As soon as he heard the knock on the door he leapt to his feet, scooping to pick up an overloaded satchel along the way. He opened the door and smiled as he stepped out into the hallway with Jack. The older man was now dressed in a long sleeved dark blue sweat shirt that did up at the neck - but that was left undone - and beige pants as well. These were thhe clothes he'd worn to work the day before, but didn't change into before chasing off after Daniel.

"Oh?" The colonel frowned, wondering what was going on that Philip was greeting him in the hallway - bag in hand.

"Grae's home. I thought we could go back to your place?"

"Oh, um, sure." Jack said, a little taken aback by the sudden change of plans. It wasn't quite the 'home- coming' he was hoping for and he was caught a little off guard. "Do you have to get anything else?" It was hardly an 'overnight' bag in his hand.

"Nope," Philip indicated to the handle in his hand. "Got it all here."

The older man shrugged, trying to look okay with the news that 'without discussion' they were heading to his place instead. In fact, he considered it now, even without a 'hello' from the artist. He told himself to let it go, that the argument with Daniel, where he felt their friendship ebb away even further, was making him feel a little shaky. Still for some reason, Philip's approach to the situation sat uneasily with him, even if he knew it shouldn't.

Trying to lighten his mood, he said, "If we're intending to eat at my place, we're going to have to stop along the way."

Philip nodded as they trotted down the dark stairwell together then headed out into the late afternoon rain.

Inside the car, Jack waited for the younger man to latch the belt across his lap then he looked up and saw Philip smiling at him.

"What?" The younger man asked.

"You look //weird in my car// good." Jack said, starting the engine up. Philip touched his hand to his chest, feeling the softness of the black sweater he was wearing.

"Thanks." It was an unexpected compliment and had the artist a little perplexed.

Jack steered the car to the local store to buy the groceries. He'd already stopped at the Drug Store on his way to Philip's to get in some supplies, preferring to use his own rather than Graham's left-overs. Now he was glad he'd done that as he and Philip wandered through the grocery store together. It meant they avoided the embarrassment of having to go into a Drug Store together to purchase the products, always a dead giveaway to one's intentions for the night and a clear indication to people in the Store that they were 'together'. In a place as small as Colorado Springs, Jack avoided such tell-tale signs.

Buying groceries was a different matter. He watched Philip saunter along the aisle, picking out products for a dinner he promised to cook for Jack on the way to the store. Without a cart or basket the artist carried them in his own arms, juggling them easily while Jack collected a few staple items like coffee and sugar that he was getting low on, dropping them into a wire basket in his hand.

He was at the milk counter when he ran into an acquaintance, an old Colonel he knew from before his retirement. The crusty old man had an eye as sharp as an Eagle's and the sort of gravelly voice that indicated vocal abuse over far too many years. If Daniel wanted to meet a true homophobic - this was the man! And he was able to spot tell tale signs between his men at a hundred paces, or so Jack was told. He was never on the receiving end of that look, having settled with Sara by the time their paths had crossed. Yet the legend concerned him now, especially now as - out of the corner of his eye - he could see Philip was heading over towards them, head down as he tried to recall all he'd need for the recipe in his head. The colonel's anxiety lifted slightly the closer the unsuspecting younger man got to him. All the time Jack carried on the polite conversation, smiling and laughing at the appropriate times, but ever aware that Philip was getting closer.

"Excuse me," Philip said, implying to Jack to step aside so that he could reach the milk. Grabbing out a gallon he headed off again, with absolutely no indication that he knew Jack at all. The colonel, grateful for that, turned back to the conversation, wishing it would soon end. Last he saw of Philip the young man was at the counter, smiling and laughing as he talked to the checkout girl.

By the time he'd finished the conversation, Jack knew Philip would be out of the store. He gathered his bag full of groceries, went to the car and was surprised to see he wasn't waiting for him. Dropping the brown paper bag into the boot, he wondered where Philip had gotten to. Suddenly another bag was dropped into the boot beside his and Jack looked up to see the brilliant smile on his young lover's face. Without a word they got into the car and headed off.

"Well, that was.. interesting." Jack started the conversation as they made their way to his house.

"Would you have rathered I checked with you first if we needed milk?" Philip grinned, all too used to having to play these kinds of games.

"No," Jack said, turning the car into his street. "Thank you," he said, realizing he didn't sound too grateful.

"As I told you last night, you of all people know the importance of not showing your sexual slant - especially in public and especially to brutes like that guy! Sheesh!" He shuddered then shrugged, "Besides, I drink a lot of tea, you only got one pint and I'll go through that like.. " He clicked his fingers. Jack gave a sort of smile as he pulled the car into his driveway.

