Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own this at all.
Jasper stepped onto the sidewalk and frowned. He pulled his hood up to protect his hair from the rain. He cast his eyes down and walked swiftly away from his apartment building. Today was his twenty-eighth birthday, and so far, it wasn't going well. A huge storm the previous night knocked his power out so his alarm clock didn't wake him up, causing him to be late for work. However, when he got to his job at the law firm his boss informed him that a pipe had exploded in the building and no one could work. So Jasper had gone back to his apartment and sat around for an hour or so.
Finally around nine, he couldn't take it anymore. He had to go take a walk somewhere. Upon doing that, he found his dog hid a little present in the form of a dead bird in his favorite pair of shoes. And now, it was raining. After Jasper had spent an hour blow drying his hair and styling it to perfection, the rain was determined to fuck it all up.
Feeling only one thing could make it better, Jasper put in his ear buds and turned his iPod on and put it on shuffle. When his favorite Queen song, "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure", started playing a smile spread across his face. Not even the rain and a shitty morning could stop him from smiling with Freddie Mercury crooning in his ears. Sometimes he felt his iPod could read his moods and then play just the right song, as it had just now.
The six-two honey blond babe could barely stop himself from singing along to T-Rex's "20th Century Boy". He was starting to feel a little bit better, but still had no idea what to do with his free day. A few minutes and a Kinks song later, Jasper was strolling through the park with a small smile on his face. His iPod switched songs again, landing on "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls.
Jasper chuckled. "Raining men," he mumbled. "I wish." There was a loud clap of thunder above him, causing him to jump. No one around him seemed to notice, though. A bright flash of white light caused him to look up and immediately shield his eyes. A loud crash in front of him made him jump backwards and nearly topple onto the ground. He looked around to see what had fallen, but only noticed a man lying on the ground, mumbling to himself.
Jasper started forward to help, but then stopped. The man lying before him had two long white wings protruding from his back. The man stood up and shook his head, his wild bronze hair flapping everywhere as he did so. Jasper noticed the man had soft jade eyes, then Jasper's own eyes drifted downward. The man was naked.
The bronze haired angel smiled and his jade green eyes widened with excitement. "Jasper!" he exclaimed and stepped forward. He pulled the surprised blond into a hug. "Happy birthday!" He stepped backward.
"Who the fuck are you?" Jasper asked before he could stop himself. He immediately felt bad for cursing at this stranger, but the stranger didn't seem to mind.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said with a laugh. "I'm Edward!"
Jasper nodded slowly. "Why are you here then, Edward? How do you know my name and how do you know it's my birthday?"
Hurt flashed across Edward's face. "You mean you don't know why I'm here?" Jasper shook his head. Edward's lip quivered. "But, you wished for me."
"What are you talking about? I didn't wish for you."
"You did, you wished for me. You said, and I quote, 'Raining men, I wish'. I heard your wish and vwa-la! Now I am here!" He spread his arms wide as his wings flapped happily behind him. "And all for you and only you!"
Jasper stared at him. I'm going crazy. I'm losing my fucking mind, that's what it is, he thought. He asked, "Why are you naked?"
Edward looked down at himself. "Oh, look at that," he looked back up at Jasper and chuckled. "I am naked!" He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on something. As his wings shrunk and grew into his back, clothes seem to grow out of his body to wrap him tightly in blue jeans and a tight black shirt.
"You forgot shoes," Jasper mumbled dumbly as he watched this process.
"Oops!" Edward exclaimed. Then, he was wearing a pair of black Adidas. "You humans and your need for clothes. I'll never understand it." He laughed. Still smiling, he looked up at Jasper, "Now what?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you wished for me so I'm here to do whatever you want. Oh, I know!" he exclaimed, bouncing in place a little. "Let's get cake! I love cake, I haven't had it since the last time I was on earth, and hey it is your birthday so you're allowed to have all the cake you want."
Jasper shook his head. "I'm not really in the mood for cake right now. It's nine am."
"Oh," Edward said. His frown returned and his eyes filled with sadness again. "So, do you want to do something else?"
"What do you want to do?" Jasper asked.
"Whatever you want to do."
Jasper eyed the other man suspiciously. "Why does it have to be what I want?"
