salty sweet

“I still can’t believe he won either. But it is too late.  A lunatic is the president of the United States.”

Humming, Danielle slid her hands below the hem of Jamie’s shirt, eagerly embracing that soft, warm skin against her rough, calloused hands. “We’ll find it. Don’t worry,” she assured quietly in a sleepy reflection. Even if their first house didn’t have all the components that they both wanted, they still had a lifetime of searching to go. Eventually, they’d get there. A soft chuckle sounded from deep within Dani’s chest when Jamie mentioned revolving their wedding around their house hunt, having never heard of that before. Though Danielle was more of a planner, in general, she had been much more lax on the upcoming life changes, knowing that if she began investing too much in them, it would scare her. It was a process – baby steps. 

“I may be biased,” Danielle teased, sliding her hand up and down the length of Jamie’s spine. “But I definitely think we deserve this.” There had been so many times within the course of their relationship when Danielle could never even fathom getting to this point with Jamie – not only because they lived a world away from one another at many points, or because she had fucked up, or because they had broken up, but also because Danielle had been laying in a field, bleeding out, two times from gunshot wounds that could have very easily taken her life. There was a time when she never imagined she’d make it to this stage in life at all, and her scars reminded her of the fragility of life every time she undressed. “ – Fiancée,” she corrected cheekily though, banishing the dark thoughts from her mind again, as she didn’t want to get stuck on that tonight and end up having a terror. She had been doing pretty good these past couple of months.

“I believe it,” Dani’s tickling fingers settled again, spanning out across Jamie’s lower back. The veteran hadn’t even known Jamie for five of those ten years, but they couldn’t have been much different than the person she knew inside and out now. That was one thing that Dani loved about them – how genuine they were. “Oh, yes!” Letting out a hearty chuckle, Dani recalled a baby Jamie with a bowl on their head and strands of spaghetti hanging off the sides to look like hair. They were adorable. “Red looks good on you,” she winked playfully.

Jamie didn’t doubt that, sooner or later, they would find the perfect home for their little family. But, as with anything they looked forward to, they were impatient to get there. If they could make their wishes come true, they would find the perfect house overnight -- but of course they knew it was unrealistic. Mostly because, despite everything, they were kind of picky when it came to homes; it had taken them forever to decide on an apartment here in Montreal, because knowing that they would live in it and were supposed to feel at home in it, they didn’t want to settle for anything that didn’t please them -- despite the limited resources they had at the time. “I’m sure we will. And it will be perfect.” 

Resting their cheek against Danielle’s chest, they sighed softly at the memories of less fortunate times. How many nights did they spent awake, dreaming of this day to come? Nights when they weren’t even sure if the blonde was still alive, nights when they were yearning for her return, nights when they cried over a broken heart and regretted their decision to break up with her, nights when they worried that she’d leave them for another -- the list was endless. And now? Now they were here, engaged, looking for a home, with a child. A much younger Jamie would have laughed about this, unable to imagine it would actually happen to them. “I’m probably biased too, but we definitely deserve it. All of this.” They whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to her chest. “You know what will be the most fun part? Picking a new bed.” They grinned, lifting their chin slightly to look at her face, seeking for her reaction.

“I think a lot of people are. And so far, Trump has made it a living hell down there.  From what my mom told me though, it’s crazy.“

“Both of my parents did. My enitre family is in politics one way or another.  It’s hell over there right now.”

“Closing can take a week to about a month, depending. And that would be if we were the only ones putting in an offer.” Danielle answered factually. She didn’t have much experience in home owning either, given that she had been living on bases and in foreign countries since she moved out of her dorm at the age of nineteen. But when she had moved to Montreal, she had looked into investing in a house, though ultimately she decided on an apartment due to the lack of commitment. Before meeting Jamie here, Dani had been set on getting back to the United States as soon as possible – and still was, to some degree. But, for now, that could be put off for at least the next four years.

