failegaidin

New prompt fic! And the next one I'll work on is "Whisper" for

kj_babygirl.

He knew that he should be more surprised. He knew that he should be yelling and tearing them apart, rage spilling out uncontrollably. He knew that he should throw a punch and reclaim his territory. He knew that he should at least do something. He knew that he shouldn’t be just standing there, staring.

But it was like a car wreck – tragic and mesmerizing, and he was unable to keep his eyes off of it. He watched as Morris pushed her harder against the wall, his hands roaming up and down her body. He watched as Audrey wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, moaning as his tongue invaded her mouth.

The two of them didn’t make any sense. As far as he knew, they had barely ever spoken to one another. But there they were…going at it desperately in a secluded corner.

He idly wondered why he wasn’t upset. He wondered at the relief that flooded through him; the knowledge that it was finally over lifting a weight off his shoulders that had been pulling at him for more than four years.

His relief was cut short though, as he remembered that there was one other person involved in this mess. He would have to tell her. She would be angry. She would yell. He expected those things. But he didn’t want to watch her heart break. He didn’t want to make her cry.

With a deep breath, Jack turned his back and went in search of Chloe.

***

Jack’s chest tightened painfully when he saw her standing at her station. She was talking with Milo, and he wished fervently that he didn’t have to do this. But they had always been honest with each other, and if she found this out from someone else…he shook his head and walked over to her.

"Hey," she greeted him, a small smile on her lips.

Jack nodded at Milo before turning to her. "I need to talk to you."

She frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Can we talk?"

Chloe nodded, and Jack took her by the elbow, leading her off of the floor. She kept glancing at him, trying to figure out what was going on. But he kept his face passive as he took her down a hallway and then gently pushed her into a holding room. She fidgeted nervously as Jack locked the door and turned back to face her.

"What's going on, Jack?" she asked.

Jack sighed, unable to look her in the eye. He cast his eyes to the ground, where he studied his feet as he thrust his hands into his pockets. "I have something to tell you…and you're not going to like it."

Chloe closed her eyes and focused on keeping her breathing steady. She had known that this was going to happen, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"It's okay, Jack. I know."

Jack raised his head and looked at her sharply. "You do?"

Chloe avoided his gaze, still fidgeting. "Yeah, Jack. I expected it. I mean, it was only so long before you decided to leave…"

"Leave?"

Chloe brought her eyes back to his. "Yeah. That's what this is all about, isn't it? You're leaving again."

Jack smiled at her gently and came up to her, placing his hands gently on her arms. "No, Chloe. I’m not leaving."

"You're not?" she asked in surprise.

"No. You're stuck with me."

"Good," she mumbled. "Then what is it? What do you need to tell me?"

He tightened his grip on her arms. "It's about Morris," he whispered.

"What did he do this time?"

Jack took a deep breath and then looked her straight in the eye. She deserved the truth, no matter how painful. "I saw him…with another woman."

He watched the struggle on her face. Tears built up in her eyes and she stared down at the floor, but she kept her voice steady. "That's just him…he's always been a flirt. I've gotten used to it-"

"Chloe, he was kissing her."

Her lip trembled, but when she looked at him again, he was surprised to see anger in her eyes – anger directed at him. She pushed him away from her.

"No."

"Chloe, I saw it."

"No! He wouldn't do that!"

"Chloe-"

"You're lying!"

Jack looked at her in surprise. "I have never lied to you Chloe. We tell each other the truth – we always have." His head snapped to the side as she slapped him, his cheek burning in pain.

"I don't believe you!"

"Chloe…" he growled.

"No! Just because you're miserable with D.C. Barbie doesn't mean you can try and sabotage my happiness. I know that misery loves company, but you don't get to pull me down with you, Jack!"

Jack stopped short, shock and pain on his face. He grabbed her arms again, dragging her face up to his. "Do you think I like telling you this? Do you think I like seeing you hurt and upset? That I enjoy hurting the one person I have left in this world to care about?"

At that, Chloe broke. Her body shook in rasping sobs and went limp against him. Jack closed his eyes and gathered her to him, holding her close and whispering soothing things in her ear. He backed up to the wall behind him and slid down to the floor, dragging her into his lap as he began to rock her and rub circles on her back. She clung to him, his shirt scrunched up in her hands as she cried everything out. Even though he knew that he had to do it, Jack hated himself for telling her. The pain in her eyes had been a knife in his heart, and he contemplated killing Morris for what he had done to this beautiful woman.

Eventually Chloe's sobs subsided, but she kept her face buried in his chest. She knew that she should let go and get off of him, but she couldn’t. She needed him. Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, she relaxed into him.

"Who?" she asked, her voice muffled in his shirt.

"What?"

She pulled her tear-stained face up and looked at him. "Who was he kissing?"

"Chloe, that's not impor-"

"Tell me, Jack."

