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topguncortez · 1 year

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The Professor | Epilogue

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synopsis: Jake surprises you with a trip back home for Christmas, and you just hope this family holiday goes better than the last time Jake took you home.

word count: 3.4k

warnings: age gap, power imbalance, mentions of smut, mentions of parental death, mentions of past break-ups.

It really didn’t feel like Christmas. You hadn’t ever felt really Christmas-y in years past, but this year, you really didn’t feel like it. Maybe it was because instead of seeing snow covered streets, you were looking up at palm trees. Or maybe it was because you weren’t at home, surrounded by the people you loved. For once, you were sad that you weren’t coming home from class to see Santa’s Village thrown up in your living room.

For the past two years, you had flown back to Boston to spend Christmas with Lucy and Zeke. She had graduated from Boston College with her degree in English and was teaching at a local high school. Her and Zeke had tied the knot in a small wedding ceremony with just a handful of people present. It was very Lucy-esq and you were happy to be there every step of the way for them. After the wedding, You and Mrs. McAndrew placed bets on how long it would be before Lucy got pregnant. You said it would be less than a year, and you weren’t surprised when she had called out back in March telling you that she was due sometime in January.

Pushing the door to your apartment open, you were met with Tybalt and Benvolio sitting on the kitchen counter like they always do when you come home. You felt like Tybalt was awfully lonely during the day, so you adopted the little orange tabby cat to keep him company.

“Hello my loves,” You said, setting your backpack down and picking up Benvolio, which caused Tybalt to meow at you, “Do you bite your thumb at me?” Tybalt simply jumped off the counter and stalked his way towards the living room. You kissed Benvolio’s head, before setting him down on the floor. You went over to the stack of mail that was sitting on the counter, and thumbed through the various bills and Christmas cards you had gotten. You noticed one from both Kathlene and Nancy. Amelia had sent hers out the first week of December, which was just a printed picture of her and her husband Link in the middle of Africa.

“Oh! You’re not supposed to be here,” You looked up from the Christmas cards and noticed Jake walking into the kitchen.

“Well, I live here. . .” You said but Jake shook his head, walking to you.

“Yes, I know,” He greeted you with a kiss, “But, I have a surprise for you, and I didn’t want you to see.”

“I kind of have PTSD from your surprises.”

“It’s not bad, I promise,” Jake said, “And I am sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it but. . .” He placed two tickets in front of you on the counter. Your eyes widened as you grabbed the tickets and looked at him.

“You bought plane tickets?”

“I did,” Jake nodded, “You were upset about Lucy and Zeke not being able to come here and worried that you wouldn’t be able to afford going back home. So I talked to my parents and said that I wouldn’t be coming home this year. I’m going back to Boston. . . with you.”

You smiled, and wrapped your arms around Jake’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss, “I gotta go pack,” You patted his chest before running off to your shared room.

Things with Jake had gone surprisingly well in the past two years. After he practically showed up on your doorstep, the two of you had talked about your relationship. It was as easy as breathing when he was around, and you had never felt more at home with someone (besides Zeke and Lucy) in your life. It felt like he was the missing piece to your puzzle, and he felt the same. He had put in his notice at Boston, and was in the process of selling his house to move out to California with you. Rooster and Bob thought maybe Jake had a stroke, cause he was never a man to just quit his job and move like that, but Jake Thomas Seresin was in love.

Jake originally was renting a small little apartment on the other side of town, but that only lasted about two weeks. He was spending most, if not all his time with you, so you just had him move in. It was easy for Jake to find a job with his accomplishments and recommendations. He was an undergrad english professor at Berkeley. You were still working hard and studying under Doctor Hoffman, who was a lot like Jake with her teaching methods. She wasn’t an easy professor, and didn’t let you just get by in her class with Bs and Cs, she expected As, and you were working hard to maintain such grades.

Jake’s mother never seemed to beg the two of you to come home for the holidays. The past two thanksgivings you and Jake had driven down to LA to spend with his sister Amelia (she, just like you, didn’t want to go home to Texas either) and then last Christmas was spent in California with Lucy and Zeke. Of course, Olivia Seresin wanted her son and his girlfriend to come home, but she understood it. She knew that both of them were scared to come home after everything that happened the last time.

