Part 3

Daniel reached the front porch, and before pressing the bell button, huffed onto his palm to check his breath.  He’d brushed his teeth as he prepared for the date.. dinner! Dammit! But he’d had coffee since then. 

Suddenly the door flung open and Jack grinned at him.  He’d changed, Daniel noted, and looked gorgeous in all black.  Black pants that accentuated the length and leanness of his legs, and a summer-weight black sweater that was rolled at the throat, just brushing Jack under his chin. His face was smooth of the stubble he’d sported at the store earlier and his hair had been combed, at least with his fingers. 

“Daniel,” Jack said, able to make that simple word sound predatory.  He swept his arm and invited his dumbstruck friend into the depths of the darkened house. 

Daniel passed over a bottle of wine and a bag that sported the logo for Jack’s favorite bakery.  “Did you forget to pay your bill, Jack?” He shrugged off his sports jacket and turned to face the Cheshire cat beside him. 

“If I knew you’d look this good, I’d have had the house ablaze,” Jack said, eyeing Daniel’s outfit of dark blue dress pants, purple/blue shirt fastened at the wrists neatly, and the heavy silver-buckled black leather belt around his trim waist, emphasizing his physique. 

“Platonic, remember?”

“Yeah, sure!” It sounded more like a scoff than an agreement as Jack made his way into the kitchen, the only room with a light on full.

The living room was lit by a low lamp in one corner, and the dining room had the light dimmed low, and candles waiting for the dinner.  The rest of the house, as far as Daniel could tell, was dark. For a brief moment a thought chased across his mind… did Jack have candles in his bedroom? And if so, were they there purely for this evening?

Daniel took the moment to rub his hand over his mouth and consider what accepting this date – dinner, dammit – might mean to their friendship and to Jack in particular.  Part of him was sure that after the initial knock back months ago Jack only kept up the chase because he knew there was no hope. There was a time Daniel thought he’d frighten Jack off by accepting one of his advances, but common sense won out and he realized that if Jack were even an iota serious about his intentions, then to lead him on like that would be wrong.

Not that Daniel wasn’t interested; he just wasn’t interested in the kind of relationship Jack seemed to be offering. Daniel was quite fine with his attachment to commitment within a relationship, even if Jack thought it was an out-of-date notion.

The kitchen door creaked on its two-way hinges as Jack came out and placed the wine glasses on the table.  He glanced at the man still by the front door but didn’t say anything as he pulled a lighter from his back pocket and held the flame to the wicks. 

Daniel moved over to the table and watched his friend light the candles – his hands so strong and able looked enticing in the dim light.  Bent over the table to light the candles, Jack lifted his face slightly and gave Daniel the kind of smile he rarely showed on base.  “I’m glad you made it.” He straightened up and Daniel believed, from the look in the soft brown eyes, that Jack actually meant it. He was also sure he meant it when he said, “You look.. great.”

Daniel smiled shyly and lowered his chin slightly.  “So do you.”

“Ah, careful-” Jack laughed abruptly, losing the tenderness and returning to the Jack Daniel knew so well.  “I might think you’re flirting with me!” He disappeared into the kitchen again.

Daniel followed him into the kitchen and saw the extent Jack had gone to for this dinner. Pots and pans littered the sink and counters, bowls and packages crowded the rest of the bench space. On the stove, a pot remained, gently warming the contents.  Jack moved over, lifted the lid and stirred the pot with a wooden spoon before resealing the lid once more.  He placed the spoon in the dish beside the stove. 

“This looks like a lot of trouble,” Daniel commented and his presence had clearly startled Jack, who swung around and regarded him with wide eyes.

Regaining himself quickly, Jack waved dismissively and said, “It’s a ruse.  The packs are in the trash. I just tossed all this around to impress you.”

Daniel smiled and dipped his chin again.  “Well, it worked,” he said before lifting his face to meet Jack’s eyes straight on.  “But if you really wanted to work it you should have put a bit of flour, right there, on the side of your nose.” Daniel pointed to, but didn’t touch, Jack’s face.

Jack’s lips parted as he worked through his thoughts.  He raised a finger and wagged it at his friend as he chortled, “You *are* flirting with me.”

