Kiss and Sell

It seemed just before Spring arrived there had to be one last burst of winter in Baltimore to everyone's disappointment. Everyone except for Jack maybe. When his mother told him to be home right after work because it was going to storm and snow he had probably been the most excited person in the world. He had called Alex and told him to go over to his house right away, not really giving him a reason why, and when he got home it was to a somewhat confused Alex. Although Jack had told him they'd just wait up for what he wanted to show him, and Alex promised to stay up with him they both ended up falling asleep before the blizzard hit anyways.

Around four in the morning Jack woke up, tired and disoriented, and instantly stood up to look out the window. When he saw the big, fluffy blanket of white across his yard he didn't hesitate to run over to his closet and begin pulling on his winter clothes. Alex was still asleep in his boxers on "his" side of the bed as he called it although when Alex wasn't around it was most certainly Jack's, and Jack grabbed him a set of his old winter clothes to get dressed in.

"Alex," He whispered, shaking the boy who groaned and batted his hand away, "Baby, get up."

Alex's eyes flitted open at the pet name that Jack never used, but quickly closed again and almost instantly fell back to sleep. Jack sighed and put the clothes down, pulling the blankets off his boyfriend who groaned at the cold air. Jack ran his hand over his chest while grabbing a long-sleeved black shirt and moving the hand to under the small of Alex's back to pull him up enough to get the shirt over his head and down his torso. Alex scrunched up his face as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck and whispered in his usual whiny voice, "Why?"

Jack chuckled, grabbing the black skinny jeans beside him and pulling them up Alex's legs. Alex frowned, squinting his eyes at Jack who kissed his nose, "I want to show you something, remember?" He finally answered, tilting his head forward to press their foreheads together. Alex yawned in his face but Jack didn't really seem to mind, just smiled adoringly at him until he grabbed his old hoody and pulled it over Alex's head. Alex glanced down at Jack's outfit, seeing how bundled up he was and realizing they were going outside.

"Nooooo." He whined, "No, no, no." He shook his head while Jack laughed and pulled him up into a sitting position. He threw a parka at him, hitting Alex in the face as he whimpered, "It's too cold."

"I just want to see something." Jack said, "We'll be back here in no time."

He knelt down and pushed Alex's slightly worn out combat boots on his feet as Alex ran his fingers through Jack's hair. Jack tied the boots up tightly while Alex tried to lay back down, but he caught his arm before he could fall back into the comfort of the bed and pulled the blond into his arms to carry him. He knew Alex would fight leaving if he didn't. Alex blushed before yawning and pressing his face into Jack's chest while asking, "What do you want to show me? Why can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"It won't be as cool if we wait until tomorrow. We have to be there before the sun rises and melts it all away." Jack said, struggling as he pulled open his bedroom door and kept his boyfriend from falling at the same time. Alex muttered something under his breath before falling back to sleep in Jack's arms.

When Alex woke up again it was to something cold against his back, wet water seeping through his clothes down his spine and even on his ass. He gasped, reaching out to Jack through the night his eyes had yet to adjust to, and feeling a spark of fear when he caught nothing but air. Jack's arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind, his legs on either side of his own as he slid down to sit behind him and whispered, "I'm right here. Don't be afraid."

"I wasn't scared." Alex snapped stubbornly, pouting his lips and muttering, "I was surprised."

"Okay." Jack said, kissing the side of Alex's head, "Can I show you it now?"

"What is it?" Alex asked, turning to look at Jack who grabbed his face when he did and turned it forward instead. Alex could see a short, stony bridge in front of him and under it a stream of frozen water with hills hiding it like a ditch, and beyond the right side of the bridge a small frozen pond. Alex knew where they were which was close to their tree house, "Here? Why?"

"Come here." Jack said as he stood up, "I'll show you." He grabbed Alex's extended hand and pulled him up. He walked out to the iced over pond making Alex gasp and tighten his grasp on Jack's hand while shaking his head and saying, "It might not be strong enough, Jack, don't! You'll fall through and get hurt!"

Jack looked back at him and couldn't ignore his heart fluttering at Alex's worried face staring back. His grip tightened as he said, "Don't go."

"It's safe, I promise." Jack reassured, slipping further out on the ice and pulling Alex with him. Alex wasn't able to stop sliding onto the ice despite his panicked objections and right into Jack's chest. Jack's arms protectively twisted around him while Alex let out a choked breath.

"You idiot." He whimpered, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to calm his heart, "If we fall through-"

"We won't, Alex, trust me." Jack chuckled, pulling back and sliding back while grabbing Alex's hands to swing between them before he attempted to spin him around and pull him into his chest. It wasn't as graceful as he had hoped but it got Alex to loosen up a little and giggle, "I'll pull you out if the ice breaks."

"What if you fall through too?" Alex asked, ignoring the shiver running down his back as Jack's lips brushed against the shell of his ear.

