Pairing: Jermajesty x Fem!Reader
Content/Warnings: emotional vulnerability, flirty!Jermajesty, scheming!Jaafar, est relationship, banter, domestic!chaos, light suspense, fluff, established plot, slow!burn, tension, flirting, heavy plot
Synopsis: It’s a stormy night, and a power outage turns a quiet evening into something unexpectedly tense and intimate. However, you two aren’t alone inside this house..
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦•┈┈•✦ ✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
Old dynamics, hidden timing, and familiar chaos begin to surface, slowly blurring the line between a harmless situation and a threat entirely more unsettling; as time passes, nothing is feeling quite as stable as it did when you first settled down for movie night.
A/N: contemplating if i should make a pt.2 with a little more smut and in the plot. i’m brainstorming hard rnn hope u all enjoy :))
The rain had been coming down for hours.
Not the gentle kind that tapped politely against the windows, either. This storm sounded personal.
Wind whipped through the trees surrounding the Hayvenhurst estate, making old branches scrape across the siding with a noise that was almost human. Every few minutes lightning flashed, washing the living room in brilliant white before plunging it back into the warm glow of lamps and candlelight.
You and Maj had a nice dinner planned at 71Above, one of your favorite go-to dinner spots downtown. However, he’d never been good at event planning, and as you knew it, a storm watch had been sent out, and you both would have to improvise a way to kill all the spare time you'd freed up for this weekend.
About a few hours before the storm heightened, you both came to an agreement to have a classic movie night in, just like how it was when the both of you first got together. Jermajesty insisted on binging horror movies, and as picky as he is about watching not only a good horror film, but also a "Hollywood-grade" film, you reluctantly agreed.
It's not like you cared what movie you both ended up watching; you were just glad that you both finally had made time in your busy schedules to spend time with each other.
You curled further beneath the oversized blanket draped across the couch.
"I don't know why you insisted on ordering takeout instead of cooking."
Across from you, Jermajesty looked deeply offended.
"It would've been gourmet cereal."
"You said you'd cut strawberries into little hearts."
You laughed despite how ridiculous he was.
Jermajesty leaned farther across the coffee table under the guise of reaching for his drink. You recognized the look immediately, that barely-there twitch at the corner of his mouth, the one that always appeared right before he did something deliberately annoying.
Before you could pull your cup closer, two of your fries disappeared between his fingers.
He settled back against the couch with an expression of complete innocence, crunching thoughtfully as though the theft had been a perfectly ordinary part of the evening.
"..Did you just steal my fries and think I wouldn't notice?"
He swallowed, then looked into his own cup as if conducting a serious investigation.
"You weren't eating them."
"I was most definitely eating them."
"I observed a period of inactivity."
"A period of inactivity!?" You let out a slight annoyed chuckle.
"Mhm." He nodded once, entirely too pleased with himself. "After thirty seconds, they're legally abandoned."
A laugh escaped before you could stop it.
"That is NOT how food works."
Rolling your eyes, you reached over and flicked him lightly on the forehead. He recoiled with theatrical offense, rubbing the spot as though you'd actually injured him.
Jermajesty playfully side-eyed you.
"They wanted a better home."
"They were already home."
"They're my soggy fries."
He shrugged, already chewing.
You crumpled up a napkin and tossed it at him.
It bounced harmlessly off his forehead.
"I was aiming for your ego."
"My ego can't be harmed."
Thunder cracked overhead with enough force to rattle the windows.
Both of you instinctively glanced toward them.
"...That one was loud," you admitted.
Another gust of wind bent the trees nearly sideways.
"...Don't," Jermajesty slowly looked up, as if he was warning the ceiling.
For exactly three more seconds.
Complete and immediate darkness.
"...You jinxed it," you said flatly.
For a moment neither of you moved.
Then you both started laughing.
"Great," he sighed dramatically. "Our romantic date night has evolved into cave simulator."
Your phone flashlight clicked on.
"You invited me over to watch bad horror movies."
"The monster was literally a guy in a carpet."
"He had emotional depth."
Lightning flashed again outside.
Without power, the house suddenly felt...
The silence between thunder seemed almost too still.
Jermajesty stood first, pressing his palms against the couch as he pushed himself up. The room felt noticeably colder without the lamps, shadows collecting in the corners where warm light had been only moments ago. He glanced toward the hallway, squinting as though mentally searching every cabinet in the house.
"I've got candles somewhere." He said.
"I also prepare for disasters."
You responded to him, having zero faith in the fact that he prepares for weather disasters.
He disappeared toward the kitchen, his footsteps fading into the darkness.
For a moment, you stayed curled beneath the blanket, listening.
Something clattered onto the counter.
"I'm being attacked by my own kitchen."
