Nightingale 》Jake Seresin

Proposal

Nova and Jake were finally at peace. They had worked things out, discussed the future, moved past the hardships they faced and made amends with those that stood in the way to happiness. 

Now it was time to take the next step, not that Nova was expecting it. (Okay, she was, they had discussed it after all. She just didn't know when or how.)

Jake had done it all. Gotten Maverick's Blessing, which hadn't been hard, surprisingly. Gotten Bradley and JJ's blessings, even if theirs were needed. Hell, he ever talked to Amelia, knowing how important the teen was to Nova. 

Everything was ready. He just needed the right time. And he was just about to have it. 

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

The night he proposed happened to be date night. The couple had established one night a week as a “date night” even if it was just dinner and a show at home. 

Tonight just so happened to be an at-home date. Jake had gotten home before Nova and made her favorite. Their kitchen table was set nicely, with two candles lit and a bottle of wine waiting to be opened. 

Nova walked in, saw the set up and promptly turned to her boyfriend. “I love you,” she practically sighed into his lips, as she leaned up to kiss the man. Jake wrapped his arms around her waist, returning the kiss with equal fervor. 

“Go change into something comfortable. Dinner will be ready soon,” Jake tells Nova after letting her go. She begins to walk to the stairs, but pauses for a moment before continuing. 

“Stop giving me that look.” 

He simply smirks. “Never gonna happen, darling.” 

Dinner was ready by the time Nova was changed and back downstairs, so the two ate their candlelit dinner, filling the other in on their days. Jake, while still actively flying, had taken up an instructor position at Top Gun for the time being, wanting a somewhat stable work life while he and Nova settled. 

Not like it was a problem, the Navy had been trying to solidify Dagger Squad as a permanent team for a while and had all but begged the team to stay local or teach. 

But the night wasn't done yet. Jake had kept Nova out of the living room for a reason. He had moved the furniture around to make a space for some dancing. 

This was something they did often, just slow dancing in their living room. Sometimes Jake would teach Nova some dances they did in Texas. Other times, Nova would show Jake some of the slow dances she and Amelia would learn for fun. 

Either way, they would just hold each other and dance. Just loving the feeling of being so close to the person they love most in the world. 

It was a feeling they couldn't even begin to describe. All they knew is that they wanted to keep feeling. They never wanted it to stop. 

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

It's the next morning and it's one of those rare days where both Nova and Jake have off. So of course, that calls for sleeping in. 

Now, with both of their schedules, they still tend to be up early, but when it comes to sleeping in, Nova tends to last longer than Jake. 

In this case, that works to Jake's advantage. 

When he woke up, he just laid there looking at Nova sleeping. The light from the rising sun illuminated the woman in a way that made her look like an angel. 

After a while of just watching her, Jake reaches out and lightly traces the features of her face before slipping his hand around her back. 

Nova had begun to wake up, but she simply buried her head into Jake's chest, feeling his fingers lightly run along her spine.