Original Story- Cat Person-Dog Person 4/6
Title- Cat Person-Dog Person
Rating- PG-13
Genre- slash, romance, angst, drama
Warnings- angst, adult in a relationship with a teen, UNBETAED CONTENT
Summary- Scott is seen as the bad kid of the school, but he's never actually done anything to deserve it. There's one teacher in the whole school who sees past his reputation, Jack Carter, and Scott has fallen completely in love with him. Butthere's one problem: Scott is a cat person, and Jack is a dog person! If they aren't compatable, can they ever be together?
A/N- my first ever long slash piece!
The movie went off and some late-night comedy show came on, and still the two men stared at the TV, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Scott was thinking of Jack, as per usual. As for Jack himself… unreadable.
Scott glanced at the man, taking in the way his eyes were slightly narrowed, but glazed, as though he was thinking hard on something totally in his own mind. His mouth every now and then would quickly form silent words, though too fast for Scott to read his lips, and only for a second. Scott had noticed him do this before, while grading tests or papers, silent work, thinking work. Scott wondered if Jack’s mind was on work now, what questions for their quiz on Friday, perhaps, or how to improve the abysmal grades of the ninth grade class B, all of whom, so Scott had heard, had flunked his latest test. After every furtive whisper, Jack’s tongue would dart out to wet his lips, and Scott watched in silent fascination.
He found himself wondering what it would be like, to kiss Jack and feel that tongue run over his lips, to taste it and entwine it with his own. What would Jack taste like, he wondered.
‘Like heaven,’ Scott thought dreamily.
As he watched, Jack closed his eyes and sighed softly, as though whatever it was he’d been thinking had left him mentally exhausted. When he opened his brown eyes, they held a strange sadness that cut Scott deeply.
‘What has he got to be sad about, I wonder.’
But Scott couldn’t ask. He shouldn’t have been looking; he shouldn’t have been trying to analyze whatever it was that was going on in Jack’s mind. Jack glanced in Scott’s direction, and the younger man quickly looked away, not daring to look back even after he though Jack had turned away.
‘I wonder what would happen if I told him I love him.’ The thought came suddenly and unbidden, and the part of Scott that was always trying to suppress hope so it wouldn’t be crushed by someone else tried to jam the thought back into whatever corner of his mind it had come from. It wouldn’t go away.
Scott tried to steady himself. ‘If I confessed to Jack… things could end up really bad.’
‘But how bad could they be? Jack cares for me; I know he does. Me as me, not just as some random person or acquaintance. He wouldn’t have let me stay here if he didn’t’
Jack cared. Of course Jack cared. But that didn’t mean Jack returned his feelings. Certainly not. Jack was eight years older, handsome, smart. He could have anyone he wanted. He could do a lot better than some scrawny, mangy-looking, stupid teenage boy that everyone else thought was worthless. It was hopeless, really.
‘But, he does care,’ Scott reminded himself. ‘If I confessed, he probably wouldn’t throw me out or something. What would he do? Try to convince me that it’s infatuation, or some stupid crush. Maybe it is, but it feels like more than that. I know it could be more than that. Jack’s the sort of person I could fall in love with for life, after I get my head screwed on straight. And he’s just the person to help me do that.’
Jack was good for Scott, and not just as a fix to an addict. With Jack’s help, Scott knew, he would be able to start working hard in school, start to lose his deeply-ingrained sense that he was not worthy of affection. He could loosen his dependence on Jack as a source of much-needed attention and focus on building a relationship with Jack as equals, giving and receiving. Jack was just the sort of patient, empathetic, but not enabling person that Scott needed, on every level.
‘So maybe if not love, I could build a friendship with him. I need him to be able to drag myself out of this pit that I’ve dug for myself, and my parents and teachers with me. If I confess, maybe he doesn’t love me. But surely, surely, he won’t push me away. Surely, he’ll stick with me and help me overcome my problems. And then we can build a proper relationship, even as just friends.’
‘Besides, with the way the pets are acting,’ Scott looked over at the three animals, which were now curled up together, sleeping. ‘By the way they’re acting, Jack and I are compatible, even if we’re opposites. We’ll be able to be friends, we’ll be able to help each other and complement each other.’
‘But what if he’s weirded out by it? What if Jack doesn’t like it that I’m interested in him, what if he finds me disgusting? What will I do then? I’d have ruined the best thing I’ve got in the whole world! I can’t just risk it like that!’
‘But I can’t not say anything! The first step to being able to heal will be honesty. There’s no way we, I, can ever grow and improve without honesty between us.’
