Bap Meogeosseo? (Jackson)

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Rue wasn't sure how it'd gotten to be so long since he and Jackson had gotten together for a 'study session'.  He'd been busy with college and volunteering, he supposed, and the younger boy was probably distracted with similar things.  The aura reader still worried about him, though, since he'd taken his grandmother's death so hard, and was now apparently living with his aunt and cousins, who Rue had yet to meet.  He hoped they were treating him well.

He did, at least, check on him at school and through texts on a semi-regular basis.  Making sure he didn't look too worn out, or wasn't pushing himself too hard.  Rue also hoped he had other friends and maybe even romantic relationships that helped distract him from the bad things that had happened in his life lately.

This was Rue's first time visiting the blonde's new house, after being invited by Jackson a few days previous.  He wasn't sure how nervous he should be - he'd gotten used to telling people their relationship was very tutor/student-centric, although they'd become friends over the course of getting to know each other.  It wasn't really a lie, just not the whole truth.  As he knocked on the front door and waited for an answer, he wondered just how many questions he should prepare to answer.  At least he was dressed in his typical comfy-casual attire and didn't look at all like a bad influence.

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Jackson had more than a few things keeping his attention over the past several weeks since he’d seen Rue. One was the start of the basketball season, so there were more games to be played on both the weekdays and weekends. Then there were midterms, which he had to buckle down and hit the books on so he could raise his GPA to something that was more satisfying than a 3.8. No compromises there, he couldn’t believe he’d let himself slip that much! Then there were….a few encounters he’d had with….people. Primarily with Jake and Kodi…..and this last time, Kodi had…well, he wasn’t exactly gentle with him, and Jackson wasn’t sure how to feel about that…

Then there was Bunny. Sweet, adorable, cheerful Bunny. It was his fortune that the two of them had come to live next door to each other when Jackson finally moved out of the dorms and into his aunt’s house. And the two of them had been spending…quite a lot of time together lately. She was cute! Jackson found he didn’t dislike her at all. And she seemed genuinely interested in him as well. It was a good match….right? Even if Jackson only really preferred to be around her boy-shifted form…?

Jackson really was terrible, and he knew it. Whatever, it wasn’t like they were boyfriend/girlfriend yet. Not yet….

Jackson popped his head up from the book he was reading when he heard the knock at the door, a smile spreading onto his face. He scrambled up off the couch in his socks and scampered across the living room to swing the door open and meet the person he’d been waiting for. “Rue!” he exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the college student’s face. “Come in! It’s been forever!” Jackson reached up and gave the taller man a firm(manly) hug, then stepped back to let him inside. “Tía!” he called back into the house. “Rue acaba de llegar!” His aunt was off in the other room, though almost immediately there was a call back, announcing her intention to come greet their guest. Jackson looked up at his ‘tutor’. “Sorry, she speaks English, just doesn’t much at home,” he explained, blushing at his sudden switch in language. Jackson didn’t think he’d ever spoken anything but English in front of Rue before, so he thought it was a little awkward. Or maybe he was just overthinking it? “Um….you wanna sit? Or….?” They probably weren’t going to be downstairs for very long. Jackson wanted to show Rue his room and…well, everything, heh heh…

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Rue looked back towards the door once it started to open, having been admiring the house while he waited. It really was a nice place, and he was actually looking forward to seeing the inside, even if the main point of him coming over was to see Jackson and check on how he was doing. He smiled at the younger boy when he appeared, glad to see the blonde looking happy and excited. “Hey, Jackson,” he chuckled at the boy’s enthusiasm, returning the hug with equal ‘stiff manliness’, if only to keep up their act. “It really has been a while. How are you doing? Are you eating alright?”

He stepped inside at the ushering, and gazed around in the same admiration he’d had outside. Rue smiled again at the Spanish, having no trouble understanding, as Spanish was one of his fluent languages (which he’d apparently never told Jackson about, whoops). “Oh, no, it’s alright,” he assured Jackson. “She doesn’t have to speak English for my sake, I can converse with her either way.” Rue looked around and spotted the couch that Jackson was talking about. “I can sit and meet your aunt if you’d like,” he replied, going over and doing just that. “But I would like it if you could show me around in a bit. Your house is really nice.”

In the back of his mind, Rue was also hoping they would be able to get some time to themselves since it’d been quite a while since they’d last seen each other… But he wouldn’t bring that up until after he’d spoken with Jackson’s relative.

