Title: A Modest Proposal
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Don't own!
Warnings: slash, suggestion of threesome, spoilers for 302: What About Bob? And 303: Best in Faux- actually tags into both 302 and 303, along with 108:Right as Raines, 111: House Rules, & 209: Sight Unseen, and sort of AU's the end of 303 (though the timeline could still work if you assume Jack went home for the last scene of 303 in the early evening). My muse got a little carried away this week. Whaps muse Also un-betaed. Written for the livejournal eurekatag community challenge
Summary: Nathan's made another proposal, and he's getting impatient to get his way.
Jack stood on the dock, lingering over the sunset, even though he was feeling Henry's absence keenly. "Sheriff." He didn't turn, just nodding as Nathan stepped up next to him, standing quietly. He could feel that it was going to be one of their quiet, almost amicable moments, but even that lanced him with a little bit of pain. The way Nathan had softly spoken his title stirred a memory, one he very much wanted to forget.
"Sheriff." Jack turned back, the hurt and something softer in the scientist's voice something new. "I… thank you." Nathan closed the space between them, his head bowed a little. "I didn't expect you to understand, and you're even helping…" he broke off, looking at the cold storage pod that they just slid Callister's body into.
"Hey," Jack stepped forward, his hand on Nathan's arm before he processed that it might be a bad idea. The other man's hand came up to grasp his, too tightly.
"Sheriff." The tone had changed, becoming almost predatory and too interested. Jack shifted, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Nathan moved closer, so Jack took a step back, continuing this way until his back hit the wall. "Jack."
Jack jerked in surprise, suddenly transfixed by green eyes. "If you don't want this, now would be a good time to stop me," Nathan warned him, but Jack's mind hadn't caught up with what was happening just yet. Nathan leaned down, kissing him, once, just testing the waters.
When Jack simply stared at him, Nathan repeated the motion, this time with more force and prompting Jack to respond. As his brain caught up to the fact that this wasn't one of his daydreams, he brought his hands up, clasping Nathan's face gently, and separating them. "Ah, what is this?" he asked, giving Nathan a patient look. "Are you really wanting to be with me? Or are you trying not to be alone?"
Nathan sighed, his head falling a little. "A little of both," he admitted.
"You're married," Jack reminded him. "And that's a line I don't cross. But if you need someone to stay with you, all you have to do is ask."
Nathan nodded, falling forward to rest against Jack. Jack sighed, his own eyes closing at the mess he was about to make of his heart.
"Henry gone?" Nathan asked, and Jack nodded, unable to answer. "Jack…" Nathan started, his hand resting on Jack's shoulder in what could have been a friendly gesture, but Jack inhaled sharply and pulled away.
"We've talked about lines I won't cross, and you needing to respect that," Jack replied shortly.
"Yeah," Nathan agreed, sighing. He was silent for a long time, the sun sinking below the horizon and the light diffusing into something terribly intimate. Nathan stepped forward, deliberately placing himself in Jack's line of sight. "I have an idea," he said, and Jack frowned, surprised to hear the normally self-confident man sound a little uncertain.
"I'm listening," he said, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Proposing to Allison…" Nathan paused, his eyes rolling upward slightly in what Jack recognized as Nathan being careful to measure his words. "It hasn't stopped me from wanting you."
"Sorry," Jack replied snidely. Despite his sneer, his heart was thudding dully, some part of his brain rejoicing. Nathan still wanted him.
"And I know you want Allison and me," Nathan continued as though Jack hadn't spoken. "In fact, no one in this little triangle seems opposed to being in bed together."
"No," Jack said firmly, his eyebrows arching. "I'm sorry, Nathan, you can't have it all. You can't just rewrite the rules that way."
"Why not?" Nathan remarked, his usual arrogance back in his tone. "It's what I do scientifically everyday anyway."
"Someone ought to check you for a head injury," Jack grumbled, turning and starting up the stairs of the dock.
