riley ᶠˢ

No one had treated you so sweetly, so kindly, as if you were someone worthy of the purest form of affection. From the moment you met, Jaafar has been a gentleman, through and through. A friend of a friend had invited you to a party, and Jaafar had been taking acting classes with a different friend of the host’s. So your paths crossed, and you were smitten almost immediately.

It would have been harder to resist the near magnetic pull you felt towards him the first second you laid eyes on him, to not spend the whole night staring in his direction. He was almost unfairly attractive, the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen by far. Jaafar caught on quickly, felt your gaze on him from across the room and it made him feel shy in ways he’s never known.

Building up his courage, trying to come up with an opening line that wasn’t cheesy or lame, Jaafar eventually made his way over to where you stood in a corner, talking with some friends away from the rest of the room.

“Want a drink?” He offers, extending his hand out to you. For a split second, you hesitate, bowled over by just how perfect he looked up close. But then you slot your hand into his, and it was like the last two pieces of a puzzle slotting into place.

He pulls you away from the crowds, takes you somewhere quiet. Jaafar can’t remember the last time he’s been to a house party like this, all loud and packed and full of alcohol. He also can’t remember ever feeling the way he feels about you.

After spending the whole night talking, you exchange numbers and make a plan to meet up again, for a real date. You practically squeal when you see his text asking you out, feeling like a kid again with your first crush, almost vibrating with excitement and anticipation. You can’t remember the last time anyone asked you out like this, wanting to take you out for a nice meal instead of bringing you back to a dingy apartment.

But Jaafar makes a reservation at a nice restaurant, requests a table in a quieter section so the two of you can talk. He spends far too long agonizing over his outfit choices, changing his clothes three times before he has to leave. Even just the thought embarrasses him, feeling so overwhelmed at a simple dinner date, but there’s something different about you.

When he tells you he’s on his way, that he’ll meet you at your front door, you bite down hard on your bottom lip to keep from grinning as you stare down at your phone. You don’t think, with the exception of prom while you were in high school, that a date’s ever come to your doorway like this.

You’re grateful for his heads up, scurrying around to make sure everything you can see from the front door looks clean and organized. Your bedroom is another story, looking as if a tornado has ripped through your wardrobe with the amount of clothes thrown around. You feel out of practice, like you’ve never been asked out before, because when you think about it, you really haven’t, at least not at this caliber.

Sure, you’ve gone on dates and had relationships that lasted a few months, but no one’s ever treated you like this. You’re already amazed, and he hasn’t even picked you up yet. The last date you’d gone on, you’d gotten an Uber and your date had shown up ten minutes late looking like he’d rolled out of bed. 

It had almost been enough to make you swear off dating, but then you’d met Jaafar at that party.

Meeting you at the door, flowers in hand, Jaafar’s speechless when he sees you. You look ethereal, and it makes him feel a little better knowing that second guessing his outfit no less than a thousand times paid off. At the end of the day, he just wanted you to feel like you were cared for, that he was doing everything in his power to make sure you know how he feels about you.

Taking the flowers when he offers them to you, you’re grateful for the excuse to look for a vase so you can grin to yourself like a crazy person. Racking your brain, you can’t think of the last time a boy brought you flowers. You set them up in some water and place them on the kitchen table, where they’ll catch the light and you can admire them all day long.

Now, though, there’s something more important for you to admire. You spend almost the entire drive ogling Jaafar, letting your eyes rove across his face as he focuses on the road. He doesn’t say anything about it, but he can feel you staring, and it makes his chest feel all warm, makes his heart thud against his rib cage.

He feels nervous in ways he can’t explain, because all he wants to do is make a good first impression. Really, what he wants is for you to agree to a second date, and then a third, and then forever, but it all starts with the first date.

Deep down, though, he’s not treating you any differently than he’d treat any other date. He’s been raised to open doors and bring flowers and pull out chairs, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. Sure, he’s bringing his absolute a-game because it’s you, but he’s simply treating you like a gentleman because that’s what you deserve.

To him, it feels like the bare minimum, but it’s rocking your entire world.

After he parks, he gets out of the car and makes his way to the passenger side. You open the door before he can get there, though, and you smile self-consciously when he huffs out a laugh.

“I woulda gotten that,” he says it like it’s obvious as you slide out of the car, shutting the door behind you. Because to him, it is obvious, to open your door for you and help you from the car, because that’s what any gentleman would do.

“Oh,” you respond, absolutely shocked at the notion of a date opening the car door for you, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he grins, reaching for your hand, “it just means I have to be quicker next time.”

Just like that, you’re at ease again as you walk the few blocks towards the restaurant. It’s the perfect summer evening, sunny and breezy and warm, and the two of you get so wrapped up in your conversation that you’re a little surprised when you realize you’ve already made it to your destination. Jaafar steps around you and pulls the door open, and the gesture makes your heart flutter.

Jaafar catches the way you smile, and the sight fills him with pride and a little tinge of sadness because it’s obvious that no one’s ever treated you this way and to him, it’s like second nature. Jaafar vows to change that for you, to always make sure you know exactly how much he cares for you, how much he respects you, because it’s the least he can do.

