Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Relationship timeline ~ Around fourth month.

Daniel waved Catherine and Ernest goodbye once they dropped him off in front of his building. He usually enjoyed academic conferences, but he had been sick the previous weekend and was still recovering when he and Catherine had to board their flight on Monday. It was now Friday, not even 5 PM, and all he wanted was a shower, food, and his bed for the whole weekend.

He dragged his bag up the four flights of stairs before letting it drop as he stepped into his apartment. The couch was tempting for a quick pause before dealing with his aforementioned needs, but if he let himself sink into it, he would probably just fall asleep there and wake up at two in the morning starving. So, he headed to the bathroom, pulling his t-shirt and sweater off at the same time and tossing them into the laundry basket. When he reached out to turn on the water and let it warm up as he took care of the rest of his clothes, his doorbell rang.

He groaned, considering ignoring it. Unfortunately, it rang a second time. Daniel sighed and went back to his front door. Opening it, he blinked at the man standing on the other side.

“Jack?”

“Hey, Danny,” Jack said. “You sounded exhausted on the phone before boarding. I thought I’d bring some food that doesn’t need to be cooked, so you wouldn’t go hungry tonight.”

“You… what?”

“I do like this look on you,” Jack said, his eyes roaming over Daniel’s bare chest as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “Unfortunately for me, I don’t think you were getting ready for my company.”

Jack couldn’t help but smile at the still confused look on Daniel's face.

“Go take your shower. I’ll have dinner on the table when you’re done. Then you can go straight to bed.” Jack leaned in, brushing a quick kiss against Daniel’s lips. “Go.” he urged.

“Right. Sure…” Daniel answered, heading back to the bathroom.

As promised, ten minutes later, when he came back in sweatpants, various takeout container had been placed on the coffee table, and a full plate was waiting for him.

“Did you go out of your way from the precinct to my apartment just to get me my favorite takeout?”

“It’s not that much of a detour.”

Daniel shook his head fondly. He knew exactly what kind of detour Jack had to make. He sat down on the couch next to him and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Jack replied as if it was nothing, grabbing both plates and handing one to Daniel.

They ate in silence, Daniel too tired to make conversation and Jack respecting his need for quiet. Once his plate was back on the table, Daniel scooted over, snuggling against Jack’s side and wrapping his arms around his waist.

Jack smiled, slipping an arm free and wrapping it around Daniel’s shoulders. He kept him close for a moment before squeezing his shoulder and pressing a kiss into his hair.

“Time for bed,” Jack whispered before gently detangling himself from Daniel’s arms under his weak protest. Jack chuckled and pulled him to his feet, steering him toward the bedroom.

Once he was buried under the covers, Daniel tugged on Jack’s arm.

“Come with me,” Daniel murmured, already half asleep.

“Give me a few minutes and I will.”

After cleaning up the rest of their meal, Jack stripped down and slid under the covers, spooning Daniel from behind. The professor was already asleep, but his body instinctively snuggled closer to the warm one behind him. 

It was too early for Jack to sleep, but with Daniel curled against him, he figured there was no better way to start the weekend.

Chapter Text

Sunlight was starting to filter through the curtains. Daniel was still half-asleep and tucked under the covers in his bed. He could feel Jack’s arms across his back and his hair tickling his shoulder. He smiled lazily, enjoying the warm and peaceful Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by a phone buzzing on the nightstand. Daniel sighed and stretched his arm out, grabbing the offending device blindly. He half-opened an eye to locate the green button on the screen and, with a sleepy grumble, said:

“Hello?”

There was a beat of silence on the other side of the line before: “Who is that?”

Daniel frowned, not recognizing the voice.

“You called me. I should be asking that.”

“I am not calling you.”

“And yet, here we are. Talking on the phone,” replied Daniel sarcastically.

“Where did you get this phone?”

“What?”

“This phone is not yours. Where did you get it?”

