Chapter Text
- Monday, August 18th, 2014 -
"Jackson! Hurry up! Mom says you're not gonna have time to eat if you don't get down here soon!"
Danny's voice startles Jackson from where he's surveying his reflection in the full-length mirror in their bedroom. He fixes an imaginary imperfection with the collar of his plain dark-blue button-up, smooths his hands down the thighs of his black jeans and exits the room to find Danny awaiting him at the bottom of the stairs. The other boy, still in just a pair of sweatpants—damn, Jackson's jealous, and damn, those abs—pushes away from the banister and stands straight with an expression of fond exasperation as Jackson hurries down the staircase.
"Dude, took you long enough," Danny chides, arching an eyebrow. "You're not actually that nervous, are you?"
"No," Jackson denies, even though Danny's accusation has a ring of truth to it. A small one. Miniscule. "I was just making sure I looked good."
Danny rolls his eyes. "Of course you were."
"Shut up. I've gotta make a good first impression, and part of that is looking presentable."
"You already made a good impression. That's why you got the job, remember? As long as you don't show up late or looking like a slob, they won't care."
Jackson scoffs and follows Danny into the kitchen for sustenance. "I'll care."
"Oh right, your famous obsession with physical appearances." Danny installs himself on a stool at the island and leans his elbows on the countertop, watching as Jackson digs into the breakfast Danny's mom left for him next to the stove. "Y'know, now that it's back, I don't know why I missed it when you were depressed," he banters.
"You should be glad."
"And why's that?"
"You saying you don't appreciate me making an effort? Not even when the rewards are yours to reap?" Jackson questions. He barely manages to hide a pleased shudder as Danny slowly and purposefully runs his eyes down the length of his body.
"I guess I can admit I like it," Danny says. "You're not making an effort this morning for me, though."
"True."
Danny waggles his eyebrows and grins. "Besides, I prefer you out of your clothes than in them."
Naturally, this causes Jackson's brain to grind to a halt and fill with memories of all the things they've done together since they confessed their feelings for each other:
He's finally felt alive these past few months. His libido has increased a hundredfold, and that has led to more experimentation and pleasure than Jackson ever thought it was possible to experience.
He discovered what it's like to be inside of someone he actually loves and is physically attracted to, which, while great, didn't actually turn out to be his favoured sexual position. Surprisingly, he preferred being on the bottom—but that doesn't mean he's still not usually in command in the bedroom. Sure, Danny taking the lead is mind-blowing, but Jackson's all-time favourite thing to do is to lay Danny down on their bed and ride the shit out of him, bouncing on Danny's fucking beautiful dick like he was born for it. He's even managed to come untouched twice.
He's a total slut for dick. Who'd've thought?
His mind returning to the kitchen, Jackson groans because a fire has started in his gut and his underwear feels much tighter. He really doesn't need this right now; as Danny shouted up to him when he was primping in the bedroom, he doesn't have time to have any fun this morning, and he thinks it's damn unfair for Danny to put those naughty thoughts in his head and send him off to his first day of his first job with a boner.
From the way Danny's grin has only stretched wider, he knows exactly what he's done.
"You're being mean this morning," Jackson grumbles, shovelling the last of his hash browns in his mouth.
Just then, Danny's mom enters from the small laundry room just off the kitchen with a basket of fresh clothes in her hands. "Who's being mean?" she enquires.
"No one, mom," Danny lies, still grinning like a loon.
"Danny is," Jackson corrects with a whiny tone. He sticks out his bottom lip in the mother of all pouts. "He's making fun of me. Make him stop. Oh! You should ground him. That'd show him."
Olive sets the laundry basket down on the kitchen counter and puts a hand on her hip. "What've you done now?"
"Nothing," Danny denies, blinking innocently.
His mom stares at him doubtfully, while the corners of her lips twitch with a suppressed smile. "Right."
"Never mind. Forget about it," Jackson tells her, giving up the game lest she truly pry. He loves her, but he'd rather not discuss his and Danny's sex life with her.
"Alright." Olive picks the basket back up, sets it on her hip and walks around the island. She ruffles Danny's hair with her free hand on her way past. "Behave, you. Don't rile him up."
"I would never."
Olive hums knowingly. "I'm sure you wouldn't."
Once she's gone, Jackson just concentrates on finishing his breakfast, practically able to hear the seconds ticking away until he has to leave the house. He's glad that Danny seems to have listened to his mom and doesn't do anything else to get a rise out of him—and the 'rise' Danny got out of him before has now gone down, thank god.
"Serious talk now," Danny says, his playful demeanour shifting with his words, "how're you feeling about today?"
Jackson no longer feels like eating standing up, so he sits down on a stool on the opposite side of the island. "I guess I am a bit nervous. Just a bit, though."
"That's okay."
Jackson averts his gaze to look down at the marble surface of the island. "I know. It's just…your mom pulled a favour to get me this job, so I don't wanna mess it up, y'know?"
Danny shakes his head. "That's not gonna happen."
"It's possible."
"Nope."
"Danny."
