#autistic david jacobs

[specss-missing-shoe]

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

AUTISTIC DAVEY JACOBS

[baura-bear]

Whe David was young he hated sharing his hyperfixations. Well no. He hated the way people reacted when he shared his hyper fixations he would get excited and tell them all about and it would be met with a laugh and he’d be told that he was “obsessed” and he hated that word so he stopped telling people what he knew or what he liked. Instead he just read because when you read you’re just “quiet” you’re “smart”. he wasn’t obsessed, he enjoyed learning, he enjoyed books. He could read about anything he wanted as many books as he pleased and he’d be praised for his intelligence not laughed at like a naive child.

Then he got older and he was a smart aleck. He knew too much and when he corrected people it was rude. So he stopped correcting people. He kept quiet because that kept him out of trouble.

Until he met Jack who soaked up his knowledge like a sponge, who loved to hear Davey talk and who encouraged him to use his voice for the better

[honeyywoods]

sorry for only posting random Davey hcs for now but. Davey sleeps with like 300 blankets on him bc he needs the weight/pressure to sleep, and one time when he and Jack are sharing a bed he asks Jack to sleep on top of him. and Jack is like ‘are you sure ?? I think I’ll crush you’ but Davey literally BEGS him and once he has Jack’s weight on top of him he feels safety and grounding and peace like he’s never known before. and once Davey is sure Jack is comfortable he’s out like a light

[yosefinthetrenches]

david always gets migraines and throws up after his meltdowns

[the-delancey-brothers]

Nobody gets how much i loved Ryan Kopel’s Davey.

[more-sonorous]

sun, moon, stars part 1— jatherid blurb

I adore this ship and I decided to write the hypothetical beginning of a fic loosely based on a post I saw by @blurglesmurfklaine about these three being roomies during the 2020 quarantine

Please lmk if you’d consider reading more! Also TW for mentions of the Covid pandemic!

…

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s not as bad as it seems.” 

Katherine Pulitzer watched as her best friend, David Jacobs, anxiously traced his thumb over the grooves in the table beneath them. He always had a lot of nervous energy, but this was another level.

Those round, green eyes of his were flitting about behind the lenses of his thick-framed glasses, flicking between his laptop and her. She frowned and reached across the table to gently pat his hand. 

“Maybe you’re right, David.” She said, doing her best to reassure him with a calm smile. “You might enjoy some time back at home…”

“Trapped in my parents’ house for an undisclosed amount of time without Sarah? Yeah.” He let out a dry laugh and buried his face in his hands.

She glanced over the familiar pattern of freckles on the backs of his pale hands as her mind raced to try and come up with a solution. 

Katherine and David grew up side-by-side in a small town in upstate New York. They went to the same synagogue and attended the same schools, and had been virtually inseparable since first grade. They’d even gone to the same college and purposefully lived in the same dormitories each year, because they couldn’t be roommates due to their genders. Post-college they were just as close. Kath knew David like the back of her own hand, and knew his family very well by extension. The Jacobs’s were incredibly nice. Esther and Mayer were loving parents that cared deeply for their children, Sarah, David, and Les, which often led to David feeling burdened when he visited. 

Unlike his younger brother and elder sister, David was an introvert with narcolepsy. That led to his parents smothering him when he stayed with them, something that he didn’t necessarily appreciate in large dosages. Now that an imminent quarantine in New York City had been announced, Katherine could tell he wasn’t excited to drive one-and-a-half hours upstate and out of the city just to sequester himself away with two fretting parents and a teenage younger brother. 

“Where’s Sarah staying? I still don’t think I get why you two can’t hole up in your apartment together.” She took a brief sip of her latte and closed the keyboard of her iPad, fully immersing herself in the conversation.

David shrugged as he glanced out the window adjacent to him. The streets looked deceptively normal, despite the warning the city’d just received. “She’s going to stay with her fianceé and her family. They have a vacation house in Massachusetts.”

“Right…” Katherine winced sympathetically as she tried to read him for his opinion. He had a telltale furrow in his brow that showed how disappointed he was. “I forgot Sarah’s been gold digging.”

“Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could live alone.” He lamented, glancing up at her with a sad little smile tugging on the corners of his lips. “Narcolepsy and autism aren’t a good combination.” 

Katherine rolled her eyes fondly, reaching across their little cafe table to fix his glasses. “You make it work, though.”

“Barely.” He shrugged, and as he glanced down at the string he was spinning between his fingers, probably picked off of his sweatshirt. She saw just how bothered David was about all of this. There was a rigid hunch to his shoulders and his normally smiling face had been twisted into an unhappy resting frown. “Like— I love my parents and I like visiting home, but I moved out for a reason, you know? They make me feel like I’m incapable of functioning without constant supervision, which just isn’t true.” 

“Of course.” She nodded, sympathy tugging at her heartstrings.

David was brilliant. He was one of the smartest people she knew. They’d been neck-to-neck for valedictorian in school and he’d ended up stealing the spot with his straight A’s, 4.0 GPA and 34 on the ACT. Hell, he was working through a master’s degree in Juridical Science, and still managed to tack on both a history minor and a literature minor during undergrad. She’d gladly tell anyone she knew that he was a genius. Kath didn’t know exactly why David couldn’t live alone, but she knew that narcolepsy made it dangerous. He couldn’t drive because of his condition and she knew that sometimes he needed help waking up and sleeping. She also knew that because of his autism, he tended to lose himself in reading or school projects, because she’d had to remind him herself to eat or take breaks multiple times throughout their friendship. 

He didn’t deserve to feel babied. The thought of David holed up in his house and miserable while she spent her quarantine happy with her boyfriend made her feel uncomfortable. 

Yes, Kath moved in with her boyfriend of three months, Jack Kelly, and despite what her parents said, she regretted nothing so far. Jack had a nice studio apartment in Upper Manhattan and she’d rather die than spend quarantine in the Pulitzer mansion with her asshole father and suburbanite mother. Not to mention at least one of her six other siblings would be home, and Katherine didn’t get along well with most of them.

She was sort of the black sheep in her family. A bisexual, unmarried journalist in her late twenties, moving in with her Hispanic boyfriend after only knowing him for a few months? Her family was constantly having conniption fits over her life, and she was too happy to care. 

Jack brought so much joy to her life. She didn’t care that her parents hated the fact he was a full-time artist. She ignored the snide remarks her father made about his ethnicity and illegal immigrants. Her mother liked to gossip about his ‘street style’ because he had one of his ears pierced and he liked to wear ripped jeans. They warned her about a potential ‘seedy past’ just because he had scars on his arms and face— just two little ones splitting his eyebrow and left jaw. They were wrong about Jack, though. He was sweet and funny and passionate and talented, and Katherine liked that in men.

So she’d moved in three weeks ago, and things were going swimmingly. Part of her wanted David to be that happy, and part of her didn’t even know if she could handle being away from him indefinitely.

“There’s got to be something we can do.” She stated firmly, watching him miserably pick at his untouched croissant. “Someone you can stay with…”

“I’m not burdening anyone but my family with my health issues.” He responded just as stubbornly. 