— — —

It was like nothing had changed in Chestnut Hills. The streets were covered in white snow, it was ridiculously cold outside. You were happy to be home for the holidays, but man do you miss the warm California sun. Jake had told you he rented an AirBnB for Christmas, so the two of you could have some privacy and not infiltrate Zeke and Lucy, or Bob and Miranda’s houses. The house was actually not too far from where Jake’s old house was, and he made sure to drive by it. He chuckled seeing the snowmen in the front yard.

“Guess some kids live there now,” Jake said.

“Lots of room for them,” You smiled, and grabbed his hand.

“I know,” Jake kissed the back of your hand, and continued on driving to the house, “We gotta get a bigger place. No room in the apartment for kids.”

You were taken aback a bit. Jake hardly ever talked about kids with you, “I-I guess, yeah. A one bedroom apartment isn’t very suitable for children.”

“No,” Jake pulled the rental SUV into the driveway, “They need a yard, somewhere to run. You ever think about relocating when you’re done with the program?”

“It’s crossed my mind,” You nodded, getting out of the car. Jake waited for you in front of the car, and grabbed your hand, walking up the steps towards the door, “Where did all this baby talk come from?”

“Don’t know,” Jake shrugged, and opened the front door. You didn’t say anything else as he helped you take your coat off and then hung it up. He kissed your cheek before going towards the kitchen, probably going to open a bottle of wine that the owners left.

Jake, however, did know why he was asking you, and it had to do with the small black box that was tucked in between some socks in his suitcase. He had been holding on to his mothers ring for nearly two years now, and knew it was time to pop the question. He just wasn’t 100% sure on how to do it. But, luckily for him, he knew exactly who to ask.

— — —

“You’re asking my best friend for her hand in marriage and you didn’t think to tell me before now!?” Lucy exclaimed as she stood in the doorway of her house. She still lived in the same house that you once shared with her. Slowly, her and Zeke were fixing up the college party house into a nice cute little cottage. Jake gulped and looked down at her very swollen belly, “Oh, do not use my pregnancy as an excuse, Mr. Seresin.” She moved out of the way from the door, and let Jake walk into the house.

“I meant to tell you, it’s just that there’s not a lot of space in the apartment to get away from her,” Jake said, taking off his coat and sitting on the couch, “How are you?”

“Huge,” Lucy said, sitting down on the other end of the couch, “When are you going to do it?”

“Tonight, Christmas Eve. Everyone is coming to the house. You, Zeke, Bob, his wife, Rooster and his new girl.”

“Oh! You should do it while we open our one gift!” Lucy clapped her hands, and went into detail on how Jake should ask for her friend’s hand in marriage.

Back at the house, you were busy cooking away with Zeke. You were thankful that Jake let you kick him out of the house while you and Zeke cooked. Over the years of living with Jake you came to the realization that he, in fact, could not cook. He could follow a recipe pretty well, but it wasn’t the same. Zeke had his mother’s touch type of cooking, that got along well with yours. The two of you were like a well oiled machine as you worked around the kitchen.

“What do you think they are talking about?” You asked, mixing the gravy.

“Beats me,” Zeke sighed, “They can’t have that much in common. Hell, I can’t believe you and Professor Seresin-”

“Jake.”

“Shit, sorry,” Zeke shook his head and you laughed, “Been two years and I still call him ‘Professor Seresin’.”

“It’s hard to get used to.”

You could basically hear the shit eating smirk on Zeke’s face as he asked: “Do you call him that in-”

“I am not having this conversation with you,” You laughed, and took a sip of your wine, “I’m gonna check on the dough for the rolls.”

Jake had given Lucy the ring box before leaving her house so she could wrap it. The sun was down, and it was only a matter of time before guests started showing up at the house. Everything smelled great as Jake walked through the front door. The house felt warm, and cozy, the fire cracking in the fireplace, and Christmas music playing throughout. He walked upstairs to find you sitting on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror, in nothing but your bra and underwear, doing your makeup. He smiled as he leaned against the door.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked, and you jumped, looking up at him in the mirror.

