Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Alex went over to Jack's house again on Sunday morning, making sure to not be as early as he had been the day before. He waited for Jack to actually wake up and text him, and was glad when it was his boyfriend who greeted him at the door.

"Come upstairs," Jack said in a rush, as Alex raised an eyebrow. By the time he had his shoes and jacket off, Jack was already halfway up to his bedroom.

"Slow down," Alex chuckled, following Jack up the stairs, and taking the hand Jack had outstretched for him where he waited.

"Sorry," Jack whispered, leading Alex into his room. "I just,"

Alex was so close to answering, a simple, 'what?' on the tip of his tongue, before Jack pushed him up against his wall. Alex was trapped between the wall and his boyfriend as Jack brought their lips together, causing Alex to have to hold in a giggle. Jack was always a little bit needy, that was for sure. This time, though, something felt wrong.

"Mm," Alex tried, deciding he'd have to turn his face away from the older boy. "Jack,"

"Yeah?" Jack breathed, resting his nose against Alex's cheek. "'S'up, baby."

Instead of asking, Alex downright said, "There's something wrong, love." He did not want to deal with any denial, because he just wanted to get to the root of the problem. "Talk to me."

"What are you talking about?" Jack questioned, his voice slightly strained.

"There's something on your mind," Alex explained. "You're acting all rushed, it's not like you. No more kisses, talk to me."

Frowning, Jack nodded, and guided Alex over to his bed. Together they took a seat, Alex turning his body to face Jack's, and taking one of the darker haired boy's hands in his own. Truthfully, he knew the exact reason why Jack was acting so urgent, but he just wanted the words to come from his boyfriend's mouth, first.

"I just want to hear you say it."

"I don't want to tell him, Alex."

"How come?" Alex's voice sank, his shoulders slumping.

"No," Jack groaned, "No, no, no. This isn't because of you. Don't you ever think I'm afraid of letting people know I love you."

Alex visibly perked up at that, much to Jack's relief. He was still unsure about the part he played in Jack's fears regarding his father, but hearing Jack say he loved him have him a bigger sense of trust for the other boy. It made him smile, and although the words came early in both their lives and relationship, they held all the meaning they could at that certain point in time.

"Then why not?" Alex whispered.

"I'm not ready for how he'll look at me." Jack sighed, standing up and running his hand through his hair. "It's stupid, I know, but obviously he matters to me."

Nodding, Alex said, "Take your time."

"I don't think that'll make anything better. It's like ripping a bandaid off, y'know?" Jack explained, slouching as he paced in front of Alex.

"Then go do it right now," Alex suggested, slightly taken a back when Jack nodded in response.

"You know what? I will."

"Are you serious?"

"Totally, babe." Jack confirmed, walking back over to Alex and reaching for his hands.

"And you're going to tell him about me, too?" Alex guessed, standing up in front of Jack.

"If you'd like."

"I think I would."

"You always 'think,'" Jack chuckled, "But I know you know." With a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead, Jack was guiding a shy Alex downstairs once more.

"Alright," Jack whispered to Alex, as the pair stood in the foyer, "I think he's in the kitchen. I don't really know what I'm going to say."

"Are you sure you even want to do this?" Alex asked one final time, his eyes fluttering closed as Jack guided him back against the wall.

"I'm positive," Jack murmured, his arms moving to wrap around Alex's middle, "But I want you to come."

Nodding, Alex stood up on his toes to place a quick kiss on Jack's lips. When he pulled back, he was met with a raise of an eyebrow.

"For good luck," Alex explained.

"You're cute," Jack commented, before taking Alex' hands and going to find his father.

Mr. Barakat was watching T.V. when Jack walked into the room, Alex not far behind.

"Hi, boys," Bassam greeted the two, to which they both nodded.

"Dad," Jack started, his voice low and careful, "We need to talk to you about something.

"Come over here," Jack's father invited, and Jack and Alex both took seats across from him.

"I don't really know how to say, this but," Jack tried, his eyes moving away from his father's as his voice quieted down. "I, Uh-"

"What's wrong, Jack?" Bassam asked, confused as to what had Jack so stressed out.

