Flea Final Part 2 "Running to You--The Story of the Red Ink"
Title: You and Me and a Dog Named Flea
Pairing: Ennis/Jack
Disclaimer: Annie Prouxl owns the timeless characters in BBM. I'm writing from love and making no profit.
Summary: AU!AU set in Flea Universe. Part 2 of the marathon episode.
My Deepest Thanks: to Em smiles-a-lot who took her time to edit this chapter and make my writings more sensible. *hugs you*
Feedback: is better than chocolate.
Flea Final Part 2: Running to You--The Story of the Red Ink
“You know, they got medals for the first 50 runners who reach the goal.”
Ennis blinked up to the tall forty-something man smiling beside him. The man was wearing a white banner around his head, with something that looked like a heartbeat measuring tool tied around his forearm. Ennis gave him back a small smile. “Yeah?”
“Yes. I hope I can get one.” The man continued. “I’m going to propose to my girlfriend after the marathon.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Good luck.”
“Good luck to you, too.”
The man nodded before diverting his attention back to the front. Ennis thought about what the man had just said. The man had a goal beyond the finish line: he was going to propose to his girlfriend.. Um… Ennis fumbled with his iPod. Actually, it wasn’t his iPod. He didn’t have one…this belonged to Jack. But he’d bought the strap that kept the iPod glued to his arm; he figured he could give the strap to Jack afterwards ‘cause he wasn’t much of an iPod man anyway.
Ennis pressed the random mode of the iPod and chuckled with himself when The Police’s Every Breath You Take drifted into his ears. He closed his eyes, feeling himself sink into this small corner of Jack Twist’s world. Somehow, he could picture Jack when Jack listened to this song, humming as he browsed the internet with his laptop on the throw pillow, smiling up at Ennis every once in a while.
Ennis smiled to himself, thinking of how Jack’s eyes were always on him. He’d gotten used to those blue eyes that spoke a thousand words with one look.. Like this song said: Every move you make, every step you take, I’ll be watching you. And Ennis liked to be watched by Jack, liked to think that Jack could spend all day just looking at him, that Ennis meant the world to him. Plus, he wanted Jack to know he felt the same.
Actually, no, he corrected himself. Ennis didn’t really feel the same. He felt more than that. It was weird. But he guessed it was like tasting something incredibly sweet; once you taste it, you want more. Now it was he who couldn’t look away from Jack. Sometimes when they were out, Jack could be gone just for a minute to buy a cup of coffee and Ennis still found himself trying to find Jack in a crowd.
The tall man turned to him again, this time giving him a thumbs-up sign as everybody prepared to start the race. Ennis gave him two thumbs up with a wide smile, his chest swelling with confidence. When the starting gun went off, Ennis surged with everyone, running down the trail that would lead them to the finish line. Except his goal, was Jack.
Oh, can’t you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every breath you take
++++++++++
Grant and some friends from the Velvet arrived an hour later, bringing with them a grand picnic set, including portable chairs. Jack waved to Grant, who gave him a good-morning hug and a big pat on his back.
“Hey,” said Grant.
“’Morning, Grant.”
“So…where’s the girl-who-must-not-be-named?” asked Lee.
He should have known that Lee couldn’t in a hundred years keep his mouth shut about Rachel. So he jerked his chin pointedly to where Rachel was leaning on the back of a bench, talking to Carol a few feet away.
Grant hummed. “She looks harmless.”
“Define harmless.”
Grant laughed. “What? You’re afraid of her still?”
“Nah, I just think it would be easier if she was a mean woman.”
“Who?” Lee chimed in from behind Grant. “Who’s a mean bitch?”
Jack pushed Lee’s forehead. But he couldn’t help but smile when he saw the words written with blue ink on Lee’s cheek: ‘Team Ennis’. It made Lee look like he’d showed up to cheer for a World Cup Final. He knew Lee just adored Ennis. The truth was Ennis had a lot of secret and not-so-secret admirers in the Velvet. Ennis can probably form an official fan club and make money from selling stuff like pins or towels with his face on them.
“Don’t you think you’re wearing too much make-up?” Jack teased.
“Hilarious. So that the ex-wife?”
“Rachel.”
“I’m so going to make her see what is what around here.” Lee said. Jack and Grant instantly grabbed any part of Lee they could reach before Lee made good on his threat. Lee threw his hands up in the air and motioned for Jack to go. “Then you do something, asshole. It’s just going to make things worse if you drag this shit out. The ex deserves the truth so she can continue being the ex!”
Jack winced. “Now you sound more and more like Grant, only you curse way too much.”
Grant planted a soft kiss on his younger partner’s temple. Jack patted Lee’s cheek with some strength. “You brought the pen?”
Lee batted his hand away but he was smirking nonetheless. “How about red?”
