A/N: Quick backstory to this. This was somewhat inspired by the movie Interstellar. In here, Jared works at NASA, and they decided to send a team of people to explore some new planets (but unlike in the movie, not because Earth was dying, just for the sake of science and discovery), and Jared is part of that team. I like to think he's good at math and some sciences. Also, theory of relativity says that you bend time and space when traveling near the speed of light or near the singularity of a blackhole, so he only experiences 5 years while his family experiences 21. Sorry for using physics.
Also, Olive belongs to my friend munchiezxx on Tumblr, I used her with permission. Speaking of which, you can find this story on Tumblr on my main someone-online. (Can't do the at sign.)
Also, we all know I don't own Dear Evan Hansen. But I own the right to ship Kleinsen if I want.
Jared opened up the messages to find that they had almost doubled in amount. He knew that a few hours ago, he had about eleven years worth of messages from Evan, though only five years had passed for him during his hypersleep. He scrolled through them, checking the dates to find that the few hours he spent out of the space station and on the planet near the black hole was equivalent to almost ten years on Earth. With a sudden longing to be back with his family, he clicked the first video message and watched it play.
Evan is sitting on the couch, the light dim, and their young adoptive daughter sleeping on his lap.
"Hey, Jared, I'm sorry for not sending any videos the past few days, but I know you're in hypersleep right now, a-and you probably won't see this for a while, but I- but I just wanted to let you know, Olive and I just celebrated her Gotcha Day. I'm not sure if you knew- though you probably forgot since you… since you forget everything- but you left exactly a week before her Gotcha Day, you know? We went out, took her to see that new movie she wanted to see for a while, had some ice cream, went for a walk in the park…
"She was pretty upset that you couldn't be here today on her first Gotcha Day. She really wanted both of her dads to celebrate it with her, but with you on that mission to other galaxies and stuff, guess it couldn't happen, y-ya know? She wanted to say hi, but we were out late, and she can never stay up past ten, and-
"God, I'm sorry for talking so much. I just… I just really miss you already. Since you're not going to see these for a while, I won't make these all the time, since I-I don't want to spam you and stuff… but please come home soon."
Jared chuckled a bit, trying to suppress and hide the overwhelming aching he felt. "What a dork," he muttered, clicking the next video message.
"Is it on? Is it on?"
"Yeah, it is. Say hi to Daddy!"
The young girl bounces excitedly, grinning ear to ear as she clings tightly to the magenta backpack straps on her shoulders.
"Hi, Daddy! Guess what? Guess what? I'm old enough to go to school now! Papa is gonna take me to go there!"
Evan chuckles behind the camera, then turns it to face him.
"It's another big day for Olive! We both miss you so much, and we wish you could be here with us right now. She'll tell you about her day when I pick her up later."
"-ld on, I didn't start the video!"
"How about now?"
"Okay, go!"
"Daddy! Daddy! I just went to school! And it was fun! The teacher- I forgot her name- is super nice! She gave us cookies and there was naptime and ree-cest or something, and I made a new friend her name is Serena! Serena is super pretty, she has super long hair!
"I also telled everyone in the class all about you! The teacher wanted everyone to talk about our families and I said Papa loves trees and you're an astronaut and that you eat bathbombs and a bunch of cool things!"
Evan turns the camera again, Olive trying to say more about her day.
"She's really excited, as you can tell. She told her class about you, she's so very proud of her Daddy. I was worried at first, because she seemed shy around the other students when I dropped her off, but Ms. Kercheville said that she was a class clown by the end of the day, kind of like how you were.
"Guess I'll end the video here, I have several forms from her school to fill out. Come back soon."
"Jared, this is all your fault."
Behind Evan, Olive is running around, dressed up as someone from Star Wars, shouting "Candy!" over and over again.
"Because of you, Olive wanted to dress up as Han Solo this Halloween and have a real lightsaber (though thank God she doesn't realize it's plastic). And in the few minutes I went to the bathroom after trick-or-treating, she already ate over half her candy and almost destroyed the furniture. Just like you did when you ate most of the candy last year.
"Anyway, I better try to calm her from her sugar rush, hope space is treating you well. And before you wonder, no, I did not dress up as a tree this ye- Olive? Olive, get down from there!"
