Chapter synopsis: Jack is invited to the Jacobs' on Christmas Eve.
Warnings: Insane amounts of sugary fluff. You HAVE been warned. I take no responsibility for any dentist bills or sudden cases of diabetes caused by it.
Feedback: *uses Jedi mind trick* You will leave reviews…
Notes: I know that the Jacobs are Jewish, but I really wanted to do a Christmas thing with their family. Sorry.
Enjoy and happy holidays to all!
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Muffled sounds of laughter drifted into the dim hallway and rosy light spilled out from under the Jacobs' door. Jack paused, hand poised to knock, suddenly uncertain. He shifted, listening to the sounds of happiness.
They don't need me in there.
Jack dropped his hand, a small frown tugging at his lips. Sure, he'd always been welcome with the Jacobs before, but would he be now? It was Christmas Eve and all, and they were a family. He couldn't be a part of that, not really.
He sighed. He should leave, but David had invited him. Had seemed pretty happy about it, too.
*Jack, you've gotta come. It wouldn't be right without you.*
Jack smiled at the memory of David excitedly grasping his hand and the quick kiss that had followed. He shook his head. There was no way he could turn David down, so he might as well stop worrying. He knocked.
"Come on in, Jack!" a voice said almost immediately. Mr. Jacobs.
Jack pushed the door open and stepped inside. What he saw rocked him back on his heels in surprise.
Mrs. Jacobs' normally tidy kitchen looked like a band of bakers had set up camp there. He eyed the scattered piles of cooking bowls and supplies. A band of crazy bakers. Sarah stood by the table, a rolling pin in her hand, giggling. Jack's eyes flicked past her, though, to the back of the room where Les had cornered a laughing David.
Both had streaks of white on their faces and arms. David held his hands up in surrender and, as Jack watched, Les leaned forward and ran a finger down David's nose, covering it with a band of flour. Jack laughed as David clutched his chest and slid down the wall, groaning theatrically.
"You're dead!" Les cried. "I win."
David opened one eye and stuck out his tongue at Les.
"Now, now, David. If you're dead you can't move, so no sticking your tongue out at your younger brother." David grinned and promptly went limp. Jack glanced at Mr. Jacobs, who had come to stand next to him. Mrs. Jacobs sat watching her children, a fond smile on her face.
"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Mr. Jacobs placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I hope the flour 'war paint' doesn't scare you away," he said, chuckling.
Jack felt himself grinning hugely. "I dunno," he said, pretending to be thoughtful. "I think the flour is an improvement for Dave. Suits him."
"Hey!" David protested, still lying on the floor. "Just wait until--" he broke off, abruptly sneezing. He smiled sheepishly as everyone laughed, and pulled himself up. "Just wait until Les gets you," he continued.
Jack just shook his head, laughing. "Me an' Les are pals. He'd never kill me. Who'd show him all the secrets to sellin' papes, then?"
"And how would he help us make these cookies if he was dead?" Sarah gestured to the dough that was rolled out onto the surface of the table. Jack suddenly became aware of a slightly spicy scent in the air. "Gingerbread," she said to his questioning look.
David pulled Jack towards the table. "My favorite kind," he said, grinning. Jack returned the smile, warmed through by the happy looks David kept sending him and the easy way the whole Jacobs family accepted him. "We make them every Christmas Eve and Ma always lets us mess up the kitchen."
"Within reason!" Mrs. Jacobs called distractedly, busy sewing something.
"Yes, Ma!" Sarah, David, and Les chorused, the way they were laughing suggesting this was something they were used to. Before Jack could feel out of place, he felt something cool and hard being pressed into his hand.
He glanced at it. Flat, worn metal twisted into the shape of a star. David smiled at him, blue eyes sparkling. "You get to cut the first shape."
Heart skipping giddily, Jack returned the smile. "Cookies, huh?" He bent his head, pressing the cookie-cutter into the dough. He tried to convince himself that this was a silly thing to be so happy over, but it didn't work. All his worries from earlier seemed so pointless now.
By the end of the night he had flour in his hair and his tongue was burnt from eating hot cookies, but Jack was sure he hadn't had this soft and happy feeling since before his mother died. David walked him outside after everything had been cleaned up and Les was asleep in bed.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night?"
"It'd be great, but I don't think I could sleep that close to you without slippin' up and kissing you." He smiled at David. "Plus, I want to give you some time alone with your family."
David shook his head and slipped his hand into Jack's. "You are family. Ma and Papa think of you as their son, Les thinks of you as his new big brother, and Sarah spoils you like you were Les' age."
"What about you?" Jack teased. A grin and a quick squeeze of his hand from David.
"I'll have to show you what I think about you tomorrow when we're more alone."
Jack winked. "I'll hold you to that."
With a laugh, David let go of his hand and stepped back. "Merry Christmas, Jack."
"Merry Christmas."
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Serori-- If I ever include a Mary Sue in my stories, immediately shoot me. I'm glad you enjoyed, and point taken about the quote from Jack. You'll find I edited it a little, but I kept the general idea. Go singing in alleys.
Crunch--I'm glad you like my stories so much. I always look forward to your reviews. J I'm working on getting my characterization of Skittery down so I can write your story. Check out Stickball and tell me how I'm doing so far. Fuzziness-inducing is what I'm shooting for…
Spartacus-- Whoo! Hard work is rewarded with new chapters by you. Does this mean I get a new chapter again? *hopeful look*
See, Jack and David apparently worked out that they both loved each other. Still, Jack admitting all that to David, and David offering to read for him, are the most blatant admissions of love I can imagine outside actually saying the words, lol.
Krazy Kat-- Glad you like. Jack's not actually "secretly" smart. Most people don't credit him with the intelligence he has, though. He did say during the movie that he read the newspapers and he had a pretty good grasp of political stuff. Plus, anyone who knows the word "conflagration" can't be that dumb, lol. I really dunno what happened with Sarah. These ficlets have big gaps of time between them and anything could have happened, you'll find. Mostly I'm focusing on the relationship between Jack and David, so none of the other newsies were mentioned. And you're right; he probably would turn red if he thought about that around anyone else.
Skywise-- Please don't cry. I updated and everything. I'm glad you enjoy fluffy Jack/David-ness as much as I do.