Jack stood at the kitchen counter, his fingers sticky with egg and breadcrumbs as he attempted to recreate his mother's fried chicken. The radio in the corner was playing softly and the kitchen sparkled from his thorough cleaning earlier. There were muffled noises coming from the basement- the sounds of Daniel rotating yet another load of laundry.
It had been a very domestic sort of day for the two men including much needed housework, grocery shopping, and a full on frontal attack on the mountain of laundry they had let accumulate the past couple of weeks. If anyone had asked Jack three months ago if his idea of a good time was to scrub his kitchen counters and meander around a grocery store he would have told them they were nuts. But a lot can change in three months and something that was lost can be found again wrapped in blue robes half a galaxy away. And Jack would happily spend all of the rest of his life's weekends scrubbing his counters and doing laundry as long as Daniel was with him.
But that was the kicker. Daniel wasn't with him. Oh sure they lived together, he had deftly moved a homeless Daniel into his house following his return to Earth and they had hashed out a calm home life that suited them both. But they weren't together, not like Jack wanted to be.
When Daniel had ascended Jack had finally allowed himself to examine his feelings for Daniel and it wasn't easy to do. It wasn't easy to do having some forty-odd years behind him of being strictly heterosexual. And it certainly wasn't easy to do because Daniel was gone. And though he decided to be honest with Daniel when he returned, Daniel's Swiss cheese memory kept Jack from telling Daniel about his personal epiphany. It would have felt like he was taking advantage of the situation. So he kept it all to himself. But truth be told, Jack was happy. Daniel was home fully in body and spirit, and his mind was not far behind.
Jack turned to grab a paper towel and found the roll empty. With the toe of his shoe he managed to open the lower cabinet where the spare rolls were kept and came up empty again. With a frown he walked towards the basement door with his breadcrumb crusted hands held up like a surgeon fresh from scrubbing up. He stuck his head in the open basement door and said without thinking, "Baby, can you grab some paper towels on your way up? We're all out up here."
There was an odd moment of quiet from the basement before Jack finally heard Daniel clear his throat a little and reply, "Sure. I'll ah... bring some up."
"Cool. Chicken is ready to go."
Jack headed back to the kitchen and it wasn't until he got there that he realized in horror what he had actually just said to Daniel. With a sigh he dropped his chin and shook his head. All he could hope was that Daniel hadn't caught it.
A minute later Daniel came upstairs with a couple rolls of paper towels balanced on top of a basket of clean laundry. As Daniel slipped one on the holder and tucked the other under the cupboard, Jack saw no sign that Daniel had caught his slip.
Actually there was no sign all through dinner and no sign as they watched a movie in the living room after dinner.
There was no sign until they had both turned in for the night. Jack had just climbed into bed and turned off the light when there was a light knock on his bedroom door. At Jack's acknowledgment Daniel opened the door and entered the room. Without waiting for further invitation he sat down on the edge of the bed next to Jack.
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branchandroot
Confirmation - J/D, PG, 1/2
Date: Jan. 12th, 2009 08:35 pm (UTC)It had been a very domestic sort of day for the two men including much needed housework, grocery shopping, and a full on frontal attack on the mountain of laundry they had let accumulate the past couple of weeks. If anyone had asked Jack three months ago if his idea of a good time was to scrub his kitchen counters and meander around a grocery store he would have told them they were nuts. But a lot can change in three months and something that was lost can be found again wrapped in blue robes half a galaxy away. And Jack would happily spend all of the rest of his life's weekends scrubbing his counters and doing laundry as long as Daniel was with him.
But that was the kicker. Daniel wasn't with him. Oh sure they lived together, he had deftly moved a homeless Daniel into his house following his return to Earth and they had hashed out a calm home life that suited them both. But they weren't together, not like Jack wanted to be.
When Daniel had ascended Jack had finally allowed himself to examine his feelings for Daniel and it wasn't easy to do. It wasn't easy to do having some forty-odd years behind him of being strictly heterosexual. And it certainly wasn't easy to do because Daniel was gone. And though he decided to be honest with Daniel when he returned, Daniel's Swiss cheese memory kept Jack from telling Daniel about his personal epiphany. It would have felt like he was taking advantage of the situation. So he kept it all to himself. But truth be told, Jack was happy. Daniel was home fully in body and spirit, and his mind was not far behind.
Jack turned to grab a paper towel and found the roll empty. With the toe of his shoe he managed to open the lower cabinet where the spare rolls were kept and came up empty again. With a frown he walked towards the basement door with his breadcrumb crusted hands held up like a surgeon fresh from scrubbing up. He stuck his head in the open basement door and said without thinking, "Baby, can you grab some paper towels on your way up? We're all out up here."
There was an odd moment of quiet from the basement before Jack finally heard Daniel clear his throat a little and reply, "Sure. I'll ah... bring some up."
"Cool. Chicken is ready to go."
Jack headed back to the kitchen and it wasn't until he got there that he realized in horror what he had actually just said to Daniel. With a sigh he dropped his chin and shook his head. All he could hope was that Daniel hadn't caught it.
A minute later Daniel came upstairs with a couple rolls of paper towels balanced on top of a basket of clean laundry. As Daniel slipped one on the holder and tucked the other under the cupboard, Jack saw no sign that Daniel had caught his slip.
Actually there was no sign all through dinner and no sign as they watched a movie in the living room after dinner.
There was no sign until they had both turned in for the night. Jack had just climbed into bed and turned off the light when there was a light knock on his bedroom door. At Jack's acknowledgment Daniel opened the door and entered the room. Without waiting for further invitation he sat down on the edge of the bed next to Jack.
tbc...