He swallowed hard before answering, trying to steel himself for her reaction. "Audrey," he whispered.

Chloe pulled back, her eyes hard. "Excuse me?"

Jack cleared his throat and tried again. "Audrey."

And then Chloe was pushing herself away from him, struggling to get to her feet. She immediately rushed for the door, stumbling on her way there. Her hands shook and she was blinded by tears as she tried to punch in the pass code. Jack came up behind her and placed his hands on her own, pulling them gently away from the door. He pulled her back against his chest as new sobs wracked her body.

"It's not fair, it's not fair," he heard her whisper over and over again.

"Shh, Chloe," he whispered in her ear. "It's okay…"

She turned around and shoved him away from her again. "No, Jack, it's not okay! That…that bitch has taken everything from me! She wasn't content with taking you…no, she had to take Morris too!" Jack tried to pull her close again, but she wouldn't have it. "And you know the funny thing? I'm not even that upset about Morris. I knew it wouldn't last. I knew that one of us would walk away. But for Audrey to...she had no right, Jack! Why does she hate me so much!?"

Her tirade ended, and Chloe just stood there, breathing heavily and staring at Jack. He looked at her in surprise, caught off-guard by her words. When he thought she wouldn't push him away again, he went up to her, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"What do you mean, she took me?"

Chloe bit her lip, realizing that in her anger she had gone too far. But it was out, and there was nothing she could do about that. She decided to bite the bullet.

"I know that we wouldn't be anything, Jack. But you are my best friend. And she just paraded her relationship around, flaunting it in my face. Every time she saw me she would find a new way to torment me, to remind me that she was closer to you than I could ever be. And it hurt, Jack. It hurt."

Jack's fingers trembled as they brushed across her cheek. He tried to steady his voice, but it still came out hoarse. "Why couldn't we ever be anything?"

Chloe closed her eyes. "Don't, Jack. Don't do this," she pleaded.

"Do what?"

"I know you're upset. I know it must have killed you to have seen them together, but…" She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I’m not your consolation prize."

Jack smiled gently at her. "I know that, Chloe. Do you want to know what I felt when I saw them?" She nodded. "Nothing more than relief. I've been searching and searching for a way to make Audrey and I work, and then I realized that there wasn't one. And instead of hurting, it just made it easier for me to breathe." He paused. "And then I realized that I would have to tell you. And that's what hurt me, Chloe. Knowing that I was going to have to hurt you."

Chloe gave him a half-smile that didn't really reach her eyes. "I know, Jack," she said quietly. "It makes sense that you wouldn't want to put me through that. We're friends, and friends look out for each other-"

She was cut off by the gentle pressure of his lips on hers. Before she could react, it was gone, and she just stared at up at him.

"Jack, I already told you. I'm not-"

"My consolation prize," he finished for her. "I know. And that's not what this is about. Chloe, I caught my girlfriend kissing another man and all I could think of was not wanting to hurt you. What do you think that means?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "But I know what I want it to mean."

Jack slid his fingers through her hair, relieved that she wasn't pushing him away again. "And what do you want it to mean?" he asked.

Chloe leaned in and kissed him gently, mirroring his action a few moments earlier. She pulled back and looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she whispered, the smile finally reaching her eyes.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "Then let's go home."

Panic flooded her eyes. "Home?" she asked, her voice breaking a little. "Are you sure?"

"Chloe, it's okay. Breathe."

"I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm nervous."

Jack kissed her forehead. "I know baby. So am I."

Chloe pressed her lips against his one more time. "Home," she said decisively.

Jack smiled and typed in the correct code, letting them out of the holding room. As they walked out, Jack took her hand in his, reveling in how easy it was to be that comfortable with her. The door closed behind them and they found themselves face-to-face with Audrey. When the other woman saw the way their fingers were entwined, anger took over her face.

"What's going on here?"

"Chloe and I are going home, Audrey," Jack answered.

"Excuse me? Jack, what are you talking about?"

Jack lowered his voice, looking her straight in the eye. "I saw you, Audrey…you and Morris. We're done."

She looked as though she was going to try and deny it, but her gaze took in Chloe again, and her lip curled in a sneer. "So…what? You're going to go home and fuck Chloe to make yourself feel better? You think slumming it will change anything?"

Chloe let go of Jack's hand. She walked up to Audrey and, without a word, decked her with a strong right hook. The other woman went down, staring up at Chloe in shock.

"Fuck you, Audrey. And tell Morris his stuff will be waiting for him in boxes outside the apartment. If he tries to come in, I'll shoot him."

Ignoring the look of surprise and admiration on Jack's face, Chloe took his hand again pulled him into her side, walking out of the building. He wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a kiss to her temple, whispering, "Nice shot."

"My hand hurts."

Jack brought her hand up to his lips. "Guess I'd better spend the rest of the day taking care of you, then."

"Among other things," she said coyly.