“My nightstand.”

“Listen, buddy, I know for a fact that phone isn’t yours. This phone belongs to a cop, to my partner.”

Daniel jerked upward, turning around to sit, dislodging Jack’s arm in the process. The detective groaned at the sudden movement that pulled him out of sleep.

“Fuck,” said Daniel as he checked the caller ID, realizing this wasn’t his phone.

“You can say that again. So, want to try one more time? Tell me where my partner is and what you are doing with his phone?”

Daniel, awake but still uncaffeinated, answered: “In my bed.” Then facepalmed.

Again, silence. Then laughter.

Daniel closed his eyes and let himself fall against the headboard. Jack opened an eye when the bed shook and lifted an eyebrow at the laughter he could hear through the phone Daniel was holding.

Seeing the brown stare on him, Daniel held the phone out. “It’s for you.”

Jack, confused, glanced at the screen, sighed, and took the device.

“Hello, Charlie,” Jack said, rolling on his back and waiting for the inevitable teasing.

“Well, well, well, Detective O’Neill. Is there anything I should know about?”

“Nope.”

“Really? You mean that if I swing by your place right now, I will find you home. Or should I save myself the trip because you are somewhere else in the city, tangled in some mysterious man sheets?” said Charlie, amusement clear in his voice.

“Anything I can do for you, Charlie?”

“Well, since Tess is away for the weekend, I wanted to invite you to a movie marathon/pizza day. But I wouldn’t dare interrupt your busy schedule. See you tomorrow!” Charlie said before yelling for Daniel to hear him: “Bye, mysterious man!”

Jack groaned as he hung up and set the phone back on the nightstand. He rubbed his face with both hands. Best friends were a pain in the ass sometimes.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel whispered.

Jack peeked at him trhough his fingers before turning on his side and grabbing Daniel by the waist.

“It’s okay. I just didn’t expect to get teased by my best friend first thing in the morning.”

“I should have checked the ID or even if it was my phone before…”

“Hey, hey, hey. Stop that. It was only a matter of time before I told Charlie I was dating someone, or that he figured it out himself,” Jack assured, kissing Daniel’s just above his hip bone before pulling him down on the mattress and into his arms. “He’s gonna be unbearable tomorrow, but I can deal with him. I’ve been doing it for a long time.”

Daniel still looked tense, so Jack pulled him a bit more against him, stroking his cheek gently.

“Hey, look at me.” Daniel’s eyes met his, unsure.

“You didn’t mess up, okay? Granted, Charlie is not going to forget about it, ever. But… listen, I don’t know where this thing between us is going, but I want to find out. And it’s not my idiot of a best friend that’s going to ruin it." Jack said, before trying to lighten the mood, by adding: "Besides, I already know you can’t be trusted with social interactions before coffee. It’s my fault I left my phone there last night.”

As intended, Daniel’s mouth twitched, some of the tension slipping from his body. Jack took the chance to distract him further by kissing along his jaw. When Daniel tilted his head back to give better access, he knew the morning was going to be a good one, despite Charlie’s disruption.

“So…” Charlie started as soon as he and Jack were alone in the car on the way to a crime scene. “Do I get a name, at least?”

Jack stayed silent, his eyes on the road.

“Come on, Jack. Don’t tell me it was just some weekend fun.”

“It wasn’t.”

“So…”

Jack sighed. Charlie wasn’t going to let go.

“His name is Daniel. We’ve been seeing each other for a month and a half. More or less.”

“And you haven’t said anything?”

“Oh, shut up. It took you two months to tell me about Tess.”

“Fair. What else?”

“He teaches at UChicago, has two PhDs. Archaeology and Linguistics.”

“How old is he?” Charlie asked with a smirk before Jack hit him in the shoulder.

“He is younger than us, so shut up.”

Charlie let out a low whistle at that.

“Big brain, um. Any long term potential?”

