The week that Jack had to stay in L.A. passed way faster than he would have like. It was now the second-to-last day that he was staying with Mark, and he wanted to make his last two days really worth it. Jack had been wanting to kiss Mark since the moment they met up at the airport, and so far, the two of them hadn't yet connected in that way.

The morning of that second-to-last day, Jack was awake before Mark, so he thought that he would go and take a short walk around the area.

When Mark woke up later to find Jack gone, he was confused. Without actually thinking it over, Mark went back to his bedroom after searching the house quickly to grab his phone and quickly dialed Jack's number.

"Yeah?" came Jack's voice when he picked up.

"Jack? Where are you?" Mark asked

"Meh, went for a walk," Jack answered. "I'm jus goin around a small area and might be heading back soon."

"All right. Then I guess I'll see you whenever you return," Mark said.

"Yeah, see ya then," Jack replied before the phone call was ended.

Now that Mark knew where Jack was, he started thinking about what to do next. He went to go mess around on his computer for a bit before he noticed who was all on Skype. Thinking for a moment, Mark decided to call to see if they could set up some plans for later.

"Sup, Mark," Jonathan said when he answered. "How's it going?"

"Fine," Mark replied. "Look, I was wondering if we might be able to have a session later?"

"Yeah, sure. Luke and I have got nothing to do all day, so I'm sure that he would like to do that instead of sitting on his ass for hours on end," Jonathan said.

"There's a new game that come out. I don't know if you or Luke have heard about it or played it yet, but Jack and I have played a bit of it already," Mark said. "He posted a video of some of the gameplay earlier in the week." He explained.

Jonathan went quiet as he thought back to recent YouTube activity. "Oh, you mean that Driving Simulator game?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Mark confirmed.

"Sweet. Luke should enjoy that," Jonathan stated, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, does it have something to do with what happened?" Mark asked, just a little concerned.

"Nah, Luke is just bad at those types of games," Jonathan explained with a dismissive tone. "He doesn't mind playing them, though. Even after the accident."

"Oh, okay," Mark glanced at his phone. It was then that he heard his front door open and realized that Jack had finally returned. "Sounds like Jack is back from his walk."

"I'll get everything set up," Jonathan said. "It'll be the first time me and Luke will be playing this game. Should be fun."

They Skype call ended and Mark went downstairs to find Jack in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water. He looked up when Mark entered the room and set the glass down.

"Hey, sorry I ditched ya for a bit," Jack said, referring to him leaving suddenly and taking a walk.

"No, that's fine," Mark waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, how do you feel about playing that car game again? Only with Jonathan and Luke along for the ride?" He asked.

"Did you just make a joke?" Jack looked at Mark with uncertain disbelief.

"What?" Mark sounded and looked confused.

"You said 'along for the ride' while you were talking about the game," Jack pointed out.

Mark tilted his head for a moment before he realized what Jack was saying. "Oh! No, I wasn't purposefully making a joke," he said.

"Okay, good, because it was really bad," Jack stated.

"Are you saying I'm not funny?!" Mark gasped, faking an offended expression.

"You just said that you hadn't made the joke on purpose!" Jack exclaimed.

There was a silence between the two, before Mark laughed suddenly, ending the argument before it got out of hand. Jack stared at him.

"When do we start playing?" He asked after Mark stopped laughing finally.

"We can start right now," Mark answered.

Jack finished his water while Mark got the game set up for them, and then they got the split screen going on the large TV after joining Jonathan and Luke their game.

"Fuck you, dude!" was the first thing either of them heard come out of their headsets from Luke's mouth.

"It's not my fault! I swear!" Jonathan yelled.

"Everything okay over there?" Jack asked out of concern and confusion.

"Everything's fi-" Jonathan began.

"Delirious is being a little bitch!" Luke interrupted loudly.

"I told you it wasn't my fault!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Yes it was!" Luke argued. "You drove into me and knocked me off the bridge!"

Mark and Jack looked at each other for a moment before they started laughing and listened to Luke's frustration. They played for several hours, driving around and just messing around with the game all together. They did a race for a while, before switching out to another set of car jousting. They did this for most of the day, until it got really late and Luke and Jonathan bailed out after saying their goodbyes. Mark and Jack had a quick dinner before tiredly heading to bed.


I found myself back in the dark forest with The Trapper right behind us. I recognized the moment we were in and looked for the bear trap and spotted it in the tall grass. But I wasn't able to get to it in time and the metal instead closed around Mark's leg, causing him to scream in pain as he fell forward. I tried to cry out, but something pulled me aside and I saw a splash of blood. The events were to fast and I was watching as Mark was cut into by The Trapper's blade before Delirious used it against the thing and killed it. Then we were suddenly back at the shed with Mark dying on the floor. I was crying over him . . .