Edward smiled nervously. "Because it's your birthday and you're supposed to be allowed to do whatever you want, right? So let's do something, anything you want. I'm here to make you happy."
"Well, I didn't really have plans for today so we can just go walk around the park if you want."
"That sounds great!" Edward exclaimed. "And then we'll get cake, right, cause you can't just not have cake on your birthday!" Innocence shined in his green orbs that Jasper had a hard time denying him. "Sure, we'll get cake after lunch," he promised him.
He started to walk down the path again. As he passed Edward, the angel fell into step with him and grabbed his hand. Jasper started to pull his hand away, but stopped when Edward looked as if he may cry if he wasn't touching the blond in some way.
Jasper soon felt comfortable holding Edward's hand, and even found it enjoyable. It was also necessary, for when they reached the lake Edward had tried to run after a few ducks. Jasper had to tighten his hold on the angel's hand and pull him away from the poor animals.
"But, they're so cute, Jazzy. Look at them!" he shouted, pointing at the birds trying to make a quick escape.
"You're scaring them, Edward," Jasper scolded.
Edward froze. "Scare them, no, I don't want to scare them." He turned to the escaping ducks. "Hey, duckies, I don't want to scare you! I just want to feel your feathers and kiss your bill!" Jasper laughed. Edward spun around and faced him with a raised eyebrow. "Something funny?" he demanded.
"You," Jasper answered with a laugh.
"Me?" the angel asked, hurt once again filling his face. "What's funny about me?"
"Just the way you talk to ducks. It's funny."
Edward smiled a little, his eyes shining again. "You don't talk to ducks?"
"No," Jasper said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" the angel asked, tilting his head a little to the left.
The human shrugged. "They're animals."
"So?"
"Animals can't talk to us."
"An animal can understand you just as good, if not better, than any human can. When you're sad, doesn't your dog know?" Edward asked innocently.
Jasper thought on this. It was true that when he was upset about something his dog, Drexl, knew. Jasper couldn't count how many times he'd come home from a hard day at work and Drexl was able to offer him comfort.
"I guess you're right," Jasper said quietly.
"Of course I am!" Edward sang. "Now, how about some food?"
Jasper looked at his watch. "Sure, I guess we can eat now." He started to lead them back to the park entrance when Edward stopped him.
"Let's have a picnic," the angel said happily. A blanket shot out of the sky and spread itself on the ground. In the next instant, there was a buffet of food on the blanket. Jasper smiled at the huge five-tier cake sitting on one corner of the blanket.
"Come on, Jazz, sit down," Edward chirped. He pulled Jasper by the hand and sat him down on the blanket. Two plates materialized from nowhere. Jasper filled his plate and ate quickly, enjoying the most delicious meal of his lifetime. Edward sat by patiently waiting.
"Now can we eat cake?" he asked when Jasper finished eating.
"Yes," Jasper laughed. Edward cut them both a piece of cake. He shoved nearly his whole portion into his mouth, getting icing in his nostril. Jasper laughed, choking on his own piece of cake.
Edward looked at him, icing coating his lips. "Somfin' funny?" he asked with a mouthful of cake.
Jasper laughed harder, his eyes squeezing shut. Edward pouted, the icing on his lips was so endearing that Jasper laughed harder, yet. He shook from his laughter. Edward swallowed his cake and stared at Jasper until the blond calmed down.
"That," he said wiping his eyes, "was adorable."
The angel smiled, his whole aura seemed to get brighter with his smile. "Really?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, really." Jasper locked eyes with Edward for a brief moment before the angel turned his head. His eyes widened and he jumped up.
"The ducks are back!" He ran off, Jasper not having a chance to catch him this time.
Jasper stood up and watched Edward chase after a particularly large duck. The angel's voice floated back to his ears. "Jasper, look at the size of this duck! Come here, you stallion duck!" His giggles were cut off as he slid in a mud puddle and crashed to the ground.
Jasper gasped and ran over to where the angel was lying in a mud puddle. Oddly enough, his clothes weren't dirty at all. The human stooped down next to Edward and started to ask if he was okay, but stopped when he saw the look on Edward's face. His bottom lip quivered and his eyes were wet with tears.
"The duck got away," he mumbled, pointing at the squawking, escaping duck. Jasper put out a hand and helped Edward to his feet. He started to brush dirt off the angel's clothes, but stopped short when he realized there was no dirt to be seen.