A minute later, with the words ‘Team Ennis’ written in red on his cheek, Jack felt a surge of courage run through his body as he made his way over to Rachel with confident strides. Once he reached Rachel, Carol gave him a squeeze on his shoulder before heading over to where Mona and the Velvet gang were setting food and coffee down on the big cloth they had spread out on the grass.
“Hi,” Jack said, smiling. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to start a normal conversation with her, wasn’t it?. “Where do you live? You live around here?”
“No, I drove from Sacramento.”
“You live there? Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there.”
Rachel smiled dryly. “I want to move out. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
Jack was in no position to ask what had gone wrong. But at that moment, he knew there must be some reason that prompted Rachel to step back into her past and re-connect with her ex-husband. Maybe she was seeking for something she’d once found in Ennis, possibly the love they used to share.
Cursing, Jack kicked the small pebble on the ground.
“Jack,” she said. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you and Ennis…” here goes. “…friends from Wyoming? You seem pretty close with his family.”
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, not really. I mean… yes, we’re friends and I’m also from Wyoming. But we kind of live together.”
“Together?”
“Together.” Jack nodded.
“But Ennis said he’d moved in with his…oh…” Rachel said haltingly, understanding dawning on her face. Jack gazed down on his black converses as Rachel started to pace. “This can’t be… This is just impossible. How? I mean…he was married to me and there were no signs that he was…”
“Gay?” Jack cut her off.
She stiffened, shaking her head emphatically. “It’s just not possible.”
Jack sighed. Yeah, he knew how she felt. It’s really hard to believe something so monumental coming out of a stranger’s mouth. But the point here was that he had to do his part. Ennis said he could tell her what he wanted and Jack was going to do it.
“The thing is, Rachel,” he said. “Ennis and I met last December. We got along almost from the start and yeah like I told you, we’re together, like a couple. And I know it’s not easy to understand why it happened ‘cause to tell you the truth, I don’t know either why it has to be him. But…hey, do you believe in a soul mate?”
Silence.
Rachel looked at him like he’d just grown a third head. He didn’t blame her. He knew he was babbling but he was going to finish what he had started anyway, whether she liked it or not.
“I’ve been interviewing this gay couple for my magazine…a couple who’ve been together for years. Anyway, they mentioned something about being soul mates and that got me to doing some research. And despite it being considered a myth and all, don’t you think it’s true? The idea of having a soul mate exists in every culture.”
Rachel’s expression was blank; she didn’t even flinch when Flea barked.
Jack just stood there, feeling like a fool. . Well, he was a fool, a fool for Ennis, so he guessed that was ok. Jack snorted. Wait a second…a fool for Ennis? Jesus, that’s lame. Flea barked again, as if to agree, and that was when Jack let out a soft chuckle. That was it, he’d made his point. Maybe Ennis can take care of the rest.
He scooped Flea up in his arms. “I’m going to wait for him at the finish line.”
“I’m going, too.” Rachel said.
Jack simply gave her a small nod as he grabbed Ennis’s hoodie, pants and towel from the bench and threw them over his shoulder. “Ok. Let’s go then.”
As they neared the finish line, they passed people yelling and clapping as runners began to appear. Jack jumped up on to a bench, trying to catch sight of Ennis.
“Do you see him?” He asked Flea, who was panting and looking around with excitement. “No? We should get you a pair of glasses.”
More runners began to cross the finish line. The applause and cheering became louder as the area around the finish line began to get packed with supporters. Luckily, he had a pretty good view from the bench he was standing on. He even saw the banner Lee and their friends had made for Ennis being stretched out over their picnic space, Ennis’s name written in diamond dust bright enough even an alien from outer space could see it.
Jack smiled. Ennis was so going to hate this.
As even more runners began to come in, Jack checked his watch. An hour and a half had passed but there was still no sign of Ennis. He tiptoed, craning his neck for a better Look.
After ten minutes, Jack began to worry. He wasn’t the only one because his cell rung; it was Grant.
“Where’s Ennis?” Grant asked.
“I don’t know,” Jack said, still looking around the area. “I don’t see him. Something’s happened for sure, Grant. It shouldn’t take this much time.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m standing on the bench right at the finish line.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Turned out everyone came, including Martha and K.E. whose shoulder-length hair was now in loose dreadlocks. Jack reached out to shake K.E’s hand but was dragged down from the bench instead for a big bear hug that came with several hard pats on his shoulders. The older Del Mar boy looked him thoroughly up and down as if he was trying to determine whether or not Jack still had arms and legs attached to his body or something.
“Hey, K.E.,” Jack greeted K.E with amusement.
“Hey. You look good. So where’s the Medusa?” K.E. got slapped on the arm by Carol. “Hey! I was just asking!”
“More like, asking for trouble,” Carol retorted.
Jack laughed into his fist. Watching the Del Mar siblings swipe at each other like cats and dogs like this can only mean one thing; they’d discussed the Rachel situation too. However, Jack had a feeling that K.E. and Carol didn’t see eye to eye like he and Ennis had this morning. This was pretty understandable, though, because Carol was still amiable with Rachel while K.E. wanted to put sneaks on her head-calling her a Medusa like that.
