Wow we finally moved away from January 1st haha.

Also! Cover!!

And sorry about not posting for a while. I just got back from being out of the country and I have had no energy to do anything. 

But now I'm back! :)

So.

Now to begin the search for Jack.

Will David be able to find him?

Let's find out ;)

Enjoy! :)

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David tries not to let his life flash before his eyes as the plane lands roughly. Of course, he doesn't know how to fly a plane, so he really can't say that he could do it better. But surely, in the 21st century, pilots would understand how to land better? 

It doesn't matter though, really. David's heart is just beating fast because he really wants to find Jack.

It would definitely be easier to find him if the Wikipedia article on Roundhouse listed his name in blue words so there would be a link David could click on...unfortunately not. Wandering all of Seattle until he finds Jack it is.

It's only after he leaves the airport when he realizes how little of a plan he has.

And once again, the same seed of doubt makes its way into his mind: is Jack really here? Can I really find him?

How do I know for sure that he didn't run away to Santa Fe?

Sure, it's been decades, but David knows Jack. He's sure that Jack wouldn't give up on Santa Fe so easily.

Unless...

...He had something to stay for.

David bites his lip.

Back in 1899, David was Jack's reason to not go to Santa Fe.

Without David...

...Well, there's really nothing to stop Jack from taking off, right?

However, David remembers Dutchy saying that Jack talked about his band a lot, the DSM-4, and said that he considered them family. So maybe they were family enough to keep Jack tethered.

David just hopes that tether is there and he's not searching blindly for a needle in a hay stack.

Fortunately, he is able to do a little research on Jack's band. He's listening to some of his band's music too. And he does enjoy it. He didn't really get into grunge in the 90s because he didn't really understand punk rock, but he actually likes what he's hearing. Maybe he's biased because he knows that Jack was a part of it. 

Yes, David is aware that in 30 years addresses can change. He himself didn't change addresses because he couldn't imagine leaving the home where Antuninu let him in all those years ago.

So maybe trying to find the neighborhood where the DSM-4 started won't give him the answers he wants. But it will be a start.

David knew that Washington was the rainy state. He just never imagined that it would be this rainy.

The blue filter in Twilight was completely superfluous.

David didn't watch Twilight on his own free will. When he had a couple friends in the 2000's, they thought it was funny to watch it. David will never get that time back.

But did Jack stay in Seattle? Could he be anywhere in the state?

Could he be in Santa Fe?

David wishes he knew the answers to his questions.

He takes a deep breath. He will find Jack. He has to.

Because he doesn't know what he'll do if he doesn't.

Finally, he arrives in the neighborhood that the internet told him the DSM-4 originated from.

He wishes he had a plan.

The internet didn't tell him the address, which, fair, but that means he'll have to knock on a bunch of doors.

People. Ugh.

Why, why must he interact with people?

He perks up when he hears music a few houses down.

Is that what attracted Jack to the band? Hearing music?

So he works up his courage and walks closer to where he heard the music.

He sees a few kids, young teens, blasting music from one phone, singing loudly.

David wants to sigh, roll his eyes, and walk away, but then he hears some of the lyrics that he remembers hearing earlier.

They are listening to the DSM-4's music.

And if there's one thing David has learned about teenagers in any decade that he's been in post-1899, is that they are incredibly good at stalking their idols.

David understands what it looks like to have a 50 year old man walk up to a bunch of young teens. He also understands how just walking up to them and asking them questions isn't seen as normal behavior either.

He really wishes he had a plan.

But then he realizes something: they are playing one of the songs that he listened to the most.

And so he takes a leap of faith, and sings the next line along with them.

Their heads all snap to his direction, eyes wide. But instead of looking at him wary with distrust, they look excited, because he is singing along with them. They sing louder at him.

Smiling with relief, he walks closer, singing the words he knows, stumbling over what he's less familiar with.

They start dancing at him, and, on an impulse, he does a little dance back, which makes them cheer and him smile. They continue through the whole song until David is basically at their yard.

The one with the phone pauses the music when the song is over, smiling, a little out a breath. "That was awesome!"

David smiles.

"Did you listen to this music a lot when you were our age?" another teen asks curiously, making David feel even older.

"I uh...yeah," he lies, feeling bad about it, but he doesn't know how to explain the situation he's in. "So...you guys like the classics, huh?"

All three of them nod enthusiastically.

"I really like this band," the third one pipes up. "I may be a little biased since I'm the nibling of one of the members, but I think they had pretty epic music in general."

David's heart beats faster, excited. "Wow, that's so cool! So you must talk to them pretty regularly, yeah?"

"Yeah I see Ancle Rats regularly," the kid responds. "Pyro likes to come for Thanksgiving and Christmas and birthdays. Ghost isn't around as much as they're traveling the world, which, fair. I see Cowboy every once in a while, but he's kind of become more of a recluse lately."

David's heart picks up. Cowboy.

Jack.

"Do you know where he is now?" David asks hopefully.

The kid shrugs. "I don't, sorry. We never really know where Cowboy is gonna be until he has an idea of where he wants to be or until he just shows up, you know?"

"You could check Pike Place Market," the one with the phone suggests. "Many of the 90s grunge bands have long-lasting friendship with the people there, and some are still willing to take photos and sign autographs for fans."

