Title : You & Me & a Dog Named Flea
Author : fridayblues
Pairing : Ennis/Jack
Disclaimer : Annie Prouxl owns the timeless characters in BBM. I'm writing from love and making no profit.
Summary : AU!AU set in San Francisco ; Jack Twist had a chance encounter with a veterinarian one day, didn't know the shy vet, and his black and white terrier, would have a permanent place in his heart.
My Deepest Thanks always to Judy (judybluecat), the ultimate beta! I can't do this without you, really.
Feedback : means the world to me:)
A/N:
A huge, huge thanks and hugs and kisses (if you will have them, heh) to all readers of this story. If you don't mind, please give me feedback and let me know what do you think of this story. It's the last chapter, so just humour me please.
Well, on with the story:
Flea 25 "Here Comes the Sun"
"So?" Grant arched his brow, his hands busy with grapes—getting rid of long stems and putting the round, fresh green grapes in the basket. "Any ideas for next week's session?"
Ennis grunted. That was his way to say 'no' and by now Grant knew him well enough to understand. "You don't have to think hard, Ennis. The whole idea is telling us what you want to do. It can be anything, something that you feel good doing. And can you chop the ginger for me?"
"I don't know, I mean sure." Ennis gestured to the ginger. "I don't know what I wanna do. Everybody seems to have such a big plan."
Ennis remembered one of the girls at the club who said she wanted to have her own poetry book published one day. The other girl wanted to go bungy jumping. He didn't have that big dream, never thinking about climbing up the Rockies or doing some Indiana Jones adventurous kind of thing. But he had to come up with what he wanted to do and share with friends in the session at the Velvet next time. Could he mention something like training Flea not to bark when the neighbor played Mozart?
"It doesn't have to be a big plan. See? Grapes are small, but one by one, they fill the big basket." Grant's voice glued his attention back to the conversation, and the grapes in the basket on the table. And the ginger, of course.
"All I can think about right now is…running," Ennis murmured. "I used to run around with my dog when I was living on the horse farm…It felt kinda nice…but ridiculous…"
"It's not ridiculous. Look at me. I want to master this girly gingered cream cheese grapes recipe."
"And I wanted to have a tattoo on my ankle. That was last year's wish though," Lee chimed in as he walked with a swing from the sofa, holding Pepe in his arms. He must have run out of food, or else he wouldn't have peeled himself off the comfy sofa and MTV—what he had been so interested in since he arrived at Grant's place almost an hour ago. And Ennis was right. After showing him a tattoo of a small bird trapped in a cobweb just above his right ankle, Lee tossed a big green grape into his mouth and handed one to Grant. Ennis looked down at the ginger, groaning uneasily when Grant opened his mouth and took the grape, with tongue and all. "Jesus…"
Grant grinned with his mouth full of grape as he tugged Lee's elbow. "You hiding something from me, huh?"
"Oh, no, Sugar, I wouldn't dare. But that's a surprise, just for you."
Things on the table seemed to be pushed toward Ennis by those hands in urgency, and in less than a minute, he found himself stumbling head first out the door of Grant's studio-type room with a basket of grapes in one hand, and Pepe in the other. The door banged shut. Crazy footsteps echoed from inside and then there were giggles as the sofa squeaked, not that he was eavesdropping. Shit.
"And what're we gonna do now?" Ennis asked Pepe. The big cat simply looked away as if to say 'Damned if I know.'
It was pretty strange thinking how he came to have so many friends these days. Turned out Jack brought more to him than love, friendship and trust--the package money couldn't buy.
Talking about Jack… He was supposed to arrive any minute now. They were going to have that quartet, Sex and the City's weekend lunch (Lee's direct quote). And there must be something terribly wrong with him, 'cause as bashfully absurd as it sounded, Ennis was actually comfortable with the idea.
He looked at his watch. It was a little after eleven, the first Saturday of February, one week after he had been back from the Boston seminar, the one that surprisingly made him feel like he had gone back to the vet college rather than engaged in some technical meeting. People there were so hyper, all practically Dr. Brown's clones. And he felt like a freshman in college with tons of things he had never known before. It was exhausting, but a good experience.