“Don’t even. You’re not a burden. What about—“ The idea struck her like some sort of cartoonish eureka moment. She felt her own grin and wondered why she hadn’t had the thought to do this before. “What about me and Jack? Jack’s brother Tony’s moving in with his boyfriend for quarantine so his room’ll be open…”

David’s cheeks began to splotch pink beneath his freckles. “I— I haven’t even met Jack.”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter. He’ll like you. He has to like you. You’re my best friend, and you’re part of the Katherine Pulitzer Package.”

A sheepish grin took over his face and he dropped eye contact again, that pinkish color tinging the tip of his nose and his endearingly wide ears. “Kath…”

“It’s true. And the thought of you spending all of this quarantine an hour and a half away from me during a pandemic is making me nervous.” She crossed her arms, starting to like the idea more with every word she said. “Listen, David, I’ll run it by Jack and you could probably move in right after! You’re already packed, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but—“

“Then you can take the spare room and we’ll split rent three ways. It’ll be better for all of us. David, this is going to be so fun! Think of all the shows we’ll be able to binge!” She was practically near the point of squealing as she took his hands in her own. Visions of younger Kath and Davey filled her mind, composed of all of the times they’d sworn to live together or start up businesses or run libraries side by side. This was going to be fun. She’d get to spend time with her two favorite people.

Unconvinced, David’s frown deepened. “Kathy, I… I don’t know. Does he— does Jack know I’m autistic? And my narcolepsy, I don’t… I don’t wanna make him uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” Katherine scoffed, offended by the thought. “If he’s uncomfortable then that’s a huge red flag. You and I can just pack our stuff and move into your place. But Jack won’t be weird, I promise. He’s incredibly sweet. And David— you don’t make people uncomfortable.”

“I sleep all of the time and I have incredibly strange habits—“

“Everybody has weird habits.” She insisted, dead-set on the idea. “And sleeping all the time is better than leaving out dirty dishes or never closing the toilet seat, or something. Plus, you’re incredibly tidy which’ll fit right in with Jack and I. He cooks, I do laundry, and you can help us clean up.”

“I don’t want you to have to do my laundry…”

“Specifics~” In a sing-song voice, she tried to subdue his overthinking. 

He tilted his head with a slight smile, obviously confused by her. They were at the point where he didn’t have to voice his troubles reading her emotions. She found the expression adorable, anyways. “You really are determined to see this through, aren’t you?” 

“Yep.” She grinned wildly, “You know how I get when I’m determined.”

“I know.” David conceded, and Kath noticed that he already looked just a bit brighter as he carefully brushed one of his chocolate-brown curls off of his brow. “I guess I… I’ll tell my parents if your boyfriend says yes. Will you— you’re not gonna— I won’t be interrupting anything, will I?” 

Kath was confused for just a split second, until she noticed the pinkish color of his cheeks. She couldn’t suppress her own soft giggle. “Oh, no, David. You won’t be.”

“Okay… if you say so.” He shook his head at her as his attention returned to his laptop. She could see the reflection of a Quizlet in his lenses.

Now she was practically itching to leap out of her chair in the tiny café. The news outlet she worked for had already transferred them to online work, since they only went into the offices three days a week. She was going to go home to Jack and have an easy, quick conversation, and then David wouldn’t have to be miserable. Plus, she’d finally get to live with her best friend.

“You almost done studying, hon?” Kath asked, carefully bumping their ankles together. She polished off her drink, vibrating with the happy energy of a plan coming together. 

He glanced up through long, dark lashes, wearing a little smile at the nickname. “Almost. You rushing me, Kathy?”

“No. I want this future lawyer to pass his test tomorrow.” Despite her practiced tone, she could tell he was seeing right through her. She acquiesced. “But I’m also excited to get home and talk to Jack. I’ll call you right after he says yes.”

“You can’t be sure.” He murmured, and she watched a flashcard flip. 

Katherine was going to quell his nerves, because she was actually 100% positive. “We’ll see about that.” 

David only chuckled softly and returned to his studying. Katherine had long abandoned her half-finished article in favor of conversation with him, so now she just watched his elegant fingers fly across the keys at breakneck speeds. This was going to be good.

…

Katherine was rarely ever wrong, and she hadn’t been wrong about Jack. When she inquired about David, he gave her an easygoing smile and agreed to the living arrangement without much further questioning. Maybe it had been her obvious excitement, or the spiel she’d given in David’s favor before asking the question, but he seemed perfectly alright with a total stranger moving into his spare room. 

She was tossing a throw blanket over the couch when Jack exited the bedroom wearing a tank top and an unbuttoned flannel, the sleeves rolled up to display muscular forearms. He looked so goddamn pretty that it took her brain a moment to reset before she could continue her couch dressing. It wasn’t wise to get Katherine started on his excellent choice in jeans, either. She could go on for days about the way he cuffed his acid-washed pants.

Jack sent her one of his bright smiles as he crossed the room to wrap his arms around her, dropping his chin onto her shoulder since they were nearly the same height. “Is your friend gonna be here soon?”

“Yes.” She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and twisted within his arms, slinging her own around his shoulders. “David’s incredibly kind and smart, but he can be sort of awkward at first. It’s not because he doesn’t like you. And remember, he’s got narcolepsy so—“

“I remember.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, his touch slow and sure. It still stole her breath, even after three months. “I even looked up some of that narcolepsy stuff, just to make sure I was ready.”

Kath’s heart squeezed at this man’s sweetness, and she felt herself smiling dopily as she cupped his cheek in one hand. “You’re incredible. Have I told you that?”

“Maybe. But I don’t mind hearin’ it again.” Jack grinned the type of smile that made Kath want to kiss him senseless. “But uh— does he do any of that sleep attack stuff? Where their muscles stop working.”

“What, cataplexy?”

He nodded, looking like a mixture between uneasy and determined. 

“David doesn’t have it as bad as some people but sometimes you might see his eyelids start to droop against his will. He gets upset about it. Normally he doesn’t have severe attacks but… he was really stressed senior year of high school and he did go limp a couple of times. I’m not saying that’ll happen, because it’s been a while, but if it does and I’m not here for some reason, just sit with him and let him ride it out. Make sure he’s breathing.” 

He gave a firm nod, a lot less nervous than she expected. Then Kath remembered his youngest brother Charlie, who had a birth defect in one leg that required him to use crutches or a wheelchair on high pain days. Jack was used to taking care of the people he loved. The thought of him doing research for David, whom he didn’t even know, made her feel ridiculously giddy. 

“Gotcha.” Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead and trailed a line of similar, sweeter little kisses down to her lips.

When his hands slipped down to press against her lower back, she knew exactly what he was getting at and laughed as she carefully pushed a hand against his firm chest. “Down, boy. He’ll be here within the hour.” 

Jack’s only protest was a childlike whine, which caused her to push him away by the forehead. Both laughed as Jack made his way into the kitchen to start on dinner. She busied herself with tidying the living room, slight nerves building within her as she hoped and prayed that David and Jack would get along. 

