Hazel watched Jasmin slam pots and pans while she made them dinner for over an hour, sipping at his beer. When she nicked
her hand using a serrated knife Hazel finally spoke up. "You okay?"

Jasmin sniffed as she wrapped a bandaid around it. "Yeah, barely nicked the skin."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Jazz." He chuckled tenderly. "What's really wrong?"

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "You ever get angry for no reason?"

Hazel laughed. "I'm always angry about something. It's my default."

The clock ticked for a while, building the anticipation for no reason other than to begin to worry him. He stood and abandoned his beer in favor of pulling her into a hug. "What's going on?"

"Sometimes I can't keep my mouth shut. It's still happening sometimes," She confessed. "It's like sometimes, I don't even have any sort of filter. Alex says mean shit but it's easy to translate because he's just a big cat boy." She tore her gaze from his and stared at the pot simmering. "Jacob does the tiniest thing and it sets me off for no reason lately."

Hazel couldn't help but crack a smile. "What  did he do this time?" He'd heard this same story a million times in the past couple months, and it seemed that every time he set her off and she blew up, it wasn't as much of a blow up as it was a thunderstorm. Not great, but manageable.

"He left without saying goodbye this morning, and I gave him a real earful." She looked so humiliated he sat her down in a stool. Immediately she rested her head on the table. "I told him he may as well not even come home if he's not telling me where he's going. I'm pretty sure I made him cry."

"Why?"

"Because he cleared his throat like he does and told me he'd call me back later." Her voice got smaller, shriller suddenly. "He's never going to ask me to marry him."

Steven had paused before he entered the kitchen out of respect but almost had to hold back an epiphany shout. Jasmin was rather crabby lately, and it seemed Hazel was on the same track at the noise of understanding. He did however hit a creaky floorboard that altered them to the third presence. He walked in just as Adam jogged up from the workout room.

"Sorry, I wasn't being nosy," Steven promised.

Adam shrugged as he grabbed a water. "I totally was. Jazz, why don't you just ask him?"

The tomboy groaned and shook her head. "No way, that's not how it works! He has to ask me! If I ask, that's the same as pressuring him!"

Steven tipped his head. "Well, Connie and I ended up proposing one after the other. She asked me if we could get married at 3:30 in the morning, and the next week I asked her to marry me with a ring. I wouldn't say she pressured me as much as she kicked me in the pants about it since I was in my head over asking." He took in her expression before a grin broke through. "As the Romance Expert of the house, I say you woo him."

Jasmin wrinkled her nose. "With flowers? I think I'd die of embarrassment."

"At least an apology and an explanation why," Adam told her seriously.

Jasmin looked at him guiltily. "You got a call?"

Steven winced. "Yeah, something like that." Jasmin started to tear up and he felt so bad he blurted, "It was barely anything, just a sighing emoji."

"Jasmin, if you want that title of fiancé you have to tell him that. He might not even know you wanna get married in general." Hazel glanced at the others for a split second and an understanding was had. "He... does know you want to get married, right?"

Jasmin opened her mouth and then shut it again as a look of horror rose. "No? In fact back at Nova I may have even mentioned finding marriage repulsive?" The men groaned and shook their heads in dismay, furthering her humiliation. "I'm sorry! I didn't know I'd be this in love!" She snapped. "Excuse me for changing."

"You've gotta tell him how you feel." Adam sighed. "I've still got a couple of things of my own to talk about. I get it, it's scary. You're a strong woman, Jasmin."

She smiled at him gratefully, then face planted again on the counter.

"How's Mister Glassman coming along, by the way?" Steven asked Adam with a grin. "I know you've been working hard."

"Hardly," Hazel smirked at him knowingly. "But back to the important part," He said to Jasmin. "Marinating in self pity doesn't work–,"

"Take it from me," The men chorused to a few chuckles.

"It makes you feel like a monster," Steven sighed.

"It makes you angry."

Adam nodded to Hazel. "You're getting way fucking better. Don't discount my boyfriend like that. But it does make you depressed, too, Jazz."

"I wish I could just sing all my problems away," She groaned. "I wish music was the answer to everything."

"It is. Give me... an hour. I might have something for you." Steven went down the stairs so fast he tripped and tumbled, landing bubbled but definitely not 100%.

