A/N: Completely obsessed with House of Ashes at the moment, Jason and Salim and absolutely my favourite characters. This idea came to mind, so I wrote it, I hope you like it!

Reunions

Five years. Jason raised a glass to his lips, the smell of whiskey hitting his nose as he took a sip of his drink. It had been five years since his tour of Iraq. Five years since he had been trapped in that cave. Five years since he had escaped; since he had seen Salim. He took another swig of his drink before placing the glass on the bench before him. He fingered the condensation on the glass as he contemplated his life over the last five years.

After CENTCOM had finally released him from interrogation, he had quit the army. Meeting Salim had put his opinions into perspective, and he could not find himself willing to fight anymore. 'No more killing', Salim had said, and Jason had felt those words to his core. He was done, he still wanted to serve, to help people, but war and fighting had touched him in a way that would always be with him.

So, when he had returned home to Louisiana, he had signed up to the police force and had had enjoyed looking out for people. Being a police officer gave him an opportunity to use his experience from being a marine, and at the same time he was able to protect people- given him an opportunity to protect the minorities. He had found himself enjoying his career, even if his popularity was varied between the other officers, due to his opinions.

He had stayed with his sister and her family for some time after his return. She had been happy to have him, and he had been happy to see family, especially after what had happened in Iraq. His sister, Clara, had been concerned about him, Jason had been prone to shouting out in his sleep and apparently had woken her multiple times over his stay. She had wanted him to go to therapy, but he had refused- how would you explain to someone that about what had happened to him in the cave?
So he had left his sisters and gotten his own place, his nightmares never went away, but at least he was not bothering anyone anymore.

He had continued to work the next few years with little issues, he had stayed in contact with Nick over the years as well, which he had liked. He loved Nicky- not that he would never tell him- and was glad to hear from him when he did. Nick had, to Jason's surprised, entered into a three relationship with Eric and Rachel. That had come as a shock to Jason, but, he wasn't about to judge, as long as they weren't hurting anyone, he really did not care.

The revelation about Nick's sexuality had caused Jason to evaluate his own. Growing up in a heavily Christian household, Jason had had to supress any urges that he had towards other boys. As an adult, he had understood himself a little better, but still had not taken that plunge, had yet to try anything with another man. Learning about Nick and his new relationship had been something of a shock to his system.
After finding out about Nick, he had spent some time thinking about what he wanted in his life, whether or not it was worth it, at his age, to experiment with other men. After much deliberation, he had decided to take the plunge, so to speak, and had found himself going to some gay bars- a task that was easier said than done, considering where he lived. Eventually, he had found a placed, found a man and… while he never spoke to that man again, the night had solidified his own sexual discovery.

There had not been many others after that night, his childhood repressions still held a strong hold on him but over the course of a year, he had started to fully accept himself and his own needs. When he had 'come out' to his sister, Clara had simply laughed and said; I know- which had really made him question and re-evaluate everything that he thought he knew about his good Christian sister.

Not long after coming out to his sister, she had decided that she was going to take her family, including him- even though he had not lived with her for some time- for a vacation to London of all places. He had attempted to argue with her, but as always, she was not having any of it, so he organised some time off and that lead to where he was now, a café that he wished was a pub, waiting for his sister who had ran off to take his nephew to the toilet.

He fingered his drink, a pink milkshake that his sister had ordered for him with a smug grin. Just because he was embracing his sexuality, it did not mean that he wanted to drink pink fruity drinks! Even though it was amazing… he sipped at his drink and looked around the café, it looked fairly normal, a lot less plastic than an American café but it still looked like a café- he was not sure what exactly he expected it to look like.

As he scanned the cafe and its occupants, his eyes locked with a pair of dark ones, a familiar pair of dark eyes. Dark eyes that looked just as shocked to see him as he was. He felt something constrict in his chest as he took in the sight of Salim. Salim, the Iraqi. Salim, who had fought with him against the vampires. Salim, his friend. Salim, who had pulled himself from his booth and was now walking towards him.

With shaky arms, he pulled himself up to stand. Unsure of what to do he stood stone still, his heart hammering in his chest as Salim came to stand before him. "Salim I…" his body suddenly felt heavier that it ever had before, and he struggled to stand on his feet. An emotion that he could not name, overwhelmed him.

"Jason! My friend!" and before Jason knew what was happening, he was being pulled into a strong hug. The other's arms winding tight around him.

Jason froze in shock. He could not believe what was happening. Salim was here, in London, and, alive and safe… and hugging him. Salim began to pull away and Jason moved without full control of his senses and pulled him back into a hug. Closing his eyes he breathed in the other man's smell, he had a spicy smell with the hint of a cologne and Jason felt himself wanting to drown in it. He felt a hand touch his back and nearly melted as it brushed his back gently.