Actually, the aforementioned Medusa was standing a few steps away and Jack wondered if she overheard anything. Although Jack’s greatest concern had nothing to do with Rachel, anyways.
Another round of applause cut into Jack’s thoughts. Lee took up Jack’s place on the bench and the worried frown on his face spoke louder than words; there was still no sign of Ennis.
Grant touched Jack’s arm. “How much time did he take to run this while he was training?”
“An hour and ten or twenty minutes, max.”
“It’s almost two hours now.”
“Yeah.” Jack scanned the place again. Only a smattering of runners were crossing the finish line now. Something was definitely wrong.
What happened, Ennis? Where are you, baby?
Suddenly, Flea barked, causing Jack to turn around. There was Ennis, running towards the finish line, pale morning silver light shining on his blond hair, illuminating him like an angel.
Ennis seemed fine. And he wasn’t running. He was kind of jogging beside a woman with a brown ponytail. She seemed older than Ennis, like 45 or 50 maybe, and she didn’t look well. In fact, she was very pale, and she was walking funny. As they got nearer, Jack saw blood and dirt smeared on her knees and legs. However, she refused to be seated in the wheelchair that the on-duty paramedics had on hand for those who were injured. Despite her obvious fatigue and the fresh wound on her knee, she had a huge smile on her face. She said something to Ennis as she waved to a group of people at the finish line and they ran to her, swamping Ennis, as well, in a circle of aunties. They shook his hands gratefully for keeping their friend company.
“Kill me now.” Jack heard Lee say from behind him. “I think I’ve just fallen in love with your man, dude.”
“I think I’ve just fallen in love with him all over again,” Jack breathed.
This was it. This was forever.
Flea started to howl, stretching his short neck, trying to act like a wolf howling at the moon. That turned everyone’s attention their way, including Ennis, which made Flea, who loved being the center of attention, howl even louder; Jack had to practically clutch his mouth to shut him up. It didn’t work. So Jack unhooked Flea’s leash and let him dart into the aunties’ circle to be with Ennis.
And it was no exaggeration, not at all, when it felt like a scene in a movie the minute Ennis finally disentangled himself from the aunties and headed Jack’s way, Flea trotting beside him. Everyone and everything just disappeared, and there was only Ennis running to him.
Oh God. Jack swallowed. It was a really bad time to want to jump Ennis, but right now, he really wanted to. He wanted to just… throw himself in Ennis’s arms or throw Ennis on the ground and kiss him senseless, showing all the penguins around here that this guy you were drooling over was the property of Jack Twist, thank you very much.
Soon they found themselves standing dumbly in front of each other all shy and smiley. Damn, a minute before Jack wanted to rip off Ennis’s shirt and get into his skin, now he didn’t know what to do.
Since Jack really didn’t want to spend all day just standing in front of each other, Jack mock opened his arms, half-serious and half-teasing. Ennis made a face, but stepped forward anyway. Jack froze. God, he never in a million years could have imagined Ennis allowing such intimacy in public. That’s why he just stood rigidly, willing himself to breathe as Ennis enveloped him in a one-arm hug.
Then, as they say in the movies, all hell broke loose.
K.E. jumped around with Lee, yelling Ennis, Ennis, Ennis, twining their arms around each other as if they’d been friends forever. Flea barked after everyone. Mona snapped photos with her digital camera while Grant placed a paper-made crown on Ennis’s head.
It was crazy.
It was everything Ennis hated, everyone making such a big deal out of this marathon, and him being the center of attention. But Ennis was laughing at the madness around him, cursing and grumbling about how they were making him suffer because he was one of the last to reach the finish line. . Lee answered by stuffing the ridiculous-looking torch in Ennis’s hand.
I love you, Jack mouthed the words when their eyes met.
I love you more, Ennis mouthed back.
By Jack’s feet, Flea barked and wagged his tail frantically, his big eyes pleading to be held. Jack hauled him up. “And I love you, too, you spoiled little ass.”
Flea barked again and licked Jack’s face, expressing his doggie love to him. Call him easy, but a little loving from his guy and his dog was more than enough to make Jack a happy man.
++++++++++
“When are you, Jesus, going to wash t-that ink off your, umm, face?” Ennis stuttered. Jack was straddling Ennis, his hands pinning Ennis’s hips down on the mattress as he lowered himself slowly, burying Ennis deep inside him. “God…”
“What?” Jack choked out, looking down at Ennis with dark, smoldering eyes, as Ennis fought to stay still, wanting Jack to hold the reins.
“The ink,” Ennis gasped out. “on your cheek.”
It was almost impossible for Ennis to think of anything else while he was making love to Jack, especially when Jack looked this good above him. Jack’s muscles were hard, beautiful with a sheen of sweat, his long lashes spanning his flushed face as he liquidly bounced up down, meeting Ennis’s every thrust, eyes fluttering in ecstasy.
