Chapter Text
Jack’s face had a minute smile on it as he exited the coffee shop. Why was he smiling? He wasn’t a hundred percent sure himself. He knew that it was stupidly illogical to actually try to even hang around with Mark. That would just make the final shot harder than it has to be. However, there was definitely a small spring in his step on his way back home.
The Irishman sighed and slumped down in his couch, aimlessly scrolling through Netflix, trying to find something to watch. Part of him was screaming at him to get research done on Mark, but he honestly didn’t feel like working for once. His phone sounded, prompting Jack to pick it up from the table and check it. He scowled. Instead of the usual update from HQ or a text from Felix, he was met with a new number.
‘Hey! Mark here!’
Jack pulled up new contacts and saved the number. He puffed his cheeks up, know that he probably should respond. Before he could, another text from Mark popped up.
‘How ya doing today? :D’
A little snort escaped Jack. The actual text emoji was kind of cute. Cute? At this point, Jack simply scowled and acknowledged that he had a small attraction to the man he was supposed to take out – a dangerous acknowledgement. He typed back a response in probably record time considering his own track record for responding.
'Good. You?’
Jack stared as the little bubbles indicating that the other was texting popped up. Funny. He hadn’t had a conversation like this in… who knows how long. Or even responded or gotten a response in such a short time. Sure he and Felix kind of talked, but it was never just small talk… missions were always involved.
‘I’m great! Doing anything fun?’
Jack smiled. Mark was trying pretty hard; it was pretty cute. He wasn’t even going to try and lie to himself now. God, he felt reduced to a teenager again. He’s a trained professional hitman! He shouldn’t feel butterflies in his stomach when he’s talking to his target! He shouldn’t be feeling, period! Waving those thoughts aside, he fired back a response.
‘Nothing much. Just trying to find something to watch.’
Mark could almost feel himself sweating. He wracked his brain for something to say. He had spent an abnormal amount of time watching shows while he was in hiding, but nothing was coming to mind. Things… things… shows… favorite… games…. Mass Effect, no wait that’s not a show. Space… Space! The new Star Trek! Mark typed as fast as he could.
‘Oh! Have you seen the new Star Trek?
‘No, not yet. Is it good?’
‘Oh yeah! It’s great! The new ship looks so cool!’
Mark smiled. Thank goodness his brain was semi-functional. This was something he could easy blab on about!
Before he knew it, hours had passed. Jack stared in surprise at the timestamp on Mark’s goodnight text. It was already 9:30! He groaned as he realized how hungry he was. He had been watching Star Trek: Discovery non-stop at Mark’s encouragement and had been texting him about the show during it. As he was preparing some instant noodles, his phone buzzed again. Jack smiled as he picked up his phone from the couch, but instantly froze when he saw that the message was from Felix.
‘We’ve deployed another sniper to your area, as well as an additional bounty hunter. You’re going to need extra help. They have extra hands on deck.’
Jack’s heart fell as he was pulled back into reality. He sent back an acknowledgement. He felt himself run mechanically as he finished preparing his noodles, and quickly devoured them.
Distance yourself…
Jack felt his heart beat a bit too fast.
This is a job…
He suppressed a feeling clawing up at his heart from deep beneath.
No mistakes…
He felt himself slip back into his professional demeanor, emotions now entirely removed. He closed out of his normal internet tab, and pulled up a private server. Opening the live camera feeds, Jack quickly scanned over them. Mark’s apartment was well sheltered. Being a middle unit meant that there were only two sides for a potential shot. His close proximity to a bustling neighborhood, even at night, meant that it would be difficult for a close-proximity mission. Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was getting late now. He turned off his laptop and turned in for the night.
It had been a few days and the new assignments had finally arrived. Jack met up with them at a small underground joint frequented by people avoiding the law. The new sniper was an older man called Jake, funnily enough, and the two had a few laughs over it. The bounty hunter was a woman by the name of Samantha. Jake seemed like the grizzled old mercenary type, while Samantha was quite bubbly, though no doubt she could end a life in one stroke. The three exchanged information and contacts before heading out. His phone buzzed as he got onto his motorcycle. Pretty nice of them to provide him a means of transport here, and nice of them to actually approve his ridiculous request for a sports bike. Guess it drew some attention, but hey, they were in a big city, and there certainly wasn’t a shortage of other douchebags on motorcycles. Least he could feel cool during his downtime. Shaking his head from his train of thought, he pulled out his phone. The text was from Mark.
‘On a scale from 1 to America, how free are you tonight?’
Jack almost dropped his phone as a laugh escaped from him. Quite a shitty pickup line, but for some reason, it worked.
‘Prison break’
He smiled a bit at his own lame response. Mark had better appreciate Jack giving up a bit of his dignity to type that back.
‘So… that’s a yes?’
‘Yeah’
‘Great! Do you wanna maybe go to the Newport area? Walk around the mall or the aquarium?’
