#ghost chicky

               "Still can't sleep?" Vlad questioned when Jack crossed his path.

               "You know me." Jack cracked a small, tired smile with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "It came in handy when the kids where still babies though. It gave Maddie the chance to sleep through the night while I went to check on them since I was up anyway."

               Vlad tried to keep his face blank, not wanting to give anything away at the mention of Maddie or the children. "Since we're up, how about a drink?" He led the way down the hall to his laboratory.

               "I was surprised when I saw the invitation," Jack said when they entered the laboratory. "We hadn't spoken in twenty years. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real."

               Vlad glanced back at the man, watching as Jack walked around the laboratory to take in everything and examine some of his projects. He got out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey, pouring a small amount into each glass. "I couldn't very well hold a reunion party without inviting you, now could I?" Vlad turned around, holding out one glass to Jack.

               Taking the glass, Jack turned it about, swirling the liquor. Then the corner of his mouth curled, and amusement danced in her blue eyes. "This makes me think back to our college days. Remember? The night of your twenty-first birthday, we went down the nearest liquor store and bought some alcohol. We got so drunk that night."

               Vlad sipped at his whiskey, and his mouth stretched into a small smile as he recalled the memory. Or what he could of the drunken night. They, at least, stayed in their room the whole night, so any crazy antics they got up to while drunk wasn't seen by the entirety of their college. "That wasn't the only night we got drunk. After we got approval to have our research into ghosts officially recognized by the college, we celebrated." He lifted his glass to lips, staring at the liquid for a brief moment before lifting his gaze to Jack. "And it was more than just drinking alcohol."

               Jack choked on his whiskey, coughing after he swallowed the mouthful. His eyes nearly bulged out of their socket when he stared at Vlad. "Oh - I didn't think you remembered that!" A flush of color spread across his cheeks.

               "Some of it is a bit fuzzy," Vlad admitted, lowering his eyelids. "But I wasn't that drunk when you kissed me for the first time."

               Jack gulped back what remained in his glass. His face was bright red. "Vlad-" He shook his head, oddly at a loss for what to say.

               "I know it was only that one night." Vlad frowned into his whiskey. "I always wondered: Did you feel anything for me that night? Was it just the alcohol?" He lifted his gaze. "You can tell me the truth. I just want to know."

               Jack dropped his gaze to his empty glass then glanced away, looking all around the laboratory with a nervous shifting. The delay of response only gave Vlad a sinking feeling in his gut. He took a big risk bringing Jack to his home and waiting for the right moment to confront his old roommate. He would accept whatever answer he was given, but the waiting for an answer was horrible.

               "I," Jack rubbed at the back of his neck, his head ducking down, "was afraid. The next morning, you didn't seem to remember anything, and I was afraid if I brought it up, you would hate me. I kept thinking you'd think I took advantage of you, and I really didn't want to ruin our friendship. I know how selfish that sounds, and I felt guilty about it all this time. So I just kept silent."

               "But how did you feel?" Vlad demanded, almost raising his voice. His mouth pressed thin, and he was determined not to break down in front of Jack, though he could feel the urge to shift his eyes as the anger bubbled up inside him.

               "I loved you," Jack admitted, his voice gentle and his eyes caring as he stared at Vlad. "I always loved you." He raked a hand through his hair. "I can't believe I finally said that out loud."

               Why work so hard and late into the night if he was simply going to steal it later? The answer was quite simple: to impress Maddie. If he could at least get this thing semi-working, perhaps she would finally see that he was far superior to Jack. His prior attempts had failed spectacularly, but this would work. This was the first step in succeeding. He could feel it. If he could just get this hot fudge sundae contraption to work!

               "So this is where you disappeared to?"

               Vlad cursed under his breath when his finger was pinched between two metal pieces. Sucking on his index finger where it was pinched, he twisted around on his seat and glowered at the larger man who lumbered into the laboratory like some happy golden retriever seeking attention. "Weren't you sleeping?" He was certain everyone in the house had gone to bed already, even Daniel who had paced around anxiously for what seemed like hours.

