A/N: So... this is a really short one-shot. And I'm really scared to post it. But I suppose I'll never know if it's any good if I don't put it out there for feedback, so here we go...
Jack and Ralph lied together in one of the shelters with their arms wrapped around each other. Ralph brushed a lock of light red hair out of Jack's eyes and kissed him. For all the fights they had during the day, the nighttime affection made up for it; the warm embraces, the chaste kisses… that was why Ralph dealt with Jack's temper. It didn't match what he remembered to be his mother's touch, but it was the closest he could get.
"Ralph," Jack whispered in the darkness, his warm (and not particularly fresh) breath caressing Ralph's face.
"Hm?"
"Why can't we tell the others?"
Jack managed to bring the question up every night and Ralph continued to give the same answer.
"Because, Jack. You know they wouldn't understand." I don't even understand, he thought.
Ralph envied Jack for being so sure of himself. He knew Jack would make a far better chief than him, but they had chosen him. They had chosen him, yet they refused to abide by his rules.
Jack would have done a far better job of keeping them all in line. They respected him more than Ralph. Jack brought them meat. He said he would hunt down the beast if he had to. Ralph just called assemblies and tried to get the others to follow the rules.
No. They couldn't tell the others. The biguns would make fun and the littluns would think it strange.
"If they poked fun at us, we could leave them to the beast," Jack suggested.
"I thought you didn't believe in the beast," Ralph teased.
Ralph could feel the heat radiate off of Jack's sure-to-be-red cheeks. Ralph smiled and pushed Jack's hair back again.
"They wouldn't follow the rules."
"They don't follow the rules already." Jack was struggling to keep his voice a whisper.
"They wouldn't think of me as chief anymore. The biguns would make a joke out of me and the littluns would follow."
Jack sighed and resigned. "Alright," he said, sounding defeated.
"Alright," Ralph repeated.
There was silence the rest of the night save a few littluns waking from nightmares. Jack and Ralph separated before falling asleep at opposite ends of the shelter.