Ennis was still balancing Pepe and the grape basket in his hands in front of the door when Jack emerged from downstairs, Flea jumping up right behind on his heels. With a frown, Jack's eyes swept from Ennis to Pepe and the grapes, the corner of his mouth drawn up slowly into one of those cheeky smirks. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Very funny."
"What are you doing out here?" Jack stepped in and managed to wrap his arms around Ennis without crushing what was in between. After a hearty pat on his back, Jack snatched the basket from Ennis's hand while Flea barked madly at Pepe as if to scream he was supposed to be in Ennis's arms, not her. Jack chuckled. "Someone is jealous. And why are you…? Holy shit."
There were noises coming from inside the door and Ennis swore Jack's ears almost flicked like Flea's when he heard them. Blue eyes turned to him now with curiosity and Ennis simply shrugged. Jack smirked again after a few quiet, consideration beats and pressed his ear to the door. Ennis shoved him fiercely with his free hand.
"What?" Jack laughed and that automatically brought out a smile from Ennis. Jack always had that kind of power over him.
They decided to sit on the top stair. It was one of those days when Pepe did nothing but sleep, and she seemed to love the position she was at this moment, resting her fluffy back against Ennis's side as if she knew she could trust in this man. Jack looked down at her fondly and turned to Flea who was still sneaking a suspicious look at the big cat, but also panting happily on Ennis's lap.
The air was cold so Jack inched closer to Ennis, realizing with his heart expanding in his chest that although he had two legs, and not that furry, he didn't have to find a reason to sit this close to Ennis anymore. Ennis was his vet, too. Oh, yeah. And this vet sure wanted his Lightning Flat terrier closer, 'cause a cold hand was sneaking around Jack's waist now.
As natural as magnet and steel, Jack moved one step lower to sit in the cocoon of Ennis's body, leaning his back on Ennis's chest as Flea crawled on his lap, feeling a lot warmer and on top of the world. Ennis rubbed his lightly stubbled chin on Jack's smooth forehead as he got his cell out, so Jack snatched out his own, too, killing time by browsing pictures and deleting old messages. The beep, beep sound of their cell phones mingled with Ennis's soft hum against his ear. Jack hadn't heard that melody before, wasn't even sure it was a song, 'cause it went on and on—like the peaceful sound of waves, the blissful chanting of the birds, or the sweet ringing of bells…
"Ah." The humming stopped, and Jack couldn't help but roll his head on Ennis's shoulder and groan with disappointment. Ennis didn't seem to notice, just wordlessly held out his cell to Jack. "K.E. sent these by e-mail. Now, say hi to Stella."
Jack looked at a picture of a baby girl sleeping peacefully in Ennis's cell. Clueless, he just blinked at first, but laughed and caught Ennis's wrist to look at it closer when the realization hit him. "Oh my God. Ruby gave birth? When?"
"Yesterday. I talked to K.E. on the phone last night. They are in Casper right now, said they have to stay there for a few days."
"Oh, damn, she's cute."
"Yep." Ennis forwarded to the next picture that was a close-up of a little girl with dark brown curls coiling around her temple like small shells. Jack chuckled.
"She got the Del Mar's curls. Copyright guaranteed." Ennis snorted at that. He moved to the next picture of K.E. smiling big with the girl curling comfortably in his arms. Jack touched the screen with his finger. "Hi, Stella."
"Hi, Stella Del Mar," Ennis whispered, too, low and tender. "Welcome to the family."
Jack leant his weight more into Ennis's chest. Seeing K.E. and his daughter reminded him of their Christmas trip last December. Weird as it was, Jack could remember everything, all the feeling, confusion and fear that were swimming inside him as if it was yesterday. He turned to murmur into Ennis's neck. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" Ennis looked down at Jack, catching only a glimpse of those long lashes and his pointed nose. Somehow, he knew Jack didn't want to ask about Stella or her father.
"If I hadn't gone to Riverton with you at Christmas, would you still be with me now?"
"What kind of question is that?"
Jack shrugged. "Just wondering."
"I don't know, Jack." Ennis sighed. "Maybe not. I might be working my ass off at the clinic day and night, drowning in my own misery.
"Misery?"
"I've just gotten divorced, you know that."
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Jack murmured. Ennis's arm went around his neck now and he was leaning his cheek on the back of Jack's head. Jack rubbed that arm gently. "Did you love her?"