Eventually the intercom buzzed and Kath practically sprinted across the room to call David up. She was rife with anticipation, exactly how she felt before submitting a big article. Jack could obviously tell and chuckled softly as he kissed her forehead on the way to the living room.

Moments later came a knock on the door, and Kath excitedly opened it to reveal David in all of his nervous glory.

He wore an overstuffed backpack and a duffle bag was slung over the crook of one elbow. He was clutching two cardboard boxes to his chest, both reading ‘books’ in his neat scrawl. 

“David!” Kath exclaimed, immediately taking the boxes from him. “Did Saz drive you?”

“She’s bringing up the rest of my stuff.” David confirmed, and Kath almost offered to go down and help until she remembered the multiple powerlifting championships his older brother Sarah won in highschool. She figured Sarah would be alright.  

“Come on in, then.” Katherine smiled at him from over the heavy boxes, full of David’s extensive collection of books. His prized possessions.

They wandered into the space, David’s eyes glancing over the kitchen and their little entrance area, complete with a welcome mat and a rack for their coats and bags. Kath had never lived with a significant other, and she was finding the domesticity of it all very lovely. But she wasn’t worried about his reaction to the place itself. 

The big moment came when David stepped into the living room, Kath trailing behind. Jack quickly stood and she watched as both boys took each other in.

Inwardly, she was proud of David for making an excellent first impression. He wore a nice pair of khakis and an olive green sweater that made his eyes look almost vibrant in their green hue. His curls were tamed and he didn’t look too much like a deer in headlights, though she could already see him struggling to maintain eye contact with a smiling Jack, who gravitated towards him and offered a hand. “I’m Jack. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I hope that’s a good thing. I’m David… it’s nice to meet you.” He took Jack’s hand, which only reminded Kath how tall he was.

Jack was a bit on the shorter side at 5”9, but David towered above just about everyone at a clean 6”2. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet ya’ too, Davey.” 

“Oh, it’s— um—“

They shook hands and David didn’t even wipe his palm off on his thigh as he normally did, staring at Jack with wide, green eyes. It had to be the nickname that had spooked him, Kath knew, and felt her anxiety peak. Last time someone had attempted to give him a nickname he’d nearly shut down, but instead his eyes just roamed over Jack’s easy expression.

He cleared his throat. “Right. So… uh… my room?”

“Right this way, sir.” Jack, goofball that he was, pretended to tip an invisible cap. A little smile split across David’s face as he followed Jack further into their space, to the spare bedroom Tony had recently vacated. The tension seemed to disappear immediately as Jack took David’s duffel from him and led the way.

That went surprisingly well. Kath wasn’t sure she’d ever seen David take to someone so easily. Except for herself, of course. But they were six years old and she’d asked him to play pirates with her since he was crying, so she wasn’t sure if that counted. Usually it took him about a month to get past prolonged, stony silences and awkward refusal of eye contact, but here he was smiling and relaxing his tense posture already. 

Snapping out of her stupor, Kath joined the boys in the bedroom, and set David’s boxes on his desk. She finally pulled him into a hug. He responded gratefully, pressing his cheek into her auburn hair. She felt the tension seep out of him like it always did when they hugged. “Thank you so much for this, Kathy.” 

“You don’t have to thank me. I think we’re too codependent to survive a quarantine apart.” 

David laughed softly and stepped back, tucking his hands into his pockets as he examined the room. He was drawn towards the window, which is sort of what Kath expected from him. His childhood bedroom had a bay window and a reading nook. They’d spend countless hours curled up there. “This place is really lovely.” 

“Thanks.” Jack leaned against the closet, eyes lingering on David. Kath could understand— sometimes it was difficult to look away. He was incredibly pretty. “My Ma’s friend used to own it and she pulled some strings to get it for me and my brother Racer.”

When she was younger, there’d been multiple years in which she was convinced she’d marry David one day. He was handsome and smart and really witty and sarcastic once you got to know him— but that dream had sort of fallen through when David never showed any interest in dating. His life revolved around his grades, his intense hyperfixation keeping him from any sort of romance. He’d never dated, to Katherine’s knowledge, and as they got closer to thirty, she wondered if he might be asexual or something.

He was a compelling person. She was glad to call him her best friend. “Have you called your parents yet, David?”

“Yeah. I think they’re disappointed, but, uh…” He grinned sheepishly. “I’m not.”

“Good.” Kath smiled and started to carefully unpack the boxes. 

They heard the intercom buzz again, and Jack politely excused himself to go help Sarah in. David slid up to stand side by side with Kath as they carefully removed his books from the boxes. He broke the comfortable silence, voice tight with nerves. “I… I’m really not interrupting anything, right?”

“No.” She answered as emphatically as possible, leaving no room for doubt. “You’re not interrupting, and you’re not a burden, so don’t even think it. I’m glad to have you here, David.”

“Okay.” He exhaled, and some more of that rigid tension seemed to slip from his slim shoulders. “Just checking.”

“I know.” She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “What do you think of Jack?”

Green eyes grew wide and he glanced comically between Kath and the bedroom door. “Kath, he could come back any second!”

“Just tell me now!” She couldn’t stop her own giggle at the sight of David’s tiny smile, resting an eager hand on his arm. 

He tilted his head and leaned in, still glancing at the door. David’s volume dropped to an intimate sort of whisper, a tone that sounded nice in his soft voice. “He… he seems really charismatic. And handsome.”

“Isn’t he?” Kath gushed, excited to have David’s approval so quickly. “I think you two will really get along well.” 

Moments later, Jack re-entered the room with Sarah in tow. As promised, she had the bulk of David’s things and carried them with ease, impressive biceps flexed as she set the bags and boxes on the floor. Sarah, embarrassingly enough, had been Katherine’s bisexual awakening. Two years older and positively gorgeous, she’d crushed on David’s big sister for the first two years of highschool.

Privately, Kath couldn’t think of anyone that wouldn’t find Sarah stunning. She was tall and built and she had the prettiest dark hair. It was funny- David was like a string bean compared to her as he hugged her tightly. They were close. Sarah might’ve been the only person closer to David than Kath herself.

They exchanged greetings as everyone helped David unpack, setting up the room and slowly making it his own.  

Jack took a liking to Sarah as well, but to Kath’s utter delight, he really seemed to click with David. David laughed at Jack’s ridiculous little jokes and seemed to enjoy his passionate ranting about art. He even let Jack call him Davey for the entirety of the night, which both Sarah and Kath were floored about.  

On the other hand, Jack seemed to like David’s dry humor and found his awkwardness just as endearing as Kath did. He listened to David talk about his rigorous law courses with rapt interest, and Kath decided then and there that they’d be fast friends.

She knew change was hard for David, and that was evident in the way he clung to Sarah once his room was set up. She rocked him back and forth in the hug and gently ruffled his hair as they said their goodbyes. 

Soon Sarah was gone, and Kath could see actual tears in David’s eyes as she left. The only logical thing to do was tug him into a hug, which he melted into. “You’re both gonna be okay, David.”