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He smiled and nodded to Rue when the two separated from their ‘manly’ embrace. “Yeah, I am. And I’m doing okay, I’m just getting settled in and stuff.” It was definitely an adjustment, not living in the dorms anymore, especially moving into a house this big. How did he not know his aunt was this…..loaded? Is that the right word? Jackson tipped his head in interest. “Really? I didn’t know that.” Had Rue always been able to speak Spanish? Now Jackson was worried that he’d understood a number of (very) rude things he’d uttered under his breath in a few select moments of frustration. Though….if he had, wouldn’t Rue have said something? Jackson’s face flushed slightly as he led Rue inside. “Yeah…we’ll get to that, sure,” he said somewhat nervously. He was excited and uncertain now that Rue was here, the uncertainty from…call him crazy, but he was certain that Rue was planning on them doing things once they had a moment alone….well, he wouldn’t put it past the older man anyway.

It took a short wait, but soon Jackson’s aunt came out from the hallway behind the stairs where her office was. The stout, yet broad shouldered woman was all smiles upon seeing her nephew’s ‘tutor’, and she greeted him with a lovely spoken “Buenas tardes, welcome to our home.” As if Rue were already family, she opened her arms and wrapped them around the taller man briefly while continuing with, “Osiris has told us so much about you, I’m so glad you could come!” A split second later, Mariana Jackson was offering Rue to sit again in the living area. Jackson wisely took a chair across from Rue, rather than sitting beside him on the couch.

Jackson cleared his throat. “Uh….yeah, so Tia, this is Rue. He’s my tutor….friend…well, he’s sorta both, ‘cause we hang out for stuff more than just studying a lot, like he took me to the pizza place once and we just spent the afternoon in the arcade.” Jackson was beaming and speaking rapidly, as if to match the pace he knew his aunt was going to fall into in just a moment. He laughed and scratched the back of his neck, dipping his head to the floor. This…wasn’t so bad, right? Mariana nodded, then turned to the man and smiled. “Oh really, is that true, Rue?” She laughed. “Oh, my, I didn’t mean for that to rhyme, y'know, I never met nobody named Rue before. It don't really roll off the tongue, huh? Anyway, look at me, I’m getting all off topic.” She took a breath and started again. “Sounds like you been taking care of little Osiris here, and I'll tell you, you have no idea how happy that makes me, that he got a dependable adult in his life, after all that happened. Not just that, but he needs a good man to look up to, y’know? With his father and all…oh, I’m sorry, I prob’ly shouldn’ta said nothing about that, huh?” Mariana looked worriedly between Jackson and Rue, suddenly afraid that she might’ve said one thing too much. It was a sensitive subject, after all.

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Rue worried about Jackson quite a bit. He tried to keep an eye on him at school, but there was only so much he could do without seeming like he was specifically choosing to look out for Jackson over anyone else, and that would be frowned upon in his position, he felt. So he texted him when he was able and not busy with his own schooling, but that was about it between their ‘visits’. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s a big change,” he replied sympathetically. Rue smiled at Jackson’s surprise, a small, mischievous twinkle in his eye. “I guess I’m full of surprises. English and French aren’t the only languages I speak.” He actually dabbled in quite a few, although he was only fluent in the three already mentioned, as well as Korean. He had always had a knack for learning languages. “No rush, I’m just happy to come over and meet your family,” Rue reassured the younger boy. Doing things could wait for a while.

When Jackson’s aunt came into the room, Rue stood politely, returning her smiles with his own. “Hola, señora,” he replied, dipping his head. “[Thank you. It’s a lovely home.]” He didn’t expect the hug, but bent down and wrapped his arms gently around the older woman when she initiated it. “Oh, well, I hope he only told you good things,” he joked as he stood back up, shooting the blonde boy a glance. He sat once again when she ushered him to, glad that Jackson had thought to sit across from him.

He stayed quiet for the most time as Jackson spoke, just nodding occasionally and smiling at the mention of their day at the pizza place. That had been the day after… Rue didn’t want to think about that. He turned his attention to Mariana as she began rapidly speaking, finding himself unable to get much of a word in until she was done. “It is an uncommon name,” he agreed with a small chuckle. “And, well… I don’t think I’ve done all that much, just what anyone should do for someone in Jackson’s position.” He smiled over at the younger boy before turning back to his aunt. “I know he’s had a rough time lately, so I just want to do what I can to make him… You know, be able to be a teenager and try not to worry about everything else.” He looked down and nodded at the mention of Jackson’s father. “I… I know there’s no way I can take the place of his father, but if there’s anything I can do that I think my own father would approve of, I’m trying my best.” He chuckled a little and ‘admitted’ sheepishly,”I’m not supposed to have favorite students, but Jackson’s such a hard worker with a great attitude, I can’t help it.” At least, that was the Jackson that Rue knew.