“I…” Jack hesitated, making Charlie look at him closely. “I hope so.”

“Well, he certainly made an impression on the phone. I wasn’t prepared for the mental image of my best friend in someone else’s bed on that beautiful Sunday morning.”

Jack rolled his eyes but couldn’t help a smile tugging at his lips.

“Yeah… and he was blaming himself for it afterwards. He then decided not to answer any phone calls before getting his first morning dose of caffiene, ever again.”

“Oh, damn. Another coffee addict?”

“You and I are nothing compared to him,” Jack told him as he parked the car.

Charlie watched Jack get out of the car and couldn’t help but grin. He could already tell that Jack was smitten, and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed it before. He then opens the door to follow Jack, looking forward to the day he’d get to meet the professor.

Chapter Text

Jack looked up from his book when Cleo sneezed. He watched the cat yawn before she leaned her head back down, returning to her nap, Daniel’s thumb gently stroking her fur. For the past hour, they had taken over the couch, one at each end, their legs tangled in the middle. Cleo had joined them soon after, claiming the best spot against Daniel. Jack’s eyes traveled upward to Daniel’s face, focused on his book. They had planned to visit a new museum exhibit today, and while it wasn’t Jack’s favorite way to spend a weekend, seeing Daniel light up made it worth it. And despite the week he’d had, Jack had been ready to follow his boyfriend anywhere. However, when he had btought it up over breakfast, Daniel had quietly canceled.

“What do you mean we’re not going?”“

The exhibit will still be up for the next two months. We can go another day when you’re less tired.

“I…”

“I know the hours you did last week because of your case, Jack. Plus, roaming around a museum isn’t exactly your idea of weekend fun…”

“I don’t…” Jack started.

“Shhh. Don’t deny it. We have different ideas of what’s fun. I appreciate you tagging along, but I thought a quiet day would suit you better after the week you’ve had.”

“Well, I can think of a few pastimes we both enjoy immensely.” Jack smirked, making Daniel chuckle and shake his head. “Plus, it’s only fair, I drag you more than once to a baseball match.”

“I usually bring a book to those, so it’s not too much of a hardship.”

“Still.”

Daniel smiled. Their interests differed greatly, but they were still things they both enjoyed doing together, beyond the bedroom activities.

“So what’s the plan for today, then?”

“Well, I’d say the weather is perfect for a lazy, cozy day on the couch under a blanket or two.”

“With a purring machine on top?”

“Most likely,” Daniel said with a smile, glancing at Cleo grooming herself on the windowsill.

Returning to the present, Jack grabbed Daniel’s foot over the blanket and began massaging it. Daniel looked up, meeting Jack’s thoughtful gaze.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just thinking…”

“I can see that.”

Jack hesitated, unsure how to start. There was a subject he had been wanting to bring up for two weeks but hadn’t found the right way yet. Daniel waited patiently, having learned that Jack needed time to organize his thoughts before discussing anything involving their relationship.

“Two weeks ago, I got my end-of-lease notice for the end of next month. Since then I’ve been thinking… Well, we’ve been together a little over a year. And… you know… I love you. So… What I’m trying to ask is: how do you feel about living together?”

Daniel wasn’t expecting this, but it made sense. He had thought about it once or twice, on weeks when Jack spent more time here than his own place. It was a big step, especially for him, having never lived with anyone since leaving his parents’ home. But the idea of Jack around all the time sounded… pretty good.

His silence worried Jack for a moment. “If you don’t think it’s a good idea, or that it’s too soon… it’s okay.”

“No, I’m just… I wasn’t expecting that. But thinking about it, you’ve mostly lived here anyway over the past few months.”

“True.”

“I’d love for you to move in.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Jack grabbed Daniel’s legs and pulled him in suddenly. Daniel let out a surprised gasp as Cleo, startled, rolled over and landed on her paws. Jack laughed, closing the distance, wrapping his arms around Daniel’s waist and kissing him. Daniel’s arms curled around Jack’s neck as he deepened the kiss. Cleo, unimpressed by her interrupted nap, jumped onto the back of the couch to observe the humans antics with a scowl.

