Hell Above

After a few hours and several SpongeBob reruns, Jack pulls himself up off the floor and heads to his bedroom to get dressed. Its mid-afternoon now, one glance at the clock on the nightstand confirming that it’s nearly 4 p.m., and Jack hasn't had anything to eat or drink aside from the cup of coffee earlier, so he figures a late lunch won’t hurt. After pulling on a pair of cutoffs and a hoodie, he grabs his phone off his nightstand and then leaves the apartment, making sure to lock the door because he’s still irritated and if Alex gets back before he does then the blonde will have to wait outside, – which is sort of funny.

He ends up a few blocks down, on a street with several restaurants and small shops, all of which he bypasses until he’s stood outside the entrance to one of his favorite cafes. Stepping inside, he glances around the small place, ambling up to the large counter that dominates the room. There aren't many people here, mostly due to it being an off hour of the day and the fact that the cafe is conveniently tucked between two much larger restaurants, so there are never more than an odd number of people in here at any given time, despite the place having some of the best Italian food this side of town.

Jack taps his fingers along the edge of the counter, waiting for the man stood on the other side to notice his presence. “Welcome to Cousin Vinny’s, what can I do for ‘ya today?” The man says, voice loud and clear despite his head being lowered, looking at something on the counter.

“I’m not sure Vincent, what can ‘ya do for me?” Jack replies, mocking the man’s slight Hudson Valley accent.

Vinny glances up then, taking in the lanky man stood before him before a wide grin of recognition splits across his face and he’s shouting out “Jack-o!”

Jack chuckles, taking a few mandatory steps back as Vinny quite literally hops onto and then over the counter before engulfing Jack in a bone-crushing hug. “Where ‘ya been at Jay? Haven’t seen you ‘round here in forever!”

One of Jack’s favorite things about the short Italian man now stood directly in front of him is the way that no matter the time or place, Vinny is always shouting. If Jack didn't know any better he’d almost think the man didn't know how to use a normal speaking voice, but he’s known the man for most of his life and has heard him talk quietly on some very rare occasions throughout the years.

“I've been around, just not around here.” Jack offers, shrugging his shoulders as one of Vinny’s eyebrows raise slightly.

Vinny makes a face at him, grin not faltering as he hops back onto the counter in the most unprofessional way possible. Jack notes that the other customers haven’t even taken notice though. “How've you been though man? How’s Xander?”

Jack folds his arms across his chest, meeting Vinny’s eyes as he replies. “I've been good, Alex is good too. Just had some stuff going on, y’know?” It’s true, Jack had been meaning to come down and see Vinny for a while, but things had been sort of out of place for the past week or two.

Vinny nods, twisting around and sliding off the counter on the opposite side of Jack. “You gonna stick ‘round for a while, or what?” The man asks, leaning forward on his elbows against the counter.

Jack grins. “Depends, you gonna get me something to eat?” And when Vinny nods again, Jack concludes, “Then yeah, I guess I’ll stay for a while.”

-

Jack heads towards his favorite booth in the most well lit corner of the cafe, settling down and pulling out his phone to play games on while he waits for Vinny to come back with his food. He can hear Vinny yelling from the back where the kitchen is, Italian phrases slipping into his speech every few sentences, and can’t help but chuckle at the loud Italian man.

A few moments later, a plate is slid in front of Jack, an extremely upbeat and grinning Vinny plopping down adjacent to him afterwards. “So talk, man. I haven’t seen you in weeks, what’s been happening?” Vinny demands the moment his ass touches the seat, waving his hands at Jack as he unwraps his silverware to begin eating.

Jack raises an eyebrow, ignoring Vinny in favor of taking a bite of the Chicken Marsala the man had placed in front of him. Vinny is having none of it though, “Don’t ignore me, asshole!”

Jack takes a bite anyways as he waves his hand in a way that translates as “shut the fuck up.”

The man across from him makes an exasperated noise, leaning back in the booth and crossing his arms as he waits for Jack to speak. Jack takes another bite, just to annoy Vinny further, and then decides to answer, mouth still full. “It’s really troubling, Vin.” Vinny raises an eyebrow, prompting Jack to continue. “Dad’s been distant, Lex got hooked on heroine, and my dog ran away last week.” Jack finishes, working hard to keep his face straight and tone flat.

Vinny stares at him for a moment before promptly bursting into laughter, the exact reaction Jack had been aiming for. He grins as he continues eating, watching Vinny calm down after a few moments of continues laughter. “What is this, two lies one truth? You know I always hated that game in middle school.” Vinny voices, leaning back once again.

“Because you sucked at it.” Jack comments, pointing a finger at the man across from him.

Vinny shrugs again before growing serious. “But really, has anything happened?”

Jack swallows the bite he’d been chewing, thinking over exactly what has happened. He settles for “Alex and I kissed.”

Vinny raises an eyebrow and responds “Oh? Finally.” in such a straight-forward manner, causing Jack to nearly choke on his bite of chicken. Vinny laughs at his reaction, waiting until Jack swallows his food and stops coughing before asking, “Is that it, you just kissed?”

Jack brings his hand up then, poking his tongue over to push out his cheek in the universal symbol for a blowjob, causing Vinny’s eyes to widen comically.

“What? You fucking sucked each other off and didn’t think to tell me!” Vinny shouts, slamming his hands down on the table, immediately drawing the attention of the people eating around them. Jack tries to bite back the laugh wanting to escape as he looks around him at the other customers faces.

“Calm down, Vin.” Jack tries, chuckling at the look on Vinny’s face.

Vinny shakes his head in an overdramatic fashion, hands raised as he says much too loudly. “No! I will not calm down. When did this happen, hm? How? Was it good?”

Jack rolls his eyes, pushing his nearly empty plate away before meeting Vinny’s eyes across the table. “It happened like two days ago, I gave and wouldn't let Alex return, and hell yeah it was good. I am the king of blowjobs.” Jack folds his arms over his chest, leaning back in the booth as Vinny stares at him.

“I want details.” Is all the Italian says, copying Jack’s posture as he leans back as well, waiting for Jack to speak again.

Jack bites his lip, thinking over exactly what he should tell the man in front of him. He doesn't want Alex to freak out over Vinny knowing, despite all three of them being close friends. On the other hand though, Vinny is practically a brother to Jack. He grew up with the short Italian by his side, and if this were some random person Jack had picked up he wouldn't hesitate to tell Vinny all the details. But this isn't some random person, – this is Alex.

“I may have asked him about his sex drive, and he replied that he didn't really have one. So then a few days later, he asks if I could help him out with it.” Jack watches Vinny’s eyes widen, less comically this time. “And because I am the greatest best friend to ever exist, I got him off.” Vinny doesn't respond for a few moments. “That’s all the details you’re getting.” Jack finalizes.

“Don’t give me that ‘I’m the greatest best friend ever’ bullshit, you totally wanted to.” Vinny raises his eyebrows in a way that would look totally out of place on anyone else, smirking at Jack knowingly.

Jack just shrugs. “The world may never know.”

Vinny rolls his eyes, “So that’s it, you didn't tell him?”

And when Jack shakes his head, Vinny has to hold back from reaching across the table and punching the man in front of him.

Jack is silent for a few moments before he speaks again. “Why would I, Vin? He’s got enough to deal with. I can’t tell him something like that and expect him to react well.”

Vinny just nods, knowing Jack is right.