Work Text:
“Tell me something you haven’t told anybody else.” April says quietly, her head resting on her husband’s chest. Her husband. Jackson was her husband. April was his wife.
A simple sentiment to some, but after the tumultuous relationship the pair had shared, the fact that everything came full circle made both Jackson and April feel happy and deservedly triumphant. They were married; a simple ceremony surrounded by nature at an oddly smelling chapel had been the backdrop for the beginning of their lives together. Now, they were lying in bed, in a hotel room they’d gotten for a few days after traveling from Lake Tahoe to Sacramento for a mini honeymoon.
Jackson’s eyebrows furrow in thought, trying to come up with something to tell his bride. His arm tightens around her waist, his fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on her soft, pale skin. “I haven’t really told anyone my middle name. People don’t think I have one, but I do.”
April giggles softly, as she can relate. Middle names weren’t a very common topic in conversation, so her own had also gone undiscovered by many people. “What is it?”
“William. As if I needed to sound like I was even more loaded than I am.”
“William does not make you sound like you’re richer than you are, Jackson.” The redhead replies, chuckling a little at how dramatic he sounded. “I think it suits you.”
“Do you have one?” He inquires curiously.
“Eleanor,” She begins, “is my middle name. My parents said they were in-between that and Elise, but my mom ended up getting her way and Eleanor stuck.”
“April Eleanor Kepner.” Jackson hums, enjoying the way her name rolled off of his tongue. “Do people know that’s your middle name?”
“No– at least, not many people do. Friends back home, all of my family. No one in Seattle knows, no one in college or med school knew about it either.”
“College was fun.” Jackson reminisces. “I smoked weed sometimes.”
“Who did you smoke weed with? Weren’t you on the football team? How did you get away with that?”
“Yeah, I smoked with the rest of my team. We’d get together after games and pass around a joint.”
“You sound like a proper jock.” April snorts, “I don’t think you would’ve given me a second glance in college.”
Jackson immediately shakes his head in denial of his wife’s statement, “I would have looked at you.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. I had braces until my sophomore year of college. I wore glasses and always had my nose in a book. I was not noticeable.”
“April,” He speaks softly, shifting to look at the woman in his arms, “that’s why I would have looked at you. Loud, wild girls have never been my type, you know that.”
“You’re definitely lying right now, but you’re also being romantic… so, I’ll let it slide.” April teases him, leaning up to slot her lips against his. Their lips meet gently, their kiss full of love and soft bliss. Jackson’s free hand slides upward, cupping her cheek to deepen the kiss. It lasts for a few more seconds, then April breaks the kiss to speak, “Tell me more.”
He chuckles, “I don’t know what to say or what you want to know.”
“Um..” She mumbles, trying to figure out something to ask him. “Did you have any pets growing up?”
“No. No pets. I was busy with baseball in high school, and my mom worked weird hours when I was growing up, so having a pet wasn’t ideal.”
“That sucks.” April sighs, “I had the advantage of growing up on a farm, so animals were everywhere. I had a pet pony growing up.”
“A pet pony?”
“Mhm!” She nods cheerfully, “Sparkle was a very good pony. I fed her carrots all the time after I’d gotten home from school.”
“That’s cute.” Jackson grins.
“I was also in charge of naming all of the piglets after they’d been born. Looking back, I can’t believe I gave some of them the names I decided on.”
“What did you name them?”
“I named some of them after the *NSYNC members.” April confesses, “Timberlake, JC, Lance, Joey and Kirkpatrick.”
“That, uh– yeah, that tracks. You prayed to Justin Timberlake once.”
The redhead gives her husband a look, before lightly smacking his chest. “If Jesus was Justin Timberlake, I think he’d have a lot more followers.”
Jackson chuckles a little, “Yeah, he probably would.”
April yawns quietly, burying her head in her husband’s chest. Her eyes flutter shut.
“Are you tired?” Jackson asks softly, his lips brushing the crown of her head.
“A little,” She replies, “we’ve had a long day.”
“Didn’t know marriage was so tiring?” He questions her teasingly, grinning softly.
“Jackson,” April scolds him, “don’t be an ass.”
“I was kidding!” He exclaims softly, pressing a kiss to his wife’s head. “We’ve only been married for seven hours. I’m not tired at all.”
“Is that so?” She hums, shifting in Jackson’s hold. “Not tired at all?”
Their eyes meet, gazes affectionate and flirtatious. April’s quick to claim Jackson’s lips as his hands guide her into his lap, the kiss never faltering. She giggles into his mouth and his lips form a giddy grin. The air between them is charged, full of desire, love and honeymoon bliss.
“I love you.” The redhead whispers against her husband’s lips, fingers brushing over his cheeks.
“I love you, too.” He mumbles, before reconnecting his lips to hers.
Jackson and April are quite sure that they’ll never leave the honeymoon phase.
Both of them are okay with that.