Scott is kind of silent the whole time, listening to the man ramble and show him where things are, taking in the cozy, homey feeling of Jimmy’s home. He’s never seen, or been anywhere like it, and the feeling of needing to see it more is heady. The arm Jimmy puts around her waist is warm and strong, the thought makes Scott’s face flush a soft pink colour. There’s something… new, bubbling in his chest, an emotion? A feeling? Something Scott’s never experienced before dances around his chest, casting rays like the desert sun in his heart. This new thing is… maybe the best thing she’s ever felt in her life. Like being cared for perhaps, or loved, or maybe even wanted, it’s a mix of all of those things and more she decides. Mulling it over as Jimmy talks. Scott doesn’t know what this is, but it’s something she’d like to experience everyday. He can just picture it:
(Scott sighs as she lands on the doorstep of their home. It had been a long day out in the fields and he was ready to relax with his boyfriend, fiancée, husband. They had lived together for a couple of years now and both of their empires were doing better than ever.
Scott smiles as he enters their home, the heavy scent of spice in the air from whatever Jimmy had decided he wanted to make for dinner. It had come as a wonderful surprise that Jimmy was an incredible cook, he’d made her her first ever home cooked meal right here after they’d first gotten together.
“Sweetheart? I’m home,” he calls a little wearily as he hangs his coat and hat next to Jimmy’s own, as well as taking off his boots and setting those next to his husband’s as well.
Scott immediately brightens at the sight of his sheriff coming to greet him from the kitchen. Jimmy’s blonde curls were messy with the days work and his sheriff’s hat, and there’s a little bit of flour on his cheekbone from whatever he had been cooking, all matched with a loving smile and adoring eyes.
“Hey darlin’, welcome home,” he greets, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a quick kiss, “How was everythin’ out in Chromia?”
The half-elf hums with the affection, “It’s alright handsome, happy to be home with you though. How was work here? Get that new home built? I swear you’re gonna need to stop building this stuff yourself soon, Tumble Town’s just getting too big,” he laughs.
“It was what it was, n’ you can keep sayin’ it but I ain’t gon’ stop. I like the work too much, beats out paperwork any day,” he makes a face at the end.
“You’re such a drama king,” Scott giggles.
Jimmy’s arms tighten around his waist and Scott melts into it with a pleased sound. She lays her head on his chest as her eyes flutter closed, soaking in the steady descent to relaxation. That is until Jimmy pulls away, “Ji-”
“Mm nm, no protests sugar, I gotta make sure our dinner don’t burn. I’ll hold you all you want after we eat, promise.”
Scott whines but lets him lead her by the waist into the kitchen anyways. There’s new photos alongside the originals, from their wedding mainly, but also some other special occasions.
She flops into a dining chair and pouts as Jimmy pulls away completely to continue cooking. “So unfair,” he says playfully, laying his head on his arms as he watches his husband in one of his many elements.
“N’ I’m the dramatic one,” Jimmy shakes his head at his husband’s antics. Years ago he would’ve never thought this possible, that Scott would settle down and give in to her wildest dreams of staying. Jimmy is so glad he did though.
As he stirs the pot of chili, his wedding band catches the light, Jimmy always gets so soft whenever he looks at it. It’s a simple thing, neither of them had wanted something flashy, but it was more than perfect.
“We both are, it’s part of the reason you love me so much?”
He turns to make eye contact with Scott, adoring cyan meeting exasperatedly fond brown, “It is darlin’, I love you very much.”
“I know you do, I love you too Jimmy.”
Whatever his husband was cooking smelled wonderful and familiar. He’d eat whatever it was as usual, even if it were poisone, (No matter how much her saying that messed with her partner) she knows he’d never do that, she still means it all the same.
Time passes with a syrupy-goldenness as Scott lays at the table, his eyelids droopy with a sudden over-tiredness. He gives a small yawn and lets the feeling take over, there isn’t really another option when he’s as relaxed as he is. So with the noise of her partner’s movements in the background, Scott drifts into a wonderful, dreamless, sleep.
When Scott wakes up, it’s to a hand in her hair and Jimmy crouched in front of her, “Hey doll, tired?” Jimmy asks softly once he notices Scott is awake.
“Mhm, sorry, I didn’t mean-” he’s cut off by a yawn, “I didn’t mean to.” She blinks slowly, steadily coming back to the waking world.
“No apologies Scottie, we’ll go have a lie down after dinner and a shower, m’kay?”
“Good. You go wash up now darlin’, dinner’ll be done in ten minutes,” he presses a kiss to Scott’s head and goes back to the kitchen.
Scott groans and stretches as he sits up, sometimes he wishes Jimmy was slightly less caring of a husband and would just carry her upstairs to sleep for the night. Alas, he wasn’t, and it was one of the many things he loved about the man.