He’d give you the world if he could, but for now he settles for opening doors and pulling out chairs, bringing you flowers and learning your go-to drink orders.

The two of you get shown to your table, and Jaafar makes sure to pull your chair out for you. That same smile blooms on your face, a little shy and self-conscious and so full of affection, he just has to smile back.

It makes him think, as you look over the menu, about how you’ve clearly never been treated right. He knows he’s a few years older than the people you usually date, but it’s not as if he’s recently learned manners, recently figured out how to treat someone when you ask them out. It absolutely baffles him that this is all so new to you, when you should have been treated like this from the very beginning.

As you scan over the prices on the menu, you’re reminded of the times where your date has asked you to split the bill unexpectedly at the end of the date, after being the one to ask you out in the first place. You know that Jaafar would never do that to you. You’re sure that even if this was the worst date of all time, even though it’s already far surpassed any date you’ve ever been on, he’d still pay the bill and drive you home and say you look lovely, because that’s just the kind of person he is.

Over the course of the evening, the two of you relax, finding that steady, comfortable rhythm you’d both noticed when you first met. It seems like suddenly, you’ve known each other for years, and you don’t think you’ve ever had such an instant connection with someone before. He makes you laugh, he truly listens when you talk, and he looks at you like you’re something worthy of being admired. 

Any apprehension that had been pressed into you by memories of the failed dates of your past evaporates, and you end up ordering dessert. Unable to make up your mind, Jaafar orders one of each that you’d been torn between and you split them, and it’s such a sweet, simple gesture it makes you feel a little bit nauseous with affection.

With the plates spread out between you, the two of you start trading your dating horror stories, all of the failures and awkward moments you can never seem to forget. Really, before now, you could never seem to escape from those dates, but you have a feeling you’ll never go through those experiences again.

“It’s happened to me, like four or five times,” you say, using your spoon to scoop up more of the whipped cream on the plate. Across from you, Jaafar chokes on his drink in his shock. He coughs a few times and sets his glass down, looking at you like you’ve grown a second head.

“You’ve split the bill four or five times?” He asks through his coughing, still trying to regain his composure, his sense of equilibrium. The thought of anyone having to split the bill on a date after being the one to get asked out, especially when it’s you, is absolutely unbelievable to him. You could have ordered everything on the menu, and he would have happily paid for it, because that’s the treatment that you deserve.

“Mhm,” you nod, sticking the spoon in your mouth, “and once, I got coffee with this guy and I forgot my wallet.”

Jaafar nods, taking a sip of water. You wait until he’s set the glass back down, certain what you say next would cause another coughing fit.

“He paid, and then sent me a Venmo request for eight dollars.” You were right with your guess, and you can read Jaafar’s shock on his face, plain as day. His mouth dropped open momentarily, before its replaced with a smile at the sound of your laughter, which floats around the two of you like music notes in a cartoon love story.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he says adamantly, reaching for your hands across the table. A shiver of delight races down your spine when your fingers touch.

“Wanna hear the worst part?” You ask with a grin, eyes flitting between your interlocked fingers and Jaafar’s face in the warm, low lighting of the restaurant.

“That wasn’t the worst part?”

“My coffee only cost seven-fifty.”

Jaafar squeezes his hand around yours, and another peal of laughter bursts from you. He wants to bottle up that sound, wants to memorize it and play it over and over again. He could never get sick of that noise, could never get sick of you. Even after only a few weeks of knowing each other, even after a single date, he knows it’s the truth.

And sitting across from him, being treated like you’re something precious, someone worth love and attention and respect, you know it too.

this dynamic is so so so fun omgggg thank you for this request i absolutely loved writing it!! feel free to send in more age gap jaafar requests they're my fav right now for sure <3

You were always an affectionate person. It came from the household you grew up in! Your mom showered you with love everyday and your dad gave you forehead kisses every time he saw you.

So, of course, you showed your love with kisses.

Laid up in michael’s bedroom, your head on his chest as his hand absentmindedly rubbed circles on your waist.

The TV was playing Lady & The Tramp, one of Michael’s favorites movies. Michael was focused on the movie, but you were focused on him.

His eyes.

His jawline.

His lips.

You loved everything about your man.

It was like your lips had a mind of their own when they made their way to his jawline, as your hand move to hold the other side of his face.

You pressed soft, light kisses, not wanting to distract him from the movie.

But everything you do distracted Michael.

You felt him smile as you pressed another loving kiss to his face, not caring that the movie was still playing, all his attention was now on you.

“Tink..what you doin girl?”

“mm, nothing…” peck.

You loved every part of your man, but you wanted more.

You moved yourself on top of him, straddling his lap. Michael placed his hands on your thighs, feeling them up until they rested on your hips.

You stared at him for a few moments, admiring his features.

Michael felt his face heating up, removing his hand from your hips and putting them on his face. “Tink stop staring at me…”

You remove his hands from his face as you lean down to press a kiss on his nose.

“I’m sorry mikey..”

Then you kiss him again, this time on his forehead.

Then his right cheek.

Then his left.