Chapter Text

Jack was deep in his book when he felt a vibration next to his leg. He looked down to see Daniel’s phone lighting up. He didn’t think much of it until his eyes caught the message his boyfriend just received. He felt a pang in his heart as he read it. After a few seconds, he drew in a sharp breath and tried to push aside the haunting memory it brought back. Turning back to his book, he forced himself not to speculate. When Daniel joined him in the room and settled beside him in bed, Jack realized he’d been reading the same paragraph for the past five minutes. He watched as Daniel grabbed his phone, read the text, answered it, and finally put the phone on his nightstand.

Later, as Daniel slept, Jack watched him, unable to join him. Daniel had never given him any reason to doubt him, and he couldn’t imagine Daniel cheating on him. There had to be several innocent reasons for a message like tht. Right? The fact that Daniel never mentioned the name wasn’t proof enough to jump to conclusions. Jack rolled onto his back, his eyes glued to the ceiling. He knew his job wasn’t the most relationship friendly. He had to cancel dates and plans more than once, but Daniel never complained about it. And he always made an extra effort afterwards. But was it enough? It wouldn’t be the first time… No. He forced himself to cut off the thought, he knew Daniel better than that. Even if things weren’t great between them, he wouldn’t cheat on him. That wasn’t Daniel style. The text had to have another meaning. Unfortunately, his mind wasn’t able to conjure a good enough reason to forget about it.

Two days later, Daniel was observing Jack quietly over his mug of coffee. The detective had been acting strangely for the past few days. His first thought was that it had to do with work, but Jack usually let him know when a case was difficult, even if he couldn’t share the details.

“Alright, what’s going on with you?” Daniel finally asked.

Surprised, Jack looked up: “What?”

“You’ve been acting off for the past day or two.”

“It’s nothing,” Jack replied.

“Which means there is something. And it has to do with me. If it was work, you wouldn’t deny it.”

“It’s nothing,” Jack repeated stubbornly, looking away for a heartbeat.

“Jack.”

“Daniel.”

Daniel maintains Jack’s stare for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head. Without a word, he stood, circled past Jack, and dropped his mug into the sink. Jack’s eyes followed him, noticing the tense shoulders, and scolding himself internally for being the reason for it. When Daniel was about to leave the kitchen, he didn’t think and grabbed his arm, stopping the younger man and forcing him to turn around. Daniel complied, standing in front of the detective, looking down at him, and waiting for him to speak. Jack's hand slid down Daniel’s arm until he intertwined their fingers.

His gaze fixed on their linked hands, Jack finally opened up: “I guess we never really talked about our exes.”

Daniel frowned. No, they hadn’t. Not that he had much to say himself.

“My last try at a relationship before you, I…” he stopped for an instant. “I broke things off when I found out I was being cheated on.”

Daniel squeezed Jack’s hand and stepped closer, his free hand coming up to Jack’s nape.

Looking up, Jack said: “And I know you’d never do that.”

“But?” Daniel pressed, when Jack stayed silent.

“Two nights ago, you got a text, and I wasn’t trying to snoop but your phone was right there, and I saw it.”

“Okay. What text?” Daniel asked, not seeing the link between Jack's past relationship and one of his texts.

“‘Can’t wait to see you again.’ From a Paul.”

“Oh.” Daniel murmured, understanding dawning on him. Without context, that message could clearly be misinterpreted. “Well, you are right on one thing. I wouldn’t cheat on you,” Daniel assured, squeezing Jack’s neck gently, his thumb going back and forth in a soothing gesture.

“I know. And I’m sorry. My brain seems to have a hard time accepting it.”

Daniel released Jack’s hand and lifted his own to join the other at the back of his neck, as Jack’s hands settled on his waist.

