True Colors

"Alex?"
Jack's voice was soft and tiny, and if one were to listen really closely, there would be just a hint of a waver in it. Despite the way the shy boy sounded, nothing really seemed to alarm Alex all too much. Not to mention the fact that they were in the dark, just about to fall asleep. In fact, Alex even thought the younger was asleep by the way his breathing shallowed, but obviously his assumptions were proved false. All he did was him a soft "Mhm?" In response, already half asleep.
"You love me, right?" His voice was still quiet and shy, and Alex could feel Jack twist his body around just a bit so he could properly face his boyfriend. Jack didn't care if it was dark, it still have him more assurance if he was facing Alex.
"Of course, sweetheart. I love you with all my heart and so much more." Alex said, his voice obviously tired, but he still smiled at the words from himself, and Jack did, too. Of course neither boy could tell that they were smiling, but they just knew.
It was enough for Jack to twist back around to his original position, back pressed completely against Alex's chest and every bit of body pressed together that they could possibly touch. "Why'd you ask, baby?" The older man broke the second of silence that hung in the air between them after Alex's confirmation of love towards his boyfriend. His voice was still tired, and a part of Jack couldn't help but feel bad because he knew he had interrupted Alex's attempt at sleeping.
"No reason. Just makin' sure..." Jack mumbled, "Now go back to sleep, sweetie." Another smile broke out onto Alex's face, and he didn't have to be told twice to finally close his eyes again and slip into the warm and welcoming arms of sleep.
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The next day, the two boys woke up in a totally different position than what they woke up in. It wasn't anything different, they are used to falling asleep organized and in each other's arms, then waking up with the sheets all over the place and legs tangled together, sometimes even fingers intertwined into one or the others hair. This time, their position wasn't too crazy; Alex was now on his back, with Jack half-laying on top of him, stomach down.
Waking up was a pain because Jack was definitely not a morning person and Alex was actually the complete opposite. He was always willing to get up in the morning. So when Alex was the first to get up, and Jack still had barely even opened his eyes, it was no surprise.
"Babyboy, hey, sweetheart, cmon you gotta get up. You're laying on top of me." Alex muttered after he fluttered his eyes open, feeling the weight of Jack only half on top of him and gently pushing on the other boy to attempt to get him off.
All Jack did was groan softly and pout, instead doing the opposite of what Alex asked and trying to shuffle further onto him.
"Jacky, please." Alex whined dragging out the 'please'. Jack opened one eye and looked up at Alex, practically glaring at him, before huffing and closing his eye again then, finally, rolled off of Alex. "Thank you, babe." Alex said sweetly, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to Jack's cheek.
Jack just mumbled a small, "No prob." And moved his arm over his eyes as the other boy got up from the bed, feeling the mattress rise and suddenly, it felt so empty without Alex. He knew his boyfriend wasn't going anywhere too far, but it still didn't feel right. It really still wasn't enough to pull him out of bed, though.
Once out of bed, Alex went to their dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. He smiled as he caught eye of a rather small, Polaroid picture of Jack that he kept tacked next to their mirror. It was hands down definitely his favorite; they were in a meadow not too far from their house, laid down in the soft, spring green grass. The sun was shining down on them just enough for the perfect lighting, and Alex was able to snap a picture of Jack with a fake, multi-colored flower crown sitting on top his head and smiling down at the flowers he had in his hand that he was playing with. It was so beautiful, and he would be lying if he said his heart didn't skip a beat every time he laid his eyes on it.
After admiring the tiny, captured memory for a moment, he pulled on his sweatpants and left the room to get started on breakfast.
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After Alex had left the room, Jack just sighed and moved the arm away from his eyes, instead placing it behind his head, with his other hand resting on his stomach. His eyes were open now, and he was just staring blankly up at the ceiling.
Jack hadn't really been feeling like himself lately, at all. He just felt useless and ugly, to put it short. He didn't know why he felt like this, he just did, and it was kind of annoying to him. He couldn't tell Alex because he knew that his boyfriend would do anything humanly possible to make him feel better, and he didn't want Alex to go through such great lengths just to make him feel better about himself. It was almost depressing, Jack just wanted to feel like himself again.
He didn't realize that he had stayed in bed for longer than intended because before he knew it, Alex was poking his head back into the bedroom, his chestnut brown hair covering part of his face as he looked at Jack.
"Jacky, c'mon, get up lazy ass, breakfast's ready." Alex said, a playful smile on his face. Jack glared at him, huffing before sitting up in the bed and rubbing his eyes.
"'M not lazy..." Jack mumbled, and Alex just scoffed before rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Just hurry up. I've got your plate ready." With that, Alex went back to the dining room, just leaving the door ajar. The older man didn't really mean what he said, calling Jack lazy and all that, but a part of Jack couldn't really help to feel that it was true. So, he quickly pulled himself out of bed, and since he was already wearing a shirt and some pajama bottoms, he just went straight to the dining room where Alex was waiting.
