āIām vulnerable around you, and it only gets worse when you smile.ā with darkjack maybe? or a ship of your choice--I'm not picky!
Watching Jack as he dozed quietly at his side, Dark felt something in his chest, some feeling he didnāt recognize, twist around and pull on his organs. It was unpleasant, to say the least, but the warmth that spread from the twisting wasā¦ Nice. His stomach turned, and it spread warmth through his entire abdomen.
Months ago, when heād first met the Irishman, heād thought he was a loud, unnecessary annoyance, but bearable. He was the younger brother of one of Darkās long-time partners - Anti - and was finally getting into the world his brother damn near ran alongside Dark and a few others. Anti wanted them to meet, wanted Jack to get a taste of the other higher ups in their world. Dark had agreed to deal with him until his and Antiās most recent cooperative mission was complete, and heād thought that, surely, he could forget all about Jack the moment the operation was complete, butā¦ That hadnāt happened.
Somehow, that hadnāt happened.
Somehow, Jack had torn open his cold and empty chest and burrowed in somewhere beneath his ribs, bringing that horrible twisting, tugging feeling and the warmth that came with it. Bringing emotions Dark hadnāt felt since before heād started down this path, emotions that Dark had been very sure he wasnāt capable of feeling anymore.
Heād buried a lot of his old self under his new one, most of his normal human emotions included in the death toll of that particular personality equivalent of a cave-in.
Once upon a time, though heād probably never admit it, heād been a regular person. Heād been Damien Knight, a hard-working and quiet guy fresh out of high schoolā¦ And then everything changed. Damien, as far as the world outside of his new, was dead. Dark rose to power not long after, bringing about a new age to the criminal underworld of Damienās home town and transforming it into a criminal overworld.
Heād never thought any trace of that life would return, never thought he could be tender again, until Jack fell into bed with him for the first time.
Heād wanted to break him. Wanted to take him apart piece by piece and show him once and for all that trusting anyone in this world was a horrible idea. That being attracted to him was a bad idea. That taking an invitation like this was an even worse one.
But once he had Jack under him, all of those desires had melted away. Heād taken him slow and gentle and that had been that. Heād treated him like something precious, because he was.Ā People like Jack, people who were very genuinely good, were rare in this world. He didnāt even know why someone so sweet and kind wanted to be involved with him.
He sighed, running fingers that had killed dozens of men and women through the fluff of Jackās hair with a tenderness reserved specifically for him. He let his thumb brush the smaller maleās cheek. He marveled at the softness of the skin and did it again.
The twisting in his guts got worse, but the warmth spread itself to the very edges of his body, and he found his lips quirking up at the edges.
Jack hummed softly, sleepily, and turned his face into Darkās hand. Dark allowed it and merely began to run his fingers through his hair again.
His breath caught in his chest when Jack hummed again and snuggled closer, practically attaching himself to his chest. His chapped lips curved up on one side, hand clenching on Darkās back. Dark wondered when heād turned on his side to pull Jack against him like this.
He guessed it didnāt matter. But that smileā¦
āIām vulnerable around you,ā He mumbled, laying his head down and closing his eyes,Ā āAnd it only gets worse when you smile.ā
With his eyes closed, he missed the way that Jackās smile only broadened, clearly aware of what heād said.