"I'll get you out somehow." He shrugged, turning to look around the area, "Want to skate?"

Alex sighed, "Isn't this dangerous? You said it'd melt when the sun came up." He reminded.

Jack shrugged, "I also said I'd get you out if we fell through." He grabbed Alex's hand to spin him around again and begin sliding around the ice. Alex couldn't help but let out a bit of a giggle at Jack as he nearly slipped over and fell. It was obvious neither of them were professionals at ice skating, but they were careful and didn't fall too much. Each time Alex fell Jack was right there to pick him back up, and as he'd flail his arms in a complete panic Jack would grab them and pull him up and away quickly, making sure they didn't fall through like how he promised.

"Sing something." Jack said suddenly when they had paused in the middle of the frozen water with Alex's head on his chest and his eyes closed, nearly asleep. Jack knew he was falling asleep and he hated to keep him up any longer, but he wanted to sing and he was too embarrassed of his own voice to start singing for Alex all alone. He had never heard Alex sing and in a way he hoped it wasn't very good. He did not expect what he heard.

"I swear that I can go on forever again. Please let me know that my one bad day will end." Alex started, catching Jack by surprise. Although the song was a familiar one Alex sang it differently. He drew out the words, making them sound more like a lullaby and in a way Jack almost wanted to fall asleep to it. His voice was soft and mesmerizing, more calming and loving than the original song.Jack couldn't help but grin as he continued, feeling how Alex tried to muffle his voice by pressing it further into Jack's chest as a blush coated his cheeks, "I will go down as your lover, your friend. Give me your lips and with one kiss we begin." He paused, tilting his head up to look at Jack who was still smiling down at him, "Are you afraid of being alone? 'Cause I am, I'm lost without you. Are you afraid of leaving tonight? 'Cause I am, I'm lost without you."

His voice had more emotion in it then, sounding so raw to Jack something he never heard in Alex's voice before, "I'll leave my room open till the sunrise for you. I'll keep my eyes patiently focused on you. Where are you now I can hear footsteps I'm dreaming. And If you will, keep me from waking to believe this."

Before he could continue Jack ducked down to press their lips together. Something about it, to Alex, felt different. It wasn't to shut him up or to satisfy an urge to feel him, it was to show him something. It had almost as much raw emotion as Alex's voice when he was singing. It was passionate, like Jack was trying to tell him something words simply couldn't describe. Alex kissed back with what he hoped was the same kind of passion.

An hour or so later and the two were sitting in the snow they had piled around to attempt to make an igloo, although they both gave up about half way through and ended up just using the wall as a pillow and were now leaning against it while chatting quietly, watching the sun begin to rise while Alex still tried to explain a few constellations still visible in the sky. He talked around a yawn while Jack watched the yellow and orange colors mingle with the dark purple and blues of the sky.

"You know, you have a really amazing singing voice." Jack suddenly spoke up, Alex's eyes moving from the slowly disappearing stars to the rising sun that had yet to show it's self over the horizon, "I mean, it's really amazing. You could do something, like, singing for a living. You could start a band. You could write songs and, and you could inspire people, Alex."

Alex chuckled, shaking off everything Jack had said with his head. He could never inspire people or write music. He was just a kid who liked to have a lot of sex and barely knew where he was going in life.

"I'm serious." Jack said, "You could travel the world and be loved by millions."

"What about you?" He asked, sitting up and turning his head to look at Jack who gave him a questioning look, "You could do something like that too. You could become a famous artist or something. And I think your mom said something about you playing guitar. I've never heard you but I bet you're really good."

Jack sighed, "I don't know. I was just going to become a music teacher."

"Why? Because your parents tell you to? Because college is the safest route? Why don't you grow some balls and do what you want?" Alex asked, frowning when all Jack did is shrug.

"I don't know, Al. I'm not that good at anything, but you've got talent. You could really do something." He reasoned, looking at his boyfriend who sighed and leaned forward to press his forehead against Jack's shoulder while turning completely to be in his lap sort of.

"A music teacher? Really? That's what you want?" He asked, sounding pained. Jack wasn't sure why he seemed so hurt that Jack was doing something so simple with his future. A part of him wondered if it was just that he thought Jack could do better and be happier, or maybe he just didn't want Jack to run away to college.

"All I want is to be with you." Jack said, "That's all I really want." He rested his head on top of Alex's and asked, "Can I tell you something?" And when he felt Alex nod against his shoulder he opened his mouth to try one last time to explain to him how he wanted him to move in with him after graduation, to move all the way to New York with him and create a life together and live forever together, finally happy, but when Alex looked up at him with a pair of big innocent brown eyes something completely different came out of his mouth he could not control or take back. He regretted ever taking Alex out to ice skate.

Notes

oooooohhhhhh what is jagk gon say guuuuuuuuuiiiiiiissseee??????!?!???