Bending down, Dani kissed the crown of Jamie’s head in reassurance. “Don’t worry about the logistics yet, though. I don’t want you to stress.” Danielle knew that Jamie was prone to worry about the little things like being able to move in before the wedding or financial problems. The blonde was much more laid back, in such regards. 

Hearing that Jamie agreed about what Danielle wanted too, she smiled to herself in the dim lighting. “As long as its big enough for me to make you breakfast in bed – whatever you want,” she mused with a playful tone and a brief tickle to Jamie’s sides. But at their comment that they wanted to learn how to cook from her, Danielle scoffed lightly. “You do realize that I ate out of plastic bags for ten years, right?” It was rhetorical, of course, and Dani was mostly teasing as she referenced her time in the army. “But I can teach you how to make spaghetti,” Dani reflected with a hum. “And macaroni and cheese…. Kids like that stuff, right?” It still felt surreal to discuss the future and children – in the plural tense – but it didn’t bring about as much anxiety as it used to for the blonde.

“Which is unlikely if the house is as perfect as we imagine it to be.” Jamie added, trying their best not to fall into a pout at the idea of it taking forever to move into their potential new house ( and they hadn’t even started looking at any yet ). “Maybe we just have to fit the date of the wedding to when we get our house.” They joked, even if in their mind, they were more or less serious about this. They didn’t want to stress over moving and a wedding at the same time, so maybe it was easier to make sure there was some time between those two events -- especially Luca didn’t need more stress than he could handle, after all. “We can still try. Who knows? Maybe we’re lucky. We deserve for something to go easy for once, right?” They added, a soft smile on their lips.

After all, their relationship had never been easy, not really. Sure, there were times when it got easier, but that was about all they got. From long distance to kissing best friends, Jamie figured it was about time they were rewarded -- for example by easily finding a home, no matter how unrealistic that wish was. “I have a baby, a girlfriend, my mother, a wedding and a house to think about. Oh, and my job. I’ll stress one way or another. But that’s okay, because these are good things to stress about.”

“After a two hour phone call with my mom complaining about what’s going on in Washington DC, I’m just really glad I didn’t go down the whole political route.”

“I figured it would be the next logical step,” Danielle replied as if it were a natural progression or a calculation. “Then your mother wouldn’t have to keep apartment hunting. She could take over your lease.” And then Danielle could buy out of her own contract. With an impending wedding, it would be more stressful to remain in the cramped apartment until after the fact, whereas they could instead ease into their new life in a new house. The first of many new beginnings.

“I’ll see if Layken has any recommendations,” from Simon, most likely, Danielle completed in her mind. Though the man was a hotel owner, she figured he’d know a few property managers who either also dabbled in real estate or could recommend some who did.

Opening her arms as Jamie rolled over to rest atop her form, Danielle let them get into familiar position before she wrapped them up in a snug embrace, like a caterpillar in its cocoon. Though it was a nightly occurrence, Danielle would never grow tired of feeling Jamie so safe and secure in her arms, for they had itched to hold the brunette like this for the years they had been separated. Now, she almost had to; Danielle had seen the darkness of the world and needed to be rest-assured that even in her vulnerable state of sleep, she could still feel them close enough to defend, if need be. “A big backyard,” she supplemented Jamie’s desire for a house with a backyard. Both for Luca and for Patriot – and Danielle, a bit. She loved to be outside, and planned to instill that into her kids. “A clawfoot tub would be nice,” Dani spoke her thoughts aloud – something that she hardly ever did. But it was easy with Jamie. “I was thinking four bedrooms… Master, Luca’s, guest, and… you know… whatever else comes along.” Danielle thought back to Jamie’s desire to be pregnant, eventually, and how much she approved of that idea. And if they were going to end up doing it, they’d need the space.

