1. Behave #2
Grinning, Deja slipped out of his embrace. “Did it have to do with our trip?”
“Oh, right…” Ian sighed. “...that…”
“So, when I contacted my parents, they were unhappy to learn that I was pregnant and that they missed my entire pregnancy. It took a lot to calm them down, but they’re excited to meet Chloe.”
Deja looked at Jax, who was sitting on the couch, smiling reassuringly at her.
“They’re not… happy about Jax. I told them that he almost died but survived.
I also told them that what the tabloids said about us was not true and that even though Jax and I were going through a…
‘rough patch’, we got through it, and we’re… okay… now…”
Jax smiled with uncertainty. “...so you lied,” Keith said.
“Basically…” Caleb muttered.
Deja looked at them, confused. “What? No-”
“Baby girl, look at this place. You guys destroyed it, beating the shit out of each other,” Keith said.
“That’s how we… worked out our differences,” Jax insisted.
“Because that’s healthy,” Caleb said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
“So much commentary from the peanut gallery,” Ian grinned at Caleb.
“I’m not sure why Caleb thinks he has a say in anything,” Jax said curtly.
“You mean other than picking up your slack? As usual,” Caleb snorted.
Jax’s jaw tensed as he stood up and approached Caleb. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re talking to, but you have vastly overestimated the significance of your role-”
“Says the guy who put the woman he supposedly loves in danger more times than he’s actually been fucking useful,” Caleb said, getting in Jax’s face.
“I thought you would’ve grown tired of me beating the shit out of you, but you’re a fucking masochist-” Jax growled.
“Your goddamn god complex has you so fucking delusional it might actually get your dumbass killed!” Caleb growled back.
“Hey!- Okay, wait,” Deja said, stepping in between them. “Caleb, stop! Jax! Stop!”
“That’s a dangerous spot to be in, sweetheart. You might want to move,” Ian smirked, amused.
“Honestly! Baby girl, move! It was just getting good!” Keith grinned.
“Both of you, shut up!” Deja snapped. She quickly pushed Jax back. “Jax- Jax, look at me!” she said, snapping her fingers in his face. Jax’s eyes flickered before snapping out of it and glaring at her. “Please calm down, okay? Please, baby?”
Jax’s jaw slacked as he released the tension from his shoulders. With an irritated grunt, he stepped back and grabbed her hand. “Come here,” he ordered.
Deja turned to face Caleb as his angry hazel-green eyes flickered from his cousin down to Deja. “Please…” she whispered to him softly.
Exhaling his frustration, Caleb leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. His jaw twitched as he watched Jax pull Deja into his arms and capture her face between his hands before his mouth was devouring hers.
He felt the strange sensation of angry horniness watching Jax possessively grab her ass as if staking his claim.
Pushing her hands against his chest, Deja peeled her lips off of Jax’s and looked up at him. “Can I finish what I was saying now?” she asked. Jax sighed and reluctantly pulled away from her with a nod. “As I was saying,” she continued. “My parents invited Jax to dinner to make amends.”
“How convenient,” Caleb muttered.
“They also invited you, Caleb…” Deja added apprehensively.
Caleb raised a surprised brow. “...really?”
Jax’s jaw tensed as Deja continued. “They asked if I had any help during my pregnancy, and um, well, I told them about how you let me stay with you. So, they want to meet you…”
“Oh. They want to know who stepped in for the absentee father. That makes sense,” Caleb smirked at Jax. Caleb casually tilted his head to the side as a dagger flew past his face and embedded in the wall.
“Jax! No! No daggers!” she snapped before turning back to Caleb. “Please don’t provoke him. I need you guys to behave. I haven’t seen my parents in like a year, and I don’t want anything to ruin this.”
Sighing, Caleb lowered his eyes to Deja. “You’re right, baby. I’m sorry.”
Jax’s eye twitched as he tried to stifle his anger. “I’m going to check on Chloe…”
Deja sighed as she watched him leave before she turned to Keith and Ian. “My mother is having a small family get-together so the rest of my relatives can meet Chloe. Can you guys promise me that you’ll behave?”
“You mean we’re invited to the cookout?” Keith grinned.
“No, you’re not- Just promise me you’ll be on your best behavior,” Deja said.
Ian chuckled. “Don’t worry, sweetheart… We’ll be Good Boys,” he winked.
Re-entering civilization felt so strange to Deja. She had gotten so used to the cabin that she nearly forgot what it was like to explore beyond mere business. While Ian and Caleb took a later flight to make sure everything was taken care of, Jax and Keith accompanied her to the airport.
