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Jack Hunter knew two things to be irrevocably true: 1, He was absolutely enamored with Eric Matthews, and 2, He was absolutely terrified of telling him the truth.
The cool New York air kept Jack grounded in some ways. It reminded him of those chilly autumn nights he and Eric would share huddled together on the balcony floor drinking cheap Rosé they stole from Rachel, as they shared a thick plaid blanket Eric had taken from Cory a few weeks prior without telling him why. He didn't need to know the reason why, because nights like these had only belonged to Jack and Eric.
Nights much like this one. They weren't comforted by a warm blanket, though. Nor were they huddled together. But the fountain they sat on in Washington Square Park gave Jack a small slither of hope that they'd pick up right where they left off. Even though it wouldn't be easy.
Agent LaChance stood a few feet away, stiff as ever and surveilling the area for Senator Matthews's protection. It felt insane to even put the title of "Senator" before Eric's last name, yet it made perfect sense. Eric Matthews had always been an idiot genius.
"Before St. Upidtown and all this senator stuff, I used to come here at night to clear my mind," Eric spoke, his voice almost melodic to Jack's ears. As he spoke, a small smile crept onto Eric's face, and soon, Jack mirrored it. Eric was just that captivating. He'd always been that way.
Jack watched as the water that shot up from the fountain reflected a neon blue and red tint from the surrounding lights that illuminated New York City. All of this felt correct to him. Like if he hadn't sold his soul to some evil corporation for the money he'd be here every other night with Eric, laughing about things that happened to them during the week while sharing a salted pretzel from a cart.
He fidgets with his jacket in an attempt to distract himself from every mistake he's made within fifteen years. It doesn't work, because Eric's soft hazel eyes aren't admiring the water anymore, they're looking straight at him. Jack runs a hand over the rim of the fountain they're sitting on, letting the rough surface provide some sort of comfort to him because he knows what's coming next.
"Jack, what happened to us?" Eric's voice is quiet. He reaches out to grab Jack's hand, which causes him to hold back his pent-up tears. Jack wishes that the man in front of him was meaner. More unforgiving and colder. But that isn't Eric at all. And even though Jack had made the biggest mistake of his life by cutting off contact with Eric for so long, Eric didn't seem mad.
He was so, so patient. Jack didn't think he deserved to be treated so kindly.
"I really wish I had an answer. I wish there was an actual reason that I stopped talking to you." Jack uses his free hand to wipe his eyes, not wanting to move the hand that Eric was now running a thumb over in a soothing motion. He so badly wants to tell Eric the truth, he wants to shout it from the Empire State Building, but being in love with someone isn't a good enough reason as to why you completely shut them out of your life.
"I, uh, I think I was just scared." Eric's look of confusion meant he wasn't fully aware of how Jack felt. Jack thought he'd be reassured by that, but it made everything feel tighter around him. He was gonna have to tell Eric how he felt tonight. Everything he's been holding in since college was going to be exposed tonight. All because that damn fountain got him worked up.
"Scared of what, Jack? What kept you away from me for so long?" Eric's holding both his hands now, and Jack is fighting wars with himself on the inside to not let those butterflies in his stomach come out of his throat in the form of an "I love you."
Jack's been trying to tell Eric he loves him since Pennbrook. Since the first night they sat close together on that red couch watching some shitty horror movie Jack turned on just to grab Eric's attention because he knows how much he loves them. He knew he loved Eric as soon as he laid his head on Jack's shoulder, closing up any space on the couch between them and making Jack's heart do somersaults.
"What if I told you it would scare you too?" Eric's face dropped. He was now looking at him the same way Jack assumes he does while he's in some super important senator business meeting with other super important people. "Jack, I don't think anything you say could scare me away from you." He scoots a little bit closer to him, letting Jack inhale his scent from where he sits. It's familiar. It reminds him of home, and suddenly he's a college freshman wondering why he finds his male roommate so damn attractive for the first time again.
