Chapter Text
Eric wakes up on the morning of the first day of 2016 with a strong arm draped over his waist and a warm bare chest pressed against his back. He can feel Jack breathe slow and steady against the shell of his ear, lips ghosting the back of his neck and making him shiver despite the body heat.
It’s a great thing to wake up to, New Year’s Day or not.
Oh, right. It’s officially a new year, which means the date is January first, which just so happens to be the day that Eric and his friends are leaving the resort and returning to Samwell.
He looks over at the clock on the bedside table with bleary eyes and checks the time; it’s eight in the morning, and Eric’s flight leaves in three hours.
So much for a happy new year.
They were up pretty late last night, so Eric carefully slips out from under Jack’s arm, standing up from the bed as quietly as possible. He finds his red briefs discarded on the floor, picking them up and throwing them in with the rest of the dirty laundry in his suitcase. He grabs a clean – though sadly less flattering – pair of boxer shorts and steps into them one leg at a time, with as little movement as possible.
When he turns back around, a pair of sleepy blue eyes are on him, and Eric practically jumps out of skin.
“Jack! I’m sorry, did I wake you?” He asks, a hand on his heart in surprise.
“No, though I was hoping you’d still be in bed when I did,” Jack replies, eyes trailing down Eric’s body and stopping at the waistband of the underwear hanging low on his hips. “But this is also a nice view to wake up to.”
Eric hopes the flush of his skin isn’t too obvious, but he’s not wearing much to cover it either.
He stands there, just a few steps away from the warmth of the covers and Jack’s embrace. Eric may be in nothing but boxers, but he knows that the sheets are the only thing hiding the fact that Jack is wearing nothing at all.
Still, he feels exposed with Jack looking at him like that, like the heaviness of his bones from sleep is the only thing preventing him from tossing Eric over his shoulder and forcing him back in bed.
“When’s your flight again?”
Eric’s taken aback by the sudden question. “...Eleven, but checkout is at ten.”
He follows Jack’s gaze to the clock, then back at each other.
They don’t even need to say a word as Eric lets yet another pair of underwear fall to the floor, taking the few steps back to the bed as Jack throws the covers away from his body. Eric straddles his hips and leans down to kiss him, morning breath the least of his worries.
He’s already wasted so much time, what’s a few more?
~~~~~~~~~~
They do have to get out of bed eventually, and as they cram both their bodies into the hotel shower, Eric realizes, “Wait, don’t you have to teach today?”
“Lessons don’t start until the afternoon on New Year’s,” Jack replies, smiling down at him as he lathers Eric’s hair with shampoo. “Besides, I wanna spend every last minute with you before you leave.”
“Well, this shower was definitely not made for two people, so I think you’ve gotten your wish.”
Jack laughs, soapy hands on Eric’s shoulders as he kisses his cheek from behind. “Thank you.”
Eric wonders in that moment, if he let himself cry, would the water cascading down them both be enough to hide it?
~~~~~~~~~~
They dry themselves off slowly, taking their time even though they know they don’t have much of it left. Eric is tempted multiple times by the muscles in Jack’s back and arms to fall back into bed one last time, and the looks he catches Jack giving him as he gets dressed isn’t helping, but they’ve already used up one of the two hours they were given.
Unfortunately, an international flight isn’t going to delay takeoff just because Eric doesn’t want to say goodbye.
And he knows this doesn’t have to mean goodbye, but something about it still feels so final, like he’ll return to Samwell and everything that happened this week would stay trapped in some pocket of time; What happens in a ski resort in Canada stays in a ski resort in Canada, right?
If Lardo could hear him right now, she’d call him a fucking idiot.
And she’d be right.
But she isn’t here, because Lardo’s the most amazing friend Eric could ask for and had insisted he have the hotel room to himself immediately after Jack and Eric had kissed the first time. She’d moved her luggage into Shitty’s room before the party had even begun, hugging Eric as the party winded down and telling him to have a “fun night” with the most wicked grin he’d ever seen.
