The Perfect Present- Javid

416 11 23
                                    

I found this on Google (the site was Tumblr) and I figured "Well, this is perfect!" So here we are.
————————————————————————

"Hey, Jackie?" The artist looked up from the kitchen sink where he was cleaning his brushes from last night's project. His boyfriend sat on the counter, his hands wrapped around the end. His feet were crossed and he swung them slightly. It was kind of cute.

"Yes, Dave?" Davey stared at his boyfriend fondly, every memory they've had together since they met freshman year flooding his brain like water to a pool. The artist's hands were covered in paint, most likely from the night before, though he can't say his hands looked much different. He loved those moments.

"What if I took you to an art museum?" Jack smiled and shook his head.

"First, you paint with me for six hours", Jack turned the faucet off, drying his hands as he walked up to the taller, "now you're taking me on an art date. I'm feeling spoiled."

Davey chuckled and looked down at his boyfriend. "I feel I'm in the right to do that."

Jack hummed. "I disagree."

"Please?" Davey pouted falsely, much how his little brother used to do when people wouldn't buy their cupcakes. "It's your birthday month. Thirty-one days all about Francis "Jack Kelly" Sullivan."

Jack cringed. Davey usually only used his full name when he crossed the line, but he only used his government name when he crossed an entire train track. It was weird hearing him say it so casually, but nice, in a way.

"Fine", Jack agreed. "But only if I get to spoil you all through November."

Davey pretended to think it over. He smiled and kissed Jack on the cheek. "Deal."

————————-

"You know", Jack started, "I've never been to an art museum."

Davey looked at Jack, adjusting his mask to sit comfortably in his nose. "You're an artist who's never been to an art museum? Wow!"

"Hey, you're a History teacher that's never been to Washington DC!"

Davey laughed and ruffled Jack's hair. "Most of the magic happened in New York anyway."

Jack furrowed his brows and pursed his lips. "Agree to disagree", he smacks, walking into the large building and leaving Davey behind to chuckle at his shenanigans.

Soon, Davey followed after him, watching as Jack stood in one place and looked around with awe on his face. He'd never seen so much art before.

Jack usually thought of art as a hobby, a way to calm him down and get his mind right when no one else could. He never saw it as a job or something he wanted to do for the rest of his life, but this one building was enough to make him doubt those previous plans.

"Wow", Jack breathed, trying his hardest not run around like a kid in a candy store. Davey secretly took a picture of the shorter's wide smile. "This is...this is the second most beautiful thing in the world."

Davey furrowed his brows. "What's the first- oh."

Jack laughed quietly, afraid to disturb the other people in the museum. He walked to the first painting he saw, trying to figure out what made it so mesmerizing. It was a painting of a woman, her head turned over her shoulder, as if she was responding to someone calling her name. Her hair was wrapped and her clothes looked ancient, but the most outstanding part about her was something so minor: her pearl earrings.

"Wow", Jack breathed. You couldn't see it under his mask, but his smile was so wide the ocean was jealous. Of course, only Davey could tell. He knew if you got close enough, you could the joy in and around Jack's eyes. God, he was so in love.

"Girl with a Pearl Earring", Davey read aloud, though it sounded like a whisper with how quiet the building was. "I'm not sure I understand. Why is she important?"

"It's not about her", Jack answered, his eyes never leaving the piece of artwork. "It's about what she's doing. Who is she looking at? Did someone call her? Why is the earring important? The questions...are endless."

Davey chuckled and wrapped an arm around the shorter. "You amaze me."

Jack turned around and smiled brightly. "I know."

Davey scoffed as Jack walked away to find another thing to his interest.

...He also didn't want Jack to get lost or break something.

—————

The two walked through the museum for hours, sometimes going back to paintings and sculptures because Jack "didn't truly see the work" before. Davey didn't care, though. Some part of him found this trip interesting, even though he wouldn't come to a place like this under normal circumstances.

When they did decide to leave, the moon was higher than the sun, which was on the horizon, making the sky turn colors of purple, pink, blue, and orange.

Jack smiled at the sky. "We should paint that."

"I think that would be great", Davey smiled at him. He clasped his hand with Jack's as they walked back to their apartment. He adjusted his mask and fixed Jack's as they entered the streets of New York once again. "It would be very beautiful."

"Hopefully, it'll turn out good", Jack wondered, his eyes roaming through the crowd. It wasn't large, but not necessarily small either. It didn't bother him, but he was still glad he had a mask on.

"That would be the most auspicious outcome."

"No one knows what that means, Dave."

"It means favorable."

"I didn't ask."

"But you got an answer."

Jack rolled his eyes as his boyfriend chuckled, his hand grasping tighter as they walked further into the crowd.

They held hands all the way home, not once thinking about leaving the other. Of course, they were exhausted, and night had finally settled onto the eastern side of the world, so they weren't thinking about much of anything. They just wanted to go inside, lay in their bed, and fall asleep until they had work the next morning.

"Wait", Jack pauses, grabbing the attention of Davey. "We should dance."

"Dance?" Davey chuckled, rubbing his eyes. "It's 10:00 at night, Jack. Plus, we have no music."

"We can make music", Jack smirked and Davey pretended to gag, getting Jack to laugh. "Besides: we're only 20. Well, I am", Davey rolled his eyes. "We have all the time in the world sleep. So, please? Last birthday wish, I swear."

Davey thought it over and smiled softly. "You can keep wishing. I promised to spoil you, so spoil you, I shall."

Jack rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around Davey's neck as the taller placed his hands on Jack's hips. They slowly swayed in a small circle.

They reimagined their prom night, when they stood in this very position, except Davey was dressed nicer than usual and Jack had a crown on his head. They swayed together and never looked away from the other's face. Time seemed to slow down in that moment, a moment to remember forever.

That's when they knew they were in love.

"I love you", Jack said. He'd pulled his mask down, and a smile took his face.

"I love you, too", Davey responded, his mind taken away by Jack's beautiful smile, despite seeing it one million times. "Happy birthday."

————————————————————————

Hello!👋🏾 It's been a while.

I'm saving this for October 10 instead of releasing it on October 2 because I thought it'd be cool.

Also it's HALLOWEEN!! What are you going to be?

PEACE✌🏾

Newsies OneShotsWhere stories live. Discover now