set those sails

Jason turned twenty-two years old, a mere few weeks ago, blowing the candles out on a homemade cake with his mother and step-father and their absolutely ancient dog. He doesn't make a wish. He was graduating in the spring with high honors, two majors. He'd been interviewing with law schools and they had gone swimmingly. He'd been working on his photography portfolio and earned high praise from his professors. He liked his friends. He liked his shitty apartment. He liked the steady and stressful and boring in and out of his daily life and taking pictures of it when he could. Jason had grown up. He didn't need a wish. He doesn't believe in that anyway.

(or: Jason tries to understand his father, four years after his death, for a school project)

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originally published on ao3