Jack raised an eyebrow. Was Mark asking him out?
‘Sure. Want me to pick you up?’
‘That’d be great :) I don’t have a car right now haha’
‘What time?’
‘Would 3 work?’
Jack felt another smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he sent a confirmation to Mark. He checked the time – 1PM. Mentally, he quickly thought of all his outfits. They were all pretty boring. He looked at his sports bike and then to his current outfit of a black hoodie and black jeans. Boring. He pocketed his phone and quickly hopped onto his motorcycle, making his way to a fashion boutique. There, he skimmed through quickly looking for a leather jacket. Good thing they were in season still. He grabbed one that caught his fancy, eyed the price quickly, tried it on to make sure that it’d fit, and promptly bought it.
“You did what?” Tyler asked, surprised and upset at the same time.
“Asked him out on a date…” Mark said meekly. He knew he probably should’ve asked for either Wade or Tyler’s permission first, but he couldn’t help himself! He got too excited!
“What did he say? Did you give him your address?” Tyler asked in rapid succession.
“Yes and yes,” Mark said, looking down at his feet.
Tyler sighed loudly.
“Where.”
Surprised, Mark looked back up.
“Uhm, the aquarium and probably the mall near it.”
Tyler looked like he was going to say something else, but instead pulled out his phone and began texting.
“Er, you’re not mad?” Mark asked.
Tyler glanced at him momentarily. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I most definitely am,” he said as he pointed a finger at Mark, “but it’s already happened so whatever. Just know you’ll have a person or two spying on you.”
Mark perked up at that.
“Sorry, I got way ahead of myself… Wait, why aren’t you doing the spying?”
Tyler rolled his eyes, “This is the guy from the coffee shop, right?”
Mark nodded.
“He’s seen me before. Don’t you think it would look weird if he saw me lurking behind you guys?”
Mark shrugged, “I guess.”
Tyler’s gaze softened. “Just be careful okay. This guy’s clean so far, but you never know who might be around you.”
Mark nodded as a small silence settled the room, reminding him of how he was constantly in danger.
Once he got home, Jack hopped into the shower, cleaned himself up a bit, and ate lunch. He checked his watch; 2 o’clock. He pulled out a black tee that accentuated his chest and biceps, and put on his skinny black jeans from earlier, before completing the outfit with the leather jacket he bought earlier. He looked in the mirror, checking for anything that wasn’t to his satisfaction. Damn, he looked good. Would shades be too much? He put on a pair of blue reflective aviators. Yeah, too douchey. Setting down the shades and picking up his phone, Jack pulled up Mark’s address. It would take about 14 minutes to get to his place… guess he’d better head out.
He sent a text to Mark as he hopped onto his bike. He was actually going on a date with Mark. His target. He hadn’t noticed that his breathing had become a bit abnormal. Jack closed his eyes.
Okay, concentrate…
One… two… one… two…
His breath slowed to a normal pace.
In… out… in…
Jack opened his eyes, mind clear again. Eh, guess this could count as R&R. He fired up his motorcycle and headed out.
‘Here’
Mark jumped in excitement when he received Jack’s text. He quickly ran to his bathroom to check his appearance last-minute. He had a red and white letterman jacket on, paired with a white shirt and blue jeans. Deciding that he looked pretty cute, he quickly hopped outside, saying a quick goodbye to Tyler as he left. He flew down the stairs of his complex, only slowing down near the bottom to seem nonchalant. Looking around, he spotted Jack next to his nice ass sports motorcycle… leather jacket thrown over his shoulder, light scowl on his face as he scrutinized something on his phone. The black shirt hugged his chest just tight enough to show off the man’s strong pecs, and the sleeves stopped just shy of the curve of his bicep. Mark felt his throat go dry. Damn Jack looked fine.
“U-Uh, hey!” Mark stammered, feeling his face heat up. At that, Jack looked up, flashing a sexy smirk when he caught Mark’s gaze. That had to be on purpose.
“Hey yourself,” Jack said, throwing on his jacket, hitching up his shirt enough to show the slightest of his midriff. Mark felt himself stare for a bit too long. Clearing his throat, he quickly glanced back up.
“Y-You look amazing!” Mark managed to get out. A small grin crossed Jacks face as he winked at him. Mark was a hundred percent sure that his face was bright red now.
“You don’t look half bad yourself,” Jack quipped with a smirk. He hopped on his motorcycle, motioning for Mark to join. “We don’t have all day.”
Internally, Mark slightly panicked at the fact that he and Jack would be so close. Suppressing his racing thoughts, he got on the back of the motorcycle, arms cautiously holding onto Jack’s waist.
“Dude you’re gonna fall,” Jack said over his shoulder.
“I’ll be okay,” Mark replied meekly, not wanting to accidentally cross any lines. His breath hitched when he felt Jack’s hand grabbing his and placing them around his waist. He now had both arms around his waist. He let out a little giggle. This was good.