"I have an idea," Jasper said suddenly.
The angel looked at him with a wide smile and green eyes positively glowing with excitement. "What is it?"
"Let's go to the zoo. You'll love it there, it has all sorts of animals you'd love. But you can't chase them," he joked. Edward's smile faltered only slightly, but Jasper caught it. "What's wrong?" he asked the bronze-haired angel. "Trust me, some of those animals you don't wanna chase. Like a lion, they would tear you up if you ran at them."
The angel didn't respond to the blond's jokes. "Is the zoo where you want to go?" Edward asked.
"Well, if it's where you want to go, then yeah."
Edward swallowed. "Do you want to go to the zoo, though?"
"I guess so, but why are you being so difficult about this?" Jasper asked.
"You're being difficult," Edward blurted. His eyes went wide and his color seemed to fade a little. "I mean…" he trailed off. "Why can't you just do something for yourself, for once?"
Jasper took a step back. Edward's tone wasn't harsh; he just sounded a little irritated. The human blinked. "I was only asking because you said you don't come to earth very often. I was just wondering if you wanted to see some animals while you're here. Since you seem to like ducks so well," he said with a smirk.
Edward stared at the ground while Jasper was speaking, but finally he looked up and smiled back at the blond. "I do like ducks."
The blond laughed softly. "Well, would you like to see some more animals?"
The angel shook his head, unruly bronze locks swaying as he did so. "I'm not allowed."
"You're not allowed to see animals?" Jasper asked.
"No," Edward said. "I'm not allowed to do something for myself. You wished for me, so I came here to make you happy. Nothing else. I'm only allowed to do what you want to." His entire being seemed to lose color and Jasper thought he could almost see through him for a moment.
"Oh," Jasper said. He looked down at his shoes and then to the angel. "Well, I want to see animals."
Edward's lips pulled back in a wide smile, revealing all his shining pearly whites. "Let's go, then!" His full color came back, brighter than before. He couldn't help but feel a little pang of guilt that Jasper was doing this for him. Edward was sent to Jasper to spend time with him and do what he wanted. Now, here he was taking advantage of Jasper's good side so he could get his way.
It's just animals, he told himself. That's not the point, said his conscience. Damn you, conscience, he thought. He turned to Jasper to say something, he didn't know what though, but stopped when he realized they were at the zoo.
"Lions!" Edward screamed excitedly. He raced off, Jasper following quickly behind him. On the way to the lions, Jasper almost ran into a few people, but they didn't seem to notice him at all. No one seemed to notice he or Edward at all.
For the rest of the afternoon, there was a childish expression of wonder fixed on the faces of both human and angel as they went from one animal exhibit to the next. Edward didn't like to walk around and look at the animals as they passed exhibits; he liked to think of an animal, check the map and run off in that direction. More often than not some other animal distracted him and they never made it to their original destination.
For instance, from the lions, Edward decided he had to see the giraffes. So they started toward the giraffes, but were distracted by polar bears. Which reminded Edward he hadn't seen wolves in a while, so they ran off to see the wolves, but were distracted by puffins.
It was well past seven o'clock when Edward finally decided he'd had his fill of the zoo. Jasper was gasping for breath, his face flushed and he was more tired than he had been in weeks. But laughter that escaped from the grin his lips said he'd never had more fun in one afternoon.
It was true that he couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed so much. He'd gotten so much joy just from seeing the exhilaration and pleasure on the face of the angel. Seeing the angel happy was all that Jasper needed.
"I'm hungry," he said to Edward when he finally caught his breath.
"Me, too," Edward chirped. "I wasn't going to say anything unless you did, but all that running made me hungry!"
Jasper suppressed his laughter and said, "Where should we eat then?"
The angel looked around. "How about over there?" He pointed in the direction of a tall oak tree that cast a shadow over the ground around it. The setting sun splashed pink and red across the sky, creating a portrait of beauty above the world.
"Sure," Jasper said, nodding his head. A few moments later, he and the angel were sharing a simple meal of spaghetti that Edward acquired the same way he'd acquired the cake earlier.
"Spaghetti is so good," Edward said, twirling noodles around on his plate with his fork before shoving them into his mouth. "It's one of the foods I miss when I'm not on earth."