His chin.

His eyelids.

The corners of his mouth.

“c’mon mama..”

“hm? what’s wrong mikey?”

“You teasin’ me…kiss me f’real.”

You let out a little laugh, placing your hands on michael’s face and giving him a sweet kiss on his lips.

Michael’s hands find your waist again, resting there for a bit until he starts to move them up your back.

You move your hands from his face to his chest, pulling away from the kiss, but michael chases after your lips, whining because of the sudden emptiness he felt.

“why’d you stop tink?”

Oh he was so cute.

You smile, ignoring his question and lean down to connect your lips with his again, to which he instantly melts in to.

a/n: a little something for yall while i work on my series

2026 los angeles

whoever told you that wedding planning would be some of the most fun you had in your life, they lied. there had not been a single moment over the past few years where planning your wedding with jaafar had actually been fun.

everything was stressful.

every venue you fell in love with seemed to get booked for the exact weekend you wanted before you could even secure it. catering companies all had their own endless lists of rules, requirements, and restrictions that somehow made choosing food feel like negotiating a business merger. your maid of honor, jaafar's sister genevieve, had been doing everything she could to keep the peace, but even she was starting to get overwhelmed by your bridesmaids, who always seemed to have something new to complain about, whether it was the destination for the bachelorette trip, the style of their dresses, or some other detail that suddenly became the end of the world.

then there were your families.

jaafar had a huge family. you adored every single one of them, but there were so many jacksons that trying to account for everyone felt impossible. between the nine original jackson siblings, all of their children, and the grandchildren that many of the older cousins now had, his side of the guest list seemed to multiply every time you looked at it.

your family wasn't exactly small either.

you were the youngest of five siblings, the baby of the family, and every one of your older brothers and sisters had children of their own. some of your nieces and nephews were only a couple of years younger than you, meaning there was another sea of cousins to consider.

making seating charts had become its own special form of torture.

who sat with who? who absolutely couldn't be placed at the same table? which aunt would get offended if she wasn't close enough to the sweetheart table? which cousin would inevitably complain if they were seated too far away? every adjustment seemed to create two more problems, and before long, the dining layout looked less like a wedding reception and more like someone trying to solve an impossible puzzle.

everything about planning the wedding had become so overwhelming that you were genuinely close to giving up on the whole thing.

it didn't help that there had never been a convenient time to actually get married.

you and jaafar had been together for ten years. you'd grown up together in so many ways, celebrating birthdays, career milestones, family holidays, quiet nights at home, and every ordinary moment in between. getting married had always been the obvious next step, and when jaafar proposed in 2023, you had been convinced it finally was.

then, just before everything was supposed to begin, he got cast in the michael movie.

late-night rehearsals became normal. then came the long filming days that stretched well into the night. you watched your fiancé slowly disappear into the role, carrying the responsibility of portraying his own uncle with an unwavering level of dedication that left little room for anything else. there were nights he stayed at hayvenhurst instead of coming home, wanting to remain surrounded by family history while preparing for emotionally demanding scenes or simply because the commute after filming had become impossible.

the wedding naturally slipped onto the back burner.

not because either of you stopped wanting it, but because jaafar already had more on his shoulders than anyone should have to carry. you couldn't bring yourself to add another source of pressure by asking him to spend his few free hours touring venues or tasting cakes when he was already pouring every ounce of himself into the biggest opportunity of his life.

now filming was over, but the schedule hadn't slowed down. the press tour for michael was only weeks away, and you already knew what that meant. months of traveling. interviews. red carpets. premieres. photoshoots. late-night television appearances.

months where the two of you would barely be in the same city. there wasn't any point in trying to force wedding planning into an already impossible schedule. at this point, you didn't even care about having a huge ceremony with everyone there.

you just wanted to marry jaafar, which was exactly what you were going to tell him when he got home.

he had spent the day filming a series of interviews that would be released closer to the premiere of michael, and knowing he'd be exhausted, you'd already made his dinner and left it waiting in the microwave. curled beneath a blanket on the couch, you had love island reruns playing across the television, though you couldn't have told anyone what was happening on the screen. your thoughts kept drifting back to venue contracts tucked inside a binder on the coffee table, guest lists that still weren't finalized, and a wedding that somehow felt farther away than it had the day he'd proposed.

your eyelids grew heavier with every passing minute, and you were just beginning to drift off when the familiar sound of the front door opening pulled you back awake.

jaafar stepped inside as quietly as he could. the moment his eyes landed on your curled-up figure on the couch, a soft smile spread across his face. even after a long day of interviews, he immediately realized you'd stayed awake waiting for him.

your eyes fluttered open, still hazy with sleep, and you found him standing in the entryway as he quietly slipped off his shoes. slowly, you pushed yourself upright, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as your gaze met his.

“hi baby,” you say.

jaafar walks over to you, the exhaustion from the day still evident in the slight slump of his shoulders, but the moment he sees you awake waiting for him, his expression softens. he leans down without hesitation, pressing a lingering kiss against your forehead before settling onto the couch beside you, close enough that your knees brush.