A moment later, Nathan pulled him back down, knocking him completely off balance as he stumbled down into the other man, who kissed him fiercely. Try as he might, his body melted into the other man, his feet not having a solid perch on the stair ledge and needing Nathan's body to stop himself from falling. He pressed his lips together, determined to ignore the gently pleading tongue teasing at his lips, but then Nathan's fingers unerringly found the weak point right behind his ear and Jack melted. He returned the kiss, which grew white hot with the usual quick intensity.
A cool breeze touched his neck, and brought Jack back to himself. He shoved Nathan backward roughly, fumbling but catching the railing and keeping his balance even as Nathan landed hard on his butt. "No," Jack said simply. "You made your choice," he added, before climbing up the stairs.
"I will make you change your mind," Nathan called after him, and something in Jack clenched tightly.
"You're welcome to try," he challenged, before realizing what a terrible idea that had been.
-
"Could anything be a bigger waste of my time?"
"I need Carter."
"And the answer is yes," Jack snarked back, despite how fast his heart had started racing at the sudden appearance of Nathan and the choice of words. After that morning's little show in Café Diem, which Jack suspected may have been engineered as part of Nathan's "plan" as he said, only the plan was to force Jack to change his mind. And now as he watched Nathan and Allison, he got the impression Nathan wasn't quite being honest about wanting to go over details of the earthquake.
His silent little plea to whatever deity was thoroughly pissed at him to show mercy was ignored, as Allison promptly left them alone. "Ah, what do you want to know?" he asked, aiming for professional. "There was a light, and everything started to shake…"
"Shut up, Carter," Nathan barked. "There was no earthquake. Jo was 50 feet from you, she would have felt it too. I need a favor."
Jack was stunned; apparently this was not part of the plan. To cover his surprise he shot back, "And that's how you ask? Who raised you?"
They stepped into the elevator, and when the doors slid closed, Nathan gave him an odd look. "Thought about my proposal?" he asked, and Jack resolutely ignored him.
Jack spent the next few minutes watching Nathan, no clue what was happening. He sighed, making small chat with the diamond computer lady, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "What am I doing here anyway?"
Nathan rambled about GD privileges, signing out a diamond, and Jack rolled his eyes. Some experiment. "Hopefully disfiguring," he added spitefully, though that had some appeal.
Maybe if Nathan were ugly… nope, then there'd still be that voice, he realized as Nathan spoke. "Actually it's just a wedding gift for Allie. A singular diamond for a singular woman."
Memory swept into Jack, overwhelming him. "Dr. Stark is at the door," SARAH announced, and Jack sighed. He'd just sent Zoë to Pilar's, trying to take the last of his day off and get his thoughts in order, and he didn't really didn't want anyone else there. He wasn't even keen on hearing SARAH's voice after the lockdown.
"Tell him I'm not here," Jack instructed his house, and there was a long moment of silence, before the door suddenly slid open without permission.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but he threatened to reprogram my base code," SARAH told him, and Jack sighed, standing.
"Jack," Nathan greeted him, and the sheriff blinked. Nathan had only used his first name once before, after Callister…
"Nathan," he replied blandly. "Something I can do for you?"
"Yeah," Nathan replied, stepping closer. "I need to know that you mean it, that you aren't leaving."
"I'm not leaving," Jack replied, frowning at Nathan. "Why's it matter to you?"
"I haven't had a chance to try this properly," Nathan replied, and Jack was suddenly swept away. If he thought Nathan's kiss after Callister was amazing, he was wrong. Nathan's hungry kiss, clenching hands, and hard body against his overloaded Jack's mind, and for several long moments, all he could do was feel. In the next moment, he was grabbing hold trying to force himself closer and take control of the kiss.
"Wait," he gasped, barely breaking the kiss and falling right back into it when Nathan closed their lips together again. "No, wait," he protested again, this time burying his head in Nathan's shoulder to try and stop long enough to voice his concerns. "What about Allison?" His question dissolved into a groan as Nathan nipped at the too sensitive skin behind his ear.
"Allison is a singular woman," Nathan replied. "She would understand that you're attracted to me as well. Given that she's attracted to both of us."
"Reassuring," Jack managed to gasp, Nathan continuing to work at his weak spot, leaving his knees shaky and his hips digging up into Nathan's.