"Here we are! Home, sweet home."

Philip leaned forward in his seat as he unclasped his seatbelt. He looked over the front of the L-shaped house, the manicured garden and then the man that belonged to all of it.

Without a comment he got out of the car, headed to the boot and waited for Jack to open up so that he could get the groceries. The colonel was frowning at the younger man's lack of comment to his house. Still, he didn't say anything as he got his bag from the boot and then led the artist up the drive to his home.

Philip looked around as he stepped into the pristine house - still extremely tidied from the time Jack went crazy with anxiety over Daniel and dusted and wiped every nook and cranny in the place.

The artist's eye was immediately caught by the expanse of windows that allowed the light and garden into the house. Bright and airy, and tinted with green from the light bouncing off the outside garden, Philip instantly liked the building. He followed Jack into the kitchen and placed his bag on the bench. Jack turned to him and frowned, realizing how strange it was to see Philip in *his* surroundings.

"You, um, want a drink?"

"Sure." The younger man nodded, shoving one hand into his back pocket of his well fitting black denim jeans. "What do you have?"

Jack raised a brow slightly. "Soda, beer, whiskey..."

"Water?" Phil offered with a cheeky smile.

"Well, yes I do, but it hasn't been blessed..." Jack said, pulling on the fridge door to open it. Philip laughed, flinging himself against Jack's back as he reached around him and grabbed a beer from the shelf.

"I'll have one of these instead," he said into Jack's ear then pressed a light kiss onto the cheek before pulling back. He barely noticed the lack of response from the older man.

"Cool," the colonel made the same selection then shut the door, following the artist back into the dining area. Philip's hand skimmed the furniture then he looked at Jack.

"Nice."

The older man gave a small smile then took a sip of beer.

"Is this where you and Sara brought up Charlie?"

"Uh, no."

"Oh," Philip nodded, thinking that the house reeked of a 'family home' - a lot more than it reeked of Single, White Male.

"Have you been here how long then?" He asked, casting an eye over the wall hangings.

"A little under 3 years now." Jack was curious about the questions. "Why?"

Shaking his head, Philip said, "Nothing."

The colonel wasn't sure if he was still a little on edge over the incident with Daniel earlier or the near miss in the store but he was getting a weird feeling off Philip.

"You want the tour?" He asked a little sharply.

"Yeah, sure," Philip said, not noticing the tone as he stepped up beside Jack. "That, by the way, is an incredible view," he said, pointing over his shoulder to the large dining room window that overlooked the pristine garden in full bloom. The rain had everything looking lush and green.

"I get out there as much as I can," Jack said coolly, heading along the corridor. "So that was, of course, the kitchen and the dining room," he said, as they reached a T-junction at the end of the hall. There was a railing for stairs that led down to the basement in front of them.

Philip leaned over and pointed down. "What's down there?"

"Basement. Full of junk." Though it did get a thorough clean out over the days that Jack was avoiding Daniel at all costs.

"Oh." Philip nodded. He'd love a basement to make into a studio. One day, he'd get that, he promised himself. One day. Without a word he pointed to the corridor that went off to their right. Jack shrugged and went to the first door.

"Study." He opened the door to the tidy, clean room. Again, another victim of the Tension Induced Spring Clean.

"Guest room." He opened the next door to a room decked out with a strange looking bunk bed that had a double sized bed for the bottom and a single sized bed for the top bunk. Everything else was neatly stacked in there.

"And on this side is the study," he said as he opened the door. The desk was cluttered with folders and papers, but everything else was in its place.

"The bathroom, which," Jack said, stepping into it then through to his bedroom from it, "leads to my bedroom."

Wordlessly Philip looked around the bedroom. The bed, while large, was headed with just a wooden headboard, nothing fancy. The cupboards on either side of the bed were made of the same wood, as was the wall of wardrobes on the far wall. Burgundy sheets and quilt furnished the bed and thick drapes hung at the bay window, pulled back to revel plain scrim at the window. Everything about the furnishings and the furniture screamed a conservative touch - such a direct contrast to the home Philip lived in.

The young man said nothing but looked around then at Jack, whose eyes crinkled just a little as he headed to the door leading to the hallway. Outside the room Jack mumbled, "Why do I get the feeling you're disappointed in my home?"

"Not disappointed," Philip said, tucking one hand into his back pocket again as he held the beer with his other. "I just... Did you decorate this yourself?"

