Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.

Warning: Some M/M kissing between Xander/Jack

Chapter 8

Xander's confusion over the words that Jack said to him was so bad that he had asked Carter about them, she turned red in the face and started to cough and it was the same with Daniel Jackson, though he seemed more willing to aid him on his quest to find out what Jack told him.

He and Teal'c looked on the Tau'ri internet for anything regarding these words and it was unique, their response to the websites they found varied from curiosity to shock and it was even odder when General Hammond asked them why they were looking at it, they had no answer.

Teal'c said, "Brother, I have no idea what is going to happen but remember; make sure this is what both of you want."

Xander nodded as Jack came down and said, "Hey kiddo, you ready to go?"

"Yes I am Jack," Xander said, still unsure about things.

This would be one of Xander's first visits to the surface; he looked around and said, "O'Neill, how long shall we be at your cabin?"

Jack grinned and said, "The whole weekend, I want to show you more of the world," he looked over at Xander and thought, 'I'm so going to convince Xander to get that god awful mark removed, we couldn't really get Teal'c to remove his as it was made out of molten gold poured into his skin,' and he shuddered, 'That had to hurt but no way did Xander have to wear his symbol anymore.'

"Okay Xander," Jack said, "Now, you have your cover story in case anyone asks you questions right? And remember, call me Jack."

"Yes, I am from Canada," Xander said, "A city called Toronto, is this correct?"

"Yeah," Jack grinned, "You got it buddy."

Xander watched the trees pass by; the trees looked similar to Chulak. He looked at Jack, who turned on the radio and turned on some music.

As Jack stopped at some sort of store, Xander waited patiently in the car while Jack shopped for something he referred to as 'chips,' Xander sighed; he wished he knew more about the Tau'ri customs. He looked out and waited, he hoped Jack would come out of the store soon.

Jack walked out with bags and Xander wondered what was in the bags, 'Hmm, he said something about 'chips,' did chips really take up five bags?'

"Hey, you ready kiddo?" Jack said as they drove off.

"Yes, I suppose," Xander said quietly, "Jack, why do you refer to me as 'kiddo?' I am older than you by several years."

"But you still got that baby face," Jack said with a glint in his eyes that confused Xander even further, "And, like I said, you should smile more often."

Xander nodded, "I shall endeavour to smile more often Jack."

"Good," Jack said, "I want to see that more often and also; can we talk about the tattoo on your head? I know we can't remove Teal'c's but why are you wearing that symbol anymore? We can remove it.

'Remove it?' Xander thought, 'It was a symbol of enslavement but it was also part of me that made me feel a connection to my father and brother.'

"Well," Jack said, "It's not mandatory but we should definitely discuss it later down the road, alright?"

Xander nodded and said, "Indeed Jack."

After a while, Xander could see Jack's home; it looked nice if somewhat isolated. After they stopped Jack pulled Xander out and let him into the house.

Xander regarded the living room; it looked agreeable, he heard Jack say, "Go ahead and sit down anywhere you want Xander."

As he sat down he saw a remote control, he turned the TV on and watched some sort of battle between two teams of men and they were throwing some sort of object around. He stared, 'Were they at war or was this something else?'

He heard Jack say, "Perfect, the game's on."

"What is this for?" Xander said, "Did these two teams do something to anger each other?"

"No Xander," Jack said, "This is football," and he began to explain the rules and what they were doing. Xander noticed that Jack was slowly inching closer to him and he was uneasy, he had thought about those words and the kisses that Jack had given him and, while they weren't unwelcome, he was unsure of what they meant to Jack.

"Ah, thank you Jack for explaining things to me," Xander said nervously.

Jack put his arm around Xander's neck and said, "Now, about what happened last week Xan. I am sorry if I offended you but Hathor's crazy perfume was making me blurt out things that I usually keep hidden."

"No Jack, there was no offence. I was puzzled by the words so Teal'c and I searched through your internet about those words and what you meant by them, I asked Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson but they did not know how to really answer," as Jack turned red Xander said, "No, I did not use your name."

"Oh," Jack said softly, "And what was their reaction?"

"Carter came back and apologized for her actions, she stated that while she had no problems with people like that but," Xander said, "She told me that your organization frowned upon it. Now Daniel Jackson was far more interested in the Jaffa belief in it and I told him that such pairings are not common but they accepted, the Goa'uld very rarely care what Jaffa do with each other."

Jack sighed with relief and said, "Well, Carter's right; the USAF doesn't exactly like these kind of relationships but George and I we're good friends, he knows about me and, quite frankly, he doesn't care, it doesn't make me any worse as a soldier."

Xander nodded and Jack continued, "But I still have to be careful. But now," Jack said, "I was wondering, do you like me as I liked you Xander?"