Not only was Jack's boyfriend a wonderful artist, he was also the best damn cook that the younger knew, and he had never been happier to have Alex. That boy was just everything and anything anybody could want. Jack felt so damn lucky.
The two sat across from each other, more for conscience because it was just better to have a conversation like that, even if there wasn't much talking going on, it was still much easier to steal a glance at each other when one wasn't looking. They were doing that more often than they even noticed, it was almost like a habit for them to do that at this point.
Jack ate, but he ate less than he usually would, yet not so much less that it would be alarming to Alex. Even then, the older boy still noticed and he had to point it.
"You didn't much this time. Are you feeling okay?" He asked softly, looking up from his own plate at Jack with slight concern. It was such a subtle change, but Alex really couldn't help to feel somewhat bothered by it.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I guess I just got fuller quicker this time." Jack made up an excuse, shrugging, "But it was still good, babe. Thanks." He smiled before getting up from his chair and stretching, Alex watching as the boy's shirt rode up just a bit on his stomach. "I'm gonna go shower." He announced, and after Alex nodded in acknowledgement, Jack left to go do as he said.
With a sigh, Alex got up himself and went to go put up their dishes in the sink. He couldn't help but think about what happened just a few moments ago. It wasn't much, and he knew he shouldn't worry as much as he was, but he couldn't help it. He just loved Jack so much. Really the only reason why he asked his boyfriend about not eating as much was because this wasn't the first time he's caught him doing something that would suggest self-esteem issues. In fact, just the other night he caught sight of Jack practically staring at himself in a mirror, shirtless and poking at his stomach. Alex didn't say anything because the disapproving look on Jack's face was enough to say what he was doing.
There had to be something going on, and Alex was going to get to the bottom of it.
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The day wasn't anything unusual or out of place. Everything was quite normal. The only thing that really went on was Jack leaving for a few of his classes at their college. Their class schedules didn't sync up like most people would expect them to be, but they both agreed that they couldn't spend 24/7 with each other. It was actually kind of nice because that meant it gave one boy or the other to set up a surprise or something. Like Alex was currently doing.
Alex knew all too well that Jack was feeling some kind of self-conscious, and he was going to do almost anything to make his boyfriend feel better about himself.
The 'surprise' he had took a little bit of thinking out of the box, as well as almost thirty minutes of searching online for some ideas. It fit, though, with the older boy being an artist and all, and all he could do was hope that Jack would enjoy it as much as he was going to.
Alex made a quick run to an art store to get very few supplies for his surprise, and it was only twenty minutes after he got home that Jack came through the door, looking exhausted from five and a half hours of classes. Alex was right there to greet him, though, a big grin on his face as he just threw his arms around his boyfriend's small frame. "Baby, I missed you!" He exclaimed as he nuzzled his face into Jack's neck, still smiling. Jack just giggled, moving his own arms around the older boy.
"I missed you, too." Jack's voice made it obvious that he was tired, but there was also a hint of confusion in it. Alex's actions caught him off guard because he never usually greeted him like that. Most of the time it was just a simple 'hey, sweetie, how were your classes?' Or some other cliché thing that someone would say when their significant other came home. Even with the sudden, yet appreciated, greeting from his lover, he still felt a little depressed. He tried not to think about that, though, he just tried to focus on Alex.
"C'mere, Jacky, I have a surprise for you." Alex said when he pulled back, all of his teeth showing as he continued to smile widely at Jack and pulling on the said boy's hand to drag him to their room. The surprise he set up was probably one of the best he had come up with so far, and he was so excited for it. Alex sent Jack texts throughout the day, hinting at the surprise and even sending a few sweet texts in hopes to at least bring up the younger's mood.
Alex had finally managed to pull Jack into their room, with a few complaints and whining from Jack about wanting to know what it was before he even went in. It wasn't that Alex's surprises scared him or anything, he just really wanted to know what it was, but he knew that his stubborn boyfriend would refuse to tell him, so he just gave up on figuring out what it was. It wasn't like he was going to have to wait too long anyways.
Entering their bedroom, Jack had to stop for a moment to take in his surroundings. Everything was exactly the same, nothing moved around or out of place. The only thing that differed was that the lights were dimmed and candles were lit to replace the usual harsh light from their ceiling. It was actually kind of romantic and cute, and Jack knew he was going to love this surprise. All Alex did was just smile at Jack, still holding onto his hand, then pulled him over to a certain spot on the floor. There were what looked like to be bottle of some kind of paint standing there, but they were definitely brand new, and they weren't the usual paint Alex used. Jack had no clue what the older boy had in mind, and just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, Alex beat him to speaking, only saying "Take off your shirt." Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Alex, again, seemed to already know what Jack was going to say and pouted, followed by a small, "Please?" Jack couldn't ignore that, so he just complied with a sigh, then took off his shirt. This time he finally had the chance to speak.
"What is this for, Lex?" He asked, already starting to feel way too exposed. He couldn't help but to hug himself, rubbing at his arms anxiously as he bit his lip and looked at Alex.
