It was cold, freezing cold.
Connor felt soft sheets clumped next to his shirtless chest. He pulled them closer, trying to find a bit a warmth that he could hold onto. His eyes were still closed, but he mentally recognized that he was awake, and before long, memories from the previous night flooded into his head.
Connor, hands shaky as Jude's shirt came off. Jude, fingers ticklish as they ran over Connor's side. The two of them, together after so long, but in such a different way than ever before.
Connor smiled, before he shifted and placed his hand on the other side of the bed, where he expected to find Jude.
But Jude wasn't there.
Connor's eyes flew open. He looked down at himself, noting that yes, his clothes were off, so not everything could just be so vividly imagined. Slowly, Connor got up, noting the slight indent that Jude's body must have left on the other side of the bed, smiling as he saw Jude had left his clothes on the floor next to Connor's bed. Connor walked over to his dresser and slid on some underwear and jeans before walking out of his room and into the kitchen, where he could smell the thick scent of syrup floating in the air.
"Where'd you find the pancake mix?" Connor called out, making Jude jump slightly because he hadn't noticed Connor's arrival.
"It was in the cabinet by the fridge," Jude said, pointing to it. "And you're welcome for making you one. It's almost done."
Connor walked up to Jude and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Jude fished the freshly made pancake out of the pan. Connor noticed that Jude had already slathered on syrup to his own pancake, but had left the syrup out for him. He prepared the pancake the way he wanted it as Jude sat down at the table.
Connor came to sit next to Jude, syrup in his hand as he thought that Jude might want to add on some more, and that's when he noticed it.
Connor put the syrup down on the table. "I like your shirt."
It was a Padres shirt, the first one Connor had been given when he joined the team. It was soft, short-sleeved, and on Jude's body looking better than it ever had on Connor's. Jude's eyes widened and he reached for the syrup, nervously passing it back and forth between his hands.
"I hope you don't mind, but I didn't want-"
"I don't need an explanation," Connor said, waving Jude off. "It's fine. You're cute."
Connor caught Jude's blush, and found himself blushing in response. Breakfast passed by quickly and they were too caught up in grinning at each other to notice anything else. Connor was doing the dishes, Jude standing next to him and trying to tickle his sides, when the two of them heard the unmistakable click of the door lock shifting. Before they could fully prepare themselves, Taylor and Daria walked in the door, each carrying a small bag.
"Connor, Jude," Taylor said, sparing them only a glance before grabbing Daria's bag and moving them into her and Daria's room. Daria, however, was frozen, a small grin on her face, mouth halfway open.
"Connor," she drawled, looking between both him and Jude. "What a wonderful guest you've brought over."
"Hey, Daria," Jude said, waving to her. Daria waved back slowly, the small smile still on her face. Connor crossed his arms over his body, trying to make himself smaller.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
Connor and Jude looked at each other before Connor responded. "Something like what?"
"I don't know, if you guys are boyfriends or not, maybe?"
Connor sent Jude a questioning glare, and Jude nodded at him. Connor had the widest grin on his face as he said, "Yeah. We're boyfriends."
Daria smiled back as Taylor came back into the room, noticed the syrup still on the table, and groaned.
"You made pancakes without me?" she asked, looking at Jude. "I'm offended."
"Taylor, come on," Daria whispered to her girlfriend.
Taylor shot Daria the sassiest face Connor had ever seen on her. He supposed the exaggeration was to take the attention off of Connor and Jude, and for that, Connor was grateful.
"Daria, you have never had Jude's pancakes," she said. "And honestly, you are missing out. Jude, is there any way you could make some more?"
"Sure," Jude responded, already going to get out the mix.
Taylor smiled and started to make small talk with Jude, as Daria went to Connor and whispered in his ear, "Can we talk somewhere else?"
Connor bit his lip but followed Daria as she went into her room. She closed the door behind Connor and then turned around, looking at him silently for a few minutes before frowning.
"What happened to your face?" Daria said.
"What?" Connor asked, genuinely confused.
"There's, like, a small bruise on your cheek," she said, fingers reaching out to pad at it softly.
"Oh," Connor said. "Don't worry about it."
Daria nodded. Then proceeded to stay silent for awhile, eyes focused on the ground.
