A Modest Proposal, Chapter 2: Negotiation
Dec. 18th, 2008 04:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serene_quillTitle: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 2: Negotiation
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 303: Best in Faux, AU’s off the end of 303.
A/N: Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
goddessfreya_87 and snarkyandsparky for the beta work!
Summary: Nathan’s second proposal has been accepted, but the details are still a little murky for Jack...
Previous Parts can be found here
Jack handed a plate with a large slice of pizza on it to Zoë, gently tugging her pen out of her hand when he set the plate in front of her. “Hey, working here,” she objected, scowling at him.
“Yeah, I know,” he said, giving her a small smile. His insides were twisted in nervous knots, and not just because of talking to her about leaving her alone for the night but because of the reasons why he was leaving. “Look, I need to talk to you about something, and I’m gonna screw this up so… maybe be patient?”
“Sure, Dad, what’s going on?” Zoë’s voice was soft with worry, and she took a small bite of the mushroom pizza, nodding approvingly.
“You’re, ah, going to have the place to yourself tonight,” he told her, and she tilted her head, a smile sliding onto her face.
“Dad, good for you, got a date!” she crowed. “Come on, who is she?”
“Well…” Jack started, trying to decide how to tell Zoë, and her expression went smug.
“Oh, is it a he?” she asked, giving him a knowing look. “Don’t worry, last time Mom was here, she showed me pictures of your boyfriend from before you met her. Not bad, though his hair was kind of funny.”
“Yeah,” Jack said dryly, letting his head fall forward. “Look, Zo, I’m not sure yet exactly what’s going to happen tonight, and normally, I’d tell you all about it…”
“Wow,” Zoë blinked, looking surprised. “You’re really nervous, huh?”
“Yeah,” Jack admitted, shrugging. “Look, when we get things hashed out and settled, you and I are going to have a long talk about it, I promise.”
“Okay,” Zoë replied, shrugging. “But, it’s a good thing, right?”
“I think so,” Jack replied, giving her a lopsided grin. “But when am I ever right about these things?”
“So, are you wearing that?” Zoë asked, wrinkling her nose at the t-shirt and jeans.
Jack looked down, confused. “What?”
*-*
At quarter till ten, now properly outfitted in Zoë’s opinion in a blue button down over his black shirt and tighter, dark jeans, he fiddled nervously with his keys, staring at the countertop as though he’d find his courage there. “Dad, seriously, this will be good for you,” Zoë remarked, giving him a reassuring smile over her accelerated physics. “Besides, it’s about time you got past the whole Allison/Stark thing.”
Jack gave her a wary look, thinking she was in for a big shock if things actually worked out that evening. “Go on, you’re going to be late,” she urged, and Jack headed out the door, trying not to feel like he was dragging his feet.
His nerves were getting the best of him, and he struggled to get his Jeep up to the speed limits, parking in front of Allison’s house, where Nathan had all but moved in a couple weeks earlier, and climbed out of the Jeep. He paused, leaning against the passenger door and looking up at the house, trying to calm himself. “Just go in,” he muttered and pushed himself forward, knocking on the screen door.
“Upstairs,” Nathan’s voice floated down to him, so Jack entered, stalling by closing and latching the door behind him. He walked upstairs one step at a time, arching an eyebrow when he found Nathan sprawled lazily across the bed, more casual than Jack had ever witnessed in track pants and a tight t-shirt.
“Hey,” Jack said, and Nathan sat up a little, his eyes scanning Jack’s carefully, nodding as though he saw what he expected. He stood, closing the distance between them, devouring Jack’s mouth with an intense, consuming kiss.
“Better?” Nathan asked, and Jack smiled a little ruefully, nodding as he realized a few of the knots in his stomach had loosened. “Now, which one of them made you wear these jeans?” Nathan teased, tucking his hands into Jack’s back pockets, pulling him close. “Zoë or SARAH?”
“Zoë,” Jack admitted, and Nathan made a little sound of approval before kissing him again, slowly pulling Jack over to the bed. “Where’s Allison?” Jack asked between kisses, as Nathan worked on unbuttoning Jack’s shirt.
“Shower,” Nathan replied shortly, more interested in nipping at Jack’s neck. “She informed me that you would be nervous, and I should make you comfortable.”
“And you think this is what she had in mind?” Jack gasped when Nathan scraped his teeth along his pulse point, before sliding up to capture the other man’s lips.
“I’m sure of it,” Nathan grinned, easing a hand along Jack’s face, cradling his head in his hands. “To be honest, she didn’t quite believe me about the two of us. Wanted to see proof.”
“Knew it couldn’t have been as easy as you pretended,” Jack teased the other man, tugging him closer. Nathan obliged him by pressing Jack down to the mattress, covering the other man’s body with his own. The kisses were hungry and left Jack aching, sliding hands under Nathan’s t-shirt, tugging it off, breaking the kisses only to remove it. To Jack’s surprise, Nathan made no move to remove Jack’s clothing, simply letting the other man explore his bare skin and focusing on the kisses.
The bed shifted under additional weight, and Jack broke the kiss, looking up into Allison’s warm brown eyes. “Hi,” she greeted him with a warm smile, ignoring the fact that Nathan was still focused on kissing Jack’s throat.
“Been watching a while?” Nathan asked knowingly before reaching the weak spot behind Jack’s ear and latching on, showing Allison how to make the sheriff arch and melt bonelessly back down to the mattress.
“Not fair,” Jack protested, and Nathan grinned down at him.
“But it always lets me win,” Nathan replied fondly. He eased back a little so he and Jack could sit up, and Jack could see Allison properly now, wrapped in a robe and wet hair falling in loose tangles. She shifted a little closer to him and hesitated, turning to Nathan. Jack likewise turned to the other man, who sighed, reaching out a hand and pulling Allison into a soft kiss.
Jack watched the kiss, a little fascinated by the tenderness, surprised when Nathan gently turned Allison toward Jack, clear permission given. She leaned in slowly, and carefully Jack also leaned in, meeting her halfway in a soft, tentative kiss. Allison was the one to break away, her fingers gently stroking the side of Jack’s face, looking for something in his expression. Apparently finding it, she leaned in and kissed him again, exploring more this time, and Jack made a little noise of surprise when Nathan resumed his attack on Jack’s neck.