He thinks maybe should feel bad about kicking Lardo out on their last night at the resort, but he has a feeling that she was just fine staying with Shitty for the night.
Wait, does that mean she had to kick Ransom and Holster out? Honestly, Eric wouldn’t put it past her.
He begins packing his suitcase in silence, letting the monotony of the task distract him from his thoughts for a moment. That doesn’t last long though, because the subject of his thoughts is still in the room, coming up beside him and joining Eric in his packing.
Eric almost says he doesn’t need the help, but then he sees the look on Jack’s face - concerned yet caring - and he gives in, giving him a handful of unused socks to fold; Eric really overpacked, it seems.
“So….you’re leaving.”
It’s not a question, doesn’t need to be. He pauses for a moment, looking at Jack, then returns to the task at hand as he says, “Vacation doesn’t last forever, sweetheart.”
Jack laughs, though there’s a sadness to it that Eric hasn’t heard from him before. “Is it selfish to wish that it could?”
“Yes,” Eric pauses. “Guess that makes two of us.”
He hears Jack let out a shaky breath. “Eric.”
Turning his head to the side, he notices that Jack has stopped folding, leaving the socks in a pile on the bed in favor of looking at Eric like he’s afraid he might disappear.
“You….want this too, right? Us?”
The anxiety in Jack’s voice makes Eric stop what he’s doing and turn his body fully towards the man beside him, reaching for his hand and squeezing it tight. “Oh honey, of course I do.”
The sigh of relief that Jack lets out makes Eric take his other hand in his, letting their fingers tangle loosely together between them. “I’m sorry I made you worry. I wouldn’t have kissed you last night if I didn’t know for sure that I wanted to make this work.”
“And you’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Now it’s Jack’s turn to squeeze Eric’s hands, bending down to kiss his temple before pressing their foreheads together. “I’m really glad you kissed me, you know.”
Eric lets out a soft chuckle as Jack’s hands move to his hips, thumbs moving under the hem of his shirt to rub circles onto his skin. “Really? I couldn’t tell.”
“I was going to kiss you first, but you beat me to it.”
“Uh huh. Sure.”
Jack proves himself with a kiss to Eric’s lips, not as intense as one's before it, but just as deep in meaning.
He pulls away from him then, returning to the pile of socks waiting to be put away. That simple touch of Jack’s thumbs must be branded into his skin because Eric swears he still feels them there even after they're gone.
They fold in silence for a few minutes; then, without even looking in Jack’s direction, Eric asks, “Skype, twice a week?”
“...How about three?”
Eric laughs, “Ok. Skype at least three times a week. How do you feel about texting?”
“Good,” Jack says. “But- uh….I’m gonna need your number for that.”
“Wait, we really never exchanged numbers?”
“I was too nervous to ask.”
This makes Eric laugh even harder. “Wow! You really need to work on your game.”
Jack looks at him for a moment, then goes back to folding. “Looks like I had enough of it last night. And this morning-”
“Oh, shut it!” Eric can’t help but shove Jack playfully in the shoulder at that, though he doesn’t so much as budge.
They’re able to finish packing eventually. The sound of the zipper closing his suitcase shut is a lot louder and more dramatic than it needs to be, but it’s cut off by Jack’s voice at his side.
“When do you think we can see each other again?” Jack asks. “I can fly to you if that’s easier. Just tell me when you’re available, and I’ll make it work.”
Eric looks up from his suitcase with disbelief, but the look on Jack’s face is 100% honest. It makes him fully understand, for the first time, that they’re really doing this. Jack is serious about this; Eric is serious about this. This isn’t just a what if anymore. They made their decision, they took the leap, and they’re going all-in.
And he’s not even as surprised as he probably should be. Jack doesn’t really seem like the kind of guy to do anything in halves; Eric understands that now.
That thought alone makes him hopeful.