"Excited, Steven?"

"Shut up."

*

Jacob came home like he always does, but was nearly killed of a heart attack when his girlfriend hug tackled him spilling over with apology. "Whoa, whoa, Jazzy relax. Slow down." She wouldn't stop rambling about how sorry she was, so he grabbed her shoulders. "Hey! Jasmin! Slow. Down."

She pulled away and he dropped everything in his hands to wipe the tears away. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry for l telling you not to come home! I'm just... PMSing and tired and–,"

He decided if she wasn't going to shut up with a prompt, he was going to forcibly do so himself. He gripped her hip with one hand and threaded his fingers into her hair with the other, careful not to mess up the styling. She had no choice but to kiss him back, and he hummed as an interest grew and he backed her into a wall. "It's 'Welcome home, why don't you make yourself some tea?'"

She scoffed past a blush. "You're making light of me being a bitch to you again."

"Jasmin, I think you think you're a lot meaner to me than you actually are. Don't get me wrong though," His hand found a home on her neck. "You did piss me off. What have I told you a million times?"

Every time this happened, the sudden show of authority, Jasmin blamed his friends. Though it was less blaming and more secretly thanking. Jacob hadn't had much confidence when it came to Jasmin at Nova. He was always stunned and careful when it came to her unless they were fighting. Jacob may have been relatively shy toward her, but the anger boiled over often and quickly before their inevitable break up to better themselves. Nowadays that was going much better on both ends, and Steven had majorly affected his self esteem, followed by Adam and Hazel. Their brotherly feelings ran much deeper than its namesake, they were in love too. And with that came a Jacob much more confident when it came to loving his woman.

With the encouragement of them, it was as if someone had flipped a switch. Jacob tweaked his entire personality to be something a bit more authentic than silly.

She had a momentary flashback of their reconciliation:

On a Wednesday she'd pulled into her apartment complex to see Jacob leaning against the door, smoking a vape and looking completely different.

He'd let his hair grow out a bit more, and his outfit was widely and noticeably more adult than his regular cartoon tee and jeans. Now it was a simple white shirt and green button up on top, and skinny jeans. It was fitting with his normally gangly teen appearance, but he was a bit more sturdy looking and his face had aged despite the clean shaven look he was sporting.

She'd gotten out of her car after five minutes of them just staring at each other. He was certain she'd leave, or ask him to. She was certain she was hallucinating.

"Jacob... I..." She wanted to hug him. She wanted to break every finger on his hand and call him an asshole.

She'd wanted him to fight for her, she'd told him that before they'd broken up when he couldn't bear to demand her to stay. Was this it? She couldn't even be bothered to hope.

"I know you don't like flowers, but I got you flowers." He nodded to the dying bouquet next to him and winced. "I didn't think it through."

Jasmin took them in visually, trying not to burst into flames. "Please don't tell me you came here impulsively."

"Then I won't tell you anything at all."

The silence wasn't awkward for some reason, they were just taking each other in. "You look good."

The way he lit up at that made her smile too. "You always did."

She watched him struggle to his feet, abandoning the flowers in favor of making sure his legs didn't give out from sitting for so long. Jasmin wasn't exactly tall, she barely reached 4'10. Jacob seemed to tower above her, but he was (compared to the two giants in the house) not that tall at 6'. Still, it made her breathless when he pulled her into his chest. "Will you come inside?" She hated asking. She wanted him to ask.

"You don't have to invite me inside just because I drove 11 hours. I needed to see you." She could've sworn he kissed the top of her head and realized he was rocking her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. This was new, they never hugged for this long or this... emotionally. Should she have been crying? She couldn't tell.

"Well I'm going inside, and I'm not going to ask you again," She told him, but her arms wouldn't let him go.

"You have to let me go, Jazz," He whispered. She didn't relent even when he tried to pull away. "Jazz, if you want me in you have to let go."

"I don't want to."

If she could have known he was strong enough to do it, she wouldn't have let him literally sweep her off her feet. He picked her up like she was nothing, instantly alighting her worry about being a bit heavier set. "Alright then. You don't have to."

He sat at the edge of her bed and watched as she fiddled with the things that didn't need to be fiddled with. It was a sign of insecurity. When Connie cleaned it was impulsive. When Anna cleaned it was necessary. But when his woman cleaned, it meant she was thinking too much. "Jasmin."