"What's up?" Connor asked her. "Is everything okay?"
"No, yeah, everything's great," she responded, looking up at Connor for a brief moment. "I'm happy for you and Jude, that's really cool, Connor."
Connor nodded, but he could hear the distance in her voice, and instantly knew that, even though she must've been a bit happy about his good fortune with Jude, something else must have been invading her mind.
"Are you sure everything's okay?"
"It's more than okay, actually," she responded, before going over to one of her dressers and shifting things around in the first drawer. "I just wanted to ask you what you thought of something."
"What?"
Daria turned back to face Connor, and held up a small diamond ring.
"This," she said.
Connor's mouth fell open. "You're going to ask Taylor to marry you?"
"That's the plan."
"When?"
"Tonight."
"Daria."
"Connor."
"You guys have only been dating for a short time, and you've been living together for way shorter, are you absolutely sure that you want to do this?"
Daria responded immediately. "I've never been so sure of anything else in my entire life."
So Connor went up to her and engulfed her in a hug, lifting her slightly up off of the ground and spinning her around. "I'm so happy for you," he said.
Daria laughed. "Calm down, she hasn't even said yes yet."
"Maybe not, but don't you think she will?"
"I really hope so," she said sincerely. "Taylor feels like my home, I don't know what I would do without her."
"Dork," Connor teasingly said, knowing that it would make Daria smile. It did.
"Whatever," she said, putting the ring back in the dresser. "Come on, let's get back to our stupid special people."
Connor laughed, but followed her out of the room to the kitchen. Taylor was eating pancakes, but Jude was nowhere in sight.
"He's on the phone," Taylor said simply when Connor asked where he went. "Take a chill pill, Connor."
The three of them talked for a little bit, Taylor seemingly excited to go out for lunch at her favorite restaurant, and Connor sent a small side smile to Daria. She blushed, but Taylor didn't seem to notice.
Eventually, Jude came back into the room, turning around his phone in his hand.
"So I've got to go," he said, frowning. "Mom called me, asking if I would be going to brunch at their house today. I completely forgot about it."
"Have fun eating after you probably just ate a thousand pancakes," Taylor said, as she shoveled more of her own pancakes in her mouth.
"Shut up," Jude groaned. "I'll make it work. All the siblings are going to be there, I can't just show them that I forgot about this. They'll tease me about it."
"I'm sure it'll all be okay, though," Connor said, trying to relax Jude a bit.
Jude smiled back at his boyfriend, before going into Connor's room, where Connor supposed he was getting dressed in the clothes he wore the night before. He was back before long, at the door with his hand on the knob, before he hesitated and turned to Connor.
"Do you want to come?" Jude asked.
"Yeah," Connor said, nodding his head, really happy that Jude asked him. "Let me go get changed, I'll be right with you."
Before Connor turned away, he caught the smile that flowered onto Jude's face when he agreed to go. And that made a smile grow on Connor's face.
-!-!-!-!-!-
"Jude, oh, come here," Lena said, before hugging him. It was only when her head was on Jude's shoulder when she noticed Connor standing a bit beside her son.
"Who's this?" she asked. Connor couldn't blame her for not recognizing him; he had buffed out a lot, his hair was shorter than it tended to be when he was growing up, and he had grown a few more inches since she had last seen him.
"Mama," Jude said, stepping back from her hug. "This is Connor."
Connor could see the recognition splash over her face.
"Oh, Connor," she said, hesitating for a second before going closer to him to give him a hug, too. Connor hugged her back. "It's been so long."
"It has," Connor agreed. "I hope you don't mind me crashing your family brunch."
Lena laughed a bit at that. "Don't you worry about that, Connor. Come on in."
She ushered them in, and as they passed through the door, Jude reached for Connor's hand. Connor could tell that Lena noticed the motion, but she didn't say anything. Jude led Connor through the house, into the kitchen, where Connor could see Stef and the twins. Mariana was setting the table as Jesus was complaining about one of his coworkers, while Stef was mixing together fruit in a bowl.
"Maybe Lily would stop annoying you if you actually did any work," Mariana said. "I mean, you're not doing any work now."