"Guess what? Olive's report card for the trimester came, and she's got pretty good grades. She could improve in writing, but she's the best in her class at math. She's got your brains, you know. She's… she's a lot like you… and that makes me miss you even more… I-I…" He sniffed, wiping the year that was rolling down his cheek. "I don't know how long you'll be away but… Jared, come back soon, please…"
"Olive. Olive, sweetie."
"Mm?"
"Come on, don't fall asleep yet, say hi to Daddy."
"Hi, Da…" The young girl lets out a yawn, rubbing her eye. "... addy…" She smiles sleepily, struggling to stay awake.
Evan chuckles softly, gently kissing her cheek. "All right, sprout, you can sleep now," he whispers, though she is already asleep before he even finishes the sentence.
Turning back the camera, he continues speaking. "We just finished having our Thanksgiving dinner. Mom, Zoe, Alana, and their families came over. Zoe and Jason told us they're expecting another child, and Alana and Lillian are thinking of adopting, like us. They all say hi, and they hope you're okay. Maybe another time, I can get a video with all of us for you. Stay safe."
"HAPPY HANUKKAH, DADDY!"
Olive is dressed in a cute blue and white dress. In her hands, she holds a small potted tree. "Look what Papa got me for the first day!" She proudly shows it to the camera, her smile wide. "It's called a bon-zye tree, and Papa said that it's my re-spons-a-bi-li-ty to take care of! Her name is Lush, just like your favorite store!"
Evan turns the camera, a sad smile on his face.
"Hey, Jared, Hanukkah is here, and we miss you a lot! We miss playing Dreidel with you, and…" He sighs. "Jared, all I want is you to be back with us. I-I guess that's a lot to ask for, but it's all I want. We've been incomplete these past five months without you. Please come back."
"You ready to stay awake tonight, sprout?"
She nods sleepily in response, yawning.
"Hey, Jared, it's less than a minute to New Year's, Olive is gonna try and stay up this time and-"
He is soon interrupted by soft snores. He smiles, hugging Olive closer.
"Well, there's always next year I guess. But hey, this is the latest she's stayed up."
He turns the camera to the TV as the countdown from ten begins. Evan doesn't count down along with the people though, as the ball slowly drops, though the camera shakes a bit as they reach zero. As the people on the screen celebrate with New Year's kisses, Evan turns the camera back around.
"Heh, remember when you suddenly kissed me that New Year's party? It was our first kiss together, in case you forgot. I-I hope you remember it…"
He looks lovingly at the little girl at his side. "I hope I can be a good father for her… by myself… God, if only you were still here…"
"Hey, Jared, sorry I have to make this quick, I have to pick up Olive soon, but happy Valentine's Day! Miss you lots, and I hope you come back soon."
"Jared, when you get back, you're dead."
Evan has a look on his face that reads both "dead inside" and "kill me now" at the same time. Off screen, Olive lets out an excited giggle.
"It's the first day of spring, Olive's birthday, if you forgot again. She didn't want a party, she didn't want a present, all she wants is for me to… is for me to… to eat a bathbomb like you do…"
Olive runs to her father, a green bathbomb in her small hands. "Come on, Papa, it's for me and Daddy!"
Evan gives a long sigh. "Jared, why did you feed our daughter bathbombs?"
He takes the sphere in his hand and slowly brings it to his lips. With great hesitation, he opens his mouth and bites into the bathbomb. His face scrunches up with regret and disgust as the camera falls to the floor.
"Hey, Jared, guess who say hi?"
Next to Evan, Alana and her wife, Lillian, wave and smile at the camera, greeting Jared.
"They came over to visit, and they brought their newly adopted son with them."
In Lillian's arms, she holds a young boy about half of Olive's age. "His name is Marion," she tells him, smiling.
"Hope you come back, Jared!" Alana says. "We'd love for you to meet him!"
"Please come back soon, Jared," Evan says, ending the video.
"-ou happy it's summer?"
"No…"
"Why not?"
"Because then I won't see Serena or Mark or Luna or-"
"You'll still see them! Mark's parents and I scheduled a playdate for you next week, and Serena's birthday is in a few days."
"Really?"
"Of course! And you'll see them again when school starts again."
"You mean there's more?"
"Yeah, until you're eighteen, maybe more if you want to go to college."
"That's a long time!"
"Don't worry, sprout, the time will quickly fly by."
