Hope everyone had (is having) a good Holiday Season. Here's a little holiday gift for y'all from JarJar and I. Enjoy!

Jack practically moaned at the warm water washing over his skin. He wouldn't admit to it, but he had fun smelling all the different products the man had in his shower. It wasn't until he was shutting the water off that he realized he didn't have a towel. He looked around the bathroom, dripping everywhere in his search. "Koz!" Jack stuck his head out the door and yelled for him again.

"Yeah?"

"Where's your towels?"

"Linen closet down the hall." Pitch came around the corner, making sure to grab one on his way. He smiled and held it out.

Jack glared at him and took the towel. "Why wouldn't you have them closer to the bathroom like a normal person?"

"Because I know to always grab one on the way, and I normally don't have overnight guests."

"I think you should start keeping a couple a little closer from now on." He started wiping himself down.

"For when you spend the night?"

"Mhmm."

"You have my full permission to move some towels closer."

"Thank you. Do you think I could have another towel too? I sorta dripped all over in here."

"You can leave it. I'll have the maid clean it up later."

"No way. I clean up my own messes."

"Dry off and get dressed first, and then you can clean up."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Just get me a towel, would you?"

"So stubborn," Pitch mumbled but went to get Jack another towel. "Hurry up, or your breakfast will get cold."

"I'll be there in just a second." He wrapped one towel around his waist and used the other to dry up the floor. When he was done, he went back out into the bedroom.

"Are you almost done?" Pitch called from down in the kitchen.

"Almost. Just getting dressed." Jack grabbed the clean clothes from his backpack and pulled them on. He made his way down the stairs with a smile. "What did you make? It smells delicious."

"Bacon and eggs. Protein to give you back some of that energy you lost."

"Sounds perfect." He took a seat on the barstool. "I have to say that, for a guy, you have an awful lot of shower products."

"It takes a lot to look this good all the time," Pitch chuckled. He slid Jack a plate of food.

Jack nodded his head in thanks. "All it really takes is good hygiene. You don't need all the other fancy stuff." He took a bite of bacon. "I used some of your basic stuff. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. In fact, maybe you should leave some of your usual stuff here. For when you stay."

"I'd love to, but I don't think there's any more space in your shower," he teased.

"I'll make space."

"I don't know. I could always just use your stuff. I smell like you now," Jack snickered.

"I like your smell. Like a field of wildflowers."

"And you smell like 'Midnight Musk.' I avoided that one."

"I'm glad. I don't want you to smell like anything but yourself."

"Don't worry; I'll bring some of my own wash over. Maybe next time I spend the night?"

"That sounds perfect," Pitch hummed. "When might that be?"

Jack shrugged. "Who knows? We'll see."

"That doesn't sound like someone excited to spend the night."

"It'll happen again soon. I'm just not sure when."

"But soon?"

"If things keep going this way, then yes. Holy shit!" He nearly choked on his food when Kozmotis sat down beside him. Jack reached out to gently run his fingers over the dark mark on the man's neck. "I am so sorry about that."

"What?" Pitch reached up and felt his neck. "Did you give me a hickey?"

Jack nodded. "A bad one."

"I'll forgive you if you let me reciprocate."

"Just not on the neck. Fairy will never let me live it down if she can see it," he laughed.

"Where else if not there?"

"Anywhere clothes would cover."

"Anywhere else that's also off limits?"

"Also anywhere that would make it too tempting to have sex."

"Then perhaps it would be safer for you to pick the spot," Pitch purred. When Jack stuck out his tongue at him, he leaned forward and captured it between his lips.

Jack pulled away with a soft moan. "I think the shoulder would be an alright place."

"Show me."

"Like right here?" He pulled his neckline off to the side, revealing a wide expanse of skin on his shoulder.

Pitch smiled and stared longingly at the pale skin. "I'm trying to decide whether I should give in and mark you now or wait until I can pick a spot that would tempt you into sex."

