Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jamie was at the kitchen table, talking to his mom when the alarm on his phone went off to give him a five-minute reminder for his daily phone call with Mason. With the time difference and their different schedules, they found it easiest to set a specific time for them to talk to each other which they had stuck to. There had been a few exceptions when one of them- usually Mason, though sometimes Jamie- was busy during that time, to which they rescheduled.

But Mason hadn’t asked for a rain check, so Jamie started to make his way to his room while his mom raised her voice to say; “Say hi to Mason for me!” as she had every time.

“Yeah,” he shouted back, bounding up the stairs.

The usual cold and drained feeling had deepened in his chest, building stronger and stronger every day he went without being with his soulmate, but hearing his voice over the phone and seeing his face through the screen helped to lessen the ache for a little while. Jamie would typically feel fine for the rest of the evening but he’d wake up with the underlining tired grogginess digging into him that would drag him down until he next talked to Mason for the temporary release. Every day he’d wake up feeling a little worse than the day previous and it would keep getting worse until he next saw his boyfriend, which would be in a couple of days.

Mason’s exams finished later than his- his last one was in less than 24 hours- and he would be coming home the day after that. Jamie was going to pick him up from the airport and cuddle him until he could breathe without a vice locked around his heart and lungs. He wouldn’t let him out of his sight until Mason would go to his sister’s apartment and see the rest of his family.

The anticipation of the balm for his aching heart was enough for Jamie to smile as he made himself comfortable on his bed, waiting for the call to come in. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey,” Mason greeted as soon as Jamie answered. He sounded tired and Jamie wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and hold him close.

“Hey yourself. How are things over there? Also, Mom says hi.”

“Um. Well,” Mason said, skipping over his mom’s greeting, and Jamie could tell from his tone that it wasn’t good news he was about to share.

“Mace? What is it?”

“I-I’m so sorry-”

A pit started deepening in Jamie’s stomach, cold dread seeping into his limbs. The rest of his sentence and the call could go in any direction and Jamie wasn’t given a clue as to what it would be. He had no idea where Mason was going with it and it worried Jamie. He sounded so regretful while everything had been fine on their last call and Jamie wondered what had happened since then.

Had someone gotten hurt? Was Mason in trouble? Had something gone wrong? Had someone pressured Mason into doing something he didn’t want to?

“Maso-?”

“-I don’t think I can come home for Christmas.”

Jamie fell silent.

That… wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.

Of all the thoughts and worries that flew through his head, that wasn’t one of them. He was preparing himself to hear the worst, but somehow this topped it. He wasn’t expecting to be denied seeing Mason for the holidays. He didn’t-

It was like the world had been pulled out from under his feet in the deafening silence following the rushed confession. Jamie was suddenly very glad that he was already sitting.

This was their first Christmas together as boyfriends and it was supposed to be everything he could’ve dreamed of- of kisses and mistletoe and cuddling and movies and being together. He’d been excited for their first New Year’s kiss. They’d always had the holidays together, ever since they met back in grade three when Jamie moved to Boise.

For the past ten years, they’d been spending their lives together. Before they went to opposite coasts for university, the longest they’d been apart was the month and a half Mason was in Mexico six years ago. Now they’d already been apart for four months- more than twice as long as that dreadful summer- and Jamie had been clinging to the winter holidays to get him through his exams. Jamie had even started a countdown the day Mason booked his flight into Idaho and there were only two days left. Mason and he had promised they’d see each other and his stomach churned at breaking that promise.

“Jamie?” Mason asked after he still hadn’t said anything.

“What?” His voice came out pathetically small and timid.

“I know, I’m so sorry.”

Despite the cold fear from not knowing what Mason was going to tell him, the ache deep in his heart from not seeing his best friend, his boyfriend, his soulmate since August, and the dread of not seeing him for even longer, a part of him still warmed at the knowledge that the time and distance between them didn’t change their relationship. Mason still knew he was responding to the news and not asking him to repeat himself.

His mind caught on the third realization, though; he wasn’t going to be seeing Mason until the end of the winter semester. He was going to have to go longer without the physical presence of his soulmate. It wouldn’t be impossible, but it’d hurt. It did hurt already, so much more now than before. It was like his heart was flushed down the drain.

“But-” He hated the way the single syllable cracked.

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

“Why? Why can’t-”

“Many reasons, I’m afraid,” Mason said and Jamie’s heart squeezed painfully. “There’s a storm heading for New York and we’re in its path so all flights for the next week have been suspended, one of my profs asked that I stay to work on a project I’m a part of, while another has assigned a paper for the start of next semester that requires resources only available on campus and in the library here.”

With every justification, the vice tightened a little more until Jamie felt like he couldn’t breathe. His bottom lip began to tremble and he bit down hard. It was like the whole world was against them, intent on keeping them apart.

“Jamie?” Mason’s voice was a comfort just out of reach. A warmth he couldn’t bury himself into. Not this time.

His breathing hitched.

“Oh, baby.”

Then the tears started to fall and Jamie let out a sob.

Mason spoke soft words in his ear and Jamie felt terrible. His wonderfully amazing boyfriend was comforting him when it wasn’t Jamie who couldn’t go home. Jamie had already been home with his family for a few days while Mason was still out on the east coast to finish his semester. He’d been with his mom, sisters, and Frank while Mason was alone, yet Mason was the one consoling him as he cried.

“Would facetiming help?” Mason asked and, through his tone, Jamie could hear how helpless he must be feeling.

Jamie whimpered. He moved his phone from his ear to hold it in front of him and then Mason’s face was filling his screen. A new set of tears streamed down Jamie’s face.

Mason looked worse than he sounded. There was a tightness to his body, tense from stress and lack of sleep. The bags under his eyes were obvious despite his glasses reflecting the light of his phone that usually hid the darkened skin. His exhaustion made his eyes dull and heavy and his hair was a mess. It was dark behind him and Jamie knew it was late.

“Baby,” Mason said sadly and Jamie wiped uselessly at his eyes.

When he caught his breath enough, he asked; “All of this happened today?”

Mason’s shoulders slump. “Yes. The professor who asked me to stay emailed me this morning asking me to go to his office to talk about the project along with the other students on it. The other professor sent his email while I was in the meeting with the first professor, and I didn’t hear about the flights until an hour ago.”

Jamie clasped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of his cries, clenching his eyes shut.

“I’m so sorry,” Mason apologized for the hundredth time and Jamie hated it. He hated how they were being pulled apart by forces they couldn’t control. He hated that Mason felt like he had to apologize for it.

Grateful that he was already on his bed, Jamie climbed under the covers and cried, staying on the phone until his eyes began to droop shut. They were puffy and tender from his tears and it hurt to keep them open.

“Go to sleep, sweetheart,” Mason said gently. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

“You don’t know that,” Jamie mumbled, but it sounded so nice. They hadn’t tried keeping a call on for the entire night before and he had to admit that he’d welcome waking up to Mason’s face and voice with open arms.

“You don’t know that I won’t. Plug your phone in.”

Jamie did as Mason did the same. He wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity. Not when he could feel his stomach starting to roll and clench as he thought about not seeing Mason until May.

“Are you feeling okay about your exam tomorrow?” Jamie asked, wanting to change the subject to something, anything, that wouldn’t break his heart further. “Should you be studying? Wait, no,” he frowned. “It’s late. You should be sleeping.”

Mason smiled gently at Jamie’s tired fussing. “I will be going to sleep as soon as you do. I’m pretty confident about the exam. It’s in the afternoon, so I’ll have time to do some last-minute review in the morning.”

They chatted quietly while they got ready for bed. Jamie unplugged his phone for a few minutes to bring it to the bathroom while he brushed his teeth and flossed. As he did, Mason changed- well, undressed. He stripped off his shirt and pants and climbed in his bed in just his boxers. In the few moments between him clearing his textbooks and notebooks from the blankets and climbing under them, Jamie appreciated the contours of his muscles highlighted and shadowed from the bedside lamp.

When they were both back in bed, Jamie put his phone on the pillow next to him and pretended that Mason was next to him instead of 2500 miles away.

He was about to drift off when he heard Mason say, “Goodnight, Jamie. I love you.”

“‘ l’ve y’too,” Jamie mumbled, the words barely distinguishable.

When Jamie woke up, he rubbed at his eyes and shoved away the urge to roll over and go back to sleep.

“Jamie?” he heard Mason’s voice say and his heart skipped a beat as his sleep-idled mind pictured Mason in the room with him for a second before he remembered.

“Mhmm?” he hummed, feeling around his bed for his phone. His fingers knocked into the corner and he was about to pick it up when it tumbled off the edge of the mattress.

“Wow, rude. You’re really going to kick me out like that?”

Jamie couldn’t help but let out a tired giggle at Mason’s mock-offended tone as he picked his phone up off the ground, checking the screen for cracks. He then looked at Mason’s image, which showed him sitting at his desk, a textbook open in front of him. “Hi, baby.”

Mason smiled at his phone. “Sweetheart. How’d you sleep?”

Unplugging his phone and sitting up, Jamie ran a hand through his messy hair and rubbed at his eyes. “Better,” he answered honestly.

It was the truth. Hearing Mason’s steady breathing for more than half an hour must have helped, along with the knowledge that if he needed him, Mason was figuratively right there. There wouldn’t be sending a text message and waiting for an unspecified amount of time for the possibility of a reply, all he would have had to do was talk to him. And if Mason was asleep, he’d probably wake up at his voice, which Jamie didn’t like the thought of. Mason hadn’t been getting enough sleep and Jamie would feel guilty about waking him.

He had gotten used to feeling a weight on his chest in the mornings, though it wasn’t as prominent with him waking up to Mason’s voice and pixellated face. There was the downside of the emotional exhaustion from crying so much the night before, but it wasn’t as bad as the toll from being separated from his soulmate.

“What about you? How long have you been up?”

Mason put down his book to give Jamie his full attention and smiled again. “Better,” he echoed. “I woke up two or three hours ago and there wasn’t a- what did you call it? An elephant on a bowling ball? Yeah, that’s it. There wasn’t an elephant on a bowling ball on my chest.”

Jamie groaned while Mason laughed. He’d said that once, when he was tired and it slipped out, and Mason hadn’t let it go.

“Why must you mock me so,” he cried dramatically, flopping back onto his pillows.

“Aww, Jamie,” Mason cooed. “You know I love you.”

Curling onto his side, Jamie cradled his phone in front of his face. “I love you too. Why haven’t we done this sooner?”

“Well,” Mason said thoughtfully. “I guess we didn’t need to until now.”

That’s debatable, Jamie thought to himself.

“But now we know we can do this, if we need to again.”

If? Jamie silently interjected again. Was Mason handling this better than Jamie was, if he didn’t think he’d need for another overnight call as much as Jamie? Jamie knew he was more emotionally driven than Mason and wore his heart on his sleeve too much, but surely Mason was affected by the distance as much as he was.

“Jamie?”

Snapped out of his thoughts, Jamie looked up from where he was fiddling with the edge of his blanket. Mason was watching him with a concerned expression on his face. “Yeah?”

“I lost you for a moment; where did you go?”

“Sorry, I just-” he was about to say he zoned out for a second, but he knew it was better to tell the truth. “You said ‘if.’”

Mason’s eyebrows scrunched together. “What?”

“You said ‘if,’” he repeated. “‘If we need this again.’ Do you think that you- that we won’t need this again? I don’t understand. Are you not…” He trailed off, averting his eyes. Not wanting to ask if Mason wasn’t as hurt by this as he was.

“Oh, Jamie. That’s not what I… I do think we’ll need this again. I know it will get worse and there are going to be patches where it will feel like we won’t be able to make it through, but we will. I know this will help us when we need it and I have no problem admitting that I’ll need the help. I guess- I guess I accidentally said ‘if’ because part of me thought that if we pretend it’s not so bad, it’ll make it easier. It was wrong, I know, and for that I’m sorry. Let me rephrase: Now we know we can do this, the next time we need it.”

“Okay.” Jamie smiled, satisfied with Mason’s answer. It did sound like an honest mistake. “Sorry for-”

“No, no. It was my mistake. Don’t apologize.”

“When’s your exam?” Jamie asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Mason gave him a look that said he knew what he was doing, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he looked at his watch and said, “In 2 and a half hours.”

“I should let you go, then, shouldn’t I?” Jamie didn’t want to stop talking to him, but Mason’s education was important and he was paying a lot to take his courses; the exam included. He really didn’t want to mess with Mason’s head while studying and throw him off, impacting his grade.

“Probably.” Mason didn’t sound eager to hang up, either. But that could be him not wanting to take the exam. Jamie wasn’t fond of his exams, and no doubt Mason’s were worse. By worse, he meant more challenging and stressful. “And you should have breakfast-”

Jamie must’ve made a face because Mason cut himself off to give him a look that he chose not to examine.

“I know this sucks- it sucks a lot- but you still need to eat. You still need to take care of yourself so you’ll be okay next time we see each other.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, half-heartedly.

“Jamie,” Mason said purposely. “I don’t want to find you half-dead when I see you in May. I’d like my boyfriend alive, thank you very much. Take care of yourself, okay? Promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”

Jamie was touched that Mason was still looking out for him despite being on the opposite side of the country. He didn’t feel like eating, but Mason asked him to promise him he would, so he did.

“Thank you.” Mason looked down at his textbook and notebook, then his watch, then back to his phone. “ Alright, I should go. Go eat and I’ll talk to you later. In like, nine, ten hours.”

Kissing his fingertips, Mason pressed them to his phone and Jamie felt its phantom warmth before mimicking the gesture. He almost said ‘I’ll see you soon’ like he had for the past week and his heart sank when he had to bite it back. Just like that, the tears were building behind his eyes again.

“I love you,” he said instead.

“I love you, too.”

And then the screen went dark as the call ended.

Jamie closed his fingers around his phone and held it to his chest, closing his eyes as a lone tear slipped down his cheek. He promised Mason he’d have breakfast, but he wasn’t in the mood for it, nor did he have the will to pull himself out of bed.

“Hey, sweetie,” his mom said when Jamie stumbled into the kitchen over 15 minutes later. “Are you okay?”

He paused with his hand on the fridge door, wondering what she knew and what she was asking about. Did Mason tell her? Did he look like a mess? He certainly felt like one.

“I heard you crying last night,” she explained.

“Oh. Yeah, um.” The lump was back in his throat. “Mason, um. He can’t…” He didn’t want to say it out loud. It would cement the idea. He wouldn’t be able to deny the night before and what Mason told him. He took a deep breath and said, “He can’t come home. He has to stay.”

He wasn’t looking at his mom, but he heard her quiet gasp. “At all? For the whole break?”

There were tears in his eyes again when he nodded, staring at the floor.

“Oh, baby.” She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug as he started crying again. “I’m so sorry.”

After the tears stopped falling, Jamie swiped some toast and dropped onto the couch in the living room. Without anything to do, he stayed there watching meaningless nothings on the TV until he was too bored to pretend to watch and turned it off. The silence then got to be too much and he turned on the radio as he messed around on his phone.

The next day was an echo of the first, passing in a slow, endless blur and he didn’t have any motivation to do something with himself other than laying draped on the couch. His mom made him go with her to the store to get him out of the house and for him to get some fresh air. He didn’t feel better, just colder from the winter wind.

The Christmas music on the radio- which he usually found uplifting- felt wrong and most of them made Jamie’s mood worsen. It seemed like all of them were about being with your significant other or soulmate, while others were about how it’s the most wonderful time of the year. It certainly didn’t feel like it. He had to turn off the radio when I’ll Be Home For Christmas came on. Then, after getting a look from his mom that seemed an awful lot like pity, he turned it back on and changed the station. Feliz Navidad wasn’t any better. It wasn’t about being with a specific person, but it was in Spanish and Mason spoke Spanish and Jamie was missing Mason. It was at that point he knew he was spiralling and subconsciously looking for reasons to not like the song selections, but he didn’t care enough to try and stop himself. Instead, he let it fester and grate at him like an itch.

Then, when he was back on the couch, there was this song that he hadn’t heard before, yet it caught his attention from the first line. The female artists somehow managed to capture the constant underlying thought running through his head. He stopped what he was doing on his phone to listen.

It was simple, starting with a light instrumentation and a background voice saying ‘to the one I’ve been missing.’ Then the first verse started and Jamie was already riveted somehow. The girl sang about not being around the person who the song was obviously about; the person she was missing.

It amazed Jamie how he related to and loved the song so much, without even hearing the full track. The line ‘you’ve been on my mind a million times’ was too accurate. It was like there was a constant stream of thoughts in his mind about Mason over the course of the semester, though he wouldn’t have been able to pick apart separate thoughts even if he tried.

Then, during the chorus, a different girl began singing about how she was ‘gone for so long’ and how much she needed ‘to show you just how much I love you this Christmas,’ and, fuck, it made his heart hurt.

He wanted to show his love for Mason- he wanted to so fucking much it hurt. He hadn’t been aware of his feelings for Mason around Christmas the year before, when they were still in high school, and he was really looking forward to being with his boyfriend. He wanted to shower him with kisses and hold him tight. He wanted- he needed to be with him.

The second verse had a similar theme to the first: how much she missed ‘you’ and how she wanted to make it up to them, by sitting by fires and dreaming together. The first two lines, in particular, resonated with Jamie and it made him sad, because he didn’t want to relate to it. ‘I feel too lonely to sleep, boy, when you’re on the wrong side of the world.’ He had been struggling with sleep recently with Mason so far away, and he knew it would only get worse without the physical contact his body had been craving for the past four months.

The other lines about there being no better gift than being together didn’t help. Spending Christmas with Mason was going to be the best gift he could’ve hoped for; no better gift, just like the lyrics said. The following line hurt; ‘Now that I have you here.’ No. No, he didn’t have Mason with him and his heart squeezed tight with grief.

The girl also sang about waiting all year to be with ‘you’ and Jamie was grateful that he didn’t have to wait a year, though it would be two-thirds of a full year when he next saw Mason. Even though it had only been one semester, it felt like he had been waiting forever to be with his best friend.

While Jamie related to parts of the song, other parts stood out because it was what he was wanting so much. He wanted to be with Mason and see the way the lights reflected in his eyes and lit up his face. He wanted to put up the tree and wrap presents with Mason. He wanted to enjoy the snow and the cold with him.

The ending of the song was the girls singing the lines ‘to the one I’ve been missing’ and ‘you’re the one I’ve been missing’ over and over, really driving it home that he wasn’t with the one he was needing. Mason was the one Jamie had been missing and he wanted to scream and cry and shout at the world for being unfair. It wasn’t even one singular thing that was holding them apart- Mason had been bombarded with three obstacles keeping him on the east coast. If it had been only one, they might have been able to find a way around it, but three?

The radio then switched to a fun, upbeat song about having fun during the holidays, and Jamie pushed himself up off the couch to hide away in his room.

Moping around the house as the days passed, Jamie felt worse as each morning dawned after a night without sleep. His body hurt and he felt sick, a constant churning in his stomach that protested being on the opposite side of the country from his matching pair.

Elisabeth and Ann Marie noticed that something was wrong, even though they didn’t understand what was happening. They’d tug on his pant legs, but instead of going to play with them, Jamie just picked them up and held them to his chest. They’d want to go outside into the snow, but Jamie couldn’t find the motivation to do more than sit on the back steps until his ass went numb from the cold.

Elisabeth once asked for Mason and Jamie had to leave the room before he started crying in front of her. His mom watched sadly, distracting Elisabeth for him, but she checked in on him not too long after. Frank still occasionally tried to get Jamie to participate in the dinner conversations, but his attempts lessened as the days passed. His mom was the only one who could get through to him. She’d sit with him, sometimes in silence, other times she talked quietly about little nothings and she never tried to pressure him into talking. Even texts and offers to visit from Brodie and Kellen couldn’t give Jamie the will to do or say anything.

For the most part, the only talking he did was on the phone to Mason and to his mom and the majority of his days were spent in his bed or on the couch. It got to a point where Jamie couldn’t find the energy to make it out of his room, even with the calls to Mason. The calls were the only thing keeping him tethered, though after they ended, all he could do was lay in his bed and stare at the ceiling until the light from the sunrise began creeping into his room. Only then would he drift off before waking up two or three hours later. With his lack of sleep, he quickly lost his appetite.

He wondered if it was the distance from his soulmate that was making him sick, or him just falling into a seasonal depression without his friend- one that would pass by the time classes started and he would be busy enough to distract him from how much he missed his best friend.

It was probably both, he thought. Soulmate bonds between best friends were the strongest bonds, and with it, the ones that hurt the most when denied. The platonic and romantic connections joined together to create something extremely difficult- though not impossible- to break, but when it bruised and tore, it was said to be the worst kind of pain imaginable.

Especially considering how long they’d been friends- all those years strengthening the bond they shared. The bond that now felt stretched to its limit.

He lay there in bed a week later, wondering how they’d get through another five months until Mason could come home when there was a knock on his door. His mom walked in after a few seconds of him just staring at the ceiling.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said, sitting at his side.

Her presence helped- his only full-blooded relative in the house- but not by much.

“Hi.”

She brushed his hair off his forehead and he leaned into her touch. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. My head hurts and my chest is tight and there’s a constant feeling that I’m going to throw up soon.”

“Well,” she started, using a tone that seems too casual to be casual. Jamie blinked and looked up at her face to see if her expression would give away anything. It was the same forced-neutral as her voice. “I got you something I thought would help.”

Ignoring the ache in his muscles, Jamie sat up. “Mom?”

She wordlessly handed him her phone and he watched her for a second longer before he looked at what she was showing him. In his dulled mind, it took a few seconds for it to sink in what he was seeing.

It was a confirmation page for an airline with the words Boise, ID to Newark, NJ.

He jolted upright, staring at his mom with his mouth dropped open. His hands tightened around her phone.

“You need to go to him,” she said, cupping his cheek.

He looked back down for all the information about his flight as he could get. “When-”

“You should be at the airport for check-in in just under two hours.”

Jamie leapt out of his bed, scrambling around his room. “Two hours?! I’m not- how- I don’t-” He forced himself to stop moving for a second to face his mom. “How long- when’s the return flight?”

She smiled softly. “Two weeks. You should have enough time to settle down when you return and take a break before you go back to school.”

He resumed his disorganized packing, now knowing how long he had to pack for, while his mom watched for a few minutes. Then she began to help, taking out the clothes he threw in his duffle bag to fold them and put them back in. He tore through the house, grabbing things he needed; his toothbrush and toothpaste from the bathroom; his sketchpad and pencil crayons he left in the living room; his phone charger, which, for some reason, was in the kitchen. He grabbed Mason’s Christmas gift from his closet and stuffed it in the bag.

He was already wearing Mason’s hoodie that stopped smelling like him months ago, but his mom took it to quickly wash while she made him shower. To his surprise, it was washed and dried by the time they had to leave, smelling fresher than it had in weeks. When he gave her a curious look, she gave him mini jazz hands and said, “Mom powers” as she did with the girls and Jamie when he was younger and Jamie laughed for the first time in a week.

He scooped up his sisters to kiss them goodbye and they giggled and shrieked, throwing their arms around his neck and he felt a stab of guilt that he had pretty much ignored them since The Phone Call. He felt lighter than he had in a long time, like there was helium in his chest, as he listened to Christmas music on the radio in his mom’s car without wanting to turn it off.

“I’m going to miss Christmas with you! And New Year’s!” Jamie said, suddenly realizing that he’d be out of state until after the holidays.

Taking a hand off the steering wheel, his mom reached over and took his hand. “You two need each other more than you need to be here, honey. The girls will be fine without you for one Christmas.”

“And you?”

She squeezed his hand. “I’ll miss you, but I’ll be okay. And you will be, too. That’s what’s most important right now.”

“I didn’t finish wrapping the stuff I got for the twins and they shouldn’t have to wait until after I get back-”

“-I can take care of that,” she assured.

“I haven’t wrapped yours or Frank’s either.” He added though he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He held tightly to her hand the rest of the drive to the airport.

After checking in at the desk and receiving his boarding pass, Jamie took a few minutes to say goodbye to his mom. It was sooner than he had anticipated when he came home from school. He wrapped her tightly in his arms and poured as much of his love as he could into the hug as she held him back just as tightly.

“Thank you,” he said, putting everything into the words. She squeezed him tighter then broke the hug, pulling back to wipe at her eyes and sniffling.

“It’s good to see some light in you again,” his mom said with tears swelling in her eyes again, brushing her fingers over his jaw and Jamie almost joined her in crying. He’d known that seeing him fall apart had hurt her, but he didn’t realize how bad it had been to watch him slowly lose himself.

“I love you,” he said, his eyes filled with tears.

“I love you too. Now go. Say hi to Mason for me.”

The familiar words resonated in his chest and he was filled with an almost-warmth at the thought of being able to say hi for her in person instead of through the phone. He bit back a grin as he made his way to the security line.

He texted his mom when he was through and while he was waiting at the gate, right up until he was on the plane and had to put his phone on airplane mode.

He hadn’t been on a plane before and nerves were twisting his stomach until he was strangling the armrests. Once the plane was in the air, however, he felt fine and he relaxed into his seat. The flight was six hours, so he put in his headphones and tried to sleep.

Jamie woke up over four hours later, surprised that he actually fell asleep but- taking into account his week-long insomnia- he figured it made sense. That and the fact that he was on his way to his soulmate lifted a weight from his chest.

During the last hour of his flight, Jamie was starting to feel more and more anxious about what was happening. He was really flying across the country by himself to a place he’d never gone to. Mason was waiting on the other end, but still…

Mason.

He hadn’t talked to Mason about visiting him and his mom hadn’t mentioned talking to him either. Would he be there when Jamie arrived at Princeton? What if he was out or if Jamie couldn’t find where he was. What if he was busy and didn’t have time to spend with Jamie? Oh god, what if he couldn’t take Jamie in for the two weeks and Jamie had to find somewhere else to stay or to go back to Boise before the two weeks were up?

Jamie stressed as he made his way through the Newark airport, following the crowd to the luggage claim and exit.

Turning off airplane mode, Jamie’s phone immediately began flooding with notifications that made his heart leap into his throat in his panic. He calmed down when he saw that most were from his mom; pictures of his airplane at the gate, on the runway, and taking off; a Take care, I love you text; and, a few hours later, directions on how to get from the Newark airport to Princeton University.

There were also two texts from Mason.

Hey, I’m done early, so I’ll just be in my dorm for the rest of the day if you’re wanting to call

Then around an hour later:

I guess you’re busy. Talk to you at our usual time xoxo

The messages from the two people he cared about most help calm him. He now knew where Mason was and how to get there. He sent a reply to his mom before following her directions, finding the shuttle to the university easy enough.

On the ride, he debated texting Mason back but his nerves had him hesitating until he was close enough that he figured it’d be easier to just find Mason on his own. From his texts, it sounded like Mason was having an okay day without something he had to do that night, which made it the perfect time for Jamie to show up unannounced. He hoped.

Once on the Princeton campus, Jamie stood there for a minute, taking in the view. Mason had said it was gorgeous and Jamie had seen pictures, but neither had done it justice. He had a brief moment of wanting to pull out his sketch pad. Pulling up a map of the campus, Jamie oriented himself to where he was and where Mason’s residence building was, then began walking in its direction.

The air was cold as it snowed lightly and Jamie pulled up the hood of Mason’s sweater, grateful for both it and his winter jacket he was wearing.

At the door to Mason’s building, Jamie had to stop as he saw the doors were locked and he thought back to his own campus that required student ID cards to unlock the doors and he cursed himself for forgetting something as trivial as a locked door.

Thankfully, someone was approaching where he was standing.

“Are you here for someone in this res?” The stranger asked once close enough, looking at the duffle bag hanging off of Jamie’s shoulder.

“Yes. Mason Viveros? I’m his-” he wanted to say boyfriend, but he didn’t know how accepting people were here so he settled with- “best friend.” It wasn’t a lie.

The girl’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Jamie?”

Startled, Jamie nodded.

Laughing, she said, “Best friend, my ass. I think you forgot to mention boyfriend and soulmate.” she paused for a second. “Unless something happened and you’re here to win his heart back? Oh, how romantic. He has been pretty down lately, though I assumed it was because he missed you. Well, I know he misses you, it’s really obvious. Also, he said so.”

The girl was chatting up a bigger storm swirling around them- which wasn’t much, but still- and Jamie had to take a moment to process what she said.

“Um, no. We didn’t break up. I just, I didn’t know…” He didn’t know how to finish the sentence without hurting her feelings.

“How open-minded people are here?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

She smiled sadly. “I know what you mean. My sister sometimes gets people bothering her because she’s bisexual. It pisses me off.”

They were quiet for a second before Jamie said, “Are we just going to stand here, or…?”

“Oh!” The girl jumped, eyes widening. “I’m so sorry. I was just so glad to see you’re here for Mason.”

Even though he just met the girl- he didn’t even know her name yet- he knew he liked her, especially because she was a friend of Mason’s and seemed to care so much about him.

“He’ll be so glad to see you,” she continued as she unlocked the door. “I know it’s been rough for him, especially this past week since we were asked to stay.”

Jamie stepped into the building, instantly warming in the shelter from the snow. “Are you also on the project with him?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, picking up a clipboard from the table in the entranceway and filling in a row of the chart. “I have to sign you in and then you can go to him. Does he know you’re coming? Erh, here?”

“Um, I don’t know,” he answered honestly, taking the sign-in form when she handed it to him. He signed where she pointed. “My mom was actually the one to set this up.”

The girl smiled at him. “That’s so sweet. He’s in room 309. Up the stairs and to the right.”

He looked to the stairwell in the direction she was gesturing to then back at her. “Thank you so much, um. What’s your name?”

“Lily.” She gave him a two-finger salute then turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Standing in front of the door marked 309, Jamie wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and knocked.

There was a beat of silence, some shuffling from the other side of the door, then it opened and Jamie’s breath caught in his throat.

Mason was there, looking back at him. 

He looked worse than the last time they facetimed, exhaustion clinging to every part of him. The bags under his eyes were dark, his jaw was scruffy, and his shoulders were slumped. He was holding onto the door as though his arm was too heavy to hold up on its own, the weight of his body pulling him down. The weariness and fatigue were depleting him of the bright, intelligent energy Jamie had never seen him without.

But Mason was there. Only two feet in front of him.

Mason’s eyes widened and he fell back a step. That… wasn’t the reaction Jamie was hoping for.

“That’s it, I’ve gone crazy. I’m hallucinating,” he mumbled to himself.

Jamie reached out and took his hands in both of his. “You’re not.”

There was a jolt that rushed through him when they touched for the first time in months. Strength and energy slowly started to seep up his arms and he knew Mason could feel it too. It was like stepping in a bath and feeling the warmth slowly soothe away the aches and pains.

Mason stared at their hands, his jaw dropped. Tilting his head up, he then looked up at Jamie, eyes shining with tears.

“Jamie?” He said quietly. He sounded so hopeful and Jamie’s heart reached out for him. “You’re…”

“I’m here,” Jamie said, finishing his sentence.

Then Mason had him in a death gripping hug before he could blink.