Alex could tell Jack was already starting to feel self-conscious, and he knew he should start before the other backed out. "You'll see, baby. Now lay down on your stomach." He gestured to the floor, and with a look of uncertain and another sigh from Jack, he did it. The skunk haired boy was sprawled out on the floor on his stomach, arms under his head to rest it comfortably. He was still a little nervous about what Alex had in mind, but he trusted his boyfriend with his entire life, so he decided that it would all be okay.
Alex let out a small sigh himself before moving to straddle the back of Jack's hips, pretty much just sitting on his ass. It was the easiest angle for him, but Jack looked back at him, a confused a look on his face. "Can you at least tell me what you're gonna do before you start?" He asked, a small pout on his lips. Alex couldn't say no to that, so he finally caved in and decided to just tell him anyways.
"'M gonna paint on your back and make you feel beautiful because it's what you deserve." Alex said softly with a small, and Jack was taken aback somewhat by the answer, but then smiled and moved his head back to resting on his arms.
Alex took that as his cue to continue. Before he started, he leaned down and pressed a few kisses to Jack's shoulders and his upper back. Jack was smiling the entire time, his eyes closed as he just focused on Alex. He could feel his own heart beating what felt like a million miles per hour. He just felt so loved at the moment, it almost felt unreal.
After that, Alex leaned back up, smiling down at Jack. He looked so relaxed at the moment and so beautiful. Everything just felt amazing at the moment. He couldn't help but stare for a moment, then pulled himself out of his trance and went to reach for the paint and paint brushes. He poured some of it into a paint pallet then set that aside, close enough to where he could just reach over to it. Alex let out a small, nervous breath before he finally started on his most important painting that he would ever do in his entire career. This painting had to be the best one he would ever do, or he would feel like he failed Jack. The objective of this was to make Jack feel beautiful, and like the most important person in the world because that's what he was to Alex and nothing less.
Alex started to paint, not really having anything in mind at first, but when the swirls of blue, purple, and green all come together, he got an idea. Jack just laid there, enjoying the way the soft, cool brush felt gliding across his back. It was actually really comforting, and he had to try his best to keep himself awake especially with how long Alex was taking. Usually, the older man wouldn't take this long with a painting, or at least one that he was trying to finish in one sitting. Really the only reason why it was taking Alex longer than usual was because he was working on a completely different canvas, one he wasn't used to, but he blamed it on trying to make it absolutely perfect which was only half a lie.
Jack didn't know how long they were there for, nor did Alex, but he did know that at one point, he finally did drift off into sleep. Alex didn't notice, and he was glad that he woke up not too long before Alex had finally finished. Jack could tell Alex was finished because he just stopped painting, hearing the brush being put down, but the other didn't say anything. He was silent, just sitting back and admiring the work he did on his boyfriends back. He couldn't believe how beautiful if looked. It was definitely something different, something he's never painted before, but it was so unique and wonderful. He couldn't believe that he actually painted that himself.
"Alex?" Jack's voice brought Alex out of his trance, and he blinked then looked at the younger.
"Hm?" He hummed, biting his lip.
"I wanna see it."
"Huh? Oh.. Oh! Yeah, okay, hang on. I'll take a picture, it's easier." Alex said before reaching into his pockets to grab his phone. He took a picture, with flash because of how dim it was in the room, then handed it to Jack.
Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. There were mixed swirls of green, blue, and purple, along with white dots as stars, and a black background to accompany it all. It was beautiful, and if Jack had to critique it, he would say it was hands down Alex's best painting he's ever done.
Alex just smiled as he saw Jack's own smile on his face from the picture, sliding off of him and sitting next to his boyfriend. "I didn't really have anything in mind at first, but then I thought how much you mean to me. You're all my stars and galaxies, my planets and Suns, everything, and you're so unbelievably beautiful. I don't know how I got so lucky. I love you so much."
Jack had put the phone down by then, looking at Alex as he talked. It almost brought him to tears because for once he actually did feel beautiful, and he did feel loved and wanted, and he felt like he deserved it all. There were times when he felt like Alex was too good for him, but at the moment, he knew that Alex was just perfect. He wasn't anything less or more than what he wanted, and that was perfectly fine with him. That was all he needed, anyways.
"I love you, too. So fucking much." Jack was still smiling as he said it as Alex also continued to smile back.
Alex moved so he was laying down next to Jack, telling the younger boy not to move just yet so he doesn't mess it up. He wanted to keep the painting on for as long as he could. Alex leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Jack's lips, feeling the other boy smile against his lips.
"You're beautiful, y'know?" Alex mumbled as he pulled away.
"Yeah, I know." Jack laughed softly, and Alex couldn't help but to laugh with him. A part of him was glad to hear that response though because now he knew that he's finally restored Jack's self-consciousness. He built him back up, and he planned on keeping that building up for as long as possible.
Besides, there was nothing Alex could do to destroy his most beautiful painting.