"The choice is yours. Quite the dilemma you have." Jack chuckled.

Pitch leaned forward and kissed Jack's neck. "A promise of things to come."

"I look forward to it." He turned back to his breakfast and smiled at how good it tasted. "You know, for someone who has a maid, I wouldn't have expected you to be a very good cook."

"I may have a maid, but that doesn't mean cooking is one of her virtues," Pitch chuckled.

"I'm just sayin'..." Jack took another bite. "I'm pleasantly surprised."

"I like cooking. It allows me some time to myself."

"Which you probably didn't have much time for before, what with all of your bedmates and your busy job."

"I can't tell whether you're mocking me now or not."

"Possibly."

"So mean."

"You deserve it."

"For what? Loving you?"

"Consider it my little revenge for lying to me. It'll fade away the longer you stick around."

"You mean you'll actually forgive me one day?"

"I hope to."

"Maybe that'll be your gift to me for our thirtieth anniversary. We'll be old and fat, rocking in our rocking chairs, and you'll tell me you finally forgive me."

Jack laughed. "As nice as that sounds, I hope you don't give me any reason to take so long to forgive you."

"I won't, but you're as stubborn as a mule. I have no doubt you'd make me wait that long."

"I wouldn't be so cruel. I'd be tired of the emotional burden of not forgiving you long before then. I'll forgive you even if it's only for my own benefit."

"What a relief," Pitch chuckled.

"Told you there's nothing to worry about."

"I'll worry until I hear you say the words."

"You'll get wrinkles if you worry too much." He leaned over to kiss the man's cheek and held out a fork of food for him.

"It'll make me less attractive and even more yours," Pitch whispered before accepting the bite of food.

Jack grinned. "Good point. In that case, keep worrying. I want you extra wrinkled so not even your most devoted fan would want to take you away from me."

"Would you be happy with an extra wrinkly lover?" Pitch nuzzled Jack's neck.

"I wouldn't mind." He sighed happily and leaned into the touch. "Yes, you're insanely fucking hot, but that's not why I wanted to go out with you."

"Why did you?"

"I fell for the guy behind the wrinkles," he teased.

"Kiss me." Jack turned his head to capture the man's lips. Pitch slid his fingers into his hair and held him close. "When did you say this rehearsal thing was again?"

"Tomorrow. Are you chickening out?"

"Fuck no. I'm wishing it was tonight so I could finally prove myself to you." Pitch nuzzled Jack's nose. "Spend the night with me tomorrow."

"Maybe."

"Please?"

"I can't keep having my neighbor take care of Snowball. I'm not saying no, but it'll depend on some stuff."

"Then may I spend the night with you?"

Jack chewed his lip in thought for a few moments. "Maaaayyybe? I haven't brought a guy to my home in years."

"If I can obtain approval from your friends, would you invite me?"

"I'm not sure. It doesn't have to do with them or their approval. I'm a little gun-shy of bringing someone home."

"We don't have to have sex. We could do like what we did last night. We could just lie there and kiss and look at each other."

"It's not...that," Jack ground out. He sighed in defeat and finally mumbled, "The last guy I brought home ended up being the stalker I mentioned in my list of exes, and I had to move to finally get away from him."

"Do I seem like the stalking type to you?"

Jack shook his head. "That doesn't really help my nerves though."

"Doesn't it? I haven't hurt you physically, I haven't raped you, and stalking is not my mode of seduction."

"Maybe, okay? Give me some time to think about it. I get in my own head a lot."

"Okay. I'll wait to hear from you."

"Thank you," he whispered. "I wouldn't go so far as to say I have PTSD or anything, but, damn, that's how it feels sometimes."

"I won't pressure you. If you let me visit, I want it to be completely of your own free will."

"It'll happen eventually." Jack pushed some eggs around his plate. "It's not you I'm freaked out about. I'm sorry you kind of get the fucked-up-ness the others left behind."