“Oh my god,” Mason sobbed into the crook of Jamie’s neck. “You’re, you’re here. You’re really here.”

Jamie wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and this, this felt right. This was what he was needing since they parted in August. He needed Mason’s body- his soulmate’s body- pressed firmly against his. Pins and needles started to spread like wildfire across his skin as it felt like it’s been woken up for the first time in years.

Mason was shaking in his arms and Jamie kicked the door shut behind them. They stood there, just a few feet into Mason’s room, embracing and cradling each other and pulling closer, closer, closer for what seemed like forever. Drinking in his soulmate, Jamie ran his hand up and down Mason’s back and pressed teary kisses to his curls until they were all cried out.

Even after they let go of the hug, neither of them stopped reaching for the other, the need for physical contact too much to ignore. Instead, they stood there hand in hand, foreheads touching and stared into each other’s eyes.

“You’re really here,” Mason mumbled to himself again.

“I am.”

“…How? I mean, how? What are- when- what?”

Jamie smiled and thread his fingers through the baby curls at the nape of Mason’s neck. His hair was damp and he smelled of the same shampoo he always used.

Mason brought his own hands up to caress Jamie’s face, his fingers and palms brushing his jaw while his thumbs delicately traced over his cheekbones. He hadn’t looked away from Jamie once, as though he still believed that he was hallucinating or dreaming.

With his hand in Mason’s hair, Jamie guided him into a kiss that Mason melted into and reciprocated eagerly.

Walking backwards, Mason led them to his bed and sat down, pulling Jamie with him. Without breaking the kiss, Mason pushed his textbooks and notebooks out of the way. Jamie laughed into Mason’s lips and straddled his hips.

Mason moved to pull them both onto the bed properly, but Jamie pulled back enough to mumble, “I still have my shoes on.”

That apparently wasn’t enough to slow his boyfriend down, because Mason just kissed him again and reached behind Jamie to tug them off before grabbing at the zipper of his jacket. With Jamie’s outdoor attire off and thrown somewhere on the floor, Mason hooked an arm behind Jamie’s neck and lay back and rolled them over until he was lying on top of Jamie.

Jamie tugged on Mason’s hair and Mason responded by gripping the sweater Jamie was wearing in clenched fists.

They kissed and kissed until Jamie’s lips were tender and his jaw was rubbed raw from Mason's stubble, then kissed some more. Mason alternated between smiling and giggling between kisses and crying and mumbling ‘you’re here’ into Jamie’s lips.

After what felt like hours, they found themselves just lying there, Mason tucked into Jamie’s side with a hand resting over his heart. Looking down at his boyfriend, Jamie felt better, more content than he had in a long time.

“Hey,” he said, trailing his fingers over Mason’s face. Over his jaw and straight nose. His eyebrows and cheekbones.

Mason’s eyes were soft as he studied him back. “Hi.”

Jamie tilted his head down and gently kissed him. Mason’s lips were chapped now, but just as kissable as he remembered. And he kissed them until they were wet and puffy.

Sliding his hand up over his chest, Mason caught Jamie’s chin between his thumb and index finger when they broke apart. “How are you here?”

“Mom got me a flight this morning. She said I need to be here with you more than I’m needed at home. I’ve been there for almost two weeks and I’ll be there when I leave, before classes start. Speaking of Mom, I should let her know I got here okay.” He sat up and grabbed his jacket from the floor, fishing out his phone. Mason’s arms shifted to wrap around his waist.

Partway through typing the message to his mom, Jamie looked down to Mason, where his face was smushed into his side. He ran his fingers through his curls, which were mostly dry. “Mom says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

Mason opened his eyes to peer up at him. “Tell her I say ‘hi.’ And that she’s amazing and I love her very much.”

Jamie rubbed his head before doing just that.

“When do you have to go?” Mason sounded scared, worried about Jamie leaving sooner than he wanted. Sooner than he could handle. Wanting to soothe him, Jamie moved his hand to rub his back.

“Two weeks,” he echoed his mother from earlier that day. It was weird to think that he was laying on his bed, hating the situation they were in, the same day that had him and Mason cuddling on a different bed thousands of miles away.

The answer seemed to satisfy Mason because he closed his eyes and turned his face into Jamie’s Mason’s sweater. Tension seeped out of his muscles and he relaxed under Jamie’s touch.

Turning to face him again, Mason said, “That’s in the new year. You’ll miss both holidays with your family.”

Jamie laid back down, curling on his side to mirror his boyfriend. He reached out and wrapped his arm around him, pulling Mason closer. “You’re my family, too.”

Mason’s cheeks darkened a little and he buried his face into Jamie’s chest without saying anything.

It was warm and comfortable in Mason’s twin-sized bed and the lack of sleep was beginning to catch up to Jamie, despite his nap on the plane. His eyes grew heavy and he only moved when Mason sat up to pull the blankets over them. As soon as he was laying down again, Jamie drew him in so they were back to chest, their bodies fitting snugly together, and nuzzled his nose into Mason’s curls. He kissed the soft spot just behind his ear and Mason made a happy, sleepy noise and laced their fingers together over his chest.

Even though Jamie was exhausted and on the verge of drifting off, he stayed awake until he heard Mason’s breathing even out as he fell asleep in his arms. It didn’t take long for Jamie to fall asleep after that.

Chapter Text

When the alarm went off the next morning, Jamie groaned and tightened his arms around the pillow in his arms, pressing his face into the soft material in denial of the morning, wondering when and why he set an alarm. Then he woke up enough to realize it wasn’t a pillow he was latched onto, but a warm body and he froze for a moment before the previous day came back to him. He was with Mason. He was on the east coast to spend much-needed time with his soulmate.

With Mason still being the little spoon in his arms as he was when they went to sleep, Jamie felt him stir and shift as he woke up and flopped an arm around for his phone. The noise cut off abruptly and Jamie snuggled deeper into the warmth of the blankets and his boyfriend.

“Wha’ d’you have t’day?” he mumbled, his words slurring together.

Twisting in his arms, Mason rolled over to face him. “I don’t have any meetings for the project today, so it’s just individual work and the assignment for the other prof. Both are at a good stage right now, which means-” he changed his voice into a ‘wink wink nudge nudge’ tone and smirked as he trailed fingertips over Jamie’s chest. “I get to spend all day with you.”

Jamie smiled and leaned forward, sleepily pressing their lips together. He missed a little and his kiss ended up half on Mason’s mouth, half on his cheek, making Mason chuckle. It was a nice sound to wake up to.

“How’re you so awake already?” Jamie asked with a pout. He was waking up a little, but his eyes quickly slid shut again with the promise of sleep pulling him down into the mattress.

“I’ve had to get up this early most days, so I’m used to it. You’re also jet-lagged. You’ll be a little drowsy for a couple of days.”

Groaning, Jamie turned his face into the pillow. “How early is ‘this early’?”

“Eight.”

“Nooooo,” Jamie whined, pulling the blanket further up over their heads and cuddling into Mason’s chest. “That’s too early. Especially for Christmas break.”

Fingers ran through his hair, rubbing at his head. “Do you want to go back to sleep for a bit?”

He nodded and made a happy noise when Mason pulled him closer and rubbed his back.

“Okay. Go to sleep, baby.”

The next time Jamie woke up, he felt better than before. More awake, too. Mason was still holding him and he felt more content than he had in a long time. When he shifted, his body still ached, but not as much as it did the day before. Not counting the jet lag, it seemed like he would be back to his normal in no time.

“Are you awake?” Mason’s whispered voice came.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the base of Mason’s throat. Pulling back, Jamie rubbed his eyes and blinked himself awake to see Mason was watching him with a soft look. “G’morning.”

Mason kissed his forehead, his nose, then his mouth. “Good morning.”

“With a greeting like that,” Jamie said with a smile, “it is most definitely a good morning.”

Chuckling, Mason cradled the back of his head and drew him into a kiss that Jamie leaned into. It was, by far, the best morning he had since they parted in August. Mason’s lips against his and their bodies pressed snug against the other made for a great start to any day.

Jamie parted his lips a fraction, the kiss quickly deepened into them making out. He was all for doing nothing else for the rest of the day when his stomach broke the mood by grumbling loudly a few seconds after Mason rolled to straddle his hips.

Pulling back, Mason’s lips were wet and red, twitching up at the corners in amusement. “Are you hungry?”

Despite it being a rhetorical question, Jamie still answered. “Starving.”

He tried for a light tone but apparently failed, given the way Mason’s face sobered. “When did you last eat?” he asked.

“Umm,” Jamie said as his eyes dropped, suddenly unable to look Mason in the eyes. He’d been too depressed at home and too anxious once his plane landed for him to even think about food. His mom made sure he had water, but- other than the complimentary bag of chips on the plane- he couldn’t recall eating anything since the night before that, when he forced down half of his dinner. He didn’t want to tell Mason that, though, so he settled with an; “I don’t know?”

Mason frowned and sat up, sliding from his lap and Jamie immediately missed his warmth. He sat up too, knowing they weren’t going to go back to making out after this conversation. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from Mason if he asked, which he was hoping he wouldn’t, despite how unlikely that seemed. “Okay, working backwards; did you have dinner last night?”

Damn. He shook his head. “The plane was landing and I was trying to figure out how to get here.”

“Lunch?”

“Packing and napping on the plane.”

The frown dug deeper. “At least you’re sleeping-” Jamie had just enough time to think, Barely, when he continued. “Breakfast?”

Wincing, Jamie rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate breakfast. “I, um, not recently. Haven’t… much.”

“Jamie,” Mason said, sad. Disappointed. “Did you eat anything yesterday?”

“Chips on the plane?”

“That's…” he said, reaching out to touch his knee through the blanket. Jamie felt a stab of guilt- he should have done better. He should have tried harder. He promised Mason he’d take care of himself and he failed. He failed and he didn't like that he upset Mason. “Please say you had dinner the night before.”

“I did,” he said truthfully- though hollowly- and Mason raised an eyebrow. “I did! I didn’t, uh, quite finish, but I did eat.” He wondered, distantly, when eating became an accomplishment.

“I should have known,” Mason said, shaking his head gently. “You’ve lost weight.” Climbing off the bed, he reached for the bottom drawer of his desk and tossed a granola bar at him. “Come on, we’re getting food. After you eat that.”

He quickly changed before pulling on his jacket and shoes then sat at his desk chair and turned to Jamie, clearly waiting for him to eat. Begrudgingly and feeling like a child, Jamie did and changed while Mason darted to the bathroom to shave. Before they left, Mason pulled on a hat, stuffing a second one on Jamie and wrapping a scarf around his neck. It was black with Princeton’s orange crest stitched at the ends. Jamie thumbed over the logo and looked at Mason with a small smile.

There were moments like this when he felt a swell of pride. His best friend was at Princeton. He could remember when they were children playing without a care in the world. Then they were in middle school and they talked about the future and how they would still be best friends regardless of where they ended up. All he had wanted was Mason and his art and then here they were. Still best friends and more, with him at school for graphic design and Mason attending an Ivy League university- one of the top schools in their country.

He remembered the day he found out Mason was accepted to Princeton.

He was in his room, working on an assignment, when Mason showed up with a knock on his door.

Jamie glanced up. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

Something in Mason’s tone caught his attention. He sounded off. Hesitant. Nervous.

Putting his pencil down, Jamie turned around to watch as Mason came in and sat on the edge of his bed. His legs were pressed closed and his hands were folded in his lap. That was not how he usually sat when in Jamie’s room. He was always relaxed and loose, not straight-backed and avoiding meeting his eyes.

“What’s up?” Jamie asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to fight to wrangle what was wrong out of Mason.

Silently, Mason reached into his coat pocket and took out a paper. No, a letter. He held it out to Jamie.

Then it was Jamie who was hesitant. He looked at the envelope then back to Mason’s face. He still wasn’t looking at him and Jamie had no idea what to expect.

It certainly wasn’t Princeton University’s crest and name as the sender.

Jamie looked up, confused. “Princeton?”

Mason didn’t say anything.

“Did you apply to Princeton?”

Mason just shrugged and continued staring at his hands.

Jamie didn’t know that, but instead of dwelling on Mason not mentioning he applied to an Ivy League university, he took out the letter and started reading.

Dear Mason,

Congratulations! The committee has reviewed your application and we are happy to offer you admission to the Class of 2018. Princeton received an incredible application pool of over 26,600 applications this year and your academic accomplishments, extracurricular achievements and personal qualities stood out among this strong pool. The committed was impressed with all you have done. Thank you for applying. We are delighted to be accepting you.

“Oh my god,” Jamie whispered as he bolted upright. With eyes wide, he scanned the rest of the letter. “Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Mason was accepted with a full ride. To Princeton University. 

His head shot up and he stared at Mason, who was watching him wearily. Jamie tackled him in a crushing hug that sent them both tumbling on his bed.

“Oh my god!” He shrieked. “You were- oh my god! You were accepted! That’s amazing!”

He couldn’t stop grinning.

Even after he let Mason go, he grinned as he read the now-slightly-crumpled letter again and again. He didn’t know much about Ivy League schools, but he knew the acceptance rates were under 15%. After looking into it a few days later, he learned Princeton was in the top ten American universities and had an acceptance rate of 7.3%.

“This is incredible. Wow. I can’t believe it- I mean, I can. You’re so smart and why wouldn’t they want you, but… wow.”

When he looked over to where Mason was lying on his back next to him, he saw Mason was smiling, but not as ecstatically as Jamie would’ve expected him to be about being accepted with a full ride to Princeton. His smile widened as Jamie beamed at him.

“Are you going to go?”

“I don’t know.” Mason rolled onto his side, facing Jamie, and Jamie mirrored him. “Would you think I was crazy if I said I don’t know if I even want to go?”

“No. Just because you were accepted doesn’t mean you have to take them up on the offer. I’m proud of you for being accepted, whether or not you go, but why’d you apply if you don’t really want to go?”

Mason shrugged again, fiddling with Jamie’s blankets underneath them. “I guess to see if I could. If I was good enough. And partially because of my dad,” he voiced quietly into the small distance between them.

“Of course you are good enough. You’re brilliant and a genius and-”

“My dad wants me to go.”

“Considering they’re offering you a full ride, I’d expect him to.”

“It’s on the east coast.”

“Right.”

“It’s 2500 miles from here.”

Jamie’s smile faltered for the first time. “Oh.”

That was far. Further than when Mason went to Mexico. And for four full school years, not just one summer. They wouldn’t see each other for most of the years, when they’ve always been side by side. Mason had also applied to WSU- that, Jamie knew- where they’d only be eight miles apart and would still be able to hang out every day if they wanted. Jamie didn’t know how things would go if they only saw each other once every few months and over summers. They’d be fine, though. Jamie was confident they were close enough friends- best friends- that they’d be okay, even with the distance.

“What do you think? Should I go? Would I be stupid not to?”

Jamie didn’t want to tell him what to do- Mason should be the one to make that decision on his own- but he also knew Mason valued his opinion. He could see in his eyes the internal struggle of what to do, where to go. He needed an answer to follow, someone he trusted to tell him what he needed to hear.

“I think…” he said slowly, “I think you should go where you need to. If that’s at Princeton, you should go. If it’s not…”

Mason nodded, Jamie’s words sinking in. He reached out and tugged Jamie into another hug. “If I go, I’m going to miss you a helluva lot.”

Jamie held him tighter.

“You’re just going to have to come home to me as often as you can.”

“What?” Mason asked with a nervous laugh and Jamie realized the small smile had grown until he was beaming at him.

“I love you.”

Stepping forward, Mason slid his arms around his waist. “I love you too.” He then kissed Jamie but pulled away too soon. “Now, let’s go get food.”

For the first time in a long while, food sounded like a good idea and Jamie eagerly dragged him into the hallway. With his body slowly reawakening and healing after spending the night with his soulmate, Jamie felt so much better than he had in a long time. He also felt hungry, which felt weird considering how long he had been going through the motions and forcing himself to eat without tasting any of it.

“Okay, okay,” Mason said with another laugh, backing into his dorm room. “Hold on a second, I need my keys, otherwise we’ll be locked out.”

He was back a moment later, locking the door behind. Taking Jamie’s hand, the two of them walked to a locally run restaurant near campus that had an amazing breakfast selection.

Jamie wanted to inhale his food, he was so hungry, but he made sure to eat at a normal speed to avoid making Mason more worried than he already was. He wasn’t sure if it was his appetite returning or if their food was better overall, but it was honestly the best thing he had eaten in a while.

“So,” he said, wanting to take the attention off himself for a bit and so he could eat. “How are things going? I didn’t get to ask about it yesterday.”

“Yeah, because you showed up unannounced on my doorstep-”

Jamie gave a closed-lipped smile through a mouthful of eggs. He wasn’t going to apologize for that.

“But seriously,” Mason continued, reaching across the table to put his hands on top of Jamie’s. “Thank you for coming. It really means a lot to me. It was getting kinda lonely out here with only people who I had just met, and I know we talked every day but, I don’t know. I really missed you.”

Swallowing and turning his hands over, Jamie gave Mason’s a light squeeze. “I really missed you too. More than I was expecting- and I was expecting to miss you a helluva lot. I wish I could say that coming out here was my idea, but it was all Mom.”

“She’s an angel,” Mason said and he had to agree. “When did she even get the tickets? Did you know? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know what she was planning either!” Jamie said, pulling his hands away to hold them up in mock surrender. “She just came into my room, like, two hours before I was supposed to be at the airport. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t really get a chance to. It was very rushed when packing and getting to the airport, I wasn’t able to text while on the plane, and then we were landing and I was trying to figure out how to get here.”

Mason smiled and shook his head lightly. “An angel,” he repeated before turning back to his food. “Is that why you didn’t answer my texts?”

“Yeah. I didn’t get them until we landed a couple hours later. I meant to text back, but next thing I knew, I was here and your friend Lily let me in and told me where to find you.”

“I was wondering how you got in the building without a key.”

Jamie laughed and gave a little shrug.

It started snowing while they were eating and they stepped out of the restaurant into the winter air. It was colder than before and Jamie regretted not grabbing gloves before they left. As if on cue, Mason pulled a pair from his pocket.

“Here, we’ll share.”

Jamie didn’t understand until Mason put a glove on one of his hands and took Jamie’s hand in his other. It was sweet. They explored the surrounding area over the next few hours, stopping in a few locally-owned shops and a park where Jamie sat on the bench without brushing away the snow. Mason rolled his eyes but sat too.

As they were leaving the park, there was a patch of ice underneath the snow and he’s not sure who slipped first, but they tumbled into a snowbank with their hands still linked together. Pushing himself up enough to look at Mason, Jamie shared a look with him before they both started laughing.

Caught up in the moment and with a spurn of playfulness, Jamie grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at Mason.

“Hey!” Mason cried, wiping at his face before grabbing his own fistful of snow. “Oh, you’re on.”

There wasn’t any time to move out of the way or block the snow and it hit Jamie square in the face. Then they were wrestling, shoving snow down jackets, and throwing more snow. As Jamie expected, Mason won, straddling his hips and pinning his arms above his head. He still felt like he won, though, when Mason kissed him, warming each other’s lips up with his own.

Thankfully they were close to campus, so once they left the park, they didn’t have far to walk through the cold while wet. By the time they got back to Mason’s room, Jamie was exhausted and all he wanted was to lie down.

“Are you needing a nap?” Mason asked, knowing Jamie well enough that he knew what he was thinking.

“I shouldn’t,” he said, rubbing at his eyes to wake himself up. “I don’t want to spend all day sleeping instead of spending time with you.”

“One-” Mason guided him to the chair at his desk- “sleeping in my arms is spending time with me. Two-” he knelt to take off Jamie’s shoes- “if your past few weeks have been anything like mine, you haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately. And three-” he took Jamie’s coat off him- “you’re jet-lagged. Change into some dry clothes and we’ll nap, okay?” He kissed his forehead and moved to hang up their coats on the back of the door.

The corners of Jamie’s lips tugged into a sleepy smile. “Okay.”

“Besides,” Mason continued, pulling off his own wet shirt. “Our bodies need to recharge one another and cuddling is the best way.”

“Mmhmm,” Jamie hummed absentmindedly, distracted from properly seeing Mason’s bare chest for the first time in a while. Mason noticed. He looked away to hide his smile, but Jamie saw it anyway, along with the light blush on his cheeks.

Still looking away, Mason said, “You should change before you get sick.”

Sighing, Jamie did and climbed into bed, holding the blanket up for Mason to slide in after he turned off the light. He was immediately tugged into Mason’s side and he pulled the blanket snugly around them. The comfort of the bed and his boyfriend had his eyes slipping shut in no time. He moved only once to roll on his side with Mason fitted perfectly against his back before he sank into a dreamless doze.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but soon there was a knock on the door that roused him from a fully-asleep state to a mostly-asleep awareness. Mason stirred behind him, his arms sliding out from around him. He stood up slowly and carefully, and it made Jamie feel loved that he tried to not disturb him.

He heard the door opening then Mason’s tired, quiet, “Oh. Hey, Lily.”

“Hi, I have the- oh my gosh,” her voice dropped from a normal volume to a whisper. “Am I interrupting? I’m so sorry.”

“No, no. He’s sleeping. What’s up?”

“I was just bringing this, that’s all.” There was the rustling of paper followed by a pause. “He seems like a sweetheart. I met him briefly last night- we didn’t really get to talk, but… he loves you a lot. There was this light in his eyes about seeing you, and I could tell.”

“Yeah, I’m lucky to have him.” Mason’s tone was full of fondness and it was easier to hear, as though he was looking over his shoulder to look at Jamie. “He’s always been there for me and I literally cannot picture my life without him.” 

“You’re lucky to have each other,” Lily corrected. “I better go. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. See you.”

The door clicked shut and Jamie heard what sounded like Mason moving to put the paper on his desk. Then the bed shifted as Mason climbed back in behind him and kissed between his shoulder blades. With his warmth at Jamie’s back, he quickly sank back into sleep.

Jamie woke up with his face in the pillow and one of Mason’s hands lightly trailing up and down his back. Rolling his head and cracking one eye open, he peered up at Mason.

“Hey,” he mumbled.

Mason’s hand switched to massage his shoulders and neck and Jamie groaned appreciatively. “Hey, sleepyhead. Nice nap?”

“Yeah.” He pushed himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Around five, five-thirty.”

Looking out the window, Jamie saw that it was starting to get dark outside. He turned back to Mason and slumped into his side, resting his head on his shoulder. Mason kissed the top of his head and Jamie turned his face upward so the next kiss would land on his lips.

The kiss started off slow and sweet, but Jamie tilted his head to the side to deepen it. Mason responded in kind, pushing his hand into Jamie’s hair and tugging lightly. It prompted a little gasp from Jamie and Mason’s tongue swiped across his bottom lip, asking permission for more. Jamie gave it to him.

As he opened his mouth and pushed his own tongue against Mason’s, Mason’s warm, strong hands fell to his waist and pulled him into his lap. Jamie was already taller than Mason, and while sitting in his lap he had to dip his head down to kiss him, but he didn’t mind. He ran his own hands up Mason’s arms and over his shoulders, feeling the firm muscles under his shirt. He then trailed his touch down, down, down over his pecs and abs, stopping just above the waistband of his sweatpants. He hooked a finger under the elastic.

“Can I…”

“Right now?” Mason mumbled into his lips.

“Yes,” he said, pulling back enough to catch his breath. “I’ve only had my own hands for months, but now I have you and I need you. I want to feel you.”

With the way they were sitting, their crotches were pressed firmly together and Jamie could feel where Mason was half-hard in his pants. His hips instinctively bucked forward, as if to prove his point.

“I- yeah. Please.”

Jamie pulled their bodies apart just enough for him to slide his hand down Mason’s pants. He cupped his bulge through his boxers and massaged it lightly, making Mason moan and tremble, dropping his head onto Jamie’s shoulder. His fingers gripped tighter to his hips. Mason was extremely responsive, considering Jamie wasn’t even touching him unobstructed yet. He loved it.

Drawing his hand out, Jamie reached for the elastic of Mason’s boxers and dipped his fingers in.

“Oh god. Jamie, please.”

Jamie gave it to him.

Mason finished in Jamie’s hand with his face buried in the crook of his neck, his hands spread wide against his back, and their chests pressed together.

“Shit,” he panted against Jamie’s neck. “I forgot how good you are with your hands.”

He returned the favour.

Afterward, they went to dinner at a fast-food restaurant that sold cheap but really good pizza. As soon as he was done, Jamie went back for another slice, partly because it was just that good and partly because he was still hungry from not eating properly for a few weeks. They left before he tried to overstuff himself with pizza and Mason took them to a nearby bakery and got them a candy cane brownie for them to share.

They walked hand in hand through campus, Mason pointing out various buildings along the way, telling Jamie what classes he had where.

“This is the Firestone Memorial Library,” he said, gesturing to a large, cathedral-like gray building. “I’ll be needing to do some work in here tomorrow, if you want to join?”

“Wait, wait, back up. This is the library ? Oh my god, it’s gorgeous. It looks like it should be part of a museum or something.”

Mason laughed a little. “I know, I thought the same back in September. I’ve gotten more used to it because I spend so much time there- especially in the second half of the semester with term papers and exams.”

“Wow. And you’re coming here tomorrow?”

“Yeah, after lunch. Are you wanting to come with me?”

Kissing his cheek, Jamie said, “Absolutely,” and then they continued walking.

On the path that led away from the library, there was one tree that had Jamie tugging Mason to a stop. It was covered in snow and icicles that were lit up in the soft, warm glow of the nearby streetlamp. It was so pretty and he wanted to capture it. Crouching to find an angle he liked, Jamie pulled out his phone.

“What are you doing?” Mason asked curiously from behind him.

“It looks cool,” he explained. “I like the way the light is hitting and reflecting off the ice. I’m taking pictures to draw it later.”

After taking pictures from multiple angles, Jamie turned and saw Mason watching him with soft eyes and a matching, small smile, his affection written all over his face. Jamie flushed a little and he hoped that it was subtle enough for him to claim his cheeks were red from the cold.

It started snowing then and little, glittering snowflakes landed on Mason’s hat, the curls sticking out from underneath, and coat.

Jamie aimed his phone camera at him and took a few pictures and, just like that, it was Mason’s turn to blush. It was adorable and he loved it. Undoing the scarf around his neck, Jamie looped it over Mason’s head and used it to pull him in for a kiss.

Mason’s lips were cold, but Jamie didn’t care. He was happy and content and wanted to do everything that he couldn’t do for four months and that included kissing Mason while standing in the snow under a streetlamp. Besides, he was quickly warming them up with his own lips.

Reaching up, Mason cupped his cheeks in both hands, cradling his face softly as he kissed back. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The remainder of their walk was very peaceful as the world was muted from the snow all around them. With the exception of Mason’s impromptu tour, the only sound was their feet crunching through the snow and cars driving nearby.

Jamie wanted to quickly sketch the tree while it was still fresh in his mind, so when they got back to the dorms, he hastily shed his coat and shoes and reached for his duffle. When packing, he had put his sketchbook in the smaller pocket on the side, but what he found nestled in next to it was a surprise.

“Hey, look,” he said, holding up a kitchen Tupperware container with different kinds of homemade cookies. He had seen his mom making them during the two weeks he was home, but he hadn’t had the appetite for food, let alone desserts despite his sweet tooth. He hadn’t noticed her sneaking some in his bag. It was probably when he was showering.

“Again, I love your mom,” Mason said, sliding up behind Jamie to wrap his arms around his waist.

Turning his head, Jamie kissed his cheek. “She loves you, too.”

There was a note on the lid and Mason hooked his chin over Jamie’s shoulder so they could read it together.

[Text:

Merry Christmas you two!

I know the past few months have been difficult for both of you, but you both are so strong and if anyone can make it work, it’s you two. I’m so proud of the young men you have turned into- I swear, you were just children, when did you grow up? The years have just flown by and now you’re off to university. In a blink of an eye, you’ll be graduating and the rest of the world will be yours to do what makes you happy. For now, live in the moment and have a wonderful break.

I love you, Mom ❤]

Reaching into his pocket, Mason pulled out his phone and called her over facetime. She answered by the start of the second ring, her face filling the screen.

“Mason, honey! How are things over there? Are you two feeling okay?”

“We’re doing great,” Mason said with a smile. “Thank you so much. For everything. Getting Jamie out here, being so supportive of us, and your lovely note.”

“And the cookies!” Jamie added, pushing his face against Mason’s so they could both fit on screen. “Sorry I wasn't-”

She waved off his apology. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You were in a difficult situation and did your best. There’s no need for apologies.”

Jamie felt a slight urge to cry. He didn’t know what he did to deserve such an amazing mother. “Thanks, Mom.”

She opened her mouth to say something when she paused and looked down off-screen, from where a quiet voice said, “Amy?”

The image shifted, lowering to the ground, then Ann Marie’s chubby face filled the screen.

“Amy!” she shrieked, loud enough that Jamie winced.

“Hi, Annie M!”

“Hi!” She grabbed the phone from their mom and pokes at the screen with a stubby finger. She then started walking away while babbling on, uttering what was meant to be words, but Jamie had no idea what she was trying to say. He didn’t think Mason would, either, considering he hadn’t been living with toddlers before he left for university, whereas Jamie had, and he still had no clue.

“Ann Marie, honey,” Jamie heard his mom say. “Where are you going?”

Mason sat on the edge of his bed, tugging Jamie down to sit next to him before putting a warm hand on his thigh. Jamie draped his arm over Mason’s shoulders and let his head rest on the one closest, cuddling close while they watched Ann Marie walk off with his mom’s phone.

The camera was close to her face, so it was a little difficult for Jamie to see where she was going, but it looked like she was heading for the kitchen. He found out he was right when she dropped the phone while struggling to climb on a chair at the table. It landed with the camera facing the ceiling.

“Oh, be careful, sweetie.”

His mom picked Ann Marie up and put her on the chair before grabbing her phone from the floor and aimed the camera at his sister, Elisabeth in the chair next to her. He could see that they were decorating gingerbread cookies before Mason called.

“What were you wanting to show Jamie?”

At the mention of his name, Elisabeth’s head shot up and she gave a big toothy smile. “Jamie!” she cried happily, slapping her hands against the table, which jostled a bottle of icing, knocking it over.

It landed close to a cookie in front of Ann Marie and she shrieked, pushing it away.

“Hi, Elisabeth!”

“Ann Marie, you were wanting to show him something?” His mom prompted as Elisabeth waved enthusiastically in the background, shouting, “Hiiiiii!”

Ignoring her sister, Ann Marie picked up a cookie, holding it out to the camera before putting it down half a second later. She did the same with a second cookie and was on to her third by the time Jamie said, “Whoa, whoa. Slow down, I can’t see them!”

Holding the third cookie up, Ann Marie let him look at what she’d done before saying, “Dada.” It was honestly terribly done, but through the messy icing, Jamie could see the cookie resembling Frank. Barely, but still there. The second one she held up was just as messy as the first, which she accompanied with, “Mama.”

The first cookie she had held up was now more identifiable with the yellow hair, blue eyes, and a crooked smile. “Amy,” she said proudly.