They weren't even here to discuss the way Jack has always loved Eric. Eric brought him here to talk about the whole "Evil company who wants to buy my vote," thing. Yet here Jack was, seconds away from spilling his deepest secret to the one person he'd been hiding it from all these years.
Feeling a cool breeze once again reminded him of how safe he felt with Eric on that balcony. Jack had always felt safe with him. Even now, as Eric wears a fancy suit that comes with a personal bodyguard and all, Jack Hunter felt completely and utterly safe. He hadn't felt that way in a really long time.
"Do you remember when we were in college and we'd steal Rachel's bottle of cheapass Rosé to drink on the balcony even though we knew she would be pissed at us the next morning?" Jack said, trying to calm his nerves with each word he spoke. Eric's face alone was making him nervous. Why was he still so cute after all these years?
"Of course, I remember that. You aren't easy to forget, Jack." It took everything in Jack to not grab him by his head and kiss him after hearing that.
"Back then, it felt like you and me against the world. After we graduated I was terrified of having to face reality. We weren't gonna be able to run to Mr. Feeny at every little inconvenience for advice." Jack looked away from Eric and back at the water coming up from the fountain. He couldn't look him in the eyes while he was on the verge of spilling his heart out to him.
"There was absolutely nobody I felt I could talk to about this. Not even Rachel." Jack looks down. He's too ashamed to look anywhere else.
Then suddenly, Jack's chin is tilted up by Eric. Those butterflies are clawing their way out at this point. No chance of fighting them now.
"About what? What's been bothering you all this time?" Eric's voice is so soft and gentle on Jack's ears. It gives him all the clarity he needs to finally tell the man he's in love with the truth.
"I'vebeeninlovewithyousincethedayImetyou." Eric laughs at how jumbled together the sentence was. "Could you repeat that, but slower this time?" Eric says, placing both of his hands on either of Jack's arms, now staring into his eyes.
"I've been in love with you since the day I met you." An 'o' forms on Eric's face and Jack questions whether or not he should've spoken before Eric's lips are on his and he finally feels comfortable enough to let his guard down. He lets himself sink into the kiss as if it were a bed he was coming home to after a long day. Everything about the kiss felt like home to Jack, and he hoped Eric felt the same way.
They kissed as if Agent LaChance wasn't standing several feet ahead of them. They kissed as if it hadn't been fifteen years since they'd last spoken. Like this kiss was enough to make up for several years of regret and radio silence from Jack. As if the answer to all of Jack's problems lay in a kiss he'd been waiting for all his life.
Washington Square Park is huge, but at that moment, it felt like it was their own little world. Like everyone else needed a passcode to get in because it belonged to Eric and Jack only.
Eric only pulls away for air, not because of regret. Jack definitely doesn't regret kissing him. Their faces are red as they pant for air, slightly shocked at what they've just done. Eric smiles at him. It's not a "Family friendly Senator Matthews" smile, it's that classic Eric Matthews smile he remembers from all those years ago at Pennbrook. And God does it remind him of a simpler time.
"I'm in love with you too," Eric says as he grabs a fist full of Jack's blazer and grips it. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that?" He leans in and gives Jack a peck on the lips before pulling away.
"So, uh. What now?" Jack says, wide smile smiling in contrast to how afraid he was of showing emotion when they started talking.
"I don't live that far from here. Do you wanna..." He made a weird motion with his hands that Jack couldn't decipher, only staring at Eric with a look of bewilderment.
"Sex." Eric said with a whisper, dragging out the 'x' for longer than he should've. Eric asked him a serious question in the most Eric Matthews way possible. He genuinely hadn't changed one bit since college. It was endearing.
"Yeah. I wanna sex." Jack said with a playful smirk. Eric immediately hushed Jack and covered his mouth, gesturing over to Agent LaChance who was probably just pretending to not hear anything they were saying.
Jack's salted pretzel fantasy from earlier felt like it could actually come true now.
He wasn't going to let it go no matter what. Eric is his home, and absolutely nothing was going to keep Jack away from him anymore.