Eureka Fic! *has no Eureka icons*
In Which Nathan Has A Plan (And A Slight Epiphany) And Jack Gets Wooed, Seduced, And Groped (Although Not Necessarily In That Order).
Summary: "Thus Nathan had initiated his plan. A very intricate, well thought-out plan at that, full of reconnaissance and contingences and arguments for any of Jack’s initial qualms, like that they kind of hated each other ("Great sex") or their positions in the town ("Secretly great sex")."
A little under 9,000 words, PG-13 (miraculously), Jack/Nathan. Cross-posted to marshal_science . Enjoy, and feedback is love!
~
This was not, in retrospect, exactly how Nathan had expected things to go.
Ordinarily he liked this aspect of Eureka. Other research areas were bogged down with the mundane routine: formulate hypothesis, test hypothesis, prove hypothesis, write paper about hypothesis to be published in any of thirty interchangeable journals, return to office sullen because no one cares about the hypothesis.
But here? New and unanticipated results were standard operating procedure. Dozens of breakthroughs had been made completely unintentionally; hell, half of the DoD’s defense armory had been developed as a result of a few Section 5 guys’ weekly laser tag game. And Nathan enjoyed that, usually-he liked the uninhibited, unencumbered pursuit of knowledge, creating for the sheer sake of the creation itself. Science, in its purest form.
But for once-just for once-Nathan would appreciate it if something would just go as he’d planned.
And he’d had a plan. There were plenty of independent variables-this was Jack Carter he was dealing with, after all-but Nathan did have a plan, complete with contingences. His responses were prepared; he’d mapped out all conceivable scenarios, a few of which dealt with Jack punching him or, even worse, Jack gently, pityingly saying no.
And then another few dealt with Jack saying yes. Multiple times. And then there were hands involved and Nathan’s desk may or may not have been incorporated. Nathan might admit that those scenarios were more… detailed.
But this-Nathan wasn’t quite sure where this was going.
Jack was panting, mouth open, and his hand was still on Nathan’s chest where he’d pushed him back. The sight of Jack’s mouth and the lingering warmth of Jack’s body against his nearly made Nathan growl to be there again; things had been proceeding very well. "Carter, what-"
"This-" Jack gasped in another breath, "-is a monumentally bad idea." As if he hadn’t just been putting that sarcastic, annoying, fucking hot mouth to-in Nathan’s opinion-much better purposes than usual, groaning when Nathan had pinned him up against the wall of his office and kissing him back with an enthusiasm that had originally given Nathan some hope about that desk.
But. Okay. An independent variable. Nathan could deal with this. This could fit with the plan. "I don’t think all of you agrees with that statement," he replied, glancing down at the hard line of something pressing along Jack’s pants. Jack glanced down and then back up lightning-quick, flushing. Nathan grinned and took a step closer, Jack’s hand still pressed to him but not resisting the movement. "We both want it."
"That doesn’t stop it from still being a very, very bad idea," Jack said, inching away a bit.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why?"
"Well, we could start out with the fact that we don’t really like each other. You know," he slid a few more inches away, until he was barely touching Nathan, "at all?"
"I don’t know," Nathan said, grinning rakishly, trying to advance and glancing down when Jack’s firm hand halted him. "Up until about a minute ago, I was starting to come around to you."
"Yeah, well, I’m talented that way," Jack shot back. "But that doesn’t change the fact that-"
The door pinged just in time for Jack to drop his hand before Fargo barged in. "Sheriff Carter?"
Oh, his ass was going to be filling out forms every night for weeks for interrupting Nathan’s finely tuned plan. Jack, on the other hand, looked half-relieved, half-mortified at the disruption, which, yeah, right. As if Fargo would ever be perceptive enough to notice this. Unless, Nathan thought wistfully, they’d still been making out when he’d come in; he might’ve caught on to that.
"Fargo!" Jack said, a little too loudly, and Nathan rolled his eyes. "Yeah! Hey! Whaddaya need?"
"Dr. Blake is waiting for you outside. Apparently there’s some kind of disturbance at Taggart’s…? Something about his wolves getting into his experimental hormone treatment. They’re all over town-"
"Great!" Jack exclaimed, earning himself a confused look from Fargo and an exasperated one from Nathan. He backpedaled quickly, "I, uh, I just mean-great, I’m on the case. Gotta be out there, you know, serving Eureka’s citizens."
Nathan snorted. "That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do in here."
Jack looked back at him, and Nathan saw what he needed: that flash of want, of something much more than standard annoyance and frustration. "Remember what happened the last time Taggart’s wolves got loose? During the kids’ physics fair? I’m not chasing after flying canines for three days again."
"We’re not finished, you know," Nathan said, and Fargo was only looking more and more confused, but Jack was still listening and that was all he needed. "You mentioned talents. I’m curious."
"Duty calls, Stark. Guess you’ll have to get used to wondering." With that, Jack practically jogged out, and Fargo gave Nathan an inquisitive look before Nathan’s scowl sent him scurrying away.
<> <> <>
Nathan would admit that he should’ve caught on earlier. He sometimes thought others had-Henry, maybe Jo or Vince. Not Allison, though, for all her perception. But in a town so smart, it was impossible to think that no one would have noticed that what had begun as casual, comfortable enmity had become underlay with much more… tension.