“That’s me? Wow, Annie M, that’s so good! It’s like looking in a mirror!”

Jamie could feel the silent rumbling of Mason’s laughter from where he was draped over his boyfriend and he jabbed a finger into his side, out of view from the camera. He knew it- objectively- wasn’t good, but they all had to start somewhere. And she was still a toddler. She wasn’t even in school yet.

Putting down the cookie of him, she reached for a fourth, holding it up for the camera. It had a messy pile of brown squiggles on its head and matching brown eyes. “May.”

Mason’s fingers tightened their grip on his thigh and Jamie beamed, thrilled that his baby sister included Mason in her cookie family.

“Ann Marie,” Mason said in awe, sounding speechless for once. She looked up at the camera when he said her name and grinned, pleased with her artwork. “Is that me?”

She giggled and nodded.

“I’m honoured, thank you.”

“I told you you were a part of my family,” Jamie whispered and kissed Mason’s cheek. He had told Mason multiple times before that he was family, and his mom did too- especially since the two of them started dating back at the end of May- the same time Mason was kicked out by his own father. But, he supposed, it was different when a child too young to speak properly told him so in her own way.

“I know.”

Mason tilted his head to let it lean on Jamie’s and the two of them quietly watched as Ann Marie showed off the cookie she was in the middle of decorating when they called.

“Lizza,” she said, referring to Elisabeth, who looked over when she heard her sister say a variant of her name. She then showed off her cookies to the two of them. They weren’t of anything or anyone, in particular. Instead, she focused more on the clothing the little gingerbread people were wearing.

Once the two girls were done, his mom moved her phone so it wasn’t aimed directly at the twins and their cookies, but instead fit her in the frame beside the girls. The three of them talked for over half an hour while Jamie sketched out the lights in the tree and the twins continued decorating, then she had to go start making dinner.

Without her or the twins’ voices, Mason’s dorm was still and quiet. Their sudden absence was a slap of reality in Jamie’s face. He’d been so caught up in his reunion with Mason that it didn’t seem to sink in that he was thousands of miles from everything he’d ever known. Mason was the only thing familiar in this half of the country. He’d only been on the east coast for around 24 hours, but a wave of homesickness and panic gripped his heart and it made him sad when he pictured Mason arriving in New Jersey on his own back in August. He at least had Mason with him. Mason had no one.

Unaware of his internal strife, Mason turned to kiss him then looked at his watch and said, “It’s not too late. Are you wanting to do anything before bed? We could watch a movie or something.”

His voice drew Jamie out of his head and he loved how effortlessly grounding his presence was. Just the thought of cuddling in bed with him was enough to soothe the stresses plaguing his heart. “Sure. Do you have any popcorn?”

“Umm,” Mason hummed as he climbed off the bed to dig around in the bottom drawer where he grabbed the granola bar for Jamie that morning. “Last one,” he said, holding the popcorn up triumphantly.

He microwaved the popcorn in the small kitchen at the other end of the hall while Jamie browsed Netflix for something for them to watch. When Mason was back with their snack, they changed into pjs and cuddled together under the blankets; Jamie on his back with Mason using his shoulder as a pillow and the popcorn between them.

Less than an hour into the movie, Jamie’s fingers trailed over to Mason’s stomach, stroking the soft skin over firm muscle there. There wasn’t any reaction to his touch.

Jamie looked down and saw that Mason had fallen asleep at some point. His breathing was slow and even across Jamie’s neck, his features more relaxed than Jamie had seen in a long time. During their facetime sessions, there has always been a tired edge to his voice, his face, his eyes, which made him seem older and more mature. But curled up with his head resting on Jamie’s shoulder, the tension gone and face lax, he looked softer and younger- like the eighteen-year-old he was.

Removing his hand from Mason’s stomach, Jamie pressed a kiss to his forehead and gently took off his glasses, setting them aside out of the way. He let the movie fade into the background as he just laid there and looked at the sleeping face of his soulmate. It was moments like this- when they weren’t going to sleep but Mason was relaxed and comfortable enough to let himself fall asleep on Jamie anyway- that were rare but dear. Deeply treasured in Jamie’s heart.

There were a few things Jamie had to do before he could join Mason in sleep and he tried to be quick, wanting to get back in bed as soon as possible. Before he turned off the light, Jamie kissed Mason’s forehead, buried his nose in his curls, and said, “Goodnight, baby. I love you.”

Mason’s alarm went off too soon again the next morning, but it was silenced before Jamie fully woke up. Instead, he drifted off again, only stirring when Mason pushed himself up and climbed out of bed. He jostled the mattress just a little and Jamie burrowed deeper into the blankets.

Listening to Mason move around the room, he lay there, still mostly asleep. When he heard Mason pulling on his coat, he opened an eye to blearily peer at him before it slid shut a second later. “Mathon? Wher’’re you going?”

Fingers pushed into his hair and he hummed happily, nuzzling into the touch.

“I have a meeting for the project. I think I mentioned it yesterday. If not, I’m sorry.”

“‘Th’okay. Tho early, though?” Jamie was too tired to care about the way his retainer made his words lisp on the way out. He didn’t even bother opening his eyes or sitting up to talk- he was still mostly asleep and jet-lagged- but he slid one hand out from under the blankets to touch Mason’s leg.

“Yes, the meeting’s at nine and I need to get breakfast first.” As he spoke, his fingers trailed down from his hair to stroke his cheek while his other hand was placed on top of Jamie’s, rubbing the back of his fingers.

“Oh.”

“Go back to sleep, baby. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Mason then kissed his cheek and Jamie smiled sleepily.

He heard the door open and shut behind Mason, and he thought that he should set an alarm so he wouldn’t sleep the day away again. He’d open his eyes in a second, he would. He just needed to summon the energy.

The door opened again a moment later and Jamie blinked, more awake than before. Sitting up, he looked to the door and saw Mason walk in.

“Did you forget thomething?” He paused, then tried again without the lisp. “Something?”

Mason paused in the middle of taking off his bag. “Babe,” he said, putting it down at the foot of the desk. “I’ve been gone for around three hours. The meeting’s over.”

“What?” That wasn’t right, was it? Jamie checked the time on his phone. 11:27. He ran a hand over his face and groaned. He didn’t think he slept that long.

Walking over, Mason ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. “Are you feeling up to going out soon? I was thinking we could get lunch in half an hour and head to the library for one.”

“Yeah, sure. That sounds good to me.”

Taking a quick shower, Jamie got ready to head out for lunch, putting his laptop, sketchbook, and anything else he thought he might need for the afternoon in his bag.

Mason didn’t want to go far from campus when they were going to be spending the rest of the day there, so they went to a cafe run by the university. It was simple and cheap, but still better than what Jamie had been making himself eat the past week. Not that his mom’s cooking wasn’t great (when she actually cooked), but when it was mostly chicken nuggets and tater tots he had to force down his throat, anything was better. He couldn’t wait until the girls were old enough to willingly eat something better than frozen foods and his mom had the time and desire to cook the way she did before the twins.

While they ate, Jamie hooked one of his legs around Mason’s and received a knowing smirk in reply as Mason hooked his own leg around his.

The air was crisp as they headed to the library and then Jamie got a good view of the inside of the building with its high ceilings and stained-glass windows. It was even more gorgeous than it was from the outside. He kept stopping to look at the architecture until Mason eventually pulled him along. They sat at a table in a sunny hallway-like part of the library where Mason pulled out a stack of books, notebooks, his laptop, and a water bottle.

Silently, Mason worked on his assignment as Jamie sat across from him. It was nice to finally have time to spend on personal projects and artworks that weren’t for a grade. He sketched for a couple of hours before shaking out his wrist and moving onto something else. During one of his classes at UoI, they covered calligraphy, which Jamie found to be quite interesting. They didn’t study it for as long as he would have liked, so he took the time to explore it more as he sat with Mason.

He practiced writing out the alphabet at least five times for each font, before moving on to words. Short ones at first so he could get more comfortable moving between and connecting letters. He wrote out his name, then Mason’s until there were a few pages littered with their names in multiple fonts. Then he added little hearts around their names.

There was one that he liked more than the others and, with a fresh piece of paper, he carefully wrote out ‘I love you.’ The ‘y’ was a little off, so he switched to a new page and tried again. Then again. The next turned out well, so he folded the paper into a card and wrote a little love note in the center.

[Text:

Mason,

There are only two things in this world that I want: you and us. I know the thousands of miles between us cannot change what we have, for there is no one closer in my heart than you.

I’ll cherish you forever and always, Jamie]

Looking up to Mason for a moment, Jamie saw the way the soon-to-be setting sun was streaking in through the stained-glass windows, lighting up Mason’s honey skin with a gorgeous, warm multicoloured glow. It was so breathtaking he had to switch to his sketchbook to get as much down on paper as he could. He took a picture, too, knowing he wouldn’t be quick enough to capture it all, but he also knew that the raw scene without a lens between would be best. He wanted to seize the moment, freeze time so he could have this for longer than a few minutes.

Glancing between the paper and his boyfriend, Jamie sketched Mason’s slightly hunched form and concentrated, serious expression. The golden halo of curls and soft smooth skin. He liked the little furrow of his brows and the gentle movement of his lips as he murmured to himself.

Having memorized Mason’s face from being best friends with him for so long, Jamie easily sketched out his familiar features. His hands also knew what they were doing- muscle memory leading his pencil across the page.

He didn’t draw Mason much while they were still in high school- only a few times- but once he’d gone to university and was missing his boyfriend, he found himself doodling several tiny Masons in the margins of his notes.

While he was sketching, Mason reached up and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the curls, frustrated. It didn’t seem like it was the first time he did it, judging by the way his curls stuck up in a ruffled mess. Was it a stress-induced habit he picked up? Jamie wanted to reach out and take his hand in his. He didn’t want Mason to hurt himself, however unintentional. As Mason started reaching for another tug, Jamie moved one of his feet to bump into Mason’s leg.

Mason looked up, his hand halfway to his hair.

“Don’t do that,” Jamie said.

“Do what?”

With his pencil, he gestured at Mason’s half-raised hand. “Pull on your hair like that. Don’t.”

“Oh.” Mason looked at his hand before he lowered it. “I didn’t realize I was. Stop me if I go to do it again?”

Jamie nodded, satisfied that Mason was willing to make an effort to stop what could’ve turned into a bad, painful habit.

Finishing the rough sketch, Jamie dug his pencil crayons from his bag to add colour. Most packs didn’t come with normal skin or neutral tones, so he didn’t have the rich honey or bronzed caramel he wanted, but he was able to make do- especially with the coloured glass changing the hues he needed. That was one of the many reasons he liked working digitally- he had an unlimited amount of colours at his disposal. Still, by choosing the right colours and blending them, as well as shading, he was able to portray the gorgeousness of his beloved the way he wanted.

By the time he completed it, the sun had finished setting and, even though the overhead lights were still on, the library seemed significantly colder and darker than before, reminding Jamie of an empty castle. Though, it could have just been the stretching shadows the sun created on its way below the horizon that made it seem like the building was being overtaken by the dark and absorbed into the night.

Across the table from him, Mason was hunched over his notebook, scouring the pages as he flipped through. His shoulders were tense and he was rubbing at his forehead with the hand not turning the pages he was frowning at. It looked like he was fighting himself to get stuff done, rather than doing any actual work.

“Babe?”

Mason hummed quietly but didn’t look up.

“Mason,” he said firmer, that time catching his attention.

“Yeah?”

“You look tired,” Jamie said.

Mason gave him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and a shrug.

“Are you sure this project and assignment aren’t too much?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No, baby, this is the break. You can’t overwork yourself before next semester even starts. Why don’t we go get dinner and stay in tonight, go to bed early?”

“I…” Mason started, looking at his work spread across the table then to his watch. Frowning a little, he said, “It’s only five, though. I can probably-”

“No, babe. It’s quarter to seven.”

“Oh. My watch must be slowing down again. Sorry, I-”

“Nope,” Jamie interrupted again. “You don’t need to apologize. Let’s just go, okay?”

Mason smiled softly and nodded. “Okay. Where do you want to eat?”

They talked while packing up, deciding on getting sandwiches from a cafe they could stop at on the way back to Mason’s room. Jamie was about to slide the drawing of Mason in his bag along with the card and his calligraphy practice but, after a moment of hesitation, he tucked the drawing under the card and slid them across the table to his boyfriend.

Touching it with a finger, Mason said, “What’s this?”

“Just a little something I just did.”

A small smile tugged at Mason’s lips as he read the front of the card. Without opening it, he glanced up at Jamie. “What’s it for?”

“Do I need a reason to tell my boyfriend I love him?”

Suddenly shy, Mason looked down, a blush tinting his cheeks. “I- thank you. I love you too.”

Jamie stepped around the table to kiss his cheek and wrap his arms around his waist from behind. Hooking his chin over Mason’s shoulder, he watched as his boyfriend picked up the card. He knew the moment Mason saw the drawing underneath because his jaw dropped.

“Did you just…? Shit, Jamie. This is, this is good.”

Pleased, Jamie beamed. “Thank you.”

“Is this really what I looked like?”

“Gorgeous? Yes.”

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Jamie opened his photo gallery and showed Mason the picture he took, which he did end up having to use for reference after the sun set. Mason looked between the two.

“Holy shit. This is amazing. It’s so good.” Turning his head, Mason met his gaze. “You blow my mind.”

A little embarrassed, Jamie giggled and tucked his face into Mason’s shoulder.

“I’m serious!”

“I know.” A smile stretched across his lips and he turned to his bag, changing the conversation. “So, dinner?”

Without making it too obvious, Jamie watched Mason slide the card and drawing into his bag, being careful to not damage them. He wondered if he should mention the little message inside. He decided not to. It’d be a cute surprise when he finally noticed it.

It was freezing outside as they walked back across campus and Jamie’s cheeks and nose quickly got cold. He wished he had a scarf to pull up for warmth. With a quick, light touch to his nose, Mason said, “Cute.”

“I probably look like a sick cartoon character,” Jamie said in reference to the bulging red nose used as a universal sign of someone with the flu.

“Nonsense!” Pulling out his phone, Mason aimed it at him and snapped a picture. He turned it around to show Jamie.

He was surprised to see his nose wasn’t the angry red he thought it was. Instead, the tip was a light pink, matching the flushed highlights on his cheekbones. On anyone else (read: Mason), he’d think it was cute.

Rolling his eyes, Jamie said, “Dork.”

With his phone back in his pocket, Mason looped one of his arms through Jamie’s. “Why am I a dork for thinking my boyfriend is cute? It’s literally one of the many reasons why I’m dating him.”

Jamie looked away, grinning.

Mason smiled but silently led him to a local diner that had the best fries Jamie had had in a long time. They weren’t too salty or greasy and were still hot. They must have just been made. The burger he got was also really, really good. The cheese was perfectly melted and the meat was so juicy that he almost moaned out loud.

Considering Mason had paid for most of the meals since Jamie arrived- which Jamie didn’t think was fair, especially since Mason was still working and shouldn’t have to pay for Jamie’s food after he showed up uninvited- Jamie put his hand over Mason’s when he held out his debit card for the waitress.

“I could’ve got that,” Mason said once she left, reluctantly putting away his card.

“I know, but I wanted to. You deserve to be treated to dinner too.”

The only retort Mason came up with was, “Dork.”

“What, you’re not a dork for thinking I’m cute, but I’m a dork for wanting to buy you dinner? That doesn’t make sense.”

Smiling, Mason looked down to where he was fiddling with his wallet. He slipped it back into his pocket then stood, holding his hand out for Jamie’s as they left the diner.

Back in Mason’s room, Jamie flopped back on the bed and stretched out, sighing happily.

“Tired?”

“A little.”

“Because you’re still jet-lagged or cause you’re lazy on vacation?”

Jamie threw a middle finger up to where Mason was hanging up their coats then groaned when he had to get up to go to the bathroom a minute later.

When he came back, Mason was climbing on the bed to tape the drawing on the wall next to a few pictures that were over the head of his bed. Then he taped the card. The fold swayed open. For a second, it looked like Mason was going to ignore it- maybe he thought the paper was folded but that Jamie only wrote on the front- but then he caught sight of ink and he reached out, opening it.

Jamie watched as he read it. He saw how Mason’s eyes softened at the heart he drew and the way the corner of his mouth tugged up as he touched his finger to Jamie’s name.

“Jamie,” Mason said softly. More an exhale than a word. He rubbed his eye. Bit his lip. Then he was turning around and hooking one finger in Jamie’s belt loop. He stood as he tugged him closer.

Cupping Jamie’s cheek with his other hand, Mason drew his face down to kiss him. For a second it looked like his eyelashes were wet, but then Jamie closed his eyes as his lips met Mason’s and it didn’t seem to matter as much. Instead, he thought of the way Mason was gently touching him and kissing, and the emotions that seemed to be running through him.

Then he wasn’t thinking anymore as Mason turned them around and guided Jamie back onto his bed before crawling on top of him, the touch of his lips turned into sweet with more than a touch of want. Jamie could feel it as Mason kissed him deeper, running his tongue along his mouth and pressing Jamie closer by the back of his head. He could also feel his need against his thigh.

Jamie pushed his leg up between Mason’s, who moaned and tightened his grip.

“Jamie,” Mason said again, that time a plea.

“Yes.” He put his hands on the small of Mason’s back, pulling them together snugly. “Yes.”

Letting go of him, Mason grabbed for the hem of Jamie’s shirt, pushing it up with one hand while scrabbling for the button of Jamie’s jeans with the other. Jamie responded in kind, pulling up the back of Mason’s shirt until they had to stop kissing to get it off. Jamie’s shirt was thrown to the side as well, then they were back on each other, pushing and pulling, frantically trying to get closer. To feel the other as much as they could.

It was a struggle getting Jamie’s jeans off while Mason was straddling him and his knee ended up driven in Mason’s stomach.

Grunting in pain, Mason let go of where he was helping Jamie with his pants to press his hand against his abs.

“Sorry.”

“‘S’okay,” he said, though he climbed off Jamie so they could finish undressing without any more injuries.

Then he was back, crawling up Jamie’s body and trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses over his stomach, sternum, and throat. His lips and tongue and teeth had Jamie trembling by the time he reached his mouth.

Gently lowering his weight onto Jamie, Mason cupped his cheeks tenderly and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Jamie pushed his face forward as he pulled Mason closer with one hand buried in his curls and the other pressed against the small of his back.

Jamie wrapped his bare legs around Mason’s waist and arched his back, rolling his hips for friction as he moaned into Mason's mouth. His fingers tugged at Mason’s body, wanting more, more, more.

“Wait, wait,” Mason said, breaking from the kiss. “I don’t have condoms.”

Their faces were only an inch apart, panting into the same space of air.

“Didn’t you always have some?” From what Jamie could remember from the summer, Mason seemed to always have at least one within reach.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think I’d need them here . I didn’t know you were coming. I thought I wouldn’t be having sex until I got back home.”

“Oh.” Unlike Mason, Jamie did know they’d be spending the break in New Jersey but he hadn’t thought to get any either. Well, technically he didn’t have time to think of them. He was rushed out of the house very quickly.

Groaning in frustration, Mason dropped his head onto Jamie’s chest. “Fuck. I really wanted to.”

“Me too.”

“I guess we’ll just have to get some tomorrow.”

Jamie slumped into the bed, disappointed. He wanted to right then. The need to touch and hold and feel Mason had built up during their time apart and the passion burning through his veins couldn’t be ignored. He didn’t think he could wait any longer. Then he thought of something he hadn’t before. Quietly he asked, “Do we need them?”

Mason lifted his head and looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, think of it,” Jamie said without meeting his eyes. Instead, he watched his fingers brush back and forth over Mason’s shoulder. “The main reasons for condoms are to prevent pregnancies- not even possible with us- and STDs. I’ve only been with you, so unless you caught something from someone else-”

Mason’s face scrunched up at the implication. “I’d never!”

“I know. My point is that we’re both clean. I can’t get something from you if you don’t have anything, and you can’t get something from me if I don’t have anything. The only other reason for using one is for quicker, easier clean-up. Unless I’m forgetting something.”

Biting his lip, Mason thought for a moment. Then, “You want to? Do it without a condom?”

Jamie nodded. “I’ve missed you and I don’t want to wait another day if we don’t have to.” Pulling Mason into a kiss, he said, “Make love to me.”

Despite the desperate way they were moving together and pulling each other closer, Jamie felt overwhelmingly loved and he trembled with pleasure as Mason tenderly kissed him and touched him and rocked into him. He felt desired in a way he hadn’t before and it filled him completely, taking over the way he ran his hands and lips over Mason’s firm, warm body.

He was boneless and breathless after as he lay next to Mason, his forehead resting against Mason's bicep. They were both sweaty and sticky but he didn’t care. He lightly squeezed Mason’s hand, getting a squeeze back.

“I love you,” he said, pressing his face forward to kiss Mason’s arm. Mason hummed his response and put his other hand on Jamie’s.

Jamie wanted to stay there- just relax into the mattress and Mason’s side- but he eventually had to pull himself up to shower. The water was warm and soothing and his eyes were soon slipping shut. Lazily brushing his teeth and putting his retainer in, Jamie collapsed back into Mason’s bed- under the blankets that time- and waited for Mason to finish getting ready for bed.

Climbing in, Mason laid down on Jamie’s chest again, nuzzling into him. One of his hands lay over Jamie’s heart and his legs were spread on either side of Jamie’s waist. When Jamie put his hands on his thighs, they were solid and sturdy, and he fell asleep feeling relaxed and happy.

Monday was mostly the same as the day previous. Mason got up with his eight o’clock alarm to head to his meeting for nine. While he was still tired, Jamie first woke up with him and wished him well before dozing for another hour or so. He fully woke up just after ten and spent some time on various social media platforms, responding to his friends’ messages. Brodie and Kellen had messaged the group chat the four of them shared long after Jamie and Mason had gone to sleep, but with the time difference, it wouldn’t have been too late for their friends back in Idaho.

Eventually, Jamie pulled himself out of bed and sat for a while, just staring out the window and watching the few people walking around and admiring the way the snow looked on the buildings and trees. Turning his attention inward, Jamie looked around Mason’s dorm room, seeing it for the first time. He had been preoccupied or too exhausted to take in how Mason styled it.

When entering the room, to the left- behind the open door- was a large dresser and against the wall on the right was a boot mat that currently held Jamie’s shoes and a second pair that Jamie recognized as Mason’s indoor gym shoes. Next was the mini-fridge, which was pushed up to the side of the desk, and on the front were a few magnets, including a few that Jamie had made for an art project. Mason liked them, so Jamie gave them to him afterward instead of keeping or getting rid of them. He’d forgotten about them.

On the desk were piles of papers and books: coursework, textbooks and notebooks. There were also mugs- one with pens and pencils in it- a ruler, sticky note pads, a box of paperclips, a few framed pictures, and a little stuffed jaguar wearing a shirt with the Mexican flag on it. Someone also gave it a mini sombrero. Above the desk was a bulletin board with more pictures, various notes and papers pinned to it, alongside a calendar. There were little raindrops drawn in blue pen on a few dates, but Jamie wasn’t sure what they were for. Written on December 13th in Sharpie was ‘Flight home!’- the day Jamie had been counting down to for weeks. The day Mason was supposed to come home to him. Well, come home in general, not specifically for him.

Jamie stood, moving toward the desk. The pen through the ‘Flight home!’ was deep, as though Mason was angry when he crossed it out. As devastated as he was when Mason told him he couldn’t go home, he could only imagine what it was like for his boyfriend. To be on the opposite side of the country, alone for months, and realizing that he would continue to be alone for the remainder of the school year. It broke Jamie’s heart.

The pictures, he now saw, were of Mason’s family- excluding his father- and their friends. A photo of Jamie, Mason, Kellen, and Brodie at prom. Gabe shoving an overstuffed taco in his mouth, the toppings falling onto the plate below. Jamie in his marching band uniform and holding his trumpet, Mason’s elbow propped up on his shoulder. The group photo taken on Senior Prank Night in front of the Lincoln statue with Jamie front and centre. A selfie with Gabe and Londa on either side of Mason, their cheeks squished to fit all three of them in the frame. Jamie making a silly face. Jamie standing barefoot on a rock at the shore of a lake, glaring at the cold water surrounding him. Jamie staring intensely at his laptop, oblivious to the fond look Mason was sending his way from across the table. A profile of Jamie driving taken from the passenger seat, the sun setting out the window beside him. A picture Londa must have taken over the summer of the two of them cuddling on her couch. A sleepy selfie Jamie sent to Mason over Snapchat, which he didn’t know how he had printed.

To the left of the desk were the outside wall and the window overlooking a part of the campus. On the windowsill was a pot with a little plant and to the left of that was the bookshelf above the head of Mason’s bed. The bottom shelf had a mini lamp and Mason’s phone charger- it was also where Mason kept his glasses at night. Close but out of the way.

On the wall opposite of the desk and over Mason’s pillows were the card and drawing Jamie gave Mason the night before, and next to them were three pictures he hadn't looked at before. One was of their silhouettes hand in hand against water when they went for a walk during a beach party of Kellen’s. The second was a selfie they took during their first week of dating- Jamie hugging Mason from behind, his head resting on Mason’s shoulder and their cheeks pressed together. The last was a candid shot of Jamie at prom with him looking to the side, grinning at something or someone off-camera. He hadn’t known it was taken. He also never realized his jawline was so sharp. 

Overall, it looked like Mason had organized it well, but Jamie could see where he had started slipping up as the semester dragged on and he worked into the break. The overfilled laundry basket and scattered paper. The bedsheets coming off one corner of the mattress and the collection of mugs by the window. Maybe Jamie could help clean up while he was there. Mason might not have had the time, but Jamie certainly did.

He took his time in the shower, grateful for not having to worry about having to get somewhere on time, or assignments to complete, or someone else waiting for the shower. No two-year-olds needing a bath or other students who needed to cram a shower in after a morning workout or before class. That was one of the pros of being on campus during the winter break; practically no one else was in the building. As far as he knew, Lily was the only other person there.

Back in Mason’s room, he was drying off when the door opened and Jamie had half a thought that he should cover himself, but before he could even decide whether or not to, Mason walked in.

“Oh!” Mason exclaimed, quickly shutting the door as his eyes slowly trailed up and down Jamie’s naked body. “This is a nice sight. Can I come back to this every day?”

Jamie draped the towel over the back of the chair and leaned back against the edge of the desk with his hands braced on top of the table, spreading his legs a little. They were a little too preoccupied the night before for Mason to actually see him, so he let him have his fill. “For the next two weeks? Absolutely.”

“Fuck, baby,” Mason said, stepping closer. His hands were cold when he put them on Jamie’s waist, but Jamie didn’t pull away. Instead, he leaned into the touch as Mason pressed an open mouth kiss to the side of his neck, just below his jaw. “You look so good.”

The low voice and firm grip on his sides, combined with the obvious imbalance of dress- Mason wearing multiple layers and him without a single article of clothing, not even a watch- sent a spark of heat to his gut. He could feel himself starting to harden.

“Just for you,” Jamie moaned, his head falling back to give better access for Mason’s kisses and bites.

Trailing down his throat, Mason kissed and licked at his skin. He bit lightly at the juncture where his neck met his shoulders.

“Wanna blow you.”

A noise ripped from the back of Jamie’s throat.

Mason’s lips trailed down over his chest and stomach as he sank to his knees in front of Jamie, Jamie’s fingers threading into his hair. Talented with his mouth, Mason had him trembling by the time he finished.

“That was good,” Jamie said when he stood again. Looping his arms around Mason’s waist between the sweater and coat he was still wearing, Jamie drew him in to press kisses to his forehead and cheeks. “You amaze me.”

Mason smiled and wrapped his arms around Jamie’s shoulders, tucking his face into his neck.

They stood there for a while, just holding each other. Enjoying being together. Jamie buried his nose in Mason’s hat-ruffled curls and kissed the top of his head.

“I should probably get dressed,” he said a little quietly, breaking the silence.

Letting out a little puff of air in his amusement, Mason said, “Probably.” He didn’t move to let go.

Jamie stroked his fingers over the small of Mason’s back, first through his sweater, then against his smooth skin after pushing his hands under both the sweater and t-shirt. Mason’s back was warm and firm. Taut skin over solid muscle.

As he was getting dressed, Jamie pointed to Mason’s corkboard. “I didn’t realize you had so many pictures of me.”

“At first I didn’t, but once I was accepted here, I started taking more. I knew I’d be alone out here and that I’d miss you like crazy. I thought pictures would help.”

“Did they?”

“Yes. Seeing you through facetime was better, but being able to look at what was waiting for me at home made it a little easier. Well. Until last week.”

Sitting next to Mason on the bed, he put his hand on his arm. “Tell me?”

Mason put his hand on top of Jamie’s. “After I realized I had to stay, it seemed more like torture. Instead of being ‘this is what you’re going back to,’ it was ‘this is what you can’t have.’ I had half a thought to take them down, but I knew it’d be stupid to do that. Instead, I just stared at them and imagined myself there.”

Tucking a curl behind Mason’s ear, Jamie kissed his cheek.

“That’s what I was doing Friday when you showed up. I thought I missed you so much I started hallucinating. Thought you walked right out of my daydream.”

“Baby,” Jamie said sadly, nuzzling into Mason’s neck as he slid his arm around him. He pulled him close. “I’m here.”

“I know. And I love you so much for that.” Turning his head, Mason caught Jamie’s lips in a kiss. “Thank you.”

They kissed for a few minutes then just sat and enjoyed each other’s company. Jamie looked at the pieces of home Mason brought with him.

“Where did you get the jaguar?”

“Londa gave it to me back in August, telling me, ‘puede que no te guste, pero no olvides de dónde eres.’”

Jamie didn’t know what to make of Mason casually speaking Spanish after swearing it off for years. Mason didn’t continue- he just silently sat there, lost in his thoughts for a few moments. Jamie didn’t know what to make of that, either.

“Mace?” He said, finally breaking the silence. “This might come as a surprise, but I haven’t learned Spanish in the four months we were apart.”

“Sorry. No, I- never mind. She said, ‘You may not like him, but don't forget where you’re from.’ That I’ll always be Mexican and I shouldn’t let him ruin it for me.” He scratched his arm, looking uncomfortable. “The jaguar is Mexico’s national mammal.”

Jamie turned his hand over, holding Mason’s fingers between his. He rubbed his knuckles and the backs of his fingers with his thumb before bringing them to his mouth to kiss the back of his hand. “I mean, she’s not wrong. I know it’s not my place to say anything, but Spanish is a beautiful language, not to mention useful to know. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up going to Mexico and making many wonderful memories that have zero influence from your father. Replace bad memories with good ones, you know? Who’s he to say how to live your life?”

With a small, hopeful smile, Mason’s gaze slowly made its way from their hands up to Jamie’s eyes. “Tal vez te diré todos los días lo mucho que te amo y tú sonreirás muy bien y ya no me preocupo por él.” (Maybe I'll tell you every day how much I love you and you'll smile prettily and I won't care about him anymore.)

