A short and sweet character study. I don't know whether anyone will read this though I'd grateful if someone would. Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or the lovely town of Odyssey.
"You're too sentimental." She surrendered in a dry tone, turning her face aside. Jason bit his lip. After a moment, Tasha rose to her feet and swept the dust she had acquired from sitting on the dock off her pants.
"You have five minutes." She said and he was left alone, kicking his feet over the dark water slowly. He couldn't argue with her, compared to most in the agency, he was incredibly emotional when it came to dealing with loss. This of course had caused enough conflict and controversy, Jason being the instigator, regardless of whether or not he planned on it.
Yet when he moved to Odyssey in the beginning, he felt as if he was the odd one out again. With his excitement to set things forward, people were appalled, visibly. Jason was credited for his ability to tinker, though the failure was in what he produced. His imagination station program, for instance, he told himself he was doing it to help, but his ego stepped in the way. A child had almost gotten hurt as a result. Was he letting emotion in when he just wanted to fix it? Were his intentions pure?
Not much time passed before he became known for having a reckless personality, and felt the tension between him and Jack Allen. It wasn't wished for, the man had a role in raising Jason, witnessing his childish antics and vulnerability. They had gone separate ways after Jason graduated and Jack remained calm and contained while Jason latched on to danger, as a drug, addictive and pleasing. He didn't dwell often on things if he could help it, and was not known for being a tenderhearted person.
That was before the shame of finding himself in jail, even if he was wrongly convicted. Seeing Jack's soft, pitying expression. Though the older man still was kind, and life went on. An unexpected trip to the Middle East worried Jason, as for the first time in a while, his father was in danger. Then his pride struck again and again, nearly ruining an opportunity to minister in Central America, where the people needed a humble figure. Jason still thought about it sometimes, how explosions had ripped through the air and the villagers screamed and screamed.
Odyssey was, is a place where time was frozen. It didn't matter what happened to you, or what you had seen when you walked into Whit End. The people there were honest and caring. Too soon, Jason had gotten attached. He now had years of memories. Joking around with Connie, hoarding the secret of Raspberry Ripple, fixing random things, hanging around the Timothy Shelter. Having everyday conversations with kids and dealing with criminals who threatened to disrupt their peace. Sentimentality sprung up with the comfort and security he was blessed with. He wasn't deserving, but he was sure going to make sure everyone could continue to feel it.
So Jason sat on the edge of the water and thanked God for allowing him to become sentimental.