You kneeled on the edge of the couch, now turned in the direction of the kitchen.
"I found birthday candles."
"...That's somehow exactly what I expected." You chucked.
"They're striped and festive, and smell like vanilla too. So I hope you don't mind the house smelling like birthday cakes for a minute."
A minute later he reappeared, carefully cupping one hand around a cluster of tiny flames to shield them from the draft. Five birthday candles stood proudly in an upside-down mug, each one burning with stubborn determination despite their size.
You playfully rolled your eyes at his attempt to regain control over this undetermined weather dynamic.
"They're doing their best."
He laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
"you keep looking at me.."
His smile faltered, just enough for you to notice.
You took a small step closer, drawn in more by curiosity than intention. The tiny birthday candles flickered between you, their warm glow catching in his eyes every time the flames danced.
"The candlelight's making you look..."
Your gaze wandered over his face for a second longer than necessary.
"Well, I was aiming for a nonchalant and mysterious look."
"You landed somewhere between pretty and unfair."
A quiet laugh escaped him, the sound softer than it had been all evening. He ducked his head for a moment before looking back at you, almost like he didn't know what to do with the compliment.
"Matter of fact, it's actually kind of annoying."
"'Cause now I can't stop looking at you."
For a second, neither of you spoke.
The storm carried on outside, rain pattering steadily against the windows, but it felt strangely far away. All that seemed to exist was the tiny circle of candlelight separating you by only a few inches.
"I don't think you've ever flirted with me this aggressively."
Heat crept into your cheeks despite yourself.
His grin softened into something quieter.
"I like this version of you."
"The one that forgets she's staring."
You huffed out a laugh, reaching up to smooth an imaginary wrinkle from the front of his hoodie. Your fingers lingered for only a second before falling away.
"...Maybe I'm staring for a reason."
His eyes followed your hand before finding yours again.
The teasing smile he'd been wearing all night disappeared, replaced by something infinitely more dangerous.
"...You're making it really hard to remember why I got up."
A tiny flame crackled between you, bending sideways as another gust of wind rattled the windows.
"...We should probably go."
You couldn't help smiling. The little flames painted soft gold across his face, making the room feel unexpectedly cozy despite the storm still raging outside. Every flicker sent shadows dancing lazily across the walls, replacing the harsh flashes of lightning with something gentler.
Outside, another crack of thunder rolled over the house, rattling the windows just enough to remind you it hadn't let up.
He glanced toward the hallway.
"If the whole neighborhood lost power, it'll probably come back."
"Then the breaker probably tripped."
"...In the middle of a thunderstorm."
He sighed, already knowing he'd lost the argument.
His smile softened, somewhere between amused and grateful.
The breaker box sat inside the garage, tucked behind a storage shelf.
The farther you walked from the living room, the more the warmth of the house seemed to fade. The scent of takeout and vanilla candles gave way to cool concrete and damp air creeping beneath the garage door.
The five candles barely pushed back the darkness. Their beams skimmed over stacked storage bins, forgotten holiday decorations, and the outlines of old bicycles before disappearing into black again.
Rain hammered relentlessly against the garage door, each heavy burst echoing through the cavernous space.
"Remind me," you muttered, drawing your sweatshirt a little tighter around yourself, "why giant houses always put the breaker in horror movie locations."
"I don't think that's true."
He slid the storage shelf aside with a grunt, the rubber feet scraping across the concrete.
The metal breaker panel reflected both flashlight beams, throwing pale streaks of light across the garage walls.
Jermajesty crouched in front of it, leaning in to inspect the switches.
He handed you the mug with the candles, guiding you to hold it close to the beaker to that he has a area visible enough to see what he's doing.
He reached towards a row of switches-
But before his fingers could touch the switch, something exploded out of the darkness.
A body slammed into him hard enough to send both of them stumbling sideways across the cold, hard concrete.
You shrieked, the candles' beams whipping wildly (nearly going out) around the garage before finally landing on two figures wrestling on the floor.
The stranger locked an arm around Jermajesty's shoulders.
"WAIT A MINUTE!! ...gahhh I should've known."
Jermajesty groaned, already recognizing the voice.
A grin stretched across the man's face.
The brothers froze for exactly one second before both doubled over laughing.
Your heartbeat hadn't quite gotten the memo that everything was fine.
Jermajesty pointed accusingly, still trying to catch his breath.
Jaafar spread his arms proudly.
"Actually...I disconnected one wire."
"You nearly gave us heart attacks!"
"You absolutely screamed."
"I made a tactical noise."
Jaafar turned toward you, wearing the expression of someone seeking a witness in court.
You looked at Jermajesty, who was still rubbing the back of his own neck, then back at Jaafar.
Jermajesty gasped dramatically.