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Shoot…if Jackson had known that Rue knew what he was saying all those times, then he would’ve…not said them, maybe….or just not bothered trying to hide it. Oh, well, no use worrying about it now, they had other things to think about. Like dealing with Jackson’s Aunt Mariana.

The woman wasn’t short, but still wasn’t near as tall as Rue, so of course she had to reach up to him in order to give the salutatory embrace. She smiled up at him, resisting the urge to pinch his cheeks as she would for her nephew. It was, apparently, her role as an aunt to greet her nephews in such a manner and, by extension, their friends. “Of course he did, only good things,” she agreed, basically just repeating what he’d just said.

The woman could speak quickly, and it took some effort to keep up with her, but it was something the Jackson was used to as a majority of his dad’s relatives communicated in such a manner. It was exhausting, to say the least. Already Jackson was feeling like he wanted to leave, but that would be rude no doubt. “That’s not true!” he protested when Rue tried to down-talk Mariana’s praise. “If you hadn’t been there….always there, I wouldn’t…I don’t know what I would’ve done, y’know? It really means a lot…and not a lot of people would’ve done it either….” Jackson lowered his head as he trailed off, his cheeks reddening from his small outburst. And then again at the comparison of Rue being a father figure that he needed….yeah, probably not, he thought. If she knew their real relationship, no doubt his aunt would have a lot more to say than just that.

The continued talk about Jackson, and his ‘hard worker’ attitude, only served to make him blush even more, especially when his aunt so readily and loudly agreed with Rue, laughing as she continued to talk in her usual warped incoherent style. “Uhh….right, yeah, um…” he stammered, interjecting as his aunt started going into some random story that had little to do with what they were talking about. “I’m sure Rue doesn’t need to hear about that, Tia. And we have a lot of work to catch up on, y’know? So…maybe I should just take him upstairs so we can study already? Okay, good! Great!” With barely giving her (or Rue) a chance to argue, Jackson tugged on Rue’s sleeve and gestured for him to follow him up the stairs. Fortunately, Mariana didn’t argue too much. “Let me know if you get hungry, I’ll bring some snacks up. And Rue, do you wanna stay for dinner?” she called out to them from the living area. Regardless of Rue’s response, Jackson would continue to urge him up the stairs and to his bedroom on the left. He’d close the door once they were inside and slide down to the carpet, seemingly exhausted. “I’m tired….” he mumbled.

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Rue was generally a slow and thoughtful talker, so it took a little bit of adjusting for him to follow along with what Jackson’s aunt was saying, but it wasn’t too difficult once he did. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep it up, but he didn’t expect to stay down here too long, since he was sure Jackson would prefer the two of them to be alone. “Aw, Jackson…” If the younger boy had been closer, Rue might have put his hand on the boy’s knee, but it was probably best that he couldn’t anyway. “I’m glad I could be there for you when I was able. No one should have to go through all that alone. And you know I’m always willing to help you when I have the time.” He offered Jackson a gentle smile. “And now knowing that you have a stable place to come home to makes me relieved. It was wonderful of your aunt to do that much for you, too,” he went on, turning to the older woman with the same smile.

Heh… Jackson sure was cute when he was blushing. Rue’s small smile turned into a small grin without him really realizing it. He began listening to whatever story Mariana was talking about until the younger boy interrupted it. Rue was sort of curious to hear the rest of the story, but he could tell that Jackson was antsy to get out of there, so he just nodded along quietly and gave the woman an apologetic smile. “He’s such a studyholic, isn’t he?” he chuckled quietly. “Please save that story for later, I would like to hear the rest.” He gave her a polite dip of his head before he allowed himself to be dragged away by the blonde boy, chuckling to himself all the while. “That sounds great, thanks!” he called back at the offer. When they finally made it to Jackson’s room, he watched the younger boy slide down to the floor and, with only a brief hesitation, followed suit. “I’m not surprised, she seems like an exhausting person,” he replied, not meanly, just matter-of-fact. “But she seems like a sweet woman.” Rue leaned over and gave Jackson a gentle kiss on the cheek. “I’ve missed you,” he said quietly. “Are you doing alright with the move?”