Daniel blinked and retained his composure.  “I’m appreciating you,” he corrected him and leaned against the counter with his arm, his head on a slight cant.  “If I’d brought bananas, I’d be flirting.”

Laughter pealed through the kitchen as Jack squinted in playful consideration of that comment then turned back to the meal he was preparing. As he began to dish out their meals onto their plates he considered the way he felt right at that moment.  He was the happiest that he could recall being in some time. 

This was the ‘couple’ he kept telling Daniel they could be, if only they knew how to keep their balance when treading that fine line between who they were and who they had to be.

Daniel grinned too, the kind of smile that screwed up his nose and bared his white teeth slightly.  This was the Jack that he cared so much about. The man as far removed from the ‘colonel’ as could possibly be. He moved to the refrigerator and pulled the wine from the shelf in the door.  Just as his hand was on the kitchen door he heard Jack ask, “What did you bring, by the way?”

“Cake.” He pressed through to the dining room.

“Cool,” Jack hummed.  “What kind?” He asked the door that still flapped from Daniel’s exit. 

From the dining room Jack distinctly heard Daniel call back, “Banana..”

A grin seeped slowly over his features as he let that thought penetrate through.  With a huge smile he lifted the plates off the counter and carried them into the dining room.

*

Dinner was punctuated with the occasional flirtatious comment but the men settled in and spoke honestly and openly of the events of the past few days.  This time, instead of just reaching an understanding, they listened as each put forth their point of view on the events of the past few days. 

Time away from the base always grounded them and made discussing the obscure and often hard to believe events within the SGC a lot easier. Not long after Daniel had joined the team he’d started to come to Jack after particularly harrowing missions, just to talk.  The sensitive younger man needed someone to help him cope, someone who understood the rigors of the job, and the secrecy of the missions.  Jack accepted the role of ‘listener’ at first due to his status as the colonel, ergo, Daniel’s guide through the unfamiliar world of aliens and military. 

Over the months then years, Jack had begun to unbutton himself with his friend, started to find similarities and differences that strengthened the outward appeal that Daniel held for him.  As Daniel’s resolve strengthened he needed the Colonel less, but found he wanted Jack more.  No longer the Guide and the Guided, they became equals, and mutual respect bore mutual admiration, which bore mutual attraction.  They would always fight; both knew that, because they were different men from different backgrounds with different ideals.  But there was always something that brought them to moments like this, when they could move beyond hard words and angry looks, and come to a valley of warmth, of understanding and of shared companionship.

For Jack, their friendship reminded him in many ways of his marriage during the good times. Two strong people who knew that they belonged together and that no matter what might come between them, they had the makings to put it right by spending time together and working through it.

The fine line was getting finer.

A companionable dinner, filled with warmth and laughter, looks shared across a well prepared dinner, and white wine to lull the senses also helped in negotiations. Soon Daniel conceded that Jack was in a better position to know the peril the base was in at the time he burst into the gate room, and Jack accepted that Daniel’s belief in the girl would have led her to shutting down the replicators – given enough time. 

Jack looked contrite as he also apologized for the comment about wanting to push Daniel through walls sometimes.  The younger man gave a wry smile as he retorted, “Sometimes I feel the same way about you, Jack.”

Very fine, indeed.

*

After dinner they fell into comfortable silence.  Daniel had finished off his second slice of cake while Jack’s sat with a faraway look in his eyes and a gentle smile on his lips, one unlike Daniel had ever seen before. 

Daniel watched him a while, wondering at the reason.  Then he leaned forward to snare a glob of the almond encrusted cream from the edge of the plate and accidentally brushed his knee against Jack’s thigh.  The expression fell away from the older man’s features as if he’d been woken up, and he focused on his companion again. 

“Sorry,” Daniel commented softly and licked his thumb then reached for his glass.

“I was miles away,” Jack admitted as he straightened up in his chair and folded his arms on the table, leaning in to caress his fingers up and down the stem of his wine glass absently. 

“Where were you?” Daniel asked quietly. The flames of the candles between them glinted in his lenses as he tilted his head slightly to await the answer. 