“hi, mama, did i wake you up?” he asks, his voice quiet from habit after coming home so late, and you shake your head.

“no i was trying to wait up for you because i wanted to talk to you,” you say, and jaafar raises an eyebrow.

“is everything okay?” he asks. the concern on his face is immediate. despite how tired he is, his attention shifts entirely to you, the interviews, cameras, and long day instantly forgotten.

“yes… no… i’ve been thinking… wedding planning is really stressing me the hell out, so what if we just go to the courthouse and elope?” you ask. jaafar is quiet for a moment, blinking as he processes your words, because for a split second, his stomach had dropped.

after spending the last three years juggling filming, rehearsals, and everything that came with michael, hearing "i wanted to talk to you" immediately made his mind jump to the worst possible conclusion. he wondered if he'd missed something, if the distance the movie had forced between you had finally become too much.

instead, you were asking him to marry you sooner. relief washes over him so quickly that he almost laughs.

“baby, i’m sorry i haven’t been as helpful as i should’ve been when it came to planning,” he says first with a frown, guilt settling across his features as he thinks about all the appointments you'd gone to without him, all the decisions you'd had to make while he was on set or halfway across the country.

you immediately shake your head. “no, it’s okay… you had to focus on the movie, and i’m so proud of you, but everything is just stressing me out. i’m pretty sure i’ve cussed out like five different caterers,” you say.

despite the seriousness of the conversation, jaafar can't stop the laugh that escapes him. it comes out warm and genuine, the image of you losing your patience with wedding vendors somehow being one of the funniest things he'd heard all day.

“baby, you should’ve told me… you shouldn’t have to carry this by yourself,” he says. the smile fades back into something softer, more regretful. he hated that while he'd been pouring everything he had into the film, you'd quietly been carrying the weight of planning an entire wedding alone.

you frown. “i know, but i know how much the movie was taking out of you, and i didn’t want to add to your stress,” you say.

jaafar slowly shakes his head as his hand comes up, his fingertips gently resting against your jaw. his thumb brushes softly along your cheek, his touch as careful as if he were trying to erase every ounce of stress you'd been holding onto without him realizing.

“i know the movie was a big priority these last three years… but you’re always my number one priority. it was easier for me to give everything to the movie because i knew… or i thought you were okay. you gotta tell me these things,” he says.

he'd thrown himself so completely into becoming michael because he'd believed home was okay. he'd believed you were okay. knowing you'd been quietly drowning in seating charts, contracts, vendors, and expectations while trying to protect him from feeling guilty made his chest ache.

you nod. “i know… im sorry. but can we? can i please just throw out this entire planner and just go buy a pretty dress? i don’t care for a big ceremony, j, i just want to be your wife,” you say.

jaafar smiles before gently cupping your face in both of his hands and pulling you closer. he kisses you deeply, full of every emotion he struggles to put into words, smiling softly against your lips as the reality settles over him.

the wedding had never been the important part, you were.

“and i want nothing more than to be your husband. i’ll go get our marriage license first thing tomorrow, okay?” he says.

your eyes light up almost instantly, every ounce of tension you'd been carrying seeming to disappear in the span of a single sentence. before you can stop yourself, you throw your arms around him.

jaafar catches you effortlessly, letting out a quiet chuckle as he pulls you onto his lap. his arms wrap tightly around your waist, holding you against him as he buries his face into the crook of your neck. he closes his eyes and inhales deeply, the familiar scent of your shampoo and perfume replacing the sterile interview studios and flashing cameras that had surrounded him all day.

being home with you grounded him in a way nothing else ever could.

“i love you,” you whisper, your fingers threading through his curls, gently scratching against his scalp in the way you knew he loved after especially long days. you feel him smile against your skin before his lips begin pressing slow, absentminded kisses along the side of your neck, each one lingering for just a second longer than the last.

“i love you more,” he mutters into your skin, his voice softened by the embrace, making an uncontrollable smile spread across your face.

and that’s how, 48 hours later, the two of you found yourselves standing at the courthouse, finally doing what life had refused to let you do for years.

the wedding the two of you had spent so long trying to plan had become something much simpler than either of you had originally imagined, and somehow, it felt even more perfect because of it. there were no rows of chairs waiting to be filled, no florist frantically making last-minute adjustments, no wedding coordinator rushing everyone from one event to the next. it was just you and jaafar, dressed up for one another, ready to finally become husband and wife.

thankfully, you didn't need a witness because the two of you had decided you wanted to surprise everyone with the news. after spending years trying to coordinate schedules, guest lists, and venues around two enormous families, there was something freeing about keeping this moment entirely to yourselves. everyone would find out soon enough, but for right now, this belonged only to the two of you.

despite knowing this was exactly what you wanted, you couldn't stop the small flutter of nerves in your stomach as you sat beside jaafar waiting for your names to be called. your fingers rested comfortably in his hand, his thumb absentmindedly brushing back and forth across your knuckles in a rhythm so familiar that it immediately calmed you. you hadn't realized how tense you were until you felt his warmth beside you, and suddenly every anxious thought that had been swirling around your head since you woke up that morning seemed to quiet.

