We Stand Together

4.3

Jasper

A/N: Brief jokes about 'boobies' (aka elementary-middle school humor to a T)

Present Day...

Jasper walked out of yet another one of Amy and Henry's fights with a sigh, closing the living room door behind him quietly. They didn't even know he was gone. They were so caught up in their hate for one another that they didn't even realize that he had gotten up and left the room. They were relentless and Jasper was surprised that they paused long enough to breathe.

It sucked. Their fighting ruined almost every gathering they were at together and Jasper couldn't remember the last time all three of them hung out without some sort of snide comment being shot over his shoulder to one of his friends.

He was always the one stuck in the middle of two sides of a war, begging for them to lay down their arms and have a truce for just one afternoon. He was always the one who, if he was upset enough, could get them to stop. He was always the one who had to suffer through the reverb that undoubtedly happened at least an hour later.

He couldn't understand how two people could hate each other so much to the point where they just argued and argued and argued and argued to the point where for a time being, their whole lives revolved around one another and there was no room for Jasper.

Half-heartedly, he dragged his feet along the carpet as he made his way to the east parlor, where Alexander would undoubtedly be with Jasper's oldest sisters. It wasn't too far, and when he walked in, Rosemary fluttered to his side in a cloud of sapphire chiffon, which Jasper knew was Alexander's favorite of Rosemary's dresses, and took Jasper's face in her hands.

"Are you alright?" she asked sweetly, frowning in concern. Her hands were warm on his face and he found himself leaning into her touch, not meeting her eyes.

"Henry and Amy are yelling again and I didn't want to be there," he said quietly, listening as Celeste and Alexander made their way over to them.

"Those guys are fighting again?" Celeste raised an eyebrow, "When will it ever end?"

"I don't know," Jasper said miserably, "but it doesn't seem like soon."

"Do you want one of us to go get them to stop?" Alexander asked, crouching next to him.

"Maybe in a little while, but right now... I don't really want to see them," admitted Jasper. "Is that bad?"

Rosemary shook her head, "No, of course not. It's okay to be tired of listening to your friends fight. You deserve a break from them."

"Do you want to hang out with us?" Celeste offered.

After a moment of hesitation, Jasper nodded. Rosemary offered him her hand and he took it, even though it was something he wouldn't normally do in public. His sister had always been like a second mom to him and sometimes you just need to feel smaller than you are; to be taken back to the good times when someone was always taking care of you every moment of the day.

Rosemary sat down on the low-backed couch and Jasper scooted next to her, resting his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist. She hugged him close as Alexander and Celeste quietly decided something a few feet away, whispering so Jasper could only hear Henry's name being thrown around a few times. Celeste said something that made Alexander go silent and Rosemary whispered in Jasper's ear, "I'm sorry Henry and Amy are always fighting, Bunny, I know it's hard for you."

Jasper always liked it when Rosemary called him Bunny. Rosemary was famous for giving her siblings nicknames, and even Isaac got one when he asked her. There was a story behind each too. Jasper was bunny because he'd always had wide front teeth like a rabbit and when he was a baby he'd always snuggle up to people when napping, so originally his nickname was Snuggle Bunny, but as he got older it was just reduced to Bunny, which Jasper didn't mind so much. Snuggle Bunny was a nickname for little kids, Bunny was a nickname from a motherly figure. A big difference when you think about it.