Scott sighed and leaned his head back against the couch. His mind was spinning itself in circles, and would continue to do so all night and into the morning if he let it. He was both physically and mentally exhausted. It had been a long day, especially for someone who was used to only waking up for one forty-five-minute class period.
‘And tomorrow comes even earlier; we leave at six.’ Scott blinked and, against his will, tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes and spill down his cheeks. Tears of frustration, exhaustion, and emotional turmoil. He only hoped that Jack was too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice. Scott closed his eyes and pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees.
‘What to do about Jack? Tell him? Or no? I’ll never be able to decide given two lifetimes; there’s just too much to lose. At least I don’t have to choose now.’
Without warning, Scott flinched and recoiled, his heart pounding, as something brushed against his cheek. From his position leaning back over the armrest he looked, wide-eyed, at Jack, who was leaning towards him, hand outstretched having just brushed Scott’s cheek. Jack smiled almost sheepishly, but it quickly fell. He moved back a little, and Scott righted himself.
“What’s wrong?” Jack asked softly.
“Nothing,” Scott insisted, feeling a blush rise in his cheeks.
“Yes there is.”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Yes, there is, and you will tell me.” Scott watched Jack’s determined expression suspiciously, wondering what the man was thinking.
And yet he as utterly caught off guard when Jack tackled him and began tickling his sides. Scott giggled and gasped for air; he couldn’t have said anything to Jack even if he’d wanted to. He kicked and struggled, but Jack was heavier and stronger, and he easily overpowered Scott, fending off the teen’s flying fists while his darting fingers came under Scott’s guard to jab at his sides, belly, armpits.
“Stop!” Scott cried between giggles. “Stop it! Jack!” And Jack relented, flopping to the couch at Scott’s side, half-on half-off of him. Both men were breathing hard. Scott realized with a jolt that it was the first time he’d ever called the man by his first name aloud, and wondered if he’d offended him.
“Gonna tell me now?” Jack asked cheerfully, still catching his breath.
“No,” Scott replied in the same tone, and then gasped as Jack’s fingers skimmed over his belly, where he was particularly ticklish. The movement turned into a sort of caress as the fingers stopped ticking and simply slid across Scott’s belly to his side, so that Jack’s arm was thrown over his body. Scott shivered at the feeling.
Scott took a moment to assess their position. He was lying on his back on the couch, with Jack to his right, sandwiched between the back of the couch and Scott’s body, lying on his left side with his right arm draped over Scott’s body. Scott wondered if his heart should have slowed down by now, the tickling having ended.
“It- it’s not important.” Scott finally managed to say, when he realized what the conversation had been leading up to the last tickle-stroke.
“It must’ve been; you were crying.” Jack’s voice rumbled next to his ear, and Scott felt his entire body flush.
“I- it wasn’t anything really important. I was just too tired and frustrated, and angry that I just couldn’t come up with a solution.”
“Mm. A solution to what?” Jack asked, shifting so his head was propped up on his left arm and he could gaze down at Scott. “Maybe I can help.”
“I told you, it’s no big deal.”
“I can help.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Fine.” Jack let out a big sigh, making Scott’s hair flutter. “If you say so.”
The conversation seemed to end there and, not wanting to move, Scott turned his head back to the TV, hoping to feign interest in the show as an excuse for not getting up from Jack’s embrace.
“Scott?” Jack murmured almost in his ear, and the teen suppressed a shiver.
“Mm?” Scott turned back to the older man, only to freeze in absolute shock at the soft touch on his lips. He blinked, crossing his eyes to see that was going on. Jack’s silky, slightly chapped, incredibly soft lips were on his in a light, almost ghostly touch. Jack’s eyes were closed contentedly, and his face was calm and beautiful.
After what felt like both an eternity and too short a time, but was probably only a few seconds, Jack pulled away. Scott could only stare, agape, as the older man settled back with his head on his hand and watched Scott with a slightly mischievous, slightly smug, but all around calm and contented smile. His brown eyes were shining with something Scott couldn’t quite place, because no one had ever looked at him like that before, but he had the wild thought that it might be love.
Scott blinked at him in amazement and Jack leaned a little closer to whisper in his ear almost conspiratorially, “I’ve always been pretty impulsive.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Impulsive…,” Scott said in a tone of mixed incredulity and amazement when he’d finally found his voice.
“Mm,” Jack murmured, shifting a little to find a more comfortable position. “Even when I think about what I’m doing and how stupid it is, I can’t stop myself. In this case, it was also something I really wanted to do.”
Scott’s expression must have been one of shock and possibly indignation, because Jack looked away in embarrassment.
