Jason's arm was comfortable in its position, casually slung over Jessica’s shoulder. So much so that he couldn’t be bothered to remove it.  Not that Jessica protested at all during the entire walk back to the dorms.  It was much preferred actually because it had the added bonus of partially obscuring Jessica’s face from the public.  Jessica Jung walking casually with a well-dressed, unknown young man, tucked intimately under his arm.  The media would have gone ballistic!

They hopped off the elevator and walked to the SNSD dorm.  Jessica knocked on the door and Tiffany opened it from inside.  Her eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion the moment she saw the two of them standing so closely.  It flitted by too quickly for either Jason or Jessica to recognise

    “What took you so long, Jessi?” she smiled at them.  There was something about her greeting that confused Jason...it put him off in some way.

    “There were really creepy guys hanging outside the shop,” Jessica walked in first and Jason shut the door behind them, “So I called Jason and he picked me up.”

    “Why didn’t you call? One of us could’ve gone and picked you up.”

Jessica looked at her fellow American friend incredulously, “I don’t think two girls would have deterred those creeps any more than one girl would.”

    “What about manager-oppa?” Tiffany shot back.

This time Jessica actually stopped in her tracks and fixed Tiffany with disbelieving eyes, “You know he’s at Sunny’s radio show and the two of them won’t be back till late. What's wrong with you?”

    “What do you mean!?”

The rest of the group were peering over couches and around corners to stare at the argument.  Confusion that Jason felt was mirrored on their faces.  The two Americans were face to face in the hallway, having an argument that sprung from, as far as he was concerned, nowhere.  He stepped in between them, grocery bags in hand, breaking their intense stare down.

    “Noonas, why are you arguing?”

    “Ask her!” Jessica jabbed an accusing finger at her friend.

    “Don’t blame this on me!”

    “You were the one trying to start a fight!”

    “I was just asking.”

Taeyeon stepped in, “Woah woah woah! Girls, stop that. I don’t know what’s going on, but stop it.”

She stared first into Tiffany’s eyes, then Jessica’s.  Each girl broke eye contact almost immediately, unable to meet her intense gaze.  She looked at them with disappointment.  That was worse than if she had stared at them with anger, they hated letting their sisters down.

Wordlessly, the two of them walked away and sat on opposite sides of the living room.  Taeyeon shook her head exasperatedly and went back to the kitchen after giving Jason a brief smile.

    “What was that about?” Hyoyeon asked, her hair was pulled back and she had an apron on, obviously in the midst of washing up after dinner.

    “Yeah, what were they fighting about?” Sooyoung added, a lollipop in .

    “I don’t even know,” Jason shrugged his shoulder helplessly.

Working together, Hyoyeon, Taeyeon, Sooyoung and Jason cleaned up the dinner dishes. After much begging (mostly from Sooyoung), Jason gave in and went about making dessert.  Everyone else danced around or sang loudly as he bustled about the kitchen. He would laugh as Taeyeon and Jessica sang overdramatically. He almost burnt dessert when Tiffany and Seohyun chased Taeyeon around, singing one of her solo songs obnoxiously in her ears. Jason managed to save it at the last minute. Just in time too, soon enough she was distracted by Yuri and Hyoyeon having a dance-off in the middle of the living room.

Jason turned back to the desserts. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hand slowly inching towards the plate of desserts.  

“Not yet, Yoona!” he lightly smacked the offending hand.

“But oppaaaaaa~! I'm hungwy!”

“Yah! Don't use aegyo!” Tiffany shouted. Yoona stuck her tongue at the older girl and turned to pout at Jason again.

“I'm nearly done, I swear,” Jason ruffled her hair playfully.

As promised, with one last turn of the hand, he flipped the last of the dessert onto the plate and turned off the stove.  He took one from the stack, placed it on an empty plate then put chocolate spread all over the circular surface. Practised hands folded it in and he was left with a crepe, folded in quarters with chocolate in the centre.

Using a knife and fork, he cut a piece off and presented it to Yoona, “Here. Try it.”

Yoona ate the chocolate treat. Her eyes lit up as the flavour hit her tongue, “Mmm! Yummmm!”

“How come she gets fed?” Jessica whined and pouted. She stood by Yoona and leaned over the counter with her.  In times like these, Jason laughed at how the public say she's an Ice Princess, really she's a dorky, warm princess.

    “Here you go, Sica-noona,” he cut another piece and fed his pouting noona.

Yoona fixed her own crepe and left the two.  Tiffany quickly took her place, leaning on her elbows atop the counter next to Jessica.

    “Can I try it too?”

Wordlessly, Jason another chocolate filled piece and lifted it to her lips.  Tiffany’s eyes shut and she moaned in appreciation at the tasty treat was fed.  Happy that they enjoyed his cooking, he turned away to serve the rest of the girls a chocolate crepe. He left some in a plastic container for Sunny.  Unbeknownst to him, Jessica and Tiffany were glaring at each other behind his back.  Each girl trying to get the other to back down, but neither were willing.  Everyone else chose to walk around the strange intense stare-off, grab their dessert and retreated back to the safety of the living room.

    “Here you go,” Jason slid two plates of chocolate crepes across the counter.

