Between Strings and Sparks

Chapter 10 - "When Fire Becomes Confession"

His breath is still warm against your mouth when you finally slow down - not because the desire has gone down, but because something deep, silent, begins to grow between you in the middle of that tight backstage chaos.

Jack touches his forehead to yours again, his hands still firm on his waist, but now with a care that chills more than the touch.

As if he was afraid of letting you go... and afraid of holding you too tight at the same time.

- Aria... - he murmurs, his voice hoarse, almost a request.

You run your thumb through the line of his jaw, feeling the hot skin, the muscles tense. His body still vibrates from the show - and from you.

- Yeah?.. - you whisper.

Jack closes his eyes for a second, takes a deep breath... as if he was about to say something he never said to anyone.

- I shouldn't feel all this - he says, finally looking into your eyes.

- It shouldn't be so fast, so strong... but when I see you, when you talk to me, when you look at me like that...

He swallows dry.

- I lose the ground.

The silence between you changes temperature - it stops being just tension and becomes something denser, more dangerous, more real.

You feel your chest tighten.

- Jack...

But he continues, as if he needed to take it out of his chest before it explodes.

- I've been with people... of course.

He gives a short laugh, without humor.

- But I never cared what they really thought. I've never been afraid of hurting someone. I was never afraid of losing anyone.

He holds your face gently - as if you were precious.

- You're different, Aria. I really care about you. And that scares me like hell.

Your words enter you slowly, deep, sincere, without any joke to relieve.

It's strange to see Jack like this - vulnerable, open, without any pose.

And that's exactly what makes your heart beat so hard.

You hold his hand against your cheek and say:

- I'm scared too.

He blinks, surprised.

- You are?

- A lot - you admit, laughing nervously. - I didn't expect any of this. I didn't expect to feel so much. I didn't expect to care about every detail of you. I didn't expect you to... mess with me so much.

His eyes shine.

Vulnerability becomes something else.

It becomes tenderness.

It turns into desire.

It becomes a certainty.

Jack brings his mouth closer to yours enough for you to feel his breath mixing with yours.

- So we're fucked up together - he murmurs, smiling from the corner.

You laugh softly, because it's true.

- Completely.

He runs his nose through yours, in a soft, intimate, almost innocent touch - the perfect contrast of what happened minutes before.

And then, without warning, he takes his hand and intertwines his fingers, holding it firmly.

- Promise me something - he says, seriously.

- What?

Jack takes a deep breath, and when he speaks, his voice trembles just a little:

- Don't give up on me at the first stumble.

He pauses.

- Or in the second. Or in the third. I'll make a mistake... but I want to try. I really want to. With you.

Your chest warms up.

Swallow dry.

- I won't give up - you answer. - But you don't run away either.

He smiles - a small, real smile, without defenses.

- I don't run away - he promises. - Not anymore.

Jack kisses his hand - a slow, conscious kiss, almost a mark.

- We'll figure it out - he says, pulling you by the waist again, touching his forehead to yours. - Even if I have to turn inside out for that.

And when he hugs you, the world stops being stage and backstage, lights and noise - just the two of you, breathing together, trying to understand how something so chaotic can seem so right.