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Jackson felt he would never stop blushing, with the kind words Rue kept throwing at him. It was both from the embarrassment and somewhat from the shame of needing to be taken care of. He felt like he was such a burden now. His parents weren’t in his life, and so he had no choice but to depend on extended family even though it wasn’t their responsibility. Jackson didn’t think he’d ever be able to express how grateful he was that they put up with him…even if he did think a majority of those people were tiresome to deal with.

Mariana and everyone else in his family were the exact reason why Jackson was so rapid-fire(and often thoughtless) in his own talking as well, though he was still a lot slower than many of them. He could go on forever on a tangent himself, or on some story or just talking nonsense, but…he knew that Rue wasn’t like that. Mariana’s endless story aside, if Jackson hadn’t gotten Rue out of there, they’d probably be helping her with some other task by now too, because sitting still was not his family’s nature. Nor was it in Jackson’s.

Still…he still found his relatives tiring. “She really is,” Jackson said with a drooping nod. “I’m sorry, I didn’t wanna get caught up in…things…” Though maybe he was just projecting what he wanted onto Rue. Even so, Jackson wanted to get out of there quickly so the two of them could…be alone. And…study…maybe.. There would probably be studying. Eventually. He blushed and smiled sweetly when Rue kissed his cheek, slowly raising his eyes to meet the older man’s. “Yeah…I missed you too. Sorry, It’s been hectic lately, and I haven’t really been…” No, he shouldn’t say that. That he’d been struggling quite a bit. Jackson didn’t want Rue to worry.

“I’m okay,” he said with a smile. “I’m all moved in and everything!” Jackson giggled, trying to push any dark emotions aside. He didn’t want them to disrupt their time together, especially since it’d been so long. “And look! My room is huge!” he exclaimed, pointing out to the rest of the room. “It’s a lot bigger than what I had at Hammel…I don’t think I ever had a room this big all to myself before.” Though he had shared it before with his cousins whenever he went to visit.

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Sometimes Rue did have a hard time keeping up with Jackson, but that was usually because he felt very calm and relaxed around him (oddly enough, and for the exception of when he was… needy), and he didn’t always feel up to following his every thought and comment and whim. But he didn’t dislike it – that was just how Jackson was, and Rue liked him all the same.

He rested his hand comfortingly on the younger boy’s shoulder as he spoke. “It’s alright,” he reassured him. “I came here to see you, after all. I would be sad if I didn’t get to be alone with you for at least a little while.” Rue let a tiny grin curl at the corners of his lips. He did want to help Jackson study, but… Well, he would be lying if he said that was the only thing. He shook his head at the apology, raising his hand to brush his thumb gently over Jackson’s cheek. “I understand. I know it’s been hard. I just don’t want you to think you can’t call me if you need help, or just want someone to vent to or spend time with, okay?” He smiled softly. “But you can also tell me to buzz off if you need time to yourself.”

He chuckled and looked around at the younger boy’s room. “I see that!” he replied, putting some cheer into his own voice. “It looks like a really nice place, I’m sure you’ll like living here.” Rue stood and wandered around a little. “It’s even bigger than my room,” he said with a slight tease. “How is that fair? I think we should trade, I’m bigger.” Rue grinned back at Jackson and ruffled his hair, then slowly wandered over to sit on the edge of his bed. “So… What did you need help studying?” he asked quietly, although he didn’t really have any intention on doing that quite yet…

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Jackson had the abundant energy of a teenager, after all, so it was no surprise that he was much more active than his old man Rue. Though that was also just with their personalities too. Rue was very calm and in control and reserved, though that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to have fun and be silly too. Jackson liked that part of him, though he probably like the Rue that was more in charge than anything. That was the side that babied and spoiled the teenaged boy. Jackson loved that.

Jackson smiled, affectionately rubbing the side of his head into the back of Rue’s hand. “Yeah, me too,” he agreed. “I’m really glad you’re here.” Having Rue in his new home was sort of surreal, though. Jackson hadn’t ever really had Rue over when he was living with his grandmother, and didn’t have him over much in the dorms either, mostly out of fear that someone might clue into the true nature of their relationship. This big house…the walls were thick, he had his own very large room, and even a lock on the door! Their privacy was almost guaranteed, so long as Jackson kept it down…well, that’s if they had the nerve to try to do anything here. Jackson nodded. “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. Though who knew if Jackson would have the guts to confide in Rue completely about the troubles in his life, or the spiral he was slowly spinning down. He laughed. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that, but okay. If you say so.” He nuzzled his forehead against the older man’s, then pushed himself back up to his feet.