Jack's eyes flew open when he felt someone shaking him rather violently.

"Jack!" Mark's voice filled his ears and Jack picked up on his worried tone.

"Wha?!" Jack sat up quickly and looked at Mark with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked. "I heard you crying from my bedroom."

Jack blinked, and it was then that he realized his eyes were wet with tears. He'd been crying in his sleep from the dream.

"I- . . ." Jack began, but he stopped himself quickly. "Sorry." He said a few seconds later.

"What's wrong?" Mark asked simply, holding his hands on Jack's shoulders.

"It . . . It was a bad dream," Jack answered quietly.

Mark sat on the bed next to Jack and wiped away his tears using his hand. "Tell me about it," he said softly.

"It was back in the game . . . when I died. Only it was you that was caught in the trap. You that was killed . . . instead of me," Jack explained, looking into Mark's eyes with a shaky sigh.

Mark moved closer to Jack and put his arms around him. Jack leaned into him and the two of them sat there like that for a while. After Jack fell asleep again, Mark gently lay his head down on the pillow and covered him up again. He was about to go back to his own bedroom, but one last look at Jack's sleeping face told him otherwise.

Mark moved over to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers. He gazed at Jack's sleeping face, reveling in the beauty of it. He lay like that for several minutes before he finally let sleep come to him once more.


When Jack woke up the next morning, he woke up with a feeling that he hadn't had for a long time; not since Signe left. It was the feeling of someone holding him while they slept. Jack knew that it was Mark who was sharing the bed with him, and he remained still under the covers. He waited for some time, listening to Mark's gentle breathing as he slept on. It was quiet in the bedroom, and Jack found the slight quiet rather peaceful. He could hear a few birds chirping outside the window, which was a little startling considering how late in the year it was.

Mark suddenly moved, and Jack risked turning over. He was suddenly looking into Mark's deep brown, tired eyes, and felt a smile split his face.

"Morning, sleepy head," Jack purred. "Sleep well?"

"I should be asking you that," Mark started, making Jack chuckle lightly. "But I did, thanks."

The two men remained like that for another five minutes, before Chica started barking downstairs and forced Mark to get up and out of bed. Jack sat up and stretched, letting a large yawn out as he did. He followed Mark down the hall and turned into the bathroom, but before he closed the door he called after him.

"What do you plan on making for breakfast?"

"I'll surprise you," Mark replied.

"Imma take a shower first," Jack said before finally closing the door.

Mark filled Chica's dog bowl when he got to the kitchen, and he then went to the cupboard under the sink and pulled out the cereal box that he'd hidden from Jack. With it being Jack's last day, Mark wanted to give him a special breakfast. So, he'd gone out to the store not long before Jack arrived at the airport and bought two family sized Lucky Charms boxes; one of regular and the other of chocolate. He was planning to mix the two together, but then Mark thought that he should ask about it first. Just one problem; Jack was in the shower.

Mark thought for a minute or two before he finally came up with an idea. Grabbing a pen and paper, he wrote out a quick message before taking it and the two cereal boxes upstairs where he positioned them in front of the bathroom door. Mark taped the not between the boxes before he went back downstairs to wait for Jack's reaction. He faintly heard the bathroom door open some time later, and then there was a pause. A pause that lasted a little too long.

Confused, Mark went back upstairs to find the cereal boxes gone, but the note was left on the floor. He found Jack hiding behind the bed in the guest bedroom.

"Mine!" Jack immediately growled when he saw Mark. "Yer not gettin' these back, ya know that, right?"

"I don't care," Mark said, trying to hold back a laugh. "Why don't you bring those downstairs so that you can eat your breakfast with milk or whatever?"

Jack narrowed his eyes, but he picked up the cereal and followed Mark downstairs. Over breakfast, they talked about what they had done that week, and then Jack asked if there was a park nearby that they might be able to go to. Mark said there was, and that they could go with Chica later. That was a mistake.


Once at the park, Mark gave Jack Chica's leash and they started walking around for a bit. It had rained a little last night, so it was a bit muddy, which came as a disadvantage when Chica suddenly lurched forward and took off running after a squirrel, pulling Jack with her. He was pulled right off his feet and fell into a mud puddle.

"Chica!" Mark called after his dog, running after her.

Jack started getting back to his feet when he heard someone approach him from behind.

"Hey, are you okay?" they asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," Jack turned to face them.