Jamie had to admit they had no idea what it meant to buy a house. They had only ever lived in apartments -- back when they were young, their mother couldn’t afford an entire house either. There had never been backyards. And they also hadn’t learned whether there was a difference between buying a house and renting an apartment. Sure, there had to be differences -- but was it as easy as Danielle made it sound? They weren’t sure they could handle living under the same roof as their mother much longer, even if her mood was lifting up and she was getting more and more accustomed to the situation of their relationship. If it took forever to buy a house... they still would want their mother to keep apartment hunting. “Well, how quickly do you think we can get one? If we find one we like, I mean. Because I’m honestly very ready to get out of here -- and to live with you, officially.”

Even if it was something that didn’t truly bother them, they also couldn’t deny that it wasn’t weird to be talking about marriage without actually living in the same place. Sure, it often felt as if they lived together, but there was still that other apartment Danielle could flee to. To them, for whatever reason, moving in together usually came before the wedding -- mostly because they had that childish and romantic image of being carried over the threshold. “Oh, yes, that would be wonderful. Maybe she knows a good one.”

“Don’t act so surprised,” Dani called Jamie out teasingly, bumping her nose against the other’s as they moved to the bedroom. “I know you’ve been house-hunting for months now.” Given they had had a conversation about it before, Jamie had already revealed that they had a few book marked. Unfortunately, before they could go to look at any of them, life overcame them and they had to take a step back to focus on other things. Now, however, Danielle was in a better place to go searching

Pinning Jamie down against the mattress, Danielle’s bulging triceps framed their head of dark hair as she looked down at them with a smile. “Have you looked at any realtors?” She asked softly, tracing the contours of their face with her eyes. With how busy they both were, she figured it would be a nice help to have someone work with Jamie to find their picture-perfect home. Danielle wouldn’t settle for anything less.

“I love you too,” Dani whispered right before Jamie captured her lips within their own. She smiled against them, only breaking when the other did, and then carefully rolled over them to the other side of the bed, swooping Jamie up in her arms to carry them with her. Winding up on her back with the other atop her muscular form, the blonde settled against the pillows and loosened her arms around their waist. “What are your must-haves? For the house.”

“Yes, I have been house-hunting. But I’m known to reach for the next step way too early, and that I go at your pace, and you suggesting we move in together is like making it a real thing. So let me be surprised.” Jamie pointed out, laughing softly. They didn’t mean it in a negative way in any sense -- they knew they could be a little forward at times. If things had followed their path, the two of them would have married a year into their relationship, and nowadays they knew it would have been incredibly wrong to do that. Danielle paced them, made sure they were ready for the next step before actually taking them. Their relationship moved at a much healthier pace thanks to her, and they were sure it was part of why they still stuck together like this.

“A few.” They admitted, after all it was no secret that they had been looking into this. Seeing as they didn’t know much about houses, they figured a realtor would be a good choice from the start, but they weren’t sure yet if they found the right one already. It was something they wanted to decide on together with Danielle.

“You’re welcome! Thank you for saving me from my weak sense of self control,” she joked.

As Jamie spoke, Dani agreed wholeheartedly. Neither of the two were flashy people who liked anything over-the-top. When Danielle (recently) envisioned it, she saw something small, outside, and charming. She didn’t want an elaborate wedding party – though she would want her sisters to stand up with her, and involve Luca in some way – and she didn’t want too many guests. After all, with Danielle’s profession(s), she had become incredibly private with her internal affairs, somewhat shielding her family from any potential danger that she may have run into. For a long time, no one even knew that Jamie existed while she was in the military, besides Spencer – not because she was ashamed or because of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but because she was elite and if she were to ever be captured, families were always the first that got roped into extortion. 

“I couldn’t agree more,” Danielle nudged her nose against Jamie’s, indicating that they were on the same page with the size of the wedding. Moving her hands down from the brunette’s hips to under their rear, Danielle scooped them up into her arms and stood from the couch, as easily as if she was carrying Luca. “I want to find a house before the wedding too,” the blonde stated as she let Jamie wrap themselves around her for comfort, and then started moving to the bedroom, stopping to flip the living room light switch along the way. “So that I can carry you across the threshold.” One tradition that she didn’t want to miss out on was carrying Jamie into their new lives together, which would include a new living space – which they had already been considering in the first place.

