Work Text:
Going to the bathroom should not involve an posse following when at home. Yet, on his first day home, Jack finds himself unable to pee without Gavin sitting on the bathtub next to him. Ray and Michael are both just outside the door- he can hear them joking to each other. He wants to find it annoying but they’re here because they don’t want him to leave and that’s just too overwhelming sometimes.
It takes three days for his mood to change.
Jack’s not allowed outside- even to go to the grocery store. Not even to check the mail! Not to go to work, not even if he goes with any of his boys. He’s going nuts from being cooped up and Gavin still refuses to let him pee alone. It was cute at first but he really needs a fucking moment to himself or he’s going to murder someone. Michael’s stopped standing guard at least, but he still needs to know where Jack is at all times.
Geoff refuses to let Jack have his keys or even go out back. The lack of fresh air really might make him go insane.
At night, he’s granted a small reprieve because he only has to talk to Ryan. The lads and Geoff are asleep- all cuddled on Jack, of fucking course. But he doesn’t get any good conversations, only a book thrown at him for him to read from. It’s really rather irritating.
The fourth day Jack decides he’s going to leave the damn house or kill Gavin. Whichever comes first.
He manages to wake up before any of the lads and slips away from the bedroom without waking them. Geoff and Ryan left early for work to figure out something about a let’s build and Jack takes a moment to just enjoy the pure silence. As quietly, and as quickly as he can, he grabs his keys from Geoff’s hiding spot for them and goes out back. The fresh air hits him like a ton of bricks and he could almost cry at being able to breathe it again.
It’s so nice he debates actually going for a walk, but he doesn’t dare yet. It’s going to be bad enough when the lads wake up and he isn’t there but he needs this. Needs a moment to just breathe. A few minutes later he’s headed back inside and making breakfast with the window open. Maybe he can convince the lads to go walking with him against Geoff’s will because he’s dying to actually go outside.
Geoff has to have threatened them with something unholy because even with breakfast bribes and pleading kisses he can’t get them to agree to go after they wake up.
He keeps his keys and doesn’t let them see he has them.
Ryan has what they’ve dubbed Jack-duty on the fifth day. When the man finally passes out from exhaustion, Jack leaves the house for the first time in 5 days. He wants to go to work but he knows he’ll be kicked home the moment he shows his face so he goes to get lunch. Ryan and him fight when he gets home with take-out but he refuses to back down. They can’t keep him locked up like he’s fucking Rapunzel.
Geoff steals and hides his keys again that night and Jack wants to murder all of them.
The sixth day of his imprisonment, Ray has Jack-duty. They spend half the day playing halo curled up on the couch before they get restless. He tries to convince Ray to go walking with him but it doesn’t work and they spend the rest of the day inside anyways. He replaces Ray’s juice with some energy drink that tastes like shit at dinner and refuses to admit that it’s really childish of him.
A week into his new life, Gavin has Jack-duty. Jack prepares himself for a day of being followed into even the bathroom but the Brit surprisingly waits for him outside for the first time since they got back home. Gavin surprises him again when he’s the one who suggests they go out somewhere for lunch. He kisses the younger man silly because that’s the best idea he’s ever heard. They walk to What-A-Burger together because Geoff still has Jack’s keys hidden. Gavin sits next to him while eating for the first time in months and Jack feels like a weight has been lifted and everything’s beginning to click into place because they want him. He jokes around with Gavin at lunch and it feels like they’re having date night. It’s perfect. Until they get home and Geoff yells at them both. Gavin looses his right to Jack-duty after that.
They can only keep him home for two weeks before he has to return to work, Jack reminds himself on day 8.
Geoff is on Jack-duty and he won’t even let the man cook. They spend most of the day curled up together in bed. Lunch is a delivered pizza because Geoff is too lazy to cook and they eat it in bed too. Jack feels upset about everything right until the moment Geoff spends endless minutes running his hands over Jack just to “double check”. He really fucked up. He only feels worse when he realizes that each day when everyone gets home, the first thing they do is make sure he’s still there.
He’s not a flight risk. Not anymore. That doesn’t stop them from treating him like one though. He puts up with it until day 15.
When they won’t let him return to work he flips his shit. He’s clearly not going anywhere, he’s getting behind in editing, he needs to be there for Let’s Plays, and if they keep him here any longer he really will kill Gavin or Ray. Which ever he finds hiding in the bathroom while he uses the toilet or showers again because this is getting fucking ridiculous. It turns into a shouting fight with both Michael and Geoff before they finally give in.
He gets to go to work finally, but he’s not allowed to take his car.
Day 20 he demands his keys and car back. Jack is not going anywhere. He doesn’t want to leave them behind. He’s not afraid they’ll grow tired of him anymore, they’ve made it painfully clear, but he is afraid of maiming Geoff at this point. He’s allowed to go to work and back but not on date nights, and no where in his own car. It’s growing to look forgotten in the driveway.
When Geoff refuses, he spends both day 21 and day 22 cleaning or in his car alone- Ryan hadn’t locked the doors when he brought it home.
Day 40 he finally gets his keys back after he and Geoff get into a physical fight. He spends the night trying to kiss every bruise better and apologize for being such an ass.
Day 50 is when he stops counting. He spends the day at home alone, getting ready for a night out with Geoff. It’s been too long since the two of them have gone out drinking and he’s beginning to feel replaced with how the man keeps going with Ryan instead.
On the night of Day 50, everything slips back into place and Jack feels like he’s got the perfect life again.