Falling in Love Will Kill You

Memories can be such confusing things. They can resonate good feelings, or stir up bad ones. They can even create feelings that will leave you up at night thinking, because you don't know what you feel. The only thing that Jack was certain about, though, was that he was at peace with all of his memories. Sure, maybe when he was older, like eighty, he'd be even more satisfied, but he thought he was doing pretty well for only being in his twenties. His happy memories no longer brought back painful nostalgia, and his sad ones didn't haunt him any longer. He was doing good, all thanks to one person in particular.

Jack was twenty eight now, Alex as well. The two had been inseparable since their reunion seven years ago, and so much had happened since then. Firstly, after spending only a few months together, both boys knew that they wanted to get married as soon as possible. So, on the 14th of August, when they were both twenty two, the pair tied the knot outside of a pretty lake-side restaurant. After the ceremony, they joined their family and friends for dinner inside of the restaurant. After they ate, the two had their first dance to "Always" by Panic! At The Disco, by Alex's request. Their friend Zack was Jack's best man, and Rian, Alex's. Lilly was Jack and Alex's flower girl, and the small wedding was everything and more than either man could have ever dreamed.

The mention of Lilly brings us to the second thing. After finally being wed, Jack and Alex decided that Jack should be one of Lilly's legal guardians as well, since he was just as close with her as she was with Alex. It wasn't long before Lilly was referring to him as her father, too. Although the two men couldn't deny that their little family was one of the most perfect in the world, they both knew that it wasn't complete. They talked with each other first, and then to Lilly, about adoption, her being ten at the time. Alex had suggested adopting a young boy around Lilly's age, so she'd have someone to play with. Jack had agreed, because most couples wanted to adopt new borns, and he'd wanted to give someone else a chance. So, after running it by Lilly, the two set out to find their future son.

Jack had been aimlessly driving around their town for a bit, until he noticed an orphanage across the street from him. Okay, maybe he wasn't driving around aimlessly, maybe he was subconsciously trying to get there. He'd been eager to adopt a son, while Alex had been more patient, telling Jack to wait for the perfect moment. Patience wasn't really one of Jack's strongest abilities, though, so he went out to look for the newest addition to their family himself.

After being shown a few kid's profiles, Jack had already had his heart set out for one boy. Telling the care worker that he'd be back soon, Jack set off to go find Alex, and bring him back to the orphanage. Once he'd located his husband playing with his daughter in their backyard, he'd informed the other man of his findings, and urged him to come back to the orphanage with him. So, the three set out together, Alex and Lilly very curious as to why Jack was so excited. The care worker soon back up with the trio, and soon they were being shown the profile of the boy Jack had fallen in love with. Alex immediately understood why Jack had been so excited. The child, Charlie, had black hair and brown eyes, the exact opposite of Lilly's blonde and blue. The two men were intrigued by his background, determined to give the boy who had seen so many families a permanent home. They could see Charlie fitting right in with their family, and it wasn't long before they were asking to meet the eleven year old.

Charlie was a polite boy, and his interest in music and instruments excited Jack and Alex. They both knew that Charlie was meant to be theirs, and Jack was especially excited, because he finally had a kid to put cool shades on and play football with in their backyard. A couple weeks later and they were bringing Charlie home with them, the young boy getting along with his new sister instantly. Finally feeling complete, the family knew that they were ready to begin their next journey together, as a whole.

Fast forward to the present, where Jack is twenty eight as mentioned before, Alex as well, and Lilly and Charlie are sixteen and seventeen. It's summer once again, and the little family is getting ready to go on vacation, to the same place as they had every year before. As they're finishing up their packing, Alex notices Lilly's bags.

"Lilly! You seriously can not be bringing all of that stuff! How could you even need it all?"

"Ugh, dad! How could you possibly know? Sometimes it really sucks being the only girl in this family, you know." Lilly huffs in reply to her father, as Jack walks in.

"Alrighty, princess," He says, ruffling her hair as he passes her, heading over to his son. "Yo, 'lil dude, you got everything?"

"Yeah, big dude," Charlie replies, and the two begin to load all of their bags into their car, Alex joining in once he'd finished packing, and Lilly "supervising" the others. Jack could totally see how she'd learnt her lazy ways from Alex, but he loved her and him, and their other son, all the same.

Once at the resort, the family was out by the pool, and they were the only ones there. There were a few kids out riding bikes and scooters around the park, but Jack and Alex were early risers, and as much as that annoyed their teenaged kids, they knew their fathers were only trying to get as much out of their vacation as possible.

Feeling too done with the heat already, Jack and Alex left their children alone on the deck and made their way towards the pool, Jack catching Alex off guard and pushing him in. Jumping in after him, Jack was immediately tackled by Alex as he resurfaced, the smaller man attaching himself to his husband's body, threatening words falling from his lips at top speed.

"Woah, woah, hey!" Jack interrupted him, laughing, "I'm just getting you back for thirteen years ago."

Alex smiled, hugging Jack just a bit tighter, and saying, "I can't believe you remember that."

"Of course I do, love," Jack replied, nudging his nose with Alex's, and pressing his lip's to his. Alex deepened the kiss, threading his hands through Jack's hair in the meanwhile.

"Ew, you guys, seriously?!" Lilly yelled from the deck, and Jack pulled away to laugh at his daughter, Charlie just shaking his head and smiling at the situation. Jack and Alex both noticed their son begin to stare off at a girl that was walking across the beach, each of them thinking, 'Here we go again,' simultaneously. It was in that moment that Jack had finally hoped that his memories of this would last for ages. He was also the most grateful for his family at the time, and was glad that the four of them had somehow all crossed paths, and would be able to stay together, forever.