I declare there will be joy ✨

“oh awesome! What books do you read?”

Robby stood in the doorway much longer than he needed to, his bag strap cutting into his shoulder as he just… breathed it in. The smell of the place. The low murmur of some game coming from another room. The fact that he was here at all.

It all felt comically familiar and yet so strange. Like he was coming back to a house that used to belong to a version of him that he had buried weeks ago.

He dropped his keys into the little bowl on the counter, noticing a different, awfully familiar pair already stuck in there. The sigh that started to leave him, got stuck right in the back of his throat as he slowly but surely followed the light down the hall.

Jack was in his bed.

****************************************************

Jack knew that the flowers were practically rotting. The white tulips had been sitting in a vase on his kitchen counter for around 9 days now, and the petals were slowly becoming droopy, some even dropping, and the stems were losing its shape and becoming mushy. He knew they had to go. Yet, he had no intention of actually following through with that.

The thing is, those were flowers Robby had gotten him for their first date. Sure, they had been dancing around the idea of them being together for years at this point, but the flowers reminded Jack of how official it became. Additionally, Robby was the first ever partner of Jacks to get him flowers. He hadn’t been with many men in the past, most being fleeting relationships that had to stay hidden due to DADT. When he was with his wife, he was always showering her with flowers which he never minded and in fact enjoyed doing.

This time however, he was the one getting the flowers — something that for some reason lit a small fire in Jacks chest, keeping him all warm and fuzzy. They are 9 days old, and this thing with him and Robby is extremely new, but Jack, deep in his heart, knows that it’s going to last. He doesn’t want to part with an item that reminds him of how loving and caring Robby is or holds memories of their first ever date. He is dreading the day that he can no longer ignore the smell coming from the flowers or the water that is becoming more and more opaque by the day.

Throwing them out would just be criminal. Maybe he could let them decompose outside, but he would also have to pass his little garden that will hold the decomposing flowers every day. Not exactly a sight he wants to see constantly.

So, instead of truly figuring out a solution, he snaps out of his thoughts, finishes packing his work bag, and walks out of his house, deliberately ignoring the flowers.

————————————————————————

Thank god it was a quiet shift because Jack feels dead on his feet. His prosthetic has been digging into his leg, and his patience is wearing extremely thin. Some days just are like that, and he always hates how much he lets it get to him.

Walking home, he can’t stop thinking about he is just going to collapse into bed and let himself recharge. Part of him wishes he had seen Robby at handoff, but the other man has the day off. Maybe I should go see him, Jack thinks. Or maybe it’s too soon to do that.. I mean we’ve been friends for years though.

His mind wanders back to Robby, just like it has been doing for the last few days. If he is given the chance to relax and take time for himself, he is constantly thinking of the other man. Thinking about how his hand felt in Jacks during their first date, thinking about how Robby had softly kissed Jack, thinking about Robby’s small smile when Jack had asked him out.

His thoughts carry him all the way home as he sluggishly inserts his key, wishing Robby was here so he could cuddle up next to him and fall asleep like he did 2 days ago when Robby stayed the night.

Once he is inside, he drops his bag, toes his shoes off, and makes his way to the kitchen for a quick bite before dozing off. He immediately stops once he takes in the sight of a familiar tall, brown haired man in his kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” Jack asks a little sharper then intended, his exhaustion clearly catching up to him.

Robby jumps in place, quickly turning around from his spot near the counter to look at Jack.

“Shit…” Robby starts, one hand coming up rub the back of his neck while the other stays behind his back. “ Okay don’t freak out. I slept here last night while you were at work.”

Ah, so it wouldn’t be weird if I were to do that, Jack thinks, confirming his earlier train of thought during his walk home.

“No, no it’s okay, just shocked me is all,” Jack replies as he makes his way over to Robby to give him a small kiss. Before he is able to kiss the other man, he stops and takes in the fact that Robby’s hands are behind his back.

“What you got back there, huh?” Jack teasingly asks.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Robby says disappointingly as he reveals what he was hiding. Before Robby can say anything more, Jack breath catches as he looks as the dark brown frame Robby is holding my. He isn’t looking at the frame but instead the flattened, dried white tulips that the frame holds. That fucker, he thinks.

His head whips to the kitchen counter to see the vase gone and the counter cleared. He apparently had missed it during his sleepy daze when he walked in.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to keep them, I am just kind of assuming based on how disgusting they looked when I walked in and the fact that you hate anything that isn’t clean,” Robby rambles.

Instead of replying, Jack slowly takes the frame out of Robby’s hands and places it on the counter with a click.

“You hate it don’t you? I can-“ Robby starts, insecurity creeping into his voice. Before he can finish though, Jack is grabbing Robby by the shoulders and bringing him down for a heated kiss.

Once they break for air, both of them smiling widely, Jack says “you’re such a sap,” in a voice that comes out much fonder then he intended it to.