The sudden excitement and shock that spread over their face startled Jack momentarily. As it turned out, they were a fan and Jack ended up striking a conversation with them for quite a bit of time. Mark finally returned with Chica, and he joined in on the conversation.

The walk in the park soon turned into a fan meet-n-greet, but Jack didn't particularly mind. An hour or two later, however, he was ready to head back to Mark's place. After goodbyes were exchanged, Mark and Jack head back home.

"I'm going to get cleaned up," Jack said once back at Mark's place. "Chica definitely did a number on me."

Jack head up to the bathroom and took his shirt off before wetting a washcloth to clean his face with.

While Jack was in the bathroom, Mark checked some things quick before he left the house. There was something he needed to take care of.

When Jack had finished cleaning up and changed into a fresh set of clothes, he looked around for Mark, and was rather puzzled when he didn't find him anywhere in or outside the house. Mark's car was gone as well, which meant he'd gone somewhere. Jack pulled out his phone and dialed Mark's number, but sighed with disappointment when Mark's phone started ringing from on the counter behind him. Mark had left his phone behind, so Jack didn't really have any way of contacting him.

At first, Jack didn't freak out, because he knew that wherever Mark had gone, he would return eventually. So, Jack went into the living room and flipped on the TV and ended up watching some reruns of The Walking Dead. He changed the channel at one point, and that was when he realized that nearly five hours had passed. Now aware of the time once more, Jack was a little nervous; Mark hadn't come back yet, and it was becoming a bit concerning.

The hours continued to pass, and Jack's worry began to grow rapidly as there was still no sign of Mark anywhere. It was nearing eleven and Jack was just about on the brink of panicking when a car finally pulled into the driveway again. Outside, Mark turned off the car with a frustrated huff. The traffic had gotten really bad for some reason, and he stuck in it for several hours, but now he was finally back home. He'd left his phone here, so he could only imagine that after eight hours being alone, Jack was frantic. That's what he was when he opened the door.

"I am so sorry," Mark said immediately when he saw Jack. "Traffic jams aren't exactly in my control, but I tried to get back sooner-" Mark was cut off when Jack was suddenly hugging him tightly. "Jack?"

"I was afraid that something had happened to you," Jack said quietly, his voice shaking slightly. "I was actually scared that I might not see you come back . . . I don't want to lose you again, Mark," he breathed. "I can't."

Jack released Mark and stepped back. He held his arm awkwardly and glanced away to the wall.

Mark pulled him closer, though. "You don't need to worry about losing me, Jack. I love you, and nothing will change that."

Jack smiled in relief and was immediately calm again when he felt Mark press their lips together in the long awaited kiss. It was passionate and gentle, and Jack felt a sudden longing for more. He parted his lips a little, and Mark seemed to read his mind and the two were suddenly making out on the spot. Mark pressed Jack against the wall and slowly moved down to his neck, pecking at the soft skin. His hands found their way underneath Jack shirt and sent a shiver up the other man's spine.

Jack was letting Mark take control of the situation, but that was perfectly fine. He held his arms around Mark's neck, and felt another chill when Mark started pulling his shirt up over his shoulders. Somehow, Mark and Jack found their way to Mark's bedroom where they continued on Mark's bed. Jack's face grew hot as Mark's hands found their way to his waist.

Mark had lost his own shirt somewhere up the stairs, and now both he and Jack lost sight of all their clothes as the night went on; the night that just made their relationship official.


It was quiet in the car as they drove towards the airport. Jack was anticipating going home to Ireland, but at the same time he dreaded also. By leaving L.A., Jack would also be leaving Mark. He didn't want to leave Mark.

Mark didn't want Jack to leave, either. If anything, he wanted him to stay forever. Last night had only secured that thought.

When they got to the airport, both men were waiting for the other to say something. The silence between them had grown uncomfortable, and it was only when they reached Jack's gate that it was finally broken.

"Mark, hold on," Jack said.

Mark stopped and looked back at him. "You don't want to leave, do you?" He guessed.

"No," Jack sighed, shaking his head. "Especially after last night."

Mark smiled at Jack's words, which startled the Irishman a little.

"Something wrong, Mark?" Jack asked, confused by Mark's grin.

"No, just that you don't have to worry about choosing to stay here with me or going home alone," Mark explained, unclearly.

"What?" Jack was more confused.

Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out a plane ticket. "When I was gone for a while yesterday, I was getting myself a spot on the plane next to you."

"Oh my god, Mark. Are you serious?!" Jack gasped, getting excited.

"Yep, I'm seriously going with you back home. I got everything for Chica and all of that other stuff taken care of," Mark explained.

"How long are you staying?" Jack asked, smiling widely.

Mark shrugged. "As long as I can."