               "I couldn't sleep." Jack wandered over to Vlad's work station, his dark blue eyes scanning curiously over the other man's work. "I should have known you'd be up working on this." He laid a hand on Vlad's shoulder. "You were always like this in college. That brilliant brain of yours never could shut off until you were satisfied. Remember?" He grinned at the other man, his old roommate. "I used to have to haul you out over my shoulder and back to our room just so you would get some rest."

               Vlad frowned, not liking when Jack got to reminiscing about their old college days. He always tried to put thoughts of those days out of his mind. Maybe on some level he feared if he thought about it, he would realize Jack was almost exactly the same as back then and it would be easy to simply fall back into their old friendship. He couldn't let allow that. Not after everything that happened.

               "Yes," Vlad said, a touch of his seething bitterness seeping into his voice, "I recall those instances quite clearly."

               Jack's jolly demeanor fell slightly, which seemed unusual as the man normally didn't pick up on any subtle cue that not everyone agreed with his recollection of past events. Harriet Chin certainly had never liked when Jack shortened her name to Harry Chin, not that Jack ever noticed.

               "You know," Jack's gaze lowered, and Vlad shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but then Jack turned his eyes away, "if you change this part right here," he pointed out the spot he meant, leaning over Vlad to do so, "you'll have a much better output. It might be enough to slow down the amount of energy it takes to power it."

               Too close! The warning bells screamed in Vlad's head. Jack was far too close. Vlad could feel the other man's breath tickling his ear as he spoke. His cheeks warmed, and he cursed inwardly. Why was his body reacting just because Jack was standing so close to him? It wasn't like Jack hadn't crushed him in a hug when he arrived. So why was this different? Because they were alone? Because there was only dim lighting? Or maybe because Jack seemed to be acting with some restraint? Despite how close he was, Jack still kept a thin amount of distance between them. Whatever the reason, Vlad wasn't oblivious to the sudden hiccup in his heartbeat.

               "I'm quite-" Vlad caught himself before yelling and cleared his throat. "I was getting to that."

               Jack smiled. It wasn't his usual stupid goofy smile that left Vlad gritting his teeth in frustration. There was something else to his smile, something Vlad couldn't quite put his finger on but left his heart feeling like it was trying to beat out of his chest. And it might have if it could figure out how to turn intangible all on its own. Vlad swallowed, and it was like molasses sticking to and clogging his throat.

               "Of course," Jack agreed. "You always notice things like that." His smile faltered. "I've really missed you." His head jerked back, only a touch, like he suddenly realized the implications of his comment. His cheeks turned pink, which only made Vlad shift under him. "Working together on projects," Jack added. "Though being roommates was pretty great too." The corner of his mouth curled. "Plenty of good times just the two of us, right?"

               Vlad shot up from his chair and jabbed a finger into Jack's broad chest. "No!" he said firmly. "You are not doing this again. I'm not getting sucked into this."

               "What?" Jack's brow furrowed in a look of possibly genuine bafflement.

               "You did this in college too," Vlad continued, just barely keeping from rising. "You'd do stuff and say stuff. You'd do that thing where you'd take off your shirt right in front of me, showing off your stupid gorgeous body. You were seducing me on purpose. And now you're trying to do it again!"

               "You," Jack's eyebrows rose up, "think I'm trying to seduce you?"

               Vlad narrowed his eyes. "Don't play dumb. You know exactly what you're doing. Leaning in all close. Talking into my ear. You're trying to get a reaction out of me just like in college!"

               Jack leaned in so their faces were at eye level with each other. His mouth did that little smirking curl Vlad remembered from college, which drove him mad at times. "Oh, am I?"

               "Yes!" Vlad snapped in exasperation. "And what's more-"

               His eyes widened when Jack suddenly cut him off, their lips pressing together in perhaps not the smoothest of kisses. It probably would have gone better if Jack hadn't attempted the kiss right in the middle of Vlad speaking, but the clumsiness was exactly what Vlad expected. He thought he had these feelings buried away where he could never find them again, buried long before the whole accident with the proto-portal. He had shoved away any feelings for Jack other than friendship because he had always believed there was never any chance there. Even though he had suspected Jack was attempting to seduce him with his antics during their college days, Vlad always assumed it was some kind of joke with the other man. There was simply no way Jack could ever like him as anything more than a friend.

               Yet they stood there in the dimly lit laboratory in the late night with their lips locked.