“Shh,” Allison said, starting to imitate Nathan’s movements. “You’re wearing far too much clothing right now,” she informed him, a smiling snaking across her face. “And I didn’t get very far last time I tried to undress you.”
“I…uh, am I the only one thinking we should talk a little first?” Jack asked, halting the other two. Allison sighed, lacing her fingers through Jack’s with a wry smile.
“Time?” she asked Nathan, who glanced over at the bedside clock, grumbled inaudibly, and Allison grinned triumphantly.
“I’m missing something,” Jack said, looking between them, confused.
“Jack, I knew you’d call a halt as soon as you’d gotten settled in and calmer,” she told him, though she slid a little closer, almost cuddling against him. “But I was also pretty sure you needed a demonstration of our intentions.”
“You walked in here wound tighter than I’ve ever seen,” Nathan pointed out, situating himself on the other side of Jack, a gentle comforting hand low on Jack’s back echoing the easy teasing. “And I bet her that you’d take longer to realize we needed to talk this out.”
“What’d you lose?” Jack asked, and Nathan grimaced.
“Cooking dinner for the week,” Nathan replied, making Jack chuckle. “Yeah, just wait till she starts wrapping you around her little finger.”
“Oh, I think it’s too late for that,” Allison remarked, brushing her fingers through Jack’s hair. “So, maybe start with telling us what sort of ground rules you want, Jack.”
Jack hesitated, catching the guarded look on Nathan’s face. “Look, I’ll start, since I have the simplest demands, apparently,” Allison broke in impatiently. “From what I just saw, the first isn’t going to be a problem. I want this to be an equal partnership, all three of us. Nathan said…” she gestured between them, and Jack nodded.
“No one would believe it,” he joked, giving Allison a small smile.
“Took me a bit,” Allison agreed nonchalantly. “Then I got to thinking about the appeal of that idea. Watching the two of you.”
“Hmm, I thought that might be your reaction,” Nathan murmured, a knowing light in his eyes.
“Good to know, but she’s not the jealous one,” Jack agreed, looking over at Nathan.
“As long as I’m not being left out, I am capable of sharing,” Nathan grumbled. Seeing two serious looks pinned on him, he sighed, settling in a little closer to Jack. “It didn’t bother me, surprisingly,” he told them bluntly, shrugging at their skeptical looks. “I realized I could slide in, kiss either of you, be with either of you. And I was fine.”
“Makes sense to me,” Jack admitted, imitating Nathan’s shrug when Allison turned an odd look on him. “It’s what decided me, basically. I couldn’t walk away when Nathan was offering me everything.”
“Okay, so stipulation number two,” Allison continued, apparently accepting this answer. “Kevin and Zoë.”
“That’s on my list too,” Jack agreed, nodding. “When do we tell them about this, and what do we tell them?”
“And if we’re telling them, this had better be a pretty permanent change,” Allison said. “I don’t want to risk upsetting Kevin if this falls apart quickly, but I don’t think he’ll have trouble with accepting that he gets more adults to care for him.”
“I imagine Zoë will be harder,” Nathan mused, and quickly explained when Jack gave him a sideways glance. “Kevin already likes all three of us. Zoë has no reason to like me or trust this arrangement.”
“She may just be relieved that I’m happy and dating,” Jack returned dryly, thinking of how eager she’d been to get him out the door.
“Even me?” Nathan questioned him, and Jack turned, kissing the other man gently.
“She likes you, admires your mind at least,” Jack replied reassuringly. He could sense Allison’s approval of his reading of Nathan’s insecurity, and a moment later she was cuddled even closer to him, chin on his shoulder and one leg wrapped behind him.
“So we have to figure out when and how to tell the kids, and anyone else for that matter,” Nathan observed, a finger tapping against his lower lip, carefully thinking, Jack noticed. “Eventually I’m going to refuse to keep this a secret.”
“Aren’t you the master of secrets?” Jack teased the other man, and Allison nodded, her chin tapping against Jack’s shoulder with the motion.
“What’s with the interest in public knowledge?” she asked Nathan curiously.
“Bragging rights,” Nathan replied smugly. Rolling his eyes when they both gave him a look, he added with a long suffering sigh, “Because secrecy ends up with one of us feeling like a dirty little secret, most likely Jack, and goes against your stipulation number one, Allie.”
Jack and Allison exchanged a brief look, and Allison leaned over, kissing Nathan fiercely. “Thanks,” she told him.
Jack was considering Nathan carefully, watching him. “What?” Nathan demanded gruffly.
Instead of answering, unable to find words for his relief, Jack took his cue from Allison and kissed Nathan demandingly. Nathan groaned into the kiss, and Jack pulled away, knowing if he didn’t, he wouldn’t want to stop at all.
“Any other stipulations?” Allison asked Nathan, who blinked, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. Jack grinned, pleased to have helped so clearly derail the genius’s brain.
“Yeah,” Nathan replied suddenly, a thought occurring to him, and he looked over Jack’s head to lock eyes with Allison. “But we’ll get to it.”
“Am I missing something?” Jack asked, and Nathan grinned at him.
“Almost always, but confused is a cute look on you,” he informed Jack. Jack knocked his shoulder against Nathan’s.
“He’s got a point,” Allison agreed, leaning in and kissing the tip of Jack’s nose. “All right, sheriff, what about your terms?”
“I hate to be the pessimist, but we probably want some sort of exit clause,” Jack said. “What if after a couple of weeks, months, or even years, one of us doesn’t want to be with one of the others?”
“They walk away,” Nathan countered, as though this ought to be perfectly obvious.
“Oh,” Allison shook her head, suddenly comprehending. “No, Jack means what if I decide I don’t want to be with you, even though I still want to be with him, right?”
“I know that,” Nathan replied impatiently, cutting off Jack before he could agree. “And I still say that in that case, you walk away. It’s an all or nothing system. It’s the only way it can work, just like a marriage.”
“Harsh, and awfully hard for anyone to walk away. We end up forced to make it work,” Jack mused, but the idea appealed to him, especially after the divorce with Abby. “But I can live with that.”
“I think it brings us to Nathan’s concession,” Allison remarked.
“It’s not a concession, it’s a compromise,” Nathan scowled. “I told you why he stopped sleeping with me.”