"Do you want this?" Nathan asked, pulling back to examine Jack's face carefully. "I'm not saying we're having a relationship, or that we'll stop competing for Allison. I'm asking you for right now."
"Okay," Jack agreed, his loneliness and desire winning the argument. Nathan's face softened, a gentle look preceding a light, almost chaste kiss. "Come on," he told Nathan, tugging him up toward the bedroom. "If this is a one time thing, I insist on a bed."
Jack looked up at Stark briefly, easily discerning Nathan's double meaning. He gave his thumbprint and ground his teeth as Nathan called his thanks over his shoulder. He left the lab, starting in surprise when he saw Nathan waiting for him at the elevator. "What, you didn't get enough of dangling in front of me how happy the two of you will be?" he snapped as soon the elevator doors were closed.
"You could have both of us," Nathan pointed out, easing a hand along Jack's face. "I'd love to spoil you too," he added, hitting the stop button. "Not with diamonds, but I would find ways. I'd like to spend long Sunday mornings in bed with both of you," he continued, slowly pushing Jack into the corner. He bent down and kissed Jack softly, with a volume of unspoken promises behind it. If Nathan had been forceful, Jack knew he could have resisted, but this was too much.
When Nathan pulled away and started the elevator, Jack stayed silent, his head reeling. "Think about it," Nathan called back to him, stepping out of the elevator and leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.
-
Jack's resolve to saying no wavered as he slid the zipper down Allison's back, suddenly thinking maybe Nathan was onto something. For one brief moment, he wondered if Allison was already in on the plot. "So is this why you called?" he asked, breaking the thick tension between them.
Her answer was quick and genuine, and Jack relaxed a little, dropping himself into professional mode. "Well, pressure makes you do crazy things," Allison remarked.
Like contemplate a threesome that went against every rule of relationships he'd been raised with, Jack finished in his head, forcing a smile, but the thought had a firm hold on his mind now.
-
As Jack tried to solve the problems, exchanging little bits of banter with Nathan, turning to Nathan for explanations, the thought burrowed deeper into his mind. Could he really let the other man and Allison slide away so easily, when Nathan was offering him a solution?
He didn't have a chance to really examine it, forcing his focus to the problem and the usual casual banter with Nathan that helped him stay balanced as he worked the tunneler. Nathan fell silent, absently cuddling the puppy, a strange tenderness mixed with worry on the other man's face. "We're going to pull this off," Jack told Nathan, who gave him an odd look. "We always do," Jack added, grinning.
"Your never ending faith amazes me," Nathan remarked, sighing.
"Got a solution yet?" Jack grinned to himself as Nathan jumped. He looked around, sighing as he obviously remembered that Jack had vanished completely.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were enjoying this," Nathan grumbled. Jack pulled the scientist's lab stool out from the desk, kneeling between his legs and invisible fingers undoing Nathan's pants.
"I need to work," Nathan protested, but his body obviously approved of the idea, Jack noted.
"And in case you don't solve this, I'm taking care of my final requests," Jack replied, his invisible fingers tugging Nathan's hard cock out of his boxers.
"Jack, I have to think, I can't just let you…" Nathan babbled, and Jack leaned up, pressing a kiss to Nathan's lips, shutting him up but not erasing any of the worry.
"Consider it an incentive to help you fix this," Jack replied. "Consider it my turn to ask for a little comfort."
Nathan didn't say anything, but Jack could clearly see his surrender. He bent back down and lapped at Nathan's erection, enjoying the small whimper that escaped the other man's lips. He slowly sucked the tip of Nathan's cock into his mouth, wondering if his action had made Nathan's erection vanish or if it was simply hanging in the air. He applied himself back to the task at hand, making a note to himself to ask Nathan later.
He saw Nathan reach out, like he wanted to touch Jack, so he brought his own hand up, lacing his fingers through Nathan's. "Jack," he groaned softly, the sound hitting Jack hard. "Please."
