adore me (a jhea one-shot first kiss)
“it’s not true,” he whispers to her while shaking his head. they were in her locker room after an intense stand off with the judgement day at the beginning of the night where liv and dom didn’t hold back from voicing their hatred and superiority over rhea and here she was fighting back emotions as she dealt with the aftermath. “it’s not true. none of it. damian doesn’t think like that—“
“he’s my brother, jey—“ her voice was low as she wiped her makeup off at the bathroom sink in the room attached, voice full of pain. “he’ll never tell me otherwise and I love him for it but deep down, it has to be true if they all believe it.”
jey stands from the small sofa and suddenly feels an eagerness to get closer to her to prove her otherwise. how can she believe that about herself? when he thinks she’s so strong and beautiful and worth affection and love the way she deserved after carrying so much on her back.
he walks over to the bathroom to watch as she cleans up her space, a slowness to her actions as she feels her emotions. he watches her, bare faced and changed into comfy clothes for this time of night after a long three hour show, and he feels so much.
“believe what?” he asks her, surprising her with his presence. “damian should believe what those idiots are saying? that people shouldn’t get close to you because you bring them down? that you’re actually the weak one holding them back? it’s wrong.” when rhea walks past him with a sniffle to exit the bathroom, he doesn’t hesitate in grabbing her hand. he keeps her close, eyes wide and daring her to disagree or pull away. he does neither and her eyes look up to meet his. “are you telling me I should believe them when they say you’re cold hearted and selfish and arrogant in only thinking about yourself when I know you’re the opposite? I know how big your heart is and how much they hurt you when you try to hide it because you’re trying to hide from me right now. you want to be loved truly and understood and—“
she cuts him off with a shaky, “Jey—“
broken as if she’s willing to fight his word. he shakes his head as she uses her other hand to reach up and rest against his chest. his heart is beating fast and he hopes she feels how she affects him.
“they hurt you for being the strong one. for being the scapegoat. they hurt you because your heart is selfless.” he whispers to her, taking his other hand to reach up and graze her cheek as a tear falls. “I don’t believe them when they said you’re impossible to love or unworthy of it because—“ he pauses to feel her lean into his hold. she steps closer to him, sniffling back her tears. “it’s easy for me to feel that for you.”
her eyes widen at his confession and she lets out a little sigh as he never wavers from admiring her face. she grips his shirt just a little when she watches his eyes flicker to her mouth at the noise and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next but he wants to be with her.
“easy for you to feel what?”
“love, rhea.” he whispers back, slowly letting the grip of her hand go not before squeezing her fingers and moving to hold her waist. “love.”
she takes a deep breath to steady herself as she tries to find the hesitance or lies in his soft gaze but she finds none. he’s holding her so gentle that it makes her smile in a wobbly line as she holds back tears.
“I don’t want us to—“ she tried to begin explaining but trailed off to the feeling of him grazing his thumb across her cheek, “I don’t want you to regret this.”
his heart tears just a little at how afraid she sounded to want him, “I won’t. I’ve been trying to get here for almost two years.” he tells her softly, “I’ve been trying to tell you how much you deserve better than what they gave you.”
somethings still holding her back from him which makes him pull the hand he had on her cheek away. maybe it was the fact he was touching her that was distracting? he retracts his other hand and watches her face twist in misunderstanding. he lets his hands hover at her side and hums at the feeling of her still holding onto him.
“do you want this?” he asks her softly as she avoids his eye, “I won’t ask you what you think you deserve but do you want me to kiss you?”
it’s quiet for a moment as he waits for an answer until everything changes — rhea grips onto his shirt and pulls him to meet her lips. she kisses him once and pulls away just slightly as he doesn’t respond to her — her breath shaky and eyes searching his. he smiles, something small, and reconnects their lips a second later in a gentle but firm kiss. his hand grips onto her waist while the other cups her jaw, deepening the kiss just enough to make her sigh against his mouth. her lips are soft against his and he can’t get enough.
after a few slightly open mouthed kisses that leave her melting in his embrace as he wraps a strong arm around her hips to tug them closer together, jey feels her tug him forward. he goes willingly, reading her mind, and makes sure to hold onto her to steady them as soon as her back hits the wall.
he pulls back from her lips to catch his breath and hum in satisfaction as both of her hands tangle in his curls. both of them can’t stop smiling as they look at each other.
“I take your answer as a yes?” he questioned gently, not wanting to ruin the joyous bubble between them. he stays locked in on the huff of a laugh escaping her red bitten lips, feeling his heart flip in his chest at the smile on her face.
this is how she deserves to feel everyday.
“yes.” she admits with a duck of her head as he watches her cheeks turn pink in a blush. he can’t hold back from reaching up to caress her warm skin, “I’ve wanted to do that for a while too. I haven’t been kissed in a long time.”
might do more of these <3 read my two jhea oneshots on ao3: lostinthesounds if you haven’t! ✨