//Not disappointed? Yeah, right!//

Scratching at his cheek, Jack shrugged. "Well, I guess. I grabbed a few things from the other place.."

"After the divorce?"

The colonel halted and stared at Philip. "I'm not divorced. Just separated."

The artist wondered about the strange tone to Jack's voice. There was definitely an edginess there and he wasn't sure if he'd said or done something to put it there. Before he could even ask, Jack had continued the conversation.

"I only bought things as I needed them," he told him. Philip nodded.

//As he needed things. Jack's life was pretty uncluttered - unlike his own. //

The artist looked around as he commented off- handedly; "You can tell a lot about a person by the place they live in.."

"Oh, really?" That sounded like something Daniel might have said to him.

Philip ignored the taint of sarcasm in Jack's voice as he said, "Take this place. It's clean, tidy..."

"Anal.." Jack offered with a slight 'put-out' shrug as he tilted his head back, looking at the artist through partly squinted eyes.

"No, I never said anal." Philip shook his head as he pointed to Jack with the hand holding the bottle.

"But it's not artistic and cluttered like your place is..." The colonel argued levelly.

"Well, you and I live in completely different places, Jack."

//Worlds, more like// The colonel thought. With a sigh, he started to tug the bedroom door closed.

"I told you last night I was old," he said, wondering if the cracks were just more noticeable in the light of day, or if they really were that wide all along. What was he thinking, dragging this out with this kid?

"You're not old, Jack. You're a little conservative, but that has nothing to do with age!" Philip said honestly as he tapped the base of the bottle against the sweater Jack was wearing, leaving a little wet crescent on the dark material.

The colonel looked down at the mark on his top. "I like things to be neat, no clutter." He swiped at the mark a few times with his hand.

Rolling his eyes, Philip rocked on his heels as he muttered, "Then my place must have been torture for you!"

Jack looked up and saw the younger man for probably the 'first' time since he met him in the hallway of the apartment building. He blinked a few times, looking at the handsome face, the smoldering dark eyes that seemed to reach right down to his soul, and the mouth that hadn't told him anything but the truth and a few words of wisdom since the moment he'd met him. As he felt his heart lodge itself into his throat he suddenly knew why the words had stalled on his lips in Daniel's laboratory.

In a voice softened by happy memories of the night before, he told him, "Your place was anything but torture for me.."

Philip laughed softly again then looked down, glad to see the resolve on Jack slacken slightly.

"That's, ah, that's...," he said, nodding as he lifted his face to look at Jack, his smile softening as his voice lowered to a husky whisper, "that's *really* good to hear.."

Jack held the intense stare a long moment, seeing the smile twinkling in the darks orbs and realizing he was returning a pretty goofy smile of his own. A warmth flooded through him, much like the one he felt most of last night whenever he looked at Philip. It was hard to explain, but it made it all feel so 'right'.

More at ease now, he pointed to the bottle in the dark hand and asked, "so, are you going to drink that, or just fondle it?"

Suggestively, Philip arched a brow as he brought the bottle to his lips, parting them slightly as he pushed the tip of the neck past his bottom lip and sucked back a mouthful. He arched his throat and his Adam's Apple bobbed as he swallowed the amber liquid. Jack rolled his eyes at the playful come on then he groaned loudly.

"You and I might have different taste in decorating but it seems we agree on a few *vital* things.." he said, staring at the lusty eyes.

"Yeah." Philip's smile broadened. "Like you give great head."

Stammering because of the unexpected retort, Jack laughed.

"I'm not sure I 'agree' about that.."

Philip touched the bottle to his bottom lip as he said, "You should. You do!" before tilting the drink and sucking back another mouthful. He watched as Jack turned a very slight pink color them smirked as he removed the bottle from his mouth.

"Best I've had in years," he told him as he gently nudged him with his shoulder.

The colonel's brow arched slightly as he said, "Years, huh?"

With a affirmative raise of his brow, Philip nodded. "Uh huh," he said, bringing the bottle to his lips once more.

"Ah." Jack nodded, mesmerized by the way Philip's pink tongue touched to the tip of the bottle as his lips parted slightly to accept it.

After pursing his lips together to swallow the drink, Philip then said, "Your hands might not be creative Jack, but that mouth of yours is certainly incredible!"

//Yours isn 't too bad either!//

"And here I was thinking you liked me only for my looks and brains.." The older man retorted playfully.