Jack studied his face; the way the candlelight accentuated the leanness of Daniel’s throat, the sharpness of his jaw, the pout of his bottom lip.  He shook his head very slightly and rumbled, through a faint smile, “You don’t want to know.”

Daniel blushed and lowered his chin to his chest.  It was times like this, moments when he saw the real Jack O’Neill that he wanted more with him.  His cock stirred in agreement with his head but his heart asked him to not go there. He’d had enough disastrous relationships because he wanted to fill an urgent need at the time, and he didn’t need to ruin this very special friendship with his dick.  To fortify himself against the temptation he took another gulp of the wine, keeping his eyes diverted from the man intently watching him.  Ever so slowly he allowed his knee to lean against Jack’s leg again, hoping it wasn’t obvious.

*

“Ready for coffee?”  Jack asked his guest sometime later.  Daniel smiled the kind of smile that told Jack that he was always ready for coffee.  The older man scoffed as if to say, ‘yeah, dumb question’ as he got to his feet and reached for Daniel’s plate.  Daniel rose too and gathered the cutlery and glasses then followed Jack into the kitchen.

“Dump them on the sink, I’ll clean up tomorrow,” Jack instructed as he pulled out his best coffee mugs and poured the black liquid that had brewed throughout dinner into them.

Daniel studied the dirty dishes with a scowl. “You should do them tonight-” he said then met Jack’s gaze – one that clearly said ‘who’s place is this?’  Nonetheless, Daniel said, “At lease rinse them.”

Calmly, but surely, Jack said, “Leave them, Daniel.  I’ll do them in the morning.”

The younger man looked at him, then shrugged and notched the incident up to yet another difference between them.  He gave Jack a look to let him know that too but the older man didn’t seem to care in the slightest as he smirked at his vexed friend. After a moment, Daniel laughed also then shook his head at his own snippiness while he reached past Jack’s stomach for his cup of coffee.

*

In the living room, the lamp in the corner cast a semi-circle of light across the polished floor and Persian rug, and it bathed the rest of the room in diffused light. The large windows either side of Jack’s stone hearth were bare of curtains and the contents of the room were reflected against the blackness of outside.

Daniel settled into his usual spot at the centre of the long sofa while Jack took up his preferred arm chair, the one with its back to the front door.

“Wanna watch a movie? Play a game?”

“No,” Daniel said with a soft sigh as he leaned a shoulder against the thick cushions of Jack’s sofa and looked at him. He suddenly felt the late hour catch up to him in the subdued moment.  The cushions enveloped him and lulled his tired body. “Music?”

“Oh yeah, like we agree on anything there, too,” the older man mumbled with a grin as he shuffled over to the other side of the room where the stereo was. He enjoyed the soft tinkle of Daniel’s laughter as he selected a neutral CD and put it on. 

Daniel mumbled as he closed his eyes.  “All a ploy to show you just how ludicrous a relationship between us would be-” They opened immediately as he felt the sofa beside him dip under Jack’s weight.  He stared directly into brown eyes that were too close.

“I disagree,” Jack said, folding his hands in his own lap to prevent himself from touching the other man’s handsome face. “I think our differences are what makes us so right together.”

Despite the seriousness of Jack’s tone, it was with a chuckle that Daniel scoffed, “They made a television series about people like us and called it the Odd Couple, Jack.” He leaned forward to reach for his coffee.

“They lived together, Daniel. Not loved each other..”

With his hand still extended in pursuit of his coffee, Daniel turned to look over his arm to the man beside him.  He expected to see humor in Jack’s eyes, for it to be a joke like all of the flirting had been between them, but Jack looked serious – very serious.  Daniel was genuinely surprised, if not a little excited, by the unguarded confession Jack just let slip. He leaned back, without taking his eyes from Jack’s gaze, and asked, “Did..  did I just hear you correctly?”

Jack squinted as he raised his chin slightly. He held his mouth pursed, but not tight. 

The younger man tilted his head as he stammered, “Did you just say you *loved* me?”

Jack was a little uncomfortable, but he hid it behind a smile. “Come on, Danny, you’re smart.  You know exactly what I just said.” Not even Jack would use that term if he didn’t mean it, no matter how horny he might be.

