Fic - Straight On Till Morning
That title has nothing to do with the fic - but I couldn't think of anything else. Anyway . . . here's my offering for the September pic.
Title: Straight On Till Morning
Author: Carron
Fandom: SG-1
Pairing: Jack/Daniel, Jack/Other
Rating: NC/17
It was the night before he left for the Academy. His last night as a civilian - or that's how he thought of it. He'd been accepted and even if his father's only response had been a burp and a demand for another beer, Jack had known that his life would never be the same. Bags packed, mom hugged and kissed. There was just one more thing.
"I'm going out for a while, ma," he said as he walked through the kitchen. "I'll be back tonight."
"Jack, it's your last night home," his mother said, arms hidden in the soapy water of the sink.
"I know, but I got some stuff I gotta do. I'll be back by nine."
A quick kiss to his mother's temple and he was out the door, trotting across the yard to his car.
The sun was nearly below the horizon as Jack sped along the Minnesota back roads toward his destination. When he pulled up in front of the run-down old house, he doesn't have long to way. Jerry Masterson slammed through the front door and jumped easily into the passenger seat of the dilapidated old '56 convertible. No words were spoken. None were needed.
They drove into the gathering darkness to a small house down by the creek. It was deserted, run down, and private. This was the place where Jack got drunk for the first time; got laid for the first time; got his heart broken for the first time; got the shit beat out of him for the first time. This was Jack's place of firsts. Tonight, it would also be his place of lasts.
The two boys edged into the door that was stuck partially open and stood in the grimy kitchen. "Back here," said Jerry, pointing to the far room of the house.
Jack followed him down the hallway. "What'd you cut your hair for? Thought I was the one going into the academy."
"I'm going to Canada, man. I don't want no one to recognize me up there, ya know?"
"Yeah." Jack looked down at the stained white carpet beneath his feet. "This place is a real shit hole," he mumbled.
"Best we got," Jerry said as he started to undress.
Jack pulled off his t-shirt and unbuckled his jeans. "You gotta swear not to tell."
"I know," Jerry said, continuing to strip. "I ain't gonna say nuthin."
"I wanna fly jets," Jack emphasized as he toed off his shoes, leaving just his black socks on. "I want that more than anything in the world. You gotta promise me you won't say anything to anyone. Ever."
"I won't," Jerry said quietly. "I wouldn't do that to ya."
"Okay," Jack nodded. "Okay."
Jack threw his jeans over the windowsill and looked at his companion. "How you wanna--?"
His words were stopped when Jerry shoved him, hard, against the wall, kicked his feet apart and ground his hips into Jack's.
Palms slapped back against the drywall as Jack tried to keep his balance. "Fuck man, you anxious about this or somethin'?"
"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do this?" growled the boy into Jack's neck, just below his ear. There was a stringent note of sadness in the voice.
"A while?" Jack asked. He honestly didn't know. He'd only gotten a clue that there was something between them during their last year of school.
Jerry slammed his hips against Jack again, pressing his erection into the soft, warm groin. "This isn't fair," Jerry breathed, lacing the fingers of one hand through Jack's and pulling the arm up over his head and pinning it against the wall. "All this time I've waited and now . . . now I only get this once before you . . ."
Jack gripped Jerry hard around the neck. "I picked you," he said, at a loss. "Out of all the people - I picked you." It sounded lame. Jack knew that. It was the best he could offer.
Jerry finally slid his free arm around Jack's shoulders, splaying his hand between the sharp shoulder blades. "You're gonna cut your hair," he lamented. "I always really dug your hair."
Jack pressed his face into the side of Jerry's. "One day," he whispered, "I'll be old, gray, probably fat and worthless, but you'll always think of me like this. With this stupid mess of brown hair, and knees that always made me look like a dork." Jack moved his mouth so it was just over Jerry's lips. "It'll be nice to know that somewhere, someone will always remember me when I was eighteen."
Neither young man acknowledged the tears that were threatening to fall. "It'll be nice to remember that you were the first." Jerry clamped his lips over Jack's and closed his eyes.
++++
Daniel stepped carefully through the screen door that was barely hanging on its hinges. He looked around at the debris laden floor, the missing cabinets of the kitchen, the toppled and destroyed appliances. "You have *got* to be kidding."
Jack turned and smiled at him from the front room - or what used to be the front room. The floor was partially caved in, down to the dirt below. "Little fixer upper."
"Even you are not that stupid," Daniel said as he tip-toed over a raccoon's dead and decayed carcass.
"I did buy the land, though," Jack said proudly. "The lake's right over there." He pointed out the shattered picture window.
"So that gives you how many acres now?"
"About fifteen," Jack said after calculating quickly in his head.
"That's a good amount to retire on," Daniel nodded. "This house is really horrible, though. There must be a reason you brought me to see it."
"Yeah," Jack said. "Down that hallway."
"We're not gonna find a dead body, are we?"
"God, I hope not," Jack chuckled. "Turn into that last bedroom."
Daniel pushed aside the cobwebs and stepped inside. "What an interesting smell you've found."
"Smells like something did die in here," Jack said, wrinkling his nose.
"Oh hey, this would be it," Daniel said as he pointed to a mass of feathers on the floor by what used to be a closet.
"Fire department will be out here tomorrow. They'll burn it down as a training exercise."
"And you wanted me to see it first, why?" Daniel turned friendly eyes on him. "This place means a great deal to you, doesn't it?"
Jack nodded. "Day before I went off to the Academy, I brought someone up here. It was the last time I could . . . We . . . I . . ."
Daniel took a step closer and smiled warmly. "Who was she?"
Jack wiped his palms on the front of his jeans then put his hands into his coat pocket. The late fall air was cold inside the remains of the tumble down house and with the sun slanting in through the window openings, Jack could see Daniel's breath in the crisp air. "It . . . it wasn't a she."
He waited for the reaction from Daniel and after a moment he got it. "What?"
"His name was Jerry," Jack said quietly. "I'd always . . . guys had always . . . I had to know if that was really a part of me or not. I wanted to know if I could walk away from it and give my life over to the service."
"Did you?"
Jack slowly shook his head. "It would have killed Sara if she'd known. I loved her. I did - with everything I had. But there was always this . . . need . . . in me."
"Yeah," Daniel said, a little breathless. "I understand that."
Jack looked up quickly. He went a little lightheaded at the quick, shy smile Daniel gave him. "We've kinda been dancing around something for the last year," Jack said, waving his hand between them. "Right?"
"Yes," Daniel acknowledged, his smile becoming a little stronger. "Since you came back to Abydos."
"Daniel," Jack whispered, stepping forward.
Holding up his hand, Daniel stopped him. "I'm not doing you against the wall with a dead bird in the corner, Jack," he said, his smile full-force. "But if you've got a nice big bed at this cabin - the inside of which I have yet to see - I think we could come to an understanding."
"Let's go," Jack all but growled and lead the way out of the structure via a gaping whole in the wall.
Daniel laughed as they hurried along the path to the cabin. The old house, the place from the past - that place was for Jack and for Jerry when they were young and unsure and afraid of the future. Daniel had no doubt that the future would be for him and Jack. As he looked up and over Jack's shoulder, he saw the cabin come into view. He slapped Jack on the back as he trotted passed. "Race ya," he called out.
Jack grinned. "You anxious about this or somethin'?" he yelled and followed Daniel quickly into the cabin. The future was looking pretty damned bright.