"Oh, they are definite pluses." The cimmerian eyes shimmered lustfully. Jack grinned then blindly reached behind himself, turning the knob on the door behind him and letting it open with a faint creaking noise. Phil's eyes shifted to the slowly opening door then to Jack.

"Why Jack O'Neill, we haven't finished the tour yet..!"

Jack jutted his head towards the room. "There's something I need to show you in here first," he said.

Philip nodded then stepped into the room, looking back over his shoulder at the colonel. "And that would be..?"

"How creative these hands can be-" Jack said, his dark eyes twinkling wickedly.

"Oh?" Philip pursed his lips and nodded, putting the half empty beer bottle down onto a nearby chest of drawers then shrugging, "I'm always up for new things."

Jack stepped in front of him and Philip held his hands up. Instinctually, the older man pressed their palms together, then, taking their entwined hands he wrapped his arms around Philip's waist as he stepped him back across the polished floorboards. "You being up for it will definitely help," he purred into the other man's ear.

Philip chuckled then flopped back onto the soft bed, feeling the weight of Jack as he crawled over him. Staring up into the colonel's eyes, he touched his hand to his cheek. "Would it be wrong if I told you I missed you today?"

Jack shook his head then turned to kiss the palm. "Why would that be wrong?"

Philip watched as his hand traced the deep line down Jack's cheek, then his fingers skimmed over the thin bottom lip. "It might scare some people off," he said candidly.

Jack's hand slipped up the flattened body beneath him and came to rest on the chest, feeling the hard nub and small ring under his palm.

"I don't scare off easily. Maybe I should have warned you of that..?"

With a smile, Philip looked up into the dark eyes. "I'm glad."

A shy, almost nervous smile flittered across Jack's face before he reached down and kissed the dark full lips, effectively re-igniting their relationship. He could taste the beer on the other man's tongue as he brushed and tumbled his own against it. As he started to pull back, Philip cupped the back of his head and pulled him down again, hungrily devouring the mouth as he pressed Jack onto his back and crawled on top of him. Securing a knee between the beige thighs, Philip rubbed his awakening groin against Jack's hip as he plundered the mouth with an eager tongue.

Jack was no slouch in the response department either. Already harder than he'd ever been, he arched off the bed, trying to brush against the body hovering above him. Philip tugged at the top, lifting it off Jack effortlessly and then he rubbed his face in the tuft of hair on his lover's chest, his breath already a raspy sigh.

Jack groaned, his hands gripping the head moving across his chest now, licking and sucking at his skin. Lightly teeth bit the hard brown nubs on Jack's chest, alternating between them as he rubbed his groin against the straining one beneath him. Jack tangled their legs and with a quick twist, had Philip pinned to the mattress, lost amongst the pillows at the head of the bed. The two men grinned wantonly at each other as Jack brushed the long dark hair our of Philip's eyes. The younger man tilted his face quickly, licking at Jack's wrist then gently nibbling at his thumb and palm.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked, laughing slightly at the man trying to eat him.

"Not for food," Philip said, suddenly moving and pressing Jack back onto the bed, landing heavily on his chest. Undeterred, he instantly licked across Jack's slightly parted lips then they met in another lascivious kiss, breathless from exertion and arousal.

Jack squirmed under the body rubbing against him until he'd maneuvered himself to be on top of Philip who was now on his stomach. He proceeded to divest the younger man of his top as his hands glided up the strong back, over the olive skin and over his head. He dropped the top onto the bed beside him as he sat over Philip's thighs, his hands rubbing over the butt in the tight pants then onto the warm skin, following the straight valley up to the nape of his neck. He reached forward placing light, feathery kisses along the spine, making Philip arch and squirm at the tender touch. With his hands above his head, the younger man twisted within Jack's thighs to roll onto his back once more. The colonel smiled down at the Adonis beneath him now, his hands running over the stringy trail of hair from the tops of the jeans and onto the chest peppered with short, dark hairs. Reaching forward, Jack licked at the soft skin, his tongue trailing a pattern through the hairs then he made his way to the small silver ring, tonguing at it then tugging on it with his teeth.

Philips arms wrapped around Jack's shoulders and his fingers dug into the freckled flesh as he gripped tightly and pulled himself up to reach Jack's mouth. They kissed passionately again, until Jack broke the kiss with small, lighter ones as he hugged the younger man closer to him. Soft sounds of hands slapping naked flesh filled the room as they dug and grappled at each other, trying to pull even closer than was humanly possible as they devoured each other in more hungry kisses.

The telephone beside the bed jangled, startling them both from their lust induced haze. Jack looked up but Philip cupped his hand over his cheek and made him look down again.

