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Jack McLoughlin was 16 when he found out that his older brother, Anti, was a supervillain.
He found out on accident, one fine night, when Anti had brought ‘friends’ over as he often did and asked Jack to stay in his room for the night. Asked, not told. Never told. Anti only ordered him around when he needed to, and usually when he had ‘friends’ over he didn’t feel like he needed to tell him to stay in his room. Jack didn’t go anywhere most of the time, anyway.
Anti was four years his senior, and very much the picture of a protective older brother. He did everything he could to keep Jack out of trouble… At least when he knew Jack was in danger of getting in trouble, that was, but that was another matter entirely.
Point was, Anti was incredibly protective of Jack, and as such Jack figured he probably asked him to stay in his room for his own safety.
Because the night he found out Anti was a supervillain, he accidentally caught his brother planning a very big job with a man he immediately recognized as a villain know to the public The Mayor―also known, more personally, as Dark. There was another man there that he only vaguely recognized as a slightly less prestigious villain called “Mad”.
Mad and The Mayor were known to be two of the city’s most dangerous supervillains, and if not for the fact that Anti was chatting them up like old friends while making notes on a whiteboard on the table in front of him, Jack would have been concerned for his safety.
Anti’s safety, that was.
As it was, well, Anti had looked comfortable. And Jack, who was pretty awesome at sneaking around, thanks, just snuck on past the room they were in, grabbed the soda and snacks he’d left his room for, and snuck on back.
He didn’t mention to Anti that he’d found him out.
He had his own secrets, Anti had his. He wouldn’t pry.
When he was 18, Anti finally admitted to him that he was the Glitch King―one of the other big names in the crime world. Jack very calmly told him that he already knew. He’d had his suspicions before the night he caught him and that had only solidified them. Anti hadn’t really questioned how or why he knew. He’d just nodded and told Jack that he needed to be careful.
When he was 20, he told Anti he was interested in getting into the business. Anti questioned it. A lot. Jack provided few answers and eventually Anti caved and allowed it, with the stipulation that for the first few months he’d be watching him to make sure he was able to do what it took.
Jack was fine with that.
A month into his little probationary period, Anti officially introduced him to Dark for the first time, and… Well. It wasn’t love at first sight, that was for sure, because he definitely wasn’t in love and he’d seen the guy around enough times to have figured it out beforehand if he was. But after meeting him and talking to him a little bit, he was definitely attracted to him.
Definitely interested in dating, if Dark wanted that.
Definitely interested in spreading his legs for him, which, as it turned out, Dark was interested in as well.
He could clearly see in his eyes how much he wanted to take him apart and ruin him when they first got into Dark’s office. He felt the rough touches and he was ready and willing to participate in whatever hard and potentially painful event Dark had planned. He was surprised (though pleasantly) when Dark’s hands suddenly turned careful.
He’d been willing to be hurt, but he was all about being treated nicely.
After that, he’d fallen into bed with Dark fairly often―and sometimes he actually got to fall into bed with him in a literal sense, not just a metaphorical one. Sometimes he even got to stay the night. And he wasn’t in love with Dark as far as he could tell, but he was definitely starting to crush. He didn’t want to fall in love, though. Not with Dark.
Not with anyone, actually, but especially not with someone he knew to be a dastardly piece of shit. He’d already accidentally fallen in love with someone he didn’t know was a dastardly piece of shit, so he wasn’t gonna go and let himself make the same mistake knowingly.
… It was tempting, though, and if Dark wanted to go steady he definitely wouldn’t say no.
But for right now, he wasn’t in love and they weren’t dating. Not as far as he knew.
He even asked about it, once. Asked what exactly he was to Dark, and Dark had said that he wasn’t anything if he didn’t want to be. Jack took that as permission to continue trying to find someone to date who wasn’t a villain and keep Dark around for cuddles and sex for the time being.
But the longer their little arrangement went on (without Anti’s knowledge, might he add), the less appealing dating anyone else seemed to become and the more he wanted to just be with Dark. But he wasn’t in love. Not at all. He was just attracted.
And getting a little attached.
But he wasn’t in love.
He groaned and dropped his head onto the surface of the bar. He heard Chase snicker from where he sat next to him, so he swatted at him a little, which just made Chase laugh more.
Aside from the annoying train of thought, though, Jack was in a good mood. He felt good. He had a nice buzz and everything felt… Kinda floaty. Which was one of his favorite kinds of feelings.
It wasn’t often that he drank with Chase in his own bar, but when he did drink with him after hours they both tended to get totally shitfaced and then pass out together on the couch in Chase’s office. He was looking forward to doing that tonight.
He and Chase had been best friends for the last decade and a half of their lives, and they had… Basically no sense of personal space with each other. They had a tendency to be touching about 80% of the time they were around each other and they didn’t mind cuddling on the couch. Or in bed. Or on the floor―really, they didn’t care what they were doing. It was all purely platonic, of course, but they were comfortable enough with each other to not care if someone thought it wasn’t. If someone thought they were too close to just be friends.
He laughed a little at the thought of all the people who had thought they were a couple over the years.
If only.
If fucking only he’d been dating Chase instead of the string of dickbags he’d dated instead. He didn’t like Chase romantically but at least he’d have been a good boyfriend. Loving. Affectionate. He wouldn’t want to beat the shit out of him or choke him unless Jack wanted that from him. It wouldn’t have been a staple of the relationship.
But no. He didn’t like Chase like that and Chase had his plate full already with his ex-girlfriend and his tendency to crush on everyone except Jack who was nice to him for more than an hour.
“Whatcha laughin’ about?” Chase asked him, words slurred only the slightest bit, which, considering he’d already had half a bottle of whiskey on his own, was a testament to how high his alcohol tolerance was.
“People thinkin’ we’re together,” Jack answered honestly, words faring much worse under the onslaught of alcohol. But he’d had just as much as Chase and he drank considerably less most of the time so he wasn’t surprised, “Just makes me giggle.”
Chase snorted. “Speakin’ of, how’s it goin’ with you n’ the monochrome prude?”
Jack imagined he was very red in the face all of a sudden as he lifted his head. “Same as last time ye asked, Chase.”
“Damn, dude, just tell him already.” Chase complained.
“Tell him what?”
“That yer in love with him!”
“I am not in love with him!”
“Keep tellin’ yerself that.” Chase rolled his eyes and knocked back another shot.
Jack promptly knocked another one back himself. “It’s true.”
“Sure.”
“Fuck you, man.”
“If you insist.”
Jack spluttered for a reply, and Chase just laughed again.