And hell if Nathan had ever been the type to ignore a challenge. And Jack Carter, with all his bluster and righteousness and complete refusal to be intimidated and that knowing fucking smile that drove Nathan crazy with the urge to- to grab him and lock them both in a secure room for perhaps days until Nathan had catalogued every single sound that mouth could make? Jack Carter was a challenge.
Thus Nathan had initiated his plan. A very intricate, well thought-out plan at that, full of reconnaissance and contingences and arguments for any of Jack’s initial qualms, like that they kind of hated each other ("Great sex") or their positions in the town ("Secretly great sex"). He’d made the effort of showing up where he knew Jack would be more often, of pressing the tension in their normal banter, and of maybe standing a little too close to the sheriff than was wholly necessary at the time but that did incur some enjoyable and reaffirming squirming on Jack’s part. And everything was going according to that masterful plan; Nathan was at least seventy-five percent sure that Jack would be responsive to his advances, if a little reluctant at first.
At which point Nathan had his arguments prepared. What he had not counted on was that Eureka acted simultaneously as both the best moment-killer and nosy, matronly chaperone ever conceived. By the time Taggart’s experiment was contained and the antidotes administered to anyone demonstrating post-bite lupine characteristics, Jack had escaped GD and thus any luring back to Nathan’s office, where they could at least have had some privacy. But it was all right; Nathan was flexible. Jack was trying to avoid him and that was a little discouraging, but Nathan knew what he’d felt when they’d kissed: Jack wanted this, maybe as much as Nathan did, and Nathan had never been one to give up easily.
Okay, he reasoned as he mounted the steps to the sheriff’s office, so maybe the whole thing wasn’t the wisest idea he’d ever had. But Nathan had to admit: even back when they were engaging in puerile pissing contests over Nathan’s ex-wife, he’d always been a bit stupid when it came to Jack Carter.
"Afternoon, Sheriff," Nathan greeted sunnily as he entered the office, grinning when Jack only just managed not to drop the papers in his hands. "Paperwork?"
"Up to my elbows, in fact." Jack’s voice was calm and even, but he swallowed hard, giving himself away. And momentarily distracting Nathan, but that wasn’t the point. He didn’t move to stand, merely tracking Nathan as he came farther inside to sit on the other side of Jack’s desk. He propped his feet up where Jack had been working. "Very mature, Stark, but if you need something, you’ll have to talk to Jo. I’m swamped with B4-D67s."
"Ah, cross-species transformation. How riveting. Couldn’t those be relegated to your deputy? Where is the lovely Deputy Lupo, in fact?"
"Getting a late lunch at Café Diem," Jack replied dryly, watching as Nathan ostentatiously sipped his Vinspresso. "You must’ve just missed her."
"Guess so." Nathan was still grinning and, for just a moment there, he thought it might’ve been catching, the corners of Jack’s mouth twitching upwards. "Looks like it’s just us."
Jack glanced down, shuffling papers in an obvious attempt to avoid Nathan’s gaze. "Look, about yesterday… I meant what I said in your office."
Nathan frowned as he stood, slowly, casually making his way around Jack’s desk. "Which part? Because I distinctly remember your making some rather encouraging monosyllabic sounds there at the beginning." He leaned against Jack’s desk, only a foot away from him now. Jack swallowed again, valiantly staying in his chair.
"Yeah, I was mostly talking about the part where I pointed out how bad of an idea it would be."
"Haven’t you ever heard of opposites attracting?"
Jack snorted and stood, dropping a stack of papers into a filing box. "I think we’re a little more than opposites, Stark." He planted himself a firm arm’s-length away, his own arms crossed. "Hey, remember the part where you hate me because you’re still in love with your ex-wife?"
Nathan looked away, breathing out the sting. "Things change," he said after a moment, flicking his eyes back up to Jack’s and trying his most persuasive voice. "Can you remember the last time we were arguing because of Allison? Come on, Carter. I think we both know this has been coming for a while."
"So was Dr. Baker’s promise of using Eureka’s waste as renewable fuel. I think we can all agree that that wasn’t a good idea either."
And that was the point at which Nathan decided to try a different, less polemic tactic. "Ah yes, I remember that week. Horrible heat wave." He dropped his voice an octave and leaned more fully on the desk, hands braced and legs splayed wide, inviting. "And you, trapped in that uniform, always sweating. If you only knew how many times I wanted to help you out. Of your clothes, I mean, in case you didn’t catch that."
Jack’s next breath was a little ragged. A little bit of sweat shone from the hollow of his throat, and Nathan hadn’t been lying; he ached to taste that skin. "You’re using the crap fuel as a segue into seduction?"
Nathan raised an eyebrow, unshaken. "Is that supposed to distract me from how well it’s working?"
"My answer’s the same."
"Right, bad idea, we covered that," Nathan said, rolling his eyes. He pushed off the desk and took a step closer, just at the edge of Jack’s personal space. "But if your only reasoning is that we don’t get along all the time? Come on. Don’t tell me that, after one of our… disagreements, you’ve never thought about taking out your frustration?"
Jack snorted. "Yeah, but there’s usually a loaded weapon involved."
"Oh, a double entendre. Living here has done wonders for you."
"Wow, you’re right! I’m warming up to you already. Wanna make out on my desk?"