“What?” Jack muttered. He bent down to bite the throbbing vein on Ennis’s neck.
“My name…” Ennis planted his feet on the mattress, stilling Jack’s ass and surging up for more friction, strangling a particularly loud moan from Jack.
“Jesus, Ennis,”
“Hmm,” he grunted. It was time to stop talking. Jack took what was left of Ennis’s breath with a kiss, drawing a low groan from Ennis’s throat.
“It’s permanent,” Jack breathed against his lips.
Ennis simply blinked drowsily. “W-What?”
“The ink...” Jack licked his lip and sped up the pace. “That asshole Lee…”
When everything finally sank in , Ennis started to chuckle, his body shaking with laughter. And after a few hard thrusts, Ennis felt like his soul was being sucked deep into Jack as he came.
The funny thing was, he was laughing as he came, which was the first time anything like that had ever happened. Jack smacked his torso, but Jack was laughing, too, as he rolled over to lie next to Ennis.
“So Lee got you, huh?” Ennis gathered Jack in his arms and whispered into his hair.
Jack snorted. “I’m going to kill the shithead tomorrow, after I can figure out how to wipe it off.”
“Hmm.”
Jack drifted off for a bit while Ennis played with Jack’s hair, staring up at the weird shadows dancing on the wall. Ennis rewound today’s events and he realized he’d forgotten to ask about something.
“Hey, what did you tell Rachel?”
“Rachel?”
“Yep. I didn’t see her at the picnic.”
Jack rolled over to face him. “I told her that we’re living together and my most favorite thing to do is to dot your freckles with my tongue.”
“I’m serious.” Ennis tightened his hold, gasping at the growing sensation of their aligning bodies. Jack shifted to the side and nudged Ennis so he was lying beneath Ennis’s body, parting his thighs so that there was no space left between them. They kissed, fighting to be in control in that way they did sometimes, before Jack’s tongue began to dot on Ennis’s freckles. Ennis groaned. “Jack…”
“Alright.” Jack sucked his earlobe. “I told her the story about a soul mate.”
“You did?”
“Uh huh. And she looked at me like duh.”
Ennis chuckled. “Is that it? So when did she leave?”
“I don’t know. I forgot about her when you didn’t show up after two hours had passed. I damn near lost my mind, you know.”
“Sorry. But the lady…I just couldn’t leave her alone…””
“I knew that about you, you big softie.” Jack kissed him again, opening his mouth wide so their tongues could twine around each other, fingers digging in Ennis’s hair. Jack was a little breathless when he said, “Anyway, I think Rachel would’ve put two and two together just from being around us. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, even Carol.”
“Hmm. I’ll call her tomorrow. I want to end this for real.”
“Okay.”
“And you know they have medals for the first 50 runners, too.” Ennis bit Jack’s chin. “I was planning to get you one.”
Jack smiled that slow smile of his, killing him softly like the old song said. “You keep giving me stuff like that I’m going to need a bigger place to stay.”
“Maybe we could find a house.”
“Yeah, a house with a front yard for Flea to play around.”
“Hmm.”
Then Jack’s tongue found his again. Ennis relaxed into the kiss as if talking about finding a house was something they discussed everyday, laying his weight fully on Jack’s body which felt so good against him. He let Jack take control, even though it seemed all Jack wanted to do was kiss. Ennis enjoyed kissing Jack, just kissing and sharing breath and the sweet whisper of words they wouldn’t normally say anywhere else, words that were saved for when they were in bed together at night, between Jack’s creamy starched sheet and a thin layer of blankets.
And Ennis liked the sound of Jack’s desperate moan when they reached the point where kissing wasn’t enough. He always looked forward to that, actually. When the need became overwhelming, Jack would scratch his back, his arms, everywhere he could reach, arching his back and, groaning low with the need to get closer.. His heels would either dig a hole in the mattress or Ennis’s back as he surged up to grind their bodies together. But they never stopped kissing ‘cause it felt so damn good.
When they stopped for breath, Ennis poked Jack’s cheek.
“I like it.” He chuckled. “I like my name on your body.”
“I like it, too. But not in red ink, thank you.”
Ennis laughed again and melted back into Jack’s embrace, feeling complete. If this was what it was like to be truly loved, he wondered how he got through the first 26 years of his life without Jack.
Jack threw his leg around Ennis and Ennis stopped asking questions in his mind. What mattered was this: they finally found each other. So Jack was right. Their names should have been written on one of the stars up there, somewhere.
With red ink, maybe.
A/N:
1) Hope you like the manip of two of Ennis's love slaves. lol There're 3 versions of this Red Ink set including an icon. I'll post them later. Man, I adore photoshop.
2) I'm pretty sure there will be a Flea mini-sequal. But you know me, I'm a slow writer. You have to be patient with me.