Jamie’s breath left him in a shaky exhale and his knees weakened. It was a good thing he was already sitting.

“I don’t know what that means,” he said unsteadily. The only part he understood- if he heard correctly- was ‘te amo’ and he desperately wanted to know what Mason said to him. His tone and the tender look he gave Jamie had him thinking it was probably something romantic. Or at least sweet.

But Mason just smiled again, softer, and leaned in to kiss Jamie’s cheek.

“I was thinking of taking the rest of the day off,” Mason said, changing the topic as he stood from the bed. “Thought we could explore the area a bit. Kyle says there’s a week-long local market that we should go to. He goes every year with his family and swears they have the best everything; music, decorations, desserts, drinks, and more. What do you think? Do you want to go?”

Honestly, Jamie was good with doing anything as long as it was Mason. Smiling up at him, he said, “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

After a quick lunch, they boarded a bus going out east. It was over an hour, which meant that Jamie held Mason’s hand for more than fifteen minutes. He spent most of the past few days with him, but with Mason being busy, the only time to hold his hand was when walking to or from somewhere. On the bus, Mason didn’t have to read a book or write a paper, so Jamie kept their fingers tangled in his lap.

They didn’t even let go of each other when getting off the bus.

From there, it was only a few minutes walk to the market.

The first thing Jamie noticed was the music and happy talking filling the air. After rounding the corner to the large city square where the festival was held, he saw the colourful lights. Taking up four entire city blocks, the park was filled with a crowd of people milling about, tables and stands, and lots of lights. There was one couple leaving, two boys falling into each other as they laughed almost too hard to walk.

The next thing Jamie noticed was the smell.

“Oh my god, what is that?” He sniffed at the air. “I smell cinnamon and chocolate and cookies. We need to find the dessert tables asap.”

“How have you already zeroed in on the sweets?” Mason asked, clearly trying to sound exasperated, but he just sounded amused instead.

“Because it’s the best part of any festival. There are people who go to fairs just for the food.”

Rolling his eyes, Mason said, “Fine. Lead the way. Don’t complain to me when you get a toothache.”

“Excuse me, I brush and floss twice a day. I’m fine. Besides,” Jamie winked at Mason, “nothing here is going to be sweeter than you and I have you every day.”

Mason actually blushed deeply. There was no way he could play it off as just being cold because he also stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk to bury his face in his hands. It was adorable.

Curling his own hand around the back of Mason’s neck, Jamie tilted his head forward to kiss his forehead. Keeping his face in his hands, Mason leaned into him as he let out a flustered whine. Jamie smiled softly and held him close, letting Mason take time to compose himself.

“You’ve gotten used to me not being around to compliment you, huh?” Jamie said a few minutes later when Mason calmed down enough to continue walking to the market.

“So have you. Remember how you hid under the blanket when I said you’re beautiful?”

He did. His face warmed at the memory.

“How about we just agree we’re both touch-starved dorks that can’t get enough of each other and will continue to be easily flustered by any form of affection?”

Laughing, Mason shook his hand. “Deal.”

It turned out that what Jamie was smelling was a woman selling her famous hot chocolate. Jamie almost lost his mind when he saw it. It was beautiful with a tower of whipped cream, topped with chocolate shavings and a chocolate cookie.

It tasted even better.

Mason watched fondly as Jamie went at it a little too enthusiastically. He burned his tongue drinking it too fast, but it was so worth it. The rich, creamy chocolate was the best thing ever and he was immediately in love.

He was happy and satisfied, standing there with Mason and a hot drink in his hands.

“Come on,” Mason said warmly, holding out one hand for Jamie’s. “Let’s see what else the market has to offer.

The picturesque market was full of cute and artsy booths touched with all things Christmas and wintery. From where they were, Jamie could see a lot of handmade decorations scattered throughout the displays. One table had a bunch of homemade knit apparel including hats, scarves, and mittens. There was a kids section that Jamie browsed, in which two hats caught his attention.

“Oh my god,” he said, holding them up for Mason to see. “These would be perfect for the twins.”

Looking up from a scarf, Mason laughed. “Is that so people can tell them apart?”

“Absolutely.” Turning back to the Thing 1 and Thing 2 hats in his hands, Jamie considered them for a moment. “I’m getting them.”

“How old are they?” The woman behind the table- and presumably the person who made everything on said table- asked as he handed her the cash.

“Three. These will be a little big on them, but they’ll grow into them.”

“Yes, and these have a bit of a stretch to last even longer. They should be able to get a good many years out of these.”

“Could I get this, please?” Mason asked, holding up the scarf he was looking at. Jamie wasn’t sure why Mason needed another scarf… well, Jamie did kind of steal his Princeton one. He technically didn’t steal it, but it was the same as Mason’s hoodie. Once Jamie borrowed it, he just didn’t give it back. (Technically, Jamie did give back Mason’s hoodie, but only because it stopped smelling like Mason. When Mason held it to his nose after putting it on without hesitation, Jamie realized his own scent lingered on the fabric.) Was Mason buying the scarf because he knew he wasn’t getting the other one back?

Or maybe Jamie was just thinking too much about it. He probably was.

Moving on to the next table, they browsed the many handmade soaps and candles. Jamie stopped to smell almost all of them, buying one that was crystal shaped and named ‘vanilla bean noël’ and another one shaped and scented like a cinnamon roll. The first because Jamie was a sucker for vanilla, even though he wouldn’t admit it, and the second because Mason always seemed to have a lingering scent of cinnamon and the soap reminded Jamie of him.

As they wandered through the market, they took turns pointing out things they found interesting, weird or funny. One vendor had a collection of mugs with very explicit sayings. Jamie’s favourite was ‘Look Like It’s Fuck This Shit O’Clock.’ There was a surprising number of tables with jewelry. He got a necklace for his mom. It was more expensive than he was expecting, but she did buy him two last-minute plane tickets to see Mason and he wanted to show his appreciation.

“Ooo! Look!” Jamie pointed at the mini photo booth. He always saw pictures of them online and featured in movies, but he’d never been in one before. “Let’s go! Please?”

“Where?” Mason asked, looking a bit to the left of it. Jamie grabs his chin and turned him in the direction of the booth. “Oh. Yeah, sure. We can do that.”

There was a line and they had to stand in the cold for about ten minutes before it was their turn, but it was worth the wait. Jamie fished some coins from his pocket and put them in the coin slot. It asked how many copies they wanted and he selected four.

“Why four? We only need two.”

“Yeah, but if two get damaged or lost we’ll need backups.”

The screen then changed to show what the camera saw and began a slow count down.

The first picture had them both smiling for the camera, Jamie’s arm over Mason’s shoulders and their heads tilted together. It was very coupley and looked a lot like a picture that would be found on a married couple’s Christmas card. Jamie tried not to think about that last bit. He wasn’t very successful, because for the second picture he was studying Mason’s profile instead of posing for the camera. Mason noticed just after the picture took and looked over to him.

His face was close. Jamie shamelessly stared at the fan of his eyelashes and the little birthmark on his cheek that Jamie could only see when he was that close. His gaze drifted down to his slightly parted lips as he reached up to cup Mason’s cheek in his palm. He wasn’t sure who leaned in, but then he was kissing him gently, eyes shut to savour the moment.

He lost track of time as he cradled Mason’s face in his hands and kissed him.

When they pulled apart, Mason had his hands on the collar of Jamie’s shirt to hold him close and they were both panting into the short distance between them.

A whirring broke through the haze.

Jamie looked down to see the fourth strip of pictures fall onto the floor. He bent to pick them up. He knew what the first two would show, but the third picture captured the moment before they kissed, Jamie’s hand on Mason’s cheek, their lips just barely touching, Mason’s eyes open a crack. The look on Mason’s face…

The yearning lovesick way he was looking at Jamie had a swarm of butterflies taking flight in his stomach. He knew Mason loved him, but to see it so clearly on his face made Jamie fall in love with him again.

Growing up, he thought love was short-lived; his parents never married and Mason’s father cheated on his mother. He’d never seen love last long in his own life, but in the movies, it always seemed to last forever. Happily ever after and all that, which was especially driven in once he started reading princess books to his sisters. In those, love seemed like something that happened once and that was it. There was one moment you fell in love and it was the singular most important day of your life.

Once Jamie started dating Mason, though, he found himself falling in love with Mason constantly. Multiple times a day. Every day they were together- and those they were apart, too.

Mason never failed to make his heart skip a beat.

“At least try to focus this time,” Mason said, bringing Jamie back to the present.

“What?”

Mason kissed his cheek and drove his fingers into Jamie’s side.

“Wait- no, no!” Jamie squirmed as far away as he could in the tiny booth. He couldn’t escape and Mason tickled him until Jamie felt like he was going to pee. Mason offered him mercy and pulled him into his side, where Jamie tucked his face into the side of his neck as his chest heaved for air.

“I hate you,” he whined without any heat behind his words.

“I know you do, baby.”

Then the photo booth machine started whirring again. It was printing out another set of pictures. Jamie picked it up.

The first had Jamie staring at Mason with heart eyes while Mason smiled bashfully at his lap, his eyes flicking up to Jamie’s. The second had Mason kissing Jamie’s cheek as he looked on with a confused expression. The ones after it were taken while he was being tickled, so they showed him laughing his head off. Mason’s face in them was full of love and amusement. Mostly amusement.

Mason looked at them over his shoulder at the pictures. “Cute.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s-”

“No, I mean, really? This is what you want a photo set of?”

Mason looked back down to the photo, slipping it out of Jamie’s fingers to study it closer. “I like how you look when you laugh. The way your dimples come out and your eyes crinkle. Your beautiful, heart-stopping smile.”

Jamie melted into Mason’s side as he let out a whine. “You can’t just say things like that. My heart needs a warning so I can prepare for a compliment.”

He felt the rumble of Mason’s chuckle. “Sorry, baby. C’mon. We should grab our pictures and go. Other people will be wanting a turn.”

After gathering up the photos, Jamie took Mason’s hand as he led the way out of the booth and to the next row of tables. There were ornaments made out of sea glass, which caught Jamie’s attention. From a state not on the coast, he’s never seen sea glass before. It looked cool. Then there were wooden decorations- carved and painted by hand- and bath bombs, followed by someone doing henna tattoos. At the other end of the row, was a sign for horse-drawn carriage rides.

“Do you want to look for where to get a ride?”

“Sure. It sounds lovely.”

Surprisingly, the line for it wasn’t long and soon they were huddled up on one of the four benches next to another young couple. The ride went through the city’s park before going on the roads, taking them around to show off the local decorations and sights. Along the way, the sun started setting, lighting up the buildings and trees with a warm glow before giving way to the clear star-filled night.

Jamie sighed and tilted his head to rest on Mason’s. He could relive that moment over and over and never tire of it.

They were dropped off near a table with a bunch of baked goods and- surprise, surprise- Jamie got a brownie and started eating it as he and Mason continued walking around.

In the evening dark, the surrounding Christmas lights were much more vibrant and breathtaking than during the day. Without the sun, Jamie saw there were warm white lights wrapping around the trees of the park, extending up into the branches overhead, creating a domed canopy. Combined with the lit-up leaves, it made Jamie feel like he was in an alternate mystical world filled with magic.

A few minutes later, when they were near the edge of the market, Mason excused himself to the bathroom. Jamie nodded and kissed his cheek, promising to be in the same area when Mason came back. As soon as Mason was gone, though, he wove through the crowd to a table he saw a few minutes previous.

He was back before Mason was, looking at homemade wooden ornaments when Mason stepped into place next to him.

“That’s cute,” Mason said, pointing to a little chick-a-dee. “It seems like something your mom would like.”

“Yeah.”

The next table had stickers and magnets of characters from different movies, TV shows, and books. The woman was also selling 4” x 6” art prints of her fan art, all of which were absolutely amazing. There were some really interesting ones and Jamie got one of a guy walking away from an explosion. He had no idea what fandom it was for- if at all- but it was cool.

Her table was at the end of the row, and past it was a moving Christmas lights display. They stood to watch it for a few minutes, Mason behind Jamie with his chin resting on his shoulder. Then, because he said his hands were cold, he tucked them up under Jamie’s shirt and put them on his stomach.

Jamie squirmed at first- because his hands were really cold- until his body adjusted to the touch and he relaxed into it.

“Let’s go get dinner,” Mason said, patting his hips before slipping his hands out and Jamie missed the contact.

Following the smell, they found a stand selling German sausages. They were so good and juicy and Jamie was practically moaning while eating it. Mason elbowed him and told him to shut up, but the look in his eyes told Jamie he wanted to hear more- just in his bedroom, and not at a public market with children around.

Then the wind picked up and Jamie saw a glow from a clearing in the park, then dragged Mason to a nearby stand that had hot drinks and homemade desserts where they got two cups of apple cider and warm apple strudels. He was going to pay, but Mason put his hand over Jamie’s and held out his own debit card.

“Aww, you’re buying me food?” Jamie teased.

Mason rolled his eyes but smiled. “I’ve bought you food before. Plenty of times, in fact, before we even started dating. I bought you food not even half an hour ago. Besides, I’m not sure this counts as food.”

“Oh, hush, you.”

He was about to make another retort, but then Mason put a hand on his back, gently leading him to the glow, which turned out to be a large bonfire. There were benches around the fire and a brass choir playing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen on the pavilion, which was also in the clearing.

“This is cozy.”

Huddled up together with the hot drinks in their hands, they sat down on an unoccupied bench and Jamie buried deeper into his coat as he pulled the collar tighter around his neck. When walking around, the cold didn’t bother him as much, but with the sun gone and him still, it started biting at him. It wasn’t too bad, though, because he was close enough to feel the warmth of the flames and Mason’s body heat.

“Here,” Mason said, pulling out the scarf he bought earlier. He unfolded it and unfolded it and unfolded it and unfolded it.

Jamie was staring.

When he finally finished, Jamie saw how long it was. It was insanely long, like, ridiculously long and piling up on their laps.

“…why?”

Mason wrapped it around both of them in lieu of answering and that was when Jamie clued in. It was one of those two-person scarves. Draping his arm over Mason’s shoulder, Jamie pulled him close, tucking him into his side.

The band finished the piece and moved on to Sleigh Ride and part of Jamie wished he was next to them with his trumpet. He loved playing Christmas music and hearing the blends of the instruments. He hadn’t ever been in an ensemble with only brass instruments, but he’d like to join one.

Only part of him wanted that, though. The majority of him was wanting to cling to Mason and never leave his side, even for a performance. With their limited time together, he had to savour every minute he had before he would have to leave for home.

Except, it didn’t really feel like home without Mason there.

For what felt like forever, he just sat there, leaning into Mason’s side as he listened to piece after piece. Sure, recordings of instrumental pieces and the songs on his phone were great to listen to, but nothing could beat listening to a live performance. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, he hadn’t gotten many opportunities to just sit and listen to a band play, usually because he was always in said band. It was really nice.

Eventually, after looping the pieces once or twice, the band finished and started packing up. Reluctantly, Jamie did too. Before walking away, he stopped to thank the musicians and compliment them.

“Thanks for sitting with me,” Jamie said, his arm draped over Mason’s shoulders and Mason’s around his waist. He thought about how all the other listeners only stayed for one or two pieces, whereas Mason sat with him for the full set. “I know just sitting and listening to a band isn’t what most people want to do at a market.”

“Baby, you don’t have to thank me.” Mason stopped walking and put his other hand on Jamie’s chest as he looked up at him. “You’re a musician and you like to listen to and support other musicians, I know that. I knew that as I was falling for you. Part of dating you is attending live performances, whether or not you’re in them. And it’s not like it’s a burden or boring, I love them. I enjoyed listening to them play just now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Jamie tugged him closer and kissed his temple. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

After wandering around the market more- it was larger than it seemed from the outside, the entire park filled with stands and people- Jamie checked the time on his phone and winced. “We should get going.”

“Why? What time is it?”

“10:52. It’ll be after midnight when we get back to campus if we were to get on the bus right now. And don’t you have a meeting tomorrow morning?”

“It’s almost 11?!” Mason exclaimed, looking- no, glaring at his watch. “Damn. I didn’t realize it was that late. This says it’s 9:30.”

“You need a new watch.”

“I know.”

“Shit. C’mon,” Mason said, dragging Jamie towards the bus stop.

Weaving through the thinning-out crowds, they crossed through the park and exited on the other side, where they entered hours ago. There was some ice on the sidewalk and one of Jamie’s feet slipped, and he very well could have fallen on his face if it weren’t for Mason’s quick reflexes, catching him and holding him firmly until he was steady on his feet again. They went slower after that, not wanting to get hurt in their rush for the bus. It wasn’t worth it.

“According to this,” Mason said, reading the bus timetable, “the bus should be here in half an hour.”

Jamie frowned. “Ah.”

“Do you want to wait here or go back to the market?”

Jamie thought about it for a moment. It was late and cold but he really didn’t like the idea of going back, missing the bus entirely, and having to wait even longer. Wishing there was an open coffee shop by the bus stop for them to wait in, Jamie said, “Here. I don’t want to lose track of time again and accidentally miss it.”

The temperature continued to drop as they waited, and soon holding hands wasn’t enough. Seeing Mason shivering, Jamie pulled him into his chest, curling his own body around Mason’s to envelop him in a warm embrace.

Mason immediately pushed himself closer as Jamie rewrapped the scarf around them, trying to cover Mason’s neck and most of his face. When Jamie glanced at his face to make sure there wasn't any exposed skin, he saw that Mason’s glasses were fogged up. He then resettled around him. As Mason pulled his arms tighter around him, Jamie put his chin on the top of Mason's hat.

Over the next few minutes, Mason’s shivering died down as Jamie warmed him up and it wasn’t much longer until the bus arrived. They quickly piled on, paying the fee and making their way to the seats in the very back. A minute later, the bus closed its doors and pulled away from the curb, the overhead lights shutting off.

The bus was dark and quiet. It was warm, too, and the seats were comfortable. Similar to the market but with significantly less bustling, it was like stepping into a tranquil otherworld, especially once the bus got on the highway and the only lights were from the cars around them and the streetlights. The only sounds were the rumbling of the bus and the occasional shuffling of feet.

Huddled close to each other, Jamie and Mason spoke in hushed whispers, laughing quietly as they joked and teased one another.

Jamie was filled with a sense of… well, he wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was like the world was on pause and the only things that mattered were Mason’s body leaning into his and the beautiful smile gracing his lips. Jamie’s heart was light and content for the first time in a long while. He wasn’t stressed about the upcoming months they would have to be apart or any expectations people had of them. It was a moment, a feeling, he wanted to keep forever. Something he knew he would want to come back to when things got hard.

Apparently thinking along the same line, Mason raised his phone and tipped his head against Jamie’s, taking a selfie. It was dark and a little blurry and perfect.

Jamie grabbed the part of the scarf around Mason’s neck and pulled him into a kiss.

The hour ride passed too quickly and Jamie was stepping out of the perfect-world bubble sooner than he would have liked. It had started to snow at some point and they stumbled off the bus, trudging through the packing snow as they made their way back to Mason’s dorm, holding hands the entire way.

Jamie’s body was tired and ready to just collapse onto Mason’s bed as soon as they got back to go right to sleep, but he pushed himself into the bathroom to brush, floss, and put in his retainer. Then he was crawling back into Mason’s bed and arms.

They probably should have gone to sleep right away- it was after midnight- but Jamie shimmied down the bed to take care of Mason’s situation. Afterward, Mason pulled him back up to kiss him as he gently pushed his warm, strong hand down the front of Jamie’s boxers.

It was after one before either of them fell asleep, Jamie cuddling into Mason’s chest and Mason’s arms cradling him close.

For the first time since his exams were over, Jamie had an alarm set on his own phone to wake him up. Mason didn’t know- he was already gone for his morning meeting by the time Jamie’s alarm went off. He didn’t want him to know. If Mason knew, he would ask questions and it would ruin the surprise.

Allowing himself a few minutes of being lazy in Mason’s bed, Jamie got up with a bit of a spring in his step. He couldn’t help but be excited. Mason had been so stressed and busy recently and Jamie wanted to do something to both relax and perk him up. He wanted to do something nice for his hard-working boyfriend.

Jamie looked at the clock. He had a few hours to work with- Mason said the meeting was going to be longer than the others due to them taking a few days off for Christmas. Putting on Christmas music- without them digging painfully into his heart- Jamie set to work.

He wasn’t finished when he heard the door to Mason’s dorm open sooner than he expected. “No!” he shouted before he even decided to. He looked over his shoulder to see the door frozen, open a few inches.

“Babe?” came Mason’s confused voice. “What are you doing?”

He glanced around the room, at the half-strung Christmas lights he was in the middle of putting up. He bought them at the market when Mason was in the bathroom and Jamie didn’t want him to see them until he was done. “Um. Nothing? You can’t come in, though. Not yet.”

“Baby,” Mason sighed, sounding tired. “My phone’s dying and I need my charger.”

Gently, as to not pull down the rest of the strand, Jamie let go of the lights and climbed off the bed. Grabbing the charger, he went to the door and stuck his hand through the opening. He peered around the door and saw Mason look down at his charger and sigh before taking it.

“You’re lucky there are outlets in the hall,” he said, looking back up to Jamie. “What are you doing?”

Jamie grinned and patted his head, finding it damp from the snow. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Mason rolled his eyes and sat down with his back against the wall, just to the left of the door. Satisfied, Jamie went back to the lights.

“This better not take long,” Mason said from the hallway. “I want a nap before we go to the library.”

“It won’t, sleepyhead.”

Quickly finishing, Jamie plugged the lights in, re-straightened the bedsheets, and flicked off the overhead light. Casting another quick look around, Jamie made sure everything was just right before turning to the door.

“Okay,” he said. “You can come in.”

“Why thank you,” Mason called out sarcastically. “Thank you for letting me in my own roo…”

Jamie watched as Mason trailed off, taking it all in. The awe and wonderment on his face as his eyes darted around. They finally landed on Jamie and softened. Dropping his bag and coat on the floor as he walked over, he took Jamie’s face in his hands and kissed him, deep and slow. Jamie leaned into the kiss, reciprocating eagerly.

Taking Mason’s hand in one of his, Jamie wrapped the other around his waist and prompted him into a slow dance while Michael Bublé was crooning It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas in the background. Mason’s other hand rose to rest on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze.

The way Mason kept staring at him made Jamie feel so loved his heart almost burst. The tender affection and appreciation dancing in his eyes as he cuddled into Jamie’s chest. His thumb lightly stroked where Jamie’s neck met his shoulder, just over the collar of Jamie’s shirt. His touch left a trail of fire over Jamie’s exposed skin.

“You did this for me?”

Jamie kissed where his fingers tangled with Mason’s. “Yes. Do you like it?”

Mason pushed himself up on his toes to kiss him deeply. “I love it. I love you.”

For the remainder of the song, Jamie sang softly while they rocked slowly to the music, kissing Mason’s forehead and the back of his hand. Afterward, Mason hugged him close as they just stood there for a minute, holding each other. With his head resting on Jamie’s shoulder, Mason peered up at him. He reached up, brushing Jamie’s bottom lip with his thumb.

“What did I do to deserve you?” he whispered.

“I could say the same thing,” Jamie said, kissing Mason’s cheek.

Mason chuckled and held him tighter before loosening his hold. “Nap time?”

Jamie grinned. “Okay.”

Taking a step back, Mason pulled off his shirt and threw it in the direction of his laundry basket. His now-empty laundry basket. He turned back to Jamie. “Did you do my laundry?”

Jamie nodded. “And your bedsheets.”

“And my sheets?” Swinging his head around, Mason looked at his neatly made bed behind Jamie. He moved his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Then he walked back to Jamie and kissed him again, harder. More passionately. “I love you.”

Thank you.

“I love you, too.”

You’re welcome.

“Now, come on,” Jamie said, patting Mason’s hips. “Get changed so you can nap. There’s a nice, clean bed waiting for you.

Mason quickly stripped and rummaged through his closet to grab sweat pants and a shirt. No boxers. Jamie didn’t even try to hide that he was openly ogling Mason’s body and he exaggerated a pout when Mason pulled the sweats up over his hips, making him roll his eyes. He was grinning, though, when he climbed into his bed and Jamie’s arms.

With arms around his waist, Jamie laid them down and cocooned them in the blankets. They were high enough that Mason stuck his hand out the top and tugged it down until it was under his chin. Mason then snuggled closer, throwing one leg over Jamie’s and an arm on his chest, his hand resting over Jamie’s heart. With him using Jamie’s shoulder as a pillow, his face was close enough for Jamie to press little kisses all over his face. There was a sparkle in Mason’s eyes as he gave Jamie a fond smile.

He was still smiling when his eyes slipped shut a few minutes later.

Slowly, his breathing evened out as his body relaxed in Jamie’s embrace.

While taking a nap sounded like a good idea, Jamie for once wasn’t tired enough for one. Instead, he just looked at the way Mason’s eyelashes fanned out shadows on his cheeks, how one of said cheeks was smushed against Jamie’s shoulder. The bags under his eyes were less prominent than they were when he first arrived, Jamie noticed.

So far, he’d mostly thought about how being at Princeton was helping him and making himself feel better, but with Mason sleeping soundly in his arms, he realized his presence was helping Mason, too. He knew it would, but it was reassuring to actually see the effect. With himself, he could feel the aches and pains ebbing away with each passing day with his soulmate. It was less obvious to see in Mason. He’d always been one to hold himself together better than anyone Jamie knew, never showing anyone- other than Jamie- if he wasn’t feeling well.

Jamie was brought out of his thoughts when Mason pressed himself closer, nuzzling into Jamie’s chest.

He trailed his fingers over Mason’s straight nose and high cheekbones. His square jaw and dusky pink lips. There wasn’t an inch of him Jamie didn’t love. He was so beautiful that sometimes he couldn’t believe he was real. How could someone so beautiful and smart and incredible exist? Jamie felt lucky to even know him, let alone being able to hold him and kiss him and call him his.

Threading his fingers into Mason’s curls, he massaged his scalp lightly. Mason’s eyelids fluttered and Jamie wondered if he was waking up or dreaming. There weren’t any other signs of him waking up, though, so Jamie continued rubbing his head. As he did, he kissed Mason’s forehead, letting his lips linger against warm skin.

“I like this,” Mason whispered. Awake, then.

Jamie was pretty sure he knew what ‘this’ was, but he wanted to hear Mason say it. “Like what?”

“This,” Mason said again, pressing himself closer to Jamie as he nuzzled his head into Jamie’s hand. “Waking up in your arms. Listening to your heartbeat. You kissing me.”

Jamie wrapped his arms tighter around Mason. “I like it, too.”

He tilted Mason’s head up and kissed him, making Mason sigh happily.

Pulling the blanket up to his chin, Mason burrowed into its warmth and leaned further into the hand Jamie still had buried in his curls.

“Your hair is getting long,” Jamie commented, looking at the way it fell over Mason’s forehead and partially covered his eyes. It was kinda cute, but all he was thinking of was the number of times he’d seen Mason push it back out of his way again and again.

“I know. I didn’t have time between classes, assignments and exams to find somewhere to cut it. It hasn’t started annoying me yet, so who cares.”

“If you want, maybe we can look for a place tomorrow before the Christmas party.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

They laid there quietly for a few minutes, just listening to the music still playing from Jamie’s phone, as Mason relaxed into Jamie’s body. It looked like he was about to fall asleep again. Jamie couldn’t blame him. He was warm and comfortable, too.

“I should get up and do things, but I really don’t want to,” Mason groaned, pressing his face into Jamie’s chest.

Jamie grinned. “I know a way to wake you up.”

Mason must’ve seen the mischievous glint in his eyes because he rolled away from him, holding a hand up between them protectively. “Oh no. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it. Get that idea out of your head.”

“I don’t have any idea in my head.” Even as he was speaking, he reached for the covers. Mason tried to hold them in place, but he was too slow to figure out what Jamie was doing.

Pulling the blankets out of his grasp, Jamie lifted it up and quickly pulled it down over their heads, pocketing air in it like a parachute. As he did, he rolled them so he was on top of Mason and left a trail of sloppy, wet kisses down his neck. Remembering the day before when Mason tickled him, Jamie then moved his fingers under Mason’s shirt to exact his revenge as he blew a raspberry into his skin. 

Mason shrieked with laughter as he squirmed away from Jamie. Or, he tried to, anyway. With Jamie lying on top of him, there wasn’t anywhere he could go. He gripped Jamie’s hips firmly but was laughing too hard to push him away.

He tickled Mason’s side as he kissed and licked as far down his neck as he could. Tugging aside the collar of Mason’s shirt only uncovered so much skin, so he pushed the shirt up to access his sternum and continue down his chest. As he did, his touch wandered down to the elastic hem of Mason’s sweatpants and tucked under. The further south he travelled the quicker Mason’s chest rose and fell as his heavy breaths changed from laughter to groans as he bucked up into Jamie’s hand.

“Fuck. Baby, please.”

His hold on Jamie’s hips didn’t loosen, so when Jamie moved down to be eye-level with his bulge, his fingers dragged up his waist to settle over his ribs. His eyes were hazy and Jamie kissed the tent in his pants as he held his gaze, causing him to twitch. Still staring at each other, Jamie stuck his tongue out and licked him through his pants. Mason’s eyes went wild and his fingers dug into his ribs. It was a little painful, but Jamie didn’t mind.

As he worked Mason over with his mouth and hands, Mason’s own hands travelled to his hair. Not pushing or urging him to go faster, just holding him and caressing his temple with his thumb.

When he finished, Jamie left a trail of kisses up Mason’s sweaty chest as he crawled back up his body.

“You make me feel so good,” Mason mumbled into a kiss and Jamie grinned.

After Mason took Jamie apart and left him breathless, they slowly got dressed, not wanting to leave the warmth of the bed and each other.

Sitting on the edge of Mason’s mattress, Jamie watched as Mason moved around his room. It was domestic, he thought, how they effortlessly (temporarily) lived together; sharing a bed and going about what they were doing with the other in their circle of space. How they went from cuddling and having sex to dressing next to each other and preparing for the day. A sudden image of them living together popped into his head. Jamie couldn’t shake it away.

Reaching into the top drawer of his desk, Mason grabbed a small plastic box-shaped thing. Jamie didn’t know what it was, but Mason turned it on and put it down. Jamie was confused when he didn’t do anything else with it, just went onto his phone. He was about to ask what it was when it started whirring. A moment later, a piece of paper came out of it.

“Is that a mini printer?”

“Yep.” Mason glanced at him then picked up the thing he just printed, handing it to Jamie.

It was the selfie they took on the bus.

“Oh,” he said softly.

“Do you want to keep that one?”

Jamie nodded. He very much did want to keep it.

He then watched as Mason printed another copy and pinned it and their photobooth strips to his corkboard next to a picture of Brodie and Kellen wrestling while Jamie held up scorecards in the background.

“When did you get that?”

“Londa gave it to me over the summer. I mentioned wanting more pictures before coming here, so she got it for me.”

“Wow. She's great.”

“I know. Are there any other pictures you’re wanting? You can print them out, if you want,” Mason said, handing over his phone.

