The Next Stage - 30. All About Timing

Not coming back until he was coming home was the goal, but when Ryan called and asked for help with his hotel fundraiser, Jasper couldn’t say no. Especially since his building project was mostly out of his hands now so he was sitting around missing his family with every fibre of his being, waiting for each day to pass and counting down until it would all finally be complete.

This time, Jasper allows himself a blissful three days. One for looking after his nieces and nephew while Grace goes to the doctors, and one for family time with Jasmyn. They had plans to take her to the beach and see if she liked it before the cooling off period for the sale of the land is lapsed. The last day would be for relaxing and pretending he didn’t have to get back on the plane and leave again.

For once, Ryan wanted the media to be all over them and he knew Jasper would have no trouble making that happen.

It started with Jasper tweeting for the first time in months, to say he was on his way home and that there would be a huge announcement coming soon. Ryan retweets it, tagging the airport and saying he’ll see him soon.

The couple have people intrigued, sharing and commenting on what they think is happening. By the time Ryan is leaving for the airport there is already multiple speculative media articles suggesting things from 'Jasper and Ryan Adoption Surprise! (A source close to the couple tells all!)' to 'Jasper Leaves Ryan After Fame Starved Jealousy'.

Ryan takes a photo of the arrival board for the flight and posts it so everyone can easily work out which gate he's waiting at. He'd also posted a photo of himself dressed and 'ready to bring my heart home.' with no costume on to hide himself this time. After all, this was only half a family visit, publicity did also play a role. Ryan wanted attention for the hotel fundraiser. The more attention, the higher reach. He wanted and needed this event to be massive and fortuitous.

Ryan meets Jasper with an audience of cameras following their every move. So they make their greeting slightly more performative. Jasper dropping his things and throwing himself into Ryan’s arms like they hadn’t seen each other a little over a month ago. They play the moment like it’s the final scene of a romance movie and this is their happily ever after. Jasper manages cinematic tears of joy as Ryan holds him close and kisses him lovingly, much to the disgust of some of the people around them. Thanks to the stalking of media and fans alike, many onlookers are clapping and cheering for their beautiful reunion. It's incredibly inconvenient for all the passengers also disembarking from the flight.

The whole things is good practice for Ryan, who is hoping to audition for a part in the next musical to hit Broadway. Though between them, Jasper is the one nailing this show, complete with the tearful “I never want to be away from you again.” Ryan wipes away Jasper's tears and just kisses him again like he can't express his emotions with words.

As they walk through the airport, Ryan slips a hand into the back pocket of Jasper’s jeans. They knew exactly what they were doing. Jasper insists on carrying his own luggage, holding the heavy bag over his shoulder just so photos of his tense muscular arms can circulate the internet.

“It’s almost embarrassing how easy it is for us to draw a crowd.” Jasper whispers to Ryan.

“Why haven’t we been doing this the entire time?”

“Because there will undoubtedly be some kind of media orchestrated drama come out of this that will give you a headache and cause me to have a Twitter fight. We know this is how it’ll end.” Jasper smiles as Ryan gives a laugh, nodding and squeezing his ass through the back jean pocket. Not even attempting to be subtle about it. He didn't care if photos of him groping his husband in a public airport would also find its way into an article.

****

Jasper and Ryan love torturing themselves it seems. They go straight from the airport to Grace and Flynn’s house to babysit. Finding time for intimacy with one baby had been more than enough of a challenge for them, so being in a house with four kids, two of which were compulsively destructive, one of which was teething and the other was being moody and cold for reasons or something?

Although at the sight of Jasper, Ellie brightens up, running through the house to give him a big hug. Jasper lifts her up, spinning her around while asking if she’s been good at school and helping mum with the babies and who her favourite singer is. All of which she gives the right answers to. She’s being good at school. She is helping mum and she’s a great big sister. Uncle Jasper is her favourite singer. All the answers she knows will get her the best birthday and Christmas presents. She's smart enough to know Santa isn't the one she has to suck up to.