Jack first indicated his feelings for Daniel following the bar brawl at O’Malley’s during the trial period of the Tok’Ra arm bands.  At the time he put it down to the powers of the bands giving him inner fortification and the ability to be true and honest to his feelings.  Daniel put it down to too many beers.  They did nothing more than kiss that night but it was enough to stir both men.  Daniel still grew hard thinking about the way Jack cradled his face with his strong, sinewy hands and held onto him like he was something priceless to be fondled gently as his tongue explored the inner reaches of Daniel’s mouth.

Once the bands had come off they found it hard to discuss what had gone on between them and almost convinced the other, if not themselves, that the whole incident was brought on by some chemical imbalance from the armbands. Things grew awkward for them and they avoided the issue, halting any conversation that steered near that topic.

It wasn’t an easy time and it weighed heavily between them, affecting the friendship so much that others began to notice. After avoiding Daniel and only relating when he had to, Jack began to wonder if the wounded expressions in Daniel’s eyes were actually stabs of regret at what they had let slip between them.  So Jack made some further advances but Daniel side-stepped the issue so well that Jack was left to believe that Daniel wasn’t interested in him – not long term anyway.  He seemed to enjoy the game though, so Jack kept that up.

There was a time when Daniel almost caved in.  They were on the brink of actually diving into a relationship when Anise turned up with the Za’tarc machines ~ then all bets were off!

//I care more for her more than I’m supposed to//

The confessions she drew from both Jack and Sam reached Daniel’s ears a day after the event and the young man was singed. Despite Jack’s continued flirtations, Daniel couldn’t look him in the eye for almost three days, and he avoided Sam uncomfortably. 

Jack noted the sudden change in Daniel and confronted him about it.  Daniel revealed to him that he’d heard about the confessions. Knowing he could find no explanation plausible enough for Daniel, Jack gave up trying.  He knew how he meant it – Sam was like his kid sister and Commanding Officers were not supposed to think of their 2IC’s as kid sisters, but Daniel wasn’t convinced. He saw it as Jack laying a two-way bet. It didn’t help that he knew Sam’s confession was *not* sisterly in the least!

// I care more /

The mind stamp incident didn’t help either. When Jack couldn’t recall Daniel at all, but felt a history with Sam instead, Daniel felt sure that all of Jack’s previous words were just his dick talking.  Daniel wanted more – no, Daniel needed more. Daniel needed to love with all of his heart and body, not just his body.

So Daniel and Jack shared a rough year where each man blamed the other outwardly for damaging their friendship, whilst inwardly abused them for making them fall in love.

Daniel watched what he assumed was Jack growing closer to Sam and witnessed what he knew was Sam growing more in love with Jack.  It killed him each time he saw her look at Jack, knowing that Jack had the same amount of feelings for her as he did for him -

// Than I’m supposed to //

– only there was more probability that Jack and Sam would end up together happily ever-after, even if it took Jack to retire for it to happen. 

To Jack’s credit though, and Daniel had suspicions about this too, Jack had been working on their friendship lately. Ever since Daniel and Davis had to fly to Russia to get the DHD to save Teal’c’s life, Jack had been particularly attentive to his friend.  Jack had made more offers of dinner, lunches, ball games and fishing. When the two men discovered a mutual interest in Dirt Bike riding Jack bought Daniel a bike of his own. Jack, it seemed, was doing all he could to repair the puncture that had left them flat.

At first, Daniel figured Jack was setting him up for the ‘best man’ scenario. Every man needed a best friend - even married men, if it came to that.  If that was all he could have, that’s what Daniel would take. So the men grew together again and their friendship blossomed under the careful attention of Jack.

It might have taken a while, and a whole lot of flirting, but Jack eventually managed to convince Daniel that the confession regarding Sam was never a proclamation of sexual love, just a deep, unconditional friendship love. Whilst this buoyed his feelings, Daniel was determined not to take Jack’s advances seriously. Jack was just a guy on heat, knowing he was talking to another guy who was.. well..  adrift for some time without a port to dock into.  He doubted Jack wanted anything more than to flirt and perhaps have a one or two event thing.  Jack seemed the sort to travel light. A relationship with Sam could get too messy – a fumble with a friend was so much easier!