When they reached the bedroom, Danielle shut the door behind her and carried Jamie to the bed, where she then lowered them softly against the mattress. “At the end of the day,” Dani lingered close, their breaths mingling as she spoke, “ – this is all I really care about.” Dark blue orbs caressed Jamie’s familiar face before meeting their eyes. 

The smile was stretching over Jamie’s lips before they had even fully realized that Danielle was agreeing with them. They hadn’t really expected Danielle to want a huge ass wedding with fireworks, ten thousand guests, and whatever else they could think of that was definitely over the top in their opinion. But it was still nice to hear that they were on the same page about this. That they both envisioned their wedding to have the same size -- it was certainly much easier to plan it like this, as if they totally disagreed on the matter. “That’s perfect.” They whispered happily, pressing a kiss against her lips that lingered and one they only broke because Danielle lifted them up, and they didn’t want the both of them to topple over because they were distracting her.

Feeling safer than anywhere else in the world, they happily wrapped their legs and arms around her, holding on loosely as she carried them into the bedroom, and lowered them onto the mattress. There was a rush of excitement that shot through their body just like a lightning bolt -- a house. It was crazy how within the span of a year, they suddenly got everything they wanted; a baby, a soon-to-be wife, and soon enough also a house. Was there anything better than this? “A house?” They echoed softly, beaming from ear to ear. “Really? Because, you know, I have some free time this weekend to go look at houses.” They said in a joking tone, even if they were absolutely serious. They definitely wouldn’t say no to looking at some houses, especially if one of them turned out to be theirs.

“I have no doubt,” Danielle declared with the softest smile when Jamie stated their hope to look the most beautiful on their wedding day. Dani already thought them to be the most beautiful person she’d ever seen, and that remained true whether Jamie was all dolled up on their most feminine, make-up loving day, or in the early morning when their hair looked like a rat’s nest and they were drooling onto their pillow. 

Reaching up, Dani pressed a kiss to the middle of their forehead in accentuation to her comment and then relaxed back into the couch cushions, knowing that she was getting comfortable here and that she should probably pick them up and move them into the bedroom soon so that they could reach maximum comfort levels. “I suppose so,” Danielle hummed as she thought about it. She, herself, still didn’t know what she was going to wear, so Jamie certainly would not. Perhaps she should consult Layken and her opinions on the matter. Then again, she already knew what her sister would say and that she’d be dragging her to the nearest bridal boutique, and Dani was still deciding if that was what she wanted or not.

Continuing to stroke Jamie’s back as they rested against her shoulder, the blonde’s heart ached in a bittersweet way as she thought about all the times her arms physically ached and craved just to hold them like this when she was world’s away. And now, it was so easy. She’d never take this for granted as long as she lived. Dani supposed that was one of the only good things that came out of their constant and long separations – the ability to know what it was like to be without someone you loved so deeply. Many couples took advantage of that privilege, where Danielle could never.

“I think it’ll depend on what type of wedding we want, you know?” Danielle told them when they lifted their head and asked of her preference. “If it’s going to be a very detailed and larger wedding, we’d need more time to plan. But a smaller, simpler wedding would take shorter.” She shrugged a shoulder and then the corner of her lips turned up in a smile. “I’m still all for eloping with you tomorrow. Is that still out of the question?” She teased them with a graze of the tips of their noses.

A soft laugh escaped Jamie’s lips as Danielle proposed the idea of just eloping the next day -- tempting, very tempting, but at the end of the day not what they wanted. They wanted beautiful photos taken by an amazing photographer, they wanted a dance and vows and a candy bar. Tomorrow wasn’t enough time to plan all that, no matter how much they wanted it to be.