Grace kisses Jasper on the cheek, thanking him for being here for her and he tells her he loves her. In amongst the chaos of the twins, Jasmyn is peacefully sleeping in one of the cots. Jasper resists the urge to stare at her, and instead focuses on quality time with the toddlers that were trying to destroy his sister’s house. Of all the times Jasper questioned whether he wanted kids, and whether he wanted more than one, he could just about hear his semen packing up and leaving as he stopped these two from smacking the TV with hard toys, climbing up furniture to reach things they weren’t allowed to have and especially when Atticus takes his nappy off in middle of the lounge room to pee.

After only three hours at Grace’s house, he’s more exhausted than he had been on the building site. Still, he’s able to get them all outside at some point after Jasmyn wakes up, then the injury rates to the kids go up, while the household remains safe from damage.

Grace comes home and goes straight for a shower then to bed, while Flynn comes out to take over with his kids. Ellie talks him through every single second that he’d missed while he lies on the ground allowing Atticus and Bailey to crawl all over him.

Ryan sensed something was going on, and excuses himself to give Jasper and Flynn space to talk.

“Is she ok?” Jasper asks.

Flynn groans and runs his hands over his face. “I’m pissed that I couldn’t even be there with her. I had to sit outside being looked at like I’m a careless monster. They even took her aside to question whether I was forcing her to do it. I never want either of us in that position again. And before you say it, I know it’s my fault. I know I need to do better. If they had dude birth control pills I’d take ‘em.”

“Condoms aren’t that bad.”

“Yeah, it’s just the inconvenience of having to put them on...”

“Oh no. How terrible you have to stop and remember one thing. The horror. Meanwhile Ry and I need a full day’s notice and a meal plan before we can even look at each other with a twinkle of hope in our eyes. Don’t talk to me about inconvenience, privelidged straight man.” Jasper says jokingly.

“I’ll get the snip. But I just don’t know about the whole Beth situation. I kinda have to decide on that first.”

“So you haven’t decided yet?”

“Nah. I’m torn because I get why she wants me to donate and I kinda think it’s a cool idea but then on the other side getting my brother’s ex pregnant so she can have a kid that looks like him is, don’t hate me for saying this, kinda weird? Full respect to Beth, but I’m just not sure how I feel about it.”

“It was also weird when my husband got my sister pregnant so we could have a biological child together despite neither of us having a uterus, but we all got over that.” Jasper shrugs.

“You’re the worst person to complain to, you know that?” Flynn laughs.

“That’s why I’m a good friend to have. I’ll call your bullshit, every time.” Jasper winks.

“Just like Blake.”

“Mm, well I learned from the best.”

“How are you going with your meds and all that shit?”

“I’m taking them and they are doing their job, so I can’t complain.”

“Are you stable enough to get high with me some time?”

“When we’re not babysitting each other’s kids, absolutely.”

“Speaking of babysitting, will you keep an eye on Grace tonight? She’s going to the event, obviously. I just don’t know how she’ll be. You know?”

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's alright. More importantly, how in the fuck are you going to manage these four on your own?”

“Me and Els will be fine. The kids love her enough to still listen. You know it’s bad when you’ve got less authority in the house than your oldest daughter.” Flynn shrugs, grinning as he looks over at Ellie who is sure enough leading a game with the kids, while Ryan tries to keep up with the ever-growing list of random rules.

Hearing Flynn refer to Ellie as his daughter never fails to bring a smile to Jasper’s face.

"See, she's yours. Jasmyn is mine and Ryan's and Beth's will be hers. As long as the kids are being loved and accepted by the parents that truly want to raise them it shouldn't matter which genes made it possible." Jasper says, kicking him gently in the shin.

"It's not that I don't agree. I just feel weird about it."

"You're allowed to say no. You're not obligated."