"Where do you go when you're not on earth?" Jasper asked when he realized he'd gotten the opportunity.
Edward looked at his plate. "I can't answer that. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't ask that again." Maybe it was the look on the angel's innocent features, maybe it was the austerity in his voice, maybe it was both- either way, Jasper stared at the angel for a full minute before turning back to his food. The way Edward had reacted to his question only made him want to ask again, but he was enjoying the angel's company and didn't want him to have to go.
"Do you want to see my apartment?" Jasper asked, changing the subject.
"Sure, let's go!" Edward cheered, jumping up. Their food disappeared into thin air and Jasper led the way back to his building. The entire way there he wanted to ask the angel how long he was allowed to stay with him, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. He dreaded the answer would be too soon and he didn't want to think about letting Edward go just yet.
When they reached Jasper's apartment, Edward immediately flopped down on Jasper's giant foam chair. He wiggled his butt and snuggled into the chair, giggling as he did so.
Jasper shook his head and sat on the couch, smiling as the angel curled up in a ball. "This is comfy," Edward purred in a dreamy voice.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Jasper asked, watching the baby faced angel act like a cat fluffing up a place to lie down.
"A movie?" he asked, his head whipping around to look at the human. "I haven't seen a movie in so long! Let's watch a movie."
"What do you want to see?" Jasper asked, standing up.
"What do you want to see?" Edward countered.
Jasper sighed. Are we back here again? he wondered. "I'm asking you. I've seen all these before. I want to know what you want to see."
Edward came to stand beside him. "You have to choose," he whispered, staring into the human's eyes.
Jasper grabbed a handful of cases and held them up. "These are my favorites, where do you want to start?"
The angel bit his lip and shook his head. "You pick."
"No," Jasper said firmly. "You pick."
The angel looked at him with a fear and sadness in his eyes. Finally, he nodded and then pointed to a random DVD case. He turned his face to the ground to hide his eyes.
Jasper looked at the case he'd pointed to. "Ah, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Great choice, it's one of my favorites." He turned to put the movie in, but stopped short. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I have to go," Edward said.
Panic flared in Jasper's chest. "What? No, you can't go. You have to stay with me."
The angel shook his head, his gorgeous bronze locks seemed to sway sadly as he did so. "I broke the rules."
"How?" Jasper asked.
Edward looked at him. "I did something for myself. That's against the rules."
"No, but I wanted you to. I asked you to choose a movie and it made me happy that you chose. So, you can stay."
Edward shook his head again. "No, I can't. I have to go. And I have to go right now." Color started to fade away from him again. He was becoming more transparent by the second.
Jasper's hand shot out, Edward grasped it quickly as he faded. The angel smiled sadly as he left Jasper's sight completely.
An agonized sob wrenched itself from Jasper's throat before he could stop it. His face tilted to the sky as if Edward were lingering up there somewhere he couldn't see.
"Edward," he cried out to the ceiling. Tears fell from his eyes. "Come back, please!"
He crawled over to the chair Edward had curled up in and pulled himself into it. He buried his face and cried some more. Jasper couldn't believe he was behaving this way, but he needed Edward.
Jasper's sobs quieted and his tears stopped after a while. He pulled himself up and went into his bedroom. All he needed was to go to sleep and forget this entire day. He dropped face down on the bed without bothering to take off his clothes or get under the blanket.
When Jasper awoke the next morning the sun was shining on his face. He rolled over on his stomach to shield his eyes. He could feel the hateful morning sun warming his curls as he lay there. He'd dreamed about Edward, but was now trying to convince himself it was all a dream. He pushed himself up and started into the bathroom. He stopped short when something on his pillow caught his eye.
Jasper walked over and picked up the object, fresh tears springing to his eyes as he read over the note bearing the final words from Edward.
"Wish for me again next year!"
A/N: I'm leaving this up to you guys, since I'm an indecisive bitch, should this stay a one-shot or would you like it to continue? I have an idea of what will happen, I just need to know if you guys would read it. So, I made a poll on my profile, go vote and let me know what you think I should do. Thanks, lovelies! And a thanks to my FW, LovelessGurlsDoItBetter for all of her advice. :) Lurve ya, bb!
Always, JLL