"It's good to see you." He said quietly, pulling back from Salim. He did not let go of the other man, however, and kept his hands resting on Salim's forearms, the other doing the same. Their eyes met and Jason suddenly felt quite hot.

"I am glad to see you as well." The older man smiled at him.

That was how Clara found them. Jason did not even notice his sister's return to the table. Did not notice the way she looked between the two of them, did not notice a look she shared with a young man at another table, and he most certainly did not catch the way her lips curled into a feral grin. "Who's yer friend, Jace?" her grin widened as he all but jumped from his skin.

"Erm, Clara, this is Salim," He gestured to the man with a nod of his head. "Salim, this is Clara, my sister." He then nodded down to the boy whom was standing beside her. "And this is Tommy, my nephew."

Salim nodded to the woman, then seemed to remember that he was still holding Jason. He pulled away with a shy smile at the other before turning his attention back to Clara. He held his hand out to her, his smile widening as she accepted and shook, the offered hand. After this he held his hand out to Tommy who also shook it.
Turning away from the three, he waved his hand for his son to join them. When Zain did, he placed a hand on his shoulder and presented the boy to the group.

"This is my son, Zain." He introduced.

Zain waved awkwardly, then reached a hand out in an offer to shake. When Jason accepted the hand, he smiled awkwardly. "It's good to finally meet you." He said, his eyes glancing between his father and the American before him. "I've um, heard a bit about you."

Salim, Jason noted, seemed to shift uncomfortably. Jason raised a brow. "All good things, I hope?" he teased with a wink at Salim. He noticed that Salim seemed embarrassed, briefly, before catching his eyes and returning the teasing grin. Jason felt something inside him pulse, their familiarity from down in the temple was not completely gone, it seemed.

Zain nodded in confirmation. "All good things." He looked at his father, then down at his watch. "I'm sorry dad," he seemed to shrink in on himself as he looked up at Salim. "But we need to be there in ten.."

Jason was completely unprepared for the way his stomach twisted as he heard the words. He had just seen Salim again, and now he was leaving again. He chest hurt and he felt the cold fingers of anxiety touch the edge of his mind. He did now want Salim to leave. He caught the others eye and opened his mouth to say something. His words escaped him, and as he scrambled his mind to find them, Salim spoke.

"Just a moment, Zain." He did not break eye contact with Jason as he touched his son on the shoulder. "Jason, are you here long?"

"He is," his sister chimed, before he could even say anything. "We're here for another week." She glanced at her brother meaningfully, her foot not-so-subtly connecting with his ankle.

Jason jumped. "I, uh, yeah." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the card of the hotel that he was staying at. "Here's where I'm staying- would you like to meet me there sometime," he shifted uncomfortably. "We can, have some coffee… and.. talk?" he inwardly cringed as he heard himself- he sounded like a complete idiot.

Salim smiled warmly and accepted the card. "How does seven sound?"

Before Jason could explain that his sister had booked them to a restaurant for dinner, his sister spoke for him. "He'll be there," she locked eyes with her brother, meaningfully.

Jason felt a grin tug at his lips, he looked at Salim. "It's a date." He resisted the urge to hit himself as he realised just how cringy he had sounded, but Salim did not seem to notice, the man merely smiled, a beautiful blinding smile.

"I shall be there."

X

Jason picked up a cup of tea and carried it to Salim who was sitting on his bed. Given the turn that his holiday had taken, he was glad that he had insisted on not sharing a bedroom with his sister's family. He really did not need Clara and the others eavesdropping on his conversation with Salim.
He passed the cup to Salim who accepted it with a grateful smile and nod. He looked around the room and debated where to sit, he eventually settled on just sitting beside Salim on the bed. Though once he had sat down, he had felt a wave of anxiety, what if he did not want Jason sitting beside him? He inwardly shook his head at his own thoughts, if Salim did not want to be near him, he wouldn't have embraced him in the middle of the café.

"What are you doing in England?" he asked, making small talk.

Salim took a sip of his drink. "I am visiting my Son, his citizenship was approved and he wanted to celebrate with me."

Jason nodded and fingered the rim of his mug. "He seems like a nice boy." He took a sip of his drink, trying to find words. He did not even feel like he needed to speak, he was quite comfortable sitting beside the man, but he also felt the urge to speak, he had things that he needed to say to Salim. "I'm glad that you got back to him. A memory flashed before his eyes, a memory of him shaking Salim's hand, telling him to wish Zain a happy birthday.