"Yeah." Flynn sighs, staring up at the clouds in deep thought. "Atticus looks just like he did as a baby. I compare their baby photos and its uncanny. I'm going to therapy because my son looks like my brother and I find it hard to let myself keep them seperate in my head. I have nightmares." Flynn shrugs. "Now isn't the time. I have to take care of things in my home before I think about anyone else."

"That's fair, dude. Beth will understand if you can't. We all will."

**** 

Since Jasmyn is staying with Flynn tonight, Jasper and Ryan hang around until it’s time to get ready.

The fundraising event is set beautifully, staff working hard in the kitchens to cook the meals, other staff responsible for waiting on the attendees. Everyone looks anxious, and only Jasper and Ryan know the real reason why. Tonight was put together using all the talents of the homeless youths. Not only was this about raising money, but showing people the potential of the overlooked young people that needed employment.

This housing wasn’t meant to be permanent, just a stepping stone. A place to feel like home. Safe, secure, full of encouragement and love while teaching life skills to prepare them for the world outside these doors. If they could make a good impression, some of them may even have jobs by the end of the evening, putting them in a position where they can look for affordable housing to move into after a few secure paychecks.

Art pieces hang from the walls, all of which are to be auctioned off, and all of which are painted by a few of the creatively inclined residents of this new charity. This was all thanks to Jasper’s dad, who wanted to have the event come across as less of a ‘beg for money’ and more of a ‘show of potential’. Ryan had given everyone whatever time and equipment they needed to present themselves tonight. Many of the youths they’d only known for a week or so, but everyone came with a story of their past and the twinkle of a dream in their future. This was the opportunity to make dreams come true.

The guests begin arriving and it’s a mixture of high-profile faces and socialites with money to spend. It’d been an open invitation, with security guards and measures in place to ensure the safety of the vulnerable people inside. They knew with their public invitation to the event, that came with massive risk, but security were all over the block, ensuring that no one could even be within the radius of the building unless they had been checked for weapons and intent, along with registering their attendance.

All their friends had offered their help where possible, including Grace and Beth who helped decorate and were now having a girls’ night and enjoying the cocktails, knowing Flynn was in charge of all the kids at home.

The first hour of the fundraiser is just for mingling, guests arriving and finding Jasper or Ryan, if they were lucky they would run into them both, but Ryan for the most part was busy checking in on all the excited youths.

Jasper does bite his lip when he catches Elliott in the crowd, but he’s even more shocked to be tapped on the shoulder and turn around to face Damien.

“Hey!” Damien grins like they are friends and promptly pulls Jasper into a hug. Play along, the guy I’m with tonight is one od my sugar daddies and I promise he’ll donate,” he whispers and though absolutely surprised, Jasper fakes a smile and gives a hug he hopes doesn’t look as uncomfortable as it feels.

“Thanks for coming.”

“This is daddy. Daddy, this is my friend Jasper.” Damien steps back into the silver haired man's arms as he introduces them.

“Lovely to meet you, and for such a great occasion. I’m so pleased to see someone helping out. This kind of establishment would have made the world of difference to Dominic.” The man steps forward and shakes Jasper’s hand.

“Aw daddy, let’s not get dark about it. I only hope this stops people having to go through what I went through.” Damien, presumably known tonight as Dominic, gives a pathetically sad, pouty expression to the man and Jasper tries not to cringe.

“Where do we make donations?” The man asks and Jasper is relieved that after he’s told them, they both leave him alone.

Damien comes back and goes through the whole charade almost textbook style with other men throughout the night. Jasper was not judging anything but the rapid turn-over rate. By the fourth one, Jasper is giving Damien a knowing and comical glance at his watch, raised eyebrows and when Damien goes in for the friendly hug, he’s mocking him for being back again so soon. To his credit, no matter what he had to do with these men, he was bringing in money and for that, the ‘thank you’ Jasper says to each get more and more genuine.

“Hey, I’ve got you a drink,” Ryan passes Jasper a champagne glass with a fruity coloured drink inside. “It’s non-alcoholic. The kids assure me it's good.”

“Cheers, to a smooth start.” Jasper taps his glass against Ryan’s.