"Man, stepped out for burgers and I missed a whole show," Jo said from the doorway, a bag in each hand and a smirk on her face that suggested she’d heard quite enough. She dropped one bag onto Jack’s desk before sitting at her own, still watching them. She waves a hand. "Oh no, please, don’t stop on my account."
"No, it’s okay," Jack said firmly. "We’re done."
Jo tutted. "Oh, you can’t end it there, Carter. You’d be a tease!"
"Jo."
Even Nathan could read the don’t-fuck-with-this tone of Jack’s voice. Jo pursed her lips but quieted, turning back to the papers on her desk. Jack turned back to him, but Nathan beat him to the punch. "I’m inclined to agree with your deputy. We’re far from finished."
Jack arched an eyebrow. "Like I said: I’ve got papers to file."
"Well, I guess I’ll just have to catch you when you’re not so busy," Nathan replied, heading for the door.
"Sure, why not. Give it all you’ve got."
Nathan paused to look back. "Oh I intend to."
<> <> <>
The third attempt had required some regrouping on Nathan’s part. Unexpectedly, it had been Jack who’d shown him what he was doing wrong, with his reaction to Nathan’s barb. It had all been perfectly in line with their normal course of banter; but the thing was, Nathan was trying to move away from that normal course of banter, just a little. Just to, perhaps, a more naked course.
He needed to do something out of the norm, something to prove to Jack that he was serious.
He needed to woo Jack Carter.
It was obvious. Sure, trying to initiate a relationship with a man was more than a little different from trying to initiate one with a woman, but that was no excuse to half-ass the former. And, Nathan realized, he even had an advantage; rarely did his interests live in a smart house that he could coerce into helping him.
It took a couple of weeks. He’d had to figure out Jack’s favorite kinds of beer from Vincent without provoking too much suspicion-although Vince had looked smug for days afterwards, for reasons Nathan never wanted to learn-and program more varieties into S.A.R.A.H.’s systems. Her satellites suddenly gained a few dozen more channels, half of which were sports and all in higher definition, and the ability to interface with even the rudimentary computers in the sheriff’s office and car in order to keep Jack updated on daytime games. The recipe for Zoe’s favorite dish-sweet and sour chicken from a Chinese place in L.A.-mysteriously found its way into the kitchen’s programming, and S.A.R.A.H.’s stereo system gained a direct uplink to Zoe’s own music collection as well as any radio station in… well, any in the world, really. It wasn’t too hard to wire the house’s connection to her phone, either.
S.A.R.A.H., for her part, received Nathan’s promise of full workups and upgrades whenever she wanted. Nathan made a mental note to check Fargo’s coding; she was pretty sentient for AI, and Nathan had definitely noted oddly emotional tones in her supposedly automated voice when she spilled about the sheriff’s griefs. She had also seemed all-too-ready to jump into a conspiracy with him, even suggested he talk to Zoe for more help, which disturbed him and made him curious as to what exactly Zoe and her house talked about.
In any case. Carter had started shooting him questioning looks a week ago, but he’d stopped giving Nathan a wide berth during GD catastrophes. Nathan was throwing him off-balance, and the face Jack made when Nathan dropped into a seat at his table at Café Diem one day was absolutely frame-worthy.
"Stark," he said, choking a little on his coffee.
"Sheriff," Nathan replied evenly, smiling. "Grabbing lunch? Mind if I join you?" Jack was still sputtering coffee from his lungs, which Nathan decided to take as an affirmative. "Wonderful. Hey, Vince! Could I get the chef’s special, please? Yeah, take your time, I’m in no hurry. Thanks."
Jack cleared his throat one last time and blinked over at Nathan. "Have you been affected by something at Global, Stark? Do I need to take you in?"
Nathan merely widened his smile. "Your concern for my health is touching, but no, I’m fine. Just hungry. You’re looking particularly healthy yourself, there, Carter. Very well rested."
Jack raised an eyebrow, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah, it’s the funniest thing. S.A.R.A.H.’s been upgrading recently. Seems the sensors in my bedroom can now perfectly adjust the temperature, sound, light, and even the firmness of my bed to my needs without my even asking."
"Amazing what technology can do, isn’t it," Nathan mused, not bothering to hide the smirk and grinning when Jack returned it. "Well, I’m glad you’re relaxed. After all your hard work for Eureka, we grateful citizens like to do what we can for our sheriff."
Jack’s eyebrow only got higher but he let the subject drop. "Speaking of the citizens of Eureka-you do realize where we are, right? You know everyone’s staring?"
"Let ‘em," Nathan said, shrugging. "After all, aren’t we just two denizens of Café Diem enjoying a casual lunch?"
"Oh, is that what we’re doing, Dr. Stark?" Jack didn’t exactly look happy, but he did look amused and he was smiling at least. Nathan could take that for now.
"Of course, Sheriff Carter," Nathan replied. He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table as he settled in. "So, you mentioned upgrades. What else could S.A.R.A.H. do to make your and your lovely daughter’s lives that much better?"