jaafar couldn't stop looking at you.

he'd seen you dressed up countless times over the last ten years, from galas and premieres to birthdays and anniversaries, but seeing you sitting beside him in your wedding dress made his heart swell in a way he'd never experienced before. the dress wasn't extravagant, and neither of you had spent months searching for it the way you'd once planned, but he didn't think he could've imagined anything more beautiful. all he could think about was that in only a few minutes, you were going to be his wife, and after everything life had thrown at the two of you over the years, that thought alone was enough to make his eyes begin to sting.

when your names were finally called, jaafar looked over at you with a soft smile before gently squeezing your hand. the simple gesture said everything neither of you could find the words for, and together you stood before walking inside. after presenting your marriage license, the ceremony officially began.

courthouse weddings usually lasted no more than fifteen minutes, but thankfully your judge happened to be a huge michael jackson fan. after recognizing jaafar, he'd smiled and joked that he wasn't about to rush michael jackson's nephew through one of the biggest moments of his life. as long as there weren't any appointments immediately after yours, he was more than happy to give the two of you extra time, even allowing you to exchange your own vows instead of limiting the ceremony to only the traditional wording.

“j… when i think about everything over the last ten years, i really come back to the same thing; i’m so proud of you,” you begin, your voice softer than you'd expected, emotion already tightening your throat.

the moment the words leave your mouth, you watch jaafar's expression change. his eyes soften almost instantly, the corners becoming glassy as he tries to keep himself composed, but after everything the last three years had demanded of him, hearing those words from the person who had stood beside him through every sacrifice was enough to unravel him before you'd even finished your first sentence.

“for years, you’ve worked so hard to prove that you’re more than your last name. for years you’ve stood by my side, even during my moments when i wasn’t the easiest person to be in a relationship with, but you’ve always made me feel safe. you’ve always shown me that it’s okay to come to you with emotions that are too heavy to carry alone and that i don’t have to suffer in silence, and you’ve always carried me with grace and love. and although i’m about to have to share you with the world when this movie comes out, but just know… i promise that you’ll always have me to come home to, to be the quiet in the midst of the storm, and to love you through it,” you say, reaching your hand up to gently wipe the tears that had escaped down his cheek.

your thumb lingered there for a moment after brushing them away, and jaafar instinctively leaned into your touch, unable to stop smiling through the tears. no matter how much his life was about to change when the movie released, no matter how much attention or success came with it, home would always be wherever you were.

he took a slow breath before beginning his own vows, giving your hands a gentle squeeze as though he needed to remind himself that this moment was real.

“baby, you’re my life. you’ve been in my life for so long, there’s no version of my life that exists without you. you’ve been there for everything; the trial and error with trying to make an album, the rejections, the highs, the lows, you’ve seen me through so much…” he softly trails, emotion catching in his throat as he glances down at your intertwined hands.

he smiled to himself for a brief second when his eyes landed on the rings now resting side by side on your fingers. after years of postponing dates, changing plans, and wondering when life would finally slow down enough for the two of you to get married, it had finally happened, and somehow it still felt impossible to believe.

you gently squeezed his hands, silently encouraging him to continue.

“but i’m also proud of you. i know the last three years haven’t been easy, i wasn’t always home, i wasn’t always there when you needed me, and you never held it against me. you keep me grounded, you showed me love in all the little ways that mattered, and i’m so honored you chose me to be your husband. i promise that i will always keep you safe, and no matter how much i have to give to the world and the fans, i’ll always make sure the most important parts of myself come home to you,” jaafar says, his voice trembling just enough that it makes the tears you'd been trying so hard to hold back spill freely down your cheeks.

the judge allowed the two of you a quiet moment to simply look at one another before warmly smiling and finishing the ceremony. after officially pronouncing you husband and wife, he looked toward jaafar with a grin and told him he may kiss his bride.

jaafar's hands gently came up to cup your cheeks, his thumbs carefully brushing away the fresh tears that had fallen before he leaned forward and brought your lips together. you melted into him the way you always did, instinctively closing the distance between you, but this kiss carried a different kind of emotion than any you'd shared before. it wasn't simply the kiss of the man you'd loved for ten years or the fiancé you'd spent years planning a future with. this was your husband kissing you for the very first time, and as you felt his wedding band brush lightly against your skin while he held your face so carefully, every delayed venue, every stressful planning meeting, every sacrifice the two of you had made, and every year you'd spent waiting suddenly felt worth it because it had all led you here.

when the kiss finally ended, neither of you moved very far apart, your foreheads naturally resting together as the two of you smiled through tear-filled eyes. the judge congratulated you both before officially concluding the ceremony, and after thanking him for allowing you the extra time to exchange your vows, the two of you made your way back outside.

once you and jaafar were back in the car, the silence between you wasn't awkward. it was peaceful, the kind of silence that only existed between two people who no longer needed words to understand what the other was feeling. jaafar turned toward you, his wedding band catching the afternoon sunlight as he reached over to gently cradle your face again before leaning across the center console to kiss you once more. you couldn't help smiling into the kiss as you wrapped your hand around the back of his neck, still unable to believe that after ten years together, you were finally husband and wife.