“Like I said, it was a stupid thing to do.” Jack pulled himself into a sitting and then a standing position. Scott remained lying down, but pushed himself up a bit on his hands, wondering if he should get up as well. Jack looked back at Scott, his expression uncertain. Then his look turned to one of resolve, and apparently acting on that same impulsiveness he reached out to brush the tips of his fingers against Scott’s face.
“I always do stupid things where you’re concerned.” Jack said, his voice slightly rough and his breath ghosting over Scott’s cheek and making him shiver. “I guess I care a little too much.” Jack smiled, a painfully sad smile, and his eyes had that same look they’d had as he was staring into space, whispering to himself.
Scott’s breath caught in his chest and stayed there. It seemed to him that his mind should be scrambling over what Jack was saying, but all the little voices seemed to have been stunned into silence. The two men remained like that, staring into each other’s eyes, for what felt like an eternity. Scott became dimly aware of the need to breath, but before he could bring himself to take a breath, Jack looked away.
The older man pulled away from Scott and stood up. “Stupid thing to do,” he muttered. “I hope it doesn’t make things too weird between us.” He started to turn away, and at that moment, Scott’s brain caught up with the situation.
‘He’s leaving!’ Scott jumped up and grabbed onto Jack’s arm with both of his, burying his face in the sturdy shoulder.
“It’s not stupid,” he whispered, tears falling again onto Jack’s sleeveless shirt. “I’d never have had the courage to say it if you didn’t.”
Jack wrapped an arm around Scott and cradled the teen’s head with his hand. “I love you,” he murmured. Scott sniffled into his shirt.
“Me too.”
“You think too much,” Jack said fondly.
“Yeah, I know,” Scott replied, fighting laughter.
“Can I kiss you again?”
“Absolutely.”
Jack tilted the younger man’s chin up with his fingers and their eyes met once more. Scott could see the joy in Jack’s eyes and found himself grinning like a fool because of it. Jack leaned forward but instead of connecting their lips, their foreheads and noses came together and they both grinned, just staring into each other’s eyes and not trying to correct the mistake, if a mistake it had even been.
When it seemed to him that the awkwardness had faded away and they had spent long enough grinning at each other and basking in the joy of finally-acknowledged love, Scott tilted his head so that their noses slipped apart and leaned foreword to press his lips against Jack’s. Like their first, the kiss was chaste, soft and sweet.
They broke apart and came together again, and Jack’s tongue moved over Scott’s lips, making the younger man moan and open his mouth. Scott collapsed against Jack, letting to older man hold his weight and wrap his arms around Scott’s body and he deepened the kiss.
They moved to the couch for stability, and at some time during all of it Scott had ended up flat on his back on the mercifully soft cushions. Jack was on top of him, straddling his hips, and his mouth moved down from Scott’s to lick and nibble at the teen’s neck. Scott shuddered and reminded himself to breath, fisting his hand in Jack’s hair as the sensations made his toes curl.
Jack lifted his head and licked his lips, a grin and gleam in his eyes that seemed almost predatory. His expression softened and he pulled himself up so his eyes were level with Scott’s again, and then kissed the teen once quickly and sweetly
“You know, we really should get some sleep.” Jack mused, sitting up on the couch next to Scott. Scott looked up at him in confusion. His brain was still partially short-circuited from the make-out session seconds before.
Scott would have sworn it was only that that made him ask, “Are you asking me to sleep with you?”
Jack just laughed, and Scott, rather than feeling embarrassed, wondered at how nice a sound it was. “No, Scott, I’m not asking you to sleep with me,” Jack said, lowering himself into Scott’s arms again.
“I like how it sounds when you say my name,” Scott commented.
“Sco~ott,” Jack said in a sort of sing-song voice, trying to bring the teen’s attention back to the topic at hand. Scott blinked and, realizing how stupid he’d sounded just then, chose to shut his mouth.
Apparently satisfied that the younger man was listening to the actual meaning of his words rather than simply enjoying how they sounded, Jack continued. His voice and expression were grave. “It’s too early in a relationship for that. Besides, I want to do everything right in this. I’m not just in it for the sex; I have feelings for you, and I want to take care of you. You know you need me.”
“I know,” Scott said, equally serious.
“Well, I don’t want to take advantage of that.” Jack squeezed Scott’s hand. “I want to give you what you need and help you become the person you want to be. Even if you think of yourself as an adult, Scott, you aren’t, and it’s my responsibility not as your teacher, but as the older person in the relationship to help you.”
Scott didn’t bother considering it before speaking. It seemed that there was no longer a need for any sort of filter. “I’m not sure what I think about that, because even if you put it in terms of helping and teaching me, it still really sounds like you’re doing something inappropriate, but I’ll be the first one to admit that I have problems. I’ve been completely obsessed with you for months, to the point that I only got out of bed in the morning to see you and all of my actions were to make you happy with me. I know that certainly isn’t healthy.”
