Today’s drabble was commissioned by the lovely @whatarubberchicken. Thanks so much, friend! <3
Parts 1, 2, 3, 4:
“What are you doing?”
Jagged pressed his ear up against the door. “Shhh, love, I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
“Nu-uh.” She grabbed his wrist and yanked, pulling him down the hall as he fell into familiar step behind her.
“You spoil all my fun, Penny dear,” he pouted but put up no resistance as she led him to the elevator.
“And I’m sure Luka and Marinette both will thank me for that. What did you have in mind for dinner? The driver is waiting downstairs.”
“Ooo, how about something spicy? I’m in a spicy mood.”
“When are you not in a spicy mood?” she teased.
“Never when I’m with you,” Jagged grinned. He followed her out of the building and into the waiting car, listening while she gave the driver directions. “Do you think they’ll hit it off?”
Penny sat back and buckled her seat belt. “I think there’s a possibility. You never know what the heart is going to want.”
Jagged stretched his legs as much as he could in the backseat. “You know, I’ve never seen you date anyone.”
She blinked in surprise. “I...I date.”
“You do?” He didn’t like the way that knowledge hit him and shifted uneasily. “When?”
Penny flushed and looked down at her phone, scrolling through the to-do list she kept up most of the time. “Here and there, when I have time.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you were seeing anyone.” Jagged spun the metal ring around his thumb anxiously. The backseat suddenly felt too small. He didn’t like it.
“I’m not seeing anyone, not seriously,” she stammered. “Sometimes I get asked out and I go, that’s all.”
Jagged didn’t bother taking the time to analyze the instant relief he felt. “So no one special then, pet?”
“I didn’t say that.”
The small space seemed to close in on him again. “I need out,” Jagged declared as he opened the door of the moving car. Penny yelled for the driver to stop as she linked her arm through the crook of his elbow, getting pulled along with him. Jagged stopped his movements in time not to drag her out of the car with him as the driver pulled the car to the side of the road with a loud curse.
“What the hell, Jagged?!” Penny slammed the backdoor shut and quickly paid the driver before he sped away before he got roped into staying. “You can’t just do that. You could’ve gotten really hurt!”
“I know! I’m sorry.” He paced the length of the sidewalk and ran his hands into his hair.
Penny glanced up and down the street, glad to see there weren’t many people out. If Jagged was going to have a breakdown, the less publicity, the better. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
He spun on his booted heels and looked at her, eyes a little wide. “I think I’m in love with you.” He didn’t wait for a response before he was pacing again and mumbling under his breath.
Frozen in place, Penny tried to process his statement but it wouldn’t come together in her head. “You’re what?”
“It’s bloody obvious, innit?!” He turned to her again. “You know that song ‘Floating with You’? It’s about you. Of course, it’s about you.” He shook his head. “I’m an idiot. I kept telling myself it didn’t mean anything. Oh! The ballad with the words and that poem you like in the middle...uh, what’s the name...I can’t ever remember.”
“Faithfully,” she whispered.
He pointed at her but still didn’t look in her direction. “That one! Yes. I wrote that one for you too.”
“Jagged...”
“I was up there trying to tell Luka how to get the girl when I’ve been too dumb to even...” He trailed off and finally looked at her, seeing the stricken expression on her face. “Oh...I’ve gone and messed everything up now, haven’t I?”
Penny bit her lip. “Maybe we should just walk back and order something in for the kids.” She turned back in the direction of the hotel and Jagged fell into step beside her.
“You can forget everything that just happened, love.” He winced as the familiar pet name fell from his lips. “Consider it a brief bout of insanity if you want. You know I’m prone to those.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything in response.
He wanted to push for some kind of answer but he’d seen this look before. It was never a good idea to push a processing Penny. He’d learned that the hard way over the years.
Years.
He’d really stepped in it now. Penny had been by his side for almost five years. She’d been the first assistant to stick by him for any measurable amount of time. She watched out for him and took care of him and his business. He dared a quick look at her as they journeyed back to their temporary home. She was gorgeous really. He’d always loved her cheeks. Her whole face was perfect but there was something about her cheeks that he found absolutely adorable. She’d made him promise to stop trying to pinch them within a week of her employment. He’d kept his word for the most part but the temptation had never waned.
She was so smart too. He probably would’ve fallen out of the spotlight long before if it hadn’t been for Penny’s business savvy. She took his side against the record label too. And she was kind. She scheduled him for shows at charities and made sure money got sent to the right people who needed it.
He realized with a sick feeling in his gut that everything he saw Penny do was for him. It was no wonder he loved her but how could she ever love him? Had he been holding her back all this time? He’d assumed she didn’t even date because she was always with him. What kind of person thought things like that? Did he really expect her to be at his every beck and call? He was a scoundrel, a rat.
Wait. No. That made it about him again. His brow furrowed and he stuffed his hands in his pockets as they made it into the hotel lobby. Penny calmly pushed the button to call the elevator, keeping her eyes forward.
Jagged decided he would stay quiet until she spoke to him. He would give her all the time she needed to process his ridiculous confession. What an awful way to do it, after jumping from a moving car and then talking nonsense on the sidewalk like a madman. It had just snuck up on him. He’d been in love with her for so long and had been too dimwitted to realize it. She deserved better than that. She deserved flowers and romance and fancy dinners and hot air balloon rides. He didn’t own a hot air balloon but he could as soon as he got his hands on a computer.
They rode the elevator up in charged silence and Jagged followed Penny down the hall. His throat felt too dry. He was going to be sick. He couldn’t lose her. He would do anything not to lose her. He would just tell her that as soon as she was ready to listen.
They reached the door to their suite and Penny finally turned to him. “Did you mean it?”
Jagged wasn’t sure what he’d expected but for some reason, it wasn’t that. “Did I mean it?” he echoed dumbly.
Penny blushed furiously but held his gaze. “Do you...are you really in love with me, Jagged?”
“Oh,” he swallowed hard and nodded. “I am, but like I said, love, you can ignore it or mmph--” Jagged wrapped his arms around her in surprise as Penny kissed his words away. She was warm and smelled as good as she always did and she was kissing him so that had to be a good sign.
After a few moments, she pulled away with a shy smile and Jagged sagged against the door, his body making a thudding sound on contact.
“I love you too,” Penny said softly, her cheeks darkening even more than before even as her smile widened.
Jagged let out a whoop of victory and pulled her into his arms again.