Nathan continued to mumble Jack's name as Jack teased him over the edge. He leaned up and poured himself into a hard, thorough kiss, trying to tell Nathan in actions what he didn't have words for. Nathan's hands came up, framing his face without hesitation, fingers sweeping with an almost practiced grace across cheekbones and down the jaw.
"I will solve this," Nathan reassured him.
"I know," Jack said simply, standing and touching Nathan's face once, before turning and walking out of the lab.
"So what do you wanna do tomorrow?" Jack managed to joke as they watched the lava pour out into the lake. He felt exhausted, and Nathan turned to him, that look on his face.
"Why, Sheriff, are you asking me on a date?" Nathan joked, grinning at the look Jack gave him. "Are you accepting my proposal?"
Jack took a deep breath, tucking his arms akimbo. "Let's say that I said yes," he started, his breath getting knocked out of him at the absolutely dazzling smile that lit up Nathan's face.
"You're saying yes?" Nathan pressed, stepping closer.
"No, I'm saying, 'let's say I say yes'," Jack retorted, stepping back a little. "How would we convince Allison to go along with this insanity?"
"I don't think it will be as hard as you think," Nathan replied, continuing to close the distance between them. "Say yes, Jack," he said softly, pressing Jack backwards, pushing him toward the grassy bank a safe distance from the lava flow.
"Yes," Jack agreed, waiting to feel his inner morals express their disgust. Instead, a simple sense of rightness settled in as Nathan claimed his lips in a fierce, possessive kiss. He allowed Nathan to lower him to the grass, kissing him deeply in return, but stopped the other man when he reached for Jack's belt.
"One, we're right next to a volcano," Jack said roughly, his body protesting the cessation. "And two, not till you convince Allison."
"Jack, it's not like we haven't done this a few times before," Nathan observed wryly. "Maybe not next to a volcano…"
"When your bride-to-be agrees," Jack replied stubbornly. Nathan groaned, letting his forehead fall against Jack's.
"Don't make plans for tonight," Nathan growled, kissing Jack roughly before standing and helping the sheriff to his feet.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Jack replied, though he knew Allison didn't stand a chance in the face of Nathan's determination.
-
"Steamy out there tonight," Jack quipped to Nathan and Allison, his wit not coming out as light as he intended.
"Well, get used to it," Nathan replied, a little bit of arch amusement in his voice. "That magma's going to be venting for days."
"I think technically it's lava," Jack couldn't resist, his inner child doing a victory dance as he actually managed to correct Nathan Stark for once. Allison had a little smirk as she looked between the two of them, and Jack swallowed hard, remembering the conversation he and Nathan had while the lava started venting.
"So you guys did good work today. You should team up more often," Allison said too casually.
Jack glanced up at Nathan, who tried to look casual, but clearly was fighting an "I told you so" smirk. "Yeah," they chorused together.
"I'm thinking this town should buy you boys a drink," Hood tossed out, and Jack switched gears back to dealing with the town.
"Hey, Carter." Nathan said, and Jack's mind slid to a stop at the soft tone. "Good driving today."
"Thanks," Jack said, a little puzzled. His mind landed on the diamond earlier that day, the elevator, and what Nathan had said about how he wanted things to be from then on, and he smiled. "Thanks," he repeated, nodding to show he understood. He was about to bid farewell to Hood and join the other two when Fargo entered, toting a trophy, interrupting his plans, and Sparky proved his very non-biomimetic status. "Oh great," he groaned, about to chase Fargo down and go change his pants.
"Hey, Sheriff, I'm serious about that drink," Hood told him, and Jack stopped, looking back at him. "Maybe tonight?"
Jack opened his mouth to answer, and his phone went off in his pocket. He frowned, not sure why Allison was sending him a text when she was sitting a few feet away, but opened the message anyway.
10 pm 2nite. N says shower 1st or else.
Jack fought a grin as he looked up to where both Allison and Nathan were looking at him with eerily similar narrowed eyes. "Uh, actually, I have plans tonight," he said, grinning to himself, He decided to forego the shower, though he was washing his leg thoroughly. He smirked at Nathan, then waved to Vince as he headed out to find Jo to switch on call for the night.