"Will Daddy be home before then?"
Evan hesitates, looking to the camera.
"Jared, please tell me: will you?"
He looks into the camera a bit longer, his eyes shining with tears, before he sighs and ends the video.
Loud voices are mingled together, Olive on the camera, splashing in a pool with other children her age. She smiles over at the camera, waving excitedly. Evan chuckles, cut off as the video ends.
"Wait, no, I'm not ready! I need to get something!"
"Okay, sprout, get what you need, we'll wait."
Olive runs off screen, Evan smiling as he watches her. He looks to the camera, same smile on his face. "Jared, do you know what today is? It's your birthday! Wherever you are, I hope you're having a good day!"
Olive returns, a drawing in her hands. She proudly shows the camera. It's three stick figures drawn in crayon, one much smaller than the other two. One wore glasses, and it looked like they were celebrating something. "Look, Daddy! This is when you come back, and we'll all be happy and stuff, and we can be a family again!"
Evan smiles, ruffling her hair. He turns to the camera again. "Come back soon, Jared."
"Hey, Jared, uh…
"Olive… Olive's pretty upset right now, it's, er… it's Father's Day, and she really believed that you'd be home today. She prepared so much for you, and she waited all day at the front porch, but you never came.
"But, you are coming back, right? You're just far out in space, so it's hard for you to come back, right?" He sighs. "I hope I'm not fooling myself."
Jared had only watched videos of one year, yet he was already crying. He rubbed his eyes to try and stop the tears from flowing. With each video, however, it became harder to do so. Missed birthdays, holidays, celebrations, he couldn't believe how long he had been gone. He watched as his daughter gradually grew up and his husband became older without him.
"Hey, Dad, it's me."
Olive is by herself, and it is clearly late at night.
"Guess what? I'm 27 now. You're still not here." She sighs. "I never made one of these by myself. And this is the last time I will. Because I know.
"You left us. You're not coming back." Her voice cracks as she speaks. "You've never been here for us. You've never been here for me, or Pa. You weren't here when I had my first break up with Jessica. You weren't here when Mason cheated on me and Akim. You weren't here when I was bullied in middle school. You weren't here when grandma was diagnosed with cancer. You weren't here to comfort Pa during her funeral. You know what? You weren't here for anything in my life!"
She sniffs, her cheeks shining with tears. "I'm not telling Pa this, because even if he's holding onto false hope, I don't want to break his heart. But I'm done believing in something that's not true. I'm getting married next week, and you're not gonna be here.
She looks straight at the camera, and spits, "Dad, wherever you are, I hope you're happy with yourself."
Two girls walk down the aisle, hand in hand. They look at each other lovingly, then look to where the groom and Rabbi wait at the end. As they reach the end, the Rabbi says a few words, then asks one of the girls, "Monica, do you take Olive and Akim to be your lawfully wedded wife and husband?"
"I do," she says.
The Rabbi turns to the other. "Olive, do you take Monica and Akim to be your lawfully wedded wife and husband?"
Olive nods. "I do."
He then turns to the groom. "Akim, do you take Olive and Monica to be your lawfully wedded wives?"
"I do," he says.
"Then, I now pronounce you husband and wives." The three of them all exchange kisses, embraced in each other's arms as the audience applauds.
The camera turns, Evan now in view. "Our little girl grew up, Jared. I wish you could've been there to watch it all. Look at her." He turns the camera back to the newly weds. "She's got a family of her own now."
Evan sighs, looking down. "Hey, Jared, with Olive living with Monica and Akim now, and you out there in space, it's been… pretty lonely at home."
He looks sadly at the camera. "Jared, why haven't you come back? Olive thinks you left us, but I know that's not true. I know you'd never do that, you…"
He sighs. "You're not dead, right? I know you're not dead, you can't be. Just, wherever you are, please…
"Come back to me…"
Jared paused the video, looking at his husband, who was now about sixteen years older than him. He stroked the screen with his finger, as if trying to reach out and comfort him. No, he was going to keep him waiting no longer. He was going to return home.
"I promise," he whispers, tears in his eyes, repeating the exact words he last said to his family, "I'll be back."
THE END
Probably won't write a part 2, but Jared's journey will be tough and take a long time that he makes it back to Earth just as Evan is about to die. :)