Eagerly, Jamie took it and settled back on Mason’s bed, scrolling through his photo gallery. He even sent pictures on his phone to Mason’s to print off. When he was finished, there was a decent pile next to the printer. He grinned and scooped them up, flipping through to look at them all.

There were a few that he printed two copies of, and he handed those to Mason to put on his wall. One of which was the picture Jamie took of Mason at the library. Another was Mason shirtless at the beach, his swim trunks slung low on his hips.

“I don’t need this,” Mason said, amused but confused.

“Why not?”

“I don’t need a picture of me. I see myself in the mirror all the time.”

“You have other pictures of you up,” Jamie argued.

“Yeah, but those have someone else in them, too. Like you.”

Mason might’ve been stubborn, but Jamie could be, too. “So? You’re hot, and I like them.”

Mason just looked at him for a moment, then his eyes softened and he turned around to pin the pictures on the board.

Putting his own pictures in a little pile at the head of the bed, Jamie asked, “What are your plans for today?”

“Lunch then library? I’m getting close to the end of the assignment for Dr. Roberts.”

“Is that the solo assignment?”

“Yep. Once it’s done, all I have is a couple of group meetings for the other one. Dr. Weir is hoping we’ll be done before the new year.’

“Which means the last few days of my visit will be just you and me?”

Mason matched his implying grin. “Why, yes it does. Do you have any possible ideas for what we could do? Multiple days with no obligations… however will we spend our time?”

He was teasing and Jamie wanted to tease right back, so he ignored the obvious answer Mason was thinking and pretended to pretend to think. “Hmmmm… we could go bungee jumping!”

Mason’s face froze. “…What?”

Jamie threw his head back as he burst out laughing. “Your… your face!” he cackled. When he calmed down a minute later, he saw Mason had his arms crossed and was pouting. It sent Jamie off on another round of laughter.

“Fine. If you want to go bungee jumping- despite your fear of heights- instead of endless days of sex with me, then you can go. Just know I’m staying here where I’ll be warm and safe. And naked. If you’re going, I’m going to send lots and lots of sexy pictures to make you regret your decision.”

“No, no. I’m sorry! I’d rather have sex with you,” Jamie cried, lunging out to grab Mason around his waist. Mason looked down at him with a pleased smile. “Wait, does that mean after your last meeting we’re doing nothing but having sex all day?”

“If you think you can take it,” Mason said with a wink and, oh. Yeah. It had Jamie pulling him back down onto the bed for another round.

It was another half hour before they left for lunch.

In the library, Mason led him to the same table as before and set up what he needed. An hour in, he got up and wandered away, disappearing for almost 15 minutes before returning with a book he didn’t leave with.

Jamie kept himself occupied with various personal art projects, browsing the internet on his laptop, and listening to an audiobook one of his friends from university introduced him to while he played mindless games on his phone to keep his hands busy.

The plot was intriguing with magic and dragons and sword fights, which held his attention longer than he was expecting it to. And the fact it featured a gay character helped piqued his interest.

The audiobook finished while they were sitting there and, surprisingly, Jamie felt at a loss when the talking ended and only silence stretched on. For the first time, he found himself wishing the book was longer. He wasn’t much of a reader- well, he wasn’t one at all- but he could have listened to a few more hours of the book.

Jamie tapped his fingers on the desk as he thought of what else he could do. Checking the time, he saw it wasn’t as late as it was when they left the library the other day, but it was getting there. It only took one look at Mason to know he was on a roll. It was easy to tell they wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.

He tried to delve into a new drawing while waiting for Mason to finish, but he couldn’t. He was too restless after sitting for hours without moving.

“I’m going to walk around a little bit, okay?” he said, standing.

Mason didn’t react.

“Babe?”

Still nothing. It was fine. He’d be back soon enough. Mason was so deep in his work Jamie doubted he’d even notice he was gone. Before leaving, he put a hand on Mason’s shoulder and kissed the top of his head. Without looking away from the article he was reading, Mason put his own hand on top of Jamie’s.

He smiled. It was touching, that even when he was fully immersed in what he was focused on, Mason still subconsciously responded to his touch. He gave a little squeeze and let go.

While wandering aimlessly through the library, Jamie found views that took his breath away; either through the windows overlooking the campus or of the building itself. He even happened upon a little cafe where Jamie stopped to get them a sandwich and muffin each.

When he got back, Mason was sitting more rigidly, his body tense, though he wasn’t narrowed into his laptop the way he was before. He looked up as soon as Jamie sat down.

“Hey. Where’d you go?”

“I walked around a bit. Here,” he slid one of the sandwiches and a muffin across the table. “Eat.”

“Thank you,” Mason said as he took the food. “Are you sure you want to eat here, though? We could go somewhere else.”

Jamie shook his head, opening his own dinner. “It’s fine. You look like you’re on a roll.”

“I am, yeah. I think I’m close to finishing this section. I’m hoping it won’t take too much longer, then I’ll only have the conclusion left to do.”

“Are you wanting to stay to try and finish it?”

Biting his lip, Mason gave him an apologetic look. “I’d like that. I’m sorry, you didn’t come out all this way just to watch me work-”

“Babe,” Jamie interrupted. “It’s okay. I promise, it’s fine. I knew you were in the middle of these two assignments before I came out here and I’m not about to ask you to stop just because I’m here now. If you want to stay because you think you’ll be productive then we’ll stay. Provided you go fill up your water bottle at the fountain on the fourth floor on the far side.”

Mason tilted his head slightly in that adorable way Jamie loved. “Why that fountain?”

“Because you’ve been sitting for a while and need to stretch your legs.”

“That’s fair.”

They talked quietly while they ate and when he was done, Mason stood and grabbed his water bottle. Jamie expected him to head directly for the stairs, but he came around the table and kissed his cheek.

“I love you. Don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m glad to have you.”

“Pretty sure it’s the other way around,” Jamie teased, though he was being completely serious. He kissed him on the lips and said, “Now go. I want you gone for at least five minutes. And take a picture while you’re there.”

Mason clutched a hand over his chest dramatically. “You don’t trust me? You wound me.”

Jamie rolled his eyes and Mason left.

As time passed, Jamie found himself with less to do. His sketchbook was set to the side and he was bored with his phone. The dark and quiet of the library was calming and Jamie folded his arms on the table, laying his head on top. He didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before and, unlike Mason, he didn’t take a nap at noon.

Even though it wasn’t that late, his eyes drifted closed and his limbs grew heavy.

“Jamie?”

Pulled from sleep, Jamie tucked his face into the crook of his elbow, not really wanting to wake up. Mason’s hands were on his back, rubbing gently.

“Sorry,” he was saying. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was. I didn’t think it got this late, I’m so sorry.”

“Wha’ time ’s it?” Jamie mumbled, grabbing Mason’s wrist to blearily look at his watch. 6:46. Wasn’t it eight when he decided to take a nap? How long did he sleep? “That’s not right, is it?”

“No, it’s after midnight. The battery must’ve died hours ago.”

“You need a new watch.”

“I know. I’m so sorry.”

Jamie flicked his wrist dismissively as he yawned. His eyes refused to stay open and he settled back down to go back to sleep. “It’s fine. Did you finish?”

“Almost, but no. I noticed that my watch was off, checked the actual time, and just stopped. It’d probably only take another hour but it’s too late to keep working on it tonight and you’re going to hurt your back if you try to sleep here.”

Mason tugged him up to sit properly, but Jamie was still too tired and used his body’s momentum to slump the other way into his boyfriend’s side. He was ready to go to sleep like that, but Mason pushed him upright again.

Jamie must’ve still been half asleep because one second Mason was putting his hat on for him and the next he was helping Jamie put his coat on.

“Come on, baby. You just have to get back to my room then you can go back to sleep. There’s a comfy bed, recently cleaned by a certain person whom I love and appreciate so much.”

“Bed sounds nice,” Jamie said as Mason pulled him up out of the chair. It was easier to wake up when standing.

He let Mason guide him, half-lidded, through the library and out into the winter night air. The cold was a shock that woke him up quickly and he tightened his hold on Mason’s hand.

They were only outside for a few minutes before reaching the safety of the dorm building and, less than half an hour later, were both cuddled up in Mason’s bed. Sleep quickly pulled at Jamie again and he passed out within minutes.

Even though it was Christmas Eve and Mason didn't have an appointment, there wasn’t any wait. The hair salon was surprisingly empty with only one other person getting her hair done. Clare, the other hairstylist on the floor, led him to a chair while Jamie stayed in the waiting area, his eyes falling on a magazine.

“Is there something specific you’re wanting to be done?”

The man on the cover was hot and Jamie hid his face behind his thumb, picturing his hairstyle on Mason…

“Uh, no. Whatever’s fine.”

“Can I suggest something?” Jamie asked, looking up from the magazine.

Mason looked over. “Sure. What are you thinking?”

He picked it up and walked over to Clare, showing her the man’s hair, “Maybe something like this?”

She nodded. “I can do that.”

“Do I get to see?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” Mason said without hesitation.

“Then no.”

Mason pouted but didn’t argue.

“It’ll look good on you,” Clare promised, picking up the styling cape to drape over Mason’s body.

While Clare worked, Mason squinted at the mirror, clearly trying to see what she was doing without his glasses. Jamie sat in the chair next to his, watching intently as Mason transformed before his eyes.

Clare trimmed the back and sides and left the top long and curly. It fit Mason, Jamie decided. It looked so good, and the products she put in his curls styled them in a ruffled but soft look.

He had to bite his lip to stifle his groan of appreciation.

Mason took his glasses from Jamie and slipped them on, seeing his new look for the first time. He touched a curl near his temple then turned to Jamie. “What do you think?”

Not trusting himself to not make it awkward, Jamie kept his teeth ground together as he shamelessly stared at Mason. He could feel his desire rising and it took everything in him to remain appropriate for acceptable public behaviour.

Mason gave him a weird look but didn’t say anything as Jamie abruptly stood and turned away, walking to the door.

He and Clare followed a moment later and Jamie saw the knowing smirk Clare sent his way as Mason was paying.

“Have fun,” she said in a teasing tone, winking.

It was getting difficult to keep himself reeled in and as soon as they were in the main hall of the enclosed strip mall, Jamie stalked off, still without saying anything. Mason had to hurry to keep up with his long strides.

“Do you not like it? We can go back and-”

Cutting him off, Jamie grabbed Mason’s hand and dragged him to the nearest bathroom. Inside one of the stalls, he shoved him against the wall and kissed him roughly. He kissed him and kissed him, one hand still holding Mason’s while the other pushed into his newly cut hair.

When Mason pulled back for air, he breathlessly said, “I guess you like it?”

“You’re so fucking hot,” Jamie growled out and went in for another kiss.

Even though his entire body was pressed snugly against his, Mason still pulled him closer by the grip he had on his hip, grinding themselves together.

After that, Jamie spent the rest of their trip staring at or touching Mason’s hair. He’d never seen Mason style his hair before- he just let it do whatever and got a basic cut whenever it got long. With something actually done to it? Jamie was practically drooling.

Mason caught him staring on more than one occasion, but he didn’t say anything. He just bit his lip and looked away, his cheeks a little dark.

Back in the privacy of Mason’s dorm, Jamie grabbed his waist from behind, pulling Mason’s body snug against his; back to chest. Starting with the back of his neck, Jamie kissed his way along Mason’s skin to the soft spot behind his ear.

Mason let out a shaky exhale and leaned back into Jamie, his head falling sideways to give Jamie better access.

Grinding himself against Mason’s backside, he took his earlobe between his lips, licking and sucking it lightly.

“We don’t have enough time for that, babe,” Mason protested halfheartedly.

Jamie slid a hand down to the front of Mason’s pants, giving a light squeeze. “That’s what quickies are for, babe.”

Mason didn’t have much to say after that. Well, he did have things to say, but it was mostly praises between moans.

“Where is the party?” Jamie asked as he pulled on his pants.

“In the room we’ve been using for the meetings.”

“Is there a dress code?”

“Nah. You can wear whatever you want.”

“Great! Here,” he said, holding his gray University of Idaho sweater out to Mason. “Wear this.”

Mason looked startled for half a second- probably because he thought Jamie was asking for himself- but then he smiled and took the sweater. It was a little big on him, which was absolutely adorable.

“Aww, baby,” Jamie cooed as Mason cuffed the sleeves so they wouldn’t cover his hands. “You look so tiny!”

Mason gave an unimpressed look, then continued cuffing.

With the slightly oversized sweater, Mason looked smaller and cuter than he usually did, and with the material bunched around his waist, his ass looked sinfully delicious in his snug jeans. Jamie wanted nothing more than to slip his hands in the back pockets, but held himself back. As much as he would have loved it, they couldn’t spend all day engaging in a specific kind of fun.

Mason’s Princeton hoodie was draped over the back of his chair and Jamie picked it up, putting it on. It smelled like him again and Jamie grinned.

The walk to the party was only a few minutes, but with the dry cold, it felt longer. Jamie’s cheeks were cold, and he was sure they were red. Mason warmed them up in his palms before leading him to the party.

“Mason! Jamie! Welcome to the par-tay!”

Caught off guard by someone unexpectedly calling his name, Jamie scanned the small group until his eyes landed on Lily. She was already at the table and looking at them as they walked through the door.

“Hey,” he greeted.

A few more people looked up at them. Most were other students, but there were a few adults as well- professors, presumably.

“Mason,” one greeted as he rose from his seat. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Dr. Weir. This is Jamie, my boyfriend. Jamie, Dr. Weir.”

“Ah, yes. The art student in Idaho. I’m pleased to meet you.” He held out his hand and Jamie shook it.

“You too, sir.”

“The art student?” Jamie asked when they sat down.

Mason shrugged. “I’ve said a lot about you, I don’t know why that’s what he remembers you as.”

Between bites of her cookie, Lily asked Jamie how he liked New Jersey, how much longer he’d be visiting, and what plans they had for the remainder of the two weeks. As he made small talk with her, they were interrupted a few times because someone else arrived or wanted to be introduced to Jamie.

While saying ‘hi’ to Kyle, who suggested the market they attended, another guy walked in. He headed directly for Mason.

“Yo, finally got it cut, huh?” He said, reaching for Mason’s hair.

Without even thinking, Jamie knocked the stranger’s hand away. A spike of annoyance flared up in Jamie that this guy- who Mason had known for only a few months- thought he could touch Mason whenever he wanted. Then his annoyance grew when he pictured the guy touching Mason’s hair the whole semester while Jamie wasn’t there.

Both Mason and the stranger looked at him.

Then Mason put his arm around Jamie- either to show the guy that he was taken or to calm Jamie. “Colton, this is Jamie. Jamie, Colton.”

“Hey, man. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jamie didn’t want to be rude, so he shook Colton’s extended hand, even though he shook it harder than necessary. The look in Colton’s eyes said he knew what it meant. He moved on to sit with some guys at the other end of the table and Jamie relaxed. Mason’s eyes were on him, but he didn’t say anything.

“Here, Jamie. Do you want to try one of the cookies I made?”

Any annoyance remaining left Jamie when he looked at Lily and the plate of homemade cookies she held out to him. There were sugar cookies, gingerbread men, shortbread, and chocolate chip cookies. “Ooo, yes. Thank you.”

Like the ones at the market, the cookies were really good. “You made these?”

“Yes.”

“These are amazing. If there are any left at the end of the night, could I take them?”

Lily beamed. “Absolutely!”

Calling everyone’s attention, Dr. Weir looked around the room and asked, “Is Jennifer the only one we’re waiting on?”

“I think so,” Kyle said.

Just then the door flew open and a girl wearing an aggressive Christmas dress and hairband waltzed in. “Hello, darlings!” she announced loudly in a dramatic British accent. “Fret not, I have arrived to brighten your lives with my presence. You’re welcome!”

From the corner of his eyes, Jamie saw Kyle roll his eyes and facepalm- conveniently hiding the blush on his cheeks. Then Jennifer’s eyes fell on him and Jamie forgot about Kyle.

“Oh, Mason! Is this Jamie?”

It was weird for Jamie, to be in a place he never was before and have everyone know who he was. Jennifer took one look at him and just knew.

“Yes,” Mason said.

"Look what I brought!" she said, digging through her purse before holding up a bundle of mistletoe triumphantly. She made a beeline for them, her heels clicking on the floor, holding it above Jamie and Mason’s heads as she looked at them expectantly. Jamie liked her already.

Without hesitating, Jamie cupped Mason’s face with both hands and pulled him into a kiss. The other students cheered, reminding Jamie of their first kiss at graduation. He was sure Mason would have meant it to be a short kiss, but Jamie had no intention of stopping. He wanted to show these people who Mason belonged to. He might’ve been spending months with them, but he had ten years with Jamie.

Sliding one hand from Mason’s cheek to cup the back of his head, Jamie put his other hand on the small of Mason’s back to keep him close and deepen the kiss. Mason hooked his own arms around Jamie’s neck as he leaned into him.

“I think this is longer than necessary,” Mason mumbled into his lips after a few more seconds of kissing and Jamie felt the words more than he heard them. Jamie probably should’ve cared about their audience, but he didn’t. Instead, a small laugh escaped him as he grinned into the kiss. He felt Mason’s lips pull into a smile, too.

After they finally broke apart, Jamie went in again for a quick peck.

“Wow. I was hoping for a quick kiss,” Jennifer said, sounding surprised but pleased. “Not a full-on snogging session.”

She grinned at Jamie and he grinned back.

Then she turned to the other students. “Who’s next?”

Kyle blushed again, but before anyone could answer her, Dr. Weir spoke up.

“That’s enough for now, Jennifer. You can put it up somewhere, but try not to hassle people into kissing, please.”

Jennifer pouted but did as he asked.

They went back to mingling after that and Jamie grew more comfortable being around the other students there, telling stories of his and Mason’s adventures when they were younger when asked. When he pulled out his phone to look for embarrassing pictures, Mason walked away. It was fun, introducing others to a side of Mason they never saw before.

At some point, the older woman- who was wandering in and out of the room for the past hour- ended up talking to him.

“So, Jamie. David told me you’re an art student?”

“Um, yeah. I’m at U of Idaho to study graphic design.”

“Really?” Her face visibly lit up. “I run a graphic design business out here- you should contact me when you get your degree. If you’re willing to move out here for a job, we’re always looking for new members to add to the team.”

“I-” Jamie didn’t know what to say. The last thing he expected to walk away from the Christmas party with was a possible job offer three and a half years in the future. Shock aside, Jamie felt excitement at finding- not only another artist- but another graphic designer. Not that he was a graphic designer. Not yet, anyway. “Yeah, of course I will.”

“Do you happen to have any of your works on your phone?”

“Umm,” he said eloquently, pulling his phone out again. He couldn’t say for sure if he had anything, but he thought there might be something. Instead of Mason being able to see his work in person, he asked Jamie to send pictures of what he’d done. He found more than he expected and when he showed them to her, she seemed impressed with his improvement over the semester.

Mason’s praise of his work was obviously appreciated, but even Jamie knew that he was biased. He always said Jamie’s art was good, even when it wasn’t. Cathrine, though, was practically a stranger and was a professional graphic designer. Having her compliment his work? Well, Jamie was almost overflowing with excitement.

The rest of the party faded away as the two of them talked about different mediums and programs, techniques and equipment. She even gave him tips to take back to UoI.

“Hey, Jamie,” Jennifer said, walking up to them and breaking them out of their art nerd bubble. “You’re a music student, too, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. I play the trumpet.”

“Do you happen to know how to play the piano?” She asked, gesturing to the piano in the corner.

“Some, yeah.” Jamie could feel eyes on him and didn’t even have to turn around to know they were Mason, despite him being in a different part of the room and talking to someone else. “Are you hoping I’ll play for you?”

She smiled in answer.

Only somewhat reluctantly, Jamie said, “Sure, I guess I can play a few pieces. I’m not very good, though.”

“That’s fine,” she said, waving a hand through the air and putting her hands on his shoulders to steer him to the instrument. “You’re probably better than all of us.”

Mason’s gaze was burning into the side of his head by the time Jamie sat on the piano bench. He busied himself with adjusting the bench for him to comfortably reach the keys and the pedals. As he did, Mason’s eyes never left him. Neither did anyone else’s, but Jamie felt Mason’s more than the others.

Then he started playing and the only thing he knew was the music sounding from under his fingers.

He was comfortable in his element, picturing the sheet music he memorized ages ago and letting the familiarity and flow of the music guide him through the piece. Finishing, his fingers hover over the keys as he let the final chord linger in the air around him, as though the world was holding its breath.

Sudden clapping reminded him that he wasn’t alone in the room.

He looked up and saw the students and professors gathered around the piano. Mason’s face was a mix of emotions; too many for Jamie to recognize any. Jamie looked back to the piano instead of trying to interpret it in front of everyone.

“What else do you know?” Jennifer asked.

Jamie humoured them by playing a few more Christmas songs.

Thankfully Cathrine announced that dinner was ready before anyone asked him to play anything else. As the other students moved to the table already placed with plates and cutlery, he took a bit longer, pushing the piano bench back in, to let them choose where they wanted to sit.

Hands touched his waist, fingers digging in and pulling him back into a firm chest. A low familiar voice whispered in his ear, “You don’t play the piano.”

Jamie turned his head to look at Mason. “No, I don’t.”

“When did you learn?”

“In Moscow. Did you like it?”

Mason nuzzled his head into Jamie’s, rubbing his nose against his ear. “Yes.”

Dr. Weir gave a speech about how grateful he was for the students who stayed behind on their holiday break to continue working with him. It was why he was hosting it for them in the first place, for those- like Mason- who weren’t able to go home for Christmas, he wanted to bring Christmas to them. It was touching, how he wanted to give his students the Christmas experience they were missing.

Dinner was chaotic but delightful, filled with laughter and stories of families and jokes. Plus, Catherine’s cooking was amazing. Jamie low-key wanted to take all of the leftovers home just so he could have her food again. There was just one downside.

To Jamie’s dismay, Mason ended up sitting next to Colton. That alone was fine, until the end when Colton made a ‘best buddies’ comment and draped his arm across the back of Mason’s chair.

The annoyance he felt earlier came back and Jamie casually leaned back in his own chair, putting his elbow on the back of Mason’s, which pushed Colton’s hand away. Colton cast him a glance, but Jamie didn’t even look at him as he subtly touched Mason’s arm with his pinky.

Mason put his hand on Jamie’s thigh and all of Jamie’s attention was drawn to that one area.

“Oh, I brought Kahoot!” Jennifer announced. “Who wants to play?”

“What’s Kahoot?” Jamie asked.

Jennifer gasped loudly. “Bloody hell, Mason! Your boy is uneducated!”

She then ushered them all to the lounge part of the room where there were couches and beanbag chairs around a TV. Mason went to sit next to Jamie, which also meant sitting next to Colton. Which Jamie wasn’t happy about. Before he could sit, Jamie looped an arm around his waist and tugged him into his lap. Mason didn’t even question it, just continued talking to Colton as he leaned back into Jamie’s chest.

Hooking his chin over his shoulder, Jamie gave Colton a cool glare.

Colton’s eyes flicked to him, staring back for a second before looking back to Mason.

It wasn’t that Jamie honestly thought Colton was trying to steal Mason away, but he didn’t like how comfortable he was with him. Jamie was Mason’s best friend. No one else. It didn’t help that Jamie sometimes already felt like he wasn’t good enough or smart enough to be Mason’s best friend. Another Ivy League student would probably suit him better, but that didn’t mean that Jamie wouldn’t fight to stay at Mason’s side.

When Mason’s attention diverted to a different conversation, Colton looked back to Jamie. As they stared cooly at each other, Jamie tightened his arms around Mason and kissed the side of his neck.

Oblivious to Jamie’s and Colton’s stare off, Mason put his hands on top of Jamie’s, rubbing the backs of his fingers. He then twisted to look at Jamie and Jamie’s expression softened, immediately forgetting about Colton when Mason kissed him.

“Come on people!” Jennifer shouted. “Get your phones out! You have to go on the website and enter the code on the screen to join the game.”

With Mason in his lap, Jamie looked over his shoulder to both Mason’s phone (because he already had Kahoot bookmarked) and the TV. Mason himself didn’t play, but he did end up playing through Jamie. They worked as a team as he explained the rules for each mini-game.

That was one of Jamie’s favourite things about playing video games with Mason. Sure, they weren’t cuddled up and sitting in each other’s laps before they started dating, but Mason was always leaning into Jamie to whisper guidance and tips. Even when playing racing or fighting games with his own character on-screen, he was watching out for and helping Jamie.

It was late when the party came to an end as people started packing up to go back home or to their dorm. Colton went in to give Mason one of those bro-half-hugs-half-back-slaps, but Jamie stepped forward, putting his arm over Mason’s shoulder and pulling him into his side. Colton’s pat landed on Jamie’s arm instead, but Mason’s arm was around his waist, so he didn’t really care.

“See you later,” Colton said. He nodded at Jamie. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

Then Colton was gone.

Jamie pulled Mason closer, kissing the top of his head. They bid farewell to those remaining and stepped out, back into the cold.

“Someone was feeling possessive today, huh?” Mason said nonchalantly as they walked back to his room.

“What do you mean?” Jamie asked, feigning ignorance.

“I might need glasses, but I’m not completely blind, you know.”

Jamie bit his lips as Mason continued.

“First you get me to wear your UoI sweater, which might as well say ‘Property of Jamie,’ then you practically bit off Colton’s hand, you were way more affectionate than you usually are in public- yes, I’m counting the mistletoe kiss- and physically put yourself between me and Colton. Not to mention all the stories you told of us in Boise, as if to prove you know me better and longer than any of them.”

The last one wasn’t even intentional. He didn’t say that, though. What he said instead was, “You say that like it’s my fault! I haven’t been here to stake my claim. At Lincoln, everyone knew you’re mine, but I didn’t get a chance to tell these people to keep their hands off you.”

When he looked over to see if Mason was irritated with his possessiveness, he found him smiling instead.

“They know to keep their hands off me. Pretty much everyone I talk to here knows I have a boyfriend.”

“Colton literally tried to touch your hair when he arrived.”

“Aww, baby,” Mason cooed, pulling him close with the arm still around his waist. “Are you jealous?”

“No.” Jamie was pretty sure he was scowling, though, which gave away his lie.

Mason stopped walking and turned to loop his other arm around Jamie’s waist. As he did, he slipped on some ice and tumbled back into a snowbank, pulling Jamie down on top of him, just like Jamie’s first day in New Jersey.

He started laughing into Mason’s belly and Mason quickly joined in. Still in the snow, Jamie climbed further up Mason’s body to be face to face and kissed him.

Mason lightly trailed his lips over his cheekbone as one of his hands cradled the back of Jamie’s head. It made Jamie feel loved and cherished when Mason touched him gently, as though he was too precious for anything but the purest touch.

“You know you have nothing to be jealous of, right?” Mason whispered. “Nobody- and I mean nobody - can compare to you and how important you are to me. You’ve always been and will be my number one person. I’ll always come back to you.”

Jamie nuzzled into his shoulder. “I know.”

“Good. Now get up, my ass is going numb.”

Jamie laughed again but climbed off him, sticking out a hand to help pull him up. He eagerly helped wipe the snow from Mason’s butt, which earned him an eye roll.

“What? You have the perfect ass and it’s a crime to keep it cold.”

“If you want to touch my ass, all you have to do is ask.”

“Can I touch your ass?”

Mason rolled his eyes again, but he was laughing. “Yes.”

For the remainder of the walk, Jamie kept his hand in Mason’s back pocket, cupping the roundness he was obsessed with.

Back in Mason’s room, Mason flopped forward on his bed, resting his head on his folded arms. With his butt looking sinfully round, how could Jamie do anything but give a light smack to his cheeks to watch them jiggle before draping himself on top of him?

“You done?”

Jamie was, but because Mason asked, he reached down to give an extra squeeze. He then lay his hands over Mason’s side as he kissed the back of his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Jamie pulled out his phone, opening the camera to take a selfie. Wanting to see how it turned out, he opened the gallery app. The image that came up was his latest project and suddenly he remembered the conversation he had with Cathrine. The giddiness from earlier was back in a flash.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I forgot!”

“What?”

Jamie sat up, lifting his hips enough for Mason to roll over under him. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Cathrine, Dr. Weir’s wife, is a graphic designer! Like, she has her own business and she told me to contact her after I graduate if I want to work for her! Obviously, I’d be hired based on my portfolio and not because I met her once, but still! She likes what I’ve done so far and was impressed with my progress over one semester. Imagine how it’ll be after the end of four years.”

Mason’s face broke into a wide smile. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you! Would you move here for a job, though?”

“I mean, if you were still out here, probably.”

“Maybe we’d get an apartment together.”

Jamie pictured it, living in a place of their own. Him with a job in graphic design and Mason doing whatever he wanted- a job or going for his graduate degree or whatever- and ending every day in the same bed and the same home.

He was still thinking about it that night while cuddling and watching a Christmas movie. About how the little world they were living in possibly being a reality. All at once, he wanted it more than anything. He wanted to have a life so intertwined with Mason that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other started. And, just maybe, a ring on their fingers and a certificate signed.

Jamie woke up early the next day- well, not early , but still earlier than he had the previous days. For once, he was awake before Mason. He didn’t get up, though. Instead, he held him close and rubbed his shoulder with a gentle back and forth motion with his thumb. Mason cuddled closer.

It was his first Christmas waking up to Mason and, after the revelation he had the night before, he wanted it every year.

Part of him was surprised to realize how content it made him feel to know he wanted that with Mason. Maybe he should’ve been scared to know he wanted forever with Mason, but he wasn’t. The thought of being with Mason just felt so right that he couldn’t picture anything else.

Carding his fingers through Mason’s soft curls, Jamie just lay there and let him sleep, dismissing all of Mason’s alarms before they could disturb him. He needed and deserved the rest. There were few people Jamie knew who would be willing to work through their Christmas break, even with the extra credits Mason would get for it. That made him even more incredible and amazing in Jamie’s eyes.

It was after ten when Mason finally woke up on his own.

Groaning as he blinked sleepily, Mason shut his eyes again and rolled to bury his face in Jamie’s chest, pulling the blanket up over his head. “What time is it?” he mumbled.

“10:19.”

Mason sighed and slid his arm over Jamie’s chest. A moment later, when the time registered in his sleep-hazed mind, he lifted his head. His sleepy chocolate eyes peeked out from under the blanket. “What?”

“You said you have nothing to do today, so I stopped your alarms. You deserve to sleep in at least once this break. It is a break, after all.”

Flopping back down, Mason kissed Jamie’s chest over his heart. “Thanks.”

“Do you want your Christmas present now?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. That’s today.”

Jamie laughed. “Yes, Christmas is today, the 25th of December.”

“Hey, I don’t need your sass. I just woke up, give me a break.”

Laughing again, Jamie rubbed Mason’s back. “Okay. Do you want to go back to sleep?”

Mason shook his head. “No, I just want you to hold me for a while.”

“I can do that,” he said, wrapping his arms snugly around Mason’s waist. “I’d love to do that.”

