The Power of Love Chapter 14
Hey everybody, here's the latest part of the Power of Love. It's a little shorter than usual but I hope you like it :)
Title: The Power of Love
Chapter: Chapter 14 - A Problem Shared
Genre: Fluffy/AU for this part
Pairing: Ennis/Jack
Rating: About PG for this chapter I guess
Warnings: Not really any, just small hints of m/m sex, fluff! ^^
Summary: Jack reveals something to Ennis
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters - they are the creation of Annie Proulx. The story of Brokeback Mountain is hers too - I’m just giving my version of it for no profit, just for fun and curiosity! J I don’t mean any disrespect at all ^^
Author’s Note: I’m adding parts, taking away parts, expanding parts, exaggerating parts and just plain making up some parts in this. I love the original Brokeback Mountain story so I’m not doing this to make it any better - I just wanted to do a multi chapter Jack/Ennis story and have some fun with them (again!)!
Feedback: That’d be fantastic!
Jack gently petted Ennis’s hair as he laid against him, his cheeks flushed and eyes glossy after the sex they had just had. They were under the covers together and tired but after both waking up for unknown reasons after their quick snooze, neither had drifted off again yet, instead just enjoying the comfort of each other’s arms. Ennis was too dozy to contemplate what had just happened though he was surprised to feel that there wasn’t as much worry in him as he previously would have thought. Jack had been lovely to him and gone extremely slow and tender and now, he felt alright about it, even if he hadn’t been during the sex. However, there was one thing he wasn’t quite sure about - why on earth Jack had called him ‘darlin’ and ‘sweetheart’. That seemed a bit bizarre to him but he tried not to dwell on it too much. He just wanted to savour the moment of being close to Jack again.
But then, from behind him, Jack moved a little and he turned his head slightly, his eyelids beginning to sting. ‘’ Jaaaa...?’’ he murmured, too sleepy to finish his name. ‘’ What you doin’?’’
‘’ Jus’ gettin’ comfy,’’ Jack smiled and then wrapped his arms around Ennis again, pulling him close.
‘’ Mmmm....’’ came the content reply. ‘’ Mmmm, Jack, d’we have ta git up in the mornin’? Cain’t the sheep tend ta ‘emselves...?’’
‘’ Ah wish they could, Ennis...’’ Jack giggled, feeling quite amused by his companion’s tiredness. ‘’...but ah was talkin’ ta Russ and Cameron - the other ranch hands - yesterday an’ apparently, they’re takin’ over for a day so...we got the day off.’’
‘’ Hmm...good. Ah don’t like workin’ up here the best o’ times... Was it as bad as this last year when ya came up?’’
Jack suddenly froze, his arms tightening around Ennis’s waist. Ennis turned his head again, seeing his partner’s eyes had become a little wider. ‘’ Jack?’’ he muttered. ‘’ Jack, you okay?’’
‘’ Ummm....yeah, ah’m fine, jus’...’’
‘’ Jus’ what? Ya look like ya jus’ seen a ghost.’’
‘’ No, no...it’s jus’...well...ah don’t know...’’
Ennis nodded, wondering what was up but deciding not to press any further. However, Jack seemed not to want to let it go. After a while, he shuffled again behind Ennis and rested his head on his shoulder, jolting him from his quiet doze. ‘’ Ennis?’’ he murmured gently into his ear, shaking him softly into conscience. ‘’ Ennis, wake up...’’
‘’ Wha....?’’ Ennis moaned, rubbing his eyes. ‘’ Jack...what’s wrong?’’
‘’ Ennis, ah...ah need ta tell you somethin’.’’
‘’...what?’’
‘’ Well, ah...Ah don’t really know how ta say it...’’
Ennis paused and turned his head slightly, seeing Jack was serious. ‘’ What is it?’’ he asked carefully.
Jack sighed and looked down a little. Ennis seemed quite patient and sincere but what he was about to say was a huge thing for him. He’d never told anyone before in his life - would never have even dreamt of it as he knew that if he did reveal the secret to the wrong person (which seemed to, unfortunately, be a lot of individuals), he could get killed for it. And what was just as bad was that he had been trying to forget about it anyway. Coming up to this mountain again had stirred memories and whenever they had risen to his conscious mind, he had tried to rid them because they pained him too much. He didn’t deal with pain well - he was aware of that now - and certainly didn’t want to hurt Ennis. Yet that wasn’t the only reason he attempted not to remember - especially now he knew Ennis better. There was something much deeper.