Nathan showed up at Jack’s lunchtime every day that week and every day the next week, by which point they had a designated table at Café Diem. Jack was a little reserved at first, but he liked to talk and, Nathan was beginning to suspect, he might honestly like being friendly. Then Jack mentioned that he’d started catching brunch there on Saturday mornings with Zoe, so Nathan made a point of dropping by-not long enough to infringe on their time together but just long enough to discuss Zoe’s upcoming Eukaryotic Biology project with her and to trade a few jabs with Jack over the last Global-related crisis they’d averted. He left while Jack was still laughing and Zoe grinning, and he didn’t miss the small smirk she gave him when Jack wasn’t looking.
Now this-this plan was actually working. If anything, Nathan should’ve gone with this from the start. He and Jack were actually getting along and Nathan even had the man’s house and daughter on his side. The town, being smart enough to know that something was up, had grown used to them, although Vincent was still giving him that smug, knowing glance whenever he dropped off Nathan’s plate.
Beyond that, though… Jack wasn’t bad lunch company, and Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d regularly left GD and not felt the press of his job on him at all times. One day, a few weeks in, he was a little late for their lunchtime, and he was worried as he entered the café, worried that Jack would’ve just picked up his own lunch without a thought and headed out. But when he saw their customary table, he found Jack waiting there, nonchalantly reading the paper. Or, at least, trying to be nonchalant, because when he looked up and saw Nathan, his face broke out in a wide grin.
"Hey," he greeted easily. "Come on, I already told Vince to get your food. Rough day running the world?"
Nathan’s chest tightened with Jack’s words, but he dropped into the offered chair and found himself answering, "Slight lab explosion in Sector Three."
Jack frowned. "Anyone hurt?"
"Only Dr. Barnett’s two prize fighting fish."
"And her ego, I bet," Jack said with a reassuring smile as their food arrived, and by god it shouldn’t have been this easy. It should’ve been so much more complicated than this. It should’ve been harder, more dramatic, more…
It just…it shouldn’t have been this easy for Nathan to fall in love with Jack Carter.
<> <> <>
"You know," Jack said, still gulping in breaths as he leaned heavily against Nathan’s shoulder, "every once in a while-maybe, oh, once or twice a month-I forget why I don’t like you. I think, ‘Hey, that Dr. Stark, he neither kicks puppies nor knocks over old ladies on the street! What a swell guy.’"
"And then?" Nathan asked as they limped away from the debris of an experiment that Nathan was pretty ready to declare bust.
Jack nodded and continued, "And then something big, nasty, and within ten feet of me explodes, and I have to spend the next three hours in a detox shower scrubbing slime from my unmentionables. And then I remember why I just really don’t like you."
"And here I thought it was that I was undeniably more attractive and altogether more charming than you."
"Nope, it’s definitely the slime," Jack replied. He tossed Nathan a winning smile. "No one’s more charming than I am." They reached Jack’s jeep and Jack hauled himself upright, still shaking vegetation off his limbs. "At least there’s no goo this time."
Nathan narrowed his eyes at Jack’s injured side. "You should get that checked out at GD, you know."
Jack blanched. "Yeah, and spend the rest of the night in the infirmary until Allison gets there to put me on bed rest for a week? No thanks. I’m thinking it’s a couple hours sleep before I have a date with a big cup of coffee and a brand spankin’ new pile of requisition forms. Want a ride back to town?"
"Uh, yeah, no," Nathan snorted, snatching the keys from Jack’s hand. "You barely missed dislocating that shoulder. I’m driving you home, you can have Lupo pick you up in the morning."
"What, seriously?" Jack rolled his eyes at Nathan’s stony look and climbed into the passenger side. "You know, not too long ago, I was a U.S. Marshal. I had control over situations. I never got ordered around in my own car by a megalomaniacal-"
"Ooh, big word," Nathan cracked, pulling away from the still-smoking ruins.
"-scientist bent on ruling any available universe and on routinely covering me in slime."
"And if you had just listened to me each of those times and butted out of GD’s problems, you could’ve avoided the detox shower."
It was Jack’s turn to snort. "Oh, okay, next time I’ll just go ahead and let the universe collapse in on itself."
"That was one time, Carter."
"And I believe you still owe me a drink from the last time I saved your sorry ass."
Nathan shot him a lazy, flirtatious grin, the farthest they ever went. "There is nothing sorry about my ass," he drawled, turning onto Jack’s road.
"An arrogant megalomaniacal scientist," Jack amended, rolling his eyes again.
"Oh, I’m arrogant? You were the one who just cowboyed into the middle of Seth’s overgrown, carnivorous, nearly ambulatory plants with nary a care in the world."
"Worked, didn’t it?"
"Does the town know we have a ten-year-old for a sheriff?"
"Eh," Jack said as they came to a stop in front of the bunker. "They’re mostly won over by my undeniable charm. And adorableness."
"Oh god, get out, no one who talks like that is allowed in a car with me."
"This is my car!" Jack protested, still grinning.
"Yeah, and you can pick it up at Vince’s tomorrow, once I’m entirely convinced you can lift your right arm."
"Whatever," Jack scoffed, shutting the door but leaning in the window to add, "You’re paying for my lunch."
"Anything to shut you up for a while," Nathan replied.
Jack shook his head with a smile and stepped back from the jeep, calling over his shoulder, "Night, Stark."
"Night, Carter," he answered automatically, watching Jack disappear into the bunker. Once he was sure Jack was out of sight he smacked his head back against the headrest, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"I am so screwed," Nathan said to no one before starting the car and heading back to town.
