Forget Yesterday

“So that’s the 2nd week of September you want off, right Jack?” Irene, his boss’s secretary asked.

“Yes, the whole week,” Jack nodded.

“Are you going anywhere nice?” she smiled.

“Well it’s for my boyfriend’s best friend’s wedding which will be around here somewhere. I think the actual wedding will take up two days because we’re apparently helping set it all up and clean it all up, and then the rest of the week is just to spend time with my boy,” Jack replied, smiling back.

“Aww that’s so sweet! Alex is a lucky man,” Irene giggled.

“It’s me that’s the lucky one, trust me,” Jack mused.

Irene giggled again, typing a few more things before printing the holiday request form out.

“Well that’s all sorted now, I’ll give it to Mr Morgan before he leaves for lunch so he can approve it for you,” she said cheerfully.

“Thanks Irene, I’ll see you later,” Jack beamed.

So that was Matt and Zack’s wedding booked off work. Sure, it was a little ahead of time but there was no way Jack was going to miss happy emotional Alex and then drunk horny Alex. And how happy Matt and Zack were going to be, obviously.

Weddings. Jack just loved them. He’d only been to a couple in his life, one being his Auntie’s second marriage when he was young and the others being colleagues from work, but he still loved them. The sheer happiness that the couple showed was just amazing. He loved it. And he couldn’t wait for his turn.

Yeah, Jack thought about getting married a lot. Sure, it was probably a girly thing to do, but just the thought of binding himself to the one person he loved with all his heart forever never failed to leave him with a smile on his face. And it was only recently that he could envision the person standing opposite him at the altar.

Jack could see himself marrying Alex.

Despite all the mess they’d gone through a couple of weeks ago, Jack knew that he loved Alex with all his heart and always would. Call him sappy, call him pathetic, but it was true. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Alex, and there was no way he was going to jeopardise that, not now that they were happy again. Not a chance.

It was only when Jack found himself walking into Vinny’s tattoo studio that he snapped out of his thoughts. Wow. He was heading for Alex without even realising. That was a good thing, right?

Only Vinny was up at the counter with Ryan, and Vinny looked like he was attempting to re-enact something while Ryan just looked bored out of his mind, even more so than usual. Poor kid.

“Hey, Vin!” Jack said cheerfully, catching his best friend’s attention.

“Hey Jackalope! If you’re looking for Alex, he’s not here at the moment,” Vinny said, grinning.

Jack couldn’t help but laugh. It was scary sometimes how easily Vinny could read him.

“Where is he then?” Jack asked, leaning against the counter.

“He’s out at the wholesalers buying more latex gloves, cotton swabs and Vaseline,” Vinny explained.

Ah fair enough, supplies for the shop. But he could have some fun with this at Ryan’s expense.

“Sounds kinky,” Jack grinned.

Vinny grinned back.

Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Cavemen,” Ryan muttered.

“You’re just grumpy because Brendon got a Prince Albert yesterday and couldn’t fuck you last night,” Vinny smirked.

Well that was a little too much information. The tips of Ryan’s ears tinted red and he pointedly looked down at his book. Vinny just laughed and beckoned Jack to sit in his room with him, closing the door after they’d walked in.

“So, what did you want Alex for? Other than quick lunchtime sex,” Vinny asked innocently.

“You are disgusting, you know that right?” Jack mused.

“Eh, my Rian likes it, so I don’t care. Seriously, what did you want Alex for? He’s booked up all afternoon,” Vinny asked.

“It’s nothing urgent, don’t worry. I was just thinking about him and wanted to see him,” Jack shrugged.

The cooing noises Vinny made had Jack blushing furiously.

“You are such a sap, Barakat,” Vinny teased.

“Yeah, well, Alex likes it so I don’t care,” Jack retorted, twisting Vinny’s previous words.

Vinny laughed, rolling his eyes.

“What were you thinking about?” Vinny asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I was booking Zack’s wedding off work and I was thinking about how I would like to marry Alex,” Jack explained.

Vinny’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. “R-Really?”

Then it clicked in Jack’s head and his eyes went wide too.

“Woah, dude, not now. No way, we’ve only just got back to where we were before. Jeez, way too soon. I meant, like, in the future. Like, 5 years plus,” Jack said.

“Fuck, give me a heart attack much?” Vinny spluttered, holding his hand dramatically to his chest.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t gone crazy. I was just thinking how it would be nice, that’s all,” Jack shrugged.

Vinny went silent for a couple of seconds, worrying Jack slightly. This was never a good sign. Eventually Vinny stopped chewing his bottom lip and looked at Jack.

“It may be way too soon to marry Alex, but why don’t you take it to the next level?” Vinny said softly.

“What do you mean?” Jack frowned.

“Well I’ve asked Rian to move in with me but he says he can’t leave Alex on his own so…”

Vinny trailed off, twirling his hand.

“If I ask Alex to move in with me you’ll get what you want?” Jack finished.

“Essentially yes, but it’ll make you happy too. It’ll make both of you happy, and Emma,” Vinny nodded.

Jack couldn’t help a small smile spreading across his lips at the thought of living with Alex. Waking up next to Alex every morning. Coming home to see Alex there with Emma. Having Alex’s junk cluttering up his perfectly ordered room decorations. Sharing a shower with Alex…

“I’ll think about it,” Jack said simply.

Vinny grinned. “That’s all I ask,”