Jack's Room, 33 Apocalypse Ave., Sunday Morning

[bitten_notshy]

After he got back to the island, Jack spent most of the day Saturday parked in front of intentionally bad TV. It was easier not to think about what had happened in Beacon Hills if he was staring at Kardashian Kleavage. He went to bed early, fell into a dreamless sleep.

Sunday had promised more of the same until he checked his school email and realized his midterms were during the coming week. He groaned and turned on his laptop. Werewolf angst could wait: Right now, he had to pull a half-decent paper on the Bayeaux tapestry together if he had any hope of passing the last class for his major.

[OOC: Open to visits, calls, etc.]

Comments

[bitten_notshy]

"You're stronger than you were before," said Jack, who knew Derek wasn't fine but would let him get away with the lie. "Might just be a matter of time."

[justlurkinghere]

"I--offered the bite to Stiles." In a creepy fashion. "He said no."

Obviously.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack eyed him. "You knew he would, right?"

Werewolf abilities were a gift. Of course they were a gift. But Jack still mourned his humanity.

[justlurkinghere]

"I knew he turned down Peter." Which was for good reason. "He said he'd still be my pack as a human."

[bitten_notshy]

"Of course" Jack said. "He's yours. What else is he going to do?"

Yeah, this was vampire courtesan stuff leaking in again.

[justlurkinghere]

Yes he was, but that wasn't right. That wasn't how he should think of it. "He can choose to leave," Derek said, examining the bottom of his coffee cup. "You can choose to leave. I'm not--I wouldn't force anyone."

[bitten_notshy]

"I didn't think he was being forced, and I know I'm not," Jack protested, then dropped his eyes. "I'm sorry. I think this is a bit different for vampires. Sebastien -- you know how you talk about the bite being a gift? That was how we felt, being with him."

Because his canon was creepy issues central.

[justlurkinghere]

Derek frowned at that one. "With him?"

[bitten_notshy]

"Oh." Jack had maybe forgotten that Derek didn't explicitly know this. He went a bit pink. "I gave him blood, up until --"

He gestured vaguely. Until werewolf.

"It's what they do in my world instead of killing. Drinking from the willing."

[justlurkinghere]

Derek nodded slowly at that.

"You mentioned someone like Kate..."

[bitten_notshy]

"Irina," Jack said. "Though Kate was much worse. Irina didn't care if she hurt me, but she wasn't trying to hurt me. She'd lost her vampire and used me to get to mine. Very bad etiquette in those circles, and very stupid of me not to put it together."

He sipped some more coffee, averting his eyes. "The ironic part is, Sebastien kept telling me no until after Irina got to me. So I suppose she did a favor."

[justlurkinghere]

And Derek was going to give him that 'I don't understand' look for this.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack sighed. Right. Of course this wasn't going to be that easy to explain.

"Sebastien was my guardian from the time I was seven or so," he said, more carefully. "I loved him very much. When I got older, the way I loved him changed. But he was hesitant, to let me fully into his court."

He realized that might be oblique. "To bite me. The vampire/courtesan relationship is very ... intimate. Anyhow, I spent a year trying to argue him into it and getting nowhere. Then Irina seduced me, then Sebastien finally gave in."

Happy ending, right?

"Not much like Kate at all, really."

[justlurkinghere]

"No," Derek said quietly. "I suppose not."

It still didn't sound terribly pleasant if you asked him.

[bitten_notshy]

Probably it wasn't, but Jack was just now realizing it.

He gave Derek a sidelong look. "I just meant that if Kate had come for me at that point, I would have done what you did."

[justlurkinghere]

"Confused sex for love?" Derek replied, emotion completely gone from the words.

[bitten_notshy]

"Yes. That," Jack said. His face didn't quite crumple, but it was close. "I'm still working on that one, if you want to know the truth."

[justlurkinghere]

Derek sighed, trying not to make it obvious that Jack's emotional state was in his scent on this one. "I am too."

And here is where he looked deeply distressed.

"I kissed Stiles."

[bitten_notshy]

"And that's bad?" Jack checked, since Derek's distress was -- about as hard to miss as his own upset.

[justlurkinghere]

"I shouldn't take advantage of him like that," Derek said like that should have been obvious. "I wanted."

He took a breath.

"I really wanted to do so much more."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack blinked. That hadn't been where he thought Derek was going to go, though he perhaps should have seen it coming.

"I don't think it's taking advantage," he said. "Bad form until he's graduated, maybe, but -- it's so different than it was for us."

[justlurkinghere]

"He wants to date." Meaning they had dates. "And I wanted--want--to wait until then. So he can reconsider this whole thing. Just because he seems interested, doesn't mean..."

[bitten_notshy]

"Doesn't mean it's the right thing to do?" Jack guessed. "I can see that. And what does he say?"

[justlurkinghere]

"He hasn't changed his mind." With an unsaid 'yet' in there.

[bitten_notshy]

"I really don't think he's going to."

Not before graduation, anyhow. Maybe at some point years from now, but many things could happen years from now. Derek might change his mind, years from now.