"Okay, enough with the bickering," Stef said, turning around to face the twins. As she did this, she caught sight of Jude and Connor.
"Hey, bubba," she said to Jude. Mariana and Jesus turned to face Jude at this point, but neither of them said anything as they looked at Connor, trying to figure out who he was. Connor looked at Stef, and he could tell that she already knew.
"Hey, Connor. Long time, no see."
Connor waved hello with his free hand as Jesus's eyes widened and Mariana gasped.
"Connor?" Mariana asked. "Wow. Look at you. Look at your muscles, oh my god, Connor, you've buffed out quite a bit, isn't that-"
"Mariana!" Jude exclaimed, effectively cutting her off. "Stop that."
Mariana rolled her eyes at her youngest sibling. "Whatever."
"So where's everyone else?" Jude asked his mother.
Stef pointed upstairs. "Brandon thought that Mama and I have been lonely in the house, so he bought us a fish. He's upstairs now setting it up, with Callie, Zac and Emma."
"Zac and Emma?" Connor asked.
"Mariana's husband and Jesus's girlfriend," Jude explained.
"Speaking of significant others," Jesus said, staring down Connor. "What's he doing back here?"
Connor nervously held Jude's hand even tighter, but Jude ran his thumb over the back of Connor's hand and everything seemed less scary. "We're together," Jude said simply.
Mariana held back a smile, Stef went back to mixing up her fruit, and Jesus kept on looking at the two men with the most confused expression on his face. After a few moments, it was getting a bit creepy, so Jude tugged on Connor's hand and motioned with his head that they should go upstairs.
As Connor climbed the stairs next to Jude, hand still secure in his boyfriend's hand, he couldn't help but notice all of the pictures on the wall in the house. It was strange, because everyone had grown up, but Connor hadn't been there to witness it. He should've been there, he bitterly thought to himself. But he reminded himself that he had the present and the future, and he couldn't see himself ever happily leaving Jude. Not that he had happily left before, but still.
"I think it's dead," a hushed girl's voice said from behind the door to Stef and Lena's room.
"Yeah, shouldn't it be swimming by now?" another feminine voice asked. Connor recognized that voice. Callie. He noticed that Jude smiled at the sound.
"I think it's the stupidest thing ever that you guys got moms a fish," Jude said, opening up the door and stepping inside. No one immediately turned around to look at him.
"We did pick out a cool one, though," a man, Zac?, said, pointing at it. "One of the ones that has the Mickey Mouse face on it. Don't you think it's cool?"
Jude rolled his eyes, before looking at Connor.
"I don't know," he said lightly. "What do you think, Connor?"
Callie's head whipped up at the mention of Connor.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, face incredulous. She noticed how their hands were connected. "What the hell is going on?"
By this time, the four people in the room had turned around to look at Jude and Connor. Brandon frowned slightly.
"What happened to Evan?" he asked.
"We broke up awhile ago," Jude said, shaking his head. "I thought you knew about that."
"Oh," Brandon responded. "What happened?"
Jude looked down. "He asked me about Connor, apparently I didn't say the things he wanted to hear."
So that's why Evan targeted Connor the other day, he thought to himself. He must still be bitter that Jude has stronger feelings for Connor than any other guy.
"Jude, this is Connor," Callie said harshly. "The same Connor who left you. The same Connor who broke up with you for no reason."
Jude didn't let his sister's disapproval get him down. "That was ten years ago, Callie. Everyone did stupid stuff ten years ago, you included. I've gotten over it, there's no reason that you shouldn't have."
Callie glared at Connor for a few moments, but it was otherwise clear that she didn't want to cross her little brother any more than she already had.
Zac and Emma introduced themselves to Connor, and he thought that both of them were very pleasant people. Connor was so grateful of the family Jude had now, because he knew the families that Jude had been in when he was much younger, and the support he received now compared to what he got before was tremendous. Thinking about this, Connor looked over at Jude and smiled. He smiled back.
"Listen, I hate to break up this beautiful moment," Zac said, "but personally, I am starving. Do you guys want to head back downstairs?"
They all agreed, and the four others left before Jude and Connor moved an inch. When they were alone, Jude squeezed Connor's hand.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yeah," Connor said