Jack’s eyes widened, looking to Allison. “We’re postponing the wedding,” she told him.
“What?” Jack said, a little incredulous. “Because of me?”
“Equal parts in this,” Nathan reminded him. “That’s Allison’s stipulation, remember? So when all three of us are ready to be married, then there will be a wedding.”
“I—” Jack started, and was cut off by a look from Nathan.
“Stipulation from you,” Nathan continued relentlessly. “The lines you won’t cross. I know you’ve pushed your moral boundaries, Jack. I don’t think you can break them completely.”
“And we don’t want you to have to,” Allison added quickly, seeing the objection rising on Jack’s lips. “Jack, this arrangement does cost us all a little, but you shouldering the biggest portion of sacrifices won’t happen. Besides, if this breaks down, Nathan and I can still be married later.”
Jack remained silent, and Nathan reached out, gripping his chin and forcing Jack to meet his gaze. “Jack. We want to be with you. And in case you didn’t figure it out yet, it’s not just a casual thing we’re talking about anymore.”
“Yeah, I know, I guess I didn’t realize…” Jack babbled a little, and Allison took pity on him, leaning up to kiss him gently.
“Don’t look at this as some huge sacrifice on the part of Nathan and I,” she informed him with a rather mischievous grin. “We certainly aren’t losing anything. In fact, we’re gaining a sheriff.”
“Ah, well, when you put it that way,” Jack replied, grinning a little sheepishly. “But I refuse to be anywhere nearby when you tell Vince.”
“Oh, not it,” Allison agreed, giving Nathan a small smile. “All you, honey.”
Jack almost laughed at the mock-horrified look on Nathan’s face. “Okay, not to turn things serious too much, but…” Jack hesitated, trying to make sure he formulated his words carefully so he didn’t upset Nathan. “We, all three of us, have a problem with secrets. Keeping them, not sharing info, and we need to change that. At least as much as possible.”
“Well, I agree to a point,” Nathan replied, rolling his eyes. “Jack, you don’t have any secrets.”
“Henry and I are investigating Thorne and her involvement with a bunker under Eureka where we found berry generic radiation,” Jack blurted out, giving Nathan a pointed look. “I have a file on your artifact that would probably shock you with how much I know. How much I knew even before the accident.”
“Wait, baryogenic radiation?” Allison said, giving Jack an astonished look. “Jack, that’s not—”
“Possible, yeah, that’s what Henry said,” Jack replied, shrugging. “He said that it was just a theory before he found it. And while you can get the details out of him tomorrow with me, I was just making a point. We have a problem with secrets.”
“Some things are just going to be too highly classified for us to say,” Nathan reminded Jack, grimacing. “Which brings us to the fact that you and I both have horrible tempers.”
“How did that work while you two were sleeping together?” Allison asked curiously.
Nathan and Jack both flushed a little, and Allison blinked, looking between them. “Uh, either we didn’t speak for a couple weeks then things would get tense enough that we needed an outlet so one of us came to find the other one,” Jack managed to say, stammering a little.
“Or?” Allison prompted, her eyes flicking between the two of them, looking impatient with curiosity.
“Well, there was this one memorable time where I ended up cuffed to my own bed and spanked before he…” Nathan spoke very quickly, both men flushing a little.
“Oh,” Allison said, eyebrows lifted. She sat back a little, her eyes widening slightly.
“Is she…?” Jack started, and Nathan nodded knowingly.
“Picturing it?” he finished. “Yeah.”
“Huh,” Jack replied, and Allison cocked her head, giving him a shark smile.
“I have a feeling you’re in trouble,” Jack told Nathan, giving him a smoldering look. “Maybe I should tell her about what happened after the dream sharing.”
“I thought you forgave him easier than me,” Allison remarked dryly. “Which brings us back to the point about not going to bed mad and trying to not have secrets. I think, Nathan, that we have to agree that we give Jack warning on when projects are genuinely classified, and we may not be able to tell him much.”
“And maybe let Jack and I know when we’re bringing work home, where it shouldn’t be?” Nathan suggested, giving Allison a shrug. “I’m bad at it, and Jack’s said the same on more than one occasion. But you do it better than either of us.”
“As long as I don’t end up in the middle of arguments,” Allison replied sternly. “You both have a tendency toward that as well.”
“I sort of wonder if that will happen less,” Jack broke in, looking thoughtful. “I mean, not the arguing, because clearly that’s not going to change, but the you in the middle part. Because until now, that’s where you’ve always been- in the middle. Now we’re kind of changing it, making this about all of us.”
“Jack makes a good point,” Nathan observed, rolling his eyes when Jack pantomimed shock. “It won’t happen right away, but I think with time, it’ll get easier.”
“And not going to bed mad, that’s probably a good point, except that in a crisis it could get hard to agree to that, when we don’t sleep for days or crash in different places,” Jack agreed. “But when things are calm, always hashing things out and setting aside arguments…”
Nathan and Allison exchanged a quick look, and Jack felt self-conscious. “It’s just…” Allison said, giving him a wary look. “Look, what I’m envisioning is that for a little while, we’re all going to have our own places. Even Nathan, who’s always kept his own house, but most nights all three of us end up in one place, one bed. Which is fine for the first few months while we navigate this relationship and work out the wrinkles. But we start looking for a place for all five of us. So we all go home together.”
Jack struggled to take a deep breath, taken aback by the seriousness of her proposal. “Oh,” he said, nodding. “Again, I didn’t realize…”
His words were cut off by Nathan’s suddenly intense scrutiny. “Ah,” Nathan murmured, lifting his palm to cup Jack’s face. “Nowhere in this, when I was convincing you, when you started thinking about it, or even when you accepted, nowhere did you think you’d be an equal,” he said softly. Jack started to pull back, and Nathan curled his fingers to hold on. “Allison guessed you would be nervous, but that’s not it at all, is it?”
Jack sighed when Allison started stroking his head gently, a concerned look on her face. “How did things end with Abby?” Nathan guessed, and Jack tried to jerk away, surprised by the direct hit. Nathan gently held on, his eyes locked and demanding.
“Jack?” Allison asked, now looking bewildered.
“She found someone else,” Jack said, keeping his tone even. “A good friend of mine.”
