orifice | using the stars as guides

Entry tags:

using the stars as guides

who jack + isaac
what insomnia and... going places...
rating probably no more than PG
warnings Whale Noises? Feels? Adorables? Men questioning their sanity?

[It's late.

Jack lies awake next to Isaac, looking at him in the darkness, wishing he could sleep.

Not too long ago, he could. He was sleeping just fine, hardly any dreams or anything. Just a nice long night of refreshing slumber.

But ever since he woke up with scars on his neck and his vocal chords mangled so that the only sounds he can make are inhuman moans... well. He's gone back to square one.

Square one being frequent nightmares and nights of complete sleeplessness.

Tonight he just can't sleep at all. He's tried. He's tried too many times. He's tried with his head on Isaac's chest, listening to his heartbeat and the slow rhythm of his breaths, he's tried with his arms wrapped around him and his face buried in his hair, he's tried lying without touching him at all.

None of it works. Every time he closes his eyes the abyss, echoing with the cacophonous symphony of Rapture, reaches through his mind to grasp his consciousness and he has to shake himself back to reality with a gasp.

There'll be no sleep for him tonight.

So he watches Isaac sleep, the man's face turned toward him so that their noses are a mere centimeter away from each other, his breath tickling Jack's face. Jack reaches up and runs a finger along Isaac's jawline, then turns his head to look out the window. The curtain is open, revealing a cold winter night outside. There's no cloud in the sky, and the stars and moon shine crisply against the black backdrop of sky, the freezing air making the silver shapes sparkle like they never do in summer.

Jack turns his head back to Isaac.

Maybe a walk would help.

But he doesn't want to go alone.

...but he doesn't want to interrupt Isaac's sleep.

He sighs slightly and puts his hand on Isaac's arm, shaking it ever so gently.

Wake up, Isaac.]

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[Jack smiles back, squeezing Isaac's hand, feeling it through the layers of gloves between them. He lifts his face again, looking at the stars before closing his eyes and relishing the cold fresh air filling his lungs, so different from the Rapture air, passed through so many vents and recycled over and over.]

[ The air is cold, if anything he likes it as they start their walk down the street. The snow is fresh, new powder under theirs boots that crunches with every step they take.

Gently, he swings Jack's hand back and forth.

It's okay.

I'm right here. ]

[Jack drags his boots through the snow, kicking it up as he walks, looking around at the quiet landscape. All sounds are muffled by the new fallen snow, the only noises their own footsteps and breaths.

As they walk, Jack starts to realize they're not... really... in a familiar place...

They've walked the area allowed to them many times before, and Jack knows this isn't a part of it. It's... possible the snow is making things look different but he's sure there weren't street lamps like this before.]

[ Isaac doesn't recognize these noises, these lights, this pavement. He kicks away some of the snow because what should be a pale side walk is now a dark, cobbled street and he frowns a bit deeper now. ]

... Where the hell...?

[Oh. Good. He's not the only one noticing this. His steps slow and he comes to a stop, looking around, frowning slightly.

Where are they, and how did they get here?]

Think we could go back...?

[ He turns a bit in the direction they came from, but it seems to almost have... melted into the rest of the scenery. ]

Guess not. Could be worse...

[ Could be places neither of them wants to go back to. And they could be alone. ]

[He nods slowly, still frowning, then blinks. He looks up. The sky is no longer clear and bright, instead it's started to snow.

Almost instinctively, he opens his mouth and catches a few snowflakes on his tongue.]

[ Isaac laughs a little as he watches, waits for Jack to close his mouth. ]

How's that?

[Jack closes his mouth and smiles a little, shrugging. It's fine. It's snow.

He looks around again, then tugs gently on Isaac's hand.

C'mon, he wants to figure out where they are.]

[ Isaac has his head turned up, tongue out catching a few before Jack tugs him in some direction. Isaac looks around, eyes adjusting to the bright lights, the rate the snow is falling. His breath comes out in warm, soft clouds. ]

It's a beautiful city...

[ He can't help but be in a bit of awe at it, all of the soft lights and the people walking, mostly, hand in hand down the streets. Some open vendors selling warm food, some light music in the air. It's picturesque. ]

[As he walks, looking around, Jack nods. It is beautiful. And there's so many people out and about, even at this time of night, it's... strange, after what he's used to, with night walks where no one is around but them.

They walk around a corner... and that's when he sees it, glittering in the night and the snow.

The Eiffel Tower.

Jack might not have had much of an education or seen anything outside of Kansas or Rapture or the town they were put in, but he knows that when he sees it.

He stops, staring at it. He lets out a whistle.

Wow.]

[ Isaac has seen it. In books. Books are as close as you can get to old Paris and wow...