“I know.” He sniffled, fists gently curling into the material of Kath’s shirt. “I’ve just— I’ve never not lived with Saz.”

“It’s a big change.” Kath agreed, and gently ran her fingers through his curls. 

Jack was wearing a familiar look of sympathy as he stepped closer, gently placing a hand on David’s back. His love language was physical affection above anything else, and thankfully David didn’t flinch away as Jack spoke. “How’d you feel about a movie tonight, Davey?”

Davey hiccuped, “Sounds good.” 

Carefully, Jack patted him on the back and slipped out into the living room. Once they were in private, David’s chest started to shake with little sobs and Kath hugged him even tighter. She’d expected this, but it didn’t make seeing her best friend cry any easier. 

“Shh, David. I’ve got you.” She assured, continuing to card her fingers through his hair. The poor thing was bent at an awkward angle, glasses smushed against his cheek. “This is gonna be fun, right? Longest sleepover ever.”

He laughed wetly and nodded,  pushing his hands beneath his glasses to dry his eyes. “Okay. I think it’s out of my system.”

“Even if it’s not, I’m always right here.” She gave his arm a gentle squeeze, remembering the countless times he’d held her while she cried over her frustrating parents. Tears weren’t a foreign thing between the two. “Change into something comfortable and I’ll put on Dead Poets Society.”

“Thanks, Kathy.” He whispered, fingers gently trailing down to wrap around her wrist.

Stupidly, her heart skipped a beat. Sometimes he looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and the sheer sincerity in his green eyes made her feel some type of way.

The strangest thing was that Jack made her feel the exact same. She tried to push that down and gave him another reassuring squeeze before exiting the room.

David with tear-streaked cheeks was an unfairly pretty sight. 

The smell of popcorn filled the living area as Kath reclined on the couch, pulling up the movie of choice just in time for Jack to join her with a bowl full of popcorn. He glanced at the bedroom door David had since shut, concern lining his features. “Is he okay?” 

“He will be.” She leaned into Jack’s side, balancing the popcorn on her lap. When he still looked uneasy, she laughed softly and nudged his knee. “I promise. It’s tough for him to regulate his emotions when he’s tired, and I’m sure he’s had a long day. Plus, he and Sarah are super close so he might have sister withdrawals.” 

“Okay. That was just sort of heartbreaking.” Jack muttered like the human teddy bear he was, one arm tightening around Katherine. 

“You’re too nice for your own good, did you know that?” She teased, running her fingertips down his cheek. “David will be fine. I promise.” 

Jack smiled and nudged their noses together. “I’ve never seen this movie.” 

“It’s his favorite.” She explained simply, smoothing down the collar of Jack’s flannel. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

They shared a little laugh as David emerged from his bedroom, looking a little more put together despite his puffy eyes. He wore a Columbia t-shirt and a pair of soft gray sweatpants that Kath knew he adored. He curled up on the opposite end of the couch, about a foot away, and Kath felt like it wouldn’t be proper to call him over and close the gap. Instead she balanced the popcorn on the cushion between them, wishing he would just sit next to her like he normally did.

His little smile at the sight of the title on the screen was enough. “Have you seen this, Jack?”

Jack and Kath exchanged a look before Jack grinned at David, wide and blinding. “Nope.” 

David’s jaw dropped, and when laughter filled the room, Katherine was sure everything would be alright.

Like most movie nights with her best friend went, he was curled up asleep by the end of the film, using the armrest of the couch as a pillow with his knees drawn up to his chest. She didn’t know how someone so tall could make themselves so tiny in sleep. They liked to joke that he’d never seen the end of a movie before. Jack was crying incoherently behind her as the credits rolled and she decided that this spontaneous quarantine was going to be a bit less terrifying with these boys around.

[viccyfics]

Have I made my siblings glass children? An essay written by David Jacobs

It had been an accident, she would swear it was, but it was mostly David's fault for leaving it on his desk, anyway, how many high schoolers still did their essays on paper rather than on their computers?

It was his latest assignment, she'd seen it while putting away some of his laundry she had picked up from the cleaners, but the large fancy script of a title had grabbed her attention, how couldn't it? He always tried to make his assignments attention grabbers and memorable, he had to, given the fact he didn’t have any friends at school, so his grades had to make up for it.

Have I made my siblings Glass Children? An essay written by David Jacobs.

---- Sarah finds David's essay about the fact he thinks he made her and Les Glass Children.

READ ON AO3

[honeyywoods]

hi I’m crazy and I wrote this in like 2 hours total in a spurt of pure creative insanity + love for this prompt so um

It’s poker night at the lodging house.

Everyone is gathered around the big table in one of the common rooms, chatter buzzing everywhere and a slightly sticky heat rising from both the weather and the mass of people inside. Typical Davey would be unable to tolerate such conditions, but Davey after a few swigs from whatever liquor the newsies had swiped that night didn’t mind. He’d long stripped to his undershirt, the top few buttons undone, and he felt more confident and comfortable than he had in a while - like the mechanism inside of him had loosened just a click.

Typical Davey doesn’t let himself be caught up in gambling, but it’s summer, and school has let out, so he figures he can let himself breathe a bit now. Besides, Jack had brought it up at the circulation gate probably a week ago, and all of the boys had agreed enthusiastically.

One thing that all of the newsies - as well as Davey himself - had discovered was that he was very good at poker. He had what Race would call a ‘killer poker face,’ no matter how many times Davey would protest that his face just normally looked like that.

The round he was currently engaged in was an interesting one: down to himself and Jack, by some strange coincidence.

Jack had discarded only one card, smirking at Davey over his carefully concealed hand. “Well, it’s been fun, Dave, but it looks like you’re done for.” He teases, leaning back in his seat with an infuriatingly attractive look.

“In your dreams, pretty boy,” Davey quips back thoughtlessly, the endearment falling so naturally from his mouth that he fails to mind the crowd of newsies around them. That is, until a chorus of ‘ooh’s and whistles, accompanied with a few goading remarks, erupts from around them.

“Them’s fightin’ words, Jacobs!”

“Jack, you really gonna let your fella here win?”

“Come on, get a room!”

Jack, for his part, goes completely shock-still, his brown eyes wide with surprise and his mouth slightly agape. A flush has risen on his cheeks, so deep that he’s visibly red under his tan. His throat works, lips opening and closing a couple times, though no sound comes out. And, perhaps best of all, his hands have gone slack, cards falling face-up on the table for all to see.

Davey grins triumphantly, and cheers erupt from approximately three quarters of the newsies around them (the ones betting on Jack losing, he presumes). “That’s a fold! Pay up, Jackie.” He exclaims, victorious, and holds out his hand expectantly.

For a moment, Jack sputters, his face becoming just perceptibly incredulous despite his flusteredness. “But that’s- you can’t just…that’s- that’s not fair!” Jack insists, and Davey notes that his voice is significantly higher than usual.

Davey tuts, shrugging at his partner. “Just using all of my advantages, darling, isn’t that what you’re always telling me?” It’s a low blow and he knows it, but it has just the desired effect.