“And you’ve gotten used thinking of yourself as second best,” Allison realized, nestling as close to Jack as she could now, forcing him to lift his arm and pull her in closer. “Instead of seeing you’re the piece of this puzzle that we can’t live without.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jack remarked, shrugging. “But you two don’t really need me, you’re fine as…”
“I do,” Nathan disagreed firmly, his green eyes cool and narrow. “Jack, I risked my engagement because I couldn’t leave you behind. I need you.”
Jack held the gaze for a long moment and then nodded, understanding at last how much he was wanted. As though the nod were a signal, Nathan slid closer in, tangling his legs with Jack and Allison’s and tucking Jack into his embrace, almost the same way Allison had tucked herself into Jack’s. “And I think I do too,” Allison murmured to Jack, gently rubbing her hand over his heart. “There’s something between us, Jack, has been for a while. It got lost a little bit, but we’ll sort it out.”
“Okay,” Jack replied, and Allison shifted a little, her hands suddenly sliding under Jack’s shirt. He inhaled sharply, and Allison took the sign as encouragement, shifting again so she was straddling Jack’s lap.
“Anything else we need to settle urgently, or shall we talk some more later?” she asked, giving Jack a slow smile. “Because we do have other plans for you tonight.”
“I’m good,” he managed to stammer. Nathan had slid behind him and was nibbling at the back of his neck.
“We had some time to think about this,” Nathan murmured in Jack’s ear, his fingers joining Allison’s the effort to peel off Jack’s shirt. Jack relaxed a little into the touch, and his button up shirt and undershirt seemed to almost vanish. Allison kissed his throat softly, mimicking Nathan’s earlier move to the skin just behind Jack’s ear. Jack groaned, hands coming up to thread through Allison’s soft hair and pull her into a long, searching kiss.
“Now that you’re with the program,” Allison teased him, and her hands slid down to cup his groin daringly. “This is mine tonight.”
“And you’ve been saying no to letting me fuck you for far too long lately,” Nathan growled, turning Jack’s face so he could pour himself into a fierce kiss. Jack was barely aware of what Allison was doing until his cock hit cool air, freed by her deft hands. She slid away, giving him room to shimmy out of his pants and boxers. He saw Nathan, behind him, doing the same.
“Seems a bit unequal here,” Nathan drawled, tugging Jack backward into his lap, wrapping an arm around Jack and slowly stroking his cock. Allison looked a little flushed with both sets of eyes on her as she untied the sash on her robe. She slid her robe off slowly, baring the soft skin of her breasts. Nathan’s tempo picked up a little, and he shifted his hips against Jack’s back.
Jack was riveted, watching as she removed her underwear, then slid closer to Jack. “You okay?” she asked with a smirk, and Jack rose to the challenge, cupping one breast, thumb teasing the nipple making her arch into the touch. As soon as he’d touched, he couldn’t resist any longer, pulling her into a fierce kiss.
Allison’s nails raked along his shoulders, and Nathan’s lips soothed the skin, licking and kissing the trails. Jack shuddered under the dual sensations, then became aware of Allison rolling a condom on him. He gave her a questioning look, and she answered it with a firm, reassuring kiss. He’d have turned to aim the question at Nathan, but he’d handed Allison the condom in the first place.
While Nathan started teasing his ass with lube, Jack slowly kissed him way down Allison’s torso, paying special attention to the soft skin of her stomach, which proved not only sensitive, but a little ticklish, making her laugh. Her laughter helped ease the last lingering tension in the room, and Jack worked his way lower, his tongue turning her laugh into a surprised moan. He was hard pressed to maintain his concentration on Allison when Nathan pressed a finger into him, the touch skittering pleasantly through him.
He stayed focused on Allison though, watching and listening to where her most sensitive points were, as he had done once to learn Nathan’s body. He drove her over the edge, even though she gasped a half warning half delighted cry at him, tugging on his hair gently. Jack worked his way back up her body as Nathan worked a third finger in to stretch him.
“You didn’t have to,” Allison murmured, stroking his face fondly. She kissed him softly, smiling.
“I don’t expect to last long with having you around me and him inside me,” Jack informed her with a wry smile. She grinned knowingly, sliding her hands over his chest.
“Well, I’m hoping you’ll get very used to the attention,” she informed him, kissing him again.
“Me too,” Nathan agreed, draping himself over Jack to lean down and kiss Allison himself. He then leaned in to kiss Jack, slowly pulling him up into a sitting position. Nathan carefully slid inside Jack, making the sheriff gasp at the sensation. When Jack wiggled a little, indicating he was settled, Allison slid up, straddling him, most of her weight on the balls of her feet and pressed into the mattress.
“Told you we thought this out,” she informed him, tossing her hair out of her face as she slowly guided Jack’s erection inside her. Jack gasped, burying his head in her shoulder, overcome for a moment. “Shh, we’ve got you,” she murmured, rocking against him gently. Jack managed to get his emotions back in line, beginning to figure out how to try and move while pinned between his lovers. He brought his fingers down to play with Allison’s clit, rewarded by her soft moans.
It was slow, near torturous, with Allison and Nathan controlling most of his movement, but Jack felt nearly high from the sensation. This time Jack let his head fall back into Nathan’s shoulder. One of Nathan’s hands rose from the sheriff’s hips to turn his chin into a hungry kiss. It was too much, and Jack came with a strangled cry.
Nathan continued to ride through Jack’s orgasm, using the clenched muscles to speed his own and reaching to help Jack’s fingers speed Allison to a second crest, before the delicate balancing act, now undermined by spent energy and shaking muscles slowly toppled into a pile. Nathan seemed surprisingly coherent still, carefully cleaning them up and tucking Jack and Allison in, still half intertwined under the light quilt.
Allison shifted, slightly adjusting to curl into Jack, and after a moment, Nathan joined them, curling in behind Jack. “More talking?” Jack asked sleepily, and Nathan kissed his throat.
“I think Allison is down for the count, she’s been awake for two days straight, and we just gave her a rather good night,” he smirked, brimming with self satisfaction, stroking her hair gently. Allison turned into the touch, murmuring sleepily, and then curled back into Jack, breathing deeply. “And you’re not far behind.” He repeated the gesture with Jack, the smirk fading into something slightly softer when Jack simply blinked at him sleepily. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. Sleep now.”
Jack nodded, holding onto wakefulness for one long moment, pressing the feeling of being surrounded and held by the pair into his memory, before drifting off to sleep.