Jack laughed softly. “No, probably not. Ah well. We’ll fix you up together. And we’ll only have sex when we’re both ready.” he said the last part with the sternness of a parent laying down the rules, but Scott’s focus was on the wording.
“Does that mean you’re not ready either?” he asked teasingly. Jack flushed, but answered confidently.
“I admit, I’m not ready. In any relationship, it’s not good to dive into things, and this one’s complicated. For one thing, there’s an age difference, and the fact that I’m your teacher. But I’ve never been with a man, and don’t you grin at me like that, because I doubt if you have either.”
“I’m a virgin,” Scott said matter-of-factly. Well, it was a fact. Why hide if from Jack? It’d come up eventually.
“Well, at least I’m not that unprepared,” Jack replied. He, having been standing before the couch Scott sat on while lecturing the teen, leaned down and kissed his forehead.
“Now, when I say get some sleep, I mean get some sleep. It’s one in the morning, and we leave at six.” Scott grimaced at the thought, and Jack laughed.
Jack started to turn off the lights, and a though occurred to Scott. “Hey Jack,” he said. “Can I sleep in your bed?”
Jack seemed startled, but nodded. “Sure, I guess so.” Scott peeled himself from the couch and Jack flicked the lights off on him. Scott could swear he could hear Jack smiling. He went over to Jack, carefully navigating the living room, and linked arms with the man when he found him. Jack led Scott back to his room and flicked the light on when they got there, making Scott blink.
Jack peeled off his pants and tossed them into a pile of clothes in one corner before going into the master bathroom. Scott could hear water running. Only a little bit embarrassed and mostly impressed and pleased by the casualness of it all, Scott stripped off his pants and T-shirt and joined Jack in the bathroom.
Jack was brushing his teeth and when he noticed Scott, he dug in the medicine cabinet for a new toothbrush and offered it to him. Scott took it and the toothpaste and brushed his teeth as well. He looked into the mirror, fascinated by their reflection. Two men in boxers, one in a sleeveless shirt, the other bare-chested, both brushing their teeth in preparation for bed as if they’d been living together a year rather than a day.
Jack spat into the sink first, then moved back to Scott could, and they took turns washing their toothbrushes, and used the same glass to rinse. When Jack, having used the glass, offered it to Scott, the teen beamed at him over the rim and took it. The domesticity of it, the sense of having been together much longer than they had and of being used to peaceful cohabitation made a bubble of joy swell in Scott’s chest.
‘This can work,’ he thought. ‘We can live together, we can be together, we can make this work.’
When both men had finished their own nightly routines, they returned to the bedroom, Jack waiting to turn the bathroom light off until Scott had finished combing his hair. Jack took what must have been his usual side of the bed, and Scott tucked himself under the covers on the other side. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
Jack clicked off the light, and they were bathed in darkness. Scott found himself instinctively reaching for Jack and was gratified to find the older man reaching for him as well. Their fingers laced together under the covers, and Jack sighed contentedly. “Good night.”
“Night, Jack,” Scott replied dreamily.
But somehow he couldn’t fall asleep. Every time he tried, even after he’d pulled his arm out of Jack’s grasp and was lying in his usual sleeping position, on his side with his arms over his chest, he found that he couldn’t sleep.
Moreover, the same thought kept nagging at him: he should be closer to Jack. At length, he looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand and found it to be two in the morning. Exhausted and annoyed by his lack of sleep, he looked over at Jack, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
‘Why not?’ Scott thought to himself. ‘Take Jack’s example and be impulsive for once!’
Scott crawled under the covers to where Jack lay, turned so his back was towards Jack’s chest, and flopped down. Not exactly the most graceful move ever, but no one was watching, so it didn’t matter. Scott snuggled back against Jack’s chest, got into a comfortable position, but still felt something missing. Without considering it at all, which would have surprised him if he’d actually been thinking about it, he pulled the man’s arm so that it lay wrapped over his side and, finding himself comfortable at last, sighed contentedly.
Scott squeaked in surprise when Jack pulled him closer and murmured into Scott’s ear, “This time, go to sleep for real.” Jack tucked his chin on top of Scott’s head and cuddled the teen against his body. “We only have a couple more hours to sleep, and we’d better use them.”
It sounded vaguely like a threat, and Scott was, despite himself, thrilled at having learned something more about Jack: he did not do well with only a little sleep, and he probably wasn’t a morning person either. Scott complied with Jack’s demands gladly: despite the shock Jack had just given him, Scott found himself drifting to sleep quickly once he was in the man’s arms.
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