That's something...

When he hears the whistle, he startles, turns his head and laughs. ]

Wanna get closer?

[Jack smiles a little at Isaac, making a mental note of how quickly he got his attention with the whistle, and nods. Yes. He definitely wants to get closer.

It seems to be a pretty straight shot, just a matter of walking there.

And damn, there are a lot of people out and about. He's starting to understand what people mean by a city that never sleeps. They're walking and chatting in a language he doesn't know, milling about under street lamps and outside of clubs and bars.

Jack walks on, Isaac's hand firmly in his.]

[ Isaac finds comfort in his hand being held so firmly. The crowds make him nervous, the people, the noise. He's used to quiet, and when he's not used to quiet he's used to Jack. The sound of another person in the vicinity. He walks a bit closer to Jack, brushes by people here and there, gazing around with curiosity. ]

Never thought I'd see such a thing... it's got a fantastic structure...

[It is a lot of people, more than he's used to, but Isaac's there, Isaac's always there. They'll be okay.

As they get closer to the tower, Jack can only nod in agreement. It's an incredible building, perhaps not quite the sparkling jewel up close as it is from a distance, but no less impressive.

There are still people around here, but the space is much bigger so the crowd thins out. Not many people want to be around the tower at night when it's snowing and you can't actually ascend to the higher levels. By the time they reach the base of it, there aren't many people around at all.

Jack leads Isaac up to it, laying his gloved hand against the iron and looking up and up and up.]

[ Isaac feels smaller and smaller, and it's a humbling thing to stand next to. Such a huge piece of architecture. He rests his own hand against the metal, running it along the edge. ]

Shame we can't go up it... but I think this is enough.

[ He leans against the frame finally, taking in the sounds, the sight of Jack's head tilting upwards. It's good to see him like that. Not so heavy for the time being. He deserves it. ]

[He nods again, still staring up the tower.

He's never seen anything like it before. Rapture had tall buildings, yes, but it was also below the ocean. There was no standing at the foot of one of them and looking up at it into the sky, there was only the sea and the lights winking through it. The whole thing was a marvel, it was difficult to pull out specific aspects of it to wonder at.

This, though. This tower pierces the sky and he can't even imagine what it must be like to be up there, seeing the whole city laid out.

He'd probably panic, actually. But that's neither here nor there.

He stares up the side of the tower for a long time before looking back down at Isaac. He smiles a little, then has a thought.

For times when he absolutely can't make himself clear with facial expressions and gestures, he generally has a small notepad. He's got it in his back pocket and he pulls it out, scribbling something down messily. It's hard to write with gloves. He holds it out to Isaac.]

how's it stack up to stuff in space?

[ It takes Isaac a minute to realize what Jack is doing--the notepad doesn't come out often, but when it does it's important and he leans in to read, so much so that their foreheads brush just slightly. He looks up to meet Jack's eyes. ]

Nowhere near close. This tops anything I've seen in a long time... 'Bout you?

[It's not that this was important but sometimes Jack is just incapable of expressing himself without words.

Jack considers the question, looking up at the tower.

He turns back to the notepad.]

hard to beat a city on the bottom of the ocean but I think this does the trick

[ He reads it and gives nod.

Slowly, he removes one of his gloves, holding his hand out slightly and feeling the snow against his palm, light and soft from the sky. ]

[Jack tucks the notebook away in his pocket and watches as Isaac takes his glove off to feel the snow on his bare hand. He takes his own glove off to try it.

The snow tickles as it lands and melts, but there's a split second when the flakes land before they melt away, and Jack wonders at how such tiny things could have just as much detail as the giant tower they're standing next to and yet be created all on their own with no help from people at all.]

[ Isaac smiles just softly as he turns his head and observes Jack as the snowflakes fall. They are large and full, intricate and everything fantastical. ]

Each and every one is different... Like people, you know?

[Jack raises his eyebrows, looking up at Isaac. That was a really ridiculously corny thing you just said, Isaac. But it's okay. Jack reaches for Isaac's bare hand with his, linking their fingers, noting the warmth of it despite the cold air around them. He strokes the back of Isaac's hand gently with his thumb, looking at them. Two hands worn from trials and tribulations and pains of every kind imaginable, and yet here they are doing something so gentle.

...that was pretty corny too.]

[ One of Isaac's brows lifts in turn. He sees what you did there, only squeezes for a brief moment before going lax.

He leans in until their noses are brushing slightly before he murmurs: ]

I love you.

[The absolute worst part of having no voice, Jack has decided, is not being able to say those words back to Isaac. But there are other ways he can express it. He smiles, just a little, nudging Isaac's nose gently with his. Jack leans in and kisses him, softly, gently.

I love you too.]

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