Author's Note: There's quite a bit of time jumping in between this chapter (nothing massive but still relevant).
~~~~~~~~~~
After their goodbye at the airport, Ethan and Thomas talked to each other everyday whilst they were in their own homes. More effort was put into their relationship as they both promised to talk to each other more often.
The first couple of days apart were easy, because the time zones were barely an issue. There was only a one hour difference between USA and Argentina, so the both of them could easily schedule video calls so that they could see each other more often.
But things proved to be a lot more difficult for Ethan and Thomas, with the distance between them in the upcoming weeks fracturing their relationship more than they originally thought.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ethan was sitting in his car as he put all of his belongings in the passenger seat. After plugging his phone into his car, Ethan began driving as he dialled Thomas' phone.
After a little while, Ethan heard the call connect as he began to smile. "Thomas? Can you hear me?"
Thomas was in the middle of the busy streets as he tried to navigate himself towards the new NG&P office in New Zealand. He tried to the block out all the other noises by covering his ears, so that he could only hear Ethan on the other end of the phone.
"Ethan? Are you okay?" Thomas asked loudly.
"Yeah I am," Ethan chuckled. "It's just been a while since we spoke."
"I just needed to settle in here when I landed," Thomas explained. "I think I've only got a couple of minutes until I need to hang up again."
Ethan swallowed the tiny amount of disappointment that was surfacing when he realised he wouldn't be able to talk to his boyfriend for the rest of the night.
Ethan was nervous as he tried to quickly summarise everything he wanted to tell Thomas. There wasn't even anything important Ethan wanted to share, but Ethan was just missing hearing his boyfriend's voice everyday.
"I just- I wanted to see-" Ethan was fumbling for words as he then thought of something stupid to say. "How's the weather?"
Thomas chuckled on the other end of the phone when he mentioned, "You've never talked about the weather before in your life..."
Ethan was tapping the steering wheel as he tried to play off his weird mood, "And now I'm asking."
"It's nice?" Thomas said in a questionable tone.
Ethan was glad it was the middle of the evening for him, as the night sky could hide the cheesy smile on his face. "I miss-"
Thomas was interrupted from the phone call when he witnessed two seemingly random pedestrians fighting right outside of the NG&P building. Things were quickly becoming violent when Thomas felt he had a duty to intervene.
"Shit. Ethan, I need to go," Thomas shouted over the phone. "I'll talk to you later."
Ethan didn't ask any questions as he just nodded his head in response. "Okay I underst-"
Thomas had to hang up the phone when he thought he saw one of pedestrians pull a knife out. He sprinted across the road to try and stop the fight from further escalating.
Ethan scrunched his face when he saw that Thomas ended the call just like that. He couldn't even get to finish his sentence when a lump on his throat resurfaced.
Ethan just coughed once as he tried to not overthink their little interaction.
'He's just busy.'
~~~~~~~~~~
A couple of days later and Thomas tried to call Ethan once again. Thomas was ready to take a nap after an exhausting morning, but the bodyguard wanted to speak to his boyfriend first.
Thomas was in bed as he sat against the headboard to call Ethan. Thomas slapped his tired face awake several times as he also fixed his hair for Ethan.
Unfortunately the first call didn't connect through. Thomas thought about if he should even bother trying again, but Thomas only gave it a second thought before he called Ethan again.
Thomas was ready to give up when the second call didn't go through. He was in the middle of moving his laptop away when he finally saw Ethan calling him back.
A flustered Ethan was in a state of disheveled as his messy appearance wasn't unnoticed. Thomas thought it looked quite sexy with Ethan still in his suit, but this didn't seem like the right time to flirt since Ethan looked like he was still at work.
"You okay Ethan?" Thomas asked. "You look like you've been hit by a tornado."
"I ran all the way to my office when I heard my computer go off several times." Ethan explained.
"Sorry about that, I just wanted to talk to you before I go sleep." Thomas told Ethan.
Ethan looked up to see that his office door was left opened. He quickly ran across the room to close it, so that he could speak to Thomas privately.
"I've got a couple of minutes for you." Ethan said as he then tried to fix his appearance. "I'm suddenly working overtime, so this call has to be quick."
Thomas couldn't help himself when he whispered, "Leave your shirt open like that."
Ethan looked down at himself and smiled when he saw how the top three buttons were undone. Ethan let Thomas have this, because it was the most intimacy either of them had for a while.
"So what are you doing right now?" Thomas asked.
Ethan explained to Thomas how he was preparing the next showcase he was running for Shelton. This one was a big deal because Shelton were invited to Milan next week, and so Ethan needed to help Shelton show their value in this industry.