"Umm…I did, at least when I was married to her. But it seemed love wasn't enough."
"I'm sorry…"
Jack murmured the same thing again, felt Ennis shake his head. "It's the past. She never understood me…the way you do. When she hugged me, I never felt hugged. We shared a bed but I never felt so alone. It was like something was missing. I don't know…it's hard to explain…"
"It's alright, Ennis. You don't have to say anything."
But Ennis still had more to say. "She said I was boring. Sometimes, I'm actually counting the days till you…"
"What we got here, it's not just love, Ennis. Don't you see that? I'm not gonna let you go," Jack said strong and he waited for some reaction. But Ennis didn't move. Flea was looking up at him with his big eyes and Jack gently scratched the back of his neck, quietly calmed the dog with the soft touch. It seemed like eternity before Ennis whispered, "You know what the weird thing is?"
"What?"
"Just from looking at you, I know how you feel. I know no matter how fucked-up I am, you won't let me go. "
Jack inhaled shakily and closed his eyes as Ennis tightened the one-armed hug as hard as if to choke him. And Jack had to snuggle even closer to Ennis, even though there was no space left between his back and Ennis's chest anymore. Jack wanted him to know that he got the unspeakable message, loud and clear, that Ennis was telling him the same thing, giving him a promise—that he knew this was more than love, that he, too, would never let him go.
They stayed like that for a while, quiet, except for the sound of Pepe rubbing her body on the fabric of Ennis's shirt, following by Flea's panting.
Jack fluttered his eyes open when his thoughts flew to his mom and her letter that was sent to him yesterday, asking if he could go home for Easter. He rubbed Ennis's arm. "Ennis?"
"Ummm?"
"Will you go with me to Lightning Flat next time?"
"You want me to?"
"Yes."
"We'll see…" Ennis muttered on his ear. "I love your mom's cake though."
"Ma is the best cook and I'm sure she'd love to bake some cakes for you. But don't expect my dad to light up fireworks when we're there." Jack kissed Ennis's shoulder knob and slowly eased off his embrace, shuddering when the cool air hit. "Damn, it's cold."
"Sit back," Ennis deadpanned.
"Not if we still want to have that lunch and not be freezing to death." Jack hauled Flea up and bent down to give Ennis a light kiss, his eyes bright when he pulled out and playfully kicked Ennis's thigh. "Let's just bang down the door and crash the party. It's revenge time."
--
The Sex and the City lunch was great. They continued the talk about Grant's grape basket theory while they ate, with Jack and Lee fighting like cats over green beans. But the food was great. Nothing could beat Grant's chicken dishes, Ennis recalled with some contentment. Back at Jack's apartment, Ennis worked on Jack's laptop on the bed, half-sitting, half-leaning on his stomach, sipping coffee like an iguana eating insects on a rock. Jack was on the phone with someone, and Flea was rolling on his cot, eyes fluttering on the edge of sleep. It was peaceful. And Ennis found himself smiling as he answered an e-mail from one of Dr. Brown's friends he had met in Boston. The man had asked, again, if Ennis could go to Seattle and help them with the research.
"What're you doing?" Jack's voice was heard before he moved to sit on the bed.
"Just said no to Dr. Brown's friend about the Seattle trip. So he sent me some equiwinner…I mean some reports to help him with."
"You're not going to Seattle?" Jack asked, voice cracked with an attempt to stop the wave of expectation that was rising up to his throat. Ennis tossed him a look over his shoulder.
"Nope. It's three months."
As if it was a reason. Jack snorted but kissed and nibbled Ennis's ear until he squirmed with laughter. Later, he took Ennis's place to check e-mails as Ennis sat up, leant on the throw pillow and did his reading. Jack smiled when he saw what he had hoping for in one of the e-mails. He shook Ennis's arm. "I found it, Ennis. Come on, look at this."
Ennis flicked his eyes to Jack then narrowed them to see into the laptop screen. There was a scan of some advertisement that said Citibank 15 Kilometers Fun Run. A gasp escaped from his mouth as he scooted down on the bed with Jack and read the whole ad, brown eyes wide and searching. "Jesus…where did you…?"
