Warnings; None
by
Mrs. Gumby
Supertramp were playing on his car stereo, a band he liked a lot, despite the fact that sometimes they depressed the hell out of him. He waited for the song to end, then shut off the stereo, then the car. He slowly pulled the emergency brake down, then sat and stared at the trees. Somewhere in that tangle of bush and trees and birds and bugs was Jack. He would be standing in the river, casting his line and thinking of nothing. Probably least of all him.
�What am I doing here? I should just leave....�
Daniel got out of the car, rolled up the window and locked the door before closing it and making certain it was properly shut. He was procrastinating, unable to head towards the river, unable to just get back in the damn car and run back to his own apartment and continue that argument he had started with a three foot statue of Anubis on his table.
He�d always had a soft spot for Anubis. Despite his supposed dark side, the god had a quirky sense of humor that had always cracked him up. So the god Osiris has been dismembered and you can�t find his dick? No problem, I�ll carve him a wood one. Trust me, no one in the after life will notice. A little too rotten to make it to heaven? No prob with that either, a little gold, a little wine, I�ll keep my thumb on the scale and make sure you get there. Daniel liked Anubis; he had the right attitude. Nothing was so devastating you couldn�t fix it.
That was why Daniel had packed him along on this little adventure; moral support. And as he glanced into the car at the statue on the passenger seat, he swore the god was laughing at him, but not unkindly.
�You made it this far...�
�He�s not going to go for this.�
�Oh well, such is life. At least you tried.�
�What if he breaks my face?�
�It�ll heal. So will your heart, eventually.�
�Eventually,� thought Daniel. �Maybe. Jeez this is so stupid, I should just go home and take my freaking god with me.� He looked towards the river. �Maybe Jack�s not even here, it�s not like he was expecting me or anything. It�s not like I was even invited....�
He turned and began walking towards the water. �Ah Christ, what if he�s down there with Carter?� He abruptly turned to head back to the car, then stopped. Anubis was watching him over the dash, eyes and ears peering back at him, watching his progress.
�Oh shut up,� Daniel muttered to the ancient god, then spun once more to head for the river. He sincerely hoped no one was watching him.
He moved through the bush and loose rocks, slipping and sliding his way down the embankment until at last he was ankle-deep in water. Not quite the entrance he had planned. He wanted to approach quietly and observe the situation first. Being a war veteran with years of training and experience, there was no way Jack would miss the noise he had been making. Probably thought a drunken bear was creeping up on him.
Jack was there, alone, a little way down the river to his left. He was holding his rod and looking quizzically towards the area where Daniel stood. He couldn�t see the younger man, but he had definitely heard him.
Daniel watched him. Jack was beautiful when on alert, alive with adrenaline, eyes watching, muscles moving. Daniel enjoyed the brief moment of being able to observe him. Then Jack moved a few steps deeper into the river, and saw what had been making the noise.
�Daniel?�
So now what did he say? �Oh, Jack, fancy meeting you here....� Yeah right. Or how about; �I think about you all the time and I think I�ve got a thing for you, and if I didn�t come here today to find out I was going to die.� Yeah that would go over great. Jack probably just loved it when men came onto him. He would probably show his appreciation by tearing him to pieces and using the bits as bait.
�Hi.�
�What are you doing here? How did you get here? Was that you falling down the bank?�
Daniel looked over his shoulder at the swath of broken branches and upchurned earth that marked his descent. �Yeah.�
Jack actually laughed. �There�s a path you know. What are you doing here?�
Daniel waded through the silver water towards the other man. �I was ... looking for you, actually.�
�Yeah? Well here I am. Get over here and away from those loose boulders before you break an ankle. If I have to go to the Base for some reason, then forget it. I have four more days before I have to go anywhere.�
�No it�s not anything important, I just.... wanted to go fishing.�
Somewhere in heaven, Anubis slapped his hand over his face and shook his head. Jack just stared at Daniel, watching with interest as his allergies began to manifest. Daniel sniffed, then coughed. Jack wasn�t buying this at all.
�Okay, actually, I just wanted to discuss something with you.�
�Out here? In the middle of my week off? In my favorite fishing hole?�
�He�s pissed,� Daniel thought. �Well why shouldn�t he be?� �I....guess it was a dumb idea. I just...couldn�t think of anywhere better.�
He cringed, waiting for Jack to scream at him. But the anger never came. Instead he just shook his head. He began reeling in his line. �Well let�s....sit and talk then. Beer?�
�Uh, sure. Thanks.� Daniel slogged through the water and onto the bank, then sat to take off his boots. He poured the water out and set them on a rock to dry, then pulled off his socks and wrung them out. So much for being able to get away if Jack decided to kill him; he wouldn�t get two steps without footwear.
Jack sat beside him on the bank and passed him a beer, then took one for himself. Daniel twisted off the cap and tossed it into the cooler. He didn�t want to say anything now that he was here. Maybe it was better to hope the answer was yes rather than know it was no...
�Catch anything?� he asked.
�Couple nice rainbow trout, and the same stupid catfish three times. I don�t like catfish, but this one seems determined to be caught.�
�What did you do with him?�
Jack took the lid off a second cooler, and Daniel looked inside. Settled comfortably on the bottom of the cooler full of river water was a fair-sized catfish. It flicked its tail and turned to look at him.