“Paul is a friend. We met at UCLA and he was my closest friend there. He didn’t mind that I was younger and pursuing two PhDs at, mostly, the same time. After his graduation, he got a job in D.C. and then, a year later, I ended up at UChicago. We kept in touch for a while but… as the months went by it became more and more sporadic. Because of the distance and, well, life getting in the way, we drifted apart. When he called last week it was a surprise, even more so when he asked if I was still in Chicago because he just got a teaching position here. We’ve been texting back and forth since.”

Jack pulled Daniel to him, circling his waist with his arms.

“I’m sorry,” Jack mumbled into the younger man's t-shirt. “I never doubted you, I just…”

“Got bad experiences,” Daniel finished for him, his fingers running through his hair. “It’s okay. Just talk to me next time, don’t let your brain torture you with unnecessary fake scenari.”

“I’ll try,” Jack answered.

Daniel bent down to kiss his hair as Jack gave him a small smile in return.

“I love you,” Daniel whispered, leaning in. His lips brushed Jack’s for a soft, lingering kiss, before deepening it as Jack pulled him closer.

Two weeks later.

“You okay, Daniel?”

“Yeah, this is just… going straight to my head.”

“Good to know that hasn't changed,” Paul laughed, looking at Daniel's lone bottle of beer.

“Yeah, he’s a pretty cheap date, isn’t he? Found that out on our second one,” Jack teased, hitting his knee against Daniel under the table.

Daniel rolled his eyes before getting up, his hand "accidentally" swiping at the back of Jack’s head. “I’m gonna order something to eat. You want anything, Paul?”

“I won’t say no to some nachos.”

“Wings for me,” Jack added.

“You can get your own food, O’Neill,” Daniel countered as he walked away.

Jack chuckled, knowing undoubtedly that Daniel would come back with his wings. When he turned back to Paul, he lifted an eyebrow at the assessing look.

“What?”

“You’re good to him,” Paul said simply, making Jack's second eyebrow join the first. “I haven’t seen Daniel this at ease with someone in… ever, really. He’s always been intense, head buried in books, three thoughts ahead of everyone else. You ground him.”

Jack blinked at that, unsure what to say.

“He’s always thinking about everyone else first before his own personal needs. I’ve seen people try to take advantage of that more than once. From what I have witnessed in the past hour, you’re not. I also heard that you got his parents approval, and that is not an easy feat.”

“Did you watch a lot of people trying to get Melburn and Claire’s approval?”

“Nope, but I went through it.”

“What do you mean? I thought you and Daniel had never been…”

Paul chuckled, hearing the hint of jealousy in the detective’s voice.

“We never were. Also, I was Daniel's roommate in college from our very first year. You must know that Daniel started college at 16.”

“Yeah. Genius kid.”

“Yep. You can imagine that both his parents were cautious about who would share a dorm with their son.”

Jack took a sip of his beer. “Yeah, I can picture that,” he said, putting the bottle back on the table.

Paul raised his glass toward Jack. “Take care of him. He deserves it.”

Jack didn’t hesitate. “It’s the plan.”

Daniel came back, placing the food on the table and looking at the two men suspiciously.

“What have you been up to, here?”

“Paul was just telling me all about young Daniel’s drunk college experiences.” Jack teased.

“You didn’t,” Daniel said, turning sharply to his friend.

Paul smiled, one particular incident coming back to mind, no doubt the one Daniel was thinking about.

“If you mean the “Beer Glass Lecture”, no I didn’t.”

“Beer glass lecture?” Jack chuckled, needing to know more about it. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” Daniel replied, letting himself fall into his seat, next to Jack.

“Daniel,” Jack said in a singsong voice.

“Jack.”

“You remember, I’m a detective, right?”

“So?”

“So… There is no way I’m letting this go, and I know several ways to make people speak.”