Jessica pouted at him again.  He laughed quietly and proceeded to slice her serve and feed it to her himself.  She visibly perked up at this.  Whenever he looked away, she sent a smug expression to Tiffany who was slowly getting more and more frustrated.

    “Have you tried it yet, Jason?” Tiffany’s husky voice made him look up from his cutting.

    “Uhh..no, not yet.”

Before he knew it a piece of Tiffany’s crepe was on the end of her fork being presented to him.  On impulse he opened his mouth and took the offered dessert in his mouth.  The familiar chocolate goo exploded in his mouth from the very bite, the soft pastry shell of the crepe worked perfectly with the flavours.

He swallowed with a grin, “Yum. It is good.”

Jessica silently fumed.  It was like a spectator sport for the rest of the girls.  They were all watching the scene from a safe distance away.  There was a strange competition/routine things unfolding before their eyes. Jason would feed Jessica who sat like a princess.  Tiffany would feed herself, then offer pieces to Jason and smile brightly each time he did.  Then Jessica would lean forward and the whole thing start again.  No one was sure what was going on, just that Tiffany and Jessica appeared to be at odds with each other… Fighting for Jason's attention?

Relief was palpable among them when there was no more dessert left. And therefore, no more ammunition for the strange attention war.  Taeyeon, though, had a knowing look on her face as she continued to watch her friends’ interactions.  Every time Jason showed attention to one the other would, without fail, show signs of...jealousy.  There was a small smirk on her face as Yoona gathered everyone’s plate, only to have Tiffany step up to volunteer washing them.  Tiffany never did dish washing...Ever. It was like Jessica running!

    “Want me to wipe them dry, noona?” Jason offered.

Yuri giggled quietly.  Taeyeon looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Yuri just looked at her and glanced meaningfully at the trio before rolling her eyes. Yep, she knew too.  Identical knowing smirks crossed their lips.

    “Actually, can I talk to you for a bit, Jason?” Jessica placed her hand on his, the one that had already been reaching for the drying towel.

    “Yeah, of course,” he turned to her fully.

She took his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen.  With nothing more than a ‘Be back in a minute’, the two of them were in jackets and shoes and out the door.  That left two girls smirking, four girls utterly perplexed and one fuming.  Tiffany didn’t even know why she was mad. She just knew that she didn’t want Jessica and Jason alone together.  Something about that image bothered her to know end.  

Taeyeon prayed that their plates could withstand the viciousness of a Jealous Tiffany.

------------

Puffs of white mist rose with every breath.  He and Jessica were back on the rooftop.  Leaning on the rails, looking down at the city nightlife.  The air was colder, it was biting and chilly, his fingers were going numb already from the few minutes they had been here.  Their shoulders brushed against one another as they took in the sights and sounds of the evening… Just like they did all those months ago.

    “Is something wrong, noona?”

Jessica shut her eyes, trying to lose herself in the sounds of the night, “You like Tiffany.”

Jason choked on air.  Mid-breath, he spluttered and floundered for a response.  The embarrassed man flushed and stared at the building in front of him.  An office building, with grey walls and dark windows that gave him no inspiration for an answer.

    “It’s okay,” she looked at him, “I already know… Can you just answer me something?”

    “...Anything, noona.”

    “I think I’m starting to fall for you,” he looked at her with a blank face, “I just want to know… Do I have a chance? Because if you’re never going to love me, then I’ll stop right now...before I get to the point where I have no choice.”

Jason hugged her close, “I do love you. As my friend and my noona. Just because it’s not in a romantic, and it never will be, doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

Slowly, her hands rose and circled his body.  Next, she was clutching onto him so tightly, her face buried in his chest as she mumbled, “Thank you...I think I needed to hear that.”

He pulled back, “And I’ll keep saying it. A hundred times a day. Everyday. Until you beg me to stop, then I’ll say it one more time.  You’re my noona, and you always will be.”

“What?” she giggled, “You’re such a weirdo!”

“I know,” he said unabashedly.

Jessica sobered quickly and pulled away.

“...I know it wouldn’t be real. Actually, it'd be a lie…” she whispered, once again unwilling and unable to meet his concerned gaze, “But could you do it just this once?”

“What is it?” he whispered.

“Can you say you love me?”

“But-”

“I want to hear it, even if it’s just once.”

“Noona…”

“Jason , please…” Jessica finally looked up. And Jason wished she hadn’t.  Her eyes...They were fiery and defiant, yet all too vulnerable and pleading, “Please...Lie to me.”

He swallowed uncomfortably, “...I love you.”

The words felt wrong.  They were nothing, but a destructive mutation of what should have been a beautiful phrase.

“...I love you too…” her voice cracked.  She smiled sadly, “That hurt less than I thought it would... Thank you.”

“You know you’ll always be my noona and I will always look out for you.  Someday, someone is going fall inexplicably in love with you and I’m going to be there, watching you, proud that you are my noona.”

He slung an arm around her shoulder.  She leaned into his side. Together they watched the world go by.

And it was okay.  Because she didn’t lose him.  He was still her beloved dongsaeng, the one who treats her like a princess no matter what she asked of him.  That was enough.

It was initially much sadder. But on Zuljung's request, I didn't make Jessica suffer too much. Hope that's okay!