Soulbound (Final Space. Jackspeed fic)

Ch 6: Happy Jack's Day

"Is that your mommy, Gary?" the teacher asked, leaning over to look at his drawing.

"I don't have a mommy, but I have a Jack," Gary answered, putting the final touches of green on the little alien man on the paper.

"I see. Is Jack your daddy's soulmate?" Ms. Sally asked politely.

Gary paused for a moment. "He lives with me and daddy, and helped raise me. He and daddy have separate rooms, but we're always doing family things together."

"Sometimes soulmates sleep in different rooms," the teacher said, giving him a patient smile.

The little boy felt his heart fill with joy as he smiled back at her. Maybe Jack WAS his daddy's soulmate!

***

"Look, daddy! I made Jack a card for mother's day, cause he wears robes, and he's kinda like my mother," Gary announced, getting into the car.

"I guess he is," John answered. It was a rather amusing thought. Jack was definitely the mommy in their little family of three.

"Are you and Jack soulmates?" Gary suddenly asked. Thankfully they were stopped at a red light, or John might have slammed on the brakes right then and there.

"What?" John stared at his son in wonder.

"My teacher asked if you were soulmates. And she said that soulmates sometimes sleep in different rooms. And Jack helped you raise me, and I love him lots, and..." Gary took in a deep breath, but John stopped him with a touch on the shoulder.

"I don't think Jack is my soulmate, Gary. We've known each other for a long time. I'm sure he would have told me by now if he was," the captain answered. The idea of his little Greytrexian friend being his soulmate was certainly something else. It was a thought he'd never once entertained. Jack was male, and John was clearly interested in women. Even if the other man was adorably petite, great with kids, and the sweetest person John knew. And he'd better stop thinking about how amazing Jack was before he embarrassed himself.

***

"I'm going to marry Avocato when I grow up," Gary announced unexpectedly, as they pulled into the driveway.

"Are you now?" John said, raising a brow at the little boy.

"Uh huh. He's going to be my soulmate!" the blonde shouted, unbuckling his seatbelt to slide out of the car.

"I'm not sure that's how soulmates work, Gary," John said, shaking his head.

"But Avocato is a coolest person ever, so he HAS to be my soulmate," Gary insisted, striking a superhero pose with his hands on his hips.

"If you say so," the captain chuckled, tussling the boy's golden locks. "Why don't you go play in the backyard. Jack is gardening back there, and I'm sure he'd love to see that card you made him."

"Okay!"

John smiled to himself as he watched his son unlatch the gate, closing it behind him. "Imagine that. My son has a crush on a Ventrexian... and he thinks that Jack might be my soulmate. Cute kid."

***

"I made you a card for mother's day!" Gary yelled, dashing up to Jack to give him a hug. The small man was wearing blue jeans and plaid shirt that day, along with a big straw hat to block out the sun.

"Well, thank you, Gary. It's a very nice card," the Greytrexian said, inspecting the lovely drawing of a little boy holding hands with a tall man and a green alien.

"Do Greys have soulmates?" Gary suddenly asked, his blue eyes shimmering with curiosity.

"Of course, we do. Most sentient species do," Jaxx answered, kneeling in the dirt as he returned to weeding the garden.

"Do you have a mark like we do? Can I see it?" the little boy asked, perking up.

"Humans are a tactile race, which is why they end up with marks on their skin. Greytrexians are a sensory species — we gain the ability to see color," Jaxx explained, only focusing half his attention on the child. The other half was trying to decide where to plant the pumpkins and zucchini.

"What do you mean?" Gary asked, sitting down next to his father's roommate.

"Before we meet our soulmate, everything is white and black and grey. Lots and lots of grey. But the moment you and your soulmate see one another, the world explodes into so many glorious colors," the Greytrexian said, sighing wistfully at the memory. Even if his soulmate didn't accept him, at least he got the beauty of colors from the experience.

"What's your favorite color, Jack?" Gary questioned.

"Purple. The same color as my favorite robe, Gary. Now where to plant the carrots..."

"So you DO see colors," the blonde said, his blue eyes sparkling with joy.

Jaxx froze, glancing to the side to see his practically-adopted son smiling sweetly at him. "Yessss."

The boy clapped his hands together. "Then you're met your soulmate! How come we've never met her? Did she die?"

"What? No, he's not dead. I mean... it's a he, not a she. And..." Jaxx trailed off, biting his lip. He really had to be careful how he worded the rest of this conversation. If John found out that Jaxx lied to him this entire time, he'd be furious. He'd kick him out of the house, and refuse to go on missions with him, and... and he'd likely never get to see Gary again.

"And what?" Gary asked, interrupting his train of thought.

Jaxx sighed, getting to his feet. Gazing up at the sky, he said, "He — he likes women, not men. That's all. But that's okay, not all soulmates end up mated. It's better that we're not together."

"Mated? Like making babies?" the child asked, giggling at the thought.

Jaxx felt a blush spreading over his olive skin. "No, not like... Humans call it married, Greytrexians call it mating. Humans think of mating as... something very different. What I mean is that I won't be marrying my soulmate."

"You have a soulmate?" someone asked from behind them.

Jaxx sighed and turned toward the speaker. "Yes, John, I have a... JOHN!"

"What?" the captain asked, quirking an eyebrow at his co-pilot's shriek.

"When did you come out? Were you listening in on our conversation?" Jaxx asked, his foot tapping unconsciously in annoyance.

"I didn't know it was a secret, sorry. So, who IS your soulmate? Do I know her?" John asked, glancing between the Greytrexian and his son.

"It's a HIM," Gary stage-whispered.

Jaxx watched as John's eyes widened in shock. The larger man suddenly focused on him. "That explains the robes. So, do I know him?"

The little alien found his mouth dropping open in amazement. A moment later, he sighed and rubbed his forehead to ward off an oncoming headache. Honestly, humans! "Okay, for one thing, Greytrexians consider clothing to be neutral. Guys wear robes as much as girls do. And two... I really don't want to talk about soulmates anymore. Yes, I met my soulmate, but no — we are not going to date now or in the future."

"His soulmate likes GIRLS," Gary whisper shouted again.

"Geeze, that really sucks," John said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"If I was your soulmate, I wouldn't care if you were a boy or a girl!" the little boy suddenly announced, turning his sparkling blue gaze on Jack.

"Oh?" Jaxx had to raise a brow at that. Damn, his son was... his friend's son was adorable.

"Uh huh. Cause you're really short and cute, Jack," Gary informed him, with an innocence that only a child could pull off.

Jaxx buried his face in his hands, feeling like his skin was going to burst into flames. Silently, he waited for the teasing to start.

"It's true. You are really short and cute, Jack," John said unexpectedly, causing the Greytrexian to squeak.

John just called me cute. He just called me CUTE! "I... I have to start making dinner!" Jaxx yelped, racing back into the house. If he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to hide his embarrassment.