“Ready?” Jack said with a chuckle.
“Yeah.”
“Hold on tight.”
With that, Jack started up his motorcycle, and pulled off the curb.
Mark watched as the city buildings passed by. He quickly mentally rehearsed his plan: aquarium first, then the mall, and probably something to eat. Hopefully on the riverside. Oh god, it had been forever since he’d gone on a date. He was both extremely excited and nervous at the same time. Was he going to throw up? Better not. That’d be a terrible first date. He pushed those thoughts aside, and laid a cheek on Jack’s shoulder. He smells nice… Mark found himself lost, cataloging small details on Jack, like how his hands held a few scars, and the wisps of hair not held down by gel rolling in the wind. He blushed again. Damn, he was falling hard for a guy he met like a week ago. All too soon, they were already at the parking for the mall.
“Alright. Where to now, big guy?” Jack said as he turned off the engine, which Mark took as a cue to get off.
“The aquarium!” Mark said with a big grin, pointing off in the distance. Jack smiled, feeling his heart pound a bit as he carefully tucked away the image of Mark’s smile into his memories.
“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing to Mark, who visibly beamed.
Mark reached to pay for the tickets, but Jack placed a hand gently on his, and pulled out his wallet instead. In the corner of his eye, he could see Mark’s face turn a shade to match his jacket. A smirk reached his own lips. Turning his attention back to the attendant, he held up two fingers and softly asked for passes.
“You didn’t have to…” he heard Mark say sheepishly as they made their way in. Jack simply flashed a smile his way.
“You planned this. That’s the least I could do,” Jack said, “Also, you’re my private tour guide, sooo…” At that, Mark perked up again.
“All right! You asked for it!” Mark said with a goofy grin and pointed forward, “Onward!”
Jack let himself be led around the aquarium, smiling fondly at the other man who was explaining rapidly to him all the different sea creatures. It was a nice change of pace. He wasn’t alone, sitting in a dark room, waiting for his target to make a move. Sitting still for hours, with only his own mind to keep him company. He’d almost forgotten what a normal life was like. His heart dropped. He can’t get used to this. He’d started down a path that he couldn’t turn back on.
“Jack?” Mark’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, “You okay?”
“Yeah…” Jack quickly replied, “Was just thinking about how cute you are.” He mentally high-fived himself for his own smooth recovery. Mark visibly blushed again. Jack smirked. He’d found it enjoyable making Mark so flustered. Might as well have some fun while it lasts.
“I-I uh, thanks,” Mark said stammering.
“What’s next?” Jack asked as he casually pressed his shoulder against Mark’s, pretending to check the information pamphlet Mark was holding.
“U-Uh that’s about it?” Mark said, glancing shyly at him, “D-Did you want to go get food?”
“Sounds good to me,” Jack said, “Had a place in mind?” Mark nodded and grinned again.
The two exited the dessert shop and found a bench to sit on the side of the river. Mark had a passionfruit mousse, while Jack got a tiramisu. The two ate in a comfortable silence, watching the sun set.
“Wait,” he heard Mark say in the middle of a bite. Jack looked at him quizzically.
“You uh, got a little…” Mark said as he reached over with his thumb, brushing off a small dollop of whipped cream than had gotten on his nose. Jack felt his face flush.
“Oh, thanks,” Jack said, a bit caught off guard.
Mark’s smile in response only quickened his heartbeat.
He could feel Mark’s eyes on him. Jack slowly met his gaze. He was suddenly aware of Mark’s breath on him, and how close their faces were. Mark drew a breath, and closed his eyes. Jack’s eyes widened in surprise when he felt Mark’s lips on his own. He tensed up at first, but slowly relaxed into the kiss. He felt… genuinely happy… Jack’s eyes snapped open, panic rising in his chest. He broke the kiss, staring in alarm at Mark.
“Jack?”
He couldn’t move.
“A-Are you okay?”
He was paralyzed. Was it fear?
“O-Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Mark whispered, distressed. Mark jumped up, giving Jack some distance.
What was it that he feared?
“I-I-I, um, I, uh I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have… I-I don’t know what I was thinking! I-“
Jack grabbed Mark by the collar and pulled him in for a second kiss, still gentle, but firm. He felt Mark relax.
After what felt like a blissful eternity, the two separated, both out of breath. He felt a smile spread across his lips.
“I… um… wow…” Mark said, flustered.
Jack regained his cool composure, and patted Mark’s cheek.
“It’s getting late,” Jack commented as he looked at the night sky, “let’s get you back home.”
Mark simply nodded, and the two made their way to Jack’s motorcycle.
Jack walked Mark to his door, smiling as he whispered a goodbye. Mark hovered for a second, and placed a quick kiss on Jack’s cheek, giggling. Jack simply flashed a grin, and departed for the night, elated.