3) I need my own Flea... *sighs*
Pairing: Ennis/Jack
Disclaimer: Annie Prouxl owns the timeless characters in BBM. I'm writing from love and making no profit.
Summary: AU!AU set in Flea Universe. Part 2 of the marathon episode.
My Deepest Thanks: to Em smiles-a-lot who took her time to edit this chapter and make my writings more sensible. *hugs you*
Feedback: is better than chocolate.
Flea Final Part 2: Running to You--The Story of the Red Ink
“You know, they got medals for the first 50 runners who reach the goal.”
Ennis blinked up to the tall forty-something man smiling beside him. The man was wearing a white banner around his head, with something that looked like a heartbeat measuring tool tied around his forearm. Ennis gave him back a small smile. “Yeah?”
“Yes. I hope I can get one.” The man continued. “I’m going to propose to my girlfriend after the marathon.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Good luck.”
“Good luck to you, too.”
The man nodded before diverting his attention back to the front. Ennis thought about what the man had just said. The man had a goal beyond the finish line: he was going to propose to his girlfriend.. Um… Ennis fumbled with his iPod. Actually, it wasn’t his iPod. He didn’t have one…this belonged to Jack. But he’d bought the strap that kept the iPod glued to his arm; he figured he could give the strap to Jack afterwards ‘cause he wasn’t much of an iPod man anyway.
Ennis pressed the random mode of the iPod and chuckled with himself when The Police’s Every Breath You Take drifted into his ears. He closed his eyes, feeling himself sink into this small corner of Jack Twist’s world. Somehow, he could picture Jack when Jack listened to this song, humming as he browsed the internet with his laptop on the throw pillow, smiling up at Ennis every once in a while.
Ennis smiled to himself, thinking of how Jack’s eyes were always on him. He’d gotten used to those blue eyes that spoke a thousand words with one look.. Like this song said: Every move you make, every step you take, I’ll be watching you. And Ennis liked to be watched by Jack, liked to think that Jack could spend all day just looking at him, that Ennis meant the world to him. Plus, he wanted Jack to know he felt the same.
Actually, no, he corrected himself. Ennis didn’t really feel the same. He felt more than that. It was weird. But he guessed it was like tasting something incredibly sweet; once you taste it, you want more. Now it was he who couldn’t look away from Jack. Sometimes when they were out, Jack could be gone just for a minute to buy a cup of coffee and Ennis still found himself trying to find Jack in a crowd.
The tall man turned to him again, this time giving him a thumbs-up sign as everybody prepared to start the race. Ennis gave him two thumbs up with a wide smile, his chest swelling with confidence. When the starting gun went off, Ennis surged with everyone, running down the trail that would lead them to the finish line. Except his goal, was Jack.
Oh, can’t you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every breath you take
++++++++++
Grant and some friends from the Velvet arrived an hour later, bringing with them a grand picnic set, including portable chairs. Jack waved to Grant, who gave him a good-morning hug and a big pat on his back.
“Hey,” said Grant.
“’Morning, Grant.”
“So…where’s the girl-who-must-not-be-named?” asked Lee.
He should have known that Lee couldn’t in a hundred years keep his mouth shut about Rachel. So he jerked his chin pointedly to where Rachel was leaning on the back of a bench, talking to Carol a few feet away.
Grant hummed. “She looks harmless.”
“Define harmless.”
Grant laughed. “What? You’re afraid of her still?”
“Nah, I just think it would be easier if she was a mean woman.”
“Who?” Lee chimed in from behind Grant. “Who’s a mean bitch?”
Jack pushed Lee’s forehead. But he couldn’t help but smile when he saw the words written with blue ink on Lee’s cheek: ‘Team Ennis’. It made Lee look like he’d showed up to cheer for a World Cup Final. He knew Lee just adored Ennis. The truth was Ennis had a lot of secret and not-so-secret admirers in the Velvet. Ennis can probably form an official fan club and make money from selling stuff like pins or towels with his face on them.
“Don’t you think you’re wearing too much make-up?” Jack teased.
“Hilarious. So that the ex-wife?”
“Rachel.”
“I’m so going to make her see what is what around here.” Lee said. Jack and Grant instantly grabbed any part of Lee they could reach before Lee made good on his threat. Lee threw his hands up in the air and motioned for Jack to go. “Then you do something, asshole. It’s just going to make things worse if you drag this shit out. The ex deserves the truth so she can continue being the ex!”
Jack winced. “Now you sound more and more like Grant, only you curse way too much.”
Grant planted a soft kiss on his younger partner’s temple. Jack patted Lee’s cheek with some strength. “You brought the pen?”
Lee batted his hand away but he was smirking nonetheless. “How about red?”
A minute later, with the words ‘Team Ennis’ written in red on his cheek, Jack felt a surge of courage run through his body as he made his way over to Rachel with confident strides. Once he reached Rachel, Carol gave him a squeeze on his shoulder before heading over to where Mona and the Velvet gang were setting food and coffee down on the big cloth they had spread out on the grass.