Part of Daniel still held suspicions that Jack was playing the same game on the other side of the field, and this aided in keeping him that little bit distant, no matter how much Jack tempted him. He wasn’t willing to lose the friendship again.  He didn’t want to relive the year just past.

So it was with this belief that Daniel reacted to the admission on the sofa.  Amidst the low lighting, the mellow music and the physical closeness of the two bodies he felt a coldness snap through his heart.

“Oh-” he nodded then muttered, a little acerbically, “You mean you care about me ‘more than you’re supposed to’ -  that.. that kind of love?”

The smile turned sour on the edge of the older man’s lips and Jack straightened out to stare up at the ceiling. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”  He tilted his head to look at Daniel then rolled it back to gaze up at the ceiling once more. His lips pursed lightly together as he crossed his arms over his lengthened body.

Daniel blinked as he realized the dent he’d just made in their moment.  He raised his hand to Jack’s temple, hesitated a moment then touched the graying hair over Jack’s ears.  Daniel rarely touched Jack. The brown eyes closed languidly at the touch.  “I’m sorry,” Daniel said in a low voice. 

Jack turned and opened his eyes slowly. “It hurt, I know that.”

Daniel’s smile faltered under the amorous gaze.  “It’s easier to believe that you’d have feelings for her.”

The brown eyes shifted between Daniel’s gaze. “Why?”

“She’s Sam. Way smarter than me in all things military. Female.. blonde, beautiful..”

“Granted.” Jack agreed and watched as Daniel’s eyes fluttered closed briefly.  “But that doesn’t mean that I want a relationship with her. I admire her.”

“And you flirt with her..”

“I play around with her. She’s less stuffy these days. I don’t flirt with her like I do with you, if that’s the point you’re trying to make.”

“Do you love her?”

“Where’s this going, Daniel?”

Daniel bent his arm and leaned his face against his fist.  He studied the face of the man lounging casually beside him. “It’s just that.. sometimes at work you’re like this whole other person…” He paused then pushed on, “And you seem to value her more than me. How is that if you claim you love me..?”

Jack gave that some serious thought.  “Admittedly,” he said with a slight nod. “At work I ‘am’ Colonel O’Neill, Second in Charge of the Base, Commander of SG-1. Only because that is my job and I believe in my work. I listen to Carter because she’s my 2IC. I need her on the field.  I need her to be my spotter, my thinker, my adviser. I trust her opinion out there.” Jack shifted to lean on one shoulder and face Daniel more.  His gaze travelled all over the younger man’s face before he said, “But I’m not always Colonel O’Neill.”

Daniel settled deeper into the soft cushions but didn’t take his eyes from his companion’s face.  “You know-” He sighed softly, “It’s times like this that I have trouble seeing Colonel O’Neill at all..”

Jack smiled and moved his shoulder so that he could be nearer to Daniel.  “That’s because you see me like no one else does.”  He hesitated then cupped the side of Daniel’s head with one hand.  He shifted his face slightly, bringing their faces closer together slowly so that Daniel had time to pull away if he needed to. 

Too close to focus on the handsome face now, Jack lolled his eyes closed and prepared to meet the sweet mouth.  Daniel had slipped from his touch and was on his feet before Jack had a chance to stop himself from falling forward into the soft sofa material.  

“Sorry,” the blue eyes flashed apologetically as Daniel paced. 

Jack straightened up, sighed heavily through his nose and folded his hands into his lap. If Daniel hadn’t baulked at his approach that would have surprised him more than if Daniel had returned the kiss. His gut instincts told him he was wearing his friend down though, getting closer to showing him that he was serious about a relationship between them.  If only he could get the anthropologist to sit still long enough.

“I should go home,” Daniel said, making his way to the front door. 

Jack met him as he shrugged on his jacket, and asked Daniel, “Will you tell me one thing?”

Daniel looked at him.

“Am I making an ass of myself here?”

The look turned a little blank.

Jack sighed.  “Are you at all interested?”

The blue eyes fluttered as they rolled and Daniel dragged his keys from his jacket pocket. 

“That’s *not* an answer, Daniel.” Jack said bluntly.

With a loud sigh Daniel bowed his head then he threw it back, arching his throat as he turned to look at Jack.  The eyes narrowed behind the glass lenses. “Yes.”