"Thank you, thank you," David lets out a huge sigh of relief. "I'm going to head to Pike Place Market now."

"Good luck finding your boyfriend!" one of them calls out smugly as David walks away.

David stops and turns around quickly. "What?"

All three of them look at him innocently. "What? It's kinda obvious."

"Are you the Davey that Jack can never shut up about?" the nibling of Rats asks.

David nearly chokes. A lump in his throat forms. "Yeah," his voice cracks with emotion. He smiles. "Yeah, I am."

The one with the phone smiles brightly. "Then I hope you find your man, Davey."

David thanks them again, waves, and turns to leave, on a mission now.

He is going to find Jack.

He's been at Pike Place Market for three hours now, and no sign of Jack. Aside from that disappointment, David's actually not been having a bad time here. The people are nice, they are selling a lot of cool stuff, and he can really tell that this is a community. Also the tossing of the fish did scare the daylights out of him, but it was cool regardless.

His only thought when he sees the gum wall is and I thought spitting into your hand before shaking was disgusting.

Finally, he recognizes that he won't find Jack here.

And so, disheartened, he leaves, and wanders aimlessly through Seattle.

He's starting to lose hope. 

Of course he figured that finding Jack was not going to be that easy, but he still hoped that he could find him.

And that's when he notices it.

A bright neon sign across the street that says in red cursive letters: Cowboy's Saloon.

His jaw drops, smiling wide in disbelief. He can't believe his luck.

Of course that's Jack.

You can keep Jack out of Santa Fe but you can't remove Santa Fe from his soul.

He starts running immediately, only one thought in his mind: Jack. Jack. Jack.

He could get hit by so many cars. 

And yet the only thought in his mind is how he has to get to Jack as soon as possible.

David frantically opens the door, searching with wild eyes for Jack. He sees a red bandana and almost gets hysterical, but then he realizes it's a guy in his 20s or 30s in a waiter outfit. All the waiters have bandanas. The more he looks he realizes they have bandanas in every color of the rainbow. As well as tie-dye.

And that's when he sees the man behind the bar. Looking around his age, wiping out a glass, a red bandana wrinkled from use and age around his neck.

David smiles.

His heart beats fast. Suddenly, nothing exists but him and the man behind the counter.

Jack still hasn't looked up yet, but smiles brightly in David's direction. "Howdy and welcome to the Cowboy Saloon! What can I get for you today, partner?"

"You."

Jack looks up and drops the glass.

David smiles. "Hi, Jack."

"David?" he chokes out, eyes wide in disbelief. "Is it...is it really you?"

What can David say to ensure Jack that it's him?

A thousand sweet memories come to him. He can say any of their soft loving words to Jack. But none of them seem right.

Finally, something comes to him.

He says, "Headlines don't  sell papes. Newsies sell papes."

It did the trick.

Jack's face crumples. "It really is you!"

Before David can do anything, Jack jumps over the counter and hugs him tightly. "David. I missed you so, so much."

David hugs Jack tightly too. "I missed you too."

Jack pulls away so he can caress David's face. "I...how?"

David chuckles. "I wish I knew."

Jack decides they can catch up verbally later. He grabs David's wrist. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" David laughs as Jack takes him down the hall. "Where are you taking me?"

They go into a little closet. Jack closes the door behind them.

"I've been wanting to do this for 34 years," he murmurs, and kisses David.

David kisses back with all he's got.

They'll catch up fully later.

But for now, this is what they need.

And through their kissing, all David can think about is how he's whole again since he's found Jack.

Sure, he would have loved to have found Jack sooner.

But having this specific moment, right here, right now?

It makes David not want to change a thing.

And so they continue to kiss, finally reunited after years of waiting.

There is no pain or hurt here in this moment. No years of suffering. Nothing else matters. It's just them, in love, reunited at last.

It's all they ever could have wanted and more.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Y'ALLLLL I'M EMOTIONALLLLLLLLLL

Also I've been listening to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri on repeat.

I'm not a fan of Twilight, but it really is such a good song.

I...have forgotten every single thing I wanted to put down here haha.

Did the headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes hit as hard as I hoped it would?

Pike Place Market is really neat, y'all. You can really feel that it's a community. And you're supporting local people instead of huge corporations. The tossing of the fish can be startling if you aren't expecting it but it's really fun to watch.

Also it almost got shut down like 50 years ago to make way for more corporations because the higher-ups didn't see the value in it, but like every single person in Seattle fought to keep the market alive, and so it still is. What a power move.

So any time David says "I wish I had a plan" it's not just him who wishes he had a plan. It's me too haha.

Also I don't hate planes or flying or pilots. Both my parents are pilots and I basically grew up on airplanes. It's just really funny to me when people really show their lack of understanding of how planes work and complain about things and worry about safety when planes are safer than cars. "I could land better than that" oh yeah? Were you aware that there are foot pedals in planes?

Huh, I am nearly at 2000 words. I was struggling for a while not gonna lie.

Over 2000 words somehow.

I hope you liked this chapter :)

Also good news! I do in fact have an outline now!

See you on the next chapter :)
(when I post it haha)

Please, no homophobia or transphobia, profanities at other users, hate etc in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who cannot believe they are graduating this week)