*4 Months Later*
Jacob was finally home and I couldn't be happier. Just like every other time he came home, we had an emotional reunion, usually with tears of joy and then a night of loving, passionate sex to celebrate being together again. But this time felt different. We both knew a decision about our living situation had to be made. He'd only been working in Paris for ten months but the amount of tension and arguments it had caused was not okay. It was bad for both of us, and Penny, and was straining our relationship.
Despite knowing we had to talk, it wasn't until a few days after he got home that either of us brought up the topic. By some miracle, Penny was staying with my parents for the night and I was in our room, sorting out a pile of laundry when I sensed Jacob in the room.
"You sneaking up on me?" I asked with a laugh, turning to face him. He smiled and came over to hug me tightly.
"No. Just wanted to see what you were up to. I got bored in the kitchen by myself."
"You got bored? I thought you were cleaning up."
"I was. But it got boring. It's more fun when you're there. We can have bubble fights."
"How old are you, again?" I teased, kissing him. He was laughing too but suddenly sobered up, looking at me seriously.
"We have to talk, Con."
"About what?" I knew we had to but part of me wanted to put it off.
"You know what. Here, move those clothes off the bed. Sit beside me." He carelessly tossed the clothes onto the floor and pulled me to sit with him. "We both know that this long-distance thing isn't working."
"Yeah. It seemed like a good idea at the time"
"It did. But, baby, we work better together. I don't want to end up resenting you."
"I don't want that either." I looked up at him, chewing on my bottom lip. There were already tears in his eyes and I knew this was going to be the hardest conversation we'd ever had. Worse than when we started talking about adopting a child. "I've done a lot of thinking while you're gone."
"Me too. Look, I don't want to force you to leave here. So, I'm willing to leave the Paris office and move back here. I'm sure there'll be something here for me, even if it's not with Modern Magazine."
"Jacob, no. It's your dream job. Remember when we met? In college? I wasn't planning to be a teacher, was I?"
"No. What's that got to do with now, though?"
"I chose to teach for two reasons; one being that it gave me a better chance of having a steady income, and the other being that it wouldn't be a job that took me away from you."
"Okay..." He was frowning at me know and I shifted how I was sat, kneeling up on my knees to press my hands against his cheeks.
"There are so many job opportunities as a photographer in Paris. I don't have to teach."
"You'd leave your job at Pinewood?"
"Yeah. For you, I'd do anything. It just took me a while to see that I'd be okay with that, to remember what I really loved doing."
"Connor. I can't ask you to do that. Yes, you love being a photographer. I see it whenever you've got a camera in your hands. But you also love teaching. You have a talent for connecting with the kids you teach, even the ones that every other teacher has given up on."
"Why are you arguing this? I thought this is what you'd want? You can keep your dream job and I can finally follow my childhood dreams. And we can be happy together."
"I'm sorry Connor, but I know you wouldn't be completely happy not teaching."
"You can't know that."
"I do, though. I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. And right now is one of those times. You might think you'll be okay. But in a few years, you'll get bored of doing the same thing all the time. You'll want the rush I know you get when you're teaching."
"No, I..." I shook my head, confused as to why he was fighting this.
"I've come up with a solution that I think will be the best for everyone. I know you won't like it at first, trust me, I didn't like it either but it's the only way I can see us both being happy and not ending up hating each other."
"What is it?" Tears built up in my eyes as I saw the sadness in his. I knew this wasn't going to be good.
"I think we should split up."
"What!?" I jumped away from him in shock, my eyes going wide. "Why? Don't you love me anymore?"
"It's not that, I swear. Connor, it's because I love you so much that I think this is best for us. This way I can live in Paris and you can live here but we won't be reliant on each other. And we can stay friends if that's what you want."
"Jacob, please, tell me the truth. If you don't love me, just tell me. Don't make up some bullshit story if you really just don't love me anymore." He lurched towards me, kissing me with a passion I'd never seen before and ran his fingers through my hair.
"I love you so much, Connor. It's killing me to suggest it. But, for now, this is the only way I can see us both being happy. Maybe, someday in the future, we can try again."
"I love you, Jacob. I don't ever want to stop loving you."
"You don't have to. I won't stop loving you. Ever."
"Do you really think we can be happy like this? Without each other?"
"I hope so. Because, Connor, you've made me so happy. More than I ever imagined. I don't want to lose what we have. But I think if we keep up this long distance, or if you move to Paris, or if I move back here, one of us will snap and ruin everything."
"And are you really sure you want to do this? I don't want to get halfway through it and have you change your mind, I don't think I could deal with that." He pulled me into his lap and held me tightly, letting me bury my face against his neck.
"Am I sure I want to do this? No. Am I sure I have to do this? Yes." He kissed the top of my head and just held me in silence as I sobbed into his shoulder. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I felt okay enough to speak and pulled back to look at him, breathing deeply before speaking.
"Okay then. We're getting a divorce."
A/N: And there we have it. Connor and Jacob are no longer.
I'm actually in tears over this. They're so damn cute together, I hate writing them splitting up but it's only motivating me to write that spin-off story I talked about.
