Lights Out

[Notes and Disclaimers]

The scowl that Lion was directing at his schoolbooks was almost comical, his lips drawn into a tight moue as he glared at the problem before him. Jacky, freshly home from the track, grinned to himself as he pulled his boots and socks off, padding barefoot to the kitchen and retrieving a carton of orange juice from the fridge. Chugging down a few healthy swallows, he wandered back to the living room and draped himself over the armchair, one leg dangling comfortably over the chair arm as he studied his distracted roommate.

He knew that Lion would disagree, but he found himself unable to keep from thinking that Lion was unaccountably, well, cute when he was concentrating on his books. The well-worn sweat suit he wore - far more casual than anything he sported in the ring - made him look startlingly young, while the reading glasses he'd taken to wearing left him with a bookish air, incongruous with his fighter's physique.

Drinking occasionally from the juice carton, Jacky watched as Lion scribbled down work, erasing it and starting over, only to erase it again with increasing violence. It went on for some time before Lion sat back with a huff, eraser thrown at the wall hard enough for it to leave a discolored streak. He plowed both hands through his hair and looked at Jacky for the first time since the older blonde had returned.

"Why do I need math? It's like learning another damned language."

Jacky shrugged, tossing back the last of the juice and shifting to set the empty carton on the coffee table. "You could just crew for me for the rest of your life. Or fight. We don't fuck enough for you to be my kept boy."

The look Lion shot Jacky was unamused as he slapped his textbook shut and rose, bare feet all but silent on the floor as he made his way to the kitchen. There were the muted sounds of cupboards opening and closing, a few moments of silence, and then Lion reappeared, a piece of bread thickly smeared with jam in his mouth. He made a sound that might have been 'going out' around it, pausing only long enough to pull on a pair of sneakers before leaving, the door shut firmly behind him.

"Well, fuck," Jacky crabbed, drumming his fingers on his raised thigh. Had Lion been that pissed about his teasing? It wasn't like it was anything new; Lion had been his roommate since fall semester had started almost three weeks ago, and they'd spent time together before with training and the Tournaments. Hell, he didn't need the confusion; he was having enough troubles of his own without worrying about Lion's, too. Frowning, he levered himself from the chair and retrieved his checkbook; if he wasn't going to relax, he might as well get something accomplished.

It was just after three in the morning when Jacky jerked awake, breathing erratically. His sleep, once he'd given up on his bank account, had been restless, plagued with the nightmares that inevitably lingered well after a Tournament. Pushing his sleep-tousled hair from his eyes, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed, letting the chill of the floor wake him slightly as he sat upright. Beneath his closed door, light streamed, and Jacky quelled his irritation; Lion, he had discovered, was notoriously bad about shutting things off, and it wasn't unheard of for Jacky to return to the apartment to find every appliance on, up to and including the ugly lava lamp he'd received years ago as a joke from a crew member who'd maintained that every bachelor's pad needed a lava lamp.

Sighing, Jacky heaved himself to his feet and straightened the boxers in which he slept, crossing groggily to pull his bedroom door open.

As he'd expected, every light in the living room was on, the radio softly playing NPR as the putrid yellow globs of the lava lamp undulated within the plastic. A cursory glance revealed no sign of Lion, though, and Jacky's annoyance grew as he prowled into the room, a sharp flick of his fingers switching off the overhead light as he passed. It wasn't until he rounded the couch that he found his roommate, books spread over the coffee table in front of him as he sat on the floor.

Fast asleep.

Jacky struggled to hold onto his irritation; did Lion still think he was at his family's chateau - if that was even what it should be called, given that it was larger than Jacky's entire home town - with servants to tidy up after him? It couldn't last, though, and Jacky soon gave up, giving in to a wry amusement instead. Lion looked disgustingly young in his sleep, his head pillowed on a textbook and his reading glasses pushed crooked by his awkward position. A bruise darkened his cheek slightly and Jacky brushed his fingers over it, only to step back abruptly when Lion came up swinging.

"Morning, sunshine," Jacky teased as Lion blinked blearily to a facade of wakefulness. He reached around the younger man to close his books, then glanced at the futon that served as Lion's bed - still in its upright position, unmade. Judging from Lion's unfocused gaze behind the thin shield of his glasses, there was no help coming from that quarter, and Jacky weighed his options against his eagerness to get back to bed.

It was no battle.

"Up," Jacky commanded, a hand under Lion's arm hefting the younger man. As he rose, Jacky drew Lion's arm over his shoulders, guiding the younger man into the bedroom. "Sit," he commanded next, releasing Lion who, all but asleep again, settled heavily on the edge of the bed. He listed alarmingly as Jacky caught the hem of his sweatshirt, drawing it over Lion's head and tossing it to a side. Blinking groggily, Lion kept his arms raised for a moment as Jacky slid the reading glasses from his face, but instead of lowering to his side again, they slid around Jacky's neck and tightened to draw him closer.

Surprised, Jacky didn't resist, his hands, still clutching the glasses, fallen between their chests as Lion's breath tickled his lips. It was only a light contact, the touch of the mouths, but it lingered as the soft rises and falls of their breathing rushed between them, warm and sweet.

It was only when Lion's arms loosened that Jacky moved, straightening to set the glasses on his bedside table as Lion slowly fell backwards, collapsing like a wet cake. It was with a rather fond grin that Jacky stripped Lion of his sweatpants and tossed them after the shirt, drawing an unintelligible murmur from Lion as the younger man squirmed into a more comfortable position.

Shaking his head at them both, Jacky muscled Lion fully onto the bed and drew the sheets over him. He couldn't help but be amused when Lion promptly made himself comfortable, rolling over to sprawl on his belly with an arm tucked under his pillow. He was still smiling faintly when he padded back into the living room to finish shutting off the lights, only to find himself instead staring at the futon, unable to remember whose idea it had been. Wondering, he clicked off the table lamp, but paused with his fingers on the lava lamp's switch.

No, he was just being stupid, what with being wide awake at an hour he'd left behind with his teens. It'd be different in the morning.

Still, he left the lava lamp on as he padded back to the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He sighted softly as he settled into bed, awkward with his awareness of Lion's slumbering form not even a foot away. They might occasionally fuck, but sleeping together was a first, and Jacky felt, much to his amusement as he realized it, like some kind of pervert for simply tucking the other man into his bed.

Ah, well. Lion, he decided, could kick his ass in the morning if he wanted. Reaching beneath the covers, Jacky caught Lion's arm and drew it across his chest, then shut his eyes and fell into sleep.

Until the squawk of the alarm woke them both, Jacky didn't dream.

- fin -

Notes and Disclaimers

Virtua Fighter is © Sega.

Lights Out is a loosely-connected continuation of Patience timeline. It's mostly unfinished, although it stands well enough on its own as a vignette. It's advanced a bit from the previous stories; at this point, Lion is staying with Jacky while he studies at a nearby college.