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 303: Best in Faux, AU’s off the end of 303.
A/N: Thanks to
goddessfreya_87 and snarkyandsparky for the beta work! Summary: Nathan’s second proposal has been accepted, but the details are still a little murky for Jack...
Previous Parts can be found here
Jack handed a plate with a large slice of pizza on it to Zoë, gently tugging her pen out of her hand when he set the plate in front of her. “Hey, working here,” she objected, scowling at him.
“Yeah, I know,” he said, giving her a small smile. His insides were twisted in nervous knots, and not just because of talking to her about leaving her alone for the night but because of the reasons why he was leaving. “Look, I need to talk to you about something, and I’m gonna screw this up so… maybe be patient?”
“Sure, Dad, what’s going on?” Zoë’s voice was soft with worry, and she took a small bite of the mushroom pizza, nodding approvingly.
“You’re, ah, going to have the place to yourself tonight,” he told her, and she tilted her head, a smile sliding onto her face.
“Dad, good for you, got a date!” she crowed. “Come on, who is she?”
“Well…” Jack started, trying to decide how to tell Zoë, and her expression went smug.
“Oh, is it a he?” she asked, giving him a knowing look. “Don’t worry, last time Mom was here, she showed me pictures of your boyfriend from before you met her. Not bad, though his hair was kind of funny.”
“Yeah,” Jack said dryly, letting his head fall forward. “Look, Zo, I’m not sure yet exactly what’s going to happen tonight, and normally, I’d tell you all about it…”
“Wow,” Zoë blinked, looking surprised. “You’re really nervous, huh?”
“Yeah,” Jack admitted, shrugging. “Look, when we get things hashed out and settled, you and I are going to have a long talk about it, I promise.”
“Okay,” Zoë replied, shrugging. “But, it’s a good thing, right?”
“I think so,” Jack replied, giving her a lopsided grin. “But when am I ever right about these things?”
“So, are you wearing that?” Zoë asked, wrinkling her nose at the t-shirt and jeans.
Jack looked down, confused. “What?”
*-*
At quarter till ten, now properly outfitted in Zoë’s opinion in a blue button down over his black shirt and tighter, dark jeans, he fiddled nervously with his keys, staring at the countertop as though he’d find his courage there. “Dad, seriously, this will be good for you,” Zoë remarked, giving him a reassuring smile over her accelerated physics. “Besides, it’s about time you got past the whole Allison/Stark thing.”
Jack gave her a wary look, thinking she was in for a big shock if things actually worked out that evening. “Go on, you’re going to be late,” she urged, and Jack headed out the door, trying not to feel like he was dragging his feet.
His nerves were getting the best of him, and he struggled to get his Jeep up to the speed limits, parking in front of Allison’s house, where Nathan had all but moved in a couple weeks earlier, and climbed out of the Jeep. He paused, leaning against the passenger door and looking up at the house, trying to calm himself. “Just go in,” he muttered and pushed himself forward, knocking on the screen door.
“Upstairs,” Nathan’s voice floated down to him, so Jack entered, stalling by closing and latching the door behind him. He walked upstairs one step at a time, arching an eyebrow when he found Nathan sprawled lazily across the bed, more casual than Jack had ever witnessed in track pants and a tight t-shirt.
“Hey,” Jack said, and Nathan sat up a little, his eyes scanning Jack’s carefully, nodding as though he saw what he expected. He stood, closing the distance between them, devouring Jack’s mouth with an intense, consuming kiss.
“Better?” Nathan asked, and Jack smiled a little ruefully, nodding as he realized a few of the knots in his stomach had loosened. “Now, which one of them made you wear these jeans?” Nathan teased, tucking his hands into Jack’s back pockets, pulling him close. “Zoë or SARAH?”
“Zoë,” Jack admitted, and Nathan made a little sound of approval before kissing him again, slowly pulling Jack over to the bed. “Where’s Allison?” Jack asked between kisses, as Nathan worked on unbuttoning Jack’s shirt.
“Shower,” Nathan replied shortly, more interested in nipping at Jack’s neck. “She informed me that you would be nervous, and I should make you comfortable.”
“And you think this is what she had in mind?” Jack gasped when Nathan scraped his teeth along his pulse point, before sliding up to capture the other man’s lips.
“I’m sure of it,” Nathan grinned, easing a hand along Jack’s face, cradling his head in his hands. “To be honest, she didn’t quite believe me about the two of us. Wanted to see proof.”
“Knew it couldn’t have been as easy as you pretended,” Jack teased the other man, tugging him closer. Nathan obliged him by pressing Jack down to the mattress, covering the other man’s body with his own. The kisses were hungry and left Jack aching, sliding hands under Nathan’s t-shirt, tugging it off, breaking the kisses only to remove it. To Jack’s surprise, Nathan made no move to remove Jack’s clothing, simply letting the other man explore his bare skin and focusing on the kisses.
The bed shifted under additional weight, and Jack broke the kiss, looking up into Allison’s warm brown eyes. “Hi,” she greeted him with a warm smile, ignoring the fact that Nathan was still focused on kissing Jack’s throat.
“Been watching a while?” Nathan asked knowingly before reaching the weak spot behind Jack’s ear and latching on, showing Allison how to make the sheriff arch and melt bonelessly back down to the mattress.
“Not fair,” Jack protested, and Nathan grinned down at him.
“But it always lets me win,” Nathan replied fondly. He eased back a little so he and Jack could sit up, and Jack could see Allison properly now, wrapped in a robe and wet hair falling in loose tangles. She shifted a little closer to him and hesitated, turning to Nathan. Jack likewise turned to the other man, who sighed, reaching out a hand and pulling Allison into a soft kiss.
Jack watched the kiss, a little fascinated by the tenderness, surprised when Nathan gently turned Allison toward Jack, clear permission given. She leaned in slowly, and carefully Jack also leaned in, meeting her halfway in a soft, tentative kiss. Allison was the one to break away, her fingers gently stroking the side of Jack’s face, looking for something in his expression. Apparently finding it, she leaned in and kissed him again, exploring more this time, and Jack made a little noise of surprise when Nathan resumed his attack on Jack’s neck.