"I love you." Pitch nudged Jack's shoulder. "I want you even with all of this fucked-up-ness."

"It'll be a rough road…"

"I. Want. You."

"Thanks." Jack leaned his head against his strong shoulder. "Sorry in advance for my extreme trust issues then."

"I'm not. It'll just mean that you love me all the more when you're ready."

Jack gave a small smile. "I'm not really hungry anymore." He pushed the half eaten plate away. "Can we finish my tour of the personal parts of your house?"

"Of course. You're free to look wherever you want."

"What rooms do I have left?"

"I'm not telling. That would ruin the tour," Pitch chuckled. "Guess you'll just have to open every door."

"That could take forever in this place."

"Then I guess you better start now."

"You're seriously going to make me just wander around?" Jack slipped down from the bar stool.

"Isn't that half the fun? Discover my secrets before I discover yours."

"Not when the house is as big as yours is." Figuring upstairs was his safest bet, Jack headed there first with Pitch close on his heels.

"Well, you're off to a good start. I told you up here are my personal rooms."

"I can see that." Jack opened a new door and smiled as he stepped inside.

"My office/gaming room."

Jack looked over his shoulder to see Kozmotis standing in the doorway. He plopped himself down in the oversized, super plush gaming chair. "I wouldn't have pegged you for a gamer."

"I'm not an avid gamer. It's more just a hobby when I have some free time."

"Still." He looked around the room, slowly spinning the chair so he could see everything.

"Not a lot of games, as you can see."

"More than me. I don't even own a console."

"I don't have the older ones, but I have everything from a PS2 onwards."

"I think you and North would get along. He's a kid at heart, so he has all the latest toys and games."

"Good to know." Pitch leaned against his desk. "Would it be rude of me to include using this room as a bribe for dating me?"

"I don't know about rude, persay….My friends aren't opposed to bribes, but I'm not sure it would really sway their opinions much."

"I meant a bribe for you." Pitch smiled. "Don't worry. I'm already planning what I'll say to some of your friends."

"For me? Honestly, I don't think it would be worth your effort to bribe me. This room shows me more about you, but I'm not really into video games. At least not enough to spend money on them."

"Then I won't waste my time."

"Wise choice." Jack stood up with a laugh.

"I'm not stupid. I'm saving my energy for what will work with you."

"And what do you think will work?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you."

"I'm pretty sure you should."

"No, I don't think so."

"Have it your way then." Jack left in search of more personal rooms.

"Now, if you were to guess, then I wouldn't be opposed to saying whether you were wrong or correct."

"I'm feeling too lazy to guess."

"Pity."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"I'm not disappointed. My secret is now safe, and you'll just have to wait and see."

"Sounds fun." Jack frowned when he opened another door and didn't find anything interesting.

"Nothing really exciting?"

"Nope. About as exciting as the linen closet can be." He tried a new door and stepped inside to look around.

"My second closet. A room that can say a lot about a person."

"You have a lot of very expensive clothing in here." Jack picked up a black leather Salvatore Ferragamo shoe and snickered. "I think this one shoe is worth more than the whole suit I wore on our first date. Actually it's probably less than half of this shoe."

"Possibly."

"Not possibly. I'm positive it is."

"I take pride in my style."

"Show me your not-movie-star clothes then."

"You're looking at them."

"You mean the expensive ones are your regular clothes?" He carefully set the shoe back down.

"Uh-huh. These are cheap compared to my 'movie star clothes' as you called them."

"Holy shit…" Jack couldn't help but look around in awe.

Pitch smiled at him. "Well? Any snarky comments?"

"Just that I think I could sell your closet and buy a second house for myself."

"And maybe a penthouse in New York City."

"You spend way too much on clothes, sir. How are you going to survive on a measly professor's salary?"

"I'll have you know that I don't just buy new clothes everyday. That suit alone has been with me for ten years. That one was the one I wore to celebrate my first opening night. This one I wore to my first movie premiere."

"So? You'll never buy clothes again? You're set for the rest of your life?" Jack fingered through the hangers and pulled out a steel grey, very sleek looking suit. "I'd like to see you in this one someday."

"I may not be set forever persay, but I'm sure I don't have to wear Versace or McQueen to be happy." Pitch took the suit from Jack's hands and held it up in front of himself. "I'll wear this for dinner."

"For dinner?" He looked up at Kozmotis curiously.

"Yep. Dinner, tonight, you and me. Nowhere too fancy; just the right amount of fancy to warrant a suit. This suit in particular."

"But I don't have anything but this to wear." Jack looked down at his own T-shirt and jeans.

"I find that highly doubtful. You don't have even one suit?"

"Not here right now. I have the one I wore on our first date, and that's it."

"That'll be perfect."

"It's at home."

"I'll release you for an hour. Go get it."

"I don't have my car here."

"Shall I drive you, or are you going to insist on getting a cab?"

Jack chewed his lip again in anxious thought. "You can...drive...me."

"Or perhaps we could save this date for tomorrow after the rehearsal lunch, and we can just order in tonight."

"Yes, please," he choked out. Jack stepped forward to wrap his arms around the other man.

"Were you afraid of going out?"

"It's just the whole me-not-having-you-come-to -my-house thing again," Jack mumbled into his chest.

"I can't even see the outside?"

"Maybe."

"I don't have to see it today. I'd rather just see you today."

"It's a 'maybe' still. I have to get over this eventually. I hope it's with you."

"I'll wait as long as it takes."

"Thank you," he whispered before pulling Kozmotis down into a gentle kiss. "Next room now."

"Lead the way, my darling," Pitch hummed and nuzzled Jack's nose as he hung up the suit again.

Jack left the closet, pulling the other man with him by his hand. "How many more rooms do I even have to find?"

"You've already seen my library, bathroom, and bedroom. I think that leaves one more room."

"What kind of room is it?"

Pitch opened the last door in the hall to reveal an empty room. "This will be the personal space for my significant other, whenever they're ready to just suck it up and acknowledge they're crazy about me."

"Oh?" Jack stepped inside and looked around the room. His voice echoed in the empty space. "That's an interesting reason to keep a room empty. I would have thought, if you had a significant other, the bedroom would be a shared personal space."

"Well, I was imagining this wall lined with baskets or maybe those decorative window boxes. They would be full of flowers, not real, but maybe a plethora of brightly colored fake ones. There'd be a table for practicing arranging them in different designs. There's a view of the garden, which would provide pretty good inspiration."

"It seems you've put a lot of thought into this." He looked out the window with a small smile. "But I don't do fake flowers," he joked.

"Interesting. I do have connections with a flower shop owner who could hook you up with whatever you need."

Jack rested his head against a strong shoulder. "Very interesting indeed. The thought is lovely, but that would be an awfully big step for me to take over this room."

"No one said this room is for you. It's for my significant other, whoever they may be."

"Oh. My bad for assuming. I could have sworn you were implying it was me. You must have some weird interest in florists then."

"Doesn't have to be a florist. Maybe a singer, or someone interested in sewing. Anyone, really. This wall could also come down, and the bedroom could be expanded. Maybe add another closet."

"Interesting. You just have everything all worked out, don't you? Even how you assume any significant other would want to leave their own home and come here. What would you do if that weren't the case?"

"They would first have to invite me over. If they were willing to make a little room for me, I'd be okay with giving up this place. It isn't the place that matters but who I'm with."

"How very thoughtful of you." Jack took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Would you mind...driving me home?"

"Are you sure?"

He nodded slowly. "I'm sure."

"Okay. Yeah, okay." Pitch smiled. "Right now?"

