LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 48

Jack entered his bedroom, rubbing at the frazzled hairs atop his head. Ralph watched him curiously before the blond realized he was there; mesmerized by how simply breathtaking Jack was. Jack found Ralph sitting on the bed, a towel wrapped around the latter's otherwise unclothed body. Jack smiled warmly at him, the same smile he'd often shoot Ralph on the island before everything fell apart.

"I suppose you plan on letting me borrow clothes" Ralph assumed as he tried to ignore the way he became excited by mere sight of Jack. He secretly cursed his inability to control it.

"I was considering it, but I think I might like you better like this" Jack smiled devilishly as he approached Ralph. He stopped right in front of him, the front of his body pressing against Ralph's legs that dangled off the bed side.

Ralph suddenly grew self conscious, pinching his thighs together tightly beneath the sky blue towel around his waist. He chuckled weakly, dropping his gaze as he felt Jack staring him daringly in the face. Jack lifted his hands, and ran them up and down Ralph's damp arms.

Jack could feel Ralph's discomfort, his shame, his lack of confidence. It burned a little in Jack's chest. He couldn't possibly imagine what Ralph had to feel insecure about. But he backed off anyway, giving the boy space to go rummage through his drawers for extra clothes.

"How bout this?" Jack asked wittily, pulling out the disturbingly familiar white United States Marine Corps Search and Rescue Team t-shirt, waving it around like a flag in Ralph's view.

"Real funny" Ralph scoffed sarcastically, diverting his gaze to the side. Jack couldn't argue with that, but still he couldn't help himself. A dark sense of humor, he had.

Jack pulled out a black Marvel t-shirt and tossed it across the room to Ralph. The boy caught it with ease and pulled it over his head. Jack then switched drawers to find a pair of sweatpants that would fit.

He watched curiously as Ralph pulled the sweatpants over his legs without removing the towel. After he was fully dressed, he stood up and folded the towel over his arm.

"Did you call my parents?" Ralph wondered, discarding the used towel in Jack's overflowing laundry hamper.

"Yeah" Jack confirmed. "Your mom was surprised to hear from me. I told her you were here, she agreed to not come get you til morning."

"Did she sound mad?" Ralph asked wearily.

"Not really, just surprised" Jack reiterated.

Jack noticed Ralph divert his gaze down at a trinket he'd picked up off Jack's dresser. He was fiddling with the thing between his fingertips. Jack sighed and approached the boy, stopping only when there wasn't much space left for him to keep forward.

"Hey" Jack said softly. "They love you, alright? You oughta know that. They're just confused, I think. It sounds like you kept 'em pretty far in the dark."

"I suppose" Ralph shrugged, his attention intently set on the stupid little toy in his hand. Jack took it from him, studied it for a moment and set it back down on the dresser, forcing Ralph to finally look up at him.

"It's gonna be okay" Jack assured him, certain that Ralph really needed to hear it, even if he wasn't ready to believe it. "I've got you, I promise."

Ralph smiled weakly, and with disbelief. He nodded, and Jack wondered if Ralph thought himself to be a half decent liar or if he was just plain ignorant. His distrust in Jack was disheartening. He couldn't remember a time his words of encouragement hadn't brought genuine comfort to the younger boy. Jack hadn't realized until now how substantially he'd damaged their relationship, even as they now were working to repair it.