Eric’s about to hold Jack’s face in his hands and kiss him breathless, but he’s interrupted by the buzzing of his phone in his pocket. “Oh!”
“What’s wrong?” Jack asks, and the pout on his face from not receiving a kiss is so endearing it almost makes Eric forget what the hell he’s worried about.
“It’s Lardo. She’s wondering where I am,” He checks the time on his phone. “Shit! We only have thirty minutes left before we have to leave.”
Jack’s face turns a little sad before he steels himself, moving to put a hand on Eric’s shoulder. “We should go meet up with them then. Where are they right now?”
“At the breakfast buffet,” Eric answers, reading off Lardo’s text.
Jack nods. “I guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer.”
They dance around each other with ease as they check the room for anything they might’ve forgotten, meeting back together in front of the door, Eric’s suitcase between them.
“Here, let me,” Jack says, taking the handle before Eric can object.
Eric rolls his eyes, but his smile is too wide for it to mean anything other than fondness.
Reaching for the door, Jack opens it, gesturing for Eric to go ahead of him. “After you.”
“You silly boy,” Eric replies, kissing Jack’s cheek before leaving the room, Jack shutting the door behind them.
~~~~~~~~~~
They get there with only ten minutes left before the buffet closes, Eric relieved that he’ll get to at least eat something before hopping on a plane for several hours. His friends are just as terrible as he expects them to be when they arrive, Shitty whistling like some kind of 1950’s catcaller and Ransom and Holster debating whether or not almost making your teammates late for their flight home because you were too busy “boning down” counts as a fine.
It definitely does, but Eric’s a little surprised when they unanimously agree otherwise, looking between Jack and Eric with something akin to pride.
Lardo just watches it all go down before leaning to whisper in Eric’s ear, “I expect deets on the flight home, you know.”
He laughs, Jack’s hand resting casually on his thigh under the table.
Eric’s friends may be graduating, but he knows they’ll never truly leave him behind.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lardo gets a text letting them know that the Uber taking them to the airport has arrived, and they all drag their things through the lobby to meet them, pulling on coats and hats before facing the cold on the other side of the door.
Eric watches as the driver helps put all of their luggage in the back of his giant SUV. Lardo calls shotgun immediately, and no one objects as they all clamber inside.
“Hey,” Jack says, and Eric turns around to face him.
Jack steps in closer so their feet are touching, then removes his own scarf from his neck. He wraps it around Eric carefully, but keeps his lips exposed. “Don’t want you catching a cold, eh?”
Tears pricking the corners of his eyes, Eric gets on his tiptoes to give Jack one last kiss.
But it isn’t their last one, is it? The thought makes Eric feel warm all over, from the tips of his toes to where Jack’s lips meet his.
His friends start hooting and hollering behind them, and Eric breaks the kiss with a laugh.
“Text me when you land?” Jack asks, hand coming up to frame Eric’s cheek.
He leans into the touch, and nods. “I’ll text you.”
Eric moves to leave, but pauses, turning back around and pulling Jack down to kiss him just one more time.
“Sorry,” Eric says, finally pulling away for real this time. “Needed one more for the road.”
Jack laughs, head thrown back and cheeks flushed almost as much as Eric’s.
“Hey, Bits! I know you don’t wanna leave your hunk of a boyfriend, but we kinda don’t have all day!” Shitty yells.
Eric takes that as his cue to finally walk away from Jack and towards the car, walking backwards and waving to Jack as he goes. Jack waves back, eyes full of something not unlike a word that Eric doesn’t think he’ll be able to hold back from saying much longer.
He opens the car door and gets in. As they start to drive away, Eric continues looking out the window, back to where Jack is still standing; He keeps waving until Jack is out of sight.
Slumping down in his chair, Shitty leans in from the seat next to him and says, “Looks like 2016’s off to a good start, huh?”
Eric sighs, “Yeah…”
He looks down at his phone, a text from Jack lighting up the screen with a single ‘❤️’
Maybe this year won’t be so bad after all.