"You think after all these showcases, certain models won't readjust and swap outfits that our stylists gave them." Ethan vented out loud.
"Did you show them who's boss?" Thomas teased.
Ethan nodded his head as he shared, "If I didn't get through to them, then my dad definitely did."
"I always do like in when you get bossy." Thomas whispered seductively.
Ethan was shaking his head because Thomas' extremely forward behaviour right now. If he wasn't surrounded by people in the office, then Ethan would have definitely taken a few more buttons off his shirt by now.
Ethan tried to change the subject as didn't have time to enjoy playing around with the shirtless Thomas. "Is that instructor from the other day still useless?"
Thomas groaned as he recalled how Alex wasn't teaching any of the cadets properly. "That man actually-"
Ethan's office door opened when Javier called his son to get back to work. "Come on Ethan, everybody's waiting for you."
Ethan was frustrated at seeing his dad interrupt his private conversation with Thomas. Ethan knew he had a job to do, but Ethan was still disappointed he had to end the video call so abruptly.
"In a minute," Ethan wanted to say goodbye to Thomas, so he tried to get rid of his dad as soon as possible. "Let me just end this call really quick."
Javier nodded his head as he then closed the door behind himself. Ethan turned back to the computer screen and gave an apologetic look to Thomas.
"I have to go." Ethan said sadly. "Work stuff."
Thomas tried his best to smile as he nodded his head. He had to ignore Ethan's saddened demeanour so that he could end the call on a high note. "I expect you to also be shirtless when we next see each other."
Ethan was very enthusiastic as he teased Thomas by popping off one more button. "Until next time."
Ethan turned the computer screen off when the call ended. He sat in his office chair for a couple of seconds to just have some alone time with his thought.
Javier was inpatient when Ethan didn't come out of his office anytime soon. He let himself back into Ethan's office as he saw his son sitting in the darkness.
"What are you doing?" Javier asked.
Ethan began to button up his shirt as he stood up from his chair. "Nothing. Let's just get back to work."
~~~~~~~~~~
Thomas had been in New Zealand for an entire week now, and Thomas' life was hectic with constantly helping the new division iron out its rough patches.
Even though both Thomas and Ethan were busy with their own lives, they found a decent schedule for their planned video calls - despite the 17 hours difference.
The routine would be for Thomas to stay awake until 1am, so that he could call Ethan at 8am. Thomas would get a great night's sleep with Ethan being the last thing he saw, and Ethan would have a great start to his day by seeing his boyfriend naked in bed.
Thomas was always tired whenever he called Ethan, but he was willing to stomach it for another week because he just wanted the time alone with Ethan.
Thomas felt like the distance between them was still a massive issue that they both pretended didn't exist, and the new time difference made things more difficult than either of them wanted to admit to each other.
Their next video call was connected as an exhausted Thomas tried to keep his eyes open. The bags under his eyes were overshadowed by the smile on his face when he saw Ethan.
But Thomas was confused when he couldn't recognise Ethan in his bedroom. "Where are you at this time in the morning?"
"It's 2pm here in Milan."
Ethan took a last minute plane ride to Milan because he was sent as a Shelton representative to make more connections in the fashion capital. He was currently at a business lunch with several large names, and so Ethan was doing his best to balance out his life.
"So you got the job?" Thomas asked proudly.
Ethan nodded his head as he elaborated, "I'm here for the whole week with a couple of others."
Thomas was distracted at how amazing Ethan looked. Thomas thought that he should have known Ethan would look drop dead gorgeous in the fashion capital, with Ethan's hair glowing in the sunlight that beamed over him.
"Okay Tommy, pick your jaw up from the floor." Ethan laughed.
Thomas snickered because he knew he was caught in the act. "You look hot."
Ethan laughed as he nervously looked around himself. The only reason he was cautious was because the clients were having a toilet break, and Ethan didn't want them to catch him flirting with his boyfriend in a business meeting.
"I know." Ethan boasted confidently.
"I was just calling to wish you a good morning, but I guess it isn't morning anymore." Thomas awkwardly laughed. "Either way it's still 1am over here."
Ethan knew that they wouldn't be able to talk a lot today, because he had lots of people he needed to schmooze. Ethan didn't want to come off as rude to the people he's meant to be spending time with, and Ethan was risking his professionalism by even accepting this call with Thomas.
As much as Ethan would have loved to continue talking to Thomas, Ethan knew he had to quickly go. "I think by the time I manage to call you back, you will either still be asleep, or busy at work."
Thomas nodded his head as a response, just like all the other times when either of them had to abruptly end their phone calls. "I'll see you soon."
Ethan had a soft smile on his face when he replied, "Sweet dreams Tommy."
