౨ৎ﹕the house is quiet in that late-night way where every sound feels louder than it should. the heater hums softly, fighting the winter cold, but it’s losing.
you curl deeper beneath the blankets, rubbing your hands together, breath puffing out in small clouds as you try to warm them. it’s useless. the cold has settled into your bones, stubborn and unyielding.
you sigh quietly, not wanting to wake anyone.
too late.
౨ৎ﹕jacob stirs beside you, immediately alert. he always is.
“you’re cold,” he murmurs, voice thick with sleep.
it’s not a question.
you hesitate. “just my hands.”
that earns a soft huff of disapproval as jacob shifts closer, the mattress dipping under his weight. he reaches for you without even opening his eyes, fingers brushing yours.
he flinches.
“yeah, no,” he mutters.
౨ৎ﹕before you can protest, jacob gently takes your hands and tucks them under the blankets, pressing them against his bare stomach. the heat radiating from him is immediate, overwhelming in the best way.
“jake—”
“shh,” he whispers. “just let me.”
his arm wraps around you, pulling you flush against his chest, trapping warmth like it’s his personal mission. your hands thaw slowly, fingers curling instinctively against him.
he smiles sleepily when he feels it.
“there you go.”
౨ৎ﹕you relax almost instantly, tension melting away as the cold retreats. jacob’s hand slides up and down your arm in slow, soothing strokes, grounding you.
“you should’ve woken me,” he murmurs.
“you were sleeping.”
he presses his forehead against the back of your head.
“i don’t care.”
and you know he means it.
౨ৎ﹕the blankets shift as he adjusts them, tucking them more securely around you, making sure no cold air sneaks in. he’s half-asleep, movements clumsy but careful, like even in his dreams he knows how to take care of you.
“better?” he asks quietly.
you nod, hands still tucked safely against his warmth.
“much.”
he hums contentedly, a low sound in his chest that vibrates through you.
౨ৎ﹕minutes pass in comfortable silence. maybe longer. time feels softer like this.
your breathing evens out, eyelids growing heavy again. just as sleep starts to pull you under, jacob speaks.
“your hands okay now?”
you smile, eyes closed. “yeah.”
“good.”
his grip tightens just slightly, like he’s sealing you in.
౨ৎ﹕outside, the cold presses against the windows. inside, wrapped in jacob’s arms, it doesn’t stand a chance.
your hands stay warm.
your heart does too.
and jacob black doesn’t let go —
not until morning comes.
thinking of jacob giving u the best hugs after a long week. maybe your social battery has died and people keep asking u to help them so he scares them off (temporarily)
drew my angel thank you for the request!! love u
jacob black x fem!imprint!reader (reader is shorter than jacob)
Jacob Black has a one track mind when it comes to you. You’re all he ever thinks about, all he cares about, the only thing that really matters to him. He worries about you when you’re not together and clings to you when you are together. He’s totally obsessed, and he likes to think that if it weren’t for the whole imprint thing, he’d still be equally obsessed with you. Who wouldn’t? You’re kind, and smart, and beautiful. You don’t care that he’s a monster and you love his pack family even when they’re a pain in the neck.
Like now, when they’ve dragged him out for patrol and left you at Sam’s, when all Jacob wanted to do tonight was take you home and kiss you stupid. You’ve let him go without a complaint, ‘cos you’re perfect.
Jacob, in his wolf form with the rest of the pack spread out within the woods around him, realises too late that he’s been musing over you in his mind. The others are laughing at him.
Really, Jacob? Paul’s voice says in his head. We haven’t been gone ten minutes.
Shut up, Jacob thinks back, but he stops picturing your face in his mind and tries to focus on the task at hand instead.
A few uneventful hours later, the pack finally heads back to Sam’s. Jacob, the fastest not only because he’s naturally quick, but because he’s desperate to see you, gets there first. Back in his human body he feels much more comfortable, and at least now no one can read his thoughts. He can think about you all he likes without getting an earful for it.
He’s unsurprised when he finds you in the kitchen with Emily.
“Hey,” he nods to Emily, who’s getting something out of the oven, and crosses to where you’re standing over the sink, up to your elbows in suds.
“Hi,” he says fondly, moving up behind you. He pushes an arm across your lower back and dips his head to lay a kiss in your hair. “Missed you.”
You turn to look up at him and smile, and you’re so, so pretty, but your smile doesn’t quite reach your eyes.
“Hello,” you say softly. Your voice is heavy and slow, like someone’s poured honey down your throat. “Missed you, too. Where’s the others?”
“I beat ‘em,” Jacob tells you proudly, at the same time as voices and laughter start trailing in from the living room. Jacob winces. “Just.”
You laugh softly. “Will you dry these for me?” You ask, nodding towards the clean dishes on the bench. “Before it gets too rowdy in here?”
Jacob helps you with the dishes. You were right when you guessed it would get rowdy — the pack are starving and eat the meal you and Emily have made like, well, wolves. Paul’s in a mood tonight, a good one but a loud one, and as a result everyone jokes and laughs and talks over one another. You’re decidedly quiet, and when you’re done eating Jacob pulls you into the hallway, out of the way of all the noise.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asks, hands on your upper arms.
You heave a sigh. “I’m really tired,” you admit. You’ve long since given up on trying to hide how you’re feeling from Jacob, because he’s so persistent and stubborn that he always ends up weasling it out of you, anyway. “Not like, sleepy. Just, my battery is really low.“
Jacob frowns and rubs his thumb over the hill of your shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey,” he says. It somehow feels like his fault.
You give him a look like you know what he’s thinking. “S’okay,” you say. “Just had a long week, you know?”
Jacob hums. “Yeah, I know. You want a hug?”
You nod like you were waiting for him to ask, and Jacob makes quick work of wrapping you up in his arms, pulling you into his chest like he’s done a million times before. You push your arms around his waist and cling to him, while he rubs your back with a warm hand. He’s tall enough that he can rest his chin atop your head so he does, and lets you push your face into his neck, your mouth warm where it presses against his skin.
You sigh softly and go almost completely limp in his arms.
“Thanks,” you say, muffled.
Jacob opens his mouth to say let’s go home, but then Embry appears, calling your name in an unnecessarily loud voice.
“Y/N! Can you come help me— oh.”
He stops short at the sight of you limp as a ragdoll in Jacob’s arms. That, plus the look Jacob gives him.
“What, Em?” Jacob says, and it comes out a bit more harsh than he’d intended. He amends, “Sorry, she’s really tired. What do you want?”
Embry has the grace to look a bit sheepish. “Never mind,” he says.
You pull your face from Jacob’s neck, one arm still curved around his waist. “What is it, Embry? I can help, it’s fine—”
“No you can’t, we’re going home now,” Jacob interrupts, throwing you a look, annoyed and endeared by how sweet you are. “Ask someone else,” he tells Embry bluntly.
He’s pretty sure Embry rolls his eyes as he leaves, but he doesn’t care. You turn to look at him once Embry is gone.
“You’re mean,” you say, but you make it sound like I love you, and you wrap your arms around him again.
“And you’re tired,” he says back, ducking his head to press a quick kiss to your forehead. He pulls away but rubs your arm as he goes. “C’mon, I really am gonna take you home now, okay? Dad’ll already be asleep so it’ll just be me and you.”
You raise both eyebrows, pleased. “What’s that supposed to mean?” You ask, feigning intrigue.
Jacob grins. “Whatever you want it to mean, sweetheart,” he says, though he hopes he’ll get to kiss you stupid like he’s been wanting to do all night.
