When Jack's phone rings he scrabbles to answer it, searching through the hills and valleys of his bedsheets, and the small library of kinky books on his bed. He finds it under The Story of O and frowns.
It's Tooth. Pitch is with his daughter; Jack should've known it wouldn't be him. Another second, a sigh, and then,
"Hi, Tooth."
"Jack! It's so good to hear you."
"Uh-huh. How's sunny old England?"
"Raining," she says with a laugh. There's an awkward pause. "How are you doing, Jack?"
"Things are okay." He wonders what she wants. Tooth works so much that she rarely has time for something as simple as a chat. "I have a new boyfriend."
"Oh?" A note of surprise in her voice.
"He's - a bit older. I met him through Ben. At Dad's last fundraiser."
"That's great, Jack. Maybe I can meet him next time I'm home. Got to make sure he's good enough for my little brother." Her voice is soft, teasing, but Jack rolls his eyes at the idea of her vetting his boyfriend - not that he'd ever want Pitch to know he called him that. Jack sees his sister maybe once a year, and he doesn't mind that; but shared blood and one week a year doesn't give her the right to judge his life.
He tells himself that she's just looking out for him, but that doesn't shift the resentment sitting heavy in his gut.
He rolls his eyes at himself, too.
"So what's with the unexpected call?"
"I was thinking about coming home for your birthday. Getting North and Bunny to come home too. Having a bit of a family reunions. Don't you think it'll be fun?"
His birthday. The day of their mother's death. The latter has always been much more important than the former. Not that Jack minds, really – it is more important, of course it is. Still, he was glad when his siblings went their separate ways and he got to enjoy his birthdays with his friends instead.
He ends up agreeing because what else can he do? Tooth says it might be fun and who knows, she might even be right.
After all, Christmas is a time of miracles.
Jamie and Kal commiserate with him. They've been to several of Jack's family birthday gatherings. At one, everyone sat in silence. The second was much the same, only the silence was broken to suggest they go to the graveyard.
"Go out for dinner with them, and then come here," Kal suggests. They're lounging on Kal and Jamie's sofa, an empty box of doughnuts and lukewarm Big Gulps on the coffee table. The menu screen of Pacific Rim plays for the fiftieth time in the background. "Say we've made plans. That way you're doing the family obligation thing, but you've got a reason to book when things get too depressing."
"We have the annual Die Hard marathon after all," Jamie says with a grin. "You can't miss that."
"It's the social event of the season," Jack agrees, and sighs, feeling like a choking weight has been lifted off his shoulders. With an epic sigh of relief, he slouches back onto the sofa, and only then realises that he's been sat rigid as a fence post. But then, his family has always had that effect on him; Jamie and Kal have always been able to counter it.
"And what about his royal highness Pitch?" Kal asks with a raised eyebrow. He reaches for his Big Gulp and then winces at the taste of watered-down, room-temperature Coke. "What are his plans got your birthday?"
Jack feels his cheeks heat and wills the blush away. There are a lot of things Jack hasn't shared with his friends about his relationship with Pitch. Mostly because he doesn't know how to; they've only just started exploring this and he'd like to be surer of his footing before he starts putting it into words. As for his birthday, so far the only thing that Pitch said about it was that he will be getting Jack a very special present. He said it in the deep, smooth voice that makes Jack's knees weak and his heart race and his cock hard. Whatever Pitch is planning, it's going to be his own very special brand of fun.
"I don't know yet," he says, truthfully. "It's a month away, and we've not been dating that long. It's not like we're serious."
"Uh-huh." Kal knows - Jamie too - that Jack's bluffing. They haven't been dating that long, but it's not like any other relationship Jack's ever had. As far as Kal and Jamie are concerned, the jury's still out on whether he's head-over-heels or just in over his head.
Jack wonders sometimes too.
"We're probably just going to have a meal," Jack says, and then sits forward to lean against Kal and wink at him. "And then have sex. Mind-blowingly amazing sex. Like-"
"So you've told us, repeatedly," Kal says, turning on the Wii and throwing a controller at Jack. "It's not cool to brag when you're the only one getting any."
"Jealous?"
"Yes," Kal says and grins at him. "But you should see the girl I have a date with next Friday. She's an A student with the sweetest smile-"
"You're as bad as each other," Jamie groans and snatches up a third controller. "Let's concentrate on the important things, okay? Like how much you both suck at Mario Kart."
"Oh it is on," Jack says, and sets about defending his title of all-time Mario Kart champion of the apartment.
Things might always be awkward and painful with his family, he might still be settling into his relationship with Pitch, but his friendships with Kal and Jamie are his bedrock.
That doesn't mean he'll give them any quarter when it comes to kicking their asses.