On to Part Two!
Summary: "Thus Nathan had initiated his plan. A very intricate, well thought-out plan at that, full of reconnaissance and contingences and arguments for any of Jack’s initial qualms, like that they kind of hated each other ("Great sex") or their positions in the town ("Secretly great sex")."
A little under 9,000 words, PG-13 (miraculously), Jack/Nathan. Cross-posted to marshal_science . Enjoy, and feedback is love!
~
This was not, in retrospect, exactly how Nathan had expected things to go.
Ordinarily he liked this aspect of Eureka. Other research areas were bogged down with the mundane routine: formulate hypothesis, test hypothesis, prove hypothesis, write paper about hypothesis to be published in any of thirty interchangeable journals, return to office sullen because no one cares about the hypothesis.
But here? New and unanticipated results were standard operating procedure. Dozens of breakthroughs had been made completely unintentionally; hell, half of the DoD’s defense armory had been developed as a result of a few Section 5 guys’ weekly laser tag game. And Nathan enjoyed that, usually-he liked the uninhibited, unencumbered pursuit of knowledge, creating for the sheer sake of the creation itself. Science, in its purest form.
But for once-just for once-Nathan would appreciate it if something would just go as he’d planned.
And he’d had a plan. There were plenty of independent variables-this was Jack Carter he was dealing with, after all-but Nathan did have a plan, complete with contingences. His responses were prepared; he’d mapped out all conceivable scenarios, a few of which dealt with Jack punching him or, even worse, Jack gently, pityingly saying no.
And then another few dealt with Jack saying yes. Multiple times. And then there were hands involved and Nathan’s desk may or may not have been incorporated. Nathan might admit that those scenarios were more… detailed.
But this-Nathan wasn’t quite sure where this was going.
Jack was panting, mouth open, and his hand was still on Nathan’s chest where he’d pushed him back. The sight of Jack’s mouth and the lingering warmth of Jack’s body against his nearly made Nathan growl to be there again; things had been proceeding very well. "Carter, what-"
"This-" Jack gasped in another breath, "-is a monumentally bad idea." As if he hadn’t just been putting that sarcastic, annoying, fucking hot mouth to-in Nathan’s opinion-much better purposes than usual, groaning when Nathan had pinned him up against the wall of his office and kissing him back with an enthusiasm that had originally given Nathan some hope about that desk.
But. Okay. An independent variable. Nathan could deal with this. This could fit with the plan. "I don’t think all of you agrees with that statement," he replied, glancing down at the hard line of something pressing along Jack’s pants. Jack glanced down and then back up lightning-quick, flushing. Nathan grinned and took a step closer, Jack’s hand still pressed to him but not resisting the movement. "We both want it."
"That doesn’t stop it from still being a very, very bad idea," Jack said, inching away a bit.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why?"
"Well, we could start out with the fact that we don’t really like each other. You know," he slid a few more inches away, until he was barely touching Nathan, "at all?"
"I don’t know," Nathan said, grinning rakishly, trying to advance and glancing down when Jack’s firm hand halted him. "Up until about a minute ago, I was starting to come around to you."
"Yeah, well, I’m talented that way," Jack shot back. "But that doesn’t change the fact that-"
The door pinged just in time for Jack to drop his hand before Fargo barged in. "Sheriff Carter?"
Oh, his ass was going to be filling out forms every night for weeks for interrupting Nathan’s finely tuned plan. Jack, on the other hand, looked half-relieved, half-mortified at the disruption, which, yeah, right. As if Fargo would ever be perceptive enough to notice this. Unless, Nathan thought wistfully, they’d still been making out when he’d come in; he might’ve caught on to that.
"Fargo!" Jack said, a little too loudly, and Nathan rolled his eyes. "Yeah! Hey! Whaddaya need?"
"Dr. Blake is waiting for you outside. Apparently there’s some kind of disturbance at Taggart’s…? Something about his wolves getting into his experimental hormone treatment. They’re all over town-"
"Great!" Jack exclaimed, earning himself a confused look from Fargo and an exasperated one from Nathan. He backpedaled quickly, "I, uh, I just mean-great, I’m on the case. Gotta be out there, you know, serving Eureka’s citizens."
Nathan snorted. "That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do in here."
Jack looked back at him, and Nathan saw what he needed: that flash of want, of something much more than standard annoyance and frustration. "Remember what happened the last time Taggart’s wolves got loose? During the kids’ physics fair? I’m not chasing after flying canines for three days again."
"We’re not finished, you know," Nathan said, and Fargo was only looking more and more confused, but Jack was still listening and that was all he needed. "You mentioned talents. I’m curious."
"Duty calls, Stark. Guess you’ll have to get used to wondering." With that, Jack practically jogged out, and Fargo gave Nathan an inquisitive look before Nathan’s scowl sent him scurrying away.
<> <> <>
Nathan would admit that he should’ve caught on earlier. He sometimes thought others had-Henry, maybe Jo or Vince. Not Allison, though, for all her perception. But in a town so smart, it was impossible to think that no one would have noticed that what had begun as casual, comfortable enmity had become underlay with much more… tension.
