They'd both been invited to the Jacobs' household for Thanksgiving dinner, Jack and Spot. The best friend and the boyfriend.
The problem was that the best friend didn't know about the whole boyfriend thing yet…
Spot – who was, by now, a frequent visitor at the Jacobs' home – arrived early, wanting to spend some alone time with David (with his boyfriend, he thought, a private smile spreading across his face as he reminded himself that David was really truly his, that David had picked him) before Jacky Boy got there.
He let himself in, since he practically lived there at that point, and gave a gracious hello to Sarah and Mrs. Jacobs, pausing to tousle Les's hair as the kid sat on the floor in the living room, playing with the tin soldiers Spot and David had given him for his birthday. David was out on the fire escape, leaning against the railing and looking very pensive and worried.
Spot snuck up behind him and rested his chin on David's shoulder, whispering, "Hey there."
David jumped. "Christ, Spot, you scared me…"
"Sorry. Forgive me?"
"What do you think?" David smiled that quirky half-smile of his and turned around to hug Spot, kissing him lightly. "You're early."
"Wanted to talk to ya before Jack got here."
David's smile fell, and Spot held back a grimace – David wasn't allowed to ever look unhappy, it went against nature. He stroked his thumb down the brunet's cheek and said, in a voice that would, to an outsider, have sounded uncharacteristically gentle, "It'll be okay, Mouth."
"I just…I don't wanna hurt him, y'know?"
"I know." Spot sighed and rested his forehead against David's, rubbing small circles between his shoulder blades. "He's your best friend–"
"And your ex."
"And my ex. So this ain't gonna be fun for him, especially since he's crazy about you…But it'll be okay. " He smiled and traced an X on David's chest with my index finger. "Cross my heart."
"That wasn't your heart."
"Sure it was." Spot tilted his head up and pressed another kiss to David's lips.
Les's voice came from inside: "Jack! Hi!"
Spot and David quickly pulled apart, knowing Jack would be joining them presently. Spot gave David another smile and took his hand in his own. David looked as if he wanted to withdraw, but Spot said quietly, "I have a feeling this –" He gestured towards their clasped hands with his head, " – might make breaking the news a little easier.
"I love you," David said under his breath, and Spot's smile widened.
They both turned to face the window as Jack Kelly climbed out onto the fire escape. "Hey, fellas, what's –"
Jack trailed off as he saw their entwined hands. He focused on their hands for a long time, brow furrowed, as though he were trying to work out some incredibly complex puzzle. Finally he said, "So…I'm assumin' you have, uh, an explanation for…that?" He gestured vaguely.
David took a deep breath, and Spot gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Jack, Spot and I…we're…we're together. Have been since just after the strike ended. We would've told you right away but then you asked me out and I had to turn you down and we figured we should wait…"
"Nice of you to consider my feelin's," Jack remarked placidly, leaning against the wall and folding his arms. He expression was passive, but his posture was tense and stiff.
"Look, Jack…" David took a deep breath. "We didn't want to hurt you. We still don't. We both really, really care about you, okay? And we…we want to know that this isn't gonna ruin our friendship with you…It isn't, is it?"
There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Finally Jack's face broke into a more-or-less genuine smile. He took a step forward and hugged both Spot and David simultaneously, saying, " 'Course it ain't gonna ruin our friendship. Ya think I'd let that happen?" He gave them both a grin that seemed a little too wide – fortunately David didn't seem to notice – and said, "Now get inside, Davey – your mom needs you for somethin'."
The tension visibly drained from David's muscles as he smiled in relief. He gave Spot a peck on the cheek and Jack and pat on the shoulder before climbing back inside.
Spot moved to follow but Jack's hand on his arm stayed him. "What?"
Jack looked more solemn than Spot had seen him in a while. "I wanna talk to you. About, well, you and Dave."
"Look, I don't care if you don't approve or not, I ain't breakin' it off with him…" Spot gritted his teeth.
"Nah, that's…no." Jack took a deep breath. "Look, I just…y'know how I feel about him. And I feel sort've…responsible for him, I guess. And I just wanna make sure you ain't gonna break his heart."
Spot nodded, realizing this was basically a shortened version of the Talk he'd had with Mr. Jacobs. "Jack, I would rather die than break Dave's heart. I love him, okay? More than anythin'. There's nothin' I wouldn't do for him, and I don't plan on ever, ever leavin' him. So please, take my word for it when I tell you that you don't need to worry about me hurtin' him."
Jack looked basically satisfied. He nodded, exhaling slowly. "Good. Because if I ever find out that you've hurt him…"
"If that happens, you'll be my second-worst enemy. I'll be my worst enemy." Just the thought of hurting David, even unintentionally, made Spot's stomach churn. "We okay?"
"We're okay." Without another word, Jack climbed in through the window, leaving Spot behind.
Spot ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Well, it hadn't gone quite as smoothly as he'd hoped, but…it had gone all right. And David was happy. That was the most important thing.
It would always be the most important thing.