“We’re halfway to the goal just from walk in donations.” Ryan whispers, placing a hand on Jasper’s lower back.

“You’ve got Damien to thank for that. He’s introduced me to four daddies within an hour.” Jasper smirks and Ryan laughs, probably thinking Jasper was exaggerating.

"Four timing on a single night at one event is probably his idea of fun." Ryan laughs. "At least he's helping a good cause."

“Exactly. Are you ready for me to start the auction?” Jasper asks, finishing his drink in one go. Lucky it wasn’t alcohol.

“Yeah, absolutely.” Ryan takes the empty glass from Jasper who places a soft kiss on his lips, leaving the lingering sweet taste upon them before making his way through the crowd.

Standing on a small stage, Jasper takes a microphone and does what he does best, playfully engage with an audience. He thanks everyone for coming and gives them a laugh from a line ‘tell the media, my corruption tour 2.0 is well underway.’ He gives a brief description of the plans, the work that had already been done to prepare it and exactly what the funds raised tonight would contribute towards. The mood drops as he lists some of the ages, reasons for needing a home and experiences of those they were doing this for. It’s not in any detail, but it’s all the words that make people’s hearts ache with the want to help. He then goes through how the auction will work and rounds it off with “if you have any more queries, welcome home, you’re in the right place.”

There’s another laugh from the audience, as everyone is now more than ready to have throw some money at art. Jasper invites the first piece onto the stage and starts taking bids. They auction off the first 5 pieces of art, before taking a break to let the big spenders get a little more drunk. Ryan is out the back hugging a girl who is crying with pride that her painting had just been sold for $15,000. The artists would all be announced at the end of the night and a photo would be taken and posted of them beside their art pieces.

Jasper checks in on Grace and Beth who are drunker than they think they are and seem to be having a great time. Apparently, Flynn hadn’t made a decision about whether he would help Beth conceive or not so she was enjoying all the things she wouldn’t be able to if he suddenly said yes. Grace on the other hand is drinking away the confusion and guilt she felt over her own recent choice. Well overdue to let loose and dance, they give drunken goodbyes and stumble their way from the hotel while Jasper calls out to take care of each other.

Ryan finds Jasper again, slipping an arm around him and kissing him sweetly, enjoying that they were around company they didn’t have to worry about. When their lips part, a young couple approaches to introduce themselves.

“I’m Zeke, this it my partner Tyler,” one of the men introduces them.

The other man, gives them a nervous smile and wave. “Hi, I’ve been a big fan of you, since the band.” Tyler grins, looking honored when Jasper shakes his hand.

“Nice to meet you, we appreciate your support.” Jasper smiles politely.

“I wanted to let you know whatever the total is tonight, I plan to match.” Zeke states boldly, taking Jasper and Ryan both by surprise.

“Uh, that’s incredible. Thank you.” Ryan stares in shock.

“It’s my pleasure. We better let you get back to it.” Zeke shakes Ryan’s hand and Jasper’s again, then takes out his phone as Tyler asks if he could get a photo with the couple and they agree.

The mysteriously young and wealthy couple have barely retreated into the crowd before Jasper is google stalking them to find out they were both orphaned and through some building explosion and insurance payout they could absolutely afford what they were offering tonight. Ryan has to take his phone off him to send him back on stage for round two of the auctions.

Hours later the night is finally coming to a close and Jasper invites Ryan up to the stage with him. He passes Ryan the microphone so he can thank everyone for coming to his event and participating. The final donation count is already double their goal, and that’s before the kind promise to double the end amount. Ryan then excitedly announces that the night had been entirely worked by the homeless youths who would be benefiting from tonight and this charity, and finally he brings up the artists who’d sold their artwork tonight. His eyes shine with brightness as he congratulates everyone for doing their part, thanks everyone who attended, donated and supported this event.

