crawl to you

pleasure to meet you

They all get together in the kitchen to make dinner, and now much cleaner and relaxed. Jack had offered to cook, and the others agreed to help him and clean the kitchen afterwards.

Zach sits on the counter as he looks at Jack cooking. He was nimble and precise. "It's been a while since we've eaten proper food." Zach comments.

Jack nods."It's not easy to find so many ingredients." He lights a fire under the pan and squirts olive oil onto it.

"What's your favourite food?" He asks out of the blue.

Jack hums, deep in thought. "I'd say Italian. There's a lot of variety to it. If it is a specific dish, it's my mom's roasted turkey. And you?"

"My mom's lamb casserole."He smiles. "I'm glad I ate it before the shitshow started."

Jack nods as he cuts an onion. "I bet it tasted delicious." He slides it to the pan and starts cutting some carrots. Zach was looking at the food with child-like wonder. "My grandma taught me how to cook. Said it would make me a great man." He chuckles. "She was the best. She was really supportive of everything I did."

Zach smiles. "Even though you're gay?"

He nods."She was always calling me, telling me to get a boyfriend." He reminisces.

The brunet stretches out his hand. "Zach Herron, pleasure to meet you."

Jack freezes in place. "W-What's that supposed to mean?"

Zach nudges him back to reality while he bites back a smile. "I thought Professor Avery was smart." He teases him with a wink.

The curly head blushes. Gosh, he sure was bold. The mere implication of Zach wanting to be his boyfriend just makes his heart race.He looks at Zach, who still had his hand stretched out. He grabs it and kisses the back of his hand. Jack mumbles something Zach doesn't quite catch on. He goes back to the food.

Jack mixes the ingredients together and grabs a spoonful of food. "Wanna taste it?" He asks. Zach nods and opens his mouth. Jack carefully blows on the hot food and feeds him.

Zach hums at the taste. "It's so good."

"Does it need anymore salt?" Zach shakes his head.

"It's perfect like this. Your grandma wasn't lying. Cooking does make you a great man." They chuckle.

They keep talking as Jack finishes dinner. Zach sets the table for the five of them and calls the boys. The five gather around the table and eat until the pan is empty, and their bellies are full.

The five lean on their chairs. "Jack's the chef now. No one let him die." Daniel rubs his stomach as the rest chuckles.

Zach rests a hand on top of Jack's. Was he... jealous? "Well, he's mine, so you'll have to pay to have access to his services." Jack smiles. He was definitely jealous.

The three men share a look. "He's yours?" Corbyn cocks an eyebrow.

Zach registers his own words and nods. "Yeah. You can't have him." He pouts. The curly head liked it. His possessiveness, that is. It made him feel wanted.

"Alright, alright." Jack calms them down. "Let's just clean the kitchen." He tries changing topics.

The four quickly clean the kitchen, and Jack pulls Zach to the side. "I heard Dani saying we have a skylight on the attic. Wanna go there?"

Zach nods and holds his hand. "Lead the way." The two go the attic, and Jack forces the window open. He boosts Zach up and then climbs it himself.

They lean against the chimney, and Jack rests his arm on his shoulders. The two look at the city of women. They walked around freely, singing and dancing.