The trip to Seattle was a whirlwind. By the time Friday night rolled around, Jason had already sat through countless meetings at work, and he was exhausted. Somehow he'd powered through the Score party with Chester, and now he was happy to have all of the obligations behind them and be going home in the morning. He missed his husband and son, and no amount of Facetiming would take the place of being in Ryan's arms. Jason had especially missed him at the party while he stood with Chester. It felt odd to be Chester's date, and Jason hadn't been able to shake the internal uncomfortableness he'd been feeling.
It had been years since he'd been to a social gathering that required so much small talk and schmoozing, and as he opened the door to the apartment, he realized why he was in a heavy mood. Jason didn't like the person he became when it was time to rub elbows and converse with a crowd of people. He'd left that version of himself behind when Mark died, but it had shown up so easily this evening at the party. It was disturbing how easily he'd been able to slip into that mask of societal and social correctness that had been his mode of survival when he was on Mark's arm for the evening.
He hadn't missed the look of surprise on Chester's face when he accepted a glass of red wine while they talked to the Score executives and models, and even though Chester hadn't said anything on the ride home, Jason could feel it coming. It wasn't something he wanted to dive too deeply into, if he could avoid it. The small amount of casual drinking he'd been doing was a secret he'd been keeping from Ryan, and Jason hated asking Chester to be in on that secret. It was just normal in the social situation, or that was what he'd been telling himself. He couldn't remember a time he'd been at an event with Mark and hadn't been slightly tipsy. It made everything so much easier to deal with back then, and though being at a party with Chester didn't require the same amount of attention to keep up appearances, Jason had still wanted to present himself well. It was exhausting, on top of an already exhausting week.
It was less disorienting to walk into the apartment he loved and see the different couch and rug in the living space after being there for two days. The dining table was gone, and it made the room feel emptier than it had been when he lived there full time. There had been no need to replace everything when he moved down to L.A., knowing that visits for work would be short, and mostly solitary. The barstools he'd left behind created enough space to sit at when he needed to eat, and brought a touch of familiarity to the room. Gone was the giant gray couch, and in its place a smaller, white version with gray toss pillows. It was comfortable enough, and it was the first thing Jason saw when he opened the door.
He held the door for Chester then closed and locked it, and let out a relieved sigh. All they needed to do was shower and go to bed, and tomorrow morning would be there quickly. Their flight back home was early, and Jason was happy about that. He pulled at his tie with one hand while he walked over to the couch to put down his cell phone and keys. "I guess it's too late to call home," he mentioned to Chester as he pulled off the tie first, and then shrugged out of his jacket. "I'm tired but I'm not too sure I can fall asleep right away. Do you want anything to drink?" He tossed the tie and jacket onto the back of the couch and pulled out his shirttails from his dress pants. Already he felt less oppressed.
Chester walked over to the bar to unload his pockets with a yawn. The last three days had been a lot. It wasn't just the fashion show yesterday or the meetings and then party tonight. It was being around Forrest so much of the time and work consuming their conversations. It reminded him a lot of when they would shoot on location for YRS. It was a parallel Chester didn't really care for and didn't want to think about.
Instead he put his focus on Jason, who was unbuttoning his shirt and walking into the kitchen. Chester slid himself onto one of the barstools. "I'll have whatever you're having," he said carefully. He'd been more than surprised when Jason had freely accepted the small glass of wine at the party. As far as he knew, Jason was totally sober and had been for the last year and a half. But obviously that's not true. I wonder if Ry knows? Or is Ry drinking again too?
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Devil's House
Fanfiction[Part Five to Devil's Drop] It's hard being separated from friends by so many miles, but what does that mean for Mike, Chester, Ryan and Jason? If they can figure out a way to live together again, would that solve their problems or just make things...
