A/N: This entire adventure of these two lovely boys is dedicated to theladyingrey42. She's the bestest. Big thanks to ahizelm for the beta-ness and miss_becky_louise for helping keep Edward British. Hope you like 2 chapters in a day! (No promises on posting schedule, my life is crazy.)

The Setting: Bicheno, Tasmania
The Music: Satellite, Guster

EPOV

I start awake when Jasper's voice calls to me softly, not even realizing I had fallen asleep.

"Sorry?" I look up, noticing we've parked in front of the hostel already. "Oh, I didn't mean to doze off."

He chuckles and grabs his pack and a couple plastic bags from the back seat. "S'ok. You obviously needed it."

"What's in the bags?" I say while trying to cover a yawn with my hand.

"Dinner," he says simply, exiting the car. I hurry to catch up, reaching him at the top of the steps.

"Dinner?" I repeat incredulously. He can cook? What can't he do?

"Yeah, I'm making you my specialty, Texas chili. My treat for dragging you out of bed so early."

"You don't have to do that, Jasper." I touch his arm tentatively, noticing the warmth of his sun-touched skin radiating through my palm.

"Yeah," he replies softly, gazing intently into my eyes. "But I want to."

Now, how could I argue with that? I shrug, feigning nonchalance as I gesture for him to go before me through the door. I follow him up the stairs to the kitchen and help him by unloading the bags while he finds mismatched pots and pans to suit his needs.

I watch him in awe as he expertly chops and browns and mixes, adding everything to a giant pot. My sister always teases me that I could burn water and, sadly, it's really not far from the truth. With Jasper's cooking prowess though, he's soon stirring a bubbling concoction of the most delicious smelling chili I have ever known. My attempts at trying to taste a spoonful have so far been unsuccessful because he's continually thwarting me.

"My God, Jasper. That smells heavenly," I decree, trying to distract him as I move closer to steal a bite.

He smacks my hands away and playfully shoves me in my chest, steering me towards the table. "Did you think I would really fall for that? You'll just have to wait til it's ready. Besides, you can't eat chili without cornbread and that still has a few minutes left to bake."

I sigh as I slump into the chair at the table and Jasper turns to chuckle at me.

"Not too much longer, darlin'. Promise."

I watch his lithe frame move between the stove, tasting and stirring, and the oven, peeking in occasionally. My stomach growls incessantly and I approach him again, but he continues to push me away, my smile growing with each teasing shove from him.

"Can't you hear my stomach?" I whine, reverting to my teenage self the hungrier I get. "It's going to revolt soon."

"Patience, my man. Good chili takes time. But, you will soon be rewarded." He turns to me with a smirk as he lifts the spoon to his lips. "I think it's done."

I sigh in relief and grab the requested items, napkins and spoons. He puts the pot of savory goodness on the table and pulls a pan of corn bread from the oven. Up to this point, the only chili I've had has been in the UK and I smack my lips in anticipation of tasting what Jasper calls the real deal.

Jasper ladles the spicy concoction into two bowls, handing me mine with a small warning about the heat, which I promptly ignore, burning the roof of my mouth. I don't regret it one bit and I think my stomach has decided to forgive me this time. The chili is the perfect mixture of spicy and rich and the corn bread balances it all with its subtle, smooth flavor. It is perfection in a bowl.

With every bite, I moan and groan and praise the chef who just sits there watching me with a small smile playing on his lips. He takes small bites, occasionally nodding to himself, but we eat in complete silence. Well, silent if you don't count my outbursts of pleasure.

I eat until I can no longer fight down another bite, refusing Jasper as he offers me thirds.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone enjoy my chili that much," Jasper admits, chuckling a little as I stretch and groan.

"That was by far the best bloody meal I've had in a long time. Thank you for making that and sharing with me."

Jasper's face pinks and he looks down at his bowl, aimlessly pushing around his spoon. "It was my pleasure, Edward. I just wish we had a few more meals together now. I don't typically get this kind of praise."

The tone of the conversation suddenly darkens and I don't know how to lighten it again. Truth is, I'm all too aware of how few days we have left together, and this time is both pleasurable and painful at the same time. I don't want to wallow in the what-ifs and the might-have-beens, so I abruptly change tactics.

"Do you want to look through the pictures I took today? I hope there's at least a couple good shots of that wallaby."

His eyes brighten at the mention of the pictures. "Yeah! That would be great!"

I grab my laptop from the room and sit on the couch to download the pictures while Jasper puts the pans in the sink to soak. As soon as they're in the water, I call him over. Some of the pictures are amazing - the wallabies were cooperating enough that I have a couple decent shots - but those aren't the ones that grab my attention. I can't tear my eyes away from the candid shots of Jasper, laughing, running, hair glistening the sun. One in particular at the Wineglass Bay lookout makes me catch my breath, a choking sound emanating from my throat. Jasper is leaning forward against the railing, unaware of my clicking camera, lost in thought, lost to the world, serene and beautiful.

If Jasper is aware of my thoughts, he shows no outward sign, continuing to point to certain features in the pictures, retelling stories from our hike.

"Hey man, would you mind emailing these to me when you get a chance? These are amazing!"

I pause, stunned that he wants me to contact him after we have gone our separate ways. "Uh, yeah. I can do that."

"Thanks! I'm not that great about taking pictures myself, and I would love to show these to people back home."

Of course, people back home. Peter. He just likes the pictures. Get a fucking grip. Friends. We are friends. Perhaps if I repeat that enough times, I'll actually start to believe it's enough for me. He's looking at me expectantly and I realize he's probably waiting for a response.

"Yeah, sure," I agree, hoping my disappointment isn't evident in my voice. "Just give me your email address and I'll send them when I get home."