“Yes, what? Yes, I’m making an ass of myself.. or..”

His teeth gritted in insecurity, Daniel confessed, “Yes, I *am* interested.”  He lightly dug his thumbnail into the door as he added, “But we want different things.”

Jack’s brow arched in question. “Such as?”

“I want Jack,” he said honestly then gave a sad smile. “Too often you have to be Colonel O’Neill.”

“And you have to be Doctor Jackson, veritable pain in the butt of Colonel O’Neill.”

Daniel couldn’t help but smirk at that then said, “Odd you should say that.  I’d rather be that to Jack..”

A brief smile fluttered on Jack’s lips. “Daniel can be that with me, Doctor Jackson has to work with O’Neill and the rest of the SGC.”

Daniel shook his head dismissively. “It’s too complicated.”

Jack gave another sour smile. “It’s always difficult.  Anyone who ever says any different..” He shrugged as he finished with, “Lies.”

Daniel pondered that a moment then looked at Jack again. “This is ludicrous. What say we..” He saw the light in Jack’s eyes suddenly come on and held a hand to ward him down. “Just *say*.. you and I.. did..” He jutted his head towards the bedroom end of the house.  “What happens tomorrow?”

Because of the hope gurgling within him Jack found keeping a straight face difficult, yet he tried. “We’d get up, we’d shower.. because, well.. we’d *have* to..” he leered, stressing that point in mock seriousness.  “We’d go to the Mountain, we’d sit in the de-briefing room..”

Daniel wondered what the connotation was. “Why?”

“Because we do that every day, Daniel.” He managed to give the younger man a look as if to say ‘where have you been all these years?’

He continued, “We’d meet with General Hammond, get the week’s assignments then you and Carter would set about gaining intel to check out if we can visit these worlds while Teal’c and I would go off and hone our shooting or hand-to-hand combat skills.”

“And.. that.. that’s it?”  Daniel found it hard to believe their lives would be so unchanged.

“We might meet up for some lunch.”

“But going to bed with you .. tonight.. wouldn’t change anything for you?” Daniel folded his arms over his chest defensively. “Is that what you’re saying?”

Jack stared at him then gave him a strange smile. “You’re kidding, right?”

Daniel merely blinked. He wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“Going to bed with you – as you so eloquently put it, Mr. Linguist – wouldn’t change *squat* at work. Colonel O’Neill, remember?”

Daniel pursed his lips in disappointment.

“But here,” Jack tapped two fingers against his temple, “and here…” then his heart, “And here..”  He glanced around the room they were in as he cupped Daniel’s throat with both of his hands.  He stared into the expressive eyes and a tender smile kissed his lips and lit his warm brown eyes.  “Would never be the same again.”

“How can you make that strict discernment?” Daniel whispered, his voice quivered slightly as Jack’s thumbs brushed his jaw gently. 

“I’m a soldier. It’s what I do.”

“I’m not. I can’t.” Regret dripped off each word.

Jack studied the somber expression for a long moment then, with great reluctance, released the face and stepped back. He wasn’t prepared to put Daniel in that kind of situation no matter how much he wanted him. “Then maybe you’re right. Maybe we shouldn’t..”

Daniel stared at him with wide eyes. To him it seemed that Jack had assessed how a simple romp in the hay would affect him and wasn’t prepared for the responsibility of turning Daniel from a love-struck friend into a despondent ex-lover. Quietly, he agreed. “Maybe we shouldn’t..”

Jack allowed Daniel to twist the door handle and step outside then he moved up and held the edge of the thick wooden door, watching the body disappear into the inky night. As he closed the door slowly his heart was heavy with regret. He’d been so close!

Suddenly a thought flashed across his mind and he swung open the door and trotted down the steps.  Daniel was about to climb into his vehicle but got out again as Jack approached him.

“What is it?” He asked, caught between the door and the car, the interior light spilled onto the road at his feet and lit their faces dully. 

“Step away from the car, Daniel,” Jack said. 

Confused, the younger man did as he was told and Jack pressed the door closed, killing the interior light.  They were in darkness again.

“What’s going on?”