"I thought someone was murdering you!"
"You weren't entirely wrong."
Jaafar laughed so hard he had to brace himself against the wall.
"You should've seen your face."
Watching them was almost surreal.
The mock outrage, the perfectly timed interruptions, the way neither of them ever seemed genuinely offended. It had the rhythm of an argument they'd been rehearsing for years.
"...You mean to tell me this was planned?"
"In fairness," Jaafar said, "I've been planning it for like...three weeks."
"I changed the garage camera angle specifically so you wouldn't notice."
Jermajesty rubbed his forehead.
"You left your spare key under the fake rock."
"You've gotten predictable."
"You once filled my car with inflatable flamingos."
"You replaced my ringtone with goat noises."
"You started it back in '06."
"You glued every spoon in my apartment together!"
"You froze my toothbrush."
"You replaced my shampoo with green food coloring."
You laughed, shaking your head.
"Lifelong psychological warfare," Jaafar supplied.
"With occasional ceasefires," Jermajesty added.
"They usually last about twenty-four hours."
"Then he remembers something I did when we were kids."
Despite the complaints, they were both smiling.
It suddenly made perfect sense. This wasn't one prank.
It was decades of scorekeeping.
"I'm sorry, but when did you have this bright idea to weaponize the time of your exceedingly late arrival?"
"I mean..." He scratched the back of his neck. "Maj invited me over tonight a few days ago."
"Uh yeah, but strictly for dinner."
"I was coming for dinner."
"You were supposed to be here an hour ago."
Jermajesty folded his arms.
Jaafar shrugged, completely unbothered.
"I saw the storm rolling in and thought..." A grin spread across his face. "...this is exactly the kind of thing we would've done when we were kids."
"So you intentionally waited."
"I figured if I came before it got dark, you'd just open the front door."
"I got to sneak in, kill the power, hide in the garage, and scare the life out of you."
"You remember how we'd wait for the perfect moment?"
Jermajesty's expression shifted despite his previously panicked state.
"If we were gonna scare each other, we committed."
Jermajesty huffed out a reluctant laugh.
"...Mom hated those summers."
"Mom hated us those summers."
Jaafar smiled, softer now.
He glanced around the garage for a second.
"The rain, the power going out... it just reminded me of being kids again."
"You couldn't have just texted me that?"
Jermajesty shook his head.
"I swear you've been mentally twelve years old for the last thirteen years."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"...Yeah, whatever, just wait 'til I catch you off guard."
Jermajesty grunted childishly.
You looked between the two of them, one arm tucked tightly against the cold, the other holding the mug.
"This has been fun 'nd all but are you two done reminiscing?.."
Neither brother answered.
"...Hello!!? It's cold out here!!"
You responded, relieved, but irritated.
Jaafar looked over first.
"You've somehow managed to turn a near heart attack into a nostalgia trip."
Jermajesty glanced around the garage as if he'd only just remembered where the three of you were.
You gestured toward the still-open breaker panel.
"We're standing in a freezing garage."
Neither had yet to respond.
"In the middle of a thunderstorm."
"...Can we continue unpacking memory lane somewhere with central heating?"
"You make a compelling argument."
Jaafar nudged his brother with an elbow. Bending down to fix the power switch.
--And just like that, the power was fully back on. Thank goodness.--
"You can tell her about the inflatable flamingos inside."
Jermajesty shot him a look.
"Oh best believeeee I'm telling her all of it."
"You say that like I won't defend every single prank."
"I'd expect nothing less."
The brothers exchanged one last grin before following you back inside the house.
The warm air wrapped around you the moment the garage door shut behind the three of you.
Almost immediately, the house felt inviting again. The birthday candles still flickered in the living room, their tiny flames somehow holding their own against the storm outside. Wet shoes squeaked faintly across the hardwood as laughter echoed down the hallway.
All three of you stopped.
For the first time all evening, the storm didn't seem quite so intimidating.
The house felt warm again.
Conversation settled into an easy rhythm as you reached the foot of the stairs, the kind that comes after a good scare and an even better laugh.
The sharp electronic chirp sliced cleanly through the conversation.
The house suddenly felt much larger than it had a second ago.
A second beep followed, it was even louder.
Then a calm electronic voice drifted from the security panel in the foyer.
"Alert. First-floor motion detected."
Your eyes moved between the brothers.
"So...which one of you set that up?"
Jermajesty's grin disappeared so quickly it was almost unsettling.
Across from him, the expression slowly drained from Jaafar's face.
The silence stretched, broken only by rain striking the windows somewhere deeper in the house.
Jaafar slowly shook his head in a worry.
Another chime echoed through the house.
The brothers locked eyes.
Then, in the exact same instant
Both whispered the same two words.