Salim smiled. "I am glad that I was able to get back to him." He looked to Jason. "You seem to be doing well?"

Jason nodded. "My sister helps me keep my head on straight." He took another sip of his drink, the hot liquid warming his body.

Silence took the pair for some time. The pair seemed to be stuck at finding what to say next. The silence was almost maddening, each of the men nursing their drink and running their fingers against the mug. Jason scanned through all of the things that he could say, but struggled to find what he could say, there was so much and equally nothing that he could say.

"Are you still a soldier?" Salim asked before drinking some of his tea.

Jason snorted. "Nah," he shook his head. "After meeting you, I couldn't stomach being in the military- the chances of having to gun you down were too high for my liking." Upon realising that he had just expressed something potentially embarrassing, he ducked his head, not willing to look at the other man.

"Jason-"

"I'm sorry," Jason interrupted, not lifting his head. "You probably didn't want to hear that." He turned his head away, then jumped as the other man's hand took his cheek and gently turned his head to look at him. His dark eyes were filled with warmth as he looked at Jason.

"Thank you for telling me." He pulled his hand away and Jason instantly missed the warmth. "Over our time, both our opinions changed." He mused. "I think we both had profound impacts on each other." He turned his head and stared at the wall as if unable to look at Jason, or lost in his thoughts, or perhaps both.

"What effect did I have on you?" Jason could not imagine having any sort of lasting effect on anyone. He was just a sexually confused, once bigoted Jarhead from the south. There was nothing special or profound about him. He watched as Salim fingered his mug, his jaw moving as he seemed to process what he was going to say. He then put his mug down on the floor, a distance away from their feet.

Salim turned to him. "You showed me that not all American's are awful people." he said quietly his eyes moving as he sorted through his thoughts. "As we bonded, I learned something about myself as well," his eyes glanced down at Jason's lips briefly, and had Jason not been paying attention, he would have missed it, but he caught it.

"What did a fucked up hillbilly like myself teach you?" Jason laughed, it was meant to be joking, he did not intend how bitter his words sounded.

Salim's lips tightened and he suddenly reached up and clutched at Jason's face, his eyes were intense. "Don't say such things about yourself Jason."

Jason was glad that his mug was empty as it fell from his lap and onto the floor. He felt his hands tremble as Salim stared at him. His fingers twitched and he felt the urge to flee under the intense stare of the other man. Salim's dark eyes were fiery, and the heat from his fingers was scorching. Jason's anxiety nagged, begged him to flee, but Jason could not control his body, he stayed, rooted to the spot under the intense gaze.

"Why?" he breathed. He felt Salim's hands tremble.

"You are an amazing person, Jason."

Neither are quite sure who moved first, but one moment they were looking at each other, and the next they were pressed against each other. Their arms clutching at the other, pulling them as close as they could. What closeness that could not be created by their clutching, was made up for by their lips. They pushed against each other, needy, pulsing, urging.

Perfect.

X

Jason woke to the sound of a knock against his door. Opening his eyes he groaned as light beams breaking in from the curtains hit him. With a groan he buried his head in the crook of his bed companions shoulder. He felt the arm that was wrapped around him shift and fingers brushed against his shoulder. The person beside him shifted and he felt lips brush against his ear. He smiled and kissed the other's shoulder.

"Someone is at your door." Salim whispered, his lips trailing down to Jason's neck.

Jason groaned. "I don't want to get up." He complained, then lifted his head up. "Who is it?!" he shouted out, sending Salim an apologetic smile as he flinched from the pitch of his voice. He nipped at Salim's neck and sucked, in an attempt to make it up to him. Salim groaned and shifted, causing Jason to gasp as they brushed against each other.

"Jason Alan Kolchek!" Came the shrill voice of his sister. "Open the door!" she whined. "I want to know how your date went!" she twisted at the doorknob, growling as the door refused to budge. "Come ooooon!" the sound of her foot stomping could be heard.

"It went quite well." Salim replied, causing Jason to let out a bark of laughter.

"Oh… Oh! Oh, I'm soooo sorry! Umm…. I'll leave you be!" Jason laughed at the sound of her retreating footsteps.

"I am sorry," Salim said, looking down at Jason. "I hope that I did not overstep-"

Jason cut him off with a kiss. "Please, keep overstepping," he chuckled and gave another kiss. "as long as I can keep kissing you, overstep every boundary- that's an order, Soldier!"

Salim chuckled, his eyes glittering. "I shall endeavour to do my best, Sir." He put emphasis on his words with a thrust of his hips.

Jason grinned and pulled Salim down for a kiss.

A/N: I hope that you liked it! Let me know!