Davey’s remark seems to send Jack reeling again, his face going somehow redder before he hides his face in his hands. “That- you- Davey!”

(ik this is short but hope you enjoy :) )

I need David Jacobs telling Jack Kelly that he is a pretty boy right now

[we-are-inevitable]

there is something so special about david jacobs, known physical touch hater, initiating contact with jack by resting his head on jack’s shoulder or leaning into his side or hugging him or resting his head on jack’s lap. like jackieeee is his safe space. jack is his exception to the rule. and i think it starts with jack being a naturally touchy guy

it’s a bit of a learning curve, at first. the jacobs family isn’t very touchy at all, save for les, and david isn’t quite used to it but he does like it, he finds. sometimes when david is lying with his head on jack’s thigh, jack will card his fingers through david’s curls, and that’s— well, it’s nice. or sometimes, jack will knock their shoulders together when he’s making fun of something, like that touch is their own personal inside joke. jack will walk with a hand on david’s back, or sling an arm around his shoulders/torso while they’re standing next to each other, and those little touches are what inspire david to start initiating contact, too. it’s nice. it’s different that his mother fussing with his hair or play-fighting with les or getting a well-meaning joking punch to the arm from sarah. this is touch david starts to seek out.

[fansiesmemes]

Davey: Jellyfish have been living for over 600000 years without brains

Jack: A ray of hope for Race then

[what-the-newsies]

can u write some javey please!!!!

Good luck charm ( short oneshot)

Notes: this is set after the strike, when davey has gone back to school. This can be read as any of the versions 🙈 I'm not too big of a fan of this fic, so I may rewite it soon, lmk what u think 🩷

It was quiet in the Jacobs household, peaceful even, Esther was in the kitchen happily cooking, mayer was sat silently in the kitchen reading the new edition , Sarah was delicately sewing up an old shirt that had been ripped and les was playing nicely in his room. The family were happy, the comfortable silence soothed them all as they basked in its hypnotic sense of calmness. You could hear a pin drop as the warm evening sun shone through the window, leaving the sedative family very pleased with life. However, the Jacobs household never stayed quiet for long...

"Mama, papa guess what!' Davey announced running into the room, he was sweating perfuesly which told his startled parents that he had ran all the way from school.

Ethster jumped at the sudden sound echoing through the previously peaceful house, making her drop the pan she was holding to the floor with a bang. She cursed under her breath and picked it up.

"David, how many times have I told you to not bound into here like a bull in a China shop?" She accused angrily.

"I'm sorry, Mama, it's just that -" He was practically beaming with exitment, his eyes had a certain spark to them, which made his exited face light up to the next level.

"No, I don't want to hear it." She interrupted, she became quiet for a few seconds as if trying to find the right argument, "just... go to your room." She sighed.

That spark in Daveys eyes had dissipated , leaving an unpleasant aura of tension and melancholy in the air of the once comfortable household. Slowly, he turned and sulked into his room.

"Come on, you didn't need to be so harsh." Mayer said quietly.

"Yes I did, the boy needs to learn how to regulate himself like an adult." Esther snapped.

"But he's not an adult honey, he's a child."

"And he will be forever if we dont teach him otherwise."

Mayer sighed in defeat and turned back to his paper.

Davey was sat on his bed, with the palms of his hands pressed against his eyes so that he could see colourful little circles. It seemed to be the only colour in his life right now. His chest tightened as he replayed the embarassing memory of his outburst through his head, forcefully acknowledging his wrongdoing and creating self promises to never do it again. He heard a knock at the window, and he looked up to be met with the eyes of Jack. He walled over and opened his bedroom window.

"Heya dave." Jack said climbing through the window.

"hi." Davey replied sheepishly.

"Whats da matta?" Jack asked wairely

"Nothing."

"Ise know youse lying."

"I know when YOU'RE lying." Davey corrected

"But Ise aint lied 'bout anythin." Jack looked puzzled

"No, I meant that you needed to fix your grammar." Davey gave a small smile now.

Jack chuckled softly and punched him in the arm.

" Yeah ise will get right on that, but seriously, what's eatin at ya?"

"Well at school about a week ago, my teacher told me that next time at debate a woman from the national team would be there, and she would basically come to scout out who she thinks would be fit for nationals, and they picked me and said that they want me to represent them on their team so i-" davey ran out of breathe and cut himself off.

Jack only smirked as Daveys heavy breathing continued.

"Wow, davey ise don't knows much about debate, but that sounds amazin'."

Once Davey had regained his breathe he replied.

"Yeah, it is. If i win, then I get a fully paid scholarship to a private grammar school." Davey beamed, the magical spark in his eyes being reignited by Jack.

"That's great, so whys was youse so upset about it?" Jack asked, following Davey to sit next to him on the bed. Davey remained silent ( for the first time ever). After a minute, he spoke.

"Do you think I'm too much?, like are my emotions too much for you?" Daveys tone saddened, as did the overall mood.

"Naw not at all, youse get very excited about a lot of things, but that ain't bad." Jack said gently.

"Because earlier I was really excited to tell my family about what happened and when I tried my mama yelled at me and said I need to calm down and regulate myself." Davey mumbled. Jack scooted closer to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, Davey leaned into him.

"Well ise think it's a good thing, not everybody has the same passion for everything that youse do." Davey nodded sadly and sunk deeper into Jack's embrace.

"So what is debate anyways?" Jack asked cheerfully.

"Well it's basically like a fight, a verbal fight obviously, but not an actual fight because its structured and you have a limited amount of time, so the proposition have to pass the motion that they have been given by the judge by basically talking alot and as fast as they can-"

"Youse will win easy then, no competition there." Jack teased. Davey smacked him on the leg and giggled. Jack was relieved to see Davey smiling again. He wasn't used to Davey being so glum. He believed that spark In his eyes was perminent. He had never seen it extinguished before.

"Carry on ise listening."

"Carry on IM listening." Jack made michevious eye contact with Davey before grabbing his pillow off the bed and gently smacking him with it. Davey cackled hysterically.

"Jack, stop!" He giggled, trying to grab the pillow.

"If youse promise to nevers correct mys grammars again!" Jack stopped to let Davey answer.

"If YOU promise to never correct-" Davey was cut off by Jack tackling him into the bed as they began to play-wrestle and laugh.

Jack was used to rough housing with his fellow newsies, newsies play fought all the time. They were very tough and thick skinned from having to live on the streets. However, when it came to Davey, Jack was extremely gentle with it, always making sure to never hurt the other boy.

"Um, Davey?' Mayer had appeared at the doorway looking inquisitive as he watched his son and his friend snicker wildly whilst rolling around on the bed.

"OH um hi dad..." Davey quickly sat up, his face flushed.

"I wanted to see if you were alright, but I'm guessing Jack already did that." The older man smiled.

"Yes sir." Jack said proudly.

"Welll then, dinners ready, and Jack's welcome to stay if he likes."

"Thank youse sir."

"Thank YOU sir."

Jack tacked Davey to the floor, and they began to roll around, trying to trap each other and get the upper hand. Mayer only smiled and rolled his eyes before walking back into the dining room.