Paul watched the exchange with an amused smile on his face, picking at the nachos, and said, between two bites:

“It all started when Daniel overheard someone say that archaeologists dig up dinosaur bones…”

“Paul!” Daniel exclaimed, betrayed.

“Shhh, Danny boy, let him speak,” Jack said, putting one hand on Daniel’s thigh and squeezing gently. “I bet he didn’t like that,” he added, turning back to Paul.

“Nope. He spoke loud enough for the whole bar to hear his indignant ‘Actually, that’s paleontologists. Archaeologists study human history by examining artifacts discovered at historical sites.’”

Daniel crossed his arms on the table and let his head fall on it, groaning. Jack’s hands left his thigh to stroke his back.

“He ended up demonstrating how you could determine history from artifacts by using his beer. From the foam layer, to the golden color of it, and describing the way it could be used in cultural rituals. He then finished by saying that from the depletion rate of his glass, he could ‘confidently date’ his beer to about twelve minutes ago.”

Jack couldn’t help but laugh at the image it conjured in his mind.

“Everyone was stunned for a moment before laughter filled the bar while Daniel grumbled something under his breath,” Paul chuckled at the memory before adding: “He was probably complaining about uneducated people who believe Indiana Jones to be an accurate representation of archaeologists.”

“That definitely checks out.”

Jack and Paul laughed even more when they could hear Daniel grumble something against them.

“What was that?” Jack inquired.

Daniel raised his head, looking at both men: “I hate you, both.”

“Come on, Danny. You know that finding out about embarrassing stories is the reason you meet your significant other's old friends,” Jack said, pulling Daniel up to kiss his temple. “I’m sure Charlie enjoyed telling you about my most embarrassing moment.”

Paul watched as Jack leaned in to whisper something in Daniel’s ear, making the younger man shake his head with a soft chuckle. When Jack pressed a kiss to the corner of Daniel's mouth, he was rewarded with a fond smile, and Paul knew his friend had found something rare, something precious, in Jack.

Chapter Text

Jack
Breakfast ? In 30min? I’m buying your coffee.

Daniel
How much coffee?

Jack
Come and find out 😏

Melburn stepped inside the coffee shop absentmindedly. As he waited for his turn to order, his gaze wandered around. Not expecting to see his son at one of the tables in the corner, he did a double take when his mind caught up with what his eyes had seen. 

Daniel was sitting with his back to him, turned just enough for his profile to show. A mug, undoubtedly filled with coffee, was between his hands and two empty plates had been pushed to the side. Melburn's eyes then turned to the man facing his son. The man was slouched in his chair, an arm on the table and his head resting on one hand, making Melburn think the man was bored, letting Daniel speak with no interest. But as he watched more closely, he realized it wasn’t boredom, it was tiredness. The man’s eyes stayed fixed on Daniel, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he occasionally chimed in.

Melburn was pulled out of his observation when it was his turn to order. But when he got to the side to wait for his coffee, he looked back at his son’s table. The two men were now standing and putting on their jackets before turning around and heading for the exit. He watched as they disappeared out of view through the shop window, letting him wonder about the man. He had seen the hand resting on Daniel’s back just before they stepped outside and he knew his son wasn’t usually comfortable being touched. He never had a problem being tactile with either Claire or himself, but other people? It usually took time for the young man to be comfortable enough not to flinch away from someone, if ever.

Pulled out of his head once again by his name being called, he reached for his coffee, thanked the young woman behind the counter and got out. Without thinking he looked on his left, the direction his son and the other man had taken and unintentionally witnessed a soft kiss being exchanged before the man got into his car and Daniel waved him goodbye.

Melburn walked away, with a smile on his face. He and Claire had talked about the change in their son lately, wondering if his move to Chicago, closer to them, and his new position at the university were the cause of it Or if there was something else. He probably knew the reason now, and he couldn’t wait for the day to end to go home and gossip with his wife.