Disclaimer: They're not mine, I'm just borrowing. I'll give them back when I'm done... maybe.

Chapter Five

The drive to Joe and Larry's suburban home was awkwardly silent. Usually even a ten-minute trip in the car had Jack whining like a five-year-old for some reason or other, but this time he simply stared moodily out of the window.

"Jack?" Will asked, after they had been travelling for thirty minutes without a word. "What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?"

"If you wanted someone who was obliged to talk to you then why didn't you bring Michael instead?" Jack countered, without looking away from the rapidly passing scenery of New York.

"Oh, not this again!" Will exclaimed. "Jack, I'm not having this argument with you twice! Once was too often!"

"I don't expect you to," Jack replied. "It's obvious that my reasoning can't penetrate that layer of denial within stubbornness within fat of yours, so…"

"Oh, excuse me, for a moment there I forgot that you're an expert at relationships, One Night Stan."

"Fine!" Jack retorted. "When we get there, ask Joe and Larry what they think. 'Cause they're gonna tell you – "

" – That as two people in a long-term relationship they can understand how sometimes even committed couples need to spend time apart – "

" – For seven years, without any contact," Jack finished.

Will was silent for a moment. "Just go back to not talking to me, okay?" he muttered eventually.

Jack obliged.

"We're here," Will announced some time later.

"I can see that," Jack replied irritably, unbuckling his seatbelt. He attempted several times to open the door, but to no avail. "Dammit!" he exclaimed.

Will had to smile in spite of himself. "Foiled by a kiddie lock," he said wryly as he leaned over Jack and opened the car door without difficulty. "Sometimes I swear I should be filing for adoption of you," he muttered. Instead of leaning away he tried to give Jack an affectionate kiss on the cheek, wanting to somehow make Jack understand that he really didn't want to fight with him over something as pointless as this.

At the exact same moment, Jack finally turned to face Will. "Oh, don't even – " he began, but before he could finish Will's lips were on his.

The accidental kiss went on for longer than it should have. Will knew he was the one who was meant to be finishing it, but something childish in him kept insisting that it was Jack who had turned around at the wrong moment and started the whole thing, and so it was Jack's rightful responsibility to end it.

Besides, kissing Jack was… nice. It felt weird to admit that to himself, but even though it was undoubtedly wrong it wasn't an unpleasant thing. He comforted himself with the fact that, after all the men Jack had been with in his life, it was really no surprise that he was a good kisser. People were free to admit that about there best friends, right? It wasn't as if Michael –

The front door slammed and Will and Jack broke apart hastily. From the affable grins on Joe and Larry's faces, it was apparent that they hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

"Hi, Will!" Joe said, smiling cheerfully and embracing him whilst Larry gave Jack the same warm greeting. Will kissed Joe briefly. Not so different from what Jack and I were doing, he thought, feeling reassured.

"Will," Larry muttered in his ear as they hugged, "Help me, Joe's driving me mad! Our first week alone together since our honeymoon and he's so nervous about Hannah he won't even – "

"Okay," Will said quickly, "That's really more Jack's area of expertise."

Larry nodded. "Right, right, sorry." He pulled away from Will. "But I mean – it's just girl scout camp. I know it's her first time away from home, and I'm worried about her, too, but is it too much to ask that – "

"Larry!" Will said. "Please. Talk to Jack about this."

"Yeah, I should probably do that," Larry agreed as the four men went into the house.

For fifteen minutes or so they went through the formalities – asking after Grace and Karen; talking about all the true loves Jack had been involved with since the last time they saw each other; looking at so many pictures of Hannah that even Will was starting to get a little bored by the time their doting friends had to admit there was nothing else they hadn't seen a dozen times before.

Finally, they got to the question Will had been dreading.

"So, Will," Larry smiled, blissfully unaware of the way Will's stomach dropped when he realised what was going to be asked, "How's your love life?"

"He's back with Michael," Jack said quickly, before Will got a chance to say anything. "Y'know, the same Michael who played him for an idiot for seven years before completely abandoning him within the space of two weeks… That Michael."

"To be fair – " Will began.

"And so even though it's been over for the better part of a decade Will just decides to forgive and forget after one cheap meal and a night of bad sex," Jack finished.

"How did you know it was bad… It was not bad sex!" Will exclaimed.

"Of course it was," Jack retorted, "You were there."

"For your information, Michael is – "

"And yet he tells me that this is not his kind of conversation," Larry muttered to Joe, smirking slightly.

"And as for me – first off, you have no experience to base - "

"Larry," Joe said loudly, in order to drown out the argument which was getting more graphic with every passing retort, "Why don't you and Jack go shopping or something? You know Jack, they built a new mall since the last time you visited," he added, giving Larry a slight pre-emptory shove when he didn't move.

Larry looked at him imploringly for a moment, until the latest innuendo-laden insult reached his ears. Getting up hastily and crossing the room, he grabbed Jack by the hand and threw his coat at him. "Come on, Jack," he trilled, too cheerfully, "They just opened a Banana Republic outlet and there's a sale on." He cast one last nervous glance at Will before taking his keys from the bowl by the hatstand and practically running out the front door, dragging Jack with him.