�He�s in the brig until I stop for the day,� said Jack, closing the lid once more. �No sense letting him cut himself to bits doing the same stupid thing all day. I�m sure as hell not going to eat him.�
�Maybe he wants to go home with you.�
Jack gave Daniel a strange look. �And do what? Live in my bathtub?�
Daniel suddenly looked away. This was so much harder than he thought it would be. And he had not been expecting it to be easy. �Maybe he likes you.�
�He�s a catfish. He sees something that looks like food and he bites it. �Like� has nothing to do with it.�
�This is stupid. I should have stayed home. I should forget all about this.� Daniel looked towards Jack. �Maybe he�s happier just living in your cooler than he is in the river without you.�
Jack blinked and shook his head, like someone had just slapped him. �WHAT?! Je-zuz, Daniel, what have you been smoking? It�s a fish.�
Daniel looked away again, then took a long swallow of his beer. So Jack wasn�t so good at making connections. Or maybe he didn�t want to. �Time to fish or cut bait, Daniel. The man�s not an idiot, once he finishes thinking you�re insane he�s going to connect the dots...�
�I came out here because I think I�m in love with you.� �Oh lordie he�s going to kill me...� �I couldn�t just sit back and try not to think about it anymore.� He swallowed nervously. �You can kill me if you want to.�
Jack suddenly had a headache, and his brain forced him to back up and re-think what had just happened. �We were talking about the catfish. No, first he said he came here to talk to me. Talk....fish in the cooler...�
�Daniel�s in love with me? Where the hell was I when this was happening?�
Jack looked towards him. Daniel was hunched down with his eyes squeezed shut, waiting for his life to end. Finally Daniel dared to open one eye. They just stared at each other, Daniel in trepidation, Jack in pure confusion.
�You love me?�
It took Daniel a moment to get his mouth to work. �Yes.�
�For how long?�
�I�m not sure. At least since you pulled me off the balcony.�
Jack opened the cooler and reached in, gently catching the catfish. He tossed it into the river, then emptied the water out. He began putting his gear away.
�Look it�s late, let�s just go up to the campsite and we�ll.... talk about this in a bit. Grab your boots.�
�You�re not mad?�
�I�m definitely shocked. I�m not mad.�
�I couldn�t stand it if you hated me...�
Jack gave up trying to organize; this wasn�t something he could just ignore until later. He sat down and faced Daniel. �Why would I hate you for telling me you love me?�
�I don�t know, I was just so afraid.�
Jack sighed. �Oh Danny, you are such a pain in the ass.� He put his arms around him and hugged him hard. �I�m your friend, can�t you get that through your head? Just don�t cry all over me.�
�Is there a chance....?�
Jack kissed his forehead, then stroked his hair. �Don�t get all upset, I can�t handle it when you�re upset.�
Daniel kissed him, sneaking one in when he had the chance. Then to his surprise, he felt Jack kiss him back. They fell sideways into the soft earth. The kiss broke off, and they held each other.
�Why in hell would you love me?�
Daniel raised his head and looked at Jack. �Well there�s your endearing way with words...�
�I mean I don�t deserve it.�
Daniel looked surprised. �Why not?�
�I�m an asshole.�
�I know,� said Daniel, the tone of voice saying; �What has that to do with anything?�
Jack gently pushed Daniel up to a sitting position, rising to face him. He stroked the soft hair. He wanted to say something wonderful and profound and loving, something that would get Daniel to stop feeling this way, something that the heroes in the movies always knew how to say. He was no good for this young man; he was too old, too jaded, too damn broken-down...
Maybe he should just let Daniel make up his own mind about what was good for him. He�d taken a hell of a chance, coming out here just to say �I love you.� Then there was the remark about the catfish. �Maybe he�s happier in your cooler...�
Oh great, lessons in romance from a fish that thought sucking on rocks was a great way to spend the day. Jack knew what catfish ate; that�s why he didn�t eat them.
He leaned forward and very lightly kissed Daniel�s lips, then stroked his fingertips over his cheek.
�You know I�m an asshole,� Jack said dryly.
Daniel shifted. �Well...I mean...I�ve seen you when you�re....not at your best.�
�You have seen me be an asshole and it doesn�t bother you.�
�Well, yes, actually, it irritates the hell out of me, but mostly because you�re usually right.�
Jack grinned. �Thank you. Look, Daniel, I....I�ll admit something to you, but if you repeat it, I may have to hide your allergy medicine. I�ve...had a male lover before. It wasn�t a long relationship, and it wasn�t with anyone you know. It was, however, a glowing example of how two people can bring out the worst in each other. We were great friends for three years, then after four months of sleeping together we never saw each other again. I still miss him a hell of a lot, and I didn�t care for him anywhere near as much as I care for you.�
Daniel looked away. �So...you don�t want this to go any further.�
Jack slid his hand from Daniel�s cheek to his shoulder, then gently drew him close. �I do want it to go further. I never said anything because I didn�t think you were interested. I also never said anything because I couldn�t stand it if we ended the same way.�
Daniel sighed heavily and leaned against Jack. �I am so glad I came out here.�
Jack smiled and stroked the soft brown hair. �Yeah, me too. Best day fishing I ever had.�
