Kozmotis was beginning to think that maybe asking Jack over for dinner wasn't the best idea on the planet. As a matter of fact, Jack probably wasn't the best idea on the planet, yet somehow over the course of the past few weeks they had met up a few times for coffee during the businessman's brief lunch breaks. Nothing more than a quick latte and some mumbled conversation. Normal people did that kind of thing. Koz's reasoning was that a coffee shop wasn't the same as that infernal club, and that he could think more clearly without blinding lights and blinding rage at his lovely idiot daughter.

It wasn't as if his strange desire to see the tattooed brat outweighed the little voice in his head that screamed over and over that this was A Stupid Idea. He was a grown man and he could handle himself. Most of the time. Jack was a refreshing change from the monotony of work, though he still wasn't sure what had possessed him to blurt out a dinner invitation to the blue-eyed little imp. The kid had shown some initial surprise but he'd accepted, of course, with that irritating cocky smirk of his. Now Koz was going to have to deal with the consequences.

First off, telling Seraphina.

"He's like...ten." Seraph scowled, scrubbing a dinner plate aggressively. The dishwasher was broken again so it was back to hand-cleaning everything for now. It had been a long time since they'd had any sort of guest. "His hair's got more bleach in it than a Clorox container."

"He's old enough to legally be going to that abomination of a whatever-it-is, unlike someone else." Koz stirred the pot of veggies on the stove. He'd also bought a pair of steaks for him and Jack, and some tofu for Seraph. She was going through her annual vegan phase, though she insisted that this time it was for good. Until such time as this was proven to be true, Koz would continue to assume it was yearly occurrence, the same way he could count on the AC breaking down every summer.

He didn't mind it too much though, it gave him an excuse to learn new healthy recipes. Seraph was a good girl really, when she wasn't trying to muscle her way into nightclubs and such. She was an excellent student, but a terrible cook. At the risk of having to live off of instant ramen and TV dinners, Koz had taught himself to cook, and he considered himself rather good at it. Tonight he'd decided to stick with something he knew, so steak and vegetables it was. Nothing fancy. Not like he was trying to impress anyone. Jack just looked like he was in need of some real food. That was all. He was probably the one living off instant ramen.

"I still can't believe this." She grumbled. "He probably just wants your money or something."

That same thought had occurred to Koz, but he'd brushed it away. Jack really didn't seem like the kind. Koz thought himself fairly well-off, but the Pitchiners weren't exactly rolling in money. If the kid really was just in this for money he was going to be sorely disappointed.

"Look, if you're going to complain, might I point out that this whole matter is your fault?" Koz threw some mushrooms and soy sauce in with Seraph's tofu. "If you hadn't run off, I wouldn't have had to go chasing after you. I wouldn't have gone into that blasted noisy hole and I wouldn't have had to … dance... with Jack." He added some mushrooms in with the steak as well, along with a sprinkling of wine.

"My...I didn't ask you to come and get me." Seraph glared at him.

"We've been over this a hundred times already. Literally." Koz picked up a stack of clean plates and headed for the dining room, ending the conversation. Eventually the two of them got the table set and dinner ready for serving. There were a few minutes of awkward silence between them. Koz fiddled with one of the mismatched forks.

"Aren't you gonna put out some candles?" Seraph questioned. "You know, for romance?"

Koz sputtered. "This isn't romance. You have your friends over for dinner when you're not grounded for eternity. I can have my friends over too." No, this wasn't a romantic dinner. Jack made him feel hot and bothered but this wasn't a romantic dinner. Jack was a friend. A friend that might come with benefits. No, he did not just think that. Jack wasn't that either. Get yourself together, Koz.

The doorbell rang, and both jumped. Koz adjusted his dress shirt, though it was more habit than anything. Jack liked it rumpled and goddamit why was he even thinking what Jack liked. He opened the door and found himself staring down into a pair of ridiculously blue eyes. Jack was all pale skin and piercings. What was Koz even thinking, inviting a boy like this over. He belonged back at that accursed club.

"Do you ever wear anything besides work clothes?" Jack asked by way of greeting. "Hey, Seraphina." He glanced past Kozmotis. "Living the vida grounded?"

She groaned and rolled her eyes in response.

"Touchy subject." Koz managed, finally realizing that he should let his guest in.

"Ooo, nice place. Beats the apartment above the shop" Jack's icy eyes scanned the room.

"We don't have a lot of money but we get by," Seraphina plopped down on the couch and glared pointedly at Jack.

He ran a hand through his bleach-blonde hair. "Ooohkay. Hey nothing wrong with making do."

"Shall we eat?" Koz gestured toward the table and shot a venomous look at his offspring.

"What, no candles?" Jack smirked. "Where's the ro-"

"Stuff it, Twinker Bell."

Jack just grinned irritatingly in response, and sauntered to the table. "This actually looks good. You do this?" He turned to Seraphina.

"She burns water. I did." Koz took a seat opposite Jack, and Seraph took the chair at the end.

"You? Cook?" Jack looked genuinely surprised. "I wouldn't have thought that."

"I'm just full of surprises." This time it was Koz's turn to smirk.

"Ooo, I like that."

"So Jack. What do you do. For, you know. Money." Seraphina butted in. Koz started at her voice, realizing that he and Jack had been staring at one another. He was about to shush her again before he realized that he didn't yet know the answer to this question either. Somehow their little coffee shop meetings hadn't really progressed more than talking about the weather or other such pointless things.

"I work at St. North's Workshop."

"The chop shop?" Seraphina's eyes suddenly lit up, and Koz could see the exact second where Jack changed from The Enemy to New Best Friend. "I'm going to ride a bike someday."
"No she isn't," Koz interjected before Jack got any ideas. "There's nothing wrong with the car you have now. Once you learn to go in a direction other than reverse we can talk more about new cars, but you're not getting a bike."

Seraphina glared at him. "I don't need to get one. We have the Nightmare already. I'll just learn to ride it."

"Whoa, what?" Now it was Jack's eyes that lit up. "What's the Nightmare?"

"Nothing." Koz said firmly.

"It's in the garage." Seraphina suddenly seemed to enjoy Jack's presence. "It doesn't work right now but... if you work at a shop..." She gave him the Teenage Puppy Eyes.

"Ah, that's really up to your dad." Jack held up his hands in a placating gesture, and Koz's eyes traveled across the tattoos that ran down his slender arms. He fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves absentmindedly.

Seraph sighed theatrically. "Can I at least come by the shop sometime? I'd love to see it."

"Uh, sure..." Jack glanced at Koz and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You can look. If I go as well. And you can only look." Koz crossed his arms. "Maybe. When you're forty. Could you clear the table, please?"

She favored him with another overly dramatic sigh, and got up.

"That was actually really good." Jack piled the silverware on his plate and offered it to Seraph. "I'm impressed. I could get used to this. Nikolai and Aster can't cook at all."

"I've heard of your shop before. Isn't Nikolai that Santa Clause wannabe?" Koz sat back in his chair, feeling oddly happy that Jack had enjoyed the meal.
"He really is, I swear. He does all those holiday drives, and the kids love him. But yeah. He can fix anything." Jack stood up. "So, can I see this Nightmare? Come on. Is it yours? You used to ride?"

Koz sighed, then suppressed a yelp as a pair of startlingly cool arms wrapped around his shoulders. "Come ooooon, I wanna see. You're so stubborn." Jack leaned over him, resting his head against Koz's neck. "Show me!"

Koz found it increasingly more difficult to find the motivation to wriggle out of Jack's hold. It felt good, to have someone's arms around him. To have someone to wrap his arms around. Jack's breath came in warm little puffs against his neck. If Seraph found them like these she might have a teenage-level fit, and Koz wasn't in the mood to put up with that.