“Hi,” Jack said, smiling. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to start a normal conversation with her, wasn’t it?. “Where do you live? You live around here?”
“No, I drove from Sacramento.”
“You live there? Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there.”
Rachel smiled dryly. “I want to move out. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
Jack was in no position to ask what had gone wrong. But at that moment, he knew there must be some reason that prompted Rachel to step back into her past and re-connect with her ex-husband. Maybe she was seeking for something she’d once found in Ennis, possibly the love they used to share.
Cursing, Jack kicked the small pebble on the ground.
“Jack,” she said. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you and Ennis…” here goes. “…friends from Wyoming? You seem pretty close with his family.”
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, not really. I mean… yes, we’re friends and I’m also from Wyoming. But we kind of live together.”
“Together?”
“Together.” Jack nodded.
“But Ennis said he’d moved in with his…oh…” Rachel said haltingly, understanding dawning on her face. Jack gazed down on his black converses as Rachel started to pace. “This can’t be… This is just impossible. How? I mean…he was married to me and there were no signs that he was…”
“Gay?” Jack cut her off.
She stiffened, shaking her head emphatically. “It’s just not possible.”
Jack sighed. Yeah, he knew how she felt. It’s really hard to believe something so monumental coming out of a stranger’s mouth. But the point here was that he had to do his part. Ennis said he could tell her what he wanted and Jack was going to do it.
“The thing is, Rachel,” he said. “Ennis and I met last December. We got along almost from the start and yeah like I told you, we’re together, like a couple. And I know it’s not easy to understand why it happened ‘cause to tell you the truth, I don’t know either why it has to be him. But…hey, do you believe in a soul mate?”
Silence.
Rachel looked at him like he’d just grown a third head. He didn’t blame her. He knew he was babbling but he was going to finish what he had started anyway, whether she liked it or not.
“I’ve been interviewing this gay couple for my magazine…a couple who’ve been together for years. Anyway, they mentioned something about being soul mates and that got me to doing some research. And despite it being considered a myth and all, don’t you think it’s true? The idea of having a soul mate exists in every culture.”
Rachel’s expression was blank; she didn’t even flinch when Flea barked.
Jack just stood there, feeling like a fool. . Well, he was a fool, a fool for Ennis, so he guessed that was ok. Jack snorted. Wait a second…a fool for Ennis? Jesus, that’s lame. Flea barked again, as if to agree, and that was when Jack let out a soft chuckle. That was it, he’d made his point. Maybe Ennis can take care of the rest.
He scooped Flea up in his arms. “I’m going to wait for him at the finish line.”
“I’m going, too.” Rachel said.
Jack simply gave her a small nod as he grabbed Ennis’s hoodie, pants and towel from the bench and threw them over his shoulder. “Ok. Let’s go then.”
As they neared the finish line, they passed people yelling and clapping as runners began to appear. Jack jumped up on to a bench, trying to catch sight of Ennis.
“Do you see him?” He asked Flea, who was panting and looking around with excitement. “No? We should get you a pair of glasses.”
More runners began to cross the finish line. The applause and cheering became louder as the area around the finish line began to get packed with supporters. Luckily, he had a pretty good view from the bench he was standing on. He even saw the banner Lee and their friends had made for Ennis being stretched out over their picnic space, Ennis’s name written in diamond dust bright enough even an alien from outer space could see it.
Jack smiled. Ennis was so going to hate this.
As even more runners began to come in, Jack checked his watch. An hour and a half had passed but there was still no sign of Ennis. He tiptoed, craning his neck for a better Look.
After ten minutes, Jack began to worry. He wasn’t the only one because his cell rung; it was Grant.
“Where’s Ennis?” Grant asked.
“I don’t know,” Jack said, still looking around the area. “I don’t see him. Something’s happened for sure, Grant. It shouldn’t take this much time.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m standing on the bench right at the finish line.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Turned out everyone came, including Martha and K.E. whose shoulder-length hair was now in loose dreadlocks. Jack reached out to shake K.E’s hand but was dragged down from the bench instead for a big bear hug that came with several hard pats on his shoulders. The older Del Mar boy looked him thoroughly up and down as if he was trying to determine whether or not Jack still had arms and legs attached to his body or something.
“Hey, K.E.,” Jack greeted K.E with amusement.
“Hey. You look good. So where’s the Medusa?” K.E. got slapped on the arm by Carol. “Hey! I was just asking!”
“More like, asking for trouble,” Carol retorted.
Jack laughed into his fist. Watching the Del Mar siblings swipe at each other like cats and dogs like this can only mean one thing; they’d discussed the Rachel situation too. However, Jack had a feeling that K.E. and Carol didn’t see eye to eye like he and Ennis had this morning. This was pretty understandable, though, because Carol was still amiable with Rachel while K.E. wanted to put sneaks on her head-calling her a Medusa like that.