She froze and turned to him slowly. "What?"

"Say, 'Yes, Jacob?'"

She flushed, thinking for a second she was going to call him a cunt. She realized all too late what he was doing giving her a script like that. He was demanding cooperation at the very least, something she never thought he had in him. "Yes, Jacob?"

"I want you to stop avoiding having a conversation with me. I need you to stop overthinking." He motioned for her to come closer, and when she didn't he stood.

She looked terrified suddenly, like she thought he might leave. Instead he picked her back up and sat her on the edge of the bed. "I feel like I didn't tell you how beautiful you are. Not enough." He watched her eyes glaze over and laughed. "Okay, okay. I know you hate compliments but you'll just have to bite the bullet. I let you call me clown names for so long. Let me call you beautiful."

Jasmin could only nod dumbly. "Okay. Do you need anything?"

He sighed and laid his head on her thighs, still on his knees in front of her. It was that moment he knew he was going to have a hard time leaving unless she kicked him out. "I need you, Jasmin."

Something in her soul turned into light and spread throughout her entire body as she tried to think of something to say that wasn't corny or damsel reminiscent. "I..." She watched as his cheeks took on a reddish color, his eyes tightly shut as he found his favorite place in the world to be again. "I need you too."

He forced himself up and pushed her as gently as he could muster back so he could cage her in and hover over her. From this angle, she could see the part of his cheek he had cut from shaving. "Every day since we've been apart, I haven't stopped thinking about you. I can't even make a joke without wondering if you'd laugh or call me stupid. I missed you so much I left my job in the middle of my shift and came here to tell you I love you."

She groaned. "Don't make me say it. You already know I feel the same."

"There's an option to force it out of you?" He gave her a teasing look as she nodded bravely. "That can be arranged."

With that, he had fixed things. Permanently. Of course they fought, what couple didn't? They weren't perfect, but when push came to shove Jacob told her she'd have to hold him at gunpoint to make him leave her.

But now, clinging to him desperately, she allowed herself to say it with meaning. "I love you."

"Are you okay?" He crouched down and held her hips steady. "Are you sick?"

She glared at him. "Are you really not going to say it back?"

"Are you really going to judge me when typically I have to fuck you senseless before your guards down enough to say it?" He arched a brow. "I'm not going to leave you, Jasmin. I told you before and I'll say it again because my god girl, you don't listen to me." He grabbed her hand and kissed it, letting a bit of fierceness come out through his tone. "You will have to shoot me where I stand before I leave you. I am not leaving you. Are you leaving me?"

She sniffled and shook her head. "You'd have to gut me."

"What's going on with you lately?" He asked seriously. "You've been such a good girl. Am I not paying enough attention to you?"

She fought the seven series of embarrassment reactions that wanted to burst out of her. Never in her days of being a troublemaker would she have thought she just needed extra attention that was impossible to ask for. "No."

"Jasmin," Jacob pleaded as he pressed his face against her tummy to hide his grin. "You're driving me nuts. Say what you mean, dammit. I need to know what you want so I can do everything in my power to give it to you."

She tugged on his arm and he followed a bit clumsily behind her as she pulled out her phone and sent the group chat a music emoji.

Jacob tried to check his phone to see if he'd seen it right, but he'd left it behind. "What'd you send to the group chat?"

"Can't you just let me try to be romantic?" She snapped.

The smile that he donned made her want to strangle him. "Yeah. Okay. Woo me, darling."

"I see you two have made up. Cheers all around." Hazel lifted his beer and eyed Jacob being dragged across the room. "I suppose it's about that time then. Come on, Starboy."

Steven groaned as he was awoken. "I'm up. I'm up. Give me 15 minutes, a little bit of Connie and a beer." He watched Jasmin's pleading expression and smirked. "Jazzy will just have to wait for me as looooooong as it takes."

"You guys are all assholes, I oughta beat all of your asses." She let go and crossed her arms as they gave her adoring looks. "Stop that!" She turned to Jacob and he pulled her in to press kisses from her ear down to her shoulders.

"Means we have free time." He mumbled something else she couldn't understand, something extremely British and backed off happily. "It means you have to talk to me about how much you love me and miss me," He crooned.