Scott gets up and walks drowsily into the bathroom, taking in his appearance in the mirror once he’s at the sink.
He’s much chubbier than when they first got together. She used to be a stick, bones peaking through skin if it weren’t for the muscle he’d garnered as adventurer and builder, but now he has a small muffin top and love handles, and Jimmy loves it, so he couldn’t even really be upset with the change. Not that she was, he still thinks he looks damn good.
There had been other changes too, cosmetic ones. Under his clothes lie a couple of newer tattoos drawn by Jimmy, mostly flowers and stars that meant something of their relationship, like the additions to his back piece of the Altair and Vega constellations: the story of a star goddess who fell in love with a mortal. It had ended in tragedy but on one of their first dates Jimmy had told Scott they were like that, just without the tragedy. He’d gotten the tattoo after their engagement.
The other big change to Scott was her full chest, a development that had occurred with the years of being on HRT.
He remembers so fondly the day she’d been gifted her first bra by Shelby and Katherine, and then subsequently cried over it.
Scott shakes his head of memory lane and starts running the sink, splashing his face with water in a bid to wake herself up more. It works thankfully and he begins to wash his hands, she’d never ‘washed up’ for dinner before Jimmy, it was nice.
Scott re-enters the kitchen to set the table, giving Jimmy a quick, passing kiss to the cheek. Whatever he was making looked good, “Hey pretty boy. What’cha cooking?” She asks as she grabs bowls and spoons.
“Chili con carne n’ cornbread, that sound good?”
“Sounds great, but you know I’ll eat anything you make Jim.” After setting the placemats and dining ware, he fills two glasses with ice water and grabs small plates for the bread.
Finishing with the table, Scott rejoins his partner in the kitchen and wraps her arms around him; plastering herself to his back.
“Hey gorgeous,” he greets her. “You sure you’re doin’ okay pretty thing? You ain’t usually so clingy or tired, not that that’s a problem or nothin’, I’m just worried,” Jimmy rambles a little as he grabs one of her hands in his and squeezes.
“Mmm, I promise I’m fine dearest, just a long day; and you always make me feel so comfortable,” he mumbles against his back.
“Well as long you’re promisin’, then I guess it’s fine,” he placates fondly.
“I do promise. You always take such good care of me love.”
A couple more minutes pass in silence and syrupy slowness before Jimmy speaks again, “M’kay, you go’ta let go now sweet pea. Dinners done and I wanna get you to bed soon.”
Scott nods and does as told, not usually his style but dinner smelled great and the promise of bed was divine.
As he waits for his partner to serve dinner like he always does, she contemplates just how was nice this little routine of theirs is. It’s something Scott can look forward to everyday without fail, and that was another concept he had had to learn, steady expectation.
With chili now in their bowls, the two of them dig in. Dinner was usually passed in quiet aside from the clinking of silverware and glasses on wood and tonight was no different. The chili was as delicious as it always was, the perfect blend of spice and general warmth. It only served to make the both of them more tired, finally winding down for the day in the company of their person.
Once they’ve finished, Scott quickly takes their plates to the sink to wash, it was always a race to see who could get to it first; and usually, it was Jimmy, who always finishes eating before she does. He guesses her husband hadn’t been expecting it from him today. His mistake.
Scott turns on the tap and rolls up his sleeves, quickly and thoroughly washing their dishes; that is until he’s distracted by arms around her waist and a head burying in her hair.
“Could’a let me do that, you’re tired darlin’,” Jimmy murmurs.
“So are you sweetheart, you can’t hide that kinda thing from me. Besides, you always wash the dishes after dinner, let me do it today,” he says like he isn’t almost done already.
Jimmy’s arms tighten around Scott in appreciation, and they stay like that while he finishes up, much like they’d done with dinner earlier, just the other way around now.
Scott turns in Jimmy’s arms and looks up at him with an adoring smile. “Shower time?” He asks sweetly, now done with his task.
Instead of a response Jimmy pulls back and scoops Scott into his arms with a cheeky grin. “Your wish is my command little lady!” He adds, unable to help himself from more dramatics.
Scott giggles at his husband’s antics and lays her head on his chest. “You dramatic dork,” he continues to giggle.
Jimmy presses a kiss to her hair and walks in the direction of the bathroom, “You love it, don’ lie,” he laughs along with her, entering the space and placing Scott on the counter while he busies himself with grabbing towels and briefly leaving to get clothes for them both.
Scott hums the tune of Boreas, swinging his legs back and forth, once again reminiscing. This time, it’s of late mornings spent dancing in the kitchen to vinyl records. That is until he’s pulled back into the moment by Jimmy tripping and giving him a sheepish smile as he starts the shower.
