The next evening, Sebastian knocked at Jack's door after getting a message asking if he could come over.
And when the door opened—
"Hey," he started, his voice playful — until he saw Jack's face.
"What's wrong?" he asked, worry bleeding in.
"Umm…" was all Jack could manage before Sebastian pulled him into his arms.
He was warm, and he carried the familiar scent of lavender, mixed with something deeper—something woody and grounding. Jack liked that scent the most. The way it wrapped around him felt like protection. The way it smelled against Sebastian's skin felt like home.
So he let himself come apart.
His tears spilled silently. No sobbing, no words. Just the quiet collapse of someone who'd been trying too hard to hold it together.
Another important person in his life was gone.
It happened too often. He always lost people. Some died. Some were killed. Some just… disappeared. But they all ended the same way: gone.
This time, it was his girlfriend of two years. Before that, his cousin. Before that, his sister. All within the last year.
The only constant in his life was Sebastian.
And he was grateful for that — so grateful it scared him.
Because if Sebastian was all he had left…
What if he were next?
The thought made Jack clutch him even tighter, his fingers curling into the back of Sebastian's shirt.
Sebastian's hands moved gently up and down his back in slow, soothing strokes. His touch was steady, not rushed. Just patient. Like he'd done this before. Like he knew exactly how long Jack needed to be held.
It helped — but it didn't.
Jack's tears came faster, like a child who finally lets go in their mother's arms. A deep, wordless grief — not just for Louisa, but for all of it. For the pattern. For the fear.
Sebastian never stepped away.
He always waited until Jack was finished — even if it meant standing in the rain, being late for work, or burning food.
He never left.
And Jack felt guilty for that.
But he liked it, too.
He liked that Sebastian dropped everything for him. That he always came back. That Jack could depend on him, even when he couldn't depend on himself.
That he always was there for however long Jack needed him.
Eventually, Jack pulled away slightly and looked up at him.
Sebastian's blue eyes were always calm, like still water.
There was something grounding in the way he looked back at him. Not pity. Not shock. Just presence.
Jack gave him a small smile before finally stepping back. His voice still caught in his throat, but he managed to say, "Come in."
He took Sebastian by the arm and led him inside to the couch.
Jack didn't speak at first. He just sat there, blinking slowly, rubbing his hands together like he didn't know what to do with them.
Sebastian waited.
Finally, Jack spoke, his voice almost a whisper. "Louisa went out with her friends last night. They were having dinner downtown."
He paused, eyes distant.
"She went to the bathroom halfway through the meal… and never came back."
Sebastian didn't interrupt. His body was turned towards Jack, one arm resting on the back of the couch, ready if Jack needed him again.
"I thought maybe she left because of me," Jack continued, his voice cracking at the edges. "Because I've told her. I've told her that people disappear around me. That something's wrong with me."
Sebastian moved a little closer.
"She took the risk anyway," Jack said. "She stayed."
And then, quietly, as if ashamed of the thought: "Maybe that was her mistake."
When a single tear slid down Jack's cheek, Sebastian didn't hesitate - he pulled him into another hug.
Jack leaned in.
Sebastian leaned back, and Jack collapsed on top of him, chest to chest. He felt Sebastian's breathing. His steady heartbeat. The warmth beneath his skin.
Eventually, Sebastian shifted, and Jack fell onto his side, tucked between Sebastian and the pillows.
The couch creaked slightly under their combined weight, but neither of them moved.
Sebastian reached for a blanket, spread it over them both, and pulled Jack closer. His hand rubbed lazy circles into Jack's upper back, just between his shoulder blades.
Jack let his head rest against Sebastian's collarbone.
He didn't speak. He didn't cry.
He just breathed.
And then, slowly, finally, he fell asleep like that.
Curled into Sebastian – the only safety he had left.
Sebastian held him close, even in his sleep; he didn't let go before Jack wanted to.