“My makeup, duh,” You said, finishing putting mascara on your eyelashes, “The lighting in here is amazing. I need lights like this at home.” You climbed down from the counter and walked over to him. You kissed his cheek before going to find your dress for the night.

“Well maybe we should build a house with a mirror like that in it,” Jake answered.

“Maybe we should,” You stepped into the green colored dress, “Can you zip?” Jake nodded and came behind you to zip it up. His fingers brush ever so lightly up the bareskin of your spin, sending a shiver down your body. He placed a kiss on your neck and gave your ass a squeeze.

“All good,” He said, a smirk on his face as he stepped away from you.

“Thank you, baby,” You said and turned around to face him. His hands rested on your hips, holding you close to him. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the doorbell, “Oh! Get dressed, I’ll go greet the guests.”

Jake fixed his tie as he walked down the stairs to be greeted by the laughter of guests. Rooster was the first to notice him, and said something to the girl next to him, before getting up and walking over to where Jake was.

“Bagman!” Rooster said and hugged his friend.

“Rooster,” Jake said back, “Where’s-”

“In the kitchen,” Rooster answered, “Her friend says you’re gonna pop the question? Who would’ve thought that you would be marrying your student.”

“Not my student anymore,” Jake corrected, “Who’s the girl?”

“Lys,” Rooster nodded over to her. She stood up from the couch and walked over to where Jake and Rooster were standing, “This is Jake, that professor friend of mine,” Jake shook the girl’s hand.

“So you’re the woman who is strong enough to deal with Rooster and his awful Hawaiian shirts,” Jake pointed to the Christmas Hawaiian shirt that Rooster was wearing.

Lys giggled, “I guess I am. Your girlfriend is the sweetest by the way.”

“Speaking of which, I’m gonna go find her,” Jake smiled, “Nice meeting you.”

Jake could easily hear your laughter as it floated out of the kitchen. You were standing next to Miranda, who was holding a small child on her hip and Lucy, who was sitting down in a chair. Jake walked over to you, and put his arm around your waist, pulling you into him. You smiled, and leaned against his warm chest. Lucy couldn’t help but smile at the two of you. She had watched you for years run and try to escape the holidays, but now, you embraced all that came with it.

It felt great to see a table full of food and your best friends sitting around it. Jake sat at the head of the table, you on his left as Zeke sat on the other end. Everything felt right, except for the way Jake was acting. He had been very touchy and affectionate towards you, until Lucy had called him away to help with something. When he came back, he was acting weird. It made you think back to the very first holiday you had spent with him. The heartbreak in which that holiday ended for both of you.

The conversation flowed smoothly, as you sipped your wine and listened to Rooster tell the story of his very first Christmas with Bob and Rooster. Like you, Rooster didn’t have much for family and he wasn’t talking to her godfather back then, and Jake had invited the two of them to come home with him. Rooster was so overwhelmed that he didn’t tell Olivia that he was allergic to pecans, and he felt bad if he just threw them away.

“So he ate the whole thing,” Bob said, laughing so hard his glasses were falling off his nose.

“And. . . went back for seconds,” Jake added in.

“Oh my god,” Lys laughed, “What happened?”

“The good thing about all this is that I don’t swell up like a balloon when I have pecans. . . No, I just shit my brains out for days.”

“No!” Lucy scrunched her eyebrows.

“It was so bad, he passed out on the toilet from dehydration,” Jake said, “Amelia went in to check on him and screamed so loud we thought there was another snake in the house.”

“There was a snake. . . but it was attached to Rooster,” Bob said and everyone laughed even harder at that as Rooster tossed a piece of croissant roll at him.

“So, long story short. . .First Holidays at the Seresins is no longer a thing,” Jake said and took a sip of his drink. You also sipped your drink to try and hide the awkward glance from Lucy. You were sure that Jake had told his friends about the disaster of the first holiday you had at the Seresin house, although it wasn’t as comical as Bradley’s pecan mishap.

“Why don’t we go do our one gift,” Lucy said, trying to ease the awkward tension, “Lys, I’m not sure if Bradley told you but the ol’ tradition around here is that you open one gift on Christmas eve. Y/N’s parents started it and it kind of has become a thing among the whole family now.”