"Fine. And you call me stubborn." He stood, nearly lifting the scrawny cling-on off his feet. The kid was so light. Koz would have to make sure he was eating properly from now on. If he was living with those weirdos from the shop then he was probably being fed the nutritional equivalent of cardboard.

He led Jack to the garage, which was so full of clutter there was barely enough room to park the two cars. There was Koz's work car, and the heap of bolts and metal that constituted Seraph's beginner's vehicle.

"Here." Koz pulled the sheet off his old, derelict bike. "The Nightmare. She used to be something. Back when I was a lot younger, and she wasn't covered in rust."

"Oh, hello there." Jack ran pale fingers over the bike's dusty surface, clearing little lines of sparkling purple-black. "Shame to keep something like this cooped up in here." Sapphire eyes met Koz's. "Let me take her in. We can fix her!" He turned to the bike again. "I got my truck out front. Come on, old man."

"Calling me Old Man isn't exactly motivation, boy." Koz scowled. Cool lips pressed against his neck.

"Then what is?"

That. That is. Not. No. Yes. Fuck.

Koz pulled away and fumbled for the door opener. "Fine." He said for what felt like the hundredth time tonight. "It's just gathering dust here." Jack began clearing some of the boxes from around the motorcycle.

"Some help would be nice, Kozzy."

"I will wring your scrawny neck if you call me Kozzy again."

Smirk.

Goddamn it.

Without really thinking about it, Koz unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up a bit, attempting to clear a path toward the street.

"You...weren't kidding when you said you were full of surprises." Jack stared for a moment, then grabbed his wrist before Koz could retort. "You got sleeves? Damn. I wondered why you always wear long-sleeved shirts. Are these from the Nightmare days? Or are you just going to claim 'military' again?"

"I didn't always make amazingly wonderful decisions like I do today." Koz pulled himself away from Jack's grip. "And I wear long-sleeved shirts because I work at an actual business. Where dress code is important." He grabbed the handlebars of the Nightmare and wheeled it slowly toward the street, where a battered ice-blue pickup was parked. Together they loaded the bike onto it.

There was a brief, awkward silence. It was dark now, and the streetlights cast an orange glow over everything.

"That was...better than I expected." Jack said. "Really, I'm impressed. I need to have you cook for me more often. These non-romantic dinners are pretty awesome. I guess...I'll get going. Get this girl to the shop..."

"Jack." The kid turned, and Koz grabbed him by the shoulders of that ragged hoodie. He pulled the slender boy in close, and pressed his mouth against those pale, cool lips. Now it was Jack's turn to be surprised. He let out a little squawk, one that quickly turned into a pleased hum. Thin, pale fingers clutched at the fabric of Koz's shirt, twisting and tugging. Koz thought, distantly, that the neighbors or Seraph might be watching. He didn't care about the neighbors, and Seraph had already been subjected to this. So what did it matter. If this kid didn't think Koz could take his breath away he had another thought coming. He pulled away finally, with deliberate slowness.

"Yes, you'd better get her to the shop. I expect you'll take good care of her." He managed a casual grin, leaving Jack panting beneath the glare of the streetlights.

…..

Koz didn't see Jack over the next few days. He was constantly tied up in meetings, or overtime, and it left him even more cranky than usual. Perhaps in the hopes that it would somehow earn her a visit to Nikolai's Workshop, Seraphina had actually attempted to make his lunch every morning. The sandwiches had too much mustard and not nearly enough cold cuts, but it was something. Maybe he'd take her along one day. Maybe.

He was attempting to work his way through one of the mustard sandwiches in the break room when his phone went off, startling him. It was from Jack.

"Come by the shop, Old Man. Got something that might earn you back some years."

"I hate you. Off at 5."

Nikolai's Workshop was a mess of bike parts, tools, and questionable clientele. They were closing up by the time Koz arrived.

"Could you be any later?" Jack peered through the doorway, practically bouncing.