Later on that night, Jack was soundly asleep snuggled up in Daveys bed, whilst Davey sat at his desk trying to write his debate speech.

"hi sweetheart." Ethster said standing next to him. Davey didn't answer, he didn't even look at her.

"Listen, I'm sorry for shouting at you, didn't mean it, sometimes I just find it so hard to adjust to your emotions and I know that's not your fault and I need to work on it."

"It's fine." Davey said dryly.

There was an awkward silence. Esther stuttered a few times but couldn't seem to find the right words before getting up and leaving. At that moment Davey felt so alone, so he climbed into bed with Jack and as soon as his body hit the soft mattress, Jack's arms were pulling him closer and rubbing up and down the length of his back. Now, Davey had never felt less alone as he embedded himself into Jack's warmth. Electric shocks, zapping into his nerves with every touch to his body.

Two weeks had gone by, and Daveys master status had become, completely and utterly stressed. He was trying his hardest to write this damn debate speech, and yet nothing he wrote seemed to sound the way he wanted it to. He had been sitting at his desk for almost 7 hours, and his brain felt so frazzled that the words looked as if they were swimming. His eyes were so heavy that they physically hurt to keep open, every inch of his body begged for the kind mercy of sleep whilst his mind slowly shut down.

"Geez davey, youse look terrible." Davey didn't even need to look to see who it was.

"Go away." He said, covering his face with his hands, propped up by his elbows on the table.

"When's the last time ya slept?" Jack asked, eyeing the stacks of disregarded, crumpled up papers next to the desk.

Davey only groaned in response.

"Come on ya need to get to bed."

"No"

"Davey, do not fights with me right now."

Davey shook his head, Jack sighed and sat on the table, his legs dangling next to the chair where davey was sat. Jack began to card his fingers through Daveys hair, lightly scratching from time to time or swiling his finger around in a messy curl.

"stop im going to fall asleep." Davey yawned.

"Don't fight it Dave."

Davey remained stubborn, fighting the sleeping spell that Jack's fingers were putting on him. Jack sighed, god he loved this boy but he could be so damn stubborn.

Jack changed his tactic to just scratching, davey made a sleepy noise of protest and began to lean into the peaceful touch. Not giving him time to think, he lifted davey out of his seat and quickly lay them both down on the bed, Daveys head resting on Jack's chest.

"No- I need i-"

"Shhhhhh." Jack began tracing up and down Daveys back, Daveys exhausted eyes finally closed, and he snuggled deeper into Jack's hold.

"I've been trying to do that for hours." Mayer whispered into the room. Jack only smiled and closed his eyes too.

It was the big day of the debate, and Davey was panicking. He had arrived early to the event and had brought three extra copies of his speech in case he somehow lost the original one and was also slowly forgetting how to breathe.

He was pacing around the backstage area, running over the speech in his head. He left a reassuring hand on his shoulder, his first thought was Jack, however he wasn't disappointed to see his father -like him- dressed in his best and smiling from ear to ear.

"Don't worry, Davey, you will be fine." Mayer assured.

"Yeah, you'll be great!" Sarah smiled wildly.

"Come on, let's go find out seats, Goodluck we are so proud of you." His father pulled him into a quick hug before leaving. Revealing his mother apparently hiding behind him the whole time.

"Davey, baby, I am so sorry for ever making you feel like your passion and love for things was a problem, it was really my problem the whole time and I never want you to change ever." She pulled him into a big hug.

"It's okay mama." Davey said sincerely.

"Thank you, baby. I am so proud of you no matter what happens tonight. Good luck." She kissed him on the cheek and left.

He heard the announcers call his team up, and he walked on stage. He sat with his team members and was relieved to remember he was the second, not the first speaker. The first round did not go favourably for his team. The first speaker stuttered so hard that they missed half of their speech, and they kept taking on questions they didn't know how to answer.

"Please welcome, proposition, speaker 2." The judge called.

Davey stood up and prepared his speech. He looked into the crowd and felt his stomach do summersaults. The crowd went blurry as he felt hundreds of eyes digging into him. His breathing quickened as the hands holding his paper began to shake as the clapping bounced around his brain and all he could think was 'I can't do this'.

Somehow in the crowd of faces he could only make out one of them, and it was Jack's who mouthed, 'just breathe'. And so he did, he steadied his breathing and began to read, he read flawlessly and without stuttering. His unprotected time proved not to be a bother due to the opposition not being able to think of an argument, the longer he spoke the more confident he got. And before he knew it, it was over.

His new gained confidence proved useful as he was now able to rebuttle the oppositions final speaker as he scribbled down new arguments for the conclusionist once they counted the jury's votes. Davey held his breath and felt his heart pounding in his chest yet again.

"I declare this motion...carried." The judge announced. And daveys bloodstream turned into pure joy. His veins carried nothing but exitment and happiness around his body as he hugged his teammates and couldn't seem to wipe a stupid smile off his face.

He ran around the back of the audience to his family, who all excitedly greeted him and hugged him tightly. Once, they had been beckoned away to talk to the grammar schools principle who was seemingly very impressed, he finally turned his attention to Jack.

"Ise don't really understands much of what youse said, but it sounded good."

Davey giddyly hugged him and looked up at him, the spark in his eyes shining brighter than ever before.

"Ise mean it must've been good if youse won."

"Or maybe you're just my goodluck charm."

At this davey pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss, he was always told that his passion was too much, however in this moment it felt just right.

[baura-bear]

David Jacobs is the type of boy to rock back and forth from heel to toe while swinging his arms at his side

[honeyywoods]

today I’m emotional about aroace autistic David Jacobs who always feels like he doesn’t love ‘correctly’. like he’s full of so much love but feels like he’s so bad at expressing to people how much he cares about them, because he’s learned that people often mistake his feelings as romantic, but he doesn’t know how else to love people. David who finds it so difficult to open up to other people and share his emotions for fear that he’ll be misunderstood again. he knows that it’s not other people’s fault that he’s so difficult to understand, and so it’s easier for him to just tuck that part of him neatly away.

[chimeofthecomet]

A little something for a fic i love, and a scene that hasn’t left my head @pigeonwit p.s. everybody get in here

[frogmanfae]

Davey: there you are! 😃 How bout lettin a pal know you're alive🤭

Jack: what if I didn't wanna be found😡 ever think of that 😡😡😡

Davey: *ignoring his obvious anger and literally making this face*

[more-sonorous]

wake up calls (sun, moon, stars part 2)-- jatherid blurb

have some jatherid crumbs. can't get this universe out of my head!

.....

Living with David was almost as good as Katherine expected— the only problem was that she hadn’t planned for his sudden reclusiveness. In retrospect, she should’ve expected the sheer amount of sleeping David was doing. He was historically horrible with change— the stress sent him into periods in which his narcolepsy would worsen considerably. Now that she was living through it again, she remembered freshman year of college when he’d take multiple naps a day while still getting eight hours of sleep at night. Still, it was a little bit alarming and she found herself worried for his wellbeing and wishing her job would just go fully virtual already so she could be home with him more often.