She could tell Jax was on edge. Whether it was from Caleb, her parents, or whatever it was that kept him out for long hours.
She didn’t know because he never told her.
It was challenging to get him to open up.
It seemed the more things felt out of his control, the tighter he held onto her as if he were afraid he’d lose her again.
The way he would possessively hold her waist. Tighten his grip on her hand. Wrap his arm around her neck to pull her close and kiss her forehead. As if he were trying to remind himself to be more affectionate than protective.
Holding Chloe to her chest, Deja watched Jax engage with the pilot. “He bought the entire first-class section so that we can have the area to ourselves,” Keith said, sidling next to her.
Deja looked at Keith, startled. “What- Why?”
Keith snorted. “Because my brother doesn’t trust anyone. And if he can’t get his own plane in time, he’ll settle for the next best thing.”
Deja sighed. “...he’s so extra…”
Whimpering restlessly, Chloe stuck her chubby arms out towards Keith.
“Does my Little Killer want her Uncle Keith?! Come here, mo bhana-phrionnsa,” he said, taking Chloe.
Deja watched Keith playfully nuzzle Chloe’s neck as her giggles echoed in the airport.
It amazed her that someone so violently chaotic and dangerously unpredictable could be so gentle and loving. He was almost unrecognizable.
Keith whispered to Chloe in Gaelic before nomming on her fist as Chloe broke into a fit of laughter again. “I swear no one makes her laugh like you do,” Deja chuckled.
Keith kissed Chloe’s cheek. “Must run in your blood to have addictive laughter. Hearing you two laugh is like a shot of serotonin,” he hummed. Deja’s cheeks warmed before Jax summoned them over.
Protectively holding her tiny, soft body, Jax caressed Chloe’s back as she slept on his chest. His lips grazed her head as his fingers played with her curls.
Jax’s cheeks flushed. He couldn’t believe this beautiful, tiny human came from him. Whenever Jax looked at Chloe, his chest expanded with joy. He had never felt a love like this before. It made him feel light and euphoric. Her scent gave him goosebumps. She was so precious and pure.
This innate feeling to love and protect her was overwhelming. And he wondered… did every parent feel this way? And were his parents the exception…?
“Jax?”
He looked up at Deja, who was staring at him, and slightly lost his breath. She never stopped having that effect on him. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Jax kissed Chloe’s head. “I’m fine, love.”
Deja nodded before continuing her conversation with Keith.
Jax noticed how her body was turned towards Keith.
The way Keith’s hand rested on her knee as his fingers affectionately caressed her skin.
The way Keith stared at Deja unwaveringly, completely enraptured by her.
Drawn in by every word that left her lips.
Jax had learned to identify what being in love looked like. And as much as he tried to ignore it, he knew his brothers all too well.
He remembered the look of panic on their faces when he awoke from his coma.
Their feeling of dread and anger as they relayed to him how the Society had targeted her.
How they took it upon themselves to fight back against the same institution that had raised them…
in defense of a woman who wanted nothing to do with them.
His brothers did exactly what he expected of them. Not just out of devotion to him… but how much they loved Deja. And he couldn’t blame them.
Two hours into the flight, Deja had passed out on Keith’s shoulder. Keith gently caressed her cheek, his eyes admiring the details of her face.
“You look smitten.”
Keith looked at Jax and lazily shrugged. “It’s cause I’m dying to get between those legs-”
“Don’t do that,” Jax interrupted. “Don’t reduce how you feel about her… to simply fucking her…”
Keith raised a curious brow. “Oh… Am I allowed to have feelings for her now?”
Jax exhaled as he looked at Deja. “The way you look at her…”
“It bothers you,” Keith surmised.
Jax shook his head. “I haven’t seen that look on your face in years…”
Keith snorted. “And who the hell was I looking at? Because there’s not a single girl-”
“Our mother,” Jax said abruptly. “You used to look at our mother like that…”
Keith’s smile disappeared as his jaw tensed. Shifting uncomfortably, he averted his gaze back to Deja. “Yeah, well… in the end she still hated me…”
“But Deja… makes you feel safe…”
Keith raised a brow. “Are you a fucking therapist?”
Jax chuckled. “I’m having another moment of clarity. Don’t ruin it.”
“God, not this shit again. I’m not your little imaginary demon friend, Daemon-”
“Dorian,” Jax corrected him.
“Holy shit, Jax!” Keith cackled.
Deja felt Keith’s shoulder move from laughing before she heard Jax curse him out. She could hear their whispers, but they were speaking in Gaelic. She felt Keith’s hand tighten on her knee and wondered what they could have been talking about.