"I'm old. I'm slow." Koz shoved the blonde out of the way. "And I 'm cranky. Where's my bike, brat?"

"Oh, now you're excited." Jack grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the shop toward the back. The scruffy guy, the one they called Bunny for some reason that Koz really didn't want to know, glared at him as they passed. "Don't mind him, he's even more grumpy than you are most of the time. Here we are." Jack trotted over to a covered object. "Feast your eyes on your new Nightmare!"

Koz was already feasting his eyes on Jack's excited face, but when the boy pulled the sheet off he couldn't help but stare.

The motorcycle looked good as new. It was all shimmering black and purple, chrome accents and leather seats. Just like he'd remembered from so long ago.

"Yeeeeah? How about it? I told you." Jack slid onto the bike. Seeing Jack straddling his motorcycle, Koz felt that the room was suddenly way to hot. Why didn't they turn on the fans, or the air, or something. Anything. Jack just gave him that knowing, irritating lopsided grin, which didn't help. At all.

Koz thanked every deity he could think of when the kid bounded off the bike. Jack grabbed Koz's wrists again, rolling up his sleeves as the older man sputtered a protest. "Come on. Show them off. Got the bike. Got the tats." He pressed himself against Koz's chest. "Got me," he mumbled into the soft fabric.

"'Ey Jack, you lock up when you leave, okay yes?" Both of them jumped as a rough voice with a Russian accent called across the garage.

"Uh yeah, got it Nikolai!" Jack called around Koz's shoulder. Several lights flicked off, leaving them with just a few shop lamps for light. The Nightmare reflected the lamps' glow, shimmering in the darkness. Jack rested his head against Koz's neck. "They helped a bit, but I did most of the work. It's my first real project." He gazed up at Koz, the bravado that was usually all over his expression gone. "You like it, right?"

Koz smiled. So, the kid wasn't always a cocky little asshole. "I'm impressed, boy." He ruffled that spiky blonde hair. The Nightmare looked amazing. He was going to have to lock it up before Seraphina decided to test drive it. Seraphina. A worry that had sometimes nagged at the back of his mind wormed its way into his thoughts. He'd tried not to think about it too much, since this blasted relationship wasn't happening, obviously, but he couldn't keep fooling himself. "So. I've got my bike. And my tats. And you." He sighed. "And I also have Seraphina. You realize that right, Jack? We're a package deal. I'm a father. I have a daughter."

The kid was quiet, his face pressed against Koz's chest once more. Koz could feel Jack's heart beating in his slender chest, pulsing against his skin. Jack's warm breath puffed against him.

"I know. I..." His voice trailed off. "I want this. I want this so badly. I'll do anything. But..." Slender fingers dug into Koz's side. "I'm scared. I … screw things up. I always screw things up." His voice faltered. "And I don't want to mess up this time. I'll learn. You can teach me. I'll listen." He pulled away, blue eyes bright. "You can teach me how...and I'll teach you to loosen up." He ran a cool hand over the tattoos visible on Koz's arm. "We can do this. Right?"

Koz's phone went off and the two of them nearly fell over. He grabbed for it with a bit more force than he'd meant and almost flung it across the floor. "Seraph, what is it?"

"Daaad, I locked my keys out of the car. It's raining now. Can you come pick me up?"

"You're still on campus at this hour?" Koz sighed. "Ok angel." There was a pause.

"Um...no. Me and Tia are at the movie theater downtown..."

"..." Koz rubbed his temples. "Seraph. Angel. You are grounded. Why. Are. You.."

"Daaad it's dark and it's raining and I'm sorry I swear I had to get out or I was going to go crazy! Daaaad -"

"We're coming. And you are grounded until the end of time, and possibly through whatever new universe comes into existence." He shoved the phone back into his pocket, and met Jack's blue gaze.

"I'm...still learning this too." He held out a hand, and Jack took it. "We can... figure it out together...If you truly mean it. Somehow. Lock up this place so you don't screw something up, and let's go get my dear, dear daughter."