When Mason next cuddled into him, he reminded Jamie of a sleepy kitten. Especially when he leaned into the head rubs Jamie gave him.

“You’re cute.”

Mason’s cheeks darkened a little as he hid his face in Jamie’s chest.

An hour later, when he woke up enough to start the day, Jamie had him sit cross-legged at the head of his bed. Reaching for the wrapped rectangular box he put under the mini artificial tree they bought at the mall the day before, Jamie sat at the foot of Mason’s bed, facing him. “Okay, I am so excited for this, I really think you’re going to love it.”

He could tell that Mason was still tired, but the excitement and curiosity on his face were growing more obvious as Jamie held the box out to him, especially when he noticed that Jamie was practically bouncing on the bed.

Then he started tearing the wrapping paper off and as soon as he saw what was inside, his jaw dropped.

“Is this- is this a Rolex ?” Mason practically shrieked. His eyes were wide and he was looking at the box like it was going to bite him. “I can’t- how much did this cost? Jamie, I can’t accept this! You have to take it back.”

“You didn’t even look at it,” Jamie laughed, putting his hands behind his back and leaning away from his boyfriend’s outstretched arm. “I’m not taking it back. Also, rule number one of receiving gifts: you don’t ask how much something was.”

“Yeah, but… but this is a Rolex . Did you hear me? A fucking ROLEX ,” he said, emphasizing the name every time, as though Jamie didn’t know what kind of watch it was. “They’re, like, ten thousand dollars. Tell me you didn’t pay ten thousand dollars.”

“I didn’t pay ten thousand dollars,” he promised.

Apparently he responded too quickly because Mason gave him a suspicious look. “I don’t believe you.”

“I promise. I didn’t even pay one thousand.”

A pause, then, “Is this a fake?”

“No,” Jamie laughed. “It’s not a fake. Try it on.”

Running a hand through his hair, Mason sighed and looked at the box as he slowly lowered his arm. He kept it in the space between them, though, but Jamie was counting his victories.

“I can’t. It’s wrapped in plastic. You won’t be able to return it if I open it.”

“I don’t actually have a receipt, so technically I can’t return it anyway.”

Mason just silently stared at him for a few seconds like he grew a second head. “I’m sorry, what ?” he said slowly, as though he thought he heard wrong. “You don’t have a receipt?”

Jamie just grinned.

“Wait, let me get this straight. You paid less than a thousand dollars on a real Rolex watch and don’t have a receipt? Where the hell did you get this?”

It was amusing and cute, watching Mason try to figure it out.

“Turns out,” Jamie said, “that one of my friends in Moscow is stupid rich and her father is an exec at Rolex, who gets early access to all of their watches. He gives a few of each to his kids and Victoria said she usually gives them to friends because she already has a watch that she likes and doesn’t need another.”

“You’re telling me that you happen to have a friend who is the daughter of someone who works at Rolex and she just gave you this. Because she didn’t want it.”

It sounded really unbelievable when put like that, but honestly, it was kind of unbelievable. Jamie had just happened to be talking to Victoria about wanting to get Mason a good watch for Christmas when she told him who her father was. He hadn’t believed her at first either, until she pulled up his Wikipedia page and pointed to her name in the ‘personal life’ section. When she handed him the box with the watch a week later, all she asked for was $15 because she found it funny to ask for 0.1 percent- only a tenth of one percent- of the actual cost. He paid her more than that, though, because he couldn’t fathom paying that little on a Rolex, but he was so grateful for her that he almost cried. Not that he’d ever tell Mason.

“Yeah,” is all Jamie said. “Put it on.”

Mason stared at him, willing him to take the watch, and Jamie held his gaze, not backing down. He could see Mason’s resolve slowly crumbling the longer he stared back. He only needed a little push, so Jamie reached for the box with one hand and dug his car keys out of his pocket with the other.

“Fine, I’ll open i-”

“No!” Mason interrupted, snatching it from him, just like Jamie hoped he would. He looked startled half a second later, like he wasn’t expecting himself to do that.

Without breaking eye contact, Jamie handed him his keys. “You do it, then.”

Sighing, Mason took the keys and gingerly pressed one to the plastic wrap. He didn’t put any pressure, though, just stared as he held it there for a few seconds.

“Mace, baby,” Jamie said, cupping Mason’s cheek to make him look at him. “I got this for you because I wanted to and because you deserve it. You’re at Princeton and that’s a huge deal and I’m so fucking proud of you. Please trust me and accept this because I’m giving it with my whole heart when I say that I love you so much and you deserve the world. I can’t give you the world, but I can give you a better watch than the crappy one you hate.”

Mason looked speechless, so Jamie tilted their heads together and kissed his forehead.

“I- okay.”

Jamie sat back and watched as Mason used the key to break the plastic. He then looked up and said breathlessly, “There’s no going back now.” A glimmer of excitement danced across his face as he continued opening the box. When it was open, Jamie leaned forward to see what it looked like. It was silver with a black background.

“Nice,” he said. “What kind is it?”

Mason was reaching to take it out but paused with his fingers an inch from the box. He looked at Jamie then threw his head back and laughed loudly. Confused, Jamie stared. Mason usually kept his amusement to a smirk or chuckle; it was rare for a full-body laugh. But the rareness also meant it was more special when Jamie got to hear one. He felt a little proud that he was the one who made Mason laugh, but he also didn’t understand what was so funny.

“What?” He finally asked.

Calming his laughter down enough to speak, Mason said through giggles, “You would give a really expensive watch without knowing what kind it was.”

“Oh. Well…” He tried to think of an excuse- that he didn’t care what kind it was, the fact that it was a Rolex was enough- but he let it go. It was a little funny, after all. “Whatever. Are you going to put it on?”

He did.

It looked good, but what looked even better on Mason was the delighted expression he was wearing, and that was what Jamie cared about most. Mason set it to the correct time while Jamie wasn’t paying it any attention. Instead, he watched and subtly took a picture of Mason’s face as he held his arm out in front of him to admire his new timepiece, his old one on the bed between them.

“Holy shit,” Mason said breathlessly. “This is probably worth more than everything in this room combined.”

“It’s not worth more than you.”

Laughing again, Mason took Jamie’s face in both of his hands. “I love you,” he said and pulled him in for a kiss.

“I love you, too. Now, do you want to go find someplace open for brunch?”

Mason’s eyes were still sparkling when he tilted his head to ask, “You’re not going to ask for your present now?”

Jamie shrugged. “I’m hungry. I’ve been awake for a while and haven’t eaten yet. Plus, I’d rather enjoy this a while longer.”

He nuzzled into Mason’s palms as he cupped his own hands over Mason’s cheeks, referring to the pure happiness radiating from him in waves he could practically feel. And maybe he could. He knew soulmates could sometimes feel the deepest and torturous pain the other felt, but did that mean he could really feel Mason’s joy?

There weren’t a lot of restaurants open, but the place they went to when Jamie first arrived was, so they stopped there again. Jamie’s mom always made pancakes with fruit and chocolate for Christmas morning and Jamie couldn’t imagine a Christmas without them, even if they weren’t as good as his mom’s. Well, they were really good, but they weren’t special to him the way his mom’s were.

Speaking of his mom, Jamie called her as they walked back to campus.

“Jamie! Hi, sweetie!”

“Merry Christmas, Mom.”

“Merry Christmas to you too! Is Mason there?”

“I’m here,” Mason said, leaning in to fit in the frame. “Merry Christmas!”

“You both look so much better- are you feeling better?”

“Yes, thank you. Having Jamie here really helped a lot.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Where are you?”

“We just had brunch and are walking back to campus,” Jamie said, changing from the front camera to his phone’s main camera to show his mom New Jersey.

“It looks lovely there. And cold. Are you both wearing enough layers?”

Jamie laughed and his mom got the girls so they could talk to Jamie and Mason too. Well, ‘talk’ to their best ability (Ann Marie). Frank was there as well and wished them a Merry Christmas. Instead of going directly back to Mason’s room, the two of them wandered around campus while talking to Jamie’s family.

After they hung up, they went back to Mason’s room to call his family. The part of his family he talked to. Londa answered with a cheery ‘Feliz Navidad!” She was in her apartment with Gabe, both of them refusing to go home until their parents realized and corrected their mistake of kicking Mason out.

Mason didn’t say it, but Jamie could see how much that meant to him.

He knew how lucky he was to have his family accept him as he was and to go from calling them to Mason’s fractured home must’ve hurt, especially seeing them back-to-back. Jamie pulled him into a hug, offering comforting touches and kisses. Mason clung back.

For a change of pace, Jamie suggested they call Brodie and Kellen in the group chat.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

Their friends were just as chaotic as Jamie expected them to be. It was amusing watching them freak out over the watch Jamie gave Mason.

“What’d he get you, Jamie?”

Jamie shrugged. “We haven’t gotten there yet.”

“Maybe you should’ve gotten second- it’ll be hard to top a Rolex.”

“You’d be surprised,” Mason said, giving the first clue as to what he got Jamie. It wasn’t much, but the smug expression he was wearing showed how proud he was of his gift.

“Ooo, the suspense.”

Jamie laughed it off, but the idea of what it could be nagged in the back of his mind.

“Okay,” Mason said once they hung up. “Now that they’ve mentioned it, I really, really want to give you your gift now.”

“If you want to give it to me now, then sure. You can do that.”

“Close your eyes.”

Jamie did as he was told, wondering what his boyfriend was doing. Anticipation and excitement filled him up, giddiness spreading through his body. He heard and felt Mason shifting beside him, and then he wasn’t next to him anymore. Jamie frowned, missing his warmth.

“I’m still here, you big baby,” came Mason's voice from in front of him.

Laughing a little, Jamie reached out and touched what felt like his knee. Mason took his hand and brought it to his lips, kissing his knuckles. Jamie’s heart skipped a beat and he wanted to open his eyes. He wanted to look.

“Okay, open.”

He did. The first thing he saw was Mason, sitting cross-legged in front of him. His eyes were soft and warm and he was looking at Jamie in a way that made his stomach flutter. He smiled. “Hi.”

Mason smiled back. “Hi,” he echoed.

Then Jamie noticed that Mason was holding something. A small box that fit in the palm of his hand. It looked like a jewelry box, the way it was covered in what looked like velvet. His mind immediately supplied an idea of what it could be and Jamie almost stopped breathing. He pushed it down, not wanting to get his hopes up. It probably wasn’t what his brain jumped to.

In a forced calm, Jamie asked, “What's that?”

Mason cracked the box open to show a simple silver ring with a small heart carved out in the center. “A promise ring.”

Jamie looked up from the ring to Mason's nervous smile.

“I know it’s still early in our relationship- we’ve been boyfriends for less than a year, but best friends for over a decade- so I thought this was appropriate.” Mason paused a moment to take a deep breath and Jamie felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. His eyes started going watery.

“With this ring, I promise to be loyal to you, to be here when you need me. I promise to remain at your side and in your heart. I promise that no matter how many miles are between us, we’ll never grow apart. I promise, when we’re ready, to replace this promise ring with an engagement ring and then a wedding ring to symbolize my love for you. I promise I love you and will love you forever.”

By the time Mason stopped speaking, tears had filled Jamie’s eyes and were threatening to spill down his cheek. His bottom lip trembled and he reached out, pulling Mason into a tight hug.

Silently, the tears poured down his cheeks.

It was so fucking hard without Mason; Jamie only had a few things of his to hold when he missed him- which was all the time. He didn’t get to have Mason’s things with him at all times, though. Mason’s ‘borrowed’ hoodie was the only thing to leave Jamie’s dorm room. But a ring… a ring would go everywhere with him. Something he would have on him at all times.

Not only was it just a ring, it was a promise ring. It was one step closer to being engaged and… wow. Mason wanted to marry him one day. Jamie wanted to marry him too, but to have a physical token of Mason’s love for him… It was almost too much for his heart to take.

Jamie wouldn’t ever take it off.

Once his tears stopped, Jamie sat up and messily wiped away the tears, which just smeared the wetness across his cheeks.

“May I?” Mason asked, holding his left hand out for Jamie’s right hand. Jamie put it in his open palm and then Mason was sliding the ring on his finger. He just stared at it for what felt like forever, then looked up to Mason’s smiling face.

Reaching up, Jamie cupped Mason’s cheeks in both hands and kissed him.

“I love you,” he mumbled into his lips. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

Then Jamie thought of something. He pulled away from the kiss to ask, “Do promise rings come in pairs?”

“These ones do.”

“Can I put yours on?”

Mason nodded, rising from his bed to reach for one of his desk drawers. He pulled out a jewelry box that matched the one he gave to Jamie, and held it out to him.

“I, um,” Jamie said, taking the box and opening it. “I don’t have a speech prepared, obviously, but I promise to love you with my whole heart, and I promise to be here whenever you need or want me. I promise to always try my best to be or provide everything you need. I promise… I don’t know. I promise I love you more than I ever thought I was allowed to.”

“That’s beautiful,” Mason said, smiling softly. He didn’t seem to care that Jamie made it up on the spot. “You’re amazing and I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Jamie said as he reached for Mason’s hand.

As soon as he slid the ring on, Jamie saw a flash of light from his own ring. He looked down and gasped. The heart was filled with red light, pumping like a real heart. “What’s it doing?”

“It’s designed specifically for long-distance soulmates as a way to physically feel each other.” He held up his own hand, showing off the flashing of his own ring. It’s pulsing in time with Jamie’s heartbeat.

“Oh,” Jamie said on a sigh. “Mason. It’s perfect.”

Then Mason touched the heart on his ring and Jamie’s lit up blue and he swore he could feel Mason’s touch.

He gaped at it.

“Baby?”

Jamie lunged at Mason, tackling him in a bear hug, his tears back at full force. He sobbed with his face tucked in the crook of Mason’s neck. Mason’s hands rubbed soothingly over his back as he murmured ‘I love you’s in Jamie’s ear. His embrace was warm and comforting and Jamie cried and held on tighter.

Don’t forget this , Jamie told himself. When they were apart, Mason’s touches were heartbreakingly easy for his body to forget. He remembered how they made him feel, but it was the little things of how Mason caressed his back with his thumb even while gripping him tight or how he lightly butted his head into Jamie’s. It was those that Jamie wanted permanently ingrained in his memory.

Manoeuvring them around, Mason laid down on the bed, holding Jamie close to his side. He caressed his back and hair, peppered his face with kisses, and murmured soothingly in his ear.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a while.

Jamie nodded, wiping away the last of his tears. Again. “I just really missed you. It was really hard and I don’t want to have to do it again.”

“I know, baby,” Mason murmured into his hair. “I know. Hopefully these will make it easier. The company that makes them claim they work anywhere in the world, so we should still be a ble to feel each other when you’re back in Idaho.”

“I didn’t know this was a thing,” Jamie said between sniffles.

“I first heard about them back in September and getting them for us was all I thought about for a while. Then when I found out I had to stay here for the break I wished we already had them on. I thought about mailing yours to you, but I, I was busy and didn’t have time. I probably would’ve mailed it, though, if you hadn’t shown up here.”

Jamie thought of the aching crush in his chest of the night he got The Call. The ring would’ve helped so much. If he could’ve felt Mason’s touch on his finger he wouldn’t have felt so alone and so far from his soulmate.

They cuddled for another few hours, Jamie’s tears coming and going, until they pulled themselves up to head out for dinner. The entire time, Jamie couldn’t stop touching his ring. Not just the heart, either. Even touching the band was enough to make him feel overwhelmed with emotions. So many emotions were bubbling up inside him that he couldn’t name them all; loved; cherished; adored; blissful; overjoyed; giddy; content; confident; and so many more.

He wanted to show off the ring to every person they passed, not caring that they were all strangers. To go, ‘Look at this. Look how much he loves me.’ He wanted to tell the world how much he loved Mason.

It was almost too much. His heart was overflowing for hours and he was exhausted. He cried more times than he could count and he could barely focus on the Christmas movie Mason put on when they were back in his bed. The only things Jamie registered were Mason’s body against his and the steady pulsing red light from his ring.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Mason said, stroking his thumb over Jamie’s cheek.

Jamie leaned in for a kiss. “Merry Christmas.”

Chapter Text

When Jamie woke up the next morning, his body felt tired and heavy. He figured crying a lot the day before had something to do with it. The heaviness wasn’t that bad, but it was an unpleasant reminder of what was in store for them after the two weeks were up.

He pushed that thought aside to worry about later and cuddled closer into Mason.

Jamie thumbed at his ring, love overfilling his heart and spreading out through the rest of him to the tips of his fingers and toes. It was almost too much.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Mason’s ring echoing his beating heart. Then Jamie put his ear over Mason’s chest to listen to his steady heartbeat while he watched his own ring pulse in sync. It was hypnotic and Jamie got lost in the sensation of him and Mason being so attuned to the other that he literally had the pulse of his heart on his finger.

It was as he was watching his ring that he saw Mason’s heartbeat pick up a second before he rolled onto his side, pulling Jamie into him. He pushed his face into the back of Jamie’s, breathing deeply. Then his heart relaxed back into the slow pulse from before.

With Mason spooning him from behind, Jamie could feel when a part of him woke up, followed by the rest of his body.

“Good morning,” Mason said quietly in Jamie’s ear, his voice low and rough with sleep.

“Good morning,” Jamie said, pushing his hips back into Mason’s. “I hope you don’t have any plans for the day, because I fully intend on taking my time with this.”

“I have my soulmate in my bed. Why would I want to go anywhere else?”

They stayed in bed all morning, doing nothing more than touching and kissing and pleasing the other until they were sweaty and boneless lying on the mattress. Jamie felt like he would never have enough energy to walk again. It was enough of a struggle to move an exceptionally heavy arm over a few inches to link his pinky through Mason’s.

Another photo was printed and taped over Mason’s bed; Jamie naked and lying on his back, his hair messy on the pillow around him, cheeks flushed and lips parted. He was looking up at Mason with a challenge in his eyes. Nothing inappropriate was showing but it was obvious what was happening.

It was both the dirtiest and sexiest picture he’d ever seen of himself.

“You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen,” Mason said, pressing soft, delicate kisses to his cheeks.

Jamie preened and held tighter to Mason’s hips.

After lunch, they found themselves back in Mason’s bed, cuddling and watching Christmas movies. It was perhaps backwards, Jamie thought, that they watched more Christmas movies after Christmas than they did before, but he didn’t care. All that mattered to him was that he got to spend all day in Mason’s arms.

Around 4:30 they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Mason groaned and dropped his head onto Jamie’s chest before standing. Reluctantly, Jamie let his arms fall from around his waist and he pouted while Mason crossed the room.

It was Lily standing at the door, holding a container.

“Hi, Mason. Jamie. Sorry to interrupt, but I brought these.” She lifted the container. “Do you still want the extra cookies?”

Jamie straightened, suddenly less irked by the interruption. “Yes, please!”

Mason sent him a fond look as he accepted the container of cookies. Turning back to Lily, he asked, “Did you have a nice Christmas?”

“Yes, I did.” She looked happy that Mason asked and Jamie wondered if she had anyone else to talk to. There were the other students in the group project, sure, but they weren’t all friends. According to Mason. Mason didn’t spend extra time with them- all of his free time he was spending with Jamie- so maybe she didn’t either. It must be lonely, to be stuck on campus without any friends. “My family drove in for the day. I wish they could visit more, but three hours here and back is a little too much to do a lot. I will get to go home for the rest of the break after the group project is done, so I’m hoping we finish sooner rather than later.”

“I’m glad to hear they visited. And I’ll do my best to speed up the project.”

Lily laughed and made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “It’s fine.”

Mason looked over his shoulder to Jamie, then, a silent question in his eyes. Jamie nodded. “We’re watching a bunch of Christmas movies- do you want to join us?”

“Oh, no. It’s fine. You two have a limited time together and I have a stack of books I’m wanting to read.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, but thank you for the offer.” She started to leave, then stopped, turning back at the last second. “Oh, hey, did you check the group chat?”

“No, not yet. Why?”

Lily just smirked and said goodbye, walking away without answering Mason’s question.

“That was weird,” Jamie said, though he quickly dismissed it when Mason held out the cookies, whose attention was on his phone.

“Oh, I see.”

“See what?”

Turning his phone around, Mason showed him the group chat for the project. The screen was filled with pictures of him and Mason being a ‘cute and cuddly couple,’ according to Jennifer. When Jamie scrolled up he saw more. More pictures and comments about how Mason looked happier and healthier with Jamie around.

There was the mistletoe kiss, the proud look on Mason’s face as he watched Jamie play the piano, Mason cupping Jamie’s face with both hands, Jamie straddling Mason’s lap in the snowbank, them cuddling on the couch, Mason leaning in to whisper in Jamie’s ear, and more. In every picture, both of them were looking at the other like the rest of the world didn’t exist.

Ah.

Jamie wasn’t sure how he felt with a bunch of practical strangers taking pictures of him and Mason. On one hand, it felt like an invasion of privacy, even though they were in public. On the other hand, he liked that everyone acknowledged that Mason was Jamie’s.

“We do make a cute couple,” was what he settled on.

Mason kissed his forehead. “Yes, we do.”

Before the end of the day, a few of the pictures were printed and added to Mason’s wall.

“Maybe we should get you a photo album,” Mason said, adding the other newly printed pictures to Jamie’s stack. “To keep these nice and safe.”

“Maybe we can look for something tomorrow,” Jamie said, reaching out to take Mason’s hand, pulling him back to bed.

“Hold on,” Mason said, drawing back just enough to reach his mini-fridge. In there were the sandwiches Mason thought to buy earlier for times like then, when neither wanted to leave the dorm for food. “Have some actual food before you devour an entire container of cookies.”

“How’d you know I was going to eat them all tonight?” he joked.

Mason raised an eyebrow. “I watched you inhale your mom’s cookies, didn’t I?”

The only time either of them left the room for the rest of the day was to use the bathroom while getting ready for bed. Jamie was done first and was scrolling through his news feed, absentmindedly running his tongue along his retainer when Mason came back. His hair was wet from his shower.

He was carrying his clothes, a towel slung low on his hips.

Jamie’s eyes tracked up and down his bare chest appreciatively.

One of Mason’s curls was hanging in his face dripped water onto his collarbone. The water travelled down over Mason’s pec and abs, Jamie’s attention focusing on it and following it down, down, to the V of his hips. He hummed when it disappeared into the towel.

“C’mere,” he said, putting down his phone and holding out a hand.

Mason took it, but instead of letting Jamie pull him to his bed, he kissed Jamie’s knuckles. “I need to get dressed first.”

“No, you don’t. Not when I’m just going to take them off. C’mere.”

When he next tugged on Mason’s hand, he moved to the bed, sitting on the edge next to Jamie instead of climbing on. “Are you really wanting that right now?”

It then occurred to Jamie that maybe Mason didn’t want to. “Do you not want to? Sorry, I didn’t mea-”

“No, no, I do. I’d love it. I just don’t know if I can. You drained me dry this morning.”

Jamie grinned, proud.

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

“It is if I take it as one.”

Mason smiled and wrapped a warm hand around the back of Jamie’s neck, pulling him in for a quick kiss. Too quick, in Jamie’s opinion.

Still in his space, Jamie put his hand on Mason’s stomach and stroked the soft, firm skin just above the towel. “So, are you just losing this or are you getting dressed?”

“Dressed, I think. We’ve got more late nights coming up, with New Year and all, and I want to catch up on sleep before the semester starts.”

“Okay. Hurry up, then. I wanna cuddle.”

Mason laughed but did as he was told, draping himself over Jamie, making him fall back onto the pillow with a laugh. Tucking his face into the crook of Jamie’s neck, he kissed him there and put his hands on Jamie’s ribs; warm, wide, and strong.

Jamie’s own hands came to rest on his arms, sliding up to his shoulders before one travelled down to rub Mason’s back while the other ran over his short, damp hair. With his fingers, he massaged his scalp lightly and Mason hummed happily.

“Feels nice,” he said, sounding sleepy already.

“Tired?”

“Yeah. I know we’re already halfway through the break, but I don’t feel like I’ve had time to properly relax.” He nuzzled his face into Jamie, then laid his head on Jamie’s shoulder like a pillow. “I’ve been busy with the group project and solo assignment, and you and I have done something almost every day that you’ve been here. I just- I don’t know. I don’t want to be burnt out when classes begin.”

“I know, baby. I know you’ve been working hard. You’re doing amazing. I’m so proud of you.” He pulled the blankets over them and kissed Mason’s forehead. “Let’s go to sleep.”

As he took off his glasses and put them above the bed next to his watch that he took off for his shower, Mason said, “You don’t have to go to sleep yet if you don’t want to. You can watch a movie or something.” He pointed to his laptop on the desk. “I don’t mind the lights or noises.”

“Nah, I’m good. Besides, you deserve uninterrupted sleep, considering all you’ve done.”

Mason smiled and tilted his head up for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now get some sleep.”

Mason was out within ten minutes.

That Saturday morning, Mason disappeared to another group meeting and Jamie filled his time sketching the pictures Mason had on his walls. Normally when drawing people, it was in boring, traditional poses- mostly standing. A lot of Mason’s pictures, though, were candids. Family and friends doing what they were doing and facial expressions found outside of a classroom.

Jamie had fun drawing a cartoon version of the photo of Gabe with the taco. After he was back from the meeting, Mason laughed so hard he cried when he saw it and sent a picture to his brother. “Can I please keep this?”

“Of course!” As Mason pinned his drawing next to the original photo, Jamie picked up a towel to rub dry his hair from the shower he took just before Mason got back. “Any news on when the project will be finished?”

“Dr. Weir said we only have one meeting left, which will be tomorrow morning…” Mason’s attention slipped to the short and snug boxer shorts Jamie was wearing, the rest of his words trailing off as he took in Jamie’s body.

“And the solo assignment?” Jamie prompted, pleased that Mason found him distracting but not actually wanting him to forget about his schoolwork.

“Um. Oh, yeah. For the assignment, I only need about half an hour to wrap up the conclusion.”

“Are you wanting to go to the library for that?”

“Nah, I have all I need here,” he said, pulling out the chair to his desk and setting his laptop on top. “I’ll finish it while you get dressed.”

He was done in fifteen minutes and Jamie dragged him out for food.

While at the stores, they did some light shopping where Jamie got a photo album and a pair of gloves. He wasn’t sure how they went a full week sharing the one pair, but he didn’t like always having at least one cold hand. Cold fingers didn’t make good drawings. Throughout the trip- and the entire day, the day previous, and the days following- Jamie occasionally asked what time it was. Not because he wanted or needed to know, but because Mason got a giddy, carefree smile on his face every time he looked at his new watch. It was his adorable expression that Jamie liked to see.

After that, they set out for a nearby skating rink. The closest they could find that was open was over an hour bus ride away in a neighbouring city.

“Do you still want to go?”

Jamie thought about it for a moment. It was farther away than he was expecting when they decided to go skating, but he hasn’t been skating in years and it seemed like the perfect ‘Christmas in New York area’ activity.

He really should have thought it through more, considering the whole ‘hadn’t been skating in years’ part.

After falling for the nth time, Jamie’s ass was starting to hurt. Well, it started to hurt many, many tumbles ago, but it wasn’t too much that he couldn’t brush it off. His latest fall, though, he couldn’t brush off as easily. Mason had laughed at first, but it turned into concern when Jamie buried his face in his hands and groaned.

“Are you okay?” Mason asked, putting a hand on his head. “Do you want to take a break and sit?”

“I am sitting. That’s the problem,” he teased to let him know that he was actually okay and Mason rolled his eyes.

“I meant off the ice.”

Jamie thought for a moment and nodded, holding out his hands for Mason to pull him up again. When Mason’s gloved hands slipped into his, Jamie wished that he could feel his bare skin against his. He knew it was too cold for that, but that didn’t stop him from wishing for it.

Mason had to help him to the edge of the rink then around to the exit as Jamie hobbled off the ice. Then he had to stumble to their stuff on unstable, shaky legs. The skates were more of a hindrance than a help and Jamie almost rolled his ankles more than once. Thankfully, Mason was there to catch him before he could fall again.

Finally, he collapsed onto the bench, crossing his arms to rest his head on the picnic table they claimed earlier. His shirt was stuck to his chest with sweat and his muscles trembled lightly. He was panting harder than he would’ve liked to admit and he could see his breath in the cold air.

Mason’s fingers pushed their way under Jamie’s hat and into the hair at the back of his neck, rubbing his head. “Maybe we should just stop now. You look exhausted.”

Jamie rolled his head in his arms to peer up at his boyfriend.

“Here,” Mason said, pushing his water bottle towards him. “You should have some water.”

Completely unintentionally, Jamie finished off the drink. He really didn’t mean to, but he must’ve been more dehydrated than he thought. When he lowered the bottle, he saw Mason was staring at his throat. Jamie swallowed, just to see Mason’s eyes track the bob of his Adam’s apple. He bit back a smile.

Mason snapped out of his trance when Jamie put the bottle on the table. He picked it up to take a drink, only to find it empty.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You should be drinking more water, though, if you’re that thirsty.”

“I didn’t realize I was. I’ll go buy some more,” Jamie said, pushing himself up. Well, he tried to. His legs were still shaky and were unable to hold his weight, so they immediately gave out and he fell back down on the bench.

“I’ll get more. You stay here and rest.”

As exhaustion started to seep in, Jamie watched the other people on the rink skate while Mason went to the nearby vending machines to get them a drink. He returned with more than Jamie expected. Two Gatorades, two waters, and an energy bar.

“You are the best person to ever exist.”

Mason just chuckled and kissed the top of his head.

Back to being slumped over onto the picnic table, Jamie nibbled on the bar and sipped at the Gatorade as his limbs stopped shaking and his stomach stopped fluttering. It wasn’t until he was having the energy bar that he realized how hungry he was.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Will you be wanting to get back on the ice? I could grab one of those pusher things.”

“I’m not using one of those.”

Mason took one of his hands, massaging his palm. “Does that mean you’re done with skating? If you are, is there anything else you’re wanting to do while we’re here or do you just want to go back to campus?”

“Um,” Jamie pictured walking around the foreign city or sitting on public transport for who knew how long with his ass hurting. “Maybe we should go back and we can come back another day, if we have time. Sorry for ruining skating.”

“Pfft,” Mason shooed his apology away with a flick of his wrist. “You didn’t ruin anything. Skating’s overrated. Who wants a sore ass and numb toes, anyway?” His tone was easygoing and nonchalant, but his eyes revealed his concern. A look that said; ‘it makes me sad that you’re blaming yourself’ and ‘why do you feel like you have to apologize?’

Jamie chose to ignore it.

Speaking of numb toes, Jamie could hardly feel his. The tight laces must’ve cut off some circulation. That, or there was no insulation in the skates to keep his feet warm. Or both. He couldn’t really feel his fingers either and he struggled with undoing the skates’ laces until Mason knelt in front of him, pulling Jamie’s foot into his lap. He already had his own shoes on and his gloves were off to work on the laces.