‘’ Jack? Are you alright?’’ Ennis muttered. Jack had never thought he’d hear them say those words, even if he had beforehand. They still sounded so sweet to his ears.
‘’ Yes...’’ he murmured after a while. ‘’ Yeah, ah’m fine, jus’...Tryin’ ta work out how to say this...’’
‘’ Jus’ say it, Jack...It doesn’t have ta be a perfect novel...’’
‘’ Okay...’’ Jack took a deep breath and ran a quivering hand across his forehead. Ennis slowly turned around to face him, his eyes sleepy but attentive. ‘’...well, last year when ah came up here, Ennis, there was - there was...there was someone else with me, jus’ like this summer...His name was Dakota an’ he was older than me - me bein’ eighteen here - but he was really nice ta me an’...’’ Jack trailed off momentarily and Ennis saw him gulp. Talking about this obviously troubled him and even though Ennis wanted to find out more, he didn’t particularly want to see him like this - no matter how much uncomfortable that thought made him.
‘’ Jack, you don’t have ta tell -‘’
‘’ No, ah must, Ennis. It’s drivin’ me mad keepin’ it bottled up,’’ Jack interrupted, looking up again. ‘’ Well, anyway...me an’ Dakota...we...we were like how - how me an’ you are t’gether. It wasn’t much but we spent a few nights...in the tent an’ ah-ah thought ah really liked him. Ah guess ah was jus’ naive - come ta think about it though, s’ only a year ago - but when we left the mountain, he said he’d contact me an’ stay in touch...He never did once call me or come ta see me, even when he knew where ah was...’’ Jack looked down again and Ennis thought he could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. He found himself reaching out and touching his arm, surprised at his own movement. Jack smiled softly. ‘’...but it’s okay...Now ah realise ah didn’t actually like him that much. A year on an’...well, ah tend not ta try an’ think of it too often. Ah know he hurt me an’ ah really don’t like thinkin’ about him, even if it was jus’...jus’ a one shot thing.’’
Ennis suddenly felt his heart skip. He wasn’t quite sure why but it could have been something to do with the fact that he had used the exact words to describe his and Jack’s meeting on the mountain. He hadn’t thought about it at the time yet now he wondered if that had hurt his companion. He’d obviously been through more than Ennis had previously expected. That must have been why he wasn’t as tense as he was about their experiences together. Ennis suddenly felt a quick burst of admiration come over him. Jack had come back up to Brokeback even after his rather ill-fated journey the year before, defying any bad memories and standing his ground. That must have been a hard thing to do.
However, strangely, he wasn’t all that shocked that Jack had had an encounter with another man previous to himself. He seemed to be more experienced and, again, more confident and relaxed than him, implying that he had done something like this before. Ennis thought he was more stunned that Jack had actually opened up to him. If he had done that to most other people, he would have been killed or, at least, severely hurt. Ennis knew he would have reacted that way too a month or so ago. Now, he couldn’t believe how much he’d changed, certainly in his beliefs. Not for the first time, he realised what this mountain had brought out of him. He wasn’t sure whether it was for the better or worse.
But Jack seemed to trust in him quite a bit. After a while, he looked up again and smiled gently, looking into Ennis’s eyes. The corners of Ennis’s lips twitched in response and Jack swept him into his arms, whisperings words of thanks into his ear. Much to Ennis’s relief, he didn’t appear to want or need any type of sympathy in return to his openness and experiences - not voiced anyway. He’d hug him but no words could be said. He couldn’t bring himself to try and be as tender as to comfort Jack.
So, he cuddled his companion close and let them drift back under the covers together, the warmth too inviting to resist any longer. Jack clung on and smiled dreamily when they regained their previous positions, their arms wrapped tight around each other. Now feeling like he had got a huge amount off his mind, he closed his eyes and settled against Ennis, mumbling a final goodnight before falling into a deep sleep.
TBC