The other boy gets up from his stool, makes his way around the island and comes to stand behind Jackson. He slots his arms beneath Jackson's and hugs him, tucking his chin over the blond's shoulder. "I mean it. You'll charm the pants off everyone, just like you did with mom's friend when she interviewed you."
Jackson chuckles. "How do you know that's what happened? You weren't there."
"Because I know you. All you have to do is what they tell you and be yourself, and you'll have everyone eating outta the palm of your hand in no time. You'll be fine."
The reassurance works, some of Jackson's worry fading. Not all, but enough. It is only a job as a barista at an independent coffee shop in the heart of town, after all. It was Danny's mom's idea—to make himself a bit of money while he dips his toe into other things in search of something he'd like to make an actual career out of. It'll also give him something to do when Danny starts college soon.
"Thanks," he says earnestly, leaning back into his boyfriend's hold.
"You're welcome. I mean, you charm the pants off of me all the time," Danny murmurs, kissing the side of Jackson's neck.
"Danny…" Jackson whimpers. "Not now."
"Fine, fine, I'll knock it off." Danny pats his chest and backs away, coming around to Jackson's side instead. "I'm gonna go get dressed too. Dad and I are supposed to go get some of the last things I'll need for my college classes in about half an hour. Don't leave without giving me my goodbye kiss, alright?"
Jackson nods. "You got it."
When he's left alone a moment later, Jackson eats the last two forkfuls of his breakfast, dumps the plate and fork in the dishwasher and washes it all down with a glass of water. He dashes back upstairs to brush his teeth and sticks his head in his and Danny's bedroom to tell the other boy that he'll be in the foyer.
Back downstairs now, Jackson slips on his shoes and sits down on the stairs to wait for Danny to finish getting dressed. He gets his phone out of his jeans pocket and winces when he checks the time—he'll really be cutting it close this morning. Not the best thing when it's his first day, but it can't be helped now. He'll just have to gun it in his car.
Just before he puts his phone away again, he gets a new text from his mom.
[MOM / 8:47 a.m.]
Are we still having lunch together today?
Things between them have improved a lot over the past few months. At the start, they both attended therapy sessions together once a week, and with their therapist's help and advice, they managed to work through years of resentment and misunderstandings. Many tears were shed, and now their sessions have reduced to one every two weeks. They still see each other more frequently than that—for lunch, for example, like today—to keep strengthening the bond they never really got to have before.
Though things have been getting better in leaps and bounds, their relationship isn't perfect. After all, it takes more than a few paltry months to overcome all the prejudices and antiquated beliefs his mom held for decades, and every now and then she'll let something slip out that hurts Jackson's feelings. The only difference now is that, with their divorce well underway, she doesn't have Jackson's dad basically encouraging the bigoted words to fall from her mouth.
Now, she always immediately realises what she's done, and Jackson knows her apologies are sincere. He thinks it's helped her to see him and Danny together, to see proof of how happy Danny makes him with her own eyes. The night of senior prom comes to mind, when his mom came over to the Mahealanis to see him and Danny off. Anything that makes her son that happy can't be bad in her eyes.
All in all, it's a more solid relationship than Jackson ever thought he'd have with his mom, so he's grateful for it.
He texts back that he'll let her know when his lunch break is after he's found out himself and puts his phone back in his pocket, just in time to hear footsteps on the stairs behind him.
"Okay, I'm here!" Danny announces as he bounces down the last few stairs, narrowly avoiding catching Jackson with his sock-clad foot. He pulls Jackson up. "I'm ready for my goodbye kiss now."
"Needy," Jackson says, even though he would've felt wrong about leaving without this too.
"Just give it to me already."
Jackson snorts.
"What?" Danny prompts, cocking his head slightly to the side.
"Nothing. S'just I'm normally the one who says that."
"True. And you sound so good saying it too. Now, gimme my kiss," Danny demands, tapping his lips with his index finger.
Jackson heaves a long-suffering sigh and complies. He intends to keep it short and simple, but that quickly goes out the window, as it usually does with Danny. By the time it's over, he's breathless.
"Have a good day at work," Danny says. He laughs when he hears his own words. "I sounded like a real 50's housewife just then, huh?"
"Something like that." Jackson steals another kiss—and this time he manages to keep it chaste. "You gonna bake me cookies next? Maybe wear a frilly little apron?"
"Don't push it."
Jackson stops teasing with a soft hum and moves away from Danny, closer to the front door. "Okay, I think that's enough stalling…"
"Tell your mom hi from me when you see her."
"I will," Jackson promises. He opens the door, steps outside and gives a final wave to Danny before heading to his Porsche, ready for his first day on the job.
He still has no real clue what he's going to do about his future, at least in terms of a vocation, but he's got time to figure it out.
He's got Danny's parents' support, which includes a warm place to stay rent-free—at least for now; Jackson doesn't want to mooch for too long off of their generosity when he's not furthering his education like Danny is.
He's got his own mom.
And most importantly, he's got Danny, his best friend and the love of his life.
So yeah, maybe he has no clue, but it doesn't matter. With all of that help, he'll figure it out eventually.