Actually, the aforementioned Medusa was standing a few steps away and Jack wondered if she overheard anything. Although Jack’s greatest concern had nothing to do with Rachel, anyways.
Another round of applause cut into Jack’s thoughts. Lee took up Jack’s place on the bench and the worried frown on his face spoke louder than words; there was still no sign of Ennis.
Grant touched Jack’s arm. “How much time did he take to run this while he was training?”
“An hour and ten or twenty minutes, max.”
“It’s almost two hours now.”
“Yeah.” Jack scanned the place again. Only a smattering of runners were crossing the finish line now. Something was definitely wrong.
What happened, Ennis? Where are you, baby?
Suddenly, Flea barked, causing Jack to turn around. There was Ennis, running towards the finish line, pale morning silver light shining on his blond hair, illuminating him like an angel.
Ennis seemed fine. And he wasn’t running. He was kind of jogging beside a woman with a brown ponytail. She seemed older than Ennis, like 45 or 50 maybe, and she didn’t look well. In fact, she was very pale, and she was walking funny. As they got nearer, Jack saw blood and dirt smeared on her knees and legs. However, she refused to be seated in the wheelchair that the on-duty paramedics had on hand for those who were injured. Despite her obvious fatigue and the fresh wound on her knee, she had a huge smile on her face. She said something to Ennis as she waved to a group of people at the finish line and they ran to her, swamping Ennis, as well, in a circle of aunties. They shook his hands gratefully for keeping their friend company.
“Kill me now.” Jack heard Lee say from behind him. “I think I’ve just fallen in love with your man, dude.”
“I think I’ve just fallen in love with him all over again,” Jack breathed.
This was it. This was forever.
Flea started to howl, stretching his short neck, trying to act like a wolf howling at the moon. That turned everyone’s attention their way, including Ennis, which made Flea, who loved being the center of attention, howl even louder; Jack had to practically clutch his mouth to shut him up. It didn’t work. So Jack unhooked Flea’s leash and let him dart into the aunties’ circle to be with Ennis.
And it was no exaggeration, not at all, when it felt like a scene in a movie the minute Ennis finally disentangled himself from the aunties and headed Jack’s way, Flea trotting beside him. Everyone and everything just disappeared, and there was only Ennis running to him.
Oh God. Jack swallowed. It was a really bad time to want to jump Ennis, but right now, he really wanted to. He wanted to just… throw himself in Ennis’s arms or throw Ennis on the ground and kiss him senseless, showing all the penguins around here that this guy you were drooling over was the property of Jack Twist, thank you very much.
Soon they found themselves standing dumbly in front of each other all shy and smiley. Damn, a minute before Jack wanted to rip off Ennis’s shirt and get into his skin, now he didn’t know what to do.
Since Jack really didn’t want to spend all day just standing in front of each other, Jack mock opened his arms, half-serious and half-teasing. Ennis made a face, but stepped forward anyway. Jack froze. God, he never in a million years could have imagined Ennis allowing such intimacy in public. That’s why he just stood rigidly, willing himself to breathe as Ennis enveloped him in a one-arm hug.
Then, as they say in the movies, all hell broke loose.
K.E. jumped around with Lee, yelling Ennis, Ennis, Ennis, twining their arms around each other as if they’d been friends forever. Flea barked after everyone. Mona snapped photos with her digital camera while Grant placed a paper-made crown on Ennis’s head.
It was crazy.
It was everything Ennis hated, everyone making such a big deal out of this marathon, and him being the center of attention. But Ennis was laughing at the madness around him, cursing and grumbling about how they were making him suffer because he was one of the last to reach the finish line. . Lee answered by stuffing the ridiculous-looking torch in Ennis’s hand.
I love you, Jack mouthed the words when their eyes met.
I love you more, Ennis mouthed back.
By Jack’s feet, Flea barked and wagged his tail frantically, his big eyes pleading to be held. Jack hauled him up. “And I love you, too, you spoiled little ass.”
Flea barked again and licked Jack’s face, expressing his doggie love to him. Call him easy, but a little loving from his guy and his dog was more than enough to make Jack a happy man.
++++++++++
“When are you, Jesus, going to wash t-that ink off your, umm, face?” Ennis stuttered. Jack was straddling Ennis, his hands pinning Ennis’s hips down on the mattress as he lowered himself slowly, burying Ennis deep inside him. “God…”
“What?” Jack choked out, looking down at Ennis with dark, smoldering eyes, as Ennis fought to stay still, wanting Jack to hold the reins.
“The ink,” Ennis gasped out. “on your cheek.”
It was almost impossible for Ennis to think of anything else while he was making love to Jack, especially when Jack looked this good above him. Jack’s muscles were hard, beautiful with a sheen of sweat, his long lashes spanning his flushed face as he liquidly bounced up down, meeting Ennis’s every thrust, eyes fluttering in ecstasy.
