#no infinity

“Wow… I don’t know what to say.” It sounds too simple and easy to be true. Stiles never thought that this day would ever come and his trying to assimilate everything and truly believe it.

“You don’t have to say anything. You just have to know that this is real. This is happening… and there’s no one who can stop it now.”

“I… I mean… I believe you, I do… but, as incredible as this situation… this whole thing is… after my promotion, they still didn’t approve my relocation to the upper deck, what makes you think that they’re gonna change their minds now?”

“Yeah, well, this time I’m not waiting for their decision, so that’s not gonna be a problem.”

“What are you talking about? I’m gonna have to file a new request… that is, if they even accept our petition… Jackson, this doesn’t mean we can get married and you know it.”

“There’s no petition to file because I’m moving to the middle deck and that’s where we’re gonna live… together.”

The middle deck is a small zone reserved for workers with a higher rank in the middle of the ship. It was designed for workers who accepted to travel with their wife and children and as a consequence, the accommodations are bigger than for the lower deck employees.

“The only reason I didn’t do it before was that Lydia needed me when the machine paired us,” not to mention that she was the perfect cover for them anyway, “but now she’s free to do what she wants and so am I… and I don’t need anybody’s permission to move… so yeah, Derek is moving in with Lydia today and I’m leaving. Actually, I already packed everything last night and it should have been taken to our quarters by now.”

Thank god, they never went through with their arranged marriage because now things wouldn’t be as simple and fast as they both want them to be.

“Jackson, as amazing as it sounds, you’ve lived your whole life in the upper deck… those quarters aren’t what you are used to…” It sounds stupid as soon as it’s out of his mouth but he couldn’t help to think about it because the luxury of the upper-deck quarters is something that Jackson will miss no matter what he says or how he feels about Stiles.

“And what did you have in mind then?” Stiles asks as Jackson holds his hand again.

“Sit with me and I’ll tell you.” Jackson walks as Stiles follows him to the other side of the beach, to a more secluded spot where he knows that nobody could see them from the entrance.

“I thought I wouldn’t get to see you until Sunday,” Stiles says, still holding Jackson’s hands after returning Jackson’s brief kiss once they are sitting on the sand.

“I thought so too but I have news… and something for you,” Jackson says, looking for something in his jacket.

“Merry Christmas,” Jackson smiles, offering Stiles the little package.

“What’s this? I don’t have mine here… You said on Sunday…” Stiles says, unwrapping the gift.

“It’s just a little thing,” Jackson shrugs.

“Wow… is this chocolate? Real chocolate? How did you get this?” Stiles grins.

“I have my contacts…” Jackson smiles, “and yeah, it’s the real thing.”

Stiles can’t remember the last time he had real chocolate… There’s so little left that only a few upper-deckers have access to it and Stiles only knows this because Jackson told him, everybody else thinks that there’s nothing left and they can only have a substitute made on the ship that doesn’t come close to the real flavor.

Stiles holds Jackson’s face, kissing him softly at first and then more passionately, until Jackson moves apart reluctantly, caressing Stiles’ cheek with his thumb.

“This is for you too,” Jackson says handing Stiles something that he finds in his pocket.

“What’s this?” Stiles asks, taking the key that Jackson is holding.

“Well, I think it’s obvious...”

Stiles raises his eyebrows, obviously bewildered.

“It’s the key to my heart… my dear…”

Stiles laughs, closing his eyes for a second.

“Great… I made you laugh… mission accomplished…” Jackson smiles because that’s exactly how he feels. Seeing Stiles happy is the best feeling in the world and being the one who caused it, feels amazing.

“Oh my god, look at you… you’re cornier than I thought.” Stiles nods.

“Oh no, I can never be corny… but I’m allowed to be romantic once a year for the holidays, right?”

“No, don’t do that. You’re a romantic at heart and I’ve seen it too many times to count, so don’t bother trying to deny it.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. This place would be unbearable without romance… without you here… and you deserve it. We both do.”