“Oh I love that,” Lys said, “And yes he told me, and hopefully, I can out-do his gift giving.”

“He tell you one year he gave me a box of condoms. . . but the box was already half empty,” Bob said, pointing at Bradley.

“Is this just tattle on Bradshaw day?” Bradley rolled his eyes.

You chuckled, “Everyone go ahead in, I’ll start picking this up.” You stood up from your seat and collected your plate and Lucy’s.

“I’ll help,” Jake said, and you looked at him somewhat surprised. It was the first time he had said anything to you since sitting down at the table. You nodded and picked up Zeke’s plate before heading to the kitchen. Everyone slowly helped bring in the plates and extra food from the dining room before making their way to the living room.

You and Jake worked in silence as you put the extra food in containers and loaded up the dishwasher. You were a bit scared of saying anything, not knowing what Jake was feeling. That was one thing that hadn’t changed over the years, was Jake’s ability to talk to you about his feelings. He had somewhat opened up to you, but it was like trying to thaw snow on a negative degree day. It was going to take a long time, and patience, which you were willing to give him.

There were only a couple of dishes left to dry and put away, “I can get the last of these. Go be with your friends. I heard Miranda say that Lucas brought you-”

“Walk with me,” Jake said, taking the rag out of your hands. You looked up at him, his green eyes were unreadable but his voice was soft, “I told Bob I’d help Lucas build the train set that we bought him tomorrow. Walk with me? Please.”

You nodded and Jake took your hand, leading you out the backdoor of the house. Lucy heard the door shut and she smiled, looking at the gift box in her hand.

“What’s that look on your face?” Zeke asked his wife.

“Nothing,” Lucy sighed with a smile, “Let’s open gifts!”

“Aren’t we waiting for Y/N and Jake?” Rooster asked.

“No, they’re a bit busy right now,” Lucy said and gave Rooster a knowing look. He was a bit confused at first but Lys nudged him and then pointed to her ring finger. Rooster’s mouth fell open in an O shape and then he smiled.

You wished you would’ve grabbed your coat before going on a walk with Jake. It was cold, but the feeling of his hand in yours was keeping you somewhat warm. The snow was falling, making a warm glow from the street light illuminate the night sky. Nights like these reminded you of your mother and how much she loved the snow. You knew Berkeley was part of her dream, but you sometimes wished you never left Boston for this very reason. Jake was humming some song under his breath as he led you down the dark street.

“Where are we going?” You asked, as Jake stopped walking outside of his old house.

“Here, and before you ask, I already talked to the owners,” Jake answered and you giggled, “Do you remember the first time you came over?”

“When you kissed me and kicked me out? Yeah, I remember,” You said and Jake winced.

“I am still so sorry I did that. I’m sorry for everything that I did to you. I was such an ass and you didn’t deserve any of it,” Jake said and you took a step forward, caressed his cheek with your hand.

“I forgive you,” You said and Jake grabbed your hands in his.

“The reason I kicked you out that night was because I was scared. That kiss. . . it was different than anything I had before, which I know sounds like one of those tacky romance novels you read in the bath.”

“Hey, Boys of the Mason-Dixon is a good book.”

“Sure, baby,” Jake winked, “But that kiss, that night actually, I realized I wasn’t going to live my life without you, and it scared the ever living fuck out of me,” He let a tear escape from his eyes as you already had tears falling down your cheeks, “When I left you at Thanksgiving it was because my mom gave me this,”

Jake let go of your hands to pull out a ring from his pocket. You gasped and covered your mouth with your hands, “She knew then what I was trying too hard to fight. . . that I am so deeply, madly in love with you. And it might’ve taken watching you walk away from me and move across the country to realize, but Y/N L/N,” You choked back a sob as Jake got down on one knee.

“I never want to know a day where you aren’t mine. Will you please, marry me?”

You dropped to your knees in front of Jake, and grabbed his face in your hands. With your thumb you wiped the tears away from his cheeks, and then leaned in to kiss his pink lips.

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note: okay, this might be the official goodbye to Professor Seresin. . .MIGHT. . .

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