Lincoln’s chest warmed at the sight of his reddened cheeks; he tapped his foot anxiously again “Certainly…are you cold in here?” He chuckled softly, utilizing his free hand to gesture to Jack’s face. “I can add another log to the fireplace if you need.”
Jack shook his head a little. "I'm fine. But thank you." he replied with a small smile, thumb rubbing lightly over Lincoln's knuckles. "I…thank you for all your help, too. With…everything." he chuckled quietly, knowing that that wasn't very descriptive.
Lincoln squinted and tilted his head amusedly, “I think I get what you mean by everything. You’re welcome. I hope I can fix Tip for you…” he trailed off, unsure what to say next. He crossed his ankles, shifting sideways to face Jack better. As he moved, the loose strand of his hair had fallen in front of his ear again.
Jack nodded. "Me too." he replied. Without thinking, he reached forward and tucked the loose strand behind Lincoln's ear again. His fingers brushed lightly against the other mans skin, and he bit his lower lip a little, pulling his hand away after a moment.
He chewed on his inner lip at the brief, yet welcomed contact. He tilted his head towards his hand, at least until Jack pulled it away. He straightened his head, blinked his eyes back open. “Thank-Thank you,” he stammered, barely able to hear himself. This felt so unreal, maybe it was only a dream.
Jack gave a small smile. "Mm. You're welcome." he replied quietly. This was…surreal. He was sitting on a couch, in the early 1900s, holding hands with a man from that time period. It was…well, he was breaking the rules quite a bit doing that. He wasn't really supposed to encourage relationships with someone from the past, especially not someone of his own gender.
Lincoln’s exhale shuddered, and he closed his mouth to try and suppress it. If someone saw them, they could be arrested. And where they would be going tonight, that underground bar, would be even more scandalous and shunned upon. He didn’t see the logic in why it was so wrong, so why should he stop himself from seeking a romantic relationship like everyone else? He lowered his voice again, “I have a question…” he mumbled.
Jack looked at him with a light smile. "Mm. Go ahead and ask." He replied, rubbing his thumb along Lincoln's knuckles again. He looked at the other man with a smile, wondering what the question would be. What Lincoln was going to ask him.
“Do you…” Lincoln looked around just to make sure no one was around them, “…like me?” His ears went bright red.
Jack blinked. "That was…not what I was expecting to be asked." He admitted with a chuckle. "Uhm…yeah, I-I guess I do. But…I don't know you that well yet, so…" He shrugged a little. "But I do."
He smiled, and lifted his hand to his chin in thought “Ah..that’s good. I’m very..attracted to you. And I like you too.” He spoke through the gaps in his fingers. “And that’s why I want to get to know you.” He assumed his trembling was visible.
Jack smiled a little. "Me too." He replied. "But…maybe we should continue this conversation later? Not on the couch at your friends house?" He suggested, glancing around the room, then back at Lincoln.
Lincoln’s smile melted into more of embarrassment, “Oh, yes, of course. I’m sorry.” He abruptly looked up to the staircase and lightly pulled his hand away from Jack’s. “It’s just, sometimes it’s hard to wait for things. Like the newspaper.” He kept his gaze on the staircase, hoping that the footsteps he heard didn’t mean someone was coming downstairs.
"It's alright." Jack replied with a smile. He too had heard something, and put his hand on his knee. "And yes, I understand what you mean. Or when you are waiting for a letter to arrive, and it is taking longer than you thought it would."
"Oh, yes, that's a better example," Lincoln answered. He let his hand still rest in the space between them.
The creaky footsteps stopped at the top of the stairway, hesitated, then dissapated back upstairs. "Oh! Love, don't play with that!" Either the nanny, or the mother, must have been distracted by the little girl from earlier.
Lincoln let out his breath, "At least we have a few more moments."
Jack chuckled. "Mhm." he agreed, glancing at the stairs, then back at Lincoln. "So…" he sighed softly. "I don't know what to talk about now." he chuckled, shaking his head a little.
His glance fell from the stairs back to Jack again. He inched his hand closer. “Um, we could talk about Tip? You have it with you, right?” Maybe he had the time to examine it here. If anyone questioned it, he could just say it was a type of new pocket watch he was inventing.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I do. Protocol. Even if he isn't working, I have to keep him with me." he pulled the little device out of his pocket, and put it in Lincoln's hand. "Hopefully people will believe that." he chuckled.
He lifted the machine to examine it, “I bring my little inventions here all they time and they usually don’t question me about it too much. Unless they’re really interested.” He turned Tip over in his hand.
"Alright." Jack replied with a smile, watching Lincoln. Mostly for Tip. No, that was a lie. He was watching Lincoln for Lincoln, not just because the other boy was holding his way home in his hand.
Lincoln bit his lower lip in thought, brushing his thumb against the back of the gadget. “Hm, How do I open this up again?” Working with gears, machinery, his eyes brightened with focus.
Jack shrugged, then reached over and opened it for him. "Here." he replied with a smile.
“Aha,” he held Tip up closer to his face, eyes squinted and focused. “Well, I have at least a little better understanding than I did last night. These aren’t too dissimilar from the mechanics I use. It just looks different.”
Jack nodded a little. "Alright. And like I said last night, I'll help you with it in any way that I know how." he replied with a small smile, watching Lincoln.
“Thank you, I’ll need it,” he lightly chuckled, gingerly thumbing away one of the wires to get a look inside. “It’s crazy,” he breathed, “How something that seems so simple, that’s simultaneously family and foreign, can be so complicated as to manipulate a real life person through time.” he whispered.