Burden

*~Chapter Forty-Four~*

*-~time skip~-*  :P

I'm sitting on the couch with my legs draped over Jasper's lap, the soft hum of my laptop filling the comfortable silence between us. He's scrolling through his phone, one arm resting casually across the back of the couch, while I focus on finalizing some details.

After weeks of searching, I've finally found an apartment I'm set to move into next week. It's a "sorta" two-bedroom—the second room is technically a study, but I've been toying with the idea of making it a guest room. Not that I expect a ton of visitors, but it'd be nice to have the option.

"This one's it," I mumble, more to myself than him, my eyes scanning through the lease agreement on my screen.

Jasper glances over, his attention shifting from his phone to me. "The one you showed me last week? The place with the weirdly big kitchen for a study-sized second room?"

I laugh softly, nodding. "Yeah, that one. It's cozy, but it'll work for me. Plus, the rent's decent, and it's close enough to work."

Jasper raises an eyebrow, his hand resting casually on my shin, his thumb idly brushing over my skin. "You know," he starts, his tone deceptively casual, "you could just move into my apartment in the city. It'd be easier to get to work." I glance at him, raising an eyebrow of my own, but before I can say anything, he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips, momentarily derailing my train of thought. "And," he continues, as if the kiss hadn't just sent my heart racing, "since I have to move back in there anyway, it would save us the whole hassle of using two moving trucks."

I pull back slightly, narrowing my eyes at him. "Because I thought we agreed to do this normally?"

Jasper leans back against the couch, his grin as shameless as ever. "Yeah, I guess we did," he says with a shrug, as though it's the most casual thing in the world. "But considering we're already living together right now, doesn't that kinda make the whole 'normal' thing redundant? We might as well just skip that step."

I stare at him, torn between exasperation and amusement. "You really have a way of making everything sound like it's no big deal."

"That's because it's not," he counters, his hand still resting on my shin, grounding me even as his words threaten to throw me off balance. "Think about it, Mae. We already share space, share coffee, hell, I know how many pillows you sleep with. What's really left to figure out?"

I can't help but laugh, shaking my head. "Jasper, sharing coffee and knowing my pillow count is not the same thing as moving in together."

"Maybe not," he agrees, leaning forward now, his expression softening just a bit. "But I'm serious, Mae. I like having you here. It feels... right. Why mess with that?"

His words hit something in me, making my heart skip a beat. It's not just his usual charm—there's something deeper in his tone, a sincerity that makes it hard to brush off.

"Moving in together is a big deal," I say, quieter now, as I try to weigh the seriousness of what he's suggesting. "What if—"

"What if we stop overthinking and just do what feels right?" he interrupts gently, his hand moving to rest over mine. "You don't have to decide now. Just... think about it."

I sigh, glancing down at our intertwined hands. "You're really bad at doing things the 'normal' way, you know that?"

He smirks, his boyish grin returning. "Normal's overrated anyway."  

I mean what is the harm of moving in, 

I decide to turn his own question back to him "what if you move in with me" I say slightly nodding over to the apartment ive already agreed to move into next week