"Nothing's wrong," Alex whispered. Jack's father's eyes flicked over to him for a second, and he nodded at his son's friend, before looking back at Jack.

"Then what's going on?"

"Dad, Alex isn't really my friend...?" Jack tried, rolling his eyes at his own words once he realized he would have to explain more. Of course, he could not have just gotten it out in one go like he had with his mother. It always had to be more complicated with his father.

"What do you mean?" Jack's father chuckled, his smile faltering when his eyes fell between the two boys. Jack's hand had crept over to Alex's and taken hold of it, raising them up just a small bit. He did not know if he could trust his words at that point, so he decided he would let his father figure it out for himself. "Oh. You're gay, Jack?"

"No," Jack shook his head, "I've had girlfriends, remember? That wasn't fake."

"I see." Jack's father said. At this point, Jack could feel his heart dropping. His father sounded annoyed and disinterested, but he knew that was better than what was up ahead. His father had a tendency to ask about things that were none of his business, as well as to make comments that were fairly rude and ignorant. Jack knew he never meant to be mean, though, and that was the hardest part about it. The best he could do was try to teach his father.

"Yeah," Jack sighed, "I think I'm bisexual."

"I didn't know that was actually a thing," Bassam commented, to which Jack let out a huff.

"Well, it is, dad."

"And I'm guessing this means you're dating Alex here?"

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

Looking over to Alex now, Jack's father asked, "What about you? Are you bisexual, too?"

"Dad-" Jack tried, but Alex squeezed his hand, shaking his head.

"No, Mr. Barakat," Alex spoke, "I just like boys."

"And it doesn't bother you that Jack likes girls?"

"Why would it?"

While Jack spend the entire conversation with a grimace on his face, Alex was handling his father's questions quite gracefully. Jack felt bad, but he definitely was impressed by Alex's confidence. It was good to know Alex was strong enough for the both of them when Jack was feeling the opposite.

"Hmm," Bassam hummed, before asking, "How long have you known?"

"Since about the age that straight boys start to realize they're interested in girls," Alex explained, and Jack's father nodded. He had a lot of questions for someone who did not seem that interested in his son's sexuality.

"And you, Jack?"

"What he said."

"Well," Jack's father said finally, "I'm glad you felt like you could tell me something like this, son."

Jack thanked his father with a smile, before taking Alex by the hand and guiding him back upstairs.

"That didn't go so bad," Alex commented, when they were in the safety of Jack's room. "He's definitely very misinformed, but he doesn't seem mean at heart."

"He's definitely not mean," Jack agreed, "But he's stubborn. I'm sorry about all of the questions. There's definitely going to be more. This sucks, because I'm glad he's back, but he's going to be so, so, so annoying."

"Don't worry about it," Alex grinned, "It doesn't matter. I'm proud of you, love. You did good."

"Thanks, babe," Jack joined Alex where he was laying on his bed, pulling the shorter boy into his chest.

Looking up at Jack, Alex asked, "So, do you feel better now?"

"I don't know about better, but the weight is definitely gone." Jack answered, pressing a kiss to Alex's forehead.

"Do you have a game tomorrow?" Alex wondered, and Jack nodded his head. "Great, I'll come."

"Of course you will," Jack chuckled. "You always do. What do you want to do today, though?"

"I don't know," Alex shrugged, "But we have the entire day."

"Mhm," Jack agreed, "We should go somewhere. Hey, let me take you on a date! We don't do that enough."

"If you want to," Alex laughed, kissing Jack on the cheek.

"I do." Jack said with a smile.

"Okay, then. Where to?"

Notes

yo! i hope you guys liked this, and i hope you're all having a great holiday. i have a new christmas fic, Fool's Holiday, up now, so go check that out!

also, i've been trying to write a bunch of chapters for this lately, and so far i've only finished 1... out of 6. oops?

don't forget to leave a comment letting me know what you thought, and thank you to Alex_thelion99 and Alltimegabi for commenting on the last chapter.

thanks for reading :^)