Ethan quickly put his phone away as he then tried to collect his composure. Ethan knew that the both of them understood how their work lives were important to them, so they both understood how certain sacrifices needed to be made.
Trying to ignore how his chest was hurting from sacrificing his time with Thomas, Ethan forced a smile when he had to continue his business lunch.
~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the week Ethan had to focus on social networking with hundred of different people. There were several exclusive party events that Ethan attended to, and Ethan tried to put his best foot forward constantly.
During his time in Milan, Ethan couldn't help but feel like he was neglecting Thomas and his phone calls lately. Ethan was trying his best to balance out his public and private life, however all of that made Ethan feel pressured into getting it all right.
Sadly it had been roughly 4 days since he last saw Thomas on his screen, and so Ethan wanted to make up for his own mistakes by calling him.
Ethan was calling Thomas where it was 7pm for the bodyguard. Ethan's phone call wasn't planned, so Ethan hoped that Thomas could talk since his work may have finished today.
Ethan's first words were a string of apologies to the other man on his screen. "I'm so sorry I've been ignoring you lately, Thomas."
Thomas had a sad look in his eyes. despite his face smiling at seeing Ethan. "Ethan, you have nothing to apologise for."
"But I do!" Ethan was nervously scratching the back of his neck as he continued, "We promised to put a lot more effort into our relationship since we're so far away from each other, and I'm the one that's been dropping the ball lately."
Thomas' eyes were sad because he could see the toll this long distance relationship was having on the both of them. He didn't like how Ethan was blaming himself on something where he had his own priorities to focus on, and Thomas completely understood what Ethan needed to do.
But Thomas couldn't lie about how he always felt bittersweet whenever he spoke to Ethan, because they could only get small moments to share together.
"Ethan, I feel the same way." Thomas told Ethan sadly. "Time apart is just natural for two people who are travelling, and things aren't going to get better any time soon, especially since we still live thousands of miles apart."
"Thomas, we are not going to have this conversation again..."
Thomas swallowed uncomfortably as he tried to remind Ethan how difficult things were between them. "Ethan-"
"No." Ethan had barely just rolled out of bed to call Thomas, but he was extremely awake now as fire bursted out of him. "In 10 minutes, I'm going to be making my breakfast. And during those 10 minutes, you're going to be making your dinner with me."
Ethan's voice became more assertive and aggressive as he was trying to right his wrongs. "You are then going to talk about your day, and I'm going to listen to every fucking word you say."
Thomas felt comfort knowing that Ethan was still fighting for them both to still work out. Thomas' composure was breaking down over the last couple of weeks, and Thomas thought he could see Ethan cracking under the pressure of forcing an impossible relationship.
"I want you to tell me everything," Ethan whispered. "And I promise I won't neglect us anymore."
Thomas felt like his heart was breaking at seeing Ethan in front of him. Thomas didn't like the idea of how this long distance relationship was causing this inner conflict within themselves, and so Thomas tried to get past it by being with Ethan in the moment.
"I've already ate..."
Ethan snickered as he felt relieved at seeing the genuine smile on his boyfriend's face. "Then grab yourself a bottle of wine, and drink for the two of us."
"Should I call you back in 10 minutes so you can cook?" Thomas asked.
Ethan was shaking his head at the camera as he passionately explained, "I want to see your stupidly gorgeous face when I show off my pancake flipping."
Thomas' voice was calm as he smiled earnestly at Ethan, "I would like that too."
~~~~~~~~~
Ethan was soon back in Ohio, while Thomas was back in Buenos Aires a couple of days later. With both of them back in their home cities, Ethan and Thomas were able to talk to each other every day again now.
Ethan was currently watching the happy couple do their first dance, as he was sitting alone at Tamsen and Clive's wedding.
Everybody around him was happy celebrating the childhood sweethearts' special day, while Ethan's loneliness was countered by having Thomas on the other end of the phone.
"They're dancing to Etta James right now." Ethan shared as he tapped his foot along the music.
"Such a classic." Thomas smiled back.
"They had this triple tiered lemon cake for the wedding," Ethan told Thomas as he then picked apart the cake with his fork. "And it's one of the best cakes I've ever tasted."
"You want to pretend like you're feeding me?" Thomas joked.
"Over the phone?" Ethan was shaking his head with laughter as he continued laughing with Thomas. "That's more embarrassing than a certain hot guy talking to his boyfriend, over the phone, during the entire wedding..."
"I agree with the hot thing," Thomas snickered. "That selfie with you in your suit was super sexy."
Ethan felt cheeky for sending that picture of himself, wearing only his waistcoat and underwear, to Thomas that morning.