“I don’t think I want a very big wedding. If... if that’s okay with you.” They stated after thinking about it for a few silent moments. That was something they were certain about, and hoped Danielle could get on board with. But at the end of the day neither of them had a whole harem of friends, so they doubted she’d be against it. Jamie themselves wanted it to be intimate, because that’s what a wedding was to them: intimate. They shared their love for each other, the promise that this love would last until the end of their days. They didn’t want strangers there, or people they didn’t care about all that much.

“You’re more than welcome to eat it. I really need to stop indulging.” She smiled. “Besides, sharing is caring, right?”

At Jamie’s words, Danielle was trying so hard not to twist them into something dirty. She knew that they were in the midst of a serious conversation – well, the most serious they’d had thus far – so she didn’t want to ruin it by relaying her intentions of having Jamie being the only thing she ate that day. She was sure that Jamie was probably already aware of that fact, anyway.

Other than the food, Danielle knew that they had much more to do. She couldn’t even fully wrap her head around it, and it wasn’t like she had someone she could ask; neither of her sisters had gotten married and her parents weren’t exactly the example she wanted to set for her own marriage. Speaking of the two eldest Milestones, Danielle knew that they’d have to sit down with them soon and talk about the engagement. They knew about Jamie and Luca, but Danielle refused to have them meet, given how awfully they treated those who weren’t in their social circle. Danielle could still stand to be involved with her parents, and she knew that they’d meet Jamie before the wedding, but the blonde was certainly in no rush for that aspect of it.

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Dani smirked back. Though, truthfully, Danielle was looking forward to all of it. She had never anticipated being anxious for a wedding, in any capacity – given that she hadn’t necessarily wanted one until now. She was no bridezilla, of course, but the thought of a day of pampering Jamie with her love – with nothing to do or celebrate other than that fact – was enticing, she had to admit. Kissing them back when she found their lips upon her own, Danielle had half a mind to pick them up and carry them to bed… but she refrained from the more lust-filled action.

Rolling her eyes with a smile upon her lips, Dani just knew that Jamie was going to torture her. Groaning playfully, she let her head fall back against the back of the couch while Jamie reminded her that they had been good about waiting, once upon a time. In silent reflection on that time period, a soft smile played at Dani’s features. “Seems like forever ago, doesn’t it?” She asked in a gentle, nostalgic voice while her hands stroked against Jamie’s back. There were definitely things about the past that Danielle missed – her career, for one – but she wouldn’t trade having Jamie in her arms every single day and the addition of Luca for anything. They had an amazing backstory – one of love, heartache, and triumph – and for that, Dani would always be grateful. 

Lifting her head back up to look at Jamie again when they told her that they’d have to decide on a date, Danielle paused for a moment. Picking a date would make it so real. The thought was a bit intimidating, but she didn’t display that on her features as she asked, “Were you thinking of a long engagement or a short one?” They both had a lot to deal with outside of the wedding – jobs, Luca, and family matters – so Danielle could understand either extreme, honestly; very short or very long.

It was still insanely weird to talk about their wedding. Jamie still woke up every morning and the first thing they looked at was the ring sitting on their finger, reminding them that this was actually happening -- not just a dream, not just wishful thinking. This was happening, it was in their future, and there was honestly nothing better than it. That Danielle had decided to take this step for them was amazing; when they first met, their dream of a marriage had not been shared by the blonde after all.

“I hope you will. I hope I will look my most beautiful on that day.” There was something so very special about it. They already knew that Danielle thought they were beautiful, whether they wore make up or not, whether they were sick or healthy -- no matter what. So to dress up in the best way they could muster was amazing. It fit the special occasion.

“And I’m also very much looking forward to seeing you. I have to wait just as much, don’t I?” After all they knew that Danielle’s sister worked in the fashion industry, it wouldn’t surprise them if she helped the blonde out with her outfit. Resting their cheek against Danielle’s shoulder as they enjoyed the way she rubbed their back in such a soothing matter they could fall asleep right then and there. “Kind of does, yeah.” They admitted in a whisper. Now that they were so used to being able to touch her every single day, the memory of going months without her was blurry and seemed like nothing but a dream.