Graduation Night

((I know this doesn't have any smut in it, but I have more plans for Connor and Jude than simple lovey-dovey cute stuff and I wanted to start off with a little glimpse of their relationship. I'd love to hear any comments or criticisms since I plan on making these two my main focus ^_^ ))

Senior year was rife with loss and suffering. Ju and I argued a lot, but never over anything important. At the time every small problem blew up into a huge explosion. My Senior year was the year Justice, Jude's younger brother, got in a car accident. It happened three months before graduation. Justice and I were psyched to finally get out of our parents' houses. I was going to move in with Jude out in Seattle, and Justice was headed for the Marine Corps. But everything changed when his mom's SUV was t-boned in an intersection. He was the only casualty, and the only one in the car. The other driver went to jail for reckless endangerment and manslaughter.

I know Ms. Florence took the loss of her son hard, but Jude suffered the most. His mom sold the house and went out into the world to 'find herself' as she told us at the funeral, and Jude? He didn't say anything. Didn't cry at the funeral, refused to speak at the podium when we buried Just. But I knew he was in pain. Sometimes he'd come over and drag me to a bar just so he could get trashed. His grades were slipping too. We argued about everything, from his drinking to my clinging to his side when I should have 'left him alone'. I—I tried to do what I could but he closed me out. That's why graduation means so much to me. I was no longer excited about getting out of high school. I didn't care about any of it, though I kept up with my studies.

I just...I wanted life to go back to how it used to be. Studying with Justice, driving out to Jude's place and doing crazy, stupid teenage antics. I got up to speak at the beginning of graduation, I was the closest to Justice besides Ju, and I doubted he was even coming. He hated any reminder of his brother, and the halls we roamed together were some of the worst places for him to be, other than his childhood home. So I relived our lives together for an audience—the only time I hated speaking in front of a crowd. But after graduation Jude came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm proud of you Babyboy." I remember him telling me, and I felt a jolt of love well up hearing his voice.

I was always the more emotional one in the relationship, I pulled him close and kept apologizing over and over about everything, especially how sorry I was that Justice was gone. I despise admitting Ju had to comfort me in his time of need. But he's always been so strong, so protective. He brought me to his car and buckled me in. I never wanted to stop holding him, but he had to drive, so I had no choice. I was too upset to pay attention to where we were going, otherwise I would have noticed we were heading toward the city rather than the suburbs.

"Wake up, we're here." I must have fallen asleep on the ride, because we were parked in front of a large building with a parking lot full of vehicles.

Ju, where are we?" I asked, slowly getting out of the car. He came around the side and grabbed my hand.

"Did you think I wasn't going to celebrate your big day?" He smiled at me and pulled us toward the door. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, I merely remember the building was swanky and I was under-dressed. Then again, so was Jude. He'd called ahead, so we got a table immediately. Even though we were in a booth I slid into the seat next to him and leaned on his shoulder.

"Ju, this place is way too expensive." I told him. He scoffed and ruffled my hair.

"Shush. It's a big day and I'm allowed to spend money on my boyfriend." I rolled my eyes and smiled. He never let me pay. Even if I had money, even if I had more money on hand than he did.

"Okay, okay. But just this once." I teased. I knew he would ignore me. Dinner was fantastic. Ju held my hand the entire night, I don't think I could have let him go if I tried. After dinner he brought me back to his apartment. Our apartment, as he'd once called it. He dragged me to the couch and sat on my lap, and we kissed for hours—at least, it felt like hours. I remember he pulled away and put a hand on my chest.

"I've got something for you." He hopped off my lap and ran into the bedroom. I followed behind when he called for me, and found him standing in front of the bed, hands behind his back.

"Connor, you know how much I love you, right?" He asked me quietly. The only light in the room was the lamp on the nightstand, throwing Jude into shadow as his back faced the light source.

"Of course I know, Juju." I responded. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him again. "I love you too." I figured he just wanted to romp around before he brought me home, but he sat me on the bed next to him and grabbed my hands. There was something warm between our fingers, and I looked down.

"I'm yours. Always, Babyboy." Then he kissed me on the cheek and pushed something into my fingers. I opened my fist and found a silver band sitting on my palm, looped by a delicate chain. I choked on the air I couldn't pull into my lungs and squeezed tight, holding my fist to my chest. I looked up at Jude, who was smiling with bright, dampening eyes and tackled him on the bed. He laughed as I kissed him all over until finally he managed to catch me by the chin.

"It's a promise ring. So you know my heart belongs to you." I fought his fingers and kissed him again. His fingers shook as he fastened the necklace around my neck, probably because I was busy pulling his clothes off at about the same time. I know, that's usually Jude's move. But that night the roles were reversed. He made the grand romantic gesture and I made the pounce and the whine when he took too long to unbutton his jeans. I didn't think I'd ever sleep that night, we were so...busy. But eventually I cradled him close to me and fell asleep. His hand was curled around my necklace when I finally drifted off.

Though the night was one of the greatest moments of my life...the morning was one of the worst.

I woke up to cold sheets and empty arms. It was about six in the morning, by Jude's alarm clock. I sat up and rubbed my head, figuring Jude just went to the bathroom or to get some coffee. But something felt wrong. The house was too quiet, I couldn't even hear Jude humming in the bathroom like he usually did when he got ready. I got up and tiptoed to the bathroom, but the room was dark and no one was there. I checked the living room, the kitchen, and even the balcony.

Nothing.

Then, when I got back to the bed there was something laying on the nightstand. I hadn't noticed it before, but now it was the only thing my attention focused on. Scrawled across the front in spiky handwriting were the words, 'For Connie'. I hadn't even opened the letter, and my face was already streaked with tears. Convulsing hands grabbed the envelope and I had to wipe my eyes over and over again to read the most painful letter I've ever read.

Hey Babyboy,

I'm sorry I couldn't stay. I would have woken you up, but you looked so sweet grabbing the blankets—there was a scratched up area, and the pages were still slightly damp. Sorry, Connie, I leaked onto the page. Anyway, I wanted to have one last, perfect day with you before I left. I joined the Army, and they're shipping me out today. I'll be training for the next six months in California, and then I'll be shipped off to god knows where. But don't worry, Babyboy, I'll come home as much as I can. I left you the key to the apartment, it's tucked in the envelope. The place is yours. I put the lease in your name, and I used the money I've been saving from the shop to pay for the next six months' rent. Keep it clean for me, okay? Don't think I just left you forever, I will come back. But I had to do this. For Justice—fuck, that's an awful pun. Here's the number for the training camp, you can call if you want to. I'm not allowed to keep my phone, but I'll send letters.

I love you, Connie. Always.

There are only two days in my life when my heart broke, but seeing that letter, damp with wet tear stains that I knew weren't just mine, I felt my heart shatter. I ached for Jude so much...I dialed the number six times before finally the secretary told me Jude hadn't arrived at the camp yet, and to call back later. I spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the bedroom. Then I made breakfast, coffee too.

By noon I couldn't find any reason to keep holding it off. I had to start moving my things to Ju's—my apartment. But first I looked through Connor's closet. Most of his stuff was already gone, but he left a few shirts and other articles of clothing, probably lacking the room in his suitcase. Even his toothbrush was gone. He'd been planning on leaving the apartment to me for a while.

My hand sought out the ring pressed against my chest, and I stared at it again. As I looked at the silver ring, I noticed something. Engraved across the top of it was the word Always. I smiled in spite of myself.You know, he's never broken that promise.

He's mine, and I'm his. Always.