When the event finishes, the new occupants of the building get together to celebrate a hugely successful night. Jasper finds it absolutely hilarious when after the cheers, Ryan is sending everyone off to their rooms with security guards going to each floor to make sure everyone is going to their designated rooms. Though there is kissing in the lifts and hallways, no one tries to sneak into another room, which is a relief. For a first night, Ryan had been dreading the possibility of things turning into an adolescent hormone fueled disaster. He sits before the screen watching all the security cameras, feeling like an absolute hypocrite when Jasper gets between him and the screen, mounting his lap.

“Well, now that the children are in bed, what are we going to do to celebrate?” Jasper leans in to whisper before running his tongue slowly down Ryan's neck and biting at his collar bone as he moves his hips with intent. Ryan tilts his head back, enjoying the way Jasper's lips trail up his neck again to press passionately against his. It's not long before the motion of their lips and tongues is matched with the needy bucking and grinding of their hips.

With an ounce of self-control, Ryan breaks the kiss to whisper breathlessly, “not that. Not here at least."

"Why not? Do you have security cameras in the security room?" Jasper asks.

"Well no, actually. Good point." Ryan laughs to himself, eyes scanning all over Jasper. “I miss you so much that when you’re here I just want to look at you forever. That's the only thing I like about you being away. It gets to be special all over again when I see you," he says with a gentle affectionate smile.

“Hm...” Jasper leans back a little, thinking out loud. “If you just want to look at me, then I could put on a show for you.”

“To be clear, I definitely want to touch you too.”

Jasper grins. “Oh? Anything else you want to do?” he teases.

Ryan groans, relaxing his head back. “Get off me. If we’re lucky, Beth and Grace will still be out so we will have the house to ourselves.”

Jasper had not moved so fast in a while, but the rare opportunity of an empty house is too good to waste.

**** 

Beth and Grace come home just before 3am, drunk and obnoxious though obviously trying to not be too loud. Jasper kisses Ryan and gets out of bed to see to the drunk girls that are pouring popcorn kernels into a pot.

“Good morning.” Jasper yawns, wandering over towards the kitchen.

“Oh J! You’re awake?” Grace grins, stumbling over to hug him.

“Uh-huh.” Jasper laughs to himself, hugging her back. “You smell like you had a lot of fun.”

“Did you know that Elizabeth has never had a wet pussy?”

“Excuse me?”

Grace gasps. “Have you not had a wet pussy?”

“I regret getting out of bed.” Jasper sighs.

“We had like, three wet pussy shots each. They are so good, right Beth?”

“Oh my god, so good.” Beth nods then ducks as the popcorn starts popping behind her with no lid stopping it from going everywhere. Jasper comes to the rescue, throwing a lid on the pot and taking it off the heat before the burning smell of popcorn can get the chance to set off the fire alarm.

With a massive bowl of smoke flavoured popcorn, Grace and Beth sink onto the couch, with Jasper bringing water over.

“I’m working on Flynn. He’ll come around to it. I mean, he wasn’t super on board for me being a surrogate, but he also got to see how it’s kinda changed nothing. Sure, I had problems early on, but I had hormones. He literally just gets to enjoy himself and you have to suffer the pregnancy, the birth, the post birth hormones and the foreverness of raising a kid. There’s no reason for him to say no.” Grace says before shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“I’m looking at other donors. Ryan has offered.” Beth shrugs and Grace shoots Jasper a look.

“Why not you?” She asks then immediately laughs. “Oh my god imagine our parents joy if you and Beth did end up having a baby together. That is almost funny enough to be worth doing.”

Jasper smiles. It wasn’t the first time that thought had crossed his mind and he wasn’t ruling it out, though he also didn’t want to be offering the option just yet. He loved the idea of Beth having a baby that would genetically be as close to possible to the dream she had back with Blake. If there was any hope of that happening, he’d not get in the way by offering something easier even if it is tempting to see what a baby between them would have looked like.

"I just really want a baby.” Beth sighs.

“Boy or a girl?” Grace asks.