“It is! And I do….I mean, I do, it’s just weird, I feel like Tía’s doing so much for me and I’m just mooching of her kindness, y’know?” He didn’t know where he was allowed to be selfish and where he should be humble anymore. This was his family, but it felt like it wasn’t. It was just…strange. Jackson scrunched his head down between his shoulders when Rue ruffled his hair, and giggled as he upturned his gaze again. “Um….not really a lot. It’s not like it’s hard or anything.” The work itself was never actually hard. It was just doing it that he had the problem. Jackson lowered his head, somewhat ashamed. “My grades dropped….just a little…” Considering everything that had been going on, that shouldn’t have been surprising. Even more is Jackson shouldn’t take it as him being a failure. He didn’t…well, maybe a little…

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Rue continued to smile warmly at the younger boy. He really had missed him… Just passing by in the halls and giving each other knowing glances wasn’t enough to satisfy him. But he knew that they had both been busy, so there wasn’t anything they could have done differently. And… Well, it really was nice that Jackson had his own place now. Rue didn’t mind having him over, but his apartment was small and not all that great, so a change of scenery was nice. “Please do,” he murmured, willing Jackson to be trusting enough in the older man to tell him what he could do to help. Rue chuckled quietly, returning the affectionate gesture. “I hope you don’t, but I thought I should say so anyway.” He liked to think he wasn’t someone that was overly nosy or suffocating, but his relationship with Jackson made him feel more protective than he felt with most people.

Rue shook his head quietly at Jackson’s worries, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “You’ve been having a hard time lately,” he said softly. “You need to not be too hard on yourself, and let your aunt help you. You’re very young to have so much going on, and I want you to have all the support that you can.” He pulled Jackson against his side a little and gave him a gentle kiss on his temple. “I’m sure you can return her kindness just by doing chores around the house and vocalizing your gratitude.” He listened as the younger boy spoke about his studies and grade situation, frowning slightly as he admitted his worries. “That’s not surprising,” he assured him. “It’s hard to focus on your studies when you have emotional burdens. I’m sure they’ll pick back up again soon, now that you’re in a more stable place.” Rue’s hand moved down to rest lightly on Jackson’s thigh, and he leaned in so he could speak in only a murmur. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” he asked quietly, an obvious hint of suggestion to his tone.

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Jackson valued the relationship that he had with Rue, much more than he did with any of his friends or family. Rather, what family he had left in his life. Rue was a mentor, a big brother-like figure, a good, decent friend, all in addition to being a lover. Maybe it was because he valued their current relationship so much that he couldn’t be 100% honest with him? Jackson didn’t know if he could stand to see Rue disappointed in him. He took care of him so much, it felt like if Rue found out about some of the other thing he’d done in his life, then it would be like a slap in the face to him. As if Jackson wasn’t grateful for how much Rue had done for him….that was the furthest thing from the truth, though. “Okay,” he said with a soft smile, gazing up tenderly at the older man.

Jackson nodded solemnly, not sure how to take Rue’s advice. “Okay….I guess that makes sense…” Sort of. Logically, he knew the older man was right. There wasn’t much he could do to change the situation, so he just had to live the best he could to show his appreciation for his aunt taking him in. How much was too much, though? Yes, he was grateful, but he couldn’t help feeling that whatever he did was never going to be enough. It was stressful, living like that.

The other matter with his grades was just yet another stressor that he didn’t need. Since Rue had done so much to help him last semester, and it felt like all of that help and work they did together was just slipping down the drain, little by little. If he didn’t get his grade back up, then Jackson would be letting Rue down…again. “I hope so…” he murmured, though Jackson wasn’t so sure. He was just so tired of trying to live up to everyone’s expectations…

This conversation was dumb and bringing down Jackson’s spirits. He didn’t like being like that in front of Rue, so when the older man suggestively turned the topic away from those difficult to think about things, Jackson lips spread slowly out into a wide grin. “I don’t know,” he said coyly. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about biology, huh?” That wasn’t too subtle, was it? Ha, of course not.