The next morning Jason hid in a corner until Conner finally left. It'd been after nine.
"What's wrong with you?" Karen shouted at the top of the stairs as soon as she heard the front door. "Conner waited for you and you clearly lurked around until he left," she accused him.
"I didn't feel like talking to him."
He turned his head towards her.
"Conner is as meddling as you are, but at least you know when to keep your mouth shut."
"Meddling, hm?", she said not the least bit offended.
She walked after him to the bedroom.
"Yes." He unbuttoned his shirt. "He has no respect for my privacy at all. He manipulates and blackmails me without remorse as long as he gets his way."
Karen raised her eyebrows.
"May I remind you that it was your own proposal to share your studio with him."
"That's going to work fine as soon as I can get through to that blunt head of his and make it clear that he shouldn't interfere with my business."
"Duly noted!", he suddenly heard behind him.
"I forgot my bag," Conner said.
He grabbed the bag from the ground, turned around and disappeared. The front door slammed audibly.
"Well isn't that great ," Karen said spryly. "Another problem solved."
Jason refused to feel guilty for telling the truth. He leaned towards Karen's way of thinking and considered the situation resolved. For now.
The furniture was delivered around 9:30. Julian and Marcus, the couple Jason had spent his night with, brought the art they had selected together. After openly flirting with the workmen who put everything together, Julian jumped up and down in Conner's bedroom.
"It's so exciting to be in a straight man's bedroom," he said exaggeratedly sprawled across the bed. "How do I look?", he asked Marcus defiantly, who observed him from the threshold.
"Like a naughty boy who has to learn his lesson as soon as we get home," he hummed with narrowing eyes.
Julian clearly veered up willingly and bit on his pouting lower lip.
"And if I can't wait that long?"
"You're going to have to wait," Jason interrupted. "Get out off here. He'll skin me alive when he finds out you were lying on his bed. Don't forget he's a Marine! He can probably kill me without leaving a trace."
"Yes yes," Julian waved his words away uncaringly." Please help with cleaning up," Jason asked and handed him a box. "This belongs in the bathroom."
Reluctantly he did what he was requested and put all the products, after smelling them and trying them, in the cabinet above the sink. On the bottem he found a toiletry bag.
"Score!" A refill pack with tranquilizers disappeared in his pocket. "Prescribed medications," he gloated.
None would be the wiser and Conner could get new ones without any problems.
"Are you coming?", he heard Marcus say. "Jason has pictures of Conner."
"Oh my," Julian cried breathlessly. "He's really eye candy."
The most recently taken by the pool provoked a shocked cry.
"Conner was shot during a mission. He got these scars from that."
Suddenly Julian felt guilty about stealing the drugs.
"Here," he told Jason and gave him the box. "This belongs to Conner."
With united forces and extra help from Karen and CJ, they got everything ready before six.
"As a thank you, I pay for the food," he winked at Karen.
"Hooray. Can we have pizza?", CJ asked.
"We like it too," Marcus and Julian nodded.
"You're just dead curious about Conner."
While the table was being set for dinner, he walked into Conner's bathroom to put the box back. In the middle of the act, he heard behind him:
"Who's meddling now?"
Caught Jason looked at Conner's tight face.
"Julian forgot this box."
Conner took the toiletry bag and the box out of his hands.
"I already knew about your meds. Richard told me in France."
Steel blue eyes are dangerously squeezed together.
"Conner, please, not now. We have company." Jason shoved past him. "Maybe you could thank them for helping with the furniture," he suggested.
Karen saw the expression on his face and sighed despondently. She stretched her hand to him and he gratefully accepted it.
"Thanks for the hard work. Everything looks great," Conner said as soon as he came out of his bedroom.
Julian got up and walked up to him on chewing his lower lip. He had to put his head in his neck just to look at Conner.
"I'm sorry I tried to take your meds. Jason put them back again, but I wanted you to know."
Julian looked guilty at him. Frowning Conner looked over his head at Marcus who indicated to slap Julian on the rear.
"Don't let me see it again," he said sternly and gave him a firm tap against his buttocks.
"Thank you, Sir" Julian said, happily hopping back to the dining room where the rest of the company acted like nothing happened.
Conner moved on with his gaze tightly aimed at Jason.
"Pizza, Uncle Conner?"
"Good, thank you, CJ." He rubbed the boy through his hair. "Thank you for your help too."
"I see you've followed my suggestion and set up a workspace for yourself," he said staring intently at Jason. "The art is also great. Very tasteful." He ignored Julian, who looked at him with sparkling eyes and spoke directly to Marcus. "I understand you have a share in that, even though I don't understand exactly how."
"Jason has built up a nice collection over the last ten years, but no room to hang it up. We have the pieces in storage."
"There's more?"