“That’s not really a choice. It’s more up to the man, isn’t it? So, statistically speaking it’s more likely I’ll have a daughter given the between the two hypothetical donors there are two girls and one boy.”

Grace squints. “Jazzy doesn’t really count.”

“How so?”

“Well, I guess, maybe she does? I was swaying for a girl in the early months...”

Jasper cuts her off with a harsh ‘Shh!’

“You were what?” Beth gasps.

“By the time she was conceived you weren’t swaying. Jasmyn is a girl because of the same old luck everyone else has. Please don’t mention it to Ryan.” Jasper looks to Beth with a hopeful desperation.

“How were you swaying for a girl?” Beth asks in a whisper.

“Diet, trying before ovulation so the boy swimmers die before they can reach the egg. Shallow insertion. Basically, all the things they tell you reduce the chance of pregnancy which is why we stopped swaying for Jazzy. The failed attempts weren't worth it. OH! No orgasm. That feels like a metaphor. Like the least exciting sex is more likely to grant you a daughter but if he’s going deep and making you cum, you’re more likely to end up with a boy.” Grace shoves another handful of popcorn in her mouth with little care for the oversharing that Jasper and Beth just had to live with.

Jasper takes a long sip of water to avoid having to say anything after that, but a drunk Beth has a follow up question. “Were you swaying for a girl for Ellie or was her dad just hopeless at sex?”

Jasper spits his water out in an uncontrollable laugh.

“He was of the opinion only men have orgasms and women just make it up for attention. Actually, I was so pleasure shamed that I couldn’t let myself relax enough to enjoy things with Flynn the first few times.”

“Yay for being sexually repressed. I don’t miss those days.” Jasper comments.

“I’m so proud of you J.” Grace sighs. “You must have had to overcome a lot to be with Ryan.”

“Mm, weird to think you two were getting drunk at a queer youth housing charity that my husband and dad set up together. The universe is full of weird happenings.” Jasper muses as he lies down on the floor, sitting bolt upright in a panic as his hand lands on a toy that with a child’s voice says, “I love you!”

“Oh no! Jazzy left her doll here!” Beth falls off the couch over-reaching for it.

“It talks? The creepy doll talks? Fucking nope.” Jasper recoils from it while the girls descend into giggles and mock him.

**** 

It’s a beautiful sunny day at the beach for the little family. It’s only when they all get in the car, packed up and ready for an adventure together that they realize this is the first time the three of them have gone out to do anything together as a family.

This of course, means that when Jasper puts a post on Twitter of his husband, shirtless and standing waist deep in gently crashing waves, with their daughter on his hip, the two of them pointing towards the horizon at a boat. With the photo he writes 'Watching these two is the most breath-taking view', he is once again trending.

When Jasper joins them in the water, Jasmyn is going absolutely wild smacking the water and giggling her head off as it splashes all over the place. The water is so clear that when she stops hitting it and it settles again, she can catch sight of the tiny little fish that were swimming around their legs. Then she’d go into crazy splash mode again at the sheer excitement this was all bringing. Jasper and Ryan grin as they watch her enjoying the water.

“I think she’s going to love it here.” Ryan says, looking up to find Jasper’s eyes are on him, with an adoring smile across his lips. “What?”

"Just trying to think of how to say that I love you, in a way that is strong enough to properly convey what I’m feeling. Because it feels bigger than those words.” Jasper admits. Ryan smiles and without a word, he steps closer, slips one arm around Jasper and pulls him close for a sweet kiss, while Jasmyn’s attention turns to smacking their faces. Ryan lets go of Jasper, not breaking the kiss as he turns Jasmyn around so she’s backwards on his hip and can’t reach them. This starts a tantrum, but Jasper and Ryan just smile as they kiss. Even a screaming baby wasn’t going to ruin the moment.

