*The next day, Vivian*
As Vivian climbed out of Skye's borrowed car with her son Jack pulled into his space in his challenger. Seeing him back threw out all sorts of emotions for her, but the biggest one was hope, hope that he still wasn't the way he was when he left. She hoped that day was a fluke, but the second he climbed out his car she knew it was not. His aura was still there, just dampened down, and his eyes just barely had the smallest flicker of something. He wasn't wearing an all black suit but instead had a white dress shirt and his suit jacket was tossed over his left shoulder.
As he was reaching for his bag he spotted her and paused straightening up. He gave her a smirk that seemed forced, but his eyes flickered briefly that showed he was happy to see her. But, that small light flickered right back out in an instant. "It's like there are two parts of him. One side is the son of the Fox and the other is Jackson, and Jackson is trying so hard to come out. But the other part of him normally has control, Jackson had it for awhile, but something happened that night two weeks ago. Now the son of the Fox is back in control, but Jackson seems to be fighting back. Maybe I can help, but I know someone who definitely will."
That someone was her mischievous son, and her son just spotted Jack. with a cry of "Mr. Jack!" her son was off and Jack was alerted to the impending missile strike. Jack tossed his suit jacket onto the roof of his car before stooping down and catching Nick right as he launched. Jack then lifted him up and brought him into a hug while saying, "I missed you too little one. Japan was boring, all work and no play."
Nick started excitedly jabbering about everything Jack had missed in the last two weeks and Jack listened intently as he made his way over to her. Seeing Jack carry her son while listening instead of nodding along did all sorts of things to her. He truly would make an amazing father someday, and she more and more lately wished it would be for her son.
Nick being in proximity was appearing to do wonders for Jack as his eyes seemed to flicker more and more. His movements also seemed to be more natural and less robotic and practiced as he approached. Once Jack arrived in front of her he set Nick down and gave her a half smile before gesturing to Skye's car and saying, "Hey Vivian. Still don't have a vehicle of your own?"
Vivian shook her head in the negative. "Finding a vehicle is turning out to be a hassle. Hard no's or overcharges all around and that's just when I find a vehicle I like."
When she said a vehicle she liked, Vivian's eyes couldn't help going to Jack's chevelle and he took notice. "Ya like her? I hardly drive her anymore, she was really more of an impulse buy. Then I dumped a ton of money in her thinking I would drive her a ton, which I don't. In fact it's been over a year since she was really driven..so wanna take her for a spin? We can turn it into a whole thing."
The idea excited Nick who started jumping up and down going, "come on mom lets do it! Can we do it!?"
Jack chuckled at her excitable kid and Vivian decided it wasn't a bad idea. "Okay, why not? But what's this about turning it into a whole thing?"
Jack's response was to shrug. "I dunno, I'll plan on the fly. Let me toss my bag in my apartment and grab the keys, I'll be right back."
As Jack made his way to the elevator he decided something. He didn't know what he was thinking. "What am I doing!? I literally just volunteered to be in close proximity to the one person who seems to be able to get past my walls with ease! Not to mention that particular person is now aware of the real side of you and has questions and concerns! Oh and you happen to have recently discovered you're in love with that particular person as well you damn fool! This might end poorly…but I made my bed."
"I made my bed alright." Jack muttered as he opened up his apartment and chucked his bag onto his couch. He then went to his key hooks and snagged the pair for the chevelle before exiting his apartment and locking it back up. He then jumped in the elevator and took it down to the garage rejoining Vivian and Nick.
Jack tossed the keys to Vivian and said, "I call shotgun!" which elicited a giggle from Nick and a shake of the head out of amusement from Vivian. They then made their way over to the chevelle and Jack gave some advice about the car. "Okay so I had this vehicle heavily modified, it's got modern internals, it's got reinforced everything, and a really powerful engine. It goes from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds so I recommend you drive with a light foot."