“You can’t go.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t..” Jack said, sounding frustrated at his suddenly lack of ability to speak. “I want you..”

Daniel made a soft sound that might have been a laugh; clearly he doubted Jack’s words. “You’re a man, Jack.”  He scoffed gently but dismissively as he opened the door again. “You want sex.”

Jack’s hand pushed the door shut as he stepped up to Daniel. “I’m a man. I want sex. But I want you,” Jack said seriously, pressing his body against Daniel’s.

“Jack!” Daniel whispered harshly as he looked around them, to be sure no one was outside their homes on the warm Spring evening.  Jack’s arm snaked around him, his hand pressed on Daniel’s back, pulling him closer.  “Jack..” Daniel cautioned again.

“I don’t care. They can all come out and watch.  In fact, I’ll sell tickets,” Jack declared as he cupped Daniel’s jaw with his free hand and rounded on Daniel to push him back against the car.  With him pinned between the Ford and his body, Jack was able to move his other hand to cup Daniel’s other ear. 

Daniel’s eyes searched around them frantically.  “Good joke, Jack, now let me go.”

“You think I’m joking?” Jack asked, and even then the look in his eyes was confusing – he may well have been joking.  Daniel wasn’t sure anymore.  Jack’s knee pressed between his thighs, and Jack’s face came close, close enough that Daniel felt the breath puff over his lips as Jack declared, “I love you,” before pressing their mouths together. 

It wasn’t their first kiss, obviously, but it was their first public embrace and their first kiss after Jack had verbally admitted to the depths of his feelings. Jack loved him – properly.  Yet all Daniel could think about were the neighbors, the scene they must be creating on the streets.  That was until he felt the first brush of Jack’s tongue at his lips.   Then Daniel couldn’t think at all.  Instinct kicked in for him and he returned the passion, adding his arms around Jack’s body to draw him even closer, spreading his jaw so that Jack could delve deeply into his mouth, using his tongue to taste and caress Jack’s tongue in return.

The sound of a car entering the street some distance away, and the flash of the headlights that didn’t stretch far enough to illuminate the couple just yet, pulled the men apart in time for Jack to step aside of Daniel, lean against the roof of the midnight blue vehicle and brace his head with his hands.

The two men watched the car roll by slowly then the tail lights disappeared around the next corner.  Daniel’s gaze shifted to meet Jack’s. His heart was thudding hard against his ribs but his head felt numb.  He blinked rapidly and stared at Jack. Neither man spoke.  Another car pulled around the corner the first car disappeared around.  Jack’s suspicion prickled him, making him wonder if it was the first car coming back to check the scene again, but the car that passed was a different make and model.  He arched his back to look past Daniel and watch the car drive on down the road then he diverted his gaze to the eyes still watching him.

Daniel’s mouth was slack, his eyes darkened shadows in the night light.  There was something about the scene that felt familiar to Jack and suddenly he recalled it.  It may have been dark out there but there was enough light for Jack to see that Daniel had the same expression on his face now that he wore that day all those years ago when Sha’re unexpectedly kissed him on Abydos. 

“All I can offer you is who I am,” Jack said softly, his breath dried the moisture on Daniel’s lips.  “You have to decide if I am who you really want.” He studied Daniel’s bewildered face a moment longer then he stepped backwards towards the front of the car.  When Daniel made no effort to stop him Jack felt he had an answer, of sorts. It was all he’d get tonight.  Daniel might need time to think about it, and he was willing to give it to him.  He turned and started up the path to his open front door.  The choice to come inside had to be Daniel’s. He couldn’t ask him again.

Daniel blinked a few times then continued to get into his car, still numb by the confession as much as the kiss.  He had convinced himself that Jack was only playing with him, flirting for the fun of it, leading him on and that he would be the one to fall too hard, too fast. But Jack’s undeniable love was now laid bare.  Daniel’s head couldn’t focus on that.

Jack was inside his house, leaning back against his dining table, his long legs crossed at his ankles.  His arms were folded across his chest and he chewed his bottom lip nervously.  Through the opened front door he watched Daniel’s car pull away from the curb.  His heart sank as he got up and closed the door before leaning his forehead against the warm wood a moment.

<End of part 3 >