And hell if Nathan had ever been the type to ignore a challenge. And Jack Carter, with all his bluster and righteousness and complete refusal to be intimidated and that knowing fucking smile that drove Nathan crazy with the urge to- to grab him and lock them both in a secure room for perhaps days until Nathan had catalogued every single sound that mouth could make? Jack Carter was a challenge.
Thus Nathan had initiated his plan. A very intricate, well thought-out plan at that, full of reconnaissance and contingences and arguments for any of Jack’s initial qualms, like that they kind of hated each other ("Great sex") or their positions in the town ("Secretly great sex"). He’d made the effort of showing up where he knew Jack would be more often, of pressing the tension in their normal banter, and of maybe standing a little too close to the sheriff than was wholly necessary at the time but that did incur some enjoyable and reaffirming squirming on Jack’s part. And everything was going according to that masterful plan; Nathan was at least seventy-five percent sure that Jack would be responsive to his advances, if a little reluctant at first.
At which point Nathan had his arguments prepared. What he had not counted on was that Eureka acted simultaneously as both the best moment-killer and nosy, matronly chaperone ever conceived. By the time Taggart’s experiment was contained and the antidotes administered to anyone demonstrating post-bite lupine characteristics, Jack had escaped GD and thus any luring back to Nathan’s office, where they could at least have had some privacy. But it was all right; Nathan was flexible. Jack was trying to avoid him and that was a little discouraging, but Nathan knew what he’d felt when they’d kissed: Jack wanted this, maybe as much as Nathan did, and Nathan had never been one to give up easily.
Okay, he reasoned as he mounted the steps to the sheriff’s office, so maybe the whole thing wasn’t the wisest idea he’d ever had. But Nathan had to admit: even back when they were engaging in puerile pissing contests over Nathan’s ex-wife, he’d always been a bit stupid when it came to Jack Carter.
"Afternoon, Sheriff," Nathan greeted sunnily as he entered the office, grinning when Jack only just managed not to drop the papers in his hands. "Paperwork?"
"Up to my elbows, in fact." Jack’s voice was calm and even, but he swallowed hard, giving himself away. And momentarily distracting Nathan, but that wasn’t the point. He didn’t move to stand, merely tracking Nathan as he came farther inside to sit on the other side of Jack’s desk. He propped his feet up where Jack had been working. "Very mature, Stark, but if you need something, you’ll have to talk to Jo. I’m swamped with B4-D67s."
"Ah, cross-species transformation. How riveting. Couldn’t those be relegated to your deputy? Where is the lovely Deputy Lupo, in fact?"
"Getting a late lunch at Café Diem," Jack replied dryly, watching as Nathan ostentatiously sipped his Vinspresso. "You must’ve just missed her."
"Guess so." Nathan was still grinning and, for just a moment there, he thought it might’ve been catching, the corners of Jack’s mouth twitching upwards. "Looks like it’s just us."
Jack glanced down, shuffling papers in an obvious attempt to avoid Nathan’s gaze. "Look, about yesterday… I meant what I said in your office."
Nathan frowned as he stood, slowly, casually making his way around Jack’s desk. "Which part? Because I distinctly remember your making some rather encouraging monosyllabic sounds there at the beginning." He leaned against Jack’s desk, only a foot away from him now. Jack swallowed again, valiantly staying in his chair.
"Yeah, I was mostly talking about the part where I pointed out how bad of an idea it would be."
"Haven’t you ever heard of opposites attracting?"
Jack snorted and stood, dropping a stack of papers into a filing box. "I think we’re a little more than opposites, Stark." He planted himself a firm arm’s-length away, his own arms crossed. "Hey, remember the part where you hate me because you’re still in love with your ex-wife?"
Nathan looked away, breathing out the sting. "Things change," he said after a moment, flicking his eyes back up to Jack’s and trying his most persuasive voice. "Can you remember the last time we were arguing because of Allison? Come on, Carter. I think we both know this has been coming for a while."
"So was Dr. Baker’s promise of using Eureka’s waste as renewable fuel. I think we can all agree that that wasn’t a good idea either."
And that was the point at which Nathan decided to try a different, less polemic tactic. "Ah yes, I remember that week. Horrible heat wave." He dropped his voice an octave and leaned more fully on the desk, hands braced and legs splayed wide, inviting. "And you, trapped in that uniform, always sweating. If you only knew how many times I wanted to help you out. Of your clothes, I mean, in case you didn’t catch that."
Jack’s next breath was a little ragged. A little bit of sweat shone from the hollow of his throat, and Nathan hadn’t been lying; he ached to taste that skin. "You’re using the crap fuel as a segue into seduction?"
Nathan raised an eyebrow, unshaken. "Is that supposed to distract me from how well it’s working?"
"My answer’s the same."
"Right, bad idea, we covered that," Nathan said, rolling his eyes. He pushed off the desk and took a step closer, just at the edge of Jack’s personal space. "But if your only reasoning is that we don’t get along all the time? Come on. Don’t tell me that, after one of our… disagreements, you’ve never thought about taking out your frustration?"
Jack snorted. "Yeah, but there’s usually a loaded weapon involved."
"Oh, a double entendre. Living here has done wonders for you."
"Wow, you’re right! I’m warming up to you already. Wanna make out on my desk?"