Vivian in fact did not drive with a light foot. The second the opportunity presented itself Vivian gave him an evil grin and then floored it. She quickly proved to him that she could have easily made it as a street racer as she tore through the streets. Jack as he clung on for dear life had to admit that she wasn't being reckless, just fast as she still stopped for lights, used her turn signals, and didn't cut anyone off.
Jack also realized she could probably give him a run for his money if they ever decided to race. Which he thought might be a fun date idea, in the reality where dating her was possible. "So this is how I drive, wonder who taught her? Also, being the driver is fun. Passenger? Terrifying."
Terrifying to him maybe, but little Nick was having a blast in the backseat whooping at hollering. He was also occasionally pointing and laughing at Jack when he put on a death grip from a turn that was definitely more like a drift. Jack between bouts of terror suggested dinner by one of his more favored parks and then a walk in said park and they reached the destination in record time.
Jack got out of the passenger seat like it was on fire and placed his feet on solid ground with a sigh of relief that had his present company giggling. Nick saying, "That wasn't so bad Mr. Jack! It was fun!"
Jack let out a breathless, "sure" before getting his heart rate back in check and then saying normally, "you know Vivian, I have certifications in evasive and defensive driving, and you drive just like me. Which by the way is a little terrifying when the passenger, and unprepared for said driving. So who the heck taught you to drive like that?"
Vivian smirked at him and replied,"Skye of course. Her dad was part of a few racing scenes and he taught her and me how to drive. Skye then taught me a few more tricks that she learned on her own. She still drag races from time to time herself but she works on a crew during the season mostly."
Jack let out a "huh, neat." Before leading them into the restaurant with a wave of his hand. The movement he was in there he scanned the entire crowd with a methodical eye. Potential threats, exits, firing angles, cover, and best seating that let him watch the most people and doors while also keeping them out of view from a sniper were the things he analyzed. His process did not go unnoticed by Vivian and neither did the way he spoke to the hostess. He spoke in a neutral yet commanding tone the exact table he wished to be seated at and the hostess obliged with an odd face.
Jack then pulled out chairs for her and her son letting them sit before taking his place with the wall at his back. He then gave one more methodical scan before focusing in on their waitress who he analyzed with a critical eye. After his assessment he addressed the waitress with a slightly kinder tone ordering a whiskey and coke. The look Vivian gave him for that one did not escape him.
The entire dinner Jack was like the first time they had met, quiet and giving short answers when spoken to preferring to just listen. He rarely made direct eye contact with Vivian or Nick, preferring to focus behind them like at any time an assassin might pop out to attack them. He was doing better from his state two weeks ago but not much, he was more or less in the middle ground.
When the dinner concluded Jack paid for them all and tipped large before exiting and heading to the park. They walked around for a bit before Vivian decided it was time for them to chat, having formulated how she wanted to handle it. She sent her son off to play on a nearby swing set before taking a seat on a bench facing the swings. She then patted the seat next to her and said, "Hey can we talk?"
This caused Jack to stiffen up with terror and he let out and "oh-oh."
Vivian giggled at the reaction and said, "why oh-oh?"
Jack's reply was quick, "because whenever my mother said that and in that tone to my father he either was in trouble or the conversation was about to be serious."
Vivian shook her head at that and said, "well, it is a sort of serious talk we need to have I guess. So please, sit."
She again patted the empty spot on the bench next to her and Jack let out a sigh before taking it. He already knew what the talk was going to be about, and he was not looking forward to it. But, he had no choice in the matter and he knew there was no way he could lie to her. "Okay, what's up?"
Vivian had been debating on how she should approach the conversation and decided it was best to just rip the band-aid off. "Are you okay? You have been acting so different, acting like you did in your self described lowest point. You also seem to be drinking a lot, to the extent I could probably smell the alcohol on your breath from half a mile off. And it's just so weird to me because it started right after you spent the whole day with me and Nicholas and you seemed to be enjoying yourself a ton! So what happened? Was it all an act or…."
