Chapter Text
Davey’s apartment was on one of the quieter streets of New York.
“This is me,” Davey said, pointing to a brick walled building. Jack pulled up in an empty spot along the sidewalk.
There was silence for a few seconds.
“Well, thanks,” Davey finally said. “For breakfast. And for the ride.”
“Wait,” Jack said. “Lemme walk you to your unit.”
Davey only nodded. Jack turned off the ignition and they both got out of the car. He watched as Davey unlocked the front door and led him to the elevator, pressing the button for the seventh floor.
The elevator moved slow. It seemed to be a few years old. Jack wondered fleetingly what would happen if they happened to get stuck inside. A terrible thought, he knew that, but we couldn’t stop it from coming to his mind.
The doors opened at the seventh floor. Jack followed Davey to his unit. 713. Keys jingled as Davey unlocked his door. They stood, facing each other.
“Okay, well, bye,” Jack said, internally cringing at his awkwardness.
He’d already turned around and taken a few steps when he heard Davey speak. “Wait. Come in.”
Jack was back at the door in no time.
He followed Davey inside, swinging the door closed behind him. Davey shucked his shoes off by a short shelf with his other shoes. Jack followed suit, placing his converse right next to Davey’s Vans.
The apartment looked so… Davey. There were stacks of books and papers everywhere—the coffee table, the floor, the couch. There was a diffuser on a short bookshelf blowing out bamboo-scented mist. The big lights were off, but there were just about a hundred lamps, illuminating warm light. And there were plants—quite a few of them. Succulents, flowers, and some Jack didn’t recognize.
Theres a wall with an arched doorway separating the living room and the kitchen. Jack follows Davey to the latter room.
A rectangular wooden table takes up a third of the space, with two matching chairs on each side. A laptop sat open in front of the chair that was slightly pulled back, next to it was a notebook and a pen.
“Where’re you staying right now?” Davey asked him. He almost jumped, startled by the sudden noise after several moments of silence.
“With Race, for now,” he replied. “But I need to get outta there soon. Spot’s there, too.”
Davey scrunched his nose, frowning with his eyes but smiling with his mouth. “Gross.”
Jack watched as he turned on his espresso machine—a lot fancier than the machine at Kath’s house, mind you. That one only made brewed coffee. This one had a porta-filter, a steaming wand, a grinder and tamper, the works.
“Latte?” Davey asked him.
“Uh, sure.”
-
David wasn’t sure what demon from hell possessed him to invite Jack into his home. But now they were sitting across from each other, sipping idly at their lattes and just… staring at each other.
Or rather, taking turns staring at each other.
The window his kitchen faced east, which meant that the sun was pouring into the room like a flood. Jack’s brown eyes looked almost golden in the sunlight.
Something was pulling at David’s chest. He felt so heavy and so light at the same time, like he was flying with an anvil in his arms. His conversation with Jack last night was still replaying in his head. Over and over and over again.
“I never stopped either,” he said quietly. There he goes again, with his big mouth. The very thing that got him into this situation.
Jack looked stunned.
“And I hated that you left,” he continued. “I really tried, y’know? To convince myself. You never liked New York, you always said that. Too busy, too big, too full. I just thought you’d be better off there. But me, I physically couldn’t leave. It’s all I’ve ever known.”
“Davey.” Jack reached for his hand, but hesitated.
“Wait, I’m not done. I don’t know what made me break up with you then. I didn’t want to, not at all. The thought came to me in the moment, and I—I panicked? I guess. And I hated myself for a long time for that. But I was also angry with you, how you felt like you had to choose. How you weren’t even willing to try having both me and your dreams at the same time. And I felt like you didn’t trust me. And it hurt.”
He took Jack’s hand, still outstretched. Immediately, a thumb was rubbing his knuckles.
“I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” Jack said, almost a whisper. “I never meant to hurt you. Ever.”
David nodded. “I know.”
“And I know I said I never liked the city,” Jack added. “But I was startin’ to. ‘Cause of you. Honestly, I was kinda angry, too, though I know I probably had no right to be. It was like you were kicking me out.”
David shook his head. “I meant what I said, though. About depending on another person for your happiness.”
“I know. You were right.”
And then David had an incredibly stupid thought. He wanted Jack. It might be his most self destructive tendency. He knew all along he still loved him, but never did he actually consider that he could ever want a relationship with him again. But now… he does want it. Badly. And the way Jack was looking at him made him think that maybe he wasn’t alone in thinking that.
-
There was an awkward sort of silence between them. They both looked like they had a lot on their mind that they were hesitant to voice.
“I want to try again.”
Jack wasn’t sure he heard right. “You do?” He asked, breathless. “Dave, don’t mess with me.”
“I’m not messing with you,” Dave said, extremely serious now despite the milk froth on the corners of his mouth. Jack chuckled and reached a hand out, wiping it off.
“I’ve known it was you since we were fifteen, Dave. You’re it for me.“ Jack’s voice was quiet. Sincere. “If you want me… I’m yours, Davey. I’ve always been yours.”
“I do,” Davey said, in a voice that sent shivers down his spine and sent his heart into a fit of tachycardia. “I want you. I’ve lost too much precious time with you, Jack Kelly.”
Jack stood, rounding the table over to where Davey sat. The boy in question rose from his seat to face him.
“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that, Dave,” Jack breathed. His hands hovered over Davey’s waist. He only allowed them to make contact when the other boy wrapped his own arms around
his neck. “I must be dreaming,” He mused.
“Shut up and kiss me,” Davey whispered. Jack need not be told twice.
He backed Davey against the table, bracing them both with one arm even though he didn’t really want to let go.
It was warm and loving, but also messy and desperate. Four years worth of passion and emotion poured out in that one moment. Davey’s fingers fiddled with the hair at the nape of Jack’s neck, sending shivers down his spine. He sighed, his grip on Davey’s waist tightening.
They found themselves on the living room sofa, Davey lying with his back resting against the armrest and Jack on his chest, face buried in his neck. Jack relished the feeling of Davey’s fingers stroking idly through his hair.
“I missed this,” Jack sighed into the warm skin he’d smothered his face into. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Jackie,” came the voice he loved hearing most out of all the voices in the world. Jack could recognize Davey by his breathing in an instant. “Stay the night.”
“It’s not even noon yet.”
“I know,” Davey feigned exasperation, though Jack didn’t miss the faint chuckle while he exhaled. He tugged at Jack’s hair lightly. “Just making sure you keep your calendar free.”
“For you, Dave?” Jack lifted his head, meeting Davey’s beautiful blue eyes. “My calendar’s always open.”