"Fine. I love and missed you."

The room went completely silent as she tried to maintain her dignity by staring at his left shoe. For fucks sake, was she going to be tying his shoes forever so he wouldn't trip and break his stupid sexy head?

"That's twice in... five minutes." Jacob looked thrilled. "Looks like I've still got it." He sauntered toward the fridge and tossed a beer to Steven before taking one for himself and Jasmin.

She glared at the label. "You guys don't have to be so shocked when I tell you I love you guys. You should just know that. You in particular, should just know that, Jacob."

"Oh, I do," He assured her seriously. "You might think that I don't see through your shit, but I do a good 85% of the time. Every time you call me a loser it's only because I just made you wanna kiss me. Every time you slug me it's only cause you wanna fuck me. It's how we love. Come here." He never left any room for disobedience or pouting anymore. She thanked him for it silently. She thanked the guys for hyping him up and making him more confident in his actions. She thanked them for showing him he wasn't a monster, for giving him a shoulder to lean on.

They snickered as she stomped over to him and he placed a kiss on her forehead. "So. I have a topic for you, Jazz. Care to listen?"

She rolled her eyes. "You say I never do, why would I start?"

"Because I told you to. Now, you wanna tell me why the boys are giving me looks?" He asked so casually as he leaned against the island in front of her, cheerful as all hell as he regarded them proudly. "You guys should've seen her, I've never had her so excited to see me ever. I should make you mad more often so you know how I feel when you leave to so much as mow the lawn on a good day."

She was fully and vastly aware of his terror that she would just up and leave out of nowhere. Sure, he'd have to be threatened within an inch of his life and then further, but he didn't believe when she would say she wouldn't leave him.

"Ugh, Jacob, don't make her mad more often. I tried that with Connie and almost lost the baby factory over it." Steven sat up finally and cracked open his beer. "Apparently the "Super Mad" trick only works if they can find it in their hearts to think it's funny. She uh... she didn't."

"Nope!" His girlfriend poked her head up from the stairs, startling him. "I did not think it was funny. At the time," She added with a giggle. "Now it's hilarious."

"Yeah, my balls were just cracking up when you threatened to tear them off with your bare hands." He caught her as she fell into his embrace. "I missed you."

"You catnapped on the couch for 45 minutes, you clingy baby."

Steven nodded dubiously. "And? I starve for you."

"Is downstairs ready?" Jasmin asked impatiently, trapped in a suddenly very handsy Jacob's embrace. "He's over here trying to fuck me on the counter."

She expected him to deny it but he allowed it with a head nod. "You always act like this in front of the gang, and then you're begging for it." He ignored her glare. "What's downstairs, Jazzy? Is it a romantic picnic for two, complete with candles and chocolate?" He could barely contain his laughter when she gagged.

Just then Adam jogged up. "It's ready. You're welcome, Jacob."

"I better not have busted my ass for no reason," Anna sighed as she joined him. "I'd better get to help plan the–,"

They all started shushing her frantically and Jacob frowned. "Am I in trouble?"

Jasmin looked to Anna and she nodded. "Yep. Big fucking trouble."

It wasn't exactly a picnic for two. The seat of honor made him wary as Steven manhandled him onto it and took the seat next to him.

"Remember, it's okay to cry."

"Wha–," He looked out at Hazel, Anna, Connie and Jasmin. "Is this a sad thing?"

Steven almost facepalmed. His friend couldn't possibly be this oblivious. "Dude, just take it all in."

He hit the button and Jacob leaned forward, wondering what the hell his girlfriend was up to.

She looked actually a bit less discombobulated and anxious than she did earlier as Steven counted her in. In fact, he thought as he took in her posture, she looked rather determined. It was sexy on her, the natural fire she had.

"If you want my love
He gotta do what he does," She gestured to Steven and he gave Jacob a winning smile.

"Romance."

"I'm so romantic," Jacob protested lowly. "What does this woman want from me?!"

"I know you think I'm cool
But I ain't one of the boys," He had to admit she had a point. Of course while he loved to share her just to get her back in line, and then rail her with the might of a wrathful god, he could forget that she... that she was a girl with how much she hated being treated like one. Half the time he confused her for Alex by behavior alone.

"No, don't be scared that I'm gon' tie you down
I need a little more." Done, he'd be more romantic. If she was asking, she would be receiving.