Jamie was reminded of how his mom used to do the same when he was a kid and how she did the same for the twins. Briefly, just for a moment, Jamie thought about how Mason would be a good dad one day. If he wanted kids, that is. As Mason kissed his knee before moving to Jamie’s other foot, he pictured a possible future for them where Mason took their kids skating and helped with their laces.

The thought made Jamie’s pulse spike in… panic? Hope? Something else entirely?

Without his gloves on, Mason caught sight of his ring and the quick beat of Jamie’s heart. He looked up. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Jamie said, fighting back a blush. “Just cold. I accidentally touched the snow with my foot.”

Mason bought his lie and massaged his feet with both hands before handing Jamie his shoes. “Put these on and I’ll return the skates, okay?”

Jamie nodded and watched Mason as he walked away with the two pairs of skates, mental images of that possible future still in his mind. Only once Mason disappeared in the crowd did he physically shake his head to clear his head.

Shivering, Jamie pulled on his shoes, which were freezing from being exposed in the open winter air. For half a second, he considered taking them off, but he knew being left in his sock feet would be worse. The cold still seeped into his coat; down the neck and up the sleeves. He hoped Mason came back soon, so they could get back to campus sooner rather than later. They still had the bus ride back.

It was as he was staring at the abundant stars in the sky that he heard the crunching snow of footsteps approaching.

“Are you okay? You look cold.”

Turning to look over his shoulder, Jamie saw Mason standing on the other side of the picnic table. The curls peeking out from under his hat over his forehead were lit up from the surrounding Christmas lights. He was beautiful.

Jamie grinned. “Better, now that you’re back.”

Rolling his eyes but smiling, Mason walked around the table to straddle Jamie’s lap without putting much of his weight on him. Actually, it didn’t feel like he was putting any weight on Jamie. Were his legs numb, too?

“What took you so long? Was the line really that long?”

“I was getting those,” Mason said, pointing. Jamie followed the direction to two take-out cups on the table and he wondered how he missed them. Mason grabbed them and passed both to Jamie and heat instantly filled his palms.

“Oh,” he sighed happily, his eyes sliding shut when Mason cupped his frozen cheeks in his own drink-warmed hands.

“They’re both hot chocolate,” Mason said. “One gingerbread and the other white candy cane.”

“Oh, yes,” Jamie moaned, his sweet tooth calling and not caring which one was his.

“Which one do you want?”

As much as Jamie loved him for getting the drinks, he didn’t like that Mason was making him choose. He loved all seasonal drinks. “I-” He opened his eyes to look at Mason’s soft, sweet face. “I don’t know? Is there one you’re wanting?”

“I don’t care, no.”

“Okay, then I’ll take the candy cane.” He has a feeling the gingerbread would be what Mason would like more. Mason liked sweets, but not nearly as much as Jamie, especially so late in the night. “Ready to go? My ass has been numb for a while now.”

“Sure.”

Mason leaned in to kiss him, then pulled away to help Jamie up, and immediately his cheeks were cold again. Looping their arms together, they started walking back to the bus stop.

It was uncomfortable on the hard plastic seats of the bus while Jamie’s ass was sore and he kept shifting, trying and failing to find a tolerable position.

“C’mere,” Mason said a few minutes later, tugging him closer.

Jamie ended up sitting sideways in Mason’s lap so he wouldn’t have to sit on his sure-to-be bruised tailbone.

“Better?”

Jamie nodded, wrapping his arms a little tighter around Mason. He was warm and comfortable, lulled by the hot chocolate, and he was tired; getting sleepier and sleepier as the bus rumbled along.

According to his mom, Jamie always used to fall asleep quickly in the car, especially on long, late drives. He supposed that was still true, because his eyes grew heavier and heavier as the miles dragged on.

Without lifting his head from Mason’s shoulder, Jamie sleepily peered up at him. Mason also had his eyes closed and had his head tipped back to lean against the back wall of the bus.

“Babe?”

“Hmm?”

“How are you so pretty?”

Mason blushed. “Shuddup.”

Jamie smiled and curled in Mason’s chest again.

“Babe. Baby. C’mon, Jamie. Wake up.”

Jamie groaned and tightened his arms around Mason, not wanting to wake up.

“Come on, we’re almost back to campus. We’ll have to get off the bus soon.”

Jamie didn’t respond. Instead, he kept his eyes shut and his face tucked into Mason’s neck.

Mason started rubbing his hands up and down Jamie’s back to wake him up. It worked- he was in less of a haze- but it felt really good and he relaxed into it. Then Mason’s touch wandered down.

Jamie bolted upright with a yelp when Mason pinched his ass. “Hey!”

“You weren’t waking up,” Mason said in a ‘what else was I supposed to do?’ tone.

Even though he was right, Jamie still pouted at him.

“C’mon. There are only a few minutes until we have to get off the bus, then we’ll soon be nice and warm in bed.”

Jamie stretched and groaned as his back cracked multiple times.

Mason raised an eyebrow. “Getting old, are you?”

“I’m not that old! I’m only 18. I’m not that much older than you. Besides, it’s probably because I fell, like, a hundred times while skating.”

“How are you feeling? Better? Worse? Tired?”

“Tired, for sure. As for whether it’s better or worse, I don’t know yet. I’ll find out on the walk back to your room.”

He ended up finding out before they even got off the bus. Jamie’s muscles and joints stiffened during his hour nap and he was slow and achy walking down the aisle, holding on to the seats as he passed them. Mason’s hand was steady on his back.

It took longer to reach Mason’s room than it should have, but Mason didn’t complain about the slow pace. He just held Jamie’s hand and massaged his back once he flopped face-first onto Mason’s bed.

He let Mason undress him and, surprisingly, it didn’t feel sexual at all. Instead, it felt domestic and he felt cared for as Mason got him ready for bed, lingering, reassuring touches and kisses spatter out throughout the process. Then Mason was slipping under the covers beside him, pulling him in close.

“I love you,” Jamie whispered, his eyes heavy and slipping shut.

Mason kissed his nose. “I love you, too.”

Jamie’s body hurt the next morning. And stiff. When he tried to sit up, he hissed in pain, grateful Mason was at the group meeting and wasn’t around to hear.

It took forever for him to pull himself out of bed and stumble down the hallway. The warm spray of the shower was heavenly on his sore muscles. The water pressure was high and the water massaged his back, loosening the knots. He turned up the temperature until it was almost too hot and just stood there for what felt like forever.

The sound of the bathroom door opening broke him out of a doze and he jolted upright.

“Jamie? Are you in here?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay? You’ve been in here for a while.”

Jamie wondered just how long he had been in the shower if it was long enough for Mason to come back from the meeting and worry where he was.

“I’m fine.” He leaned around the shower curtain to unlock the stall door. Mason was standing on the other side looking adorable with hat-rumpled curls and Jamie’s UoI hoodie. “I’d be better if you joined me.”

Mason stepped into the stall and locked it behind him but made no move to get undressed.

“I’m not-”

“I’m going to pull you in whether or not you’re wearing clothes in 5… 4…”

Startled, but knowing Jamie was serious, Mason threw off the hoodie a bit too quickly which knocked his steam-fogged glasses off. He scrambled after them.

“3…”

“Okay, okay!” He pulled his shirt off, dropping it on his hoodie on the bench. As he did, he kicked off his shoes.

“2…”

“Slow down!” He was fumbling with the button of his jeans and yanking them down his legs.

“1…”

He bounced on one foot then the other while pulling off his socks.

“0.”

Jamie grabbed him and pulled him under the water. His hair was soaked immediately, falling into his face and getting water in his eyes.

“I hate you,” he said, pushing it out of his way.

Jamie slid his arms around his waist, holding him close and kissing his forehead. “You love me.”

Leaning into him, Mason laid his head on his shoulder. “Yes. I do.”

His finger slowly trailed along Jamie’s waist and hips, gradually making their way back until Mason put his hand flat against the small of his back.

“I wish we could have this every day,” Mason whispered.

Jamie tightened his arms. “Me too.”

“I know I said it before, but I really, really missed you. It was weird, not seeing you practically every day. There were many times I turned, expecting to see you beside me, but you weren’t there.”

“I know what you mean. I kept looking for you at the band performances.”

“I wanted to be there. It was the first time I missed one.”

“I know.”

“Was someone able to record them for me?”

“The school records all events. I’ll just have to get a copy for you.”

Mason tilted his head up to kiss the underside of Jamie’s jaw. “Thank you.”

For the next few minutes, they stood there quietly under the spray until Mason pulled back to reach for Jamie’s body wash. Expecting him to wash himself, Jamie was surprised when he moved behind him. A moment later, Mason’s hands were on his back, fingers digging and working into his muscles.

Jamie’s head tipped back as he closed his eyes.

It was at least another half hour before they got out of the shower.

For most of the day, Mason catered to Jamie, bringing him water and food while Jamie complained that he wasn’t actually injured, though he liked the attention. He especially liked the foot massage Mason gave him. He was very thorough with rubbing both feet until they felt normal again.

“You are a god. Or I’m a god.”

“Why are either of us gods?”

“You because you’re amazing and better than literally any other person on this planet.”

“And why are you a god?”

“Why else would you be worshiping my stinky feet?”

"They’re not stinky. I literally just watched you wash them half an hour ago in the shower. And I’m ‘worshipping’ them because they’re hurting you. It was painful watching you walk down the hall.”

“Pity foot massages. How lovely.”

“Not pity. Love. I love you and you deserve to have feet that don’t hurt. You’ve done so much for me by being here and I love you and want to thank you.”

Jamie didn’t think he’d done ‘so much’ for Mason, but if even just his presence was helping, he was glad to hear it. Personally, he felt like Mason was doing more for him after Jamie showed up uninvited and unannounced on his doorstep. At times he worried that he was invading his space- Mason literally didn’t have an option of sharing his bed without kicking Jamie out- but then Mason would smile and kiss him and pull him to bed and Jamie’s worries faded away.

Following his foot massage, their afternoon was spent similarly to Boxing Day, cuddling in Mason’s bed and watching movies.

“What work do you still have to do?”

“Nothing. We finished the group project this morning and I finished the other assignment yesterday before skating.”

“Really?” Jamie lifted his head from Mason’s shoulder to look at him. “We would celebrate!”

Mason’s eyes slid from his laptop screen to Jamie’s eager face. “How?”

“Tomorrow let’s go on a date.”

“A date?” Mason paused the movie. “Aren’t we essentially on a two-week-long date?”

Jamie shook his head. “No. We’ve been hanging out and doing couple-ly things, but I want to go out. Get dressed up and make an effort to be romantic and go on a date.” He didn’t know how else to put the difference into words- it was more of a feeling that he was trying to convey- but Mason was nodding as he thought.

“Okay, yeah. We can do that. Did you bring what you need to dress up?”

He did. “I didn’t know if there was anything Ivy-League-fancy we would be going to that had a dress code. I didn’t want to be underdressed.”

Mason gave him a flirtatious look. “I don’t think that’s possible for you. You don’t look underdressed even when you don’t have anything on.”

“You know it,” Jamie said, winking and blowing a kiss.

“So we’re going on a date tomorrow? When are you wanting to go-”

“No, no,” Jamie said, holding a finger up to Mason’s mouth. “I’m taking you out. I’m doing the planning. You’re just going to let me treat you to a nice surprise.”

A slow smile spread across Mason’s lips under Jamie’s finger. “Okay.”

While Mason continued watching the movie, Jamie was glued to his phone, looking up things they could do. He didn’t know the area- he only knew what Mason had shown him- and he wanted to take him somewhere they hadn’t been before. Somewhere nice.

Mason glanced at him a couple times, curiosity on his face, but Jamie angled himself away so he couldn’t see the screen.

“No peeking!”

“I’m not!”

“Just watch the movie.”

“I am.”

“Mmhm.”

“Jamie…”

“Nope.”

“I’m not trying to look, I just want to hold you.”

“Hold me after.”

Once he was satisfied, Jamie put his phone down out of Mason’s reach and cuddled back into his side.

The next morning, he found it was easier to move, which was good for what he had planned. It was another lazy morning as he shuffled down the bed under the blankets.

Mason hummed sleepily and threaded his fingers into Jamie’s hair.

“Are we starting the celebrations now?” His voice was low and rough with sleep and it sent a thrill through Jamie. He ground his hips into the mattress and he brought Mason to release with his mouth and hands.

“That depends. Are you wanting to go out now?”

“Nooo.” Mason flopped an arm across his eyes and groaned. “This is too early for vacation.”

Jamie laughed and kissed his hip. “Okay.”

“C’mere.” Reaching down, Mason pulled him up into a kiss before returning the favour.

They wasted another hour before finally getting up.

Digging through his bag for what he needed to get ready for their date, Jamie said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

While drying off and dressing in the bathroom, he had to take a few deep breaths to calm his heart before Mason could notice the quick beat pounding in his chest mirrored in his ring. It’s fine, he told himself. It’s not that big of a deal. He probably won’t even notice.

Mason noticed. Immediately.

“Are you… are you wearing mascara?”

Jamie shifted nervously, fiddling with the cuff of his red button-up dress shirt. He licked his lip. “Maybe?”

Taking half a step back, Mason closed his eyes, touched his forehead, chest, and shoulders in a cross, then put his hands together as he prayed, “Santa María, dame fuerzas.” (Saint Mary, give me strength.) Jamie didn’t know if the praying in Spanish was a good thing or not. He realized it was when Mason then grabbed the collar of Jamie’s shirt with both hands and yanked him into a kiss.

It was a good thing.

“Fuck. You, fuck.” Mason turned away, rubbing his jaw, before turning to look at Jamie. He turned away again. “Fuck.”

Sitting on the bed, Jamie watched as Mason paced back and forth, looking to and away from him as he continued to curse and blush. It made him feel really good about himself. He was the one making Mason almost lose his mind and he wasn’t even doing anything. It was how he looked. Just a little bit of makeup and Mason was visibly falling apart.

It wasn’t even that drastic of a change, Jamie thought. His eyelashes were blond like the rest of his hair and the mascara just made it look like he was born with dark eyelashes like everybody else. No one else would notice. And yet…

“If it’s too much, I can take it o-”

“No! No,” Mason interrupted, throwing his hands out to keep Jamie where he was. “Don’t. Leave it. Please?”

Jamie grinned. “Okay.”

While Mason finished getting ready, he kept pausing to look at Jamie, blush a little, then look away. It was amusing and flattering in one. Especially when Mason pulled out his desk chair to sit and stare at Jamie intensely.

Jamie stared back.

Mason looked good in a dark green sweater with a white button-up shirt underneath, the collar and cuffs showing, and his Rolex watch on his wrist. It was a very academic look, charming and scholarly, which suited Mason perfectly. Especially considering they were at Princeton with all of its old stone buildings and pathways. All he needed was a leather journal filled with handwritten poetry.

He was beautiful and Jamie was a little obsessed.

If he was being honest, he wanted to pull out his sketchbook or laptop to swathe Mason in the dark academia aesthetic conjuring in his mind.

“You’re eyes,” Mason moaned. “They’re already the prettiest I‘ve ever seen, but the mascara draws attention to them and, argh!” He threw himself back in his chair.

Jamie couldn’t stop smiling.

They arrived at the restaurant later than he planned. Mason said it was Jamie’s fault, but he disagreed. How was he supposed to know Mason wouldn’t be able to function for half an hour after seeing him wearing mascara?

“This place is nice,” Mason said, once he was finally able to focus on something other than Jamie’s eyes.

“It is,” Jamie agreed. It was a lovely restaurant with great food and a romantic atmosphere, with a vase of flowers and little tea lights on the table. If they were older (and more inclined to drinks), he might have considered a bottle of wine. 

“This is lovely,” Mason said, reaching across the table to take his hand. “Thank you.”

Lifting their hands to his mouth, he brushed his mouth against Mason’s warm skin while holding his gaze. Mason’s lips parted a millimetre and Jamie heard him exhale shakily. To anyone else, it wouldn’t have been noticeable, but Jamie knew Mason better than anyone and he knew he was practically swooning.

Jamie put his other hand on top of Mason’s as he lowered them to the table, rubbing the back of his fingers with his thumb.

Mason gave him a small smile and, in his peripherals, Jamie saw his heartbeat skip a beat.

After the waiter brought the bill Jamie saw Mason’s fingers twitch a little, but Jamie didn’t let him see it, let alone try to cover it. Then he took Mason’s hand in his and led him out of the building and turned right, walking down the sidewalk.

“Do you have another place planned or are we just wandering? Cause campus is that way.” Mason jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

“We’re going somewhere.”

“Okay.”

The park was beautiful in the winter. There was untouched, glittering snow and icicles everywhere. The air was crisp and cool, but not too cold, which made for a pleasant walk.

“Now,” Jamie said, “we’re wandering.”

Mason laughed and bumped their shoulders together.

After the park, Jamie led Mason to a local used bookstore. Jamie himself wasn’t a fan of books or reading, but Mason was, and his eyes lit up as he walked through the shelves. With a hand out, he trailed his finger along the spines of the books as he read the titles.

Leaning against the wall, Jamie just smiled softly as he watched him pick up a book, read the back, and put it on the shelf. The next one he picked up he tucked into his elbow.

Jamie took it to hold it for him. The next time Mason picked out a book, Jamie held his hand out for it. Mason shot him a grateful smile before turning back to the bookshelves.

Following the bookstore (where Jamie paid for and carried Mason’s books), they stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall cafe with overhead string lights, an actual fire flickering in an old, stone fireplace, and cushioned lounge chairs. It was warm and smelled like coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla, wrapping around them like a cozy blanket.

Jamie was in love.

“Why can’t this be in Moscow?”

Mason chuckled and took his hand, leading him to the counter where they ordered two mochas and a piece of warm gingerbread to share. It was topped with a dollop of whipped cream and drizzled with caramel.

The cafe-bakery wasn’t very busy, which Jamie was grateful for because it meant they were able to snag the chairs in front of the fire.

They talked while having the gingerbread, then settled in to relax, Mason pulling out one of his new books while Jamie doodled on the napkins with a pen left on the table. The idea of Mason in a dark academia setting had been floating in his head throughout the day and, with it right in front of him, he couldn't help but sketch it out. Across from him, in the large cushioned chair next to the fire, Mason sat with his mug of coffee and stack of books, lost in his own little world of worn, ink-filled pages and broken-in spines.

He took a picture and uploaded it to Instagram, tagging Mason and adding a caption of three emojis: a book, a cup of coffee, and a fire.

With the soothing crackling of the fire in the background, Jamie watched the flickering flames and sipped on his coffee as he thought back on that song he heard back home, back when he thought he wouldn’t see Mason at all over the holiday break. How the girls sang about missing one special person all year and seeing them for Christmas. He remembered it hurt because he thought he wouldn’t be able to do all the things mentioned in the song, but he was wrong.

If he remembered the lyrics correctly, then he and Mason did all the things the girls sang about. They were sitting by a fire right then, and there was the bonfire at the Christmas market. They decorated Mason’s dorm room… well, Jamie did more of the decorating when he put the lights up on the walls, but Mason did add the pictures they’d take at the market. They put up the miniature artificial tree in Mason’s dorm on the morning of Christmas Eve. He got to see the colourful lights in Mason’s eyes as they lit up his face; in his room, at the market, while skating, in the cafe, and along the streets of Princeton.

They didn't wrap presents, but they did open presents- did that count?

They even dreamed together. After Mason gave Jamie the ring, they talked in hushed voices about a possible future where they lived together and were still hopelessly in love. Jamie still thought about it every once in a while. An apartment on the East Coast, Mason doing whatever he wanted and Jamie with a job in graphic design. A house bought and renovated together. Taking their child or children staking and decorating for Christmas. Big smiles and bright laughter.

Jamie couldn’t wait.

“What are you thinking of?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re smiling at the fire and honestly it’s a little creepy.”

“I was just…” He didn’t know how to say he was thinking of a future where they had a house and kids. “Planning ahead?”

“For what?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what you’re planning ahead for?”

“No, I- never mind. It’s nothing.”

Mason was obviously still confused, but he let it go. Instead, he turned back to his book. He looked up only when Jamie stood. “Are we leaving?”

“No- unless you want to. I was just going to get a drink.”

“Could you get me a water, please?”

“Sure.”

As he kissed Mason on the forehead, Mason squeezed his hand in thanks.

They stayed for another hour or two, Jamie wishing he had his sketchbook as he drew and Mason reading. They got dinner while they were there, two almost-too-hot bowls of beef stew and a slice of cheesecake. Just before they left, they got two more mochas for the road.

“Thank you for today,” Mason said as they walked back to campus. “It was really nice.”

It was.

“You’re welcoming, baby.” Jamie squeezed Mason’s hand.

“Might’ve been the best date we’ve ever had.”

“You deserve a thousand like it.”

“Are you excited?” Jamie asked the next morning when Mason stirred in his arms.

“Excited to go back to sleep,” he mumbled, rolling to bury his head into his pillow. After the silence of Jamie’s pout stretched on too long, Mason sighed. His words were muffled when he said, “Excited for what?”

“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve! In less than 48 hours it will be 2015.”

That got Mason’s face out of the pillow. His face was scrunched in discomfort. “Don’t say that. That’s… no. I’m not ready for it to be next year yet.”

“Do you want to pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist and time isn’t a thing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you want to make good of your promise of nothing but sex all day?”

Mason’s face relaxed into a pleased smile. “Oh. That.”

“Do you wanna?”

He grinned and rolled onto Jamie, his chin resting on Jamie’s chest. “Mmmm, that sounds nice.”

“Can you keep up this time?”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Absolutely it is. You said ‘if I could keep up,’ but the other day you were the one who was too tired to continue.”

“Hey! I was still working! You’ve been on break for, what, two weeks now? I just finished two days ago. I was tired because I haven’t been getting enough sleep. Now, though.” He ground his hips into Jamie’s as he grinned. “Now I can do this all day.”

Jamie frowned. “Was that a Captain America reference?”

“What? No- Jamie! You’re ruining the mood!”

“I’m sorry!” He shrieked with laughter when Mason dug his fingers into his side, tickling him. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

With Mason’s weight pressing down on him, there wasn’t anywhere to go and he squirmed, bucking his hips to dislodge his boyfriend. Mason was stronger than him, though, and he didn’t go anywhere. After a few minutes, he took pity and stopped, pinning Jamie’s arms above his head with both hands.

Jamie panted, trying to catch his breath.

Then Mason leaned down and kissed him, stealing his breath for a different reason. The one kiss turned into two then they were making out and touching as much of the other as they could. Jamie lost count of how many rounds they had, but by the time he looked out the window, it was dark and he was feeling sexually satisfied.

“Congrats,” he said cheekily. “You made it this time.”

Mason lifted his head. “Excuse me? Do you want to go again? I can go again. Can you?”

Jamie laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. You made your point. I shouldn’t have challenged your stamina.”

“Damn right.” Making his way over, Mason attached his lips to Jamie’s neck, sucking and biting lightly. Jamie had no doubt he was going to have a hickey there. Judging by the pleased look on Mason’s face, he was right.

With all of their energy drained during the day, they fell asleep earlier than they usually did. ‘To prepare for being out and about until after midnight the next day,’ was Mason’s sleep-slurred excuse explanation. Jamie was too tired to argue.

It was a long bus ride into New York City. The trip in total- including walking- was estimated at being between an hour and a half to two hours. Parts of their country he’d never seen before flew past the window, stretching out into a blur. The trees were different than what he was used to, glimpses of the ocean on the horizon, and a lot more snow than what they usually got in Idaho.

“Are you nervous?” Mason asked, breaking Jamie out of his thoughts.

“No. Why?”

Mason held up his hand, his ring showing off the rapid beating of Jamie’s heart.

“Oh.”

“And you’re bouncing your leg.”

Jamie stopped.

“I just… it’s New York City. We’ve never been here before. I- we have no idea what to expect. What if something happens or we get lost? I don’t want it to be like McCall, where we got stranded for the night. Then, at least, we were able to call home for help, but we can’t do that here. I don’t want to get stuck in a city I don’t know.”

“I hear what you’re saying,” Mason said, taking Jamie’s hand in his to massage his palm with his thumbs. “And I agree. It can be scary and uncertain, but I really think we’ll be okay. No, I’m not just saying that. We- both of us- are more resourceful than you think. Look at you, you got out here all by yourself.”

“My mom-”

“She might have bought the tickets or given you directions, but you flew out here by yourself. You got to Princeton. By yourself.”

“I did,” Jamie said, feeling a rush of pride., He didn’t think much of it before, but he supposed that (successfully) travelling by himself was an impressive achievement. “How are you always full of useful tidbits of information?”

Mason just laughed and leaned in for a kiss.

New York City was just as it was in the movies. Lots of cars (mostly taxis), people filling the sidewalks, and so many sounds. And ads. There were advertisements on everything, even on the taxis.

For the most part, Mason was the one walking around to look at and find things, while Jamie just followed along. He didn’t care where they went as long as he was with Mason. He would follow him anywhere, even the fiery pits of hell, which- according to a few homophobes- was where they were heading.

There were so many buildings, more than Jamie had ever seen at once. Taller, too. At the base of the Empire State Building, he had to crane his neck back to see the top- which he couldn’t even see because it disappeared into the clouds. It made him dizzy enough he had to grab onto Mason’s arm for balance.

“There’s so much happening I don’t know where to look,” Mason said when they reached Time’s Square.

Jamie laughed. “I know.”

“This is where The Ball is going to drop tonight. So, wherever we go for the rest of the day, we should keep in mind how to get back here.”

“Smart.”

Continuing north, they walk through the Broadway area, signs of musicals everywhere. Along the roads, Jamie also sees a two-storey M&M store with M&Ms of every colour, a Disney store full of plushies, figurines, and costumes, and a Hershey’s store featuring the World’s Largest Recce’s Peanut Butter Cup. There was even a machine to print your own picture on the wrapper of a Hershey’s bar. Buying a few for them, Jamie also left with a one-pound Kiss.

“I’m not carrying that for you,” Mason said, looking at the bag Jamie was more than willing to carry.

The contrast from the packed ‘Concrete Jungle’ to the open grounds of Central Park was incredible. Jamie could hardly believe they were still in NYC- if it weren’t for the tops of the nearby skyscrapers peeking out over the trees at the edge of the park. Most of the pictures he’s seen over the years were of summer, with some of fall, but it was just as beautiful in the winter. Wide expanses of lawns covered in unblemished snow and ponds frozen with ice, icicles decorating trees and bushes and gardens. It was picturesque and gorgeous.

Along one path was a little lookout with a bench facing a footbridge.

“I want to draw it,” Jamie said, pouting that he didn’t bring his sketchbook. He left it at Princeton because he didn’t think he’d have the time or desire to draw anything. Also because he didn’t want to lose or damage it.

“Lucky for you,” Mason said, reaching into his pocket. “I always keep a notebook on me in case I ever need to write something down.

Jamie immediately brightened when Mason held it and a pen out to him. “Thank you! I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The early pages of the notebook were full of random information; an email; address; times, and dates. Jamie flipped through to an empty section and put the pen to paper.

Mason sat with him on the bench until he was all sketched out, dozens of sketches filling the pages.

“Sorry,” Jamie said, handing the notebook back. “I didn’t mean to use so many pages.”

Mason took it and slipped it back into his pocket, leaning over to rest his head on Jamie’s shoulder. “That’s okay. Now I’ll always have some of your art with me.”

“Don’t you have some on your phone?”

“Yeah, but those are pictures, there are the originals.”

Jamie laid his head on top of Mason’s, taking his hand to tangle their fingers together. There weren’t a lot of people in the park and it felt quiet and still, the only sounds were the occasional crunching of snow underfoot and the traffic of the surrounding city.

“I love your art,” Mason whispered into the quiet. “Even the ones you hate and think are crappy.”

“Because they are crappy.”

“But they’re yours.”

“Sap.”

Mason expressed interest in making a quick stop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but in the end they decided not to go. They weren’t exactly sure where in Central Park they were nor how to get to the museum. When Mason looked it up, he saw that it was farther up the island than they were willing to go, especially for a quick stop.

“Maybe we can make a trip there the next time I’m out here.”

Mason’s head jerked up. “You’d want to come out here again?”

“Yeah.” Jamie didn’t know why Mason sounded so surprised. “One, you’re going to be spending the next three and a half years out here; it’s going to be important to you- if not already- and I’d like to share it with you. I’d like to share UoI with you, too. Two, if you want to stay out here after getting your Bachelor’s then I’m coming out here for work. I’m not doing long-distance more than necessary. Dr. Weir’s wife already told me to contact her after graduation. And three, it’s gorgeous out here.”

He swept an arm out, gesturing to the park around them.

Mason didn’t look at anything other than Jamie. He practically had hearts in his eyes as he stared at him with awe. Wordlessly, he pulled him in for a deep kiss.

They had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which Jamie was surprised by, for the single reason that the streets around Times Square were packed with crowds. Other places were overflowing with people, yet they were seated in a somewhat famous restaurant.

By the time it was almost midnight, they had found a place to watch the Ball Drop. It wasn’t in Times Square, but they had a good vantage point where they could see all the lights and signs shining and flickering over the crowd. Jamie had never seen so many people in one place before. They filled the streets- the actual streets. He didn’t know if that was allowed or not. Maybe the roads were purposely blocked off for the crowds? He hadn’t seen any signs.

Being almost January, it was freezing out, but Jamie didn’t feel cold. Part of it was the crowd pressing around him and huddling together like penguins, part of it was the excitement pumping through every part of his body, and part of it was Mason’s hand in his.

A look at Mason’s face showed he felt the same excitement Jamie did. His eyes were wide and filled with wonder as he looked around. They shifted to Jamie when he kissed his cheek. His smile was dazzling and beautiful.

Even though they were standing there for over an hour (they had to get there early enough to get a decent viewing spot), time passed quickly and the next thing he knew, the count down was beginning.

“10!”

They joined in, smiles stretching too wide.

“9!”

“8!”

“7!”

“6!”

“5!”

“4!”

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!”

A flurry of sound erupted around them; cheers, clapping, screams, noisemakers, horns, and literally anything that could be used to make noise.

“Happy New Year’s, baby,” Mason said, eyes sparkling and shining bright. He was more beautiful than anything around them.

Jamie grinned and grabbed his face with both hands, pulling him into a kiss.

Just then, fireworks started going off in the sky above them, lighting everything up with bright colours. Not that Jamie saw. He was too busy kissing his number one person. His heart echoed the booms from above, euphoria thrumming through him and erasing everything and everyone around them. Nothing in the world could compare to how Jamie felt sharing his first of many New Year’s midnight kisses with his soulmate.

“I love you,” Mason said when they finally pulled apart.

“I love you, too.”

Grinning too hard to kiss properly, Jamie didn’t care as he kissed him again and again and again.

They weren’t kidding when they called New York City the city that never sleeps. Cars and lights and people were constantly moving, even though it was approaching 2 am. But it could’ve just been because it was New Year's and everyone was out and about until after midnight. Either way, it took forever for them to work their way down the island, back to the bus, and even longer to get back to campus.