"Oh yes. Enough to set up a house of this size."
"What do you think of the curtains?", Karen asked when noticing Conner's clenched fists.
"Hm? Yes, nice," he muttered.
Jason did his best to keep the atmosphere airy, but Conner's grumpy attitude made for a quick retreat from his friends.
"Thank you again for your help," Jason apologized.
"No need to feel bad about Conner's behavior," Julian said. "I hope he can see what a good friend he has in you."
Jason was still at the door when Duncan, Karen and CJ met him.
"Thanks for the food. We're going up. What are you going to do?", Karen asked.
"A savory word exchange with my roommate," he said bitterly.
"Take it easy," Duncan told him. "That friend of yours was right. Conner needs you."
Jason laughed scornfully.
"Then he shows that in a damn strange way."
Karen took a step towards him.
"You've both been injured in different ways. Be open to the possibility of healing and help him do the same. You have such a big heart, Jason. I know you can do this." She kissed his cheek. "Go talk to him."
"Talking!", she stressed.
With lead in his shoes he returned. Not that he was afraid of Conner's discontentment, but for what he could accidentally give away. Conner was too sharp to allow any mistakes. Lying had never been his hobby, but when it came to Blue Boy, he was going to have to make it his profession.
Conner was loading the dishwasher. He didn't say anything and Jason took a seat at the table without knowing how to proceed further. With Conner's persistent silence, he shoved his chair backwards, took a seat on the couch and turned on the TV. Seeing nothing he zapped through the channels.
"Are you looking at something in particular?", Conner asked taking a seat on the bench.
"No, not really."
"Is it okay watching baseball? The Cubs have a good chance of getting to the playoffs."
"Fine," Jason nodded.
Silently, he watched Conner turn on Apple TV and select that night's game.
"Hey, Conner? I know you're mad at me and I'm pissed at you, but is it possible that we put this aside for now? We both have things we don't want to talk about. I suggest that we avoid these issues for the time being. Instead of getting angry, we can pronounce a 'pass'."
"So when I ask about Robin?"
"Pass," he replied immediately. "The same thing goes for if I would ask you about your last check-up?"
"Pass," Conner said.
The Cubs played at home and had just started their part of the second inning.
"Am I bothering you when I grab my iPad?"
"No," Conner shook.
He unknowingly moved a little more to the middle of the couch so he sat directly in front of the TV. He didn't seem to care that he was now only at an arm's length of his new roommate.
Jason settled comfortably with his iPad and phone at his fingertips in the corner of the couch. Conner was looking at the baseball game. So they spent the evening together in relative peace.
Jason enjoyed having his bedroom again for himself. It seemed much bigger now that Conner's stuff had disappeared. Satisfied, he put on some soft music.
A loud curse broke his rest. Before he could investigate, Conner stormed into his bedroom.
"What is this?"
Furiously, he trew a closed neutral brown box on the bed.
"I really have no idea?", Jason replied. "What's in it?"
He attempted to open the box, but Conner stopped him.
"You really don't know anything about this?", Conner demanded.
"What should I know about a box with mysterious content?", Jason asked confused.
Conner's jaws tightened.
"Okay, I believe you. Forget I asked."
He snatched the box from the bed.
"Good night, Conner," Jason said in an exaggerated tone.
"Good night, Jason," he replied with audible reluctance.
"Oh, Conner? You want to knock next time before you come in? Maybe I'm doing something, you know?", he said sticking his hand in the front pocket of his pants.
Conner's eyes followed the movement. A slight blush appeared on his cheeks while pressing the box slightly tighter against himself.
"Understood," he said hoarse and closed the door.
As soon as he heard Conner's footsteps disappear, Jason grabbed his phone.
"What's in that box?", he demanded the moment Julian picked up.
"Did Conner find his 'Welcome Home' present?", he cooed. "What did he think?"
"What did you give him, Julian?", he asked with fear and trembling.
"An introduction kit for anal pleasure. According to the seller, this was best to start with," he said enthusiastically.
Jason desperately slapped his hand to his face.
"Julian, I love you, but sometimes you're a complete idiot. Bye."
Reluctantly he crossed the living space to the bedroom on the other side.
"Conner?", he gently knocked on the door.
"What?", he heard unfriendly.
"Can I come in for a second?"
"If you keep it short."
Conner sat with a pillow behind him and with one knee raised against the back wall of his bed. There was an open book next to him.
"Sorry about that box," he floundered. "Julian thought it was a funny welcome gift."
"I'm sure yours are for the more advanced," Conner nonchalantly remarked.
"What?", Jason stammered, who couldn't suppress a blush.
"I spent months in your room and found your 'stock' by chance."
Conner's hand slipped slightly from his chest. Jason's eyes followed the movement.
"Found or looked through," he asked hoarsely.