"I think I might I like you as you like me," Xander said, "A man like you would be most welcome as a mate eventually, you are brave and a good leader."

Jack smiled and whispered, "Good," as he pulled Xander in for a kiss and smiled as Xander returned it.

They continued kissing for a bit and Jack said, "Let's take it slow Xan, we got the whole weekend and I want to learn everything about you."

"Very well Jack, we shall take it slowly," Xander said as he allowed Jack to hold him. Later, as Jack put in a movie for them to watch Xander asked, "Jack, what movie are we going to observe?"

"Don't worry Xan," Jack said, "It's a good one, you'll like it," as he ran to the kitchen and brought out a large bowl of chips, he passed them to Xander who ate one with a bit of hesitation and smiled, it's saltiness wasn't unpleasant.

Jack patted the couch and said, "Sit down," and put his hand on Xander's neck, rubbing it slightly, causing Xander to relax slightly and move further into Jack's embrace.

They watched the movie and Xander noticed that Jack would try to explain what was going on in the movie but was mostly looking at him, Jack smiled softly as he continued to rub the back of Xander's neck.

Xander looked at Jack and said, "Why do you rub the back of my neck like this?"

"It's to relax you," Jack said with a smile, "Don't you like it Xan?"

"Yes, it is most relaxing," Xander said as Jack held him closer to him.

The movie made no sense to Xander but Jack was right; it was a good movie, most enjoyable.

Jack said, "I'm going to call for pizza, what do you like on it," and then slapped his head and muttered, "For crying out loud! I forgot that Xander has no idea what toppings were!"

He decided to order a pepperoni pizza, that way if Xander didn't like it he could have leftovers.

Xander continued to watch the TV while Jack ordered the pizza, he sat back down and said, "Thirty minutes or it's free," and grinned at Xander's look of confusion.

"So," Jack said, "I saw that Teal'c had a wife on Chulak, did you leave someone behind?" secretly hoping Xander was single by Jaffa standards.

"There was no one who interested me," Xander said honestly, "Though I was sought after as a mate by many men and women but they did not care for me, they wished to use my connections to Teal'c to gain political power for themselves."

Jack winced, 'Poor guy, he couldn't trust anyone not to use him for their own gain, well I won't use him like that,' he thought.

Xander looked at Jack and decided to initiate a kiss this time, he kissed Jack gently on the lips causing Jack to smile and say, "What was that for Xan?"

"I am not certain Jack," Xander said, "All I know was that you wanted it."

Jack was about to kiss him again when the doorbell rang, causing him to curse slightly and held his hand and said, "Hold those thoughts 'kay?" As he ran to the doorbell and heard Jack mutter, "You got some timing you know that?"

Jack came back in holding the pizza box muttering about the timing of some people, Xander looked at the box and said, "I am unsure of this food Jack."

"Doesn't the commissary serve pizza?" Jack asked confused, he was sure it did actually but he could be wrong and it didn't matter as the food, except for the jell-O, sucked.

"I have never seen it before Jack," Xander said as he picked a piece of pizza up and was surprised; the pizza tasted good, almost familiar but it was good.

"Glad you like it Xander, tomorrow we're having steak," Jack said, at Xander's look he added, "I mean, if you want to come back to spend time with me?"

Xander nodded and said, "Very well, though I do not need to be bribed to spend time with you, I like spending time with you."

Jack reached over and kissed Xander again and smiled as Xander's nose crinkled "Sorry, this place used too much garlic in the sauce."

They ate the pizza and Jack told him about himself, Xander liked hearing about Earth as it was an interesting world were as Xander told him about his life on Chulak.

"So Xander," Jack said as they drank the beer he brought out, "Its getting late, why don't you come and sleep with me?"

"You mean to simply sleep or what you suggested last week?" Xander said puzzled.

"Just sleep tonight," Jack said, "Tomorrow, maybe we can do what I suggested."

Xander nodded and thought, 'Why am I so nervous? I have faced armies down in war, I have been in more wars than Jack could ever know but Jack is making me uneasy.'

As they walked upstairs Jack showed him his bed and told him to pick a side and go to sleep, Xander picked the side that he wanted, when Jack looked at him still in his uniform and shook his head and said, "Take your shoes and socks off at least."

Jack slid into the bed and wrapped the blankets around himself, as Xander got under the blankets he was about to go to sleep when Jack wrapped his arms around him and said, "It gets cold at night."

Xander looked around and listened to Jack's breathing and soon fell asleep and for the first time in months his past sins did not bother him.

TBC

A/N: Alright, tomorrow I'll write more about Xander's weekend with Jack. I just wanted to focus on the romance soon and Daniel will come into the trio later, for now it's just Jack/Xander.

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