He’d wake up with his alarm at seven every day and hunch over his laptop at the little desk in his room, doing class work for hours on end. Jack had taken it upon himself to bring Davey a sandwich or some other small lunch, but when Kath came to get him from his room in the evenings, most of the food remained untouched or merely nibbled off of.

David slept a lot, but when he was awake, he was the best roommate Kath and Jack could’ve asked for. He tidied up at least once a day and provided witty conversation and classic David sassy remarks, and he enjoyed Disney Princess movies just as much as Jack did (too much) so the boys bonded over that. Kath found herself wishing he’d leave his room and join them for more than an hour or two each night.

About a week into living with them, Kath went to go fetch Davey for dinner at around six and found him uncharacteristically asleep, slumped over his desk with his face pressed against his laptop. Normally he napped around 11 and 3– never this late. Her heart clenched in her chest at the sight of the furrow in his brow, even during sleep. He looked stressed even in unconsciousness. A ham sandwich sat abandoned on a paper plate beside him, only a couple of bites missing.

Kath dropped to a crouch beside his desk chair and gently ran a hand through his untamed curls, scratching her nails against his scalp. “Davey, hon?” The nickname Davey slipped out— Jack had been calling David that exclusively and it was difficult not to do so as well. “Davey, you wanna wake up for me?”

Lashes fluttered and slivers of green eyes peeked up at her. Davey’s stressed frown seemed to twitch as he finally met her eyes. “Mm.. what time’s’it?” 

“A little past six. Dinnertime. Jack made soup, it’s really good.” She glanced at the sleeping laptop he was using at a pillow and carefully pushed her hand through his hair once more, pushing the unruly swirls of dark brown away from his eyes. “Come and eat, okay?”

“No, no. Gotta finish this paper.” He mumbled, words still sleep-slurred and tinged with the Polish accent she heard so rarely from him. She oftentimes forgot that he was quite literally born in another country until moments like this took her by surprise. He sat up and rubbed a hand over his eyes, before trying to bring the laptop to life. 

“When’s it due?” Kath quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him before he devolved into that hyper focused state of his, and tugged him to look at her. “Davey, when’s it due, hon?” 

He glanced between Kath and the screen. “Monday.”

“It’s Friday, Davey, you’ve got a couple of days. Come eat dinner and then if you’re still worried, you can bring your laptop out into the living room and work with Jack and I. Okay?” She slid her fingers to link with his, and gently squeezed his hands. “Hey, you’re really stressed about something, aren’t you?” 

He gave her a wry little smile and blinked with sleepy eyes. “How could you tell?” 

Katherine merely raised her eyebrows and brushed her thumb across the laptop imprint on his cheekbone, which seemed to tell him enough. He winced and dropped their eye contact immediately, splotches of pink developing beneath his freckles. She let out a soft sigh and cupped his cheek in her palm, studying him as if she might find an explanation just by looking hard enough. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.” After a moment of hesitation, Davey shut his laptop. “What’s dinner again?” 

“Sancocho— don’t look at me like that, I know I'm butchering the pronunciation.” 

Davey laughed the laugh of someone that had to sit through multiple years of Katherine butchering Polish words and climbed to his feet, stretching the lingering drowsiness from his lanky limbs. Thankfully some of it still clung to him as he shuffled out of the room behind her— Davey, when sleepy and relaxed, was one of Kath’s favorite versions of him. He was so much less rigid and calculated, especially as he slumped into one of their barstools with a wide yawn. Jack turned around from his place at the stove with a bright expression.

“Mornin’ sleeping beauty.” Jack teased, earning an easy smile from Davey. He crossed the kitchen, gently running his hand across David’s upper back as he did so. Kath could see color splotching Davey’s cheeks as Jack set a bowl down in front of him and asked: “You sleep okay?”

“Like a rock.” David muttered into his soup, earning a little laugh from Jack. 

Kath smiled slightly and parked herself in the chair next to Davey, gratefully accepting a bowl of soup from Jack and thanking him with a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Jack. This looks great.” 

“We’ll see. It’s my Mamá’s recipe.” He explained with slight hesitance, still ladling soup into his own bowl. Kath didn't know much about Jack's childhood (due to journalistic instinct, she was ravenously curious and ate up any sliver of information he provided) but she did know that both of his birth parents were Columbian immigrants. She knew his birth mother was dead and his birth father was in jail. That was the extent of it-- she also knew that his birth mother had some delicious recipes, because Jack was always cooking from a well-loved notebook she'd left him. “Normally she made it with pork but I did this one with beef, since I’m living with two Jews.”

“Your poor goyish heart must be in shambles.” David joked, slightly under his breath, which earned a shocked laugh from both Kath and Jack. He smiled slightly at the reaction and bit his lip, stirring his soup once or twice. “But really— thank you, Jack.”

Kath knew he was touched just by the sound of his voice. She didn’t really keep kosher, because she wasn’t as strictly religious as Dave was, so the fact that Jack had gone out of his way made her heart swell. He slid into the seat next to her and plopped a teasingly wet kiss on her cheek, like the overexciteable puppy dog of a boyfriend he was. “You gonna bless the food, Dave?”

“Sure.” Davey uttered a prayer in Hebrew (Kath loved the honey-like way the foreign words flowed out of his mouth. David was a polyglot and he had this way of speaking in other languages that captivated her. Polish, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, French- his genius brain never ceased to amaze her). Then he translated and Jack murmured a quick Catholic blessing. The two rounds of praying was a tradition they’d established on Davey’s first night staying with them and it had really stuck.

Then they ate, and when Davey hummed his pleasure with the meal, Kath didn’t ignore Jack’s triumphant little smile. 

Soon Davey was collecting their dishes for washing and Kath trailed behind him, leaning against the counter and watching him work. “You want to play a board game with us?” 

“Gotta finish my paper.” He muttered, offering her an apologetic smile. 

“Davey… you have two whole days to finish your paper.” She made her voice a little whiny as she tugged on the hem of his shirt. Jack seemed to be on the same page as her as he hopped onto the counter on Davey’s other side.

“Scrabble, Dave. Think about how many words your big brain knows. And I’ve got Game of Life, too. Please?”

Kath carefully grasped Davey’s wrist and squeezed, making her eyes big and sad. “I miss you. It’s like I’m living with a ghost…”

“Alright, alright.” He sighed, giving a great eye roll and finally giving in. Katherine sent a thankful grin Jack’s way and received a wink in response as Davey set their bowls on the drying rack. “We can play Life, but only if I get the blue car.”

“Blue car’s all yours.” Jack hopped down from the counter and rushed off into his bedroom to get the board game.

A little over an hour later found them all laughing over Jack’s six kids and massively accumulated debt. Davey, of course, somehow ended up as a millionaire. To Kath’s slight surprise, he’d chosen a little blue man figure to marry, after much deliberation. Jack had whooped excitedly and loudly proclaimed that this was ‘an apartment full of gay rights’, to which Davey dryly pointed out the pink figurine Jack had chosen for a wife. Jack pouted that it was Katherine, and that Davey shouldn’t ‘do bisexual erasure’. Then Kath chose a little pink wife as well, and Davey smiled, and all was right in the world.