“Shh,” Allison said, starting to imitate Nathan’s movements. “You’re wearing far too much clothing right now,” she informed him, a smiling snaking across her face. “And I didn’t get very far last time I tried to undress you.”
“I…uh, am I the only one thinking we should talk a little first?” Jack asked, halting the other two. Allison sighed, lacing her fingers through Jack’s with a wry smile.
“Time?” she asked Nathan, who glanced over at the bedside clock, grumbled inaudibly, and Allison grinned triumphantly.
“I’m missing something,” Jack said, looking between them, confused.
“Jack, I knew you’d call a halt as soon as you’d gotten settled in and calmer,” she told him, though she slid a little closer, almost cuddling against him. “But I was also pretty sure you needed a demonstration of our intentions.”
“You walked in here wound tighter than I’ve ever seen,” Nathan pointed out, situating himself on the other side of Jack, a gentle comforting hand low on Jack’s back echoing the easy teasing. “And I bet her that you’d take longer to realize we needed to talk this out.”
“What’d you lose?” Jack asked, and Nathan grimaced.
“Cooking dinner for the week,” Nathan replied, making Jack chuckle. “Yeah, just wait till she starts wrapping you around her little finger.”
“Oh, I think it’s too late for that,” Allison remarked, brushing her fingers through Jack’s hair. “So, maybe start with telling us what sort of ground rules you want, Jack.”
Jack hesitated, catching the guarded look on Nathan’s face. “Look, I’ll start, since I have the simplest demands, apparently,” Allison broke in impatiently. “From what I just saw, the first isn’t going to be a problem. I want this to be an equal partnership, all three of us. Nathan said…” she gestured between them, and Jack nodded.
“No one would believe it,” he joked, giving Allison a small smile.
“Took me a bit,” Allison agreed nonchalantly. “Then I got to thinking about the appeal of that idea. Watching the two of you.”
“Hmm, I thought that might be your reaction,” Nathan murmured, a knowing light in his eyes.
“Good to know, but she’s not the jealous one,” Jack agreed, looking over at Nathan.
“As long as I’m not being left out, I am capable of sharing,” Nathan grumbled. Seeing two serious looks pinned on him, he sighed, settling in a little closer to Jack. “It didn’t bother me, surprisingly,” he told them bluntly, shrugging at their skeptical looks. “I realized I could slide in, kiss either of you, be with either of you. And I was fine.”
“Makes sense to me,” Jack admitted, imitating Nathan’s shrug when Allison turned an odd look on him. “It’s what decided me, basically. I couldn’t walk away when Nathan was offering me everything.”
“Okay, so stipulation number two,” Allison continued, apparently accepting this answer. “Kevin and Zoë.”
“That’s on my list too,” Jack agreed, nodding. “When do we tell them about this, and what do we tell them?”
“And if we’re telling them, this had better be a pretty permanent change,” Allison said. “I don’t want to risk upsetting Kevin if this falls apart quickly, but I don’t think he’ll have trouble with accepting that he gets more adults to care for him.”
“I imagine Zoë will be harder,” Nathan mused, and quickly explained when Jack gave him a sideways glance. “Kevin already likes all three of us. Zoë has no reason to like me or trust this arrangement.”
“She may just be relieved that I’m happy and dating,” Jack returned dryly, thinking of how eager she’d been to get him out the door.
“Even me?” Nathan questioned him, and Jack turned, kissing the other man gently.
“She likes you, admires your mind at least,” Jack replied reassuringly. He could sense Allison’s approval of his reading of Nathan’s insecurity, and a moment later she was cuddled even closer to him, chin on his shoulder and one leg wrapped behind him.
“So we have to figure out when and how to tell the kids, and anyone else for that matter,” Nathan observed, a finger tapping against his lower lip, carefully thinking, Jack noticed. “Eventually I’m going to refuse to keep this a secret.”
“Aren’t you the master of secrets?” Jack teased the other man, and Allison nodded, her chin tapping against Jack’s shoulder with the motion.
“What’s with the interest in public knowledge?” she asked Nathan curiously.
“Bragging rights,” Nathan replied smugly. Rolling his eyes when they both gave him a look, he added with a long suffering sigh, “Because secrecy ends up with one of us feeling like a dirty little secret, most likely Jack, and goes against your stipulation number one, Allie.”
Jack and Allison exchanged a brief look, and Allison leaned over, kissing Nathan fiercely. “Thanks,” she told him.
Jack was considering Nathan carefully, watching him. “What?” Nathan demanded gruffly.
Instead of answering, unable to find words for his relief, Jack took his cue from Allison and kissed Nathan demandingly. Nathan groaned into the kiss, and Jack pulled away, knowing if he didn’t, he wouldn’t want to stop at all.
“Any other stipulations?” Allison asked Nathan, who blinked, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. Jack grinned, pleased to have helped so clearly derail the genius’s brain.
“Yeah,” Nathan replied suddenly, a thought occurring to him, and he looked over Jack’s head to lock eyes with Allison. “But we’ll get to it.”
“Am I missing something?” Jack asked, and Nathan grinned at him.
“Almost always, but confused is a cute look on you,” he informed Jack. Jack knocked his shoulder against Nathan’s.
“He’s got a point,” Allison agreed, leaning in and kissing the tip of Jack’s nose. “All right, sheriff, what about your terms?”
“I hate to be the pessimist, but we probably want some sort of exit clause,” Jack said. “What if after a couple of weeks, months, or even years, one of us doesn’t want to be with one of the others?”
“They walk away,” Nathan countered, as though this ought to be perfectly obvious.
“Oh,” Allison shook her head, suddenly comprehending. “No, Jack means what if I decide I don’t want to be with you, even though I still want to be with him, right?”
“I know that,” Nathan replied impatiently, cutting off Jack before he could agree. “And I still say that in that case, you walk away. It’s an all or nothing system. It’s the only way it can work, just like a marriage.”
“Harsh, and awfully hard for anyone to walk away. We end up forced to make it work,” Jack mused, but the idea appealed to him, especially after the divorce with Abby. “But I can live with that.”
“I think it brings us to Nathan’s concession,” Allison remarked.
“It’s not a concession, it’s a compromise,” Nathan scowled. “I told you why he stopped sleeping with me.”
Jack’s eyes widened, looking to Allison. “We’re postponing the wedding,” she told him.