“my wife, mrs. jackson,” he says once the kiss ends.

your cheeks instantly begin to warm as your noses brush together, neither of you making any attempt to create more space between yourselves. even after everything that had happened over the last hour, hearing him say it out loud somehow made it all feel real in a way signing paperwork never could.

you were mrs. jackson.

“say that again,” you whisper, barely louder than a breath.

jaafar's smile only grows. “mrs. jackson,” he repeats.

the title settles over you like the softest blanket, and before you can stop yourself, a wide smile stretches across your face. you don't think you've ever loved hearing your own name more than you do right now.

“how would you like to celebrate?” he asks. you pretend to think for a moment before grinning.

“can we go to in-n-out? i’m really craving some fries,” you say. jaafar laughs, the sound warm and affectionate as he leans over to steal another kiss from your lips before finally starting the car.

“fries for my wife it is,” jaafar says.

there it was again, wife.

every time he said it, you felt warmth spread all the way through your body, your heart somehow finding a way to beat even faster than it already had been all morning. after spending three years being called his fiancée, hearing yourself become his wife in the span of a single afternoon felt surreal, and judging by the smile that hadn't left his face since walking out of the courthouse, jaafar wasn't having any easier of a time believing it either.

the drive to in-n-out felt wonderfully ordinary, and maybe that was your favorite part.

after years of waiting to get married, your first moments as husband and wife weren't extravagant. they weren't spent in a limousine on the way to some lavish reception or boarding a private jet for an expensive honeymoon.

instead, jaafar's hand rested comfortably on your thigh the way it always did whenever the two of you were in the car, absentmindedly rubbing slow circles against your leg whenever he stopped at a red light. every now and then he'd glance over at you, smiling for no reason other than the simple fact that you were sitting beside him, and every time you caught him looking, he'd smile even wider before turning his attention back to the road.

it felt like every other drive the two of you had ever taken together.

except now, you were husband and wife.

once you and jaafar got your food, the two of you headed outside to one of the patio tables. it wasn't exactly the elegant wedding dinner either of your families had imagined over the years, but neither of you cared. the paper wrappers, plastic trays, and familiar smell of fresh burgers and fries somehow made the afternoon feel even more special because it was so unapologetically the two of you.

jaafar softly teased you, just like he always did, when you dipped one of your fries into your milkshake before taking a bite. he'd spent ten years insisting it was strange. you'd spent ten years insisting he was wrong. neither of you had changed your minds.

he shook his head with an amused smile, watching you with the same fond expression he always wore whenever you did something that made absolutely no sense to him. somehow, even something as simple as watching you happily eat fries dipped in a milkshake made him look at you as though you were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

your heart swelled beneath his gaze. without thinking, you leaned across the table and gently rested your hand against his cheek. the gold wedding band that now sat beside your engagement ring caught the afternoon sunlight as your thumb softly brushed across his skin.

the two of you were so wrapped up in each other that you didn't notice the paparazzi gathering a short distance away. at first it was only one photographer who happened to recognize jaafar, but within minutes, several cameras were pointed toward your table.

you didn't notice the flashes quietly going off through the windows as photographers zoomed in, quickly realizing there was now a simple gold wedding band resting beside the engagement ring that hadn't been there just two days before. they had just stumbled across one of the biggest celebrity stories of the year, and neither of you had the slightest idea.

when you finally leaned back, smiling to yourself, you reached for another fry and dipped it into your milkshake again. jaafar let out another quiet laugh, shaking his head before taking another bite of his own food.

“you're never gonna convince me that's normal,” he mumbles.

“it's delicious,” you protest.

“it's criminal,” he teases.

“you've never even tried it,” you say as you point a fry at him and he laughs.

“because i love myself,” he says making you playfully roll your eyes as you laugh, but before either of you could continue the playful argument, you heard someone quietly clear their throat nearby.

you almost hadn't noticed the small group of fans approaching the table, but jaafar had. he'd always been attuned to things like that, noticing people long before they reached him.

the fans immediately apologized for interrupting before asking if they could have his autograph. they excitedly told him they couldn't wait for the michael movie to come out and that from everything they'd seen in the trailers, they already knew he was going to do an incredible job.

you couldn't help smiling when you saw the faint blush spread across jaafar's cheeks. after everything he'd poured into the role over the last three years, hearing genuine excitement from people who couldn't wait to see the film still embarrassed him in the sweetest way.

he thanked each of them sincerely, taking his time signing their posters and chatting with them for a minute before wishing them a good afternoon.

once they walked away, you found yourself looking at him with that same soft smile still lingering on your face.

he caught you staring almost immediately. “what?” he asks.

“nothing…” you say, your smile only growing. “but you should get used to that… once this movie comes out, you’re gonna be everywhere.”

jaafar simply shakes his head as he reaches across the table for your hand. his thumb slowly brushes over your wedding band, his eyes lingering on it for a moment as though he still couldn't quite believe it was there.

then he looks back up at you. “as long as i have you by my side, i can face anything,” he says.

it amazed you how, even standing on the edge of becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the world, he still measured everything against the life the two of you had built together.

fame had never been the thing grounding him, you were.