Vivian's talking quickly turned to rambling and when she asked if that day he had spent with them was an act his eyes widened and he quickly cut her off. "No! No it was not an act at all, that was one of the best days of my life if I am honest."
Vivian nodded at his vehement statement and then replied softly, "then what is it?"
Jack let out a long sigh at that and tried to think about how he could both lie to her and tell the truth. After a few moments an inclining of a thought entered his head and he went with it before it was even fully formulated. "I think..I think this state is because of that day, but not in the way you think. I think it...it reminded me of everything I did not have growing up. Parents, a stable childhood, scratch that an actual childhood, friends and a home to grow in. It reminded me of everything I don't have now, a family extended or otherwise, people that love me…and it reminded me of everything I will probably never have."
Vivian had a feeling there was more to the last part of his statement, so she finished it. "Like a family of your own."
Jack nodded once as he leaned forward and set his gaze forward. "Yeah, a family of my own. So feeling all of those things, truly and all at once made me realize why I always used to act like a machine. It reminded me of why I always drink myself damn near stupid. Because it was easier to bury it and to drown it, to not think about it because when I do it gives me thoughts I don't like, thoughts I don't want to have."
Hearing Jack speak so dejectedly broke her heart, but she had to keep pressing. "Why do you think you'll never have a family of your own? I can already tell you you'd make a great father just by how you treat my son."
At the mention of Nick Jack's gaze flicked to him, swinging with glee. He then looked at Vivian and replied, "Because look at me, actually look at me. In front of you is a man who has so much trauma at such a young age that it has severely stunted his growth emotionally. In front of you is a man who is a paranoid alcoholic who is not sure if he can even love properly since he hardly grasps certain emotions and even more rarely expresses any. In front of you is a man that spent the majority of his fractured childhood turning himself into a weapon that just so happened to be a ticking time bomb. So much so that he volunteered to go fight overseas and he could shred all the checks he earns doing it because hes filthy fuckin rich. But he still goes overseas because he knows if he doesn't he's going to go off and he's terrified of what could happen if he does. In front of you is a man who you are scared of when the mask he wears comes down and the real him steps into the light. In front of you is a machine with a mask of a man and he's not even sure if all the experiences you've had with him were him faking or actually expressing true emotions because there's no way he could tell if they were actually real. So no, I don't think I will ever have a family of my own and it's not because someone won't love me..it's because I am not worth someone trying and failing to glue me back together, or exploding in their face. It's because I don't think I'll be able to properly love them back."
Vivian sat there in shock and disbelief at Jack's statement, and in that pause Jack slipped fully back behind his mask as his aura came back and that tiny flicker she saw in his eyes snuffed out. Jack briskly stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets deciding he wanted to be alone at the moment, his lash marks were starting to itch and one of the few emotions he knew very well was starting to boil over.
"Keep the keys Vivian, the car is yours. I don't drive her and I know you'll treat her right. We'll do the paperwork another day but for now I feel like being alone. So I am going to leave, don't worry, I have a place close by that I own and I won't to anything dumb…and no you didn't do anything wrong, and no you can't stop me, I just need to get busy with something and brood. We can talk tomorrow, I plan on attending the rooftop party if you want to talk more then." Jack said quickly and then at a brisk pace made his way towards Nick.
Nick saw him coming and jumped off the swing he was riding to intercept, and Jack intercepted his launch. Nick quickly noticed something was wrong and with concern said, "Is everything okay Mr. Jack?"
Jack shook his head and replied. "No, not at the moment, little one. I need to go and be alone for a little bit, work with my hands on a few things. And just so you know it's nothing your mother did or you, it's something I did to myself. I'm in my own head. I'll make sure to see you tomorrow, for now go hug your mom and then enjoy her new car."
With that Jack tussled Nick's hair and made his way towards the exit. Nick watched him go and then scampered over to his mom launching into a hug. "Is he going to be okay?"
Vivian hugged her son back and as she watched Jack's retreating form she replied with determination, "Oh I am going to make sure of it sweetie."