Introducing: Intermissions!
Hey Horsemen, Julia here. After writing the previous chapter, I had an intense urge to write some good ol' face sucking. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly fit with the plot. This is when I came up with the idea of an intermission: a break from the action with a (fabulous) side show. This chapter is basically what I would put next if I didn't care about logical stories or plots. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Daniel rested his head peacefully on Jack's shoulder, toeing the edge of consciousness. He could hear hushed voices around him, but he tuned them out to focus on the happiness at hand. When was the last time he had been truly relaxed? He couldn't come up with a sufficient answer, and banished the thought from his mind.
Meanwhile, Jack and Henley engaged in an intense, though whispered, discussion.
"Jack, I'm telling you. I've never seen him like this before in my life. You can't be shy anymore. For fuck's sake, Jack, kiss the man!"
Before Jack was able to stammer out a response, Merritt slid back into his seat. "You gotta, kiss de girl," he sang in an impressive imitation of the Disney character. His expression turned serious as he looked at Jack. "Seriously though, kid, my teeth hurt from all the sweetness we have going on here - first the donuts, now this? Couldn't you go be sweet somewhere else?"
Henley's eyes lit up. "Somewhere else, perfect! Jack, you and Daniel are going for a walk. Now." Before Jack could protest, Henley reached across the table to gently shake Daniel's shoulder.
Daniel blinked slowly as the world came back into focus. He mumbled incoherently. Henley looked meaningfully at Jack.
"Ah - Hey, Daniel," he mumbled. "Let's go for a walk, yeah? Some cool air will wake you up in no time." Taking Daniel's hand, he stood up. Daniel followed soon after, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Alright," he agreed. The two, still hand in hand, exited through the restaurant's door.
Merritt massaged his temples. "Fucking finally," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Henley agreed.
Jack walked slowly through the quiet streets, heart hammering in his chest. Tendrils of orange reached across the horizon as the sky overhead tentatively turned to grey. The couple was silent, their firmly clasped hands communicating all that needed to be said. Almost three blocks from the restaurant, Daniel stopped abruptly.
"Daniel?" Jack asked, concern seeping into his voice. "Is something wrong?"
Exhaustion had erased any remaining traces of Daniel's subtlety, and he was tired of Jack's adorable-yet-infuriating shyness. His eyes mapped every detail of Jack's face, including the still-present splashes of powdered sugar.
"Why are we not making out?"
Jack blinked. "Ah…" Daniel opted not to let him finish. He released Jack's hand and instead grabbed his waist, guiding Jack's back to the brick wall beside them. Daniel leaned in until their foreheads touched. "Well?" he asked.
Jack snapped out of his stupor, and in a flash his lips were on Daniel's. Moving one hand to the back of the taller man's neck, he deepened the kiss. With his other hand he dug his fingers into the small of Daniel's back. Daniel rejoiced at Jack's sudden turn to action. He teased Jack's lower lip gently before pulling away.
"Mmm," he mumbled. "You taste like powdered sugar."
Jack grinned. "You know," he began, "there's a very good reason for that."
"You can tell me some other time," Daniel replied, before resuming the kiss.
In an ironic twist of fate, the only thought drifting through the mind of either man was "Finally."
Next chapter will resume with a sleepy Daniel and a mysterious man in sunglasses; the events of this intermission will have never happened.
See you tomorrow!
- Julia