“God, I love you so much,” Stiles says, closing the space between them and kissing Jackson the way he always does when he can’t stop himself and needs that connection that makes him forget that he’s trapped in this godforsaken place until the day he dies.

Jackson’s hand on his neck and those needy noises he makes whenever their lips come in contact are enough to make Stiles shiver and moan in response.

When the kiss ends, they are both breathless and wish things could move along from there but this is not the place or the time, so it will have to wait until later.

Jackson licks his lips, “aren’t you gonna ask me again about the key?”

“Yeah, of course… Mr. Whittemore, what is it really for?”

“Well, Mr. Stilinski… it allows you entrance to your new home, actually. But more importantly… it’s our home—Yours and mine… our own place.” Jackson smiles.

"God, Jackson, you scared the shit out of me! What on Earth are you doing down here?" The door to the engine room has a very prominent sign announcing the area Restricted to Workers Only. Even people from the lower deck aren’t allowed without permission, let alone someone with Jackson’s high-gloss shine. "You could get in trouble if anybody finds you here, you know that."

Stiles's overalls are stained with grease, as are his gloves and his cheeks. Jackson, on the other hand, is wearing a dark blue suit with a matching tie and a pair of really expensive looking shoes. Stiles knows he could never afford such an elegant outfit. Jackson looks absolutely stunning in it, and the juxtaposition is just one more indication that one or the other of them doesn’t belong.

"I know, but most people have the night off... and even if they did find out, I'd deal with it. But I needed to see you." Launch Day was supposed to be celebrated by everybody, it wasn't fair that Stiles had to be stuck at work all day.

"And how did you even know I was here?"

"I..." Jackson clears his throat. "Y'know, I have my sources," he says matter-of-factly, like that explained anything.

"Yeah, of course you do." Stiles is not surprised in the least. God only knows everything the upper-deck people can find out if they want to. "Shouldn't you be at that glamorous party going on upstairs?" Stiles asks, taking off his gloves and running his fingers through his hair. He’s been working for hours, and is sure he looks kind of terrible. It makes him really uneasy to be in this condition in front of a perfect-as-usual looking Jackson.

"I was there for like five minutes... it was boring as hell. But, yeah, trying to make my parents happy. Nobody can miss it, it's just how it is."

"And Lydia, was she happy? I bet she was wearing an amazing dress," Stiles says, more bitterly than he meant to.

"Yeah, she was..." Jackson licks his lips. He's not come here to talk about Lydia. "Happy, I guess. And yeah, she's wearing a nice dress but I'm not interested, she could be wearing her pyjamas for all I care." Jackson sighs. "I want you." Jackson takes two steps closer until he's standing in front of Stiles. He's risked coming down here for a reason and he's not about to lose time talking about Lydia or anybody else.

"Why are you even jealous of her?" Jackson frowns. "I've told you a million times. There's nothing between us, there never has been. She's a good friend and nothing else." Jackson snorts. "We're practically like siblings."

The truth is Stiles knows this. He's known Jackson all his life. They were friends before it turned into something else and he trusts him entirely, but recently he’s had difficulty pushing down the bitterness and jealousy.

Stiles, Lydia and Jackson are the same age and they attended school together. He knows that Lydia is a good friend and, being a doctor like Jackson, works close to him most of the time. But sometimes, especially when he's not been with Jackson in a while, an irrational fear kicks in and he just can't control it.

He's jealous of the time she gets to spend with him and he's also jealous because she could easily be with him if she wanted, whereas he, as a lower-decker, will never be able to have a sanctioned relationship with any upper-decker, never mind their gender.

The way things are, Stiles is lucky if he can see Jackson two or three times a week during the day. Most of the time it has to be at night and with Stiles's shifts changing all the time, they are very fortunate if they can see each other two nights a week. For him it's not enough and he knows Jackson feels the same way.

Jackson takes a step closer, and holds Stiles's face as he kisses him. He merely brushes his lips against Stiles's at first. Jackson tilts his head, kissing him slowly, testing Stiles but when he feels him kissing back, it turns into something more desperate. Stiles opens his mouth and he eagerly welcomes Jackson's tongue.