"Man, stepped out for burgers and I missed a whole show," Jo said from the doorway, a bag in each hand and a smirk on her face that suggested she’d heard quite enough. She dropped one bag onto Jack’s desk before sitting at her own, still watching them. She waves a hand. "Oh no, please, don’t stop on my account."
"No, it’s okay," Jack said firmly. "We’re done."
Jo tutted. "Oh, you can’t end it there, Carter. You’d be a tease!"
"Jo."
Even Nathan could read the don’t-fuck-with-this tone of Jack’s voice. Jo pursed her lips but quieted, turning back to the papers on her desk. Jack turned back to him, but Nathan beat him to the punch. "I’m inclined to agree with your deputy. We’re far from finished."
Jack arched an eyebrow. "Like I said: I’ve got papers to file."
"Well, I guess I’ll just have to catch you when you’re not so busy," Nathan replied, heading for the door.
"Sure, why not. Give it all you’ve got."
Nathan paused to look back. "Oh I intend to."
<> <> <>
The third attempt had required some regrouping on Nathan’s part. Unexpectedly, it had been Jack who’d shown him what he was doing wrong, with his reaction to Nathan’s barb. It had all been perfectly in line with their normal course of banter; but the thing was, Nathan was trying to move away from that normal course of banter, just a little. Just to, perhaps, a more naked course.
He needed to do something out of the norm, something to prove to Jack that he was serious.
He needed to woo Jack Carter.
It was obvious. Sure, trying to initiate a relationship with a man was more than a little different from trying to initiate one with a woman, but that was no excuse to half-ass the former. And, Nathan realized, he even had an advantage; rarely did his interests live in a smart house that he could coerce into helping him.
It took a couple of weeks. He’d had to figure out Jack’s favorite kinds of beer from Vincent without provoking too much suspicion-although Vince had looked smug for days afterwards, for reasons Nathan never wanted to learn-and program more varieties into S.A.R.A.H.’s systems. Her satellites suddenly gained a few dozen more channels, half of which were sports and all in higher definition, and the ability to interface with even the rudimentary computers in the sheriff’s office and car in order to keep Jack updated on daytime games. The recipe for Zoe’s favorite dish-sweet and sour chicken from a Chinese place in L.A.-mysteriously found its way into the kitchen’s programming, and S.A.R.A.H.’s stereo system gained a direct uplink to Zoe’s own music collection as well as any radio station in… well, any in the world, really. It wasn’t too hard to wire the house’s connection to her phone, either.
S.A.R.A.H., for her part, received Nathan’s promise of full workups and upgrades whenever she wanted. Nathan made a mental note to check Fargo’s coding; she was pretty sentient for AI, and Nathan had definitely noted oddly emotional tones in her supposedly automated voice when she spilled about the sheriff’s griefs. She had also seemed all-too-ready to jump into a conspiracy with him, even suggested he talk to Zoe for more help, which disturbed him and made him curious as to what exactly Zoe and her house talked about.
In any case. Carter had started shooting him questioning looks a week ago, but he’d stopped giving Nathan a wide berth during GD catastrophes. Nathan was throwing him off-balance, and the face Jack made when Nathan dropped into a seat at his table at Café Diem one day was absolutely frame-worthy.
"Stark," he said, choking a little on his coffee.
"Sheriff," Nathan replied evenly, smiling. "Grabbing lunch? Mind if I join you?" Jack was still sputtering coffee from his lungs, which Nathan decided to take as an affirmative. "Wonderful. Hey, Vince! Could I get the chef’s special, please? Yeah, take your time, I’m in no hurry. Thanks."
Jack cleared his throat one last time and blinked over at Nathan. "Have you been affected by something at Global, Stark? Do I need to take you in?"
Nathan merely widened his smile. "Your concern for my health is touching, but no, I’m fine. Just hungry. You’re looking particularly healthy yourself, there, Carter. Very well rested."
Jack raised an eyebrow, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah, it’s the funniest thing. S.A.R.A.H.’s been upgrading recently. Seems the sensors in my bedroom can now perfectly adjust the temperature, sound, light, and even the firmness of my bed to my needs without my even asking."
"Amazing what technology can do, isn’t it," Nathan mused, not bothering to hide the smirk and grinning when Jack returned it. "Well, I’m glad you’re relaxed. After all your hard work for Eureka, we grateful citizens like to do what we can for our sheriff."
Jack’s eyebrow only got higher but he let the subject drop. "Speaking of the citizens of Eureka-you do realize where we are, right? You know everyone’s staring?"
"Let ‘em," Nathan said, shrugging. "After all, aren’t we just two denizens of Café Diem enjoying a casual lunch?"
"Oh, is that what we’re doing, Dr. Stark?" Jack didn’t exactly look happy, but he did look amused and he was smiling at least. Nathan could take that for now.
"Of course, Sheriff Carter," Nathan replied. He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table as he settled in. "So, you mentioned upgrades. What else could S.A.R.A.H. do to make your and your lovely daughter’s lives that much better?"