Given that he wouldn't be able to video call Thomas during the actual wedding, Ethan settled with whatever he could get.
"And that was for your eyes only, Tommy." Ethan laughed.
Ethan finally looked up from his phone when he saw Kristen walking towards him. Knowing that he had to hang up, Ethan felt sad that he had to say goodbye - yet again.
"I need to go," Ethan whispered. "But I'll talk to you tomorrow?"
Promising to call each other the next day didn't provide Ethan any comfort, because he just wanted more from this relationship. Ethan had to remind himself what he was fighting for, because the plus side of this long distance relationship was just having Thomas in spirit.
Thomas sighed after hearing that their alone time was interrupted once again. "I'll see you soon."
Ethan eventually ended the phone call when Kristen was right in front of him. The younger brother forced a smile on his face as he tried to hide the pain of feeling alone once again.
"You've not found a bridesmaid to take home yet?" Kristen joked. "I'm sure there's plenty of women that would like to keep you company."
"I'm not interested in anyone at this wedding." Ethan said truthfully.
"Really?" Kristen giggled. "I thought you loved hitting on bridesmaids? Surely you want to get out of your dry spell..."
Ethan laughed to himself as he thought about how his dry spell has lasted almost 3 weeks now. All the sexting in the world couldn't compare to his last time with Thomas back in Argentina, and Ethan was shameless in admitting he missed being intimate with the bodyguard.
"You didnt even bat an eye when that new supermodel was pushing her chest towards you..." Kristen then tried to come up with a solution as to why her brother had a personality transplant all of the sudden. "Did you meet someone in Milan?"
Ethan just continued to drink every alcohol in front of him, as he then confessed. "I'm actually seeing someone - kind of."
Kristen ignored the giddiness of learning how her brother was in a relationship, because the older sister became infatuated with that last part her brother said so dejectedly. "Kind of?"
Ethan wasn't sure why now was the appropriate time for his sad and angry outburst. But seeing how everybody else was able to enjoy themselves, while he was desperate to have Thomas close to him again, reminded the COO of how much he was missing in a normal relationship.
Ethan just nodded his head as he laughed at the circumstances between him and Thomas. "Our relationship is both new and not new at the same time. It's a fucking long distance relationship..."
"Ouch." Kristen hissed. "Are things not good anymore?"
Ethan was in a depressive and drunken state as he rambled, "We've both been super busy lately with our own lives. We're still close and all that, but it just doesn't feel right anymore. And I feel like we've been drifting away because of it."
Kristen was listening intently to how pained her brother sounded. This was a different side to Ethan that Kristen has never seen before, and it was extremely concerning for her to witness.
"It sounds like you're both struggling with the long distance," Kristen noted. "How does she feel about it?"
Ethan didn't correct her pronoun because it didn't matter to him at this moment. But what did matter was that everything else regarding his relationship with Thomas remained true.
Ethan needed a vessel to communicate and process his thoughts, and Ethan didn't want to say any of this to Thomas, in case it jeopardised their fragile relationship.
"They say it's fine and understandable," Ethan whispered sadly. "But I know they fucking hate it too."
Ethan just continued to drink the random glasses of alcohol that were nearby. He wanted to try and ignore how the struggles with their long distance relationship had intensified over the last three weeks.
Ethan felt like their relationship was in limbo, and Ethan didn't know what to do to get out of it.
Kristen was gentle when she tried to advise, "Ethan, you need to consider if this long distance relationship is worth all this pain and shit you're going through."
Kristen squeezed her brother's arm as she then said, "Clearly this is something special if you're so hung up on her, but you need to consider the longevity. Where do you see the both of you in a couple of years time?"
Kristen kissed her brother's forehead as she then left the conflicted Ethan to think about everything she had just said.
'Is our entire future going to play out behind these phone calls?'
Ethan wanted to see his face, so Ethan pulled his phone out and hoped that Thomas would somehow give him the answers he needed.
Looking at the screensaver behind his locked screen, Ethan's eyes were softened at seeing the picture of him with Thomas. It was one of Ethan's happiest moments, because it was the photo he took with Thomas at the charity gala.
They were both so happy in the photo, with Ethan mesmerised at how gorgeously handsome Thomas looked. The photo was near the start of their relationship, where they were both oblivious to all the troubles that were going to come out as their relationship progressed.
Ethan's eyes were cloudy as he kept thinking about if this was the best for either of them. He spent the rest of the night thinking about whether he had a stable relationship with Thomas, and if it could ever go anywhere despite the thousands of miles apart.
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Author's Note: Just in case some people have missed it, this entire chapter occurred over a 3 week course.