about? Rafe knows JJ loves him and how proud he is that he’s been working to get better (even though he always glares at JJ for saying it because even after all this time he still finds it patronizing.)
But it’s also much more than that, because the two of them start sneaking around before JJ even found out about him making that effort. He’d also called Rafe every chance he could while he was gone; he would argue with Rafe every time he told JJ that he’d get it if he jumped ship; he’d asked Rafe to come to his house at risk of mockery for how shitty it was compared to Tanneyhill.
Basically, there’s no way that’s the problem Rafe is having with all of this. Hell, it’s not even the problem that JJ is having with all of this.
He’s about to say as much when all of a sudden he remembers an argument the Pogues had a while ago. JJ can’t recall who started it or what it was about, but he does recall what Kie told them when it was all straightened out.
“You guys do realize that just because you think something goes without saying doesn’t mean that it actually does, right? I mean how the hell was I supposed to know what you meant? I’m not a mind reader, you know.”
He peers over at Wheezie, only to find that she’s already watching him over her coffee mug. JJ just bites his lip as he reaches for the ring again, but he catches himself before his index finger can even make contact with his thumb. Oh right, he thinks despondently. Rafe has it.
Once it’s clear that JJ isn’t planning to offer anything up, Wheezie turns to look at Sarah with a sigh. JJ follows her gaze. “Who was Rafe even calling anyway?” she asks.
Sarah winces. “I'm almost positive he’s calling Dad,” she replies. “I mean he could’ve been calling Topper since he’s the one who told me what’s happening soon, but I’m like ninety-nine percent sure it’s Dad.”
So Rafe left to call Ward.
“Wait, what’s happening soon?” Wheezie asks, obviously not shocked that she was out of the loop again.
Sarah opens her mouth but JJ speaks before she has the chance to respond. “He went to talk to Ward? Willingly?”
She squints at him in confusion; she clearly has no idea what he’s getting at. “I mean yeah,” she answers slowly before adding, not unkindly, “That’s what I just said, JJ.”
And honestly? That’s it. “Screw it.”
If Rafe would prefer talking to Ward than talk to him and Sarah, the least he could do is talk to his friends.
So he abruptly stands up and practically slams his coffee cup onto the nearest countertop. Sarah and Wheezie flinch. “Alright, let’s go,” he says.