Wes found out pretty quickly that Jackson was a pretty chill dude. He guessed that now that the lock no longer had to sit there sweating bullets over whether or not Wes would actually try, he could finally unwind and finally relax, maybe for the first time ever. 

And Wes, ever so gratefully, didn't have to worry about the lock breathing down his ass all the time.

While Jackson was still there first thing in the morning, he'd just drop Wes off at work and then he'd go off to do his own thing until Wes got off work. After that, they mostly just hung out and either his apartment or Wes' - if they were at Wes's apartment, they'd both just watch tv together. If they were at Jackson's, Wes would get shitfaced and babbling away at the tv, with Jackson would either be working on paperwork or cleaning his guns. Either way, they'd be sitting together on the couch.

The books said they needed to spend as much time alone as possible so their bond could strengthen, something that would happen both when they were actively working on it and unconsciously. The fewer people they had around them - the fewer minds Wes had to get distracted by - the quicker they could build up their bond. Proximity was a big factor. Technically, they were supposed to be in a 'locked in' pose, which meant forehead to forehead, but that was a little too much for Wes, so Jackson was willing to settle for them just sitting real close on the couch together.

He could feel it, their bond getting deeper day by day. 

The way he could describe it was with strings.

When you first made the bond, you reach out with strings thinner than hair, and with every passing minute, another hair thin string would wrap around that one. Adding, adding, adding. Meanwhile, the earlier strings were becoming stronger, going from hair, to rope, to steel. It wasn't such a strange feeling anymore, not so foreign. 

To Wes, it felt like he was able to finally stretch out his legs after having been sitting down for a while. Felt good. Felt right.

When Wes asked Jackson what he felt, he explained it as feeling grounded for the first time in his life, like he finally had his feet fully on the ground, or like the fog was clearing and he could finally see what was around him. 

He figured once - or if - they did the drop, it would be a whole different sensation. He had been sort of reading up on it, but hew as still firmly on the fence about it.

Right now, he could still break their bond without leaving permanent damage to either of them. From what he understood, they'd still feel like shit afterward and the whole process would be very painful, but he could saw through all the strings still if he really wanted to and Jackson couldn't do anything about it.

The drop was way more permanent and more difficult to break unless one of them died. Wes couldn't withdraw from Jackson's mind unless Jackson released him, and according to google, a lock only released their keys under extremely unfavorable circumstances because it wasn't worth the damage left behind by a broken bond. At least, that's what his five minutes of reading told him.

He was a bit scared to read too much about it, so he just didn't.

Things were actually pretty great right now - dare he say, even awesome.

Jackson pretty much maid all of Wes's meals, bought all his groceries - he was even trying to offer to pay his rent, though that was where Wes drew the line. When they went out, Wes got to act as stupid as he wanted because he had a six and a half foot, two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle absolute fucking beast as his shadow.

And yeah, people took notice, and yeah, that made Wes cocky as fuck.

Everywhere Wes went - no matter where Wes went - he entered with a shit-eating grin and a peacock strut. 

He couldn't really explain it, but somehow, a paired lock and key gave off some sort of energy that normal people picked on. They picked up on an unpaired key and an unpaired lock as well, but they really picked up on a bonded pair. He'd be waltzing down the aisle in a grocery store and people would actually stand a little straighter and turn to look at him. 

And they'd just have to look and the two of them together and know what they were. they'd all get this look, this 'oh shit' look. Some would get a twitchy smile, others would step away, the hot-headed few might even scowl. All Wes would have to do is glance their way and they'd flinch.

They all flinched.

And yeah.

Wes got off on that.

It felt pretty fucking amazing being someone that others recognized as being big shit. He wasn't sure if it was because he was a key or because he had Jackson one step behind him, but either way, he enjoyed it. A lot.

He had drawn a line in the sand over Jackson poking around in his dreams though, and while Jackson promised he wouldn't do that again without his permission and insisted he hadn't done it aga, Wes didn't really have any way of knowing if he was being turthful. 

He never saw Jackson again in his dream, but he always got a weird feeling of being watched.

Though frankly, he kind of felt that way all the time now, even when he knew Jackson was heading home. He could be out wandering the streets at two am, looking for a partner or a drug store to buy some cheap booze, and he'd feel like someone was watching him very intently.

He felt almost like he was being stalked.

He hadn't been able to find anyone, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

To pacify his grandpa, Wes had given him Jackson's number and the two were now texting, which was something Wes wasn't sure if he was entirely happy about, especially since his grandpa seemed to be telling Jackson all sorts of shit about him.

Upside, now Jackson knew all of Wes's favorite dishes to cook. Downside, Jackson also seemed to have been told all sorts of stories - most unflattering - about Wes, and now the older man made references that Wes wasn't sure he appreciated. Wes was sort of hoping to stay the shiny hero in Jackson's eyes for a while, but now the other man knew him a bit closer to he truly was.

But he supposed he had wanted that, hadn't he? He had wanted Jackson to have a realistic view of Wes, so his expectations would be low enough for Wes to met and maybe even exceed.

So he should be happy that Jackson knew the truth about him, or at least, had a better picture of it.

And Wes guessed Jackson was...still happy to be with him. He seemed happy, anyway. More comfortable. More settled.

He figured that was a good sign - it had to be.

Wes wanted to be encouraged by it, but he was afraid of allowing himself to get excited - that meant he'd just be majorly disappointed, and frankly, he wasn't interested in that sort of hurt. Not again.

But he was already excited.

Wes thought he was enjoying this all a little too much. He could recognize that. He might be pretty oblivious - fuck, willfully oblivious, eve - but he knew he was getting too used to this new lifestyle.

It all sort of hit him at once at a really random minute.

He had gotten up in the middle of the night for some water and he had opened his fridge to see it was fully stocked, and that's when it just hit him all at once.

He had gotten comfortable. He had allowed Jackson into his life, and he was enjoying the companionship. 

Wes didn't want to lose it.

It stuck with Wes all day and even affected his mood, which Jackson seemed to pick up. the lock was starting conversations, something Wes usually did. He was trying to drag words out of Wes, but Wes just wasn't giving him anything to work with.

Wes shrugged. Scrolled on his phone. In the car ride back to Jackson's place after work, Jackson even tried to hum along with the music Wes choose on the radio.

When Wes felt the distinct sensation of anxiety vibrating through their bond, he sighed and started to pound his forehead against the passenger side window, which only seemed to make Jackson far more anxious.

"I'm just not feeling it today, man!" Wes said loudly to the window. "I'll get over it in a bit, but calm down. It's got nothing to do with you."

Jackson was quiet at that for a minute. "You're lying."

Wes turned his head to give Jackson a sharp look. "What was that?"

"I can tell when you're lying."

"Doubt it." Wes said shortly. sticking his tongue into his cheek as he looked back down to his phone. It'd been weeks since he'd had a good lay. He'd just been so occupied with hanging out with Jackson, he hadn't felt the itch to find someone else...but boy did he feel it today.

"It's a feeling through the bond," Jackson said over the music, Wes's gaze slowly lifting to stare out the front window as he suddenly started listening very intently. "It's like...a vibration."

Wes's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Like...the wrong note is being played in a song you know by heart." Jackson frowned, but nodded. Wes pursed his lips. "I think I can tell when you're lying as well." He mumbled, thinking back to a few days ago when Wes had helped out with dinner and ended up burning the sauce. Jackson had assured him it was good, and that was when Wes had felt it - a strange vibration, like his brain was recognizing something was wrong.

Wes sighed and sunk lower into his seat. "I guess I'm just feeling weird cuz we're...I don't know." He said, rolled his eyes and shrugging. "Getting along better than I planned for."

"Is that a bad thing?" Jackson asked lowly, cautiously. 

"No...it's just...unexpected." Wes clicked his tongue and turned off the music, sighing again. "I don't like being surprised by shit." He said stubbornly.

"Nor do I."

Wes turned his head to look at Jackson. "We're having fun here, Sonny boy." Wes said, using the nickname he often used with Jackson. "I guess I just don't want it to stop being fun."

Jackson smirked then, chuckling. "It's only going to get better, Wes." He said, grinning now. He glanced toward Wes and Wes frowned to keep from smiling. "We've only just started to have fun."

Wes sighed for a third time, this time silently. He licked his lips and turned his head to look out the window as they pulled up to Jackson's building.

When they got up to Jackson's apartment, Wes went straight for the couch and flopped down while Jackson told him that Wes's grandpa had asked if they were jogging together yet. 

"We should do that." Wes said easily. "I've actually been thinking about hiking - there's this trail about a twenty-minute drive here that looks pretty nearly." He glanced over to Jackson to see the other man watching him with a pleased little look. "We could try it together, or whatever."

Jackson's smile blossomed across his face. "I'll try anything you want, Wes."