"Oh, I couldn't resist flipping through some magazines, but I didn't touch the DVDs."
The hand still slipped south. Jason moistened his dry lips. To his annoyance, his blush became deeper at the thought of the rest of the 'stock' and whether Conner had also found it.
"Is that all?"
Slowly, two fingers disappeared under the waistband. Jason closed his eyes.
"Yes," he said laboriously swallowing. "Night."
In the safety of his own bedroom, he realized that he had underestimated Conner. It would be a lot harder to live with him if it threw his body into battle as a penal measure.
Conner was already gone when he got up.
"Have you been able to arrange an outfit yet?", he informed by text.
"No."
"I'll find something for you."
"Fine."
In Conner's bedroom, he searched for the offending box, but he couldn't find anything. That is why he focused on the purpose of his presence; Conner's clothing sizes. Combined with Conner's slim body, he could effortlessly pick out an appropriate outfit for him.
After his purchases for Conner, he had agreed to meet with a potential client.
Steve Sorrow had just bought a house and wanted to set it up.
"I have the money, but not the taste," he smiled apologetically. "An interior designer is already working on the décor. He advised a connoisseur for art. Your name soon came up."
"It's a great honor," Jason agreed. "But honestly, I confess that I have never done this before."
"I don't care," Steve waved away his hesitation. "My wife gave me free range and was very excited when she heard your name. Something about a blue boy?"
"That's my most recent collection," Jason nodded.
"I've taken the freedom to arrange a meeting between you and my interior designer." The man looked on his huge watch. "He'll be here any minute. I asked him to get you excited for the project."
The manager came to them.
"Mr. Sorrow? Mr. Furlong has arrived. We put him in a booth at your request. Can I guide Mr. Greenleaves there?"
"Excellent. Thank you, Derek," he told the man. "Jason I hope you accept the offer. Now I have to go."
He shook the outstretched hand and followed Derek.
Nicolas Furlong got up when he arrived.
"Jace," he greeted him familiarly. "Long time no see." Jason gave him a hug and two kisses.
"At least a year," he admitted. "How are things going with you, Nick?"
"Great. I'm setting up houses for people with money. Great job!" He took a sip of his coffee. "You are perfect for this project. Just say yes."
"Do you have pictures of the house?", he asked ordering a cappuccino.
"On my laptop." He reached aside to grab the laptop out of his bag and saw the bags at Jason's feet. "For your friend?"
"How do you know this isn't for me?"
Nick almost looked offended.
"Please, Honey. Midnight blue is so not your color."
Jason grinned.
"You're absolutely right about that. But not a friend. It's for my roommate. We have some kind of gala tomorrow."
"Roommate, hm," Nick told him, estimating. "You have to have a good relationship if you can buy clothes for him on sight."
When he didn't open his laptop, Jason sighed deeply.
"You haven't changed a bit. Yes, I have pictures. You want to see?"
"Please," Nick said gratifyingly bending over the iPad.
Eagerly, he took in the pictures.
"Why does he look familiar?"
"This is Duncan's youngest brother."
Nick's mouth fell open.
"This hot piece of ass is Duncan "the dragon" Murtaugh's youngest brother?"
"Yep," Jason blew out. "With the same macho upbringing. And on top of that, the youngest Murtaugh is a Marine!"
Nick fanned himself. "Oh my god." His gaze fell on a shoebox. "Did you buy suede shoes for him?"
Jason put the box on the table. "Beautiful, don't you think?"
"They're extraordinary," Nick nodded. He looked at him. "You realize he'll hate them!"
Jason grinned.
"Yep!"
A sudden thought made him look up with glee.
"Why don't you come tomorrow as my date?"
"Date?", Nick stressed. "Do you want to go back to our high school agreement of being friends with benefits?"
Jason showed a crooked smile.
"Let's keep it just friends."
"Okay, but I'm still very cuddly. Is there anyone I can offend?"
Jason hesitated. Nick nodded comprehensively.
"I'm curious about Conner," he said grinning.
"I'll invite Tanja so she can go with Conner," Jason said with his phone in hand.
"Send her a picture of the shoes."
Almost immediately, he got a reaction back.
"Can't wait. The shoes are fantastic!"
"Do you think it's okay if I arrange a car and pick you up? Conner and Tanja too?', Nick asked.
"Nice. It will also give you the opportunity to see my newly decorated living space."
"Did you move?"
"No, no, no, no, I gave up my studio and set it up as a living space."
Nick seemed surprised at this calm remark. His interest in knowing more about Conner rose.
"I'm very curious."
Jason was very excited after seeing the pictures on Nick's laptop. It was a project where he could lose some of his energy without breaking the promise to his family (and Conner).
He was in an excellent mood and for the first time he looked forward to tomorrow night.