"Ignore it!" He whispered salaciously, his tongue darting out to lick the partially parted lips. Jack stared into the black shimmering pools and reached down to devour the mouth once more, ignoring the incessant phone. The ringing stopped but neither Jack nor Philip noticed as they kissed on.

The ringing sliced through the air of the silent house once more and Jack lifted his face off the hungry mouth beneath him.

"Shut up!" He hissed at the phone, making Philip laugh. The younger man gripped the dog tags and tugged him down onto him once more. They met in another noisy hungry kiss, both moaning lustfully, until Jack finally lifted his face, clearly distracted when the phone stopped once more. Whoever it was knew he had an answering machine and was hanging up just before it kicked in. When the ringing started for a third time, Jack reached one arm up to pick up the cordless receiver. Before hitting the 'on' button he looked down at Philip pinned beneath him.

"I need to get this," he said regretfully.

"You have a machine," Philip said, running his hands all over the chest above him then straining up to suck at the nipple.

"Yes, I do but whoever they are aren't letting it go to the.."

The machine kicked in this time: "You've called for a reason. It's your dime so leave a message. "

*Hi Jack, it's Sam. Are you there?*

Philip trailed his finger tip around Jack's tight nub. "Who's Sam?"

"Captain Carter is one of my team members."

*Janet and I are thinking of heading to the 'Bull and Bear' and we wondered if you'd like to meet us there?*

"He's busy!" Philip called out to the machine. Jack looked down at him then playfully bit his bottom lip ever so gently. Philip returned with a series of light licks at Jack's mouth and tip of his nose, all the time sighing softly.

*We're getting concerned about you and Daniel, Sir,* she added the 'sir' as an afterthought.

"Who is this woman again?" The artist asked, laughing gently at the persistent caller.

"I told you, she's one of my team members."

*And I think you both need to sit down and discuss how you feel... I mean 'really' discuss how you feel - Sir."

Philip shuffled out from beneath Jack now and he stared at the machine before looking at Jack. "She knows?"

The colonel nodded slightly.

*We have to go to P3x4111 on Monday and you know that we'll be sharing tents and I just have to wonder if you and Daniel are going to be okay ..."

"P3x...? Sharing tents?" Philip asked. Jack looked at him then shrugged.

"I'll tell you - later."

Raising his brow, Philip looked at Jack, who was now listening to the phone message.

*I think it's about time you came clean with Daniel, Colonel. If he knows how you feel...*

"God, who 'is' this woman? Your wife?" Philip sat up, dragging his knees to his chest.

Jack screwed his eyes shut tightly as he muttered, "I believe, in an alternate universe, she is!"

Philip gave a half hearted smile at that comment, but more at the dreaded tone in Jack's voice as he said it. Biting his bottom lip he watched as Jack hit the button on the telephone in his hand, picking up the call while he stretched out and switched off the answering machine.

"Carter," he said, then went quiet as he listened to her reiterate what he'd just heard. Philip slipped himself off the bed, grabbing up his top as he headed out of the room. Jack watched the trim ass go and then ran his hand through his hair as he returned his attention to Sam's call. "I can't make it tonight.. No, dinner would not be better for me... Sam, I'm.. I'm busy. I'm having dinner with a friend tonight... Yeah, well, contrary to popular belief, my life does not revolve around the damn SGC," he hissed then realized how harsh he was sounding.

He listened a good while longer, before cutting in on her again, "Look, Carter, I'm aware that we have to go to P3x-whatever on Monday and I know that Danny and I usually share a tent.. " he gave a heavy hearted sigh then said, "Look, you and I can share a goddamn tent and he can bundle down with Teal'c. It's only for one goddamn night! Good. Well, now that I've solved that dilemma, can I get back to my guest please?.. No, I don't think so. Okay.. Cart..," He screwed his hand into a fist as Sam invited him to the pub 'after' his dinner, even telling him to bring the guest with him. "I won't be taking my guest to the pub this evening, because this is not the sort of thing I need to be discussing with Daniel in *front* of my guest.. okay? Good! Now, you and Janet have a lovely night out, I'll see you on Monday. Oh- six-hundred hours, don't forget Carter!"

He put the phone on the cradle again, then noticed the light flashing, indicating he had a message. He hit play and a smile crept over his face as he heard the soft voice of his lover on the tape. After he'd played the message through he reset the machine to pick up all calls on the first ring, then he turned to volume to 'mute' and left the room, looking for Philip somewhere in his 'conservative' home!

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