"I was talking with my friend," Jack said. "I told him I saw this event somewhere in the newspaper. He helped me search for it. What do you think?"
Ennis looked stunned, his eyes still glued to the scanned ad, didn't move even when Jack opened the other file sent from Grant—a picture of a basket full of grapes from today's lunch. Jack studied Ennis's face. It was a long time before Ennis turned to look at him, his expression blank, like a sleepwalker at first, like he was trying not to show his true feeling. But when Jack ran his fingers through the curls on Ennis's nape, he sighed and shook his head, letting all emotions show. "Jesus, I don't know what to say..."
"Then don't. But I know what you have to do." Jack smiled. "I think you need to go shopping."
"Huh?" Ennis tumbled out, a crease wrinkling his forehead. Jack's smile widened into a grin.
"You're going to need a new pair of running shoes."
Ennis blinked and looked back at the screen again. Jack quietly retreated to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee, giving Ennis space and freedom to deal with the ad the way he really wanted. When he came back, Ennis was lying on his back and staring at the white ceiling, the scan of the ad was gone from the computer screen. Jack put the cup on the nightstand and flopped down beside him. "So?"
"So," Ennis said to the ceiling. "I'm going to run a marathon..."
Jack smiled. "Yeah. That sounds like a good plan…" Ennis closed his eyes and rolled his head until it rested on Jack's shoulder. He muttered against the soft skin there.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure."
Jack clutched Ennis's hand, threading their fingers together. He brought their hands to rest on his stomach and peeped at the clock on the nightstand. 8:30, he groaned. Damn, it was time for Ennis to leave for the night shift again. With a sigh, Jack tugged his hand. "Hey, aren't you already late for work?"
Ennis smiled a little. "Oh, haven't I told you?" Jack saw something dancing in his eyes.
"Told me what?"
"We switch shifts once every three months. I'm working day shift starting tomorrow."
Jack narrowed his eyes and shoved the blond man. "And when do you think is the best time to tell me, asshole?" Ennis just chuckled. "You mean for the next three months I'm going to see you every night? And no Seattle trip?"
"Ummm"
"…and now we're on the bed, looking at the damn ceiling?" Ennis's breath caught in his throat. Without hearing any answer, Jack leant in with parting lips, welcoming Ennis's tongue inside before their mouths even met.
Ennis cupped the back of Jack's head and crushed their mouths together, sucking on his tongue with a low, guttural groan. His roaming hands crept over Jack's back, heating up the naked skin under the shirt like fire licking on coal, riling up the flame within him the way nobody else could, or ever would. Jack gasped, feeling a bone-deep shudder as his back hit the mattress, moaning aloud as Ennis climbed on top of him, all hot and heavy. Jack tugged frantically on Ennis's ears until they were nose to nose, and back to kissing. Ennis deepened the kiss and Jack's whole body writhed and arched desperately for more contact when Ennis's hands dug beneath the waistband of his jeans.
"Oh, God," Jack hissed when their groins ground together, the kiss broke as they fumbled with buttons and zippers, hands knocking and sending pillows flying in every direction. Clumsy hands roughly slid the laptop up and away from the middle of the bed, bright color from the screen flashing and dancing on white walls. Jesus Christ, murmured Jack incoherently as he followed Ennis's mouth like a moth to the flame, a man thirsty for water, and soon they were back to kissing again as though their lives depended on it. It must be, 'cause Jack couldn't think of anything else but Ennis. And Ennis alone.
"Little darling…" Ennis whispered and kissed him. Jack clutched a handful of Ennis's hair when he heard that, every cell in his body throbbing, blood pounding in his head but Jack was still conscious enough to tuck the words into one special corner in his heart that was gradually filling with every little thing about Ennis. I am Ennis's little darling, Jack thought, feeling their heartbeats racing and contracting against their chests. Little darling… Ennis said it again, barely moved his lips, his breath ragged as he kissed and nudged Jack's mouth with his tongue--the tongue that went so deep as if he wanted to steal Jack's breath.
Maybe he could manage to do so, and Jack wouldn't have any objection. He was Ennis's little darling. Ennis could have anything he wanted, including his breath.
--
"Hey, Tiger."