“we should probably tell your family… god are they gonna be mad? especially your mom… you know how happy she was at genevieve’s wedding, now she missed yours?” you ask.

jaafar laughs, already knowing exactly how the conversation was going to go.

“she’ll probably just want to throw a party for us, and maybe we can do another mini wedding for them,” jaafar says.

you nod. honestly, that sounded exactly like alejandra.

she'd probably cry first, hug both of you until neither of you could breathe, tell you she wished she'd been there, and then immediately start planning some kind of family celebration before the phone call was even over.

“call your siblings first. group facetime,” you say.

jaafar laughs as he reaches into his pocket for his phone. after unlocking it, he opens the family group chat before tapping the facetime button, setting his phone against the drink carrier sitting between the two of you on the table, unable to stop smiling as the familiar ringing sound filled the patio.

neither of you could wait to see their reactions.

they all answer one by one, each familiar face popping onto the screen until the call fills with overlapping voices. the second they see jaafar, they all grin.

“look at mr. movie star.”

“next big superstar over here.”

“don't forget us when you're famous.”

jaafar immediately shakes his head with a laugh, already used to the endless teasing that had become even more frequent since the michael trailers had been released. he reaches over with one arm, gently wrapping it around your waist before gesturing for you to scoot your chair closer so you'd both fit comfortably in the frame.

you move beside him until your shoulders are pressed together, smiling at the three siblings looking back at you from the screen.

jermajesty squints for a second. “why are y’all so dressed up?” he asks.

from the angle of the phone, he could only see the two of you from the waist up, but it was enough to notice that jaafar was wearing a suit and you were dressed far more elegantly than someone grabbing burgers on a random afternoon.

you and jaafar exchanged a quick glance before looking back at the phone. “uh, we have something to tell you guys, but don’t freak out,” you say.

genevieve's eyes immediately widen. “oh my god, are you pregnant?” you immediately burst into laughter, shaking your head so quickly your earrings swayed.

“no, definitely not,” you say.

“not for lack of trying,” jaafar teases. your eyes immediately snap toward him as you lightly smack his arm.

“shut up,” you giggle.

“yes, please, shut up,” jermajesty agrees without missing a beat, making genevieve and randy laugh as jaafar dramatically rolls his eyes. “okay, what’s the news that we’re not supposed to freak out about?”

you looked over at jaafar one more time, both of you smiling to yourselves as though silently counting down together. then, at the same time, you lifted your left hands toward the camera. the afternoon sunlight immediately caught against the matching gold wedding bands resting beside your engagement ring.

“we got married today,” jaafar says.

for a full second, nothing. every one of them simply stared at the screen, trying to process what they were looking at. then all three reactions happened at once.

“no fucking way,” randy is the first to speak.

“are you kidding me!?” jermajesty blurts out, leaning so close to his phone that his face nearly filled the entire screen.

genevieve's mouth had fallen completely open, one hand covering it as she looked back and forth between the two of you and your rings. you and jaafar couldn't help laughing as you nodded.

“trying to plan this wedding was stressing me out, and gen said the other bridesmaids were stressing her out with their constant complaining, and it just seemed like we never had time, so i told j, fuck it, let’s just go get married,” you say with a shrug.

all three of them immediately started laughing.

genevieve pointed toward the screen. “your bridesmaids were stressing me the hell out,” she says. that only made you laugh harder.

you'd asked genevieve to be your maid of honor almost immediately after getting engaged, never once questioning who you wanted standing beside you. from the very first day jaafar had introduced you to his family, she'd welcomed you without hesitation, treating you like another little sister instead of just her brother's girlfriend. she'd joked more than once that after growing up surrounded by brothers, it was nice finally having another girl around, and somewhere over the last ten years, she'd become one of your closest friends.

“we’d still like to have a celebration with everyone though…” you say, your smile softening. “your mom isn’t gonna be mad, is she?” the call suddenly became very quiet. the three siblings all looked at one another through their screens.

finally, jermajesty grinned. “let’s find out.”

before either you or jaafar could stop him, he tapped his screen and added alejandra to the facetime. the phone rang only twice before she answered. the moment her face appeared, she smiled.

“hey, everyone, what’s going on?” alejandra asks.

there was a hint of confusion in her voice. she wasn't usually included in the siblings' group facetimes, so seeing all of her children together along with you immediately made her wonder what she'd missed.

jermajesty, of course, didn't waste a second. “your son got married.”

alejandra blinked. “what?”

you and jaafar both held your hands toward the camera again, letting the wedding bands answer the question before either of you could. her eyes immediately dropped to your rings, then widened.

jaafar's smile became a little sheepish. “mom… we’re sorry, we never wanted to exclude you, we just—” he didn't even get the chance to finish.

“no, baby,” alejandra says, her eyes already beginning to glisten. “i’m not crying because i’m sad… i’m so happy for you both.” she laughed softly as she wiped beneath one eye. “it’s about time you two got married. it’s been what? ten years? you’re lucky she stuck around long enough.”

the teasing immediately sent the entire call into laughter. jaafar let out an embarrassed groan as his cheeks turned a deep shade of pink, ducking his head while everyone else continued laughing at his expense.