“What?” Jack said, a little incredulous. “Because of me?”
“Equal parts in this,” Nathan reminded him. “That’s Allison’s stipulation, remember? So when all three of us are ready to be married, then there will be a wedding.”
“I—” Jack started, and was cut off by a look from Nathan.
“Stipulation from you,” Nathan continued relentlessly. “The lines you won’t cross. I know you’ve pushed your moral boundaries, Jack. I don’t think you can break them completely.”
“And we don’t want you to have to,” Allison added quickly, seeing the objection rising on Jack’s lips. “Jack, this arrangement does cost us all a little, but you shouldering the biggest portion of sacrifices won’t happen. Besides, if this breaks down, Nathan and I can still be married later.”
Jack remained silent, and Nathan reached out, gripping his chin and forcing Jack to meet his gaze. “Jack. We want to be with you. And in case you didn’t figure it out yet, it’s not just a casual thing we’re talking about anymore.”
“Yeah, I know, I guess I didn’t realize…” Jack babbled a little, and Allison took pity on him, leaning up to kiss him gently.
“Don’t look at this as some huge sacrifice on the part of Nathan and I,” she informed him with a rather mischievous grin. “We certainly aren’t losing anything. In fact, we’re gaining a sheriff.”
“Ah, well, when you put it that way,” Jack replied, grinning a little sheepishly. “But I refuse to be anywhere nearby when you tell Vince.”
“Oh, not it,” Allison agreed, giving Nathan a small smile. “All you, honey.”
Jack almost laughed at the mock-horrified look on Nathan’s face. “Okay, not to turn things serious too much, but…” Jack hesitated, trying to make sure he formulated his words carefully so he didn’t upset Nathan. “We, all three of us, have a problem with secrets. Keeping them, not sharing info, and we need to change that. At least as much as possible.”
“Well, I agree to a point,” Nathan replied, rolling his eyes. “Jack, you don’t have any secrets.”
“Henry and I are investigating Thorne and her involvement with a bunker under Eureka where we found berry generic radiation,” Jack blurted out, giving Nathan a pointed look. “I have a file on your artifact that would probably shock you with how much I know. How much I knew even before the accident.”
“Wait, baryogenic radiation?” Allison said, giving Jack an astonished look. “Jack, that’s not—”
“Possible, yeah, that’s what Henry said,” Jack replied, shrugging. “He said that it was just a theory before he found it. And while you can get the details out of him tomorrow with me, I was just making a point. We have a problem with secrets.”
“Some things are just going to be too highly classified for us to say,” Nathan reminded Jack, grimacing. “Which brings us to the fact that you and I both have horrible tempers.”
“How did that work while you two were sleeping together?” Allison asked curiously.
Nathan and Jack both flushed a little, and Allison blinked, looking between them. “Uh, either we didn’t speak for a couple weeks then things would get tense enough that we needed an outlet so one of us came to find the other one,” Jack managed to say, stammering a little.
“Or?” Allison prompted, her eyes flicking between the two of them, looking impatient with curiosity.
“Well, there was this one memorable time where I ended up cuffed to my own bed and spanked before he…” Nathan spoke very quickly, both men flushing a little.
“Oh,” Allison said, eyebrows lifted. She sat back a little, her eyes widening slightly.
“Is she…?” Jack started, and Nathan nodded knowingly.
“Picturing it?” he finished. “Yeah.”
“Huh,” Jack replied, and Allison cocked her head, giving him a shark smile.
“I have a feeling you’re in trouble,” Jack told Nathan, giving him a smoldering look. “Maybe I should tell her about what happened after the dream sharing.”
“I thought you forgave him easier than me,” Allison remarked dryly. “Which brings us back to the point about not going to bed mad and trying to not have secrets. I think, Nathan, that we have to agree that we give Jack warning on when projects are genuinely classified, and we may not be able to tell him much.”
“And maybe let Jack and I know when we’re bringing work home, where it shouldn’t be?” Nathan suggested, giving Allison a shrug. “I’m bad at it, and Jack’s said the same on more than one occasion. But you do it better than either of us.”
“As long as I don’t end up in the middle of arguments,” Allison replied sternly. “You both have a tendency toward that as well.”
“I sort of wonder if that will happen less,” Jack broke in, looking thoughtful. “I mean, not the arguing, because clearly that’s not going to change, but the you in the middle part. Because until now, that’s where you’ve always been- in the middle. Now we’re kind of changing it, making this about all of us.”
“Jack makes a good point,” Nathan observed, rolling his eyes when Jack pantomimed shock. “It won’t happen right away, but I think with time, it’ll get easier.”
“And not going to bed mad, that’s probably a good point, except that in a crisis it could get hard to agree to that, when we don’t sleep for days or crash in different places,” Jack agreed. “But when things are calm, always hashing things out and setting aside arguments…”
Nathan and Allison exchanged a quick look, and Jack felt self-conscious. “It’s just…” Allison said, giving him a wary look. “Look, what I’m envisioning is that for a little while, we’re all going to have our own places. Even Nathan, who’s always kept his own house, but most nights all three of us end up in one place, one bed. Which is fine for the first few months while we navigate this relationship and work out the wrinkles. But we start looking for a place for all five of us. So we all go home together.”
Jack struggled to take a deep breath, taken aback by the seriousness of her proposal. “Oh,” he said, nodding. “Again, I didn’t realize…”
His words were cut off by Nathan’s suddenly intense scrutiny. “Ah,” Nathan murmured, lifting his palm to cup Jack’s face. “Nowhere in this, when I was convincing you, when you started thinking about it, or even when you accepted, nowhere did you think you’d be an equal,” he said softly. Jack started to pull back, and Nathan curled his fingers to hold on. “Allison guessed you would be nervous, but that’s not it at all, is it?”
Jack sighed when Allison started stroking his head gently, a concerned look on her face. “How did things end with Abby?” Nathan guessed, and Jack tried to jerk away, surprised by the direct hit. Nathan gently held on, his eyes locked and demanding.
“Jack?” Allison asked, now looking bewildered.
“She found someone else,” Jack said, keeping his tone even. “A good friend of mine.”
