Page 6 of Natural-Born Cullers

Jack narrowed his eyes, knew exactly what he was playing at, more how—when he was younger, he’d stolen Ed’s cheese to find his way out of the maze, only to have Ed’s dog eat it—and he gave afuck youwith a finger Jan’s way. Twenty…. God, Jack had only been twenty back then.

But as the summerhouse came into view, talk fell to the wayside.

The explosion from Light’s homemade bomb had taken most of it out, and the new building that stood there now robbed the manor of some of its character and history with the new brickwork, not to mention all the security it had going on around the windows and doors. A heated indoor pool could be seen lazily talking mist patterns to its cousin that played around the ground outside, almost tapping Morse code catcalls at each other to come and mate, but inside, the summerhouse offered nothing more than a skeleton to Jan: no kitchen units, no utensils, no cleaning materials stocked in cupboards….

But then all that was done for a reason.

Despite his coveralls and layers of clothes, Jack stopped. Shivered.

Jan came to a stop with him, then steadied the tray in his hands as his own started to shake. Jack’s look went from the summerhouse, down to the tray, to how the tray shook slightly. Then he found Jan again.

“Fuck that damn asshole….” A tear slipped over Jack’s cheek.

Jan knew why, and he fought back his own grief as he went in, shifting the tray to ground Jack in his kiss.

“Right here with you, baby,” he whispered quietly against his lips.

Jack’s return kiss was hard, needing to hold on with it, but then something changed so subtly. Heat cooled, fell to nothing in Jack’s press of lips against lips, and Jack’s body flatlined, feeling thinned and as lost to the mist that crept away from Jan across the field.

Jan was the first to twist his head away, to look anywhere but at Jack.

Another shiver came, a hard sigh, then—“This breakfast shit again? Really?”

Jan looked back at him. “Hey there, Mart.”

Martin’s look went down to the tray. “He keeps fucking pushing it.” He found Jan a moment later. “And you keep letting him, huh, Janice?”

Jan didn’t say anything for a moment, not even against the name, the desexualisation. Then, giving a sigh—he eased in and kissed once at Martin’s cheek. “Thank you,” he said gently. “For looking out for him.”

Martin pulled back from the contact. “Someone obviously still needs to, right? Considering you’re egging him on and taking the walk with him over to Light’s. And Gray’s nowhere in sight either.”

“Gray’s already over there. And telling Jack no is like, well—” Jan risked a small smirk. “—like telling you no.”

Martin smiled. “Oh somehow I doubt that, Jan. I really fucking do.”

Yeah. Jan did too.

Martin dismissed him in that moment, and his look went back to the summerhouse. “Serving boy, it is.” Tray in hand, he took the walk to the summerhouse, but he took it alone from here.

As he did, Jan leaned down and plucked the tent peg marker from the grass that jutted out just a few feet ahead. He turned it over and over in his hand as he looked up at Martin.

“Shorter and shorter each time, Jack.” Jan pushed the peg into the ground where Martin had last stood. Over the days… the months, Jack had never made it to the summerhouse. He’d barely made it halfway across the green, period. But today, Martin hadn’t even let Jack get a quarter of the way across the green. Gray’s whisper had asked Jan to make the usual note of where the switch came. They knew it was coming as soon as Jack had stepped up to make breakfast. Light was Gray’s son: always family to Jack, and Light was as much in Jack’s care plan as Gray. So where he made sure Gray found a place at the table, he tried so hard to find a seat for Light too, next to all of them.

Only Jack hadn’t met Light yet.

Martin wouldn’t let him.

So yeah, Jack pushed Martin each time to take the walk and at least try and break Martin’s deadlock on no contact.

It hurt Jack every time Martin denied him. Jan saw that, but Jan also damn well welcomed Martin back each time for denying Jack’s walk.

If Martin was still saying no to allowing Jack to meet Light face-to-face, then Martin still had… concerns over Light. He had concerns over Jack’s safetyaroundLight. So getting Martin back each time Jack overstepped the warning signs on the ground? That was more than okay with Jan.

Martin glanced back over his shoulder. Stopped. Waited. And Jan smiled down to his feet with the zero-tolerance policy that came his way.

Yeah, all that protection over there, it wasn’t just for Jack.

Martin waited for Jan to turn and head back for the manor, then he carried on.

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