"Baby, don't call me girlfriend
If I hear that word again
You won't get another chance to see me naked in your bed
And I know girls ain't hard to find
But if you think you wanna try
Then consider this an invitation to kiss my ass goodbye," She blew him a kiss as his brain started chewing on the information. Don't call her his girlfri–

"Oh my fucking god." He shot up out of his chair and Steven caught it blindly with one of his hands.

"Give me that title, title
Come on give me that title, title
Better give me that title, title
Come on give me that title, title

If there aint no ring
I won't be hanging around
So don't fuck up my shit at 3 A.M.
Saying "how you love me now?""

Jacob was completely stationary and hanging on every word she said. His entire relationship with her, he had kept it in the back of his mind that even if they were in love they didn't have to get married if she hated it so much, no matter how badly he wanted to. He was quick to anger in arguments (though that hardly caused problems anymore) but he was patient. He never pushed for affection past the occasional need to hear her say she loved him.

But this? This was tearing him apart and putting him back together all over again.

"Ya said I'm a special kind of woman
I'm loving what you got, but I'm hating what you doing
Gotta understand that I'm looking for a man
Who can get up on a bike, look Ma', no hands," He barked out a laugh. There was no way she was telling him to be more assertive when he had to force her to tell him what she wanted.
"You gotta show me off, off
What? You embarrassed?
If that's the case I'm long gone
You gotta treat me like a wifey
Just don't put me on a shelf
Or find you someone else!" She grew visibly frustrated there, he could see it in her face and recognized now that she wasn't angry with him recently. She was pining for him.

He sighed as his eyes watered of their own fruition. Crying was encouraged, but it still made him feel like a kid. Jacob simply couldn't help himself when it came to Jasmin, he would cry for her forever if she just asked him to but that was her problem: she sucked at asking for what she needed. That left him grasping at straws and trying to read her mind, which also happened to be the main reason they argued. He could not read her mind, but she was finally asking for something loud and clear.

She looped back around to the chorus again with more vigor and he laughed quietly to himself. "Say it with your chest, Jazz." He knew she couldn't hear him, but he genuinely didn't care. She was doing it anyways.

It ended and Jasmin all but took extra steps to avoid looking at Jacob in any way as the rest piled out, motioning for Steven to join them. "I love you, Jacob, but you're a total dumbass if you don't lock that girl down," Steven told him.

Jacob found his way into the booth and watched as she haphazardly tried to make the cables nice again. He had to admit, her shyness turned him on like nothing else nowadays, but that wasn't what this was about. She fucked around for five minutes of agonizing silence and would have continued for the rest of her life if he hadn't gotten fed up.

He backed her into a corner and shook his head. "All this time, I could've been planning a marriage proposal if you had just said you wanted to get married, Jasmin."

She miserably shrugged. "I know. I just didn't want to pressure you."

"Pressure me to what? Be with you for the rest of my life?" His disbelief only heightened when she nodded again.

"I wanted you to ask."

"You told me not to."

"I-I didn't say that! I said marriage was bullshit!" Her hands pressed into his chest, but he refused to move. "I never asked you to not try!"

He could admit that was a good point. "Fair. But Jasmin, we would have been married a whole ass year ago. After Steven and Connie's wedding I have been ripping myself apart wanting to ask you so badly. I love you."

"Oh, so now you're saying it back?"

"Jasmin! Stop it! We're going to get married, so quit your bitching and give me a kiss."

"Are you asking me to marry you, Jacob?" She whispered when they broke apart.

"Of course not. It has to be a complete surprise, and as amazing as what you just did for me." He held her cheeks and let out a shaky breath. "You don't know it yet, but I'm going to be such a bitch for you this next 100 years. Anything you want, Jasmin. My love can have anything she asks for. If I ask you to marry me though, you're going to have to quit being a brat."

Jasmin slumped into his touch, an annoyed expression turning into soft and needy. "Why don't you just fuck me stupid when I piss you off?"

Jacob threw his head back and laughed. "So be it. We're going to be in bed all the time."

She giggled too. "You asshole. You're the worst."

"No. Say, 'I love you and I can't wait to get married.'"

"I love you, Jacob. And I can't wait to get married."

"That's my girl."