Jareth sat in his study, reading but not. His mind kept wandering. John had asked him again about the tension he’d noted between Jareth and Alice But again, he’d brushed it off non-chalantly. His mind wandered to the nightmares that had kept him awake part of the previous nights. It wandered to Alice, both her swim and the slap, which had intrigued him all the more, to a point, it had excited him. To get that reaction from her.
His thoughts were broken as John huffed into the room. Brows drawn in anger as he leveled his gaze on Jareth.
”Alright, Adamaris....enough games. Either tell me what the hell is going on between you and Alice or let's work it out another way. I’ll beat it out of your old ass.”
On top of everything else John noticed, he’d gone to her room just last night to find it empty. He found her asleep in the lab. He hadn’t woken her but he had added it to the list of weird shit that all seemed to lead right back to his friend.
Jareth set his book aside, not even bothering to mark his page as he turned dark eyes up at his friend.
”Over a Woman, Paio? Really, you’re going to threaten to beat up a crippled old man? Nothing is going on between Alice and I.”
He stood, unbuttoning his vest and shirt, stripping from them, he tossed them onto the back of his chair as he fully faced his friend. John wanted a fight and Jareth knew the second that the next words out of his mouth registered, John would launch an attack and he didn’t want to get his clothes bloody.
”Don’t worry, dear friend. Your...dumpster doll wants nothing to do with me, I’m sure.”
He watched as John’s face screwed up in heated anger. Shifting his stance, angling his hips sideways as he planted his feet, Jareth
raised his hands in both preparation and defense as he wiggles his fingers at his friend and smirked. Ready. He hadn’t had a good bout of fisticuffs in a while. The Alpha male and all the recent frustrations in him were eager for it honestly.
All John saw in that instance was red, red hot anger boiled in him until it released in a sudden,
anger fueled swing, fist barreling through Jareth’s defenses and cracking solidly against his nose.
Jareth felt something pop in his nose and felt a small rush of blood as he stumbled back. Crashing into a nearby table before righting himself with a wet chuckle.
”First one’s free, old friend.”
He grumbled before launching his smaller frame at dead center of John’s torso. Knocking the wind momentarily from the bigger man before his hands gripped at John’s sides and he straightened,
fists tapping heavily against his solar plexus, one and then another before a solid right hook met the bigger man’s cheek, sending him reeling.
Together they danced in a chaotic rhythm of sweat and testosterone around the study. Spit, sweat and grunts flying. Things knocked over or pushed out of their spot. Neither ultimately, truly getting the better of the other. They’d always been fairly evenly matched, despite their size differences. They knew each other’s moves, knew what to expect and countered it. It’s why they’d worked and gotten along so well at home.
Until Jareth saw an opportunity and took it. As John was shaking his head, righting himself and preparing an attack again, Jareth steadied himself as much as possible and as John came at him again, lifted his leg and
kicked him square in the center of his chest, sending John back into the couch, hard enough to tip it onto its back.
”Enough!”
He yelled down at his friend, his features twisting angrily as he stepped back, leaning to rest against the bookcase behind him.
”It’s not like we haven’t shared before, you idiot. Getting your balls all twisted because of a girl....”
He muttered and scoffed, swiping his hand beneath his nose as he sniffed, looking at the streak of blood before wiping it against his pants leg.
His eyes dragged back up to watch as John popped back up to his feet,
with a jerk of his head to get the hair from his face.
”So you have been with her?”
He grunted, glaring across the space at Jareth, shoulders tense and waiting for him to answer.
Jareth cast a stoic look back at him before shaking his head.
”No. Fix the couch and sit down. We’ll talk.”
Jareth’s tone was one of exasperation but his words were truth and John noted that. His shoulders relaxing somewhat, he bent and righted the couch, though it sat slightly askew from normal before he hopped over it and settled onto the cushion.
Jareth joined him and as promised, he explained why there seemed to be a riff between he and the detective. Though he didn’t tell him in full detail of Alice’s masterbating session, nor did he tell John of his thoughts and inner feelings on the matter either, he did tell him everything else. They were still talking when the topic of discussion swept her way into the study, seeming not to notice the destruction as she navigated through it and plopped down between them.
Their focus changed and they listened as she spoke, both watching her quietly until she handed the notes to Jareth. He took them with a faint sniff. John let his arm drape around her shoulder as she leaned against him. He too watched Jareth as he was reading over the notes.
Jareth’s brow furrowed and he glanced up at the pair of them, specifically John.
”What the hell was she doing in Halanunja? The Intrepid has never been scheduled to go there.”
He really wasn’t expecting John to know any more than he did himself. But it tipped Alice off that it was out of character and something that may need to be looked into.
Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