Jasmyn is exhausted by the time they get back in the car and finally head home to Beth’s. She doesn’t even wake when Jasper carries her to her cot and when he puts her down. Jasper takes a few minutes to stand over her cot, looking in at her little face that even the weeks since he’d last seen her, had changed slightly. Her cheeks still adorably chubby, yet something about her seemed less babyish than before and he couldn’t work out what had changed other than he’d simply missed her and felt the strain of knowing she’d just keep on growing no matter what. Seeing Ellie might have had something to do with it. Though he’d seen that girl heaps over the years, it hit him that everyone was growing up around him and the people seared into his memory as precious infants were walking around shouting instructions at people and looking after all the other babies.

He didn't want to blink and see Jasmyn making up rules to games and keeping the younger kids around her in line. Time never stopped moving and he hated missing such long chunks of time.

**** 

“Hey! You’re back!” Leo grins, walking over to Jasper and wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug, giving him the safety to crumble, though Jasper stays strong.

“You know how after Jazzy’s birthday I told you I wouldn’t go home again unless it was to stay?” Jasper groans into Leo’s shoulder. “Fuck I wish I kept that promise to myself. I almost didn’t get on the plane. In fact, I resent the pilot for taking off.”

“Did you at least get laid?” Leo asks.

Jasper pulls away, rolling his eyes and walking over to his bed, dropping down on it. "I went home to babysit for my sister, MC for my husband's charity, and spend time with my daughter."

"I'm sure you found time."

"We found time once, but it wasn't quality so much as it was opportunistic. You know? I mean, it was great and even a quickie is better than nothing, but I'd like to be able to enjoy something instead of rushing to be done before we have to be somewhere or see someone or become too tired to continue. Are you going somewhere?" Jasper frowns as he notices Leo's bag on his bed.

"Uh, yeah. I have to go home. In was just waiting for you to get back first."

“Why, what have you done now?”

“Accidentally slept with the president’s daughter.” Leo shrugs, glancing at his things.

“Accidentally as in you didn’t know she was the president’s daughter at the time, or as in you didn’t intend on sleeping with her?” Jasper frowns.

Leo pauses, looks over at Jasper and gives a shrug. “Let me rephrase it. I slept with the president's daughter and he found out.”

"Was there any point during the process that you thought, after being caught blowing one of his guards the other week and getting beaten for it, that maybe you shouldn't fuck his daughter? Or do you just switch off critical thinking whenever you get a boner?" Jasper asks. Leo laughs, though he knows Jasper isn't amused. “Was she worth it?”

“Oh, god yes. Her dad was furious because he thought she was a virgin, but that woman knew what she was doing.” Leo smirks then catches the unimpressed expression on Jasper’s face. “Are you going to be ok without me?” Leo asks.

“I’m going to have to be. I know I’ll be less concerned about you if you’re not here, so there’s the bright side I guess.” Jasper shrugs.

“I’m really sorry. I know it was a stupid thing to do.”

Jasper tunes out the apology out of an irrational amount of frustration and selfishness that Leo is ditching him. As if being away from home wasn’t hard enough, let alone being away and alone. This was going to suck. But there was nothing he could do. Leo had come over as a companion, not an employee. He didn't owe it to Jasper to stay and behave himself.

“I’ll see you soon though, right? When does the building officially open?” Leo asks.

“Another week for everything to be safety approved and for furniture to be set up and then I’m staying for the first month to see how things run.”

“So, you should be home in less than six weeks?”

“If everything goes to plan. If.” Jasper stresses.

“I’m proud of you.” Leo smiles, walking over and wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug again.

“Text me when your home so I know you’re alright.” Jasper orders.

“I am really sorry I’ve let you down.”

“You’re only human. How many years have we worked together? You were bound to fuck up eventually. Pun intended.” Jasper shrugs.

“Stay safe, alright?”

“You too.” Jasper smiles as Leo steps back. Without another word, Leo gives a wave and rushes out the door, leaving the room much more silent than Jasper can bare. He sits on the bed for a moment, thinking back over the short and busy visit home. He closes his eyes, holding himself together and taking a deep breath. “Six more weeks. I can do this. Just six more weeks.”