Nathan showed up at Jack’s lunchtime every day that week and every day the next week, by which point they had a designated table at Café Diem. Jack was a little reserved at first, but he liked to talk and, Nathan was beginning to suspect, he might honestly like being friendly. Then Jack mentioned that he’d started catching brunch there on Saturday mornings with Zoe, so Nathan made a point of dropping by-not long enough to infringe on their time together but just long enough to discuss Zoe’s upcoming Eukaryotic Biology project with her and to trade a few jabs with Jack over the last Global-related crisis they’d averted. He left while Jack was still laughing and Zoe grinning, and he didn’t miss the small smirk she gave him when Jack wasn’t looking.
Now this-this plan was actually working. If anything, Nathan should’ve gone with this from the start. He and Jack were actually getting along and Nathan even had the man’s house and daughter on his side. The town, being smart enough to know that something was up, had grown used to them, although Vincent was still giving him that smug, knowing glance whenever he dropped off Nathan’s plate.
Beyond that, though… Jack wasn’t bad lunch company, and Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d regularly left GD and not felt the press of his job on him at all times. One day, a few weeks in, he was a little late for their lunchtime, and he was worried as he entered the café, worried that Jack would’ve just picked up his own lunch without a thought and headed out. But when he saw their customary table, he found Jack waiting there, nonchalantly reading the paper. Or, at least, trying to be nonchalant, because when he looked up and saw Nathan, his face broke out in a wide grin.
"Hey," he greeted easily. "Come on, I already told Vince to get your food. Rough day running the world?"
Nathan’s chest tightened with Jack’s words, but he dropped into the offered chair and found himself answering, "Slight lab explosion in Sector Three."
Jack frowned. "Anyone hurt?"
"Only Dr. Barnett’s two prize fighting fish."
"And her ego, I bet," Jack said with a reassuring smile as their food arrived, and by god it shouldn’t have been this easy. It should’ve been so much more complicated than this. It should’ve been harder, more dramatic, more…
It just…it shouldn’t have been this easy for Nathan to fall in love with Jack Carter.
<> <> <>
"You know," Jack said, still gulping in breaths as he leaned heavily against Nathan’s shoulder, "every once in a while-maybe, oh, once or twice a month-I forget why I don’t like you. I think, ‘Hey, that Dr. Stark, he neither kicks puppies nor knocks over old ladies on the street! What a swell guy.’"
"And then?" Nathan asked as they limped away from the debris of an experiment that Nathan was pretty ready to declare bust.
Jack nodded and continued, "And then something big, nasty, and within ten feet of me explodes, and I have to spend the next three hours in a detox shower scrubbing slime from my unmentionables. And then I remember why I just really don’t like you."
"And here I thought it was that I was undeniably more attractive and altogether more charming than you."
"Nope, it’s definitely the slime," Jack replied. He tossed Nathan a winning smile. "No one’s more charming than I am." They reached Jack’s jeep and Jack hauled himself upright, still shaking vegetation off his limbs. "At least there’s no goo this time."
Nathan narrowed his eyes at Jack’s injured side. "You should get that checked out at GD, you know."
Jack blanched. "Yeah, and spend the rest of the night in the infirmary until Allison gets there to put me on bed rest for a week? No thanks. I’m thinking it’s a couple hours sleep before I have a date with a big cup of coffee and a brand spankin’ new pile of requisition forms. Want a ride back to town?"
"Uh, yeah, no," Nathan snorted, snatching the keys from Jack’s hand. "You barely missed dislocating that shoulder. I’m driving you home, you can have Lupo pick you up in the morning."
"What, seriously?" Jack rolled his eyes at Nathan’s stony look and climbed into the passenger side. "You know, not too long ago, I was a U.S. Marshal. I had control over situations. I never got ordered around in my own car by a megalomaniacal-"
"Ooh, big word," Nathan cracked, pulling away from the still-smoking ruins.
"-scientist bent on ruling any available universe and on routinely covering me in slime."
"And if you had just listened to me each of those times and butted out of GD’s problems, you could’ve avoided the detox shower."
It was Jack’s turn to snort. "Oh, okay, next time I’ll just go ahead and let the universe collapse in on itself."
"That was one time, Carter."
"And I believe you still owe me a drink from the last time I saved your sorry ass."
Nathan shot him a lazy, flirtatious grin, the farthest they ever went. "There is nothing sorry about my ass," he drawled, turning onto Jack’s road.
"An arrogant megalomaniacal scientist," Jack amended, rolling his eyes again.
"Oh, I’m arrogant? You were the one who just cowboyed into the middle of Seth’s overgrown, carnivorous, nearly ambulatory plants with nary a care in the world."
"Worked, didn’t it?"
"Does the town know we have a ten-year-old for a sheriff?"
"Eh," Jack said as they came to a stop in front of the bunker. "They’re mostly won over by my undeniable charm. And adorableness."
"Oh god, get out, no one who talks like that is allowed in a car with me."
"This is my car!" Jack protested, still grinning.
"Yeah, and you can pick it up at Vince’s tomorrow, once I’m entirely convinced you can lift your right arm."
"Whatever," Jack scoffed, shutting the door but leaning in the window to add, "You’re paying for my lunch."
"Anything to shut you up for a while," Nathan replied.
Jack shook his head with a smile and stepped back from the jeep, calling over his shoulder, "Night, Stark."
"Night, Carter," he answered automatically, watching Jack disappear into the bunker. Once he was sure Jack was out of sight he smacked his head back against the headrest, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"I am so screwed," Nathan said to no one before starting the car and heading back to town.
On to Part Two!