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Zack would never admit it, but he’d be lost without Trini.
Jason’s horrible class and work schedule had made him miserable, and though Zack wanted to help, he didn’t know what to do. So he called Trini, who ditched Kim to help him out.
“And remember, I’m broke,” he’d told Trini, who nodded as she drummed her fingers on her coffee mug.
In the end, she suggested a romantic dinner. Zack had already thought of that and tossed it out, because it seemed lame. “Plus, isn’t it overdone?” he’d asked, but she shook her head and launched into several details that would turn a boring dinner into a fantastic evening.
“Devil, details--all that shit,” she said. “If you just cook, it’ll be whatever. But make it a thing--dinner, music, candles, that dude sex thing you guys do if he’s up for it.” Zack glared, but she ignored it.
“Kim loves candles,” she added, “so I got you covered there, and I thinks she’s got some oils and incense and other romantic shit. You gotta spring for flowers and food, but I’ll bring the rest of the stuff and help you set up later.”
Three hours later, they’d finished cleaning and cooking, and Zack was impressed without how much could be done with so little. Trini’s food smelled fantastic, the soft music she’d set up made Zack feel relaxed and floaty, and the flicker of low candlelight made the shabby apartment look infinitely better.
“Don’t let the food burn, and don’t forget to fill the tub. Scalding hot, remember, so it’ll be ready after dinner.”
Zack nodded and scooped Trini into a hug. “You’re the best.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t fuck it up, homeboy.”
------
“Z, this is… You shouldn’t have…”
Jason looked exhausted, but Zack didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up.
“Yeah, I should have, ‘cause you’ve been dying lately.” He took Jason’s bag from him and shouldered it. “There’s food and a relaxing bath, though you had a long day, so if you wanna sleep--”
“Dude, there’s food!”
Zack smiled stupidly--he was glad that some of the usual enthusiastic Jason was coming back--and he hurried to the kitchen to grab the food and a bottle of wine.
Jason perked up even more as he ate, and as he told Zack about his day, he didn’t seem nearly as tired as he had before. Even if the stories weren’t good--Zack was making a note of all the assholes he needed to punch--he didn’t seem as annoyed anymore.
Thank you, Trini...
“So, what now?” Zack asked as he cleaned up after dinner. “Are you thinking bed?”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you have something else planned?”
Jason followed Zack to the bathroom and let out a low whistle. Candles lined every surface, and rose petals dotted the floor in front of the tub.
“I mean, maybe a bath won’t be relaxing, but maybe it will?” Zack wasn’t sure--he’d never seen Jason take a bath--but Jason kissed him quickly and peeled off his clothes.
“I guess that’s a yes,” Zack said, smirking and grabbing a bath bomb that Trini had given him. He tossed it into the tub, and he couldn’t help but laugh as Jason leaned over the edge and watched it fizz with childish fascination.
Jason climbed in and Zack was about to leave when Jason grabbed his hand. “Aren’t you coming in?”
Zack hadn’t expected that. This was supposed to be relaxing, not sexy, but Jason looked insistent, and Zack wasn’t one to turn down naked fun time.
He stripped quickly and stepped into the tub when they both realized a fundamental flaw with the plan--their bathtub barely fit one full-sized man, let alone two.
Jason tried to prop himself up to give Zack more room to sit down, but he lost his grip and slipped. At the same time, Zack tried to sit and managed to whack Jason in the face with his knee.
“It’s fine, Z, really,” Jason said, smiling despite obvious stinging. There was no blood, but Zack noticed some redness. “Try, uh, try sitting against me” Zack nodded, spun around, and tried to sit, but he stopped when he felt wet hands on his butt.
“Oh god this is not working your ass is in my face this is not sexy!”
Zack froze, half squat, and started laughing as Jason continued drumming on his butt.
“What are you doing move dammit!”
The laughter paired with an aggressively firm smack on his ass made Zack lose his footing. He reeled backwards and flopped down into Jason, who let out a loud “oof!” as fizzy pink water sloshed out of the tub and onto the floor.
Zack flailed to grab onto something to pull himself up. His hand found the shower curtain, and with a single tug, it and the rod came crashing down on top of them. Jason let out a yelp, and when Zack managed to tumble out of the tub he saw Jason’s forehead was bleeding from where the rod hit him.
“Shit!” Zack reached for a towel as Jason managed to struggle out of the tub, and thought Zack felt horrible for the chaos, Jason was smiling.
“This was a mess,” Zack said as he dried off. “I’m so sorry…”
Jason wrapped his towel around his waist, grabbed Zack’s hand, and pulled him toward their room. “Z, tonight was the best night I’ve had in a while.”
“Jace, I hit you in the head with a metal rod.” Zack sat on the bed and curled his knees to his chest. “And my knee,” he added. “Don’t forget the knee.”
“Well, that tells you how shitty my days have been lately, now doesn’t it?”
Jason sat down a nudged him with his shoulder, but Zack still wasn’t convinced. Tonight was supposed to be romantic, and he was pretty sure romantic evenings weren’t supposed to end with someone bleeding.
“I loved it,” Jason said simply, and he kissed Zack’s ear. “And I love you, crazy boy.”
Zack felt a blush spread across his face, and he couldn’t help but grin when Jason kissed him again.
“And I’m definitely telling the girls about this tomorrow.”
Jason wasn’t paying attention, so he didn’t see Zack reach for the pillow, and because he was tired, he didn’t move fast enough when Zack whacked him across the face.
Jason tumbled to the floor, and Zack laughed when Jason glared up at him.
The glare didn’t last, though, and Jason’s face broke into a smirk. He hopped up, took off his towel, and spun it in a circle to wind it up.
“Oh, this is how it’s going down?” Zack asked, jumping up on the bed and winding up his own towel. “You know you ain’t gon’ win.”
“Always so cocky,” Jason said, and though Zack should have been focusing, the way Jason was smiling was distracting. Jason whipped him with the towel, and in his attempt to dodge, he fell off the bed and landed hard on the floor.
His side stung slightly, but he forgot about it when Jason hopped on top of him, and as Jason kissed him, he was glad that, at least for the moment, things were back to normal.