It was 4 am when they finally, blessedly fell into bed together, Jamie passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He didn’t wake up until well after noon, with Mason sprawled out on his chest. His breathing was slow and even, so Jamie knew he was still asleep. Warm and comfortable, Jamie went back to sleep.

The next time he woke up, Mason was awake too. He didn’t notice. Instead, he was watching where his fingertips were tracing lightly up and down Jamie’s arm. Trailing higher, he brushed Jamie’s shoulder, over his collarbone, and ended just over his heart. Then he tilted his head down and kissed where his finger just was.

Jamie put his hands on Mason’s waist, which caused him to flinch with a light gasp.

Mason’s head shot up to look at Jamie, then he put a hand over his heart, clutching his chest as he tried to calm his heart. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“I didn’t mean to! How was I supposed to know you’d be scared? It’s not like you don’t know I’m here- you’re literally lying on top of me.”

“Yeah, but-” Mason groaned, burying his face into Jamie’s chest. “I didn’t know you were awake. You didn’t make your wake-up noises.”

“Wake-up noises?”

“Yes, the adorable noises you always make when waking up. You didn’t make them, so I didn’t think you were awake,”

“Oh.” He didn’t know he made noises, but he liked that Mason knew him well enough to know that he did. Rolling them over to be on top, Jamie kissed him. “I was going to say this was a nice way to bring in the new year, but then you screamed-”

“Hey! I didn’t scream!”

Jamie grinned and kissed his pout away. With each kiss, Mason melted a little bit more under him, tension seeping away as he hooked his arms around Jamie’s neck to hold him close. Trying again, Jamie put his hands on Mason’s waist, who didn’t flinch that time.

Trailing his lips from Mason’s mouth to his jaw, Jamie kissed his scruff before going lower. He finished with a kiss at the base of Mason’s throat, then tucked his face into Mason’s neck, cuddling closer.

Part of him wanted to get up and shower, but the bigger part of him didn’t want to ever move. With his flight home coming up, he wanted to touch Mason as much as possible so his body would remember the feel of him when they were apart again.

All Jamie wanted to do was stay in bed with Mason. It was all he wanted the entire time he was at university.

It was all he was going to want once he went back home. His flight home was the next day and he really, really didn’t want to go. Mason felt the same, if the way he was holding Jamie had anything to do with it.

“Would it be selfish to ask you to stay?” Mason asked, breaking the silence.

“No.”

Shuffling a little lower, Jamie kissed the center of his chest then laid his chin to rest on his sternum. He looked up at Mason’s face for what felt like forever.

“I don’t want to go.”

“This is shitty. Maybe I should’ve gone to WSU after all, then-”

Jamie cut him off with a finger on his lips. “Don’t. ‘What if’s hurt too much.”

“Yeah, but I could transfer out there. Be on the same coast as you…”

“I could say the same. That I could transfer out here, but, babe, that doesn’t mean we would see each other more often or that it would be the right thing to do. You were given an incredible opportunity to study here and you can’t give it up just to be near me. I obviously wish we were closer, but we are where we’re supposed to be. We’re going to be okay.”

Mason groaned and rolled them over so he was on top of Jamie. “Weren’t you just complaining about not wanting to go another four months apart?”

“Yes, last semester was hard,” Jamie admitted, running his hands along Mason’s back. “We didn’t know what it was going to be like. I don’t know if it’s better or worse, knowing what we’re walking into, but last semester was our first time apart and we didn’t know what to do. We know now that overnight calls and facetime help more than regular calls and that texts aren’t nearly enough. Besides, we have these now.” Taking Mason’s hand in his, he kissed the promise ring on his finger. “We’ll be able to feel each other somewhat physically now.”

“When did you get so smart? Are you secretly studying psychology there?”

Jamie laughed and pinched Mason’s side. “Fuck you. I’ve always been smart!”

Mason pulled away to look at him and Jamie was expecting a teasing grin or a pout about the pinch. Instead, he was smiling proudly. “I know.”

The retort he was ready to say died on his tongue. He didn’t always feel smart. In fact, he usually felt the opposite- only doing well in art and band classes. Mason, though. He was smart, and having him proud of Jamie and calling him smart… Well, it left somersaults spinning in his stomach.

Jamie pulled him down into a kiss.

“Am I crushing you?”

“No.”

He was, but Jamie needed to feel his weight. His presence. His strength. Jamie needed to know that they would be fine. He told Mason they would, but deep down here was worried they wouldn’t. That he wouldn’t be strong enough to do it again. The past four months had been just awful and he was dreading the second semester and the challenges they would face.

He held on tighter to Mason.

“It’s okay, darling,” Mason whispered in his ear. “You can cry.”

It was the first time Mason called him that.

Jamie hadn’t realized he was close to tears until Mason addressed it- and called him darling. His breathing hitched as his body trembled with silent tears.

He pressed his face into Mason’s shoulder and let the tears fall.

The time they spent in bed that day was different than the days previous. It used to be desperate longing from being apart and simply enjoying each other’s presence and nearness. But with Jamie’s flight home looming on the metaphorical horizon, it was dread and nervousness that painted their kisses.

They didn’t put on movies to distract them. They didn’t have music in the background. They didn’t try to downplay their misery at the thought of being apart again.

They made love that night, slow and sensual, full of tender love and heartache.

There were more tears than Jamie would like to admit.

He sniffed and clung to Mason, their naked bodies pressed firmly together, wanting to get in as much of his boyfriend as he could. His trembling thighs were hooked around Mason’s waist, holding him in place even though he made no move to go anywhere.

“We’ll be okay,” Mason whispered. For once he didn’t sound confident and Jamie’s heart went out to him, even though he was going through the same thing. He was feeling the same sorrow and the same hollow in his chest.

“It’s going to hurt. It’s going to be so fucking hard.”

“I know, darling. I know.”

Jamie never wanted the day to end. It wasn’t that he wanted to drag out their emotional suffering, but he didn’t want tomorrow to come.

To his dismay, tomorrow came sooner than he thought it would.

Mason practically had to drag him from bed. He didn’t want Jamie to go either, but with him being the practical one of the two, he was the one keeping Jamie on track to getting to the airport on time. He helped pack Jamie’s duffle bag, though none of Jamie’s hoodies made it into his bag. Mason was wearing one of them and the rest were added to his closet.

Jamie didn’t mind because he got some of Mason’s.

Trying to stretch out his stay, Jamie offered to help rewash his sheets, but Mason told him not to worry about it. Instead of doing things to prepare for leaving, he sat on the edge of the bed, going through his photo album. Mason sat down next to him, their bodies pressing together from their thighs to their shoulders, and tilted his head to rest against Jamie’s.

They’d taken many pictures over the two weeks- he couldn’t believe the two weeks were up already- and Mason had printed them out and given them to Jamie that morning. Together they added the pictures and spoke in hushed voices about each and every one.

“I love this one,” Mason says, pointing to a crooked, blurry selfie they took while kissing.

“I love it, too. Do you want to reenact it?”

Mason looked up at him.

Their faces were less than an inch apart.

Jamie’s eyes dropped to Mason’s lips.

“Yes.”

Gently cradling his face, Jamie kissed him.

Mason’s hand slid from the photo album to Jamie’s stomach and continued up his chest, touching every dip and curve of his body until his fingers threaded into his hair. Pressing himself closer, he sighed happily into the kiss.

Jamie drew back for a moment, their lips barely brushing, then went in for another chaste kiss. He let his lips linger over warm skin, not wanting to pull back and break the pleasant haze that overcame them just yet.

He opened his eyes.

Mason’s turned up face was open and genuine, though his eyes were still closed. A second later, as if it took a moment to process, his eyelashes flutter and he blinked a couple times before opening his eyes. The vulnerable sincerity was visible in his beautiful chocolate-warm gaze.

Jamie understood, then, what people meant when they said eyes were the window to the soul.

He could see the longing and desire to have Jamie close yet the regret and despair of having to let him leave. He could see how much Mason needed to stay with him. He saw how he wasn’t letting himself give in to that need.

Jamie pulled him into a fierce hug.

“You are so strong and brave and incredible. I admire that. I love you, okay? I’m in love with you.”

Mason gave him a dopey smile. “I’m in love with you, too.”

Guiding him back onto the bed, Jamie propped himself up on an elbow to gaze down at Mason. Caressing his cheek, he said, “That’s not what I meant. I meant that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to need me. I want- I need you to know that I see you and that I’m here for you. I need you to know that the next few months are going to be difficult, but you’re going to be okay. I need you to know that no matter how challenging things are going to get, that I am in love with you. I will still be here, in your heart, throughout everything. If there’s nothing else to put your trust in, put it in my love for you. I will always, always be here for you.”

Mason’s bottom lip was wobbling and his eyes were filling with tears when Jamie finished speaking. He put his hand over Jamie’s, which was resting over his heart. Jamie’s kiss to his forehead broke the dam and he started crying a second before he pulled Jamie down into a hug.

“That was beautiful and much appreciated,” Mason said, his voice shaking, “but did you have to say that? I’m a mess and we haven’t even left yet.”

“Yes, because I need you to know with certainty that I am in love with you. I am, I promise. I am truly, madly, deeply, hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with you no matter what. I need you to know that I’ll be the shoulder you can lean on when you need it. You don’t always have to be the strong one.”

Mason made a pained noise, clutching him tighter.

Jamie knew he said he loved Mason a lot. He told him all the time, but he needed him to know how deep and true his feelings were. There were a lot of times where Mason emotionally and physically held Jamie up when he was feeling down, but he needed someone to hold him up, too. He needed to know he had someone to lean on when things got hard. Jamie needed him to know. Jamie wasn’t the only one to feel the aches and pains of being separated from his soulmate; Mason felt them all, too, and he deserved to have someone to rely on.

Jamie needed him to know that he was more than willing to be that person.

“You’re just as precious and loved and deserving as you make me feel.”

He held him until Mason’s crying slowed down and for another eternity after that. Only when Mason nudge him did he sit up.

He was wiping his eyes and sniffling as he sat up. “You made a blubbering mess of me.”

“I’m not sorry,” Jamie said, kissing his splotchy cheek.

Mason chuckled wetly and jokingly shoved him. Jamie fell back onto the bed, putting the back of his hand to his forehead dramatically.

“You’ve wounded me! I can see my life flashing before my eyes! Mother, is that you?”

Mason’s laugh was more genuine that time as he crawled over Jamie into his line of sight. “Maybe you should have joined the drama club instead of band.”

Jamie grinned up at him and pushed himself up to kiss him. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Confusion spread across Mason’s face. “But we have to catch the shuttle in half an hour.”

“We’ll take a long, scenic walk to the shuttle.”

They did just that, exploring as much as they could on the way, hand in hand the entire time. The entire shuttle ride, too, their fingers stayed interlocked. Side by side. Palm to palm.

Jamie’s heart sank when Newark airport came into view. It made his leaving seem much more real. Much more imminent. Mason had to encourage him off the bus with gentle nudges and a hand on the small of his back.

None of it felt real, yet it felt all too real. Checking in and getting his ticket. Walking to the entrance to security. He looked at the security guards and felt his stomach churn. He stared, wanting it to disappear. To blink and wake up in Mason’s bed.

“Darling?”

Maybe it was the new, endearing nickname, or maybe it was the restrained reluctance in Mason’s voice, but something, something had Jamie throwing himself at him. He didn’t want to go. Every part of his body told him to stay. To not leave his soulmate behind. Every part of him was digging in its heels to stay exactly where he was.

Was this what Mason felt back in August?

He was going to a new, unknown part of their country, though. Jamie, at least, was going home. He was going back to his mom and sisters. He was going home to people who loved and missed him, but still, he didn’t want to go.

Mason’s arms were around him and he didn’t want to go.

Jamie held tight to Mason, reluctant to let go. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was scared of what was coming. The darkness and constant aching of being apart. It was almost unbearable before and, despite his talk of bravery earlier, he did not want to have to go through it all again. For four and a half months.

“You’re going to have to let go of me at some point,” Mason said gently, but he was holding on just as tightly.

“I don’t want to.”

Mason’s arms tightened at the watery wobble of Jamie’s voice.

He had to let go, though, because he had to get on the plane. His mom paid for the ticket in his hand. He had school to go back to. Classes to take. Classes that would (hopefully) lead him to a job near Mason so they wouldn’t have to be apart again. He had unopened Christmas presents for his mom and Frank and the girls. He had a family he wanted to see before going back to university.

He pulled back just enough to look at Mason. “If I get another call that you’re not coming home, I swear to God, I’ll come out here just to drag you back. I don’t care if I have to drive all 2500 miles or even hitchhike. We’re not going more than four months apart, and that’s it.”

Mason took one of Jamie’s hands in his, threading their fingers together and kissing his knuckles. “I promise. I’ll always come home to you.”

“Good.” With his other hand, Jamie cupped the back of Mason’s head, tilting their heads to touch foreheads. He took a deep breath and found nothing else to stall his departure, instead, having to prepare himself for leaving.

Slowly, he took small steps back, his eyes never leaving Mason’s, until their fingers slipped apart. No longer close enough to touch. No longer close enough to reach his soulmate.

Heart breaking, he walked to security, showing them his boarding pass and ID. Before he stepped through the doorway and out of sight, he looked back.

Mason was standing where he left him, hugging himself as he watched Jamie leave.

I love you, he mouthed.

Mason smiled and wiped at his eyes, mouthing, I love you, too.

Then he was being ushered into a line and instructed to put his things on the conveyor belt, dispose of any liquids he had, and take off any metal he was wearing. Stepping out on the other side, Jamie checked his phone.

I miss you already :(

I miss you too <3

Is it too late to try and convince you to stay?

Or take me with you?

unfortuanetly, yes :(

I’d pack you in my bag if I could but i dont think you’d fit

He had to put his phone away so he could focus on finding his gate without being distracted. Finding a seat, he sat down and pulled it out again. There was another text waiting.

Days until I’m home: 130

Jamie called him. “A hundred and thirty days is a long time, you know.”

“I know, but we can do it.”

Then Jamie felt a warmth on his ring, and when he looked down, he saw it was lit up blue. The light came and went quickly, but randomly. Some flashes lasting longer than others.

“What are you doing?”

“Do you recognize it?”

“If I just asked what you’re doing, that implies that no, I don’t recognize it.”

“Cheeky. It’s morse code.”

“You know morse code?”

“Not really, no. Just the one phrase.”

“What phrase?”

“‘I love you.’”

“Oh.” Jamie’s heart fluttered. “Do it again.”

Mason did, and Jamie stared at it, tears in his eyes as he tried to remember the pattern. Hopefully, it’d be familiar the next time he saw it.

“I learned it for this- for you. I thought it would help to tell you when I can’t tell you, you know?”

“You’re going to have to teach me so I can tell you.”

“Okay.”

They talked until Jamie’s flight started accepting passengers onto the plane and he had to hang up. Mason- to Jamie’s surprise and pleasure- was still at the airport to watch his plane take off. Jamie had assumed he left already, that he would want to get back to campus, to his room, instead of waiting in an airport terminal for an hour.

Jamie texted him right up until he had to put his phone on airplane mode. He also sent a text to his mom to keep her updated.

The next thing he knew, they were on the runway and were taking off, New Jersey falling behind below them. Blessed with a window seat, Jamie stared at the airport until the plane banked and it was no longer in view.

The flight home felt like it took longer than it did two weeks ago. It was probably because last time he was excited and impatient to reunite with Mason while he felt numb leaving his heart behind. He was too unsettled to sleep, which also made it drag on. He was able to distract himself with the movies being played, though he would rather watch them with Mason. Mason was the person he watched movies with even before they started dating.

The farther west he was, the more his heart ached. He didn’t know if it was because he was sad to leave Mason or if it was their soul bond being stretched already. It was only seven hours- drastically less than the four months they had to go apart- yet his heart and body were heavy by the time his plane landed. He was tired and groggy and all he wanted was to crawl into Mason’s arms and lie down for a nap. The only soothing thing was that he still had his ring pulsing with Mason’s heartbeat and lighting up blue when Mason touched it back.

Taking his phone off airplane mode, a swarm of texts came in, mostly from Mason, saying how much he loved and missed Jamie.

Just came back to an empty room :’(

I wish you were still here

My pillow smells like you <3

There were also some from his mom; that she was on her way to the airport and was waiting by the luggage carousel where Jamie would exit. He sent a text back to both of them before following the flow of people.

It was easy, spotting his mom searching gaze at the edge of the crowd. Weaving through the other people, Jamie flung himself at her, almost knocking her over with the force of his hug. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until she was there in front of him, there in his arms. There hugging him back.

“Jamie, baby! Oh, I’ve missed you!”

“I missed you, too, Mom.”

She was crying when she pulled back. She checked him over to make sure he was okay, even though he told her he was fine. He didn’t mind the motherly attention, though. Honestly, he missed it. Then she was cupping his face with both hands to look at him. “You’re all grown up.”

She said the same thing to him three weeks ago when he arrived home from university.

He put his hands over hers. “I’m the same person I was two weeks ago.”

“No,” she said, smiling proudly. “You’re more mature now.”

Then she noticed his ring.

“That’s lovely.” She took his hand in hers to look at it better. “I wonder how it’s replicating a heartbeat. It doesn’t need batteries, does it? It’s so thin-”

“It’s Mason’s.”

“Mason’s ring?” He heard her unasked questions. He gave you his ring? What’s the meaning of it?

“No. Mason’s heartbeat. His ring has mine. They only pulse with our heart when we’re both wearing them because of our soul bond.” He touched the heart and a second later it lit up blue. “It goes blue when he touches it. He gave it to me as a promise ring.”

She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “Oh, Jamie. That’s beautiful.”

Then she was crying again and Jamie tugged her into another hug.

“I’m so happy for you,” she wailed, sounding the opposite of happy. He knew she was, though, and that was all that mattered.

The sights of Boise on the drive home were familiar and comforting and Jamie wasn’t as upset about being back as he thought he would. The pyjama-clad, tripping-over-themselves, shrieking, chaotic whirlwinds that were his sisters were just as welcoming. Jamie grinned right back and scooped them both up into a hug, kissing them as they left sloppy, wet kisses on his cheeks.

With one shouting ‘Jamie!’ in one ear and one shouting ‘Amy!’ in the other, Jamie stepped through the doorway to his childhood home.

It smelled like Christmas and comfort and Jamie took a deep breath to absorb it all.

“Jamie,” Frank said, stepping out of the kitchen. He gave Jamie a rough pat on the shoulder. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks,” he said. He didn’t say that while this house and his mom did feel like home, a part of him swore up and down that his home was now 2500 miles away in a little dorm room at Princeton University.

“Are you hungry, Jamie?” Without waiting for him to answer, his mom pulled food out of the fridge and started heating it up for him. “We wanted to wait to have dinner with you, but the girls were getting antsy and-”

He put a hand on her, smiling reassuringly. “It’s okay, Mom. Thank you.”

She smiled back and hugged him tightly. “I’ve missed you.”

With his family chattering around him as he ate, Jamie pulled out his phone.

Home now

Missing you <3

I miss you, too <3 this room isn’t the same now that you’re gone

Tell your mom I say hi

And thank you

And that I love her

Will do :)

“You look much better now, Jamie.”

Jamie looked up as his mom wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leaning in to rest her head against his.

“He does, doesn’t he?”

“What?”

“Your time with Mason was good for you. I knew it would. We missed you, but the trip was good for you. You needed it.”

“Yeah.” He smiled gratefully at her. “I did. Thank you. And Mason says hi, thank you and that he loves you.”

His mom rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head. “I love him, too.”

In Frank’s lap, Elisabeth’s and Ann Marie’s heads started to dip and their eyes drooped and Jamie realized suddenly that it was their bedtime. Or after their bedtime, judging by how tired the two were. He didn’t actually know what time it was, only that it was dark out. Crossing multiple time zones in one day did that to a person.

He leaned sideways to his mom, whispering, “So, should I give them their Christmas presents tomorrow?”

“I think so.”

When the girls were about to be taken to bed, Jamie stepped in Frank’s way, gesturing to them. “Could I?”

Frank smiled and gently handed them over.

Carrying the two upstairs, Jamie talked quietly to them, telling them how much he missed them and their laughter and their smiles. Ann Marie attempted a smile, but she was too tired for it to be a full smile. Elisabeth just wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her face into him. It took a little coaxing for them to let go of him, but soon he was tucking them into bed and reading them a story.

It was a new one he hadn’t seen before about a prince falling in love with a knight.

Oh.

Jamie didn’t know there were children’s picture books featuring a gay couple. Shifting through their other new books, he saw another about two princesses.

Tired from the emotional goodbye that morning, his heart and soul missing Mason, and jetlag starting to creep up on him, Jamie said goodnight to his mom and Frank. Even though he was warm and comfortable in his own familiar bed, he missed the a-little-too-small bed he and Mason shared for the past two weeks. Okay, so maybe he missed the ‘Mason being in bed with him where there was no room for personal space’ part more than the bed itself.

I miss your arms around me :(

I miss that too :(

How is your family?

Good. Happy I’m home

Mom kept crying and the girls shrieked until they were too tired to stay up any longer

Oh!

They now have 2 lgbt bedtime books! I read one when putting them to bed

Aww that’s sweet <3

Are you going to read me a bedtime story, too?

…do u want one???

Honestly, I’d just love to hear your voice. Doesn’t matter what.

Sap

Climbing out of bed, Jamie tiptoed into the girls’ room and grabbed the two LGBT+ books, then went back to his room. He pressed the call icon next to Mason’s name.

“Wait, are you actually going to read me a story?” Mason asked in lieu of a greeting. He sounded surprised but excited.

“Do you want me to?”

“I’d love it.”

Opening to the first page, Jamie quietly read out loud. Mason’s breathing was all he heard over the phone throughout the entire (short) story. There was a quiet shuffling after he finished.

“That’s cute,” Mason whispered, sounding considerably more sleepy than he did before. Jamie wondered if he was still tired from staying up too late the other day or if Jamie’s voice was really that soothing.

They continued to talk for a little while longer, but Jamie could hear Mason getting drowsier and less coherent and he reluctantly said goodnight. He tried going to sleep, knowing he needed it, but it took longer to fall asleep than it did the past two weeks. He knew it was because he didn’t have Mason’s arms around him.

Stretching out a hand for his duffle bag, Jamie grabbed his photo album, slowly flipping through it until his eyes were too heavy to stay open. He then reached for his phone from his bedside table to send a text, only to see Mason beat him to it.

Goodnight, darling. I love you xoxo <3

I love you too xoxo <3

Chapter Text

Flat on his stomach Jamie groaned and wished for the healing touch Mason would bring with him when he came home the next day. Second semester had been rough, but not as bad as the first. The soulmate rings were a considerable help in relieving them of the physical hurt that came with being separated from their person.

Even though they only had two weeks leading up to the four and a half month separation compared to the many years they had before the first semester, it was a little easier on Jamie’s heart. It still hurt and he was constantly tired, not enough energy to do anything but also too exhausted to sleep. He was in a constant state of numbness, but it was just a little easier because he had already done it before. Just a little. Soul bonds could stretch like any other muscle, could get used to going farther and longer apart, but it was only their second time apart and his soul wasn’t used to the stretch.

A knock on his door broke his trance of nothing.

“Hi, sweetie,” Jamie heard his mom say as she entered.

He grunted in response.

She sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his back. “How are you feeling?”

Turning his face from his pillow, Jamie thumbed his ring where Mason’s heartbeat pulsed. It was steady for most of the day with a few irregular or quickened beats. Considering Mason was taking an exam, Jamie thought he seemed pretty calm. But Mason’s always been good at school and never stressed as much as Jamie.

“I just want him home.”

“He’ll be home soon enough and you’ll see him then.”

Jamie grumbled and closed his eyes.

“Brodie and Kellen are here. Why don’t you go down and watch a movie with them while I go out?”

“Where are you going?”

“To get some groceries. How do you feel about tacos for dinner?”

“Mason won’t be happy if he hears we’re having tacos the day before he comes back.”

His mom made a noncommittal noise of agreement and helped him sit up. A few minutes later, Jamie was trudging down the stairs, a blanket wrapped around him. Just as his Mom said, his friends were waiting in the living room. Kellen winced and Brodie gave a low whistle.

“You okay, dude?”

Jamie forgot they hadn’t seen him or Mason like that before. They’d never seen them go months apart. He didn’t see them until after got home from Princeton in January when he was feeling better and Mason hadn’t come home at all. Yet.

“Feel like crap,” he said, curling up on one end of the couch. He used the armrest as a pillow, tucked his feet up, and snuggled deeper into his blanket. “What movie do you want to watch?”

“Are you sure you want to?” Brodie asked, his concern overflowing into his tone.

Kellen elbowed him.

“What? He looks terrible!”

“Yeah, but we’re here to make him feel better.”

“Thank you, but I’m okay,” Jamie said before they could continue debating whether or not they should stay.

“You feel like crap. You said so yourself.”

“A movie will be a good distraction,” he lied. He was probably going to zone out and miss the whole thing, but he didn’t want to worry them. He wanted to pretend that everything was okay, hoping to make time pass quicker. The sooner today is over, he thought, the sooner tomorrow will come and the sooner Mason will be home.

The next thing he knew, his eyes were too heavy to keep open and he was drifting off.

Jamie woke up with his head in someone’s lap, their hand carding through his hair.

“Feeling better?” The person asked.

He nodded, feeling a lot better. A lot. Like, a surprising amount better. He blinked tiredly up at the person, just to see whose lap he was using. It took a few seconds to process who he saw.

His eyes flew open to see Mason looking down at him with a fond smile.

“Oh my god!” He bolted upright, flinging his arms around his soulmate as he kissed him and kissed him and kissed him. He peppered Mason’s face with dozens of kisses, ignoring the streams of tears pouring down his face. Finishing with a deep kiss on Mason’s mouth, Jamie then tucked his face into the crook of his neck, grinning.

“Hi, darling,” Mason whispered just for him.

“Hi.” He said, hugging him tighter. He couldn’t believe he was there already. It didn’t feel like that long since they put on the movie. A lot of the aches and pains were lessened, but he didn’t feel like he’d slept through the rest of the day and night and into the next day. But he must’ve if Mason was home already.

“How long was I asleep?”

That earned him some chuckles and, keeping his head resting on Mason’s shoulder and his arms around his neck, Jamie looked at the rest of the room. Brodie and Kellen were still there, filming Jamie and Mason, and Jamie’s mom was standing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

He supposed it was an amusing question, but he was being serious. He dozed off in front of the TV the day before Mason came home and he was still there on the couch after he arrived. Surely 24 hours must not have passed?

“Only a couple of hours, from what I was told,” Mason said, rubbing Jamie’s back. “I came home a day early.”

“But… your exam? Weren’t you just taking an exam?”

“No. I, uh, made that part up so I’d have a reason for not getting your texts when on the plane.”

Jamie thought it over for a second. It was a good plan; one Jamie fell into easily. But it didn’t matter. Not anymore.

Mason was home. For the first time since last August.

Suddenly, he was filled with the need to touch and feel Mason, to get his fill of him and his body. He needed his bare skin against his. He needed to feel him under his fingers and lips. Scrambling up from Mason’s lap, Jamie tugged him up and towards the stairs.

“Dinner will be ready in about an hour!” His mom called after them.

“Thanks!”

With a closed door behind them, Jamie pulled Mason in for another kiss. It was more urgent than the ones before. More desperate. Mason’s hands were on his hips, pushing him back into the wall and pressing his entire body against Jamie’s.

Jamie fumbled with the bottom hem of Mason’s shirt, pulling it up as much as he could without breaking the kiss.

Then Mason did draw back, ridding himself of his shirt so fast Jamie’s knees went weak. He held his arms up when Mason reached for his shirt, and the next thing he knew, they were tumbling into his bed, kissing again.

When Brodie knocked on the door for dinner, they were cuddling, Jamie draped over Mason. He was tracing patterns on Mason’s chest over his heart.

“We’ll be down in a minute,” Mason called out while Jamie groaned and tucked his face into his chest.

“Come on,” Mason said gently, running his fingers through Jamie’s hair. “I haven’t had homemade tacos in a long time and I’d be lying if I said I’m not looking forward to it.”

Jamie raised his head, suddenly realizing. “She knew you were coming home early, didn’t she.”

“Yes. She was the one to pick me up at the airport.”

After a minute with Jamie not moving an inch, Mason prompted, “I know you want to stay and cuddle- I do, too- but I am hungry. I haven’t eaten properly today because of my flight. We’ll cuddle again after, okay?”

Hearing that Mason was actually hungry, Jamie pushed himself up. He didn’t get up right away. Instead, he just sat there and looked at Mason lying in his bed. His warm honey skin was lit up by the sun coming in the window, his eyes were sparkling as he gazed up at Jamie, and his lips were pulled up at the corners. His hair was a little longer than it was the last time Jamie saw him in January, but just as soft and curly.

He was beautiful.

Jamie leaned in for a kiss. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”

Downstairs, Jamie was making himself a taco when there was a knock at the door. He didn’t pay much attention as his mom answered, until a loud “Mason!” broke their conversation.

He looked up to see Londa and Gabe coming down the hallway, scooping their little brother up in a bear hug. It was the first time they saw him since he left in August, but the way they were acting made it seem like it was longer. Immediately, the older two were touching Mason- fixing his collar, ruffling his hair, poking his cheeks- and speaking in rapid Spanish.

Jamie was surprised when Mason responded in kind. Maybe he’d listened to what Jamie and Londa (and Gabe?) said about not letting his- their- father ruin the language.

Then Londa’s head swivelled around to him.

He froze, tortilla in hand, not knowing what they said, just that it was probably about him.

But she just grabbed his right hand, pulling it towards them to look at his ring next to Mason’s.

“Awww, that’s so sweet! I love it!” She pulled Jamie into a hug, Mason in her other arm, and kissed their cheeks. “You two are so perfect for each other.”

Jamie met Mason’s eyes and smiled. “Thanks, Londa.”

Brodie, of course, got it all on film and put it in the group chat along with the videos of when Mason arrived and when Jamie woke up to notice he was back.

In the first video, Mason appeared in the doorway to the living room, practically glowing with his dazzling smile. He immediately found Jamie curled up on the couch, his eyes softening. Without looking away from Jamie, Mason stepped around the couch and crouched in front of him. Kissed his cheek. Jamie hummed happily in his sleep, a hand snaking out from his nest of blankets to reach for Mason and Mason took it, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. Then he carefully lifted Jamie’s head just enough to slide under. The furrow between Jamie’s brows went away as Mason ran his fingers through his hair and he nuzzled into his leg. Mason’s soft gaze never left Jamie and he beamed as he watched him take comfort in him.

Jamie saved it to his phone and would watch it over a hundred times whenever the long-distance got to be too much. It was always there to remind him how much they meant to each other, how much their bodies responded to the touch of the other’s. It was sweet and touching, a gentle reunion of two people who loved each other more than words could say.

“Tacos!” Kellen said loudly, reminding them of the food spread out on the table.

As everyone sat around the table, talking and laughing as they ate, Jamie looked around the table at the many faces, truly happy for the first time in a long time. And at his side, his best friend, boyfriend, and soulmate.

Mason was home.