Chapter Text
He met you in the most unusual way, so much so that you both agreed to come up with another story if someone were to ask.
For a long time, Jack Abbot has been searching for something. He thought he's find it volunteering for SWAT, or taking extra shifts at the ED, but there was still something he couldn't quite grasp. Only when his therapist and his PT teamed up to show him the reality of what he was doing to his body, and subsequently forbade him from doing more than one job.
Accidentally finding that D/S app, Dip, felt like having a light bulb moment. Because with all the free time that had been forced upon him, Jack needed something. Badly enough he felt like he was losing his mind. Remembering his experiences caring for a submissive, he felt like perhaps that was what he needed, what was missing. The strength in it, to offer a piece of himself, to reach into someone's psyche when their walls are let down. That first sigh from deep within them was a reward that still steals his breath.
Jack hadn't really ever been a dom for the practice, it was more about the other person for him. that's why he couldn't imagine being with multiple partners in scenes like that. Watching his person, learning them inside out, and neatly lining up the chaos for them, was the most satisfying job he'd ever had. He missed it.
This app was different, it didn't offer professional dominants, didn't require payment, it just connected people with potential compatibility based on a very thorough kink survey. The app employees keep contact just in case of a failed connection, and if a member had not behaved by the rules, they would be banned from the app, or reported if it's a severe offense. Jack found this consequence helped make the meetings safer for members, starting them on steadier grounds.
The first couple of meetings with subs went well but did not continue and Jack's hopes were dwindling down slowly, but having nothing else to do with his time gave him the energy to keep looking. The sex was good, great even, but there were other elements to this dynamic that were very delicate and very hard to match. Jack's need resided there.
"She's super meticulous, Abbot, She's not looking for a slap on the wrist if you know what I mean." Marcus, his flamboyant Dip agent, said through the phone.
"I.. don't, actually," Jack mumbled, staring at a half-chopped Onion on the cutting board, "What do you mean?"
"Babe, It's very rare for a submissive person to come to us and not be looking for pain, punishment, or multiple orgasms," Marcus explained, "Her interview was one of the shortest I've ever seen, girl just knows what she wants. If I link you two for a meet up, I can send you the interview video. What do you think?"
Jack hummed as he picked up the board to scrape the onion into a hot pan, "Why do you think we're compatible?" he asked, "I understand her personal information is private until we meet, but do you think I can offer her what she needs?"
"Great question, darling, yes," Marcus quipped, voice smiley and excited, "and I sincerely hope this helps you both."
"Hey, Marcus?"
"Yes, Yes."
"Can you give her my number with my real name?" Jack offered, "Not a code for a blind date, my name. She can look me up if she needs it."
"Isn't that risky to offer so early?" A hum sounded over the speaker.
"You gotta offer trust to gain it, I think."
Your video interview was interesting, to say the least. The sound of your voice echoed in Jack's empty apartment as he sat his laptop on his lap. There were so many question where you responded with no, and your answers only lengthened when asked what you wanted.
Sometimes I need everything to stop.
Overstimulation becomes painful.
I want to not know what to do and be okay with it.
Your file told him about your stressful job, dysfunctional family relationships, and past BDSM experiences. Your face told the stories deeper. Brows and shoulders spelling out the disappointment, fluttering blinks and fidgeting fingers revealing the certainty of a need unmet.
Earlier that morning, when he met you for the first time at a bakery half an hour off his usual path home, these signs were well-hidden. Jack Abbot met a beautiful and incredibly intelligent woman with whom he had a surprisingly witty conversation. You broke through small-talk several times, and waited patiently for the man to give a thoughtful answer. There was an air of steely strength about you, holding your spine straight and maintaining a brave amount of eye contact.
Beyond seeing how beautiful you were, how desire surged within him at the first sight of your smile, Jack was awestruck by the realization that the meeting he just had with you felt so much like a date. A successful one. Walking himself home, he passed the doorway mirror and caught his own lingering smile still staining his cheeks.
By evening, he'd been sent your Dip information with your permission. Jack read through your file and sat through multiple rewinds of the interview.
I don't want to be anyone else.
I don't need to play pretend.
and a hesitant, small-voiced I need help shutting down.
He felt the ache he was sure you knew very well. Under his lowest rib, pulling at his spine like his center is constricting on itself. You needed care. It's one the loveliest admissions to confess, and it had Jack's heart lurching in anticipation.
You spent the first two weeks texting, and randomly meeting for a few minutes between shifts. The fondness sweeping Jack's voice when he talked to you never left, the lines around his eyes soft when his gaze caught yours.
"Jack?"
Your voice was gentle and light, like the smile couldn't help but infuse the sound. He tightened his hand around yours are you continued your walk through the park. "Hm?"
"Does it bother you any?" You asked lowly, "that we haven't yet.. you know.."
"No," his reply was quick, unchanging in his pace and tone. He glanced to the side to see your eyes deliberately on the walk path.
"It's not.. "
"No, it's not lacking, Sweetheart," He huffed, proud he could already guess what you're thinking, and smiled at you, "I'm having an incredible time with you, just being around you. You looped your arm through mine on that second date and it still makes me smile."
Jack pauses his footsteps, halting your walk gently with a small pull on your linked hands. "When I told you I liked you, and would love nothing more than to wait for you," Stepping closer to you to see your eyes glance up at him, "I meant it."
Your free hand stroked up his arm as you sighed, nodding your head slightly. "Sorry, I had to ask."
"Because you feel as good as I do, or because something's changed?"
"The first, and it's … scary," you mumbled, tilting your head up at him with a smile.
"Terrifying," He hummed, "Don't apologize. Sorry is honestly something I will never need to hear from you."
Jack watched your shoulders drop slowly, as your eyes dropped to his lips for a moment. That half-lidded look has quickly become one of his favorite views. Cradling your jaw, warm hand covering your ear and moving your hair, Jack kissed you slowly, the touch solid and unhurried.