“What?” Jack muttered. He bent down to bite the throbbing vein on Ennis’s neck.
“My name…” Ennis planted his feet on the mattress, stilling Jack’s ass and surging up for more friction, strangling a particularly loud moan from Jack.
“Jesus, Ennis,”
“Hmm,” he grunted. It was time to stop talking. Jack took what was left of Ennis’s breath with a kiss, drawing a low groan from Ennis’s throat.
“It’s permanent,” Jack breathed against his lips.
Ennis simply blinked drowsily. “W-What?”
“The ink...” Jack licked his lip and sped up the pace. “That asshole Lee…”
When everything finally sank in , Ennis started to chuckle, his body shaking with laughter. And after a few hard thrusts, Ennis felt like his soul was being sucked deep into Jack as he came.
The funny thing was, he was laughing as he came, which was the first time anything like that had ever happened. Jack smacked his torso, but Jack was laughing, too, as he rolled over to lie next to Ennis.
“So Lee got you, huh?” Ennis gathered Jack in his arms and whispered into his hair.
Jack snorted. “I’m going to kill the shithead tomorrow, after I can figure out how to wipe it off.”
“Hmm.”
Jack drifted off for a bit while Ennis played with Jack’s hair, staring up at the weird shadows dancing on the wall. Ennis rewound today’s events and he realized he’d forgotten to ask about something.
“Hey, what did you tell Rachel?”
“Rachel?”
“Yep. I didn’t see her at the picnic.”
Jack rolled over to face him. “I told her that we’re living together and my most favorite thing to do is to dot your freckles with my tongue.”
“I’m serious.” Ennis tightened his hold, gasping at the growing sensation of their aligning bodies. Jack shifted to the side and nudged Ennis so he was lying beneath Ennis’s body, parting his thighs so that there was no space left between them. They kissed, fighting to be in control in that way they did sometimes, before Jack’s tongue began to dot on Ennis’s freckles. Ennis groaned. “Jack…”
“Alright.” Jack sucked his earlobe. “I told her the story about a soul mate.”
“You did?”
“Uh huh. And she looked at me like duh.”
Ennis chuckled. “Is that it? So when did she leave?”
“I don’t know. I forgot about her when you didn’t show up after two hours had passed. I damn near lost my mind, you know.”
“Sorry. But the lady…I just couldn’t leave her alone…””
“I knew that about you, you big softie.” Jack kissed him again, opening his mouth wide so their tongues could twine around each other, fingers digging in Ennis’s hair. Jack was a little breathless when he said, “Anyway, I think Rachel would’ve put two and two together just from being around us. She left without saying goodbye to anyone, even Carol.”
“Hmm. I’ll call her tomorrow. I want to end this for real.”
“Okay.”
“And you know they have medals for the first 50 runners, too.” Ennis bit Jack’s chin. “I was planning to get you one.”
Jack smiled that slow smile of his, killing him softly like the old song said. “You keep giving me stuff like that I’m going to need a bigger place to stay.”
“Maybe we could find a house.”
“Yeah, a house with a front yard for Flea to play around.”
“Hmm.”
Then Jack’s tongue found his again. Ennis relaxed into the kiss as if talking about finding a house was something they discussed everyday, laying his weight fully on Jack’s body which felt so good against him. He let Jack take control, even though it seemed all Jack wanted to do was kiss. Ennis enjoyed kissing Jack, just kissing and sharing breath and the sweet whisper of words they wouldn’t normally say anywhere else, words that were saved for when they were in bed together at night, between Jack’s creamy starched sheet and a thin layer of blankets.
And Ennis liked the sound of Jack’s desperate moan when they reached the point where kissing wasn’t enough. He always looked forward to that, actually. When the need became overwhelming, Jack would scratch his back, his arms, everywhere he could reach, arching his back and, groaning low with the need to get closer.. His heels would either dig a hole in the mattress or Ennis’s back as he surged up to grind their bodies together. But they never stopped kissing ‘cause it felt so damn good.
When they stopped for breath, Ennis poked Jack’s cheek.
“I like it.” He chuckled. “I like my name on your body.”
“I like it, too. But not in red ink, thank you.”
Ennis laughed again and melted back into Jack’s embrace, feeling complete. If this was what it was like to be truly loved, he wondered how he got through the first 26 years of his life without Jack.
Jack threw his leg around Ennis and Ennis stopped asking questions in his mind. What mattered was this: they finally found each other. So Jack was right. Their names should have been written on one of the stars up there, somewhere.
With red ink, maybe.
A/N:
1) Hope you like the manip of two of Ennis's love slaves. lol There're 3 versions of this Red Ink set including an icon. I'll post them later. Man, I adore photoshop.
2) I'm pretty sure there will be a Flea mini-sequal. But you know me, I'm a slow writer. You have to be patient with me.
3) I need my own Flea... *sighs*