He hadn’t been in immediate danger. He could’ve walked away while holding Jack at gunpoint, just in case. But he still shot him, only to watch Jack go ghostly pale and start bleeding all over the place. Loki could’ve lost him, and it scared him more than he wanted to admit. If being with Jack was what the universe meant for him, then he didn’t want to live out the rest of his miserable, lonely days without him. But now Jack was here with Loki, so generous to have forgiven him for all this mess.
Jack was on pain relief meds and limped a bit, but when Loki would ask, he kept saying he was fine. Fortunately, the doctors confirmed that Jack had been extremely lucky not to have any organs pierced.
But as Loki thought back yet again to Jack bleeding out, naked on the porch, telling Loki the story of his crush, Jack’s fingers trailed along Loki’s thigh. It started a muscle-melting sensation that soon spread all over Loki’s body. He had to hold on to the steering wheel to keep the car steady, but a low, strange rasp still left his mouth. He stole a glance at Jack, suddenly realizing how rare it was that Jack would touch him in normal situations. Even during sex, Jack would rarely touch his body all that much, content with just fucking Loki’s ass and jerking him off. Loki was pretty sure it had a lot to do with Jack claiming he wasn’t into guys.
Since the confessions Jack had made while thinking he was going to die, there was a strange unspoken closeness between them that didn’t just come from the weakness of Jack’s body. It was as if Loki had not only made a hole in Jack’s flesh, but had also cracked something deeper in him and managed to slide his fingers into the open wound. Sure, his hands were left bloodied, and sharing his own truth about the cancer made the prospect of dying more real. But as strange as it was, after those two conversations, it felt as though they had really stopped being strangers to each other. Loki didn’t know what it was that they had, but there was something new there. Something based on more than just instinct and wanting to get off.
Jack pulled his fingers away, as if Loki’s thigh burned him. They drove closer to the house and it emerged from behind the trees. “Fucking hell! This is not the shit I need right now.”
Loki focused on the house and slowed down when he noticed two massive motorbikes parked in the front yard. His stomach clenched so tightly that he felt like sticking his head out the window and throwing up the cake he’d had at the hospital. “Your friends...?”
“Yeah, they probably think I went on a bender. Fuck, fuck.” As soon as they parked, Jack got out of the car, groaning quietly as he walked. “Hey, fuckers!” he yelled toward the open door. “Snooping much?”
Loki locked the car and followed him on weak legs. It was always such an emotional rollercoaster with Jack. What would he tell the guys? Was he secretly holding a grudge? One could never tell. What if Jack was pretending to be nice only to drown him in the ocean after all?
The front door opened before Jack reached the steps, and Sam emerged. With his arms folded across his chest, he looked even broader in the shoulders than he actually was. He could easily break Loki’s neck if he knew what had happened to his best friend.
“The fuck? Where have you been?”
Jack groaned and pulled up his T-shirt, presenting the white dressing on his wound. “Chill, I’ve been at the hospital. Had an emergency.”
Monster was the second man to come out of Jack’s house. His usually blank face was now twisted into a frown. “Carry your phone with you then.”
Jack waved his hand. “Kinda hard to do that when you have a sudden fucking appendix emergency.”
Monster’s ice cold gaze slid between Jack and Loki. “That’s not where the appendix is.”
Sam spread his arms and pointed to the floor. “There’s blood all over the fucking porch.”
Loki stood behind Jack, trying not to catch anyone’s attention, but the moment Monster’s eyes settled on him, it was like being dissected with a scalpel.
“You’re awfully quiet,” said Monster, and Loki stopped breathing. He half expected either one of the men to turn on him. Would he manage to run back to the car? Could he drive off in time? Monster was about as tall as Jack, and Sam’s thick septum piercing made him look like a bull ready to charge.
Jack stood closer to Loki. “What the fuck does he have to do with this? And so it wasn’t the appendix. Whatever. Not gonna share my medical history.”
Loki bit his lip, somewhat calmer now that Jack stood between him and Monster.
Sam’s chest rose and fell. He shook his head and stepped aside, gesturing at the door. “Let’s talk inside,” he said, already typing on his phone.