"Hey," Ennis said to his cell as he stuck the Salt Lake Temple postcard with a magnet to the inner door of his locker in the vet office. It didn't look right. "Did Carol say anything when she called you? She called, right?"
"She did." Mona chuckled. "What do you expect your sister to say after you told her you are going to run a marathon?"
"A mini marathon. Have you told her she didn't have to come all the way here?"
"Oh, like Carol will just comply."
"Christ," Ennis grumbled. He took out the Ferris wheel postcard from the bag and placed it near the Salt Lake Temple one. Nope, it didn't look right either. "Guess I just have to let her be then."
"She could stay with me, but what if the girls and K.E. come, too? My place would be too small for them."
"K.E. won't be coming. He's got a handful of a baby to deal with right now," Ennis said and snorted as he thought back to how K.E. had complained like a buzzing bee about the heavy duties of fatherhood the last time they talked on the phone. "And if the girls come with Carol, they could stay at my apartment."
"And where would you…oh." There was a smile in Mona's voice, but she sounded cautious when she asked, "So things are settled between you two?"
"Umm, guess so. But nothing's been decided. I haven't planned whether to, well, move in or move out or anything…"
"Moving slow is good. When I go sailing, sometime I go very slowly, sometime just floating on the ripples. The ocean, the sky, and the city look more beautiful that way."
Ennis smiled. Mona sounded happy and he was glad for her. The door of the vet office opened then, and Martha slipped in quietly with a big file in one hand, and a box of Detour Runner Choc Peanut Butter in the other. He rolled his eyes when she put them on the table, acting all normal as if she was bringing him a package of dog vaccines or something. Martha then pointed out the door and walked away just as quietly. Seemed Jack and Flea had arrived.
"I have to go," he said, taking the socks and new Nike black and silver running shoes out from the locker.
"Me, too. Lunch tomorrow?"
"You bet. Still owe you that French dip from months ago."
"Yummy, yum, yum." Mona faked a chewing sound. "See you, Tiger."
"Bye." Ennis tossed the phone into his bag. He blinked up at the board near the door where post-it notes and other pieces of paper were stuck and pinned. It was his personal message board. He stared at it, marveled as if he had seen it for the first time. An idea struck, and Ennis snatched the postcards out and slammed shut the locker door. This way, out in the open, he would be able to see the postcards every time he wanted.
Carefully, Ennis stuck the postcards on the board and drew back a little to observe them. It looked great. He had just sat back on the chair and craned his neck, looking at the postcards from different angles, when he heard footsteps. In a second, the door was pulled open again, and Flea rushed to him like he smelled some dog treats hidden under the chair. Jack leant on the doorjamb, tossing a timer in his hand. "Ready, Doctor?"
"God, the marathon is months away. Why does everyone act like I'm going to the Olympics next week?"
"But training is very important. And I want to look like a professional coach at the park."
Ennis chuckled and grabbed his bag. "You can't be looking professional when a Boston terrier winds around your legs 'cause he wants to eat the timer in your hand."
Flea barked and danced around Jack's feet, sniffing hard and looking at the shining something in Jack's hand.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Jack opened the door wider and let Flea out first. Then he hugged Ennis and planted a hard kiss soundly on his lips. "Damn, Ennis, I'm so excited for you. Are you ready?"
He grunted, but felt his mouth twist at that. Jack did look excited and it amused him. But he was glad for the little distraction 'cause, damn it, he did actually feel excited. Hell, it was just a training run in the park!! Clearing his throat, Ennis tried to play it cool. "Guess I am as ready as I can be."
"Ok, great." Jack turned to Flea who was waiting patiently for orders. "Come on, buddy, lead the way."
Jack watched until Ennis bounced down the stairs after Flea with a big sports bag hanging over his shoulder. He looked at the timer in his hand and glanced out the window. It was a bit misty outside, and the San Francisco sky would be darkened in about an hour. But it was all good. Let the sun sleep, for come tomorrow, it would beam again. Ennis was with him today. He would be with him tomorrow, and so would Flea. It could, and would, be like this, just like this always.
THE END
--
There are some oneshots and other Jack and Ennis related stories and stuff in my livejournal account. Please check it out if you're interested at fridayblues at livejournal dot com. Hope to see you there. Thanks and peace!!
Blues