"It doesn't have to be right this instant. If we go soon, though, I could make us lunch and maybe you could even keep some of your promise to read to me in my garden."

"You mean I can come inside too?"

"Yes, you can come inside too. I wouldn't be so rude as to leave you out in the car."

"You are sure?" He looked deep into blue eyes, searching for any hint of doubt.

Jack nodded slowly again. "I'm sure. I'm trying to trust you, remember? I can't re-establish that trust if I'm not willing to give you a chance to prove yourself."

"I love you," Pitch whispered. He pulled Jack into his arms and kissed him. "I don't want to pressure you."

"You're not. I'm pressuring myself, if anything. It's not you."

"I'll drive you. You can decide along the way if it's too much for you."

"I won't change my mind. I'm determined to get over this."

"My brave little love," Pitch chuckled.

"No need to tease me for it." He stuck his tongue out but pulled it back in before Pitch could get it.

"Hey! Come on."

"That's right. I caught on to your trick."

"Guess I can't kiss you."

"You can still kiss me. I'm just not going to let you get my tongue every time."

"But your tongue is the best part."

"That's just too bad."

"Oh...okay."

"If you'd like, you could pack an overnight bag of your own." Jack backed out of the room with a blush.

"Really?" Pitch brightened up.

"Really." He stuck his tongue out and ducked out of the room.

"Hey!" Pitch chased Jack down the hall and trapped him in the bedroom. "You can't just lay that on me and then run that cute little butt out of the room."

"I can, and I did."

"And I will chase you if you insist on running," Pitch challenged.

"I'm not running anymore, am I?" He stood in the middle of the room. Pitch slowly walked towards him. "I wouldn't mind a few more kisses. Give me some more courage before we go."

"I can do that." Pitch pushed Jack down on the bed and trapped his wrists above his head. He smiled and leaned down to kiss him. "Neck, please." Jack tilted his head away, giving as much of his neck as he could. A sigh escaped his lips when he felt those lips on his skin. Pitch covered Jack's neck in kisses then pulled Jack's collar aside to cover his shoulders next. "Still want to hide your tongue?"

"Not anymore. It's all yours if you want it."

"I do. I definitely do," Pitch whispered as their lips brushed. "Let me see it." Jack's tongue snuck out to run across the man's lips, dipping between for just a moment. Pitch wrapped his lips around it, sucking it into his mouth as they kissed. When they were both moaning, he pulled back and bit Jack's lower lip. "I need to pack. I'm looking forward to doing this with you in your bed."

"Go pack before I lose all the courage you just gave me," he chuckled. Pitch gave him a quick kiss and hopped off the bed, going into his closet to pull out some clothes. "Don't forget to bring something for the rehearsal tomorrow too."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"And that suit. Just in case." Jack lay sprawled out on the bed, enjoying the backside view of his lover through the closet door.

"Gotcha!" Pitch grabbed the suit Jack liked, along with dark blue and black suits. "Which do you like for the dinner? Blue or black?"

"I think...blue. It's going to be outside and sort of warm tomorrow. I'd rather you not be melting completely during the whole thing."

"Blue it is." Pitch hung up the black suit and dropped the grey and blue suits on the bed before going to his drawers. "Underwear or no?"

"Of course you need underwear." He rolled his eyes.

Pitch looked back over his shoulder. "Won't underwear just get in the way?"

"Better safe than sorry."

"Fine." Pitch pulled out a couple pairs of underwear and threw them on the pile along with his sleep clothes. He ran into the bathroom and grabbed some toiletries before packing everything into a duffel bag. "If you keep lying there, I'll have to kiss you again."

Jack pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I was just staying comfortable while you were packing. I didn't think you were going to be so fast."

"I'm excited." Pitch leaned down and kissed him. "Any new step with you is exciting."

"I guess we should be going then." He slid off the bed, slipped on his shoes, and zipped up his own backpack.

"Great!" Pitch grabbed his car keys and locked the door behind them.

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