#this was supposed to be 3 lines of vague dialogue that didn't even specify a fandom let alone characters

[frogmanfae]

*slips and drops this* oh- whoops!

"It's you and me, always and forever, right?"

Jack had a firm grip on Davey's hand as he asked the question. It wasn't easy, their relationship. Davey wasn't ready to tell anyone, which was fine with Jack, but it took a lot more work to stay secret than it would to just date openly.

"Right..." David agreed, but his voice was weak and his eyes seemed to have a hard time focusing, "unless..."

Jack raised an eyebrow and he made it a point to look into Davey's eyes, no matter how difficult it was, "unless...?"

"Well..." David looked down. He never had been good at eye contact, even under normal circumstances, "I dunno..."

"Sweetheart," Jack moved his fingers to lift David's chin ever so gently, "Sweetheart look at me, will ya?" David's eyes fluttered up, but didn't meet Jack's gaze, instead fixing on his nose. Jack figured it was best not to test his luck, so he took it, but he did make note of the starting stages of tears he saw. "Talk to me..."

"It's stupid-"

"It ain't stupid!" Jack's voice remained soft in the way he was so good at, but it had a new edge to it. Firm, almost. Maybe urgent. Davey couldn't tell. "Hey, what did we talk about, huh? I wanna hear what's going on in that brain of yours." He moved his hand from David's chin to tap on his forehead like he would somehow reach Davey's thoughts by doing so. It didn't give Jack access to his brain, but it did make Davey smile, just a little, so Jack still considered it a win. "What's it tellin you?"

David sighed, looking away again. "It's just... I mean always is a long time... I'm..." He tensed his jaw, the way he does when he's trying to say something but can't figure out how to say it without conveying a certain message, Jack had noticed. After a minute, he decided on, "you'll get bored eventually."

Jack's brain stopped working for a second, then began turning a million gears all at once. There were so many thoughts running through his head that he couldn't grasp on to anything but the solid feeling of confusion.

"Bored?" he finally stammered out. "Bored?" Jack shook his head, as if that would help him understand the situation. It didn't. "Davey, Darlin' what are you... You think I'd get bored? Of what? Of you?"

"I... Jack I'm just-"

"Nuh uh." Jack held up his hand, "I'm sorry, you know I don't usually mean to interrupt you but... Davey, baby, I just... I can't even wrap my head around how I could ever be bored with you! I don't- I seriously don't... I don't see a... a possible way. I mean..." He shook his head and blinked for a long time, "I really don't see anythin that could... That could lead to... I mean... Gah!"

"Jack, one day, you'll meet someone who... Who will excite you in ways I never could. They'll go horseback riding with you and... and they'll start fights with the Delanceys and... they'll be able to show you off to the world... like you deserve..."

Jack smiles, almost a happy one. "Davey, Sweetheart..." he reaches to cup David's cheeks in his palms and softly wipe away his tears with his thumbs, "I don't care about any of that. I want you. You hear? You're my partner, my fella, my bookworm, my smarty pants, my Boopsie-" that one got a little giggle out of Davey, just what Jack had been aiming for. Jack's smile got a little bit wider, a little bit happier at the sound.

"Gross, never call me that again." Davey swatted at Jack's hands and turned to lean on Jack's chest. He didn't let go of his fingers.

"Ohhh but it made you smile!" Jack swayed (by extension swaying Davey on his chest, only making him laugh more). "I was gonna keep goin you know, till ya caved. They were just gonna keep gettin more n more ridiculous."

"More ridiculous than Boopsie?"

"I think you're underestimatin' me. I had Schnookums, Stud Muffin, Casanova, Dream Machine-"

"Dream Machine?"

"Yeah, you know, 'cuz I's a dreamer n' all n' lately you've been runnin' all my dreams-"

"God, you are such a sap," Davey sniffed away his remaining tears as he focused on twisting around Jack's fingers. If all else failed, that would always work to calm him down.

"Hey, Dream Machine."

Davey snorted. "Yeah?"

"I want you to remember somethin' for me, alright? I think you can do it, considerin' you're also my Bookworm and Smarty Pants."

He rolled his eyes, but Jack noticed his smile only got bigger, even just a little bit. "What might that be, Sheriff?"

"Sheriff?" Jack raised an eyebrow with an amused smile.

"Yeah, Sheriff. Or are you the only one who can make dumb nicknames?"

"I like it." He moved his hand to squeeze Davey's. The firm pressure always seemed to reassure David that Jack was meaning what he was saying, and Jack really needed him to know that he meant what he was about to say.

David took a deep breath. Not because he was nervous, it was more so because he was exhausted. Emotionally, anyhow. Jack knew it would be a while before he spoke again. It didn't take Jack long to figure out that for someone who always seemed to have the right words, sharing them took a lot out of David, and there were times where he just had to be quiet. That was okay with Jack. He knew David was still listening to his every word, even if he wouldn't respond to them.

"I'd rather be bored with you than excited with anyone else."

Davey turned to look at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. It almost seemed like he was going to cry again, but he just pressed his lips together into a soft smile and squeezed Jack's hand tight. Now, Jack would never claim to be the smartest guy around, especially not in the presence of Davey, but it didn't take much for him to understand what that meant.