She spent the rest of the game wondering if Davey had gone through some sort of sexuality crisis/realization and never told her, which made her feel strangely upset. 

Even as Jack begged Davey for last-minute donations and attempted to swindle Kath (designated banker) into slipping him some extra cash, her mind lingered on her best friend and that stupid little blue peg. Obviously she’d be overjoyed if Davey was gay, or bi, or something– she was bisexual herself, so it would just become another thing for them to bond over– but the fact that he hadn’t told her was driving her up the wall. They told each other everything. She told David about Jack the minute he’d asked her out (by slipping her a hand-drawn sketch he’d done during what was supposed to be a business meeting discussing some graphic designs Jack was going to do for Kath’s boss). They didn’t have secrets. That wasn’t how they operated. 

Davey won the game and Jack reluctantly put each of his six kids back into the Ziploc baggie they’d come from. Kath remained deep in her own head as the boys cleaned up, and only watched absentmindedly as Jack swindled Davey into watching a movie with them. Kath eventually convinced herself that it was nothing to worry about. It was just a game and a plastic game piece. Plus, Dave didn’t owe her anything. If he wasn’t straight, he’d tell her eventually.

Still, a curious, journalistic little spark had lit within her. She curled up on Jack’s lap, the two of them sharing the big armchair she’d brought from her previous apartment, and Davey turned into a little ball of blankets and curly chocolate-brown hair on the couch. 

Jack smirked. “Tangled?”

“Tangled.” Davey affirmed, a little smile tilting his bowed lips. 

Kath watched with exasperated fondness as the boys sang along to the film’s soundtracks, Jack singing Flynn’s part like he always did (he had an incredibly pretty voice. Kath adored moments when she could silently listen to him sing– he always wanted a duet partner, and now that Davey was around, Kath could immerse herself in the loveliness of his tenor range.) and Davey singing Rapunzel’s just as enthusiastically, though his parts of the songs came out a bit rougher. 

Maybe she just felt safe around these two goofballs, or maybe she was exhausted from the stress of preparing for the looming quarantine, but Kath found herself drifting off. She wasn’t surprised to wake up to the credits rolling, cheery acoustic music softly filling the room. She was surprised to feel the total lack of Jack warmth. Her boyfriend was a human furnace. A human furnace that was currently crouched by the couch, where Davey was sleeping, curled up in a tight ball. She had no idea how someone that tall could make himself so small.

She watched Jack hesitate, one tan hand hovering over Davey’s hair. The awkward lingering ended after just a moment, and he carefully ran his hands over the dark curls, like he was touching something soft and sacred and breakable. He spoke in a low voice, a barely audible murmur. “Dave? Davey, movie’s over…”

Davey’s eyes opened, and he peered up at Jack through his lashes. Kath wondered if Jack felt the same surge of fondness that was currently coursing through her chest. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Her boyfriend smiled, his dark eyes taking in the glory of Sleepy Davey. “I was thinkin’ you might like to go back to your own bed.”

“Yeah.” Voice raspy with sleep, Davey sat up and dragged the sleeve of his sweatshirt over his eyes. He was loose like this, uncaring and a bit uncoordinated. Kath could watch him wake up a million times and never grow tired of the soft breathing and slow movements. His eyes met hers and she offered a tired smile of her own. “Did we miss the end of the movie?”

She felt her own smile begin to grow. “Yep. But I don’t think you ever see the end of any movies, Davey.”

A little laugh shook his shoulders as he clambered to his feet, tugging the fuzzy throw blanket more tightly around his slender form. Soon he was bending down and pressing a little kiss to her forehead, and Katherine felt pleasantly warm from her head to her toes once he pulled away, smiling a little smile reserved just for her. “Night, Kathy.”

“Goodnight, Davey. Sleep well.” She gave his hand a quick, gentle squeeze and watched him amble back to his bedroom, pausing to smile at Jack– who’d been watching in careful silence.

“G’night to you too, Jack.” After a moment of deliberation, Davey bumped their shoulders together. Jack’s dimples emerged with a bright smile, and Kath thought that she could live like this forever. Soft words, quiet goodnight, a molasses-like air of drowsiness crowding their little living room– it was like something out of a dream, or a book. She took a mental picture of her boys sharing little smiles and hoped that there were millions more moments like this to come.

Jack returned the nudge and ruffled Davey’s hair. “Get some rest, will ya’?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

When Davey’s bedroom door clicked shut behind him, Jack straddled Katherine’s lap and earned a slight laugh from her as she rested her hands on his hips and pressed a kiss to his neck. He tugged his hands through her hair and gently kissed the shell of her ear once or twice, a pouty sort of tone emerging with his next few words. “Where’s my goodnight forehead kiss?”

“Right here.” She teased, and sloppily pressed her own lips to his forehead. 

He laughed a bright, sunny laugh and tilted his head back and away, though he looped his arms around her shoulders and leaned in closer anyways. “Davey makes it look so much more romantic.”

“‘Cause he’s six feet tall and he looks like a Roman marble statue.” Kath raised her eyebrows at Jack as she slipped her hands beneath the hem of his fitted t-shirt, which featured the skyline of Santa Fe– a city Jack had never stepped foot in and was still obsessed with. “You’re stuck with me for now.”

“Stuck with you?” He scoffed and cupped her cheeks in his hands, big brown eyes roaming over her face with an unmistakable look of pure admiration. “I ain’t stuck. Far from it. In fact, I’m happy as hell.”

She felt her face prickling with a rush of blood at Jack’s sweet words, and gave silent thanks to God for bringing such a lovely boy into her life. “I’m not Christian, but I’m fairly certain hell isn’t supposed to be happy…”

“Fine. I’m happy as fuck. How’d you like that?” Ridiculously, he wiggled his eyebrows and plastered a smirk onto his face, so lopsided that it dimpled only his right cheek. He somehow managed to be incredibly attractive despite his endearingly stupid expression, and Kath’s racing heart rammed against her ribcage, thoroughly pleased. She could love this boy. Maybe she already did. 

“How would I like that?” Now, her only goal was to mess with him. “Probably in the shower, so Davey doesn’t wake up.”

“No, I meant–” Realization dawned a second too late, and big brown eyes grew wide. Jack grinned one of those sunny grins that made his crooked canine tooth look all the more endearing, and Kath felt herself smiling at the giddiness that blossomed on his face as she ran her hands down his arms. “Yes, that’s exactly what I meant.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Jack followed her suggestion nearly instantly, hopping out of the chair and running his hand through his impossibly black hair. It fell back into perfect waves and she watched with jealousy as the silky strands framed his face perfectly. He was too attractive for his own good, especially as he smiled and beckoned her towards their bedroom. 

Kath was definitely, certainly in love.

Except she was constantly thinking about a pair of sleepy green eyes and pale hands covered with freckles, alongside Jack’s dimples and the veins that decorated his muscular inner arms. Something was wrong with her. She wanted to avoid unpacking that for as long as possible.