“she’s right… waiting ten years for a man to marry me is crazy,” genevieve says.

that only made everyone laugh harder. you turned toward your husband, whose face had somehow managed to become even redder.

he looked adorably embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck while trying to defend himself through a smile. you couldn't help smiling at him.

reaching over, you gently shook your head before leaning in to press a soft kiss against his warm cheek. “it’s okay, baby,” you say.

his eyes met yours almost immediately, and despite all the teasing coming through the phone speakers, the look he gave you made it feel like, for just a second, the two of you were the only people there, because at the end of the day, whether it had taken ten years or twenty, he'd kept the promise he'd made when he got down on one knee.

you were his wife, and he’s your husband.

“make sure you call your father and tell him,” alejandra says jaafar nods with a small smile.

jermaine had never quite figured out facetime, especially when it came to group calls. every time someone tried adding him, there was usually a solid five minutes of confusion before he accidentally turned the camera toward the ceiling or disconnected altogether.

“we will, don’t worry,” jaafar says.

everyone smiles. “congratulations, both of you. we love you both so much,” alejandra says. your heart warms at the sincerity in her voice.

“thanks mom, we love you too,” jaafar says.

“yeah, congratulations, guys… i mean she’s already been like our sister for years, so thanks for finally making it official,” randy jr. says.

you can't help smiling. somewhere over the last decade, the line between jaafar's family and your own life had quietly disappeared. holidays, birthdays, family dinners, vacations, graduations, weddings, you had been there for all of it. there had never been a moment where anyone made you feel like an outsider. long before the wedding bands resting on your finger, they'd already treated you like one of their own.

“gen, i will call you tomorrow and we can plan the party,” you say. she immediately smiles.

“perfect… will any of your original bridesmaids be coming?” she asks. the exhaustion in her voice makes you laugh. of all the people involved in wedding planning over the last three years, genevieve had probably earned this courthouse wedding almost as much as you had.

“it depends, we’ll discuss all that,” you say. genevieve nods, looking visibly relieved that the final decisions could wait until tomorrow.

the conversation slowly winds down after that, everyone offering another round of congratulations, telling you how much they loved you before promising they'd celebrate properly once you were all together. after saying your goodbyes, jaafar ends the facetime call and sets his phone back down on the table.

the second the screen goes dark, the two of you look at one another, then, without either of you saying a word, you both burst into laughter. everything that had felt so impossibly overwhelming only two days ago suddenly seemed so insignificant now that the two of you were finally married.

once you'd both finished eating, jaafar gathered the empty wrappers, cups, and fry containers before tossing everything into the nearby trash can. when he returned, he naturally held his hand out toward you.

you smiled, slipping your hand into his without hesitation. your wedding band lightly bumped against his as your fingers intertwined, and the tiny sensation made both of you smile all over again.

the walk back to the car was unhurried, when you reached the passenger side, jaafar reached for the handle before pausing. instead of opening the door, he turned toward you.

his hand gently found your waist before he guided you back until your shoulders rested lightly against the car door. you looked up at him, already smiling before he'd done anything at all. your arms naturally slid around his neck as he leaned in, his forehead brushing yours for the briefest moment before his lips found yours.

you smiled into the kiss immediately, your fingers slipping into the curls at the nape of his neck as you gently pulled him closer, savoring the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. the kiss was slow and unhurried, neither of you trying to rush through the moment, as though the rest of the world had simply disappeared around you.

what neither of you noticed were the camera flashes going off from across the parking lot. the paparazzi were still there. they'd watched the two of you leave the courthouse, they'd followed you to in-n-out, they'd photographed the wedding bands, the kisses, the laughter, every quiet moment the two of you thought belonged only to yourselves. by tomorrow morning, your elopement would be front-page news.

but right now, none of that mattered. right now, you were simply standing in the parking lot of an in-n-out, kissing your new husband, happier than you'd ever been. when you finally pulled apart, neither of you moved very far away.

“we called your family tonight, but we’ll have to call mine tomorrow,” you say. jaafar lets out a quiet laugh as he nods.

he'd loved your family from the very first time you'd brought him home to meet them. after everyone got over the initial shock that you were dating someone from the jackson family, they'd welcomed him with open arms. your brothers had wasted absolutely no time teasing him, and jaafar had fit right in, happily throwing the jokes back at them as another older brother would. your sisters had adored him from the beginning, and watching the people you loved most love each other had always made your heart feel full.

“i love you, wife,” jaafar says softly once you pull back. your cheeks immediately flush. you still weren't used to hearing it. every time he said it, your heart fluttered all over again. unable to help yourself, you leaned in and stole another quick kiss from his lips.

“i love you too, husband… now take me home so we can get the wedding night celebration started,” you say, a small, suggestive smirk tugging at your lips.

jaafar laughs, the warmth in his eyes giving way to a familiar spark as he looks at you. he gently helps you away from the car door before opening it for you like he always does.