Scott levees his husband with another achingly fond look as he rejoins her at the counter, taking and squeezing at her hips for a moment before pressing a short and sweet kiss to her lips.
It goes unspoken as Jimmy pulls away, but after he pulls Scott off the counter they begin to help each other undress. It’s a simple comfort the two of them can enjoy, the feeling of their partner’s caring hands on their bodies as they shuck their clothes and admire the view.
The room quickly fills with steam from the hot shower, beckoning tired bodies into its warm embrace. Scott and Jimmy join hands and step into the small shower.
Upon entering the stream of water Jimmy and Scott simultaneously give a relaxed sigh, giving each other a loving look of familiarity that can only come from years of being together, before they share another kiss.
It lasts for longer than it probably should when they’re both bone tired and ready for sleep. But as the lovers embrace they find they can’t care less about hurrying their shower along. Losing themselves in each other like they always do.
When Jimmy and Scott separate from the kiss, they take a moment to cling to each other. All of the tension bleeding from their bodies as they soak in the hot shower. It is honey-golden just as it always is but eventually they do separate at wash their bodies.
About five minutes later and Scott reached out for the shampoo to wash her hair before Jimmy bats his hands away, “I’m gonna do that sugar, you just relax m’kay?”
Scott doesn’t protest, doesn’t want to really. He always loves the way it feels when Jimmy washes her long curls which reach all the way to the tippy top of her thighs. Only being cut every few months of dead ends. It was a pain most days but he loved is long hair more than anything and, well, her husband was always more than happy to help her take care of it. Whether that was brushing it during a slow morning, or braiding it for him, or like right now, washing it. He was more grateful than any words could ever describe for this man. How he had gotten so very lucky he would never know, Jimmy was a blessing. Plucked right from a fairytale and sent to make him feel so many emotions he’d never gotten the chance to experience before.
Their shower finishes soon after with Scott returning the favour of washing Jimmy’s hair for him. They step out feeling refreshed and more than ready for bed.
After they put on their pyjamas, one of Jimmy’s oversized shirts for Scott and lounge pants for him, Jimmy pulls Scott back into a bridal carry. Taking her to their bedroom and laying him on their bed.
“I’ll be right back darlin’,” he kisses Scott’s forehead and leaves the room.
A confused, but tender and sleepy expression takes over Scott’s face as he waits for his husband to return. Trying not to fall asleep with the cushy pillows under him and the soft blanket over his legs.
When Jimmy does return a handful of minutes later, it’s with two mugs in hand. He places them on the closest nightstand and goes back to shut the door and turn the lights off.
When he comes back for the final time he’s lit only by the soft yellow light of the lamp on the aforementioned nightstand. He climbs in bed and pulls Scott into his arms, handing her a mug and taking one of his own with another kiss to her head.
Scott smells the warm drink and with soft eyes and parted lips he speaks a soft, “Oh, sweetheart, you didn’t have to do that. Thank you, you truly are the perfect husband.” He takes a sip and lays his head on Jimmy’s chest. Happily curling against the blonde with nothing but pure and utter love swirling in his chest. Jimmy had made chamomile tea for them. Scott’s favourite.
“You’re very welcome my love, you’re more perfect though,” he says as he takes a swig of his own tea, smiling at the subtle sweetness.
“Not possible.” Scott quips back; letting out a fluttery little sigh as one of Jimmy’s large, rough, hands finds its way into her still wet curls.
Neither say anything else as they lay together and finish their tea. Finally, after a long day, Jimmy plucks the mug from her weakening hands, turns out the lamp, and lays them both down.
“Goodnight darlin’,” Jimmy whispers in the dark of their bedroom.
“Goodnight dearest,” she whispers back.
They both fallen asleep soon after, hearts beating in time.)
Scott flushes brightly and covers his the lower part of his face with a hand. He’d never considered being married before in his life! What was wrong with her?
She snaps back to herself as Jimmy shuts the door and says he’s going to cook dinner.
Scott rolls his eyes and opens the door again. “You can’t get away from me that easily,” he says as he throws his arms around Jimmy’s neck. “I think that extra tooth brush might need to stay here on your counter in case I need it again, that okay?” she giggles softly, wanting to make her incredible daydream a reality. His voice as he continues speaking is softer than Jimmy’s ever heard her sound; though there’s a nervous lilt to the line of questioning, “Come back to help with my hair please? Unless you don’t want to of course. It’s up to you, in the end. I won’t push if you’re uncomfortable with it.”
Jimmy has him wrapped around his fingers and she doesn’t even think he knows that. What Scott would do or say for him if he so much as asked.
Staying was still terrifying to think about, but she’d always loved diving head first into the unknown. Forever an adventurer at heart.