“And you’ve gotten used thinking of yourself as second best,” Allison realized, nestling as close to Jack as she could now, forcing him to lift his arm and pull her in closer. “Instead of seeing you’re the piece of this puzzle that we can’t live without.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jack remarked, shrugging. “But you two don’t really need me, you’re fine as…”
“I do,” Nathan disagreed firmly, his green eyes cool and narrow. “Jack, I risked my engagement because I couldn’t leave you behind. I need you.”
Jack held the gaze for a long moment and then nodded, understanding at last how much he was wanted. As though the nod were a signal, Nathan slid closer in, tangling his legs with Jack and Allison’s and tucking Jack into his embrace, almost the same way Allison had tucked herself into Jack’s. “And I think I do too,” Allison murmured to Jack, gently rubbing her hand over his heart. “There’s something between us, Jack, has been for a while. It got lost a little bit, but we’ll sort it out.”
“Okay,” Jack replied, and Allison shifted a little, her hands suddenly sliding under Jack’s shirt. He inhaled sharply, and Allison took the sign as encouragement, shifting again so she was straddling Jack’s lap.
“Anything else we need to settle urgently, or shall we talk some more later?” she asked, giving Jack a slow smile. “Because we do have other plans for you tonight.”
“I’m good,” he managed to stammer. Nathan had slid behind him and was nibbling at the back of his neck.
“We had some time to think about this,” Nathan murmured in Jack’s ear, his fingers joining Allison’s the effort to peel off Jack’s shirt. Jack relaxed a little into the touch, and his button up shirt and undershirt seemed to almost vanish. Allison kissed his throat softly, mimicking Nathan’s earlier move to the skin just behind Jack’s ear. Jack groaned, hands coming up to thread through Allison’s soft hair and pull her into a long, searching kiss.
“Now that you’re with the program,” Allison teased him, and her hands slid down to cup his groin daringly. “This is mine tonight.”
“And you’ve been saying no to letting me fuck you for far too long lately,” Nathan growled, turning Jack’s face so he could pour himself into a fierce kiss. Jack was barely aware of what Allison was doing until his cock hit cool air, freed by her deft hands. She slid away, giving him room to shimmy out of his pants and boxers. He saw Nathan, behind him, doing the same.
“Seems a bit unequal here,” Nathan drawled, tugging Jack backward into his lap, wrapping an arm around Jack and slowly stroking his cock. Allison looked a little flushed with both sets of eyes on her as she untied the sash on her robe. She slid her robe off slowly, baring the soft skin of her breasts. Nathan’s tempo picked up a little, and he shifted his hips against Jack’s back.
Jack was riveted, watching as she removed her underwear, then slid closer to Jack. “You okay?” she asked with a smirk, and Jack rose to the challenge, cupping one breast, thumb teasing the nipple making her arch into the touch. As soon as he’d touched, he couldn’t resist any longer, pulling her into a fierce kiss.
Allison’s nails raked along his shoulders, and Nathan’s lips soothed the skin, licking and kissing the trails. Jack shuddered under the dual sensations, then became aware of Allison rolling a condom on him. He gave her a questioning look, and she answered it with a firm, reassuring kiss. He’d have turned to aim the question at Nathan, but he’d handed Allison the condom in the first place.
While Nathan started teasing his ass with lube, Jack slowly kissed him way down Allison’s torso, paying special attention to the soft skin of her stomach, which proved not only sensitive, but a little ticklish, making her laugh. Her laughter helped ease the last lingering tension in the room, and Jack worked his way lower, his tongue turning her laugh into a surprised moan. He was hard pressed to maintain his concentration on Allison when Nathan pressed a finger into him, the touch skittering pleasantly through him.
He stayed focused on Allison though, watching and listening to where her most sensitive points were, as he had done once to learn Nathan’s body. He drove her over the edge, even though she gasped a half warning half delighted cry at him, tugging on his hair gently. Jack worked his way back up her body as Nathan worked a third finger in to stretch him.
“You didn’t have to,” Allison murmured, stroking his face fondly. She kissed him softly, smiling.
“I don’t expect to last long with having you around me and him inside me,” Jack informed her with a wry smile. She grinned knowingly, sliding her hands over his chest.
“Well, I’m hoping you’ll get very used to the attention,” she informed him, kissing him again.
“Me too,” Nathan agreed, draping himself over Jack to lean down and kiss Allison himself. He then leaned in to kiss Jack, slowly pulling him up into a sitting position. Nathan carefully slid inside Jack, making the sheriff gasp at the sensation. When Jack wiggled a little, indicating he was settled, Allison slid up, straddling him, most of her weight on the balls of her feet and pressed into the mattress.
“Told you we thought this out,” she informed him, tossing her hair out of her face as she slowly guided Jack’s erection inside her. Jack gasped, burying his head in her shoulder, overcome for a moment. “Shh, we’ve got you,” she murmured, rocking against him gently. Jack managed to get his emotions back in line, beginning to figure out how to try and move while pinned between his lovers. He brought his fingers down to play with Allison’s clit, rewarded by her soft moans.
It was slow, near torturous, with Allison and Nathan controlling most of his movement, but Jack felt nearly high from the sensation. This time Jack let his head fall back into Nathan’s shoulder. One of Nathan’s hands rose from the sheriff’s hips to turn his chin into a hungry kiss. It was too much, and Jack came with a strangled cry.
Nathan continued to ride through Jack’s orgasm, using the clenched muscles to speed his own and reaching to help Jack’s fingers speed Allison to a second crest, before the delicate balancing act, now undermined by spent energy and shaking muscles slowly toppled into a pile. Nathan seemed surprisingly coherent still, carefully cleaning them up and tucking Jack and Allison in, still half intertwined under the light quilt.
Allison shifted, slightly adjusting to curl into Jack, and after a moment, Nathan joined them, curling in behind Jack. “More talking?” Jack asked sleepily, and Nathan kissed his throat.
“I think Allison is down for the count, she’s been awake for two days straight, and we just gave her a rather good night,” he smirked, brimming with self satisfaction, stroking her hair gently. Allison turned into the touch, murmuring sleepily, and then curled back into Jack, breathing deeply. “And you’re not far behind.” He repeated the gesture with Jack, the smirk fading into something slightly softer when Jack simply blinked at him sleepily. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. Sleep now.”
Jack nodded, holding onto wakefulness for one long moment, pressing the feeling of being surrounded and held by the pair into his memory, before drifting off to sleep.