"Thanks again, man." He smiles at me before stretching slowly. "Do you want to grab a couple beers and chill outside before bed? I'm about whupped."

I agree so we wash the dishes quickly and head outside with our beers, sitting in the same chairs and watching the stars. I lean my head on the back of the chair, listening to Jasper's contented sigh next to me. He hands me a beer and tilts his towards mine and we clink them together before taking long pulls of the cold, bitter liquid. I open my mouth to ask about his guitar when a cell phone ring interrupts me.

"Ugh, I hate this thing. I'm sorry, will you excuse me?" He holds up the ringing cell phone, frowning at it before looking back to me.

"Certainly. Take your time," I reassure him. He nods at me and walks back to the building while answering it. I sit and watch the stars for several minutes before I begin to feel the chill in the air. Jasper hasn't come back, so I return to the room, grabbing a jumper from my bag. On my way back through the common room I hear Jasper's raised voice from the computer room. I pause outside the door, not really wanting to know, but overwhelmingly curious who could get him so worked up.

"Damn it, Peter! You will not speak to me like that!" Jasper rants and I gasp. Peter? His boyfriend? I suddenly have the urge to run in the room and tell Peter where to go, but that won't solve anything and would most likely make the rest of my time here in Tasmania lonelier.

"I don't know why you're being like this," Jasper continues, his voice softer. "I'm back in a just a few days and I promise I will visit you in a week."

So, Peter doesn't like being away from Jasper. Honestly I can understand his position. It's tearing me up that I'm facing that in the near future.

"No, I'm going to visit Ma first," he practically growls. "There will be no discussion about this." He pauses before adding in a menacing tone, "You heard me." There's another pregnant pause before Jasper threatens, "Don't you fucking dare-"

He screams in frustration. "Fucker hung up on me?" There's an eerie silence on the other side of the door and I can't back away fast enough before the door flies open. Jasper's face is red and angry, his eyes burning with rage.

I am frozen to my spot on the floor, stunned into silence by the fury in Jasper's face. His eyes widen and his face immediately softens when he finally recognizes me in the room.

"Um...yeah. Sorry about that," he chuckles, staring at the floor and running his hand through his hair as he clenches his fist around the cell phone in the other.

I try to feign nonchalance, like I hadn't just heard the end of that conversation. "Um, anything you want to talk about?"

He looks up at me, seemingly started. "Not particularly," he starts, "but I'm assuming you won't take no for an answer."

"Probably not," I agree, smiling in encouragement. "I'm a good listener, and I've been in similar situations, I imagine. Perhaps I can help."

"This may be too heavy for you, Edward. I appreciate the offer, but I really don't want to trouble you with this," he says quietly while looking at his feet.

"No trouble at all. That's what friends are for," I encourage him, wanting to help any way I can.

He finally agrees and we return to our chairs outside beneath the night sky. I wait, sensing Jasper may need a few minutes to collect his thoughts. He hasn't held back his opinion in any other situation; I don't think he would be reserved about this either.

My muscles are sore from the day of hiking and my body starts relaxing into the chair, my mind calmed by the slight breeze and the stillness of the night. I hear Jasper take in a deep breath and then he starts.

"See, it's like this. Peter wants me all to himself. At all times," he stresses, looking at me and continuing after I nod. "He didn't want me to come here. He doesn't like me to go anywhere without him. I never wondered about it before because I wanted to spend all my time with him, too. I go home in a few short days and I promised my mother I would visit her first, not race back to school to see Peter. He wants me to come straight to him or for him to come to my Ma's house. I told him no. He hung up on me." He shrugs and brings his bottle to his lips again.

I can tell it's the short version, but I think I get the gist. "So, is it more than just missing you?"

"Yes. No. Oh hell, I don't know," he huffs, running his hands through his hair. " I miss him, too. God knows I do, but he's just being ridiculous."

"Sometimes we act ridiculous when we're in love." I can see he's about to protest so I continue quickly. Bloody hell, even saying these words is almost too much for me. "Not that I'm saying he handled that the right way. Hanging up never solves anything. But he's lonely and unhappy and realized his timeline in his head just moved a few days. Maybe give him a day and talk to him again. I'm sure it'll work out." What am I doing? I don't really want to encourage him to mend things with his boyfriend, but I can't as a friend advise him differently. He needs a friend and that's what I'll be.

He sighs again and looks sideways at me. "Yeah, you're probably right. We've never been apart for this long before. It's different for both of us, but he's still sitting in the same apartment. I just wish he would see my point of view sometimes."

"Yeah, life would be easier if that happened more often, huh?" I respond, trying to lighten the mood.

"Amen, brother." He lifts his bottle and we clink them together again.

We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes. I wonder at the ease that we can talk about seemingly anything but still be happy just sitting together with no words between us, just sharing the night air.

"Listen, Edward, I don't mean to be a party-pooper, but I'm exhausted. I'm going to take a shower and head to bed."

"S'ok, I think I'll read for a while and call it a night myself."

Jasper stands, stretching in that delicious manner he does, and heads inside.

"Edward, I forgot to ask you. I'm going to the Bay of Fires tomorrow and have to leave pretty early again. Would you like to come?" His voice sounds hopeful and I hate to disappoint him, but I need some time to think, some time alone.

"Thanks for the offer, but I will have to decline. I plan to go to the aquarium tomorrow and hopefully just relax and read some."

His face falls, but he quickly recovers, flashing me a brilliant smile. "You and that book. Well, I hope you have fun and I'll see you when I return. Good night, Edward."

"Good night, Jasper."

When he leaves, I go inside as well, grab my book and curl up on the couch, forcefully pushing away the images of a naked, wet Jasper in the room down the hall. Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

...

..

.