Classified
by zillah

So one day Jack looks around the SGC and decides that it's time to walk away. He puts a hand on Carter's shoulder, squeezes firmly and tells her that the team is hers. He signs some papers, cleans out his office and goes home.

Retirement's not so bad, he tells Daniel when Daniel gets back from a mission on PX7 something or other with SGC-23. Daniel laughs and kisses Jack's nose. Whatever makes him happy, he says.

Jack decides that he's going to build a new deck and he tears down the old one and gets tired of the project halfway through. He drinks beer on the observatory platform and waits for Daniel to come back from work. His life is very mundane. Daniel can't talk about his work anymore. Jack doesn't have the clearance any longer.

Daniel gets up in the morning and kisses Jack, his eyes half-closed and his hair sleep-rumpled. Jack smiles at him and watches as Daniel gets ready to go to work. Most mornings he gets up as well and dresses in running clothes and takes a long jog. Sometimes though, he doesn't get out of bed for hours and just stares at the ceiling wondering what he's supposed to be doing.

Six months go by and Jack doesn't touch the deck and there's snow and Daniel mentions casually that maybe this spring they should hire someone to finish it. Jack grunts his agreement and has another beer. Daniel kisses him gently behind the ear and tells him that free time takes getting used to and launches into yet another story about what he did when he was ascended. Jack tunes him out after Daniel starts to talk about playing practical jokes on System Lords.

It's a slow life and Jack doesn't really know what to do with himself. He loses himself in soap operas, caring more about Carly and Jax than about Jack and Daniel. He discovers the joy of baking and burns a tray of cookies. Teal'c comes to visit and eats the burned cookies happily. He loves them that way.

Daniel brings him home a puppy as a surprise, thinking that Jack would like the company. Jack smiles and pets the dog, decides to name him Homer. Jack and Homer take runs in the morning and sleep together at night. Daniel is never home anymore. It's classified.

Jack drinks a lot of beer and paints the hallway brown and green. Daniel jokes that he's trying to camouflage their home. Jack wakes up late at night, nightmares about past missions haunting him. Daniel isn't there to comfort him. Homer licks his nose though and Jack falls back to sleep.

Daniel mows the lawn and Jack trims the hedges. He's long past caring what his neighbors think and he kisses Daniel on the lips before going inside to get them both a beer. Homer chases Daniel around the back yard and Jack watches them from the unfinished deck and thinks that maybe things are okay. Daniel turns and catches Jack's eye, waving to him before tackling the dog.

Jack is alone for three weeks while Daniel is on Chulak with Teal'c doing something - it's classified - for the Jaffa rebellion. Jack decides he hates the words classified and flies to Minnesota and goes fishing with Homer. They catch no fish and Homer turns out to be afraid of the water, but Jack isn't sitting at home thinking about Daniel.

A year passes by and Jack doesn't know what he did with himself. He looks around his home and understands why people die so soon after they retire. Daniel rubs his back and makes him a cake for his anniversary. Jack doesn't tell Daniel that he's bored.

Thor comes for a visit and scares the crap out of Homer. Daniel offers Thor coffee which Thor declines while making a joke at Daniel's expense. Daniel just laughs and takes the dog out back so he'll stop trying to hump Thor's chair. Jack and Thor commiserate about retirement and Thor promises to go fishing with him in a few months.

Sam gets married and Jack dances with Daniel at her wedding. Daniel's never lived anywhere other than Jack's house since he descended years before, but most people ignore what is in front of their face. Jack sees shocked faces in the crowd, but doesn't care. He's never danced with Daniel before.

Jack has coffee with Hammond and calls him George. They laugh about old times and pretend that they're both not bored out of their minds. Jack admits how hard it is to deal with classified now that he's on the other side of it. George clasps his shoulder and tells him that it doesn't get better. They part ways and Jack promises to bring Daniel over for dinner when he's back from work.

Jack tosses a stick for Homer, sitting on the top step of their now-finished deck. Daniel sits next to him, their bodies touching from shoulders to hips to knees. Jack turns his head to smile at Daniel, getting a smile in return. I'm glad you're here, Jack says. Daniel just leans his head against Jack's shoulder and nods.

Life is slower than before, Jack decides. But he's growing to like it. Besides, the people he cares about are still around - even if their lives are classified.