Author's Note: Alright, so I've shipped Slider and Jackie for ages (as in, since I was a nerdy 9-year-old in 2004) and they seem to be a rarepair in this fandom, so I wanted to indulge and write a one-shot. It's domestic fluff with very little plot and minimal editing. I got the idea and just wanted to get it out of my head. With that being said, I hope you enjoy it anyway.
It didn't matter that he'd been living on earth part-time for almost a year- Slider was uncomfortable. He was uncomfortable with the people, with the mechanic job he worked just to blend in, and with the noise. God, the noise. Boston wasn't nearly as busy as New York, but cabs still honked and whizzed by, crowds of people chattered constantly as he walked down the street, and the subway made a horrible noise both when it stopped and when it dashed through the underground tunnels.
He was currently in another noisy situation- a crowded bar with his coworkers, who laughed obnoxiously and nudged him constantly. He was supposed to be having fun, but nothing about this situation was fun to him. He just wanted to go home, change into his pajamas, and cuddle with Jackie. The situation would be a lot more comfortable if she were there- she'd carry the conversation for him, gently squeeze his knee when she noticed his social discomfort, make an excuse for them to go home when he quietly told her he'd had enough.
"Hey, man! Wanna do some pull tabs? You can win big money, baby!" His coworker Rico, a young hispanic man who was his self-proclaimed best friend, wrapped his arm around him.
"Oh. Um, no thanks." He'd gone gambling with Jackie, Matt, and Inez before, and he'd quickly concluded that it was just a way to lose a lot of money very quickly.
"C'mon, man! If you win something, you can get the missus a gift!"
Slider smiled a little. His fiancee did like gifts.
"Alright, but just one." He fished out his wallet and quickly came to a horrible realization- he hadn't swapped his snelfus out for american earth currency before he'd left for work that morning. Fortunately his drinks were on a tab paid for by his boss.
"What's that? Monopoly money?" Stevie, another coworker, peeked over his shoulder.
"Um… yeah." Slider quickly tucked the wallet away, mortified.
"I know we don't get paid that much, but we sure make better than that!" Rico laughed boisterously. Slider laughed along, albeit nervously.
"I was… um, playing with my goddaughter and she was running this coffee shop or something, so I put some fake money in my wallet to make things more realistic for her." Yeah, that's good. I sure can think on my feet.
"It looks like you gave the kid your actual money and she replaced it!" Stevie sniggered.
"Haha, yeah. Something like that." He stood up, deciding he was at his social limit for the night. "I'll… see you guys tomorrow."
"Alright, but don't go trying to sneak back home after work again. We're going bowling!" Rico wrapped his arm around him again.
"I won't." He muttered, breaking away and rushing out onto the busy Boston street. It was October so there was a chill in the air. A welcome chill after being trapped in such a stuffy place. Slider went through the motions he knew all too well in order to get home- walk two blocks then take the red line to Park Street. He was about to take a taxi but remembered his wallet. He sure didn't want to get involved with an angry cabbie again. It had happened once, when he was trying to meet Jackie at her dorm. He'd been short three dollars and the guy probably would've pulverized him if she hadn't rushed out and paid the difference.
After enduring the screeching and squeaking of the subway, he arrived home at last. Home was a small apartment building with no elevator and bad street parking. Not that he or Jackie owned a car. It wasn't like they were struggling financially, but with the taxis and subway system, it just wasn't a priority. Despite the apartment building itself being pretty old and musty, their actual apartment was modern. At least, as modern as they could make it with cheap Goodwill furniture. Jackie had not been a fan of getting second-hand furniture, but she needed a place to stay immediately after graduation and she wasn't about to move back in with her parents.
She was sitting on the worn black leather loveseat when he walked in the door, a bowl of popcorn mixed with Milk Duds in front of her on the equally worn coffee table. She was watching one of her favorite earth reality shows- the one about the spoiled rich sisters who yelled at each other and cried when their dad wouldn't buy them a new car.
"Hey! How'd it go?" She turned to smile at him as he hung his leather jacket up in the front closet. He sighed and shook his head. The smile instantly fell from her face and she stood up, putting her reality TV binge on hold. Slider walked over and plopped down on the couch, imploring her to sit back down. She did, immediately squeezing his knee.
"Okay, it wasn't that bad." He admitted, "But I still wish you'd been there. Everyone likes to talk so much and I barely said anything."
"That's okay. There's nothing wrong with being quiet."
"Yes there is. I should have tons of friends here by now. But all I have is you, Matt, and Inez." He sighed.
"And Lauren." She reminded him.
"Jax, she's two."
"But she adores you. So let's count her anyway."
"Okay. You're right." He smiled a little and she rested her head on his shoulder. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer, her coconut-scented shampoo serving as a comfort.
"...Sly?"
"Yeah?" He closed his eyes.
"It is about time we head back to Cyberspace for a while." She gently pulled away in order to look at him.
"How long is 'a while'?"
"Well, I have some vacation days saved up. Three week's worth, I think. I know time works differently, though, so that would be roughly…" She trailed off.
"Jax, that's about two cyber months. I'm not going to make you do that." He laughed lightly.
"But I want to." She retorted, "Besides, we still need to tell your dad about this." She flashed her new engagement ring, one he'd saved up for over a period of four months. It didn't have the biggest diamond and he'd been a little worried that Jackie would reject it, and by extension, him, but she wasn't that big of a diva. Besides, they'd been together for almost eight years, through thick and thin, and she'd even said that she would accept a Ring Pop as long as it was from him.
"Only if you're sure." He took her face in his hands.
"I'm sure." She whispered. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments before he pressed his lips to hers,gently biting her lower lip. They parted only when breathing became a necessity, but their foreheads remained pressed together.
"I love you." He whispered, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb.
"I love you too." She whispered back, running her fingers through his brown hair.
He captured her lips again and she leaned back, pulling him on top of her.
"What?" She said innocently when he raised an eyebrow.
"You know what." He breathed, running a hand up the side of her thigh.
They kissed again, but he soon released her lips in order to kiss her neck. That always drove her crazy, and he knew it. She turned her head to the side with a moan, her grip on his hair tightening.
"We should go to bed." She whispered after several kisses landed on her collarbone.
"Oh yeah?" He gave her the mischievous smile he knew she loved.
"Please." She pleaded. His smile remained as he stood up and then scooped her up in his arms. He felt much better.
Closing author's note: I may rewrite/edit this at some point as well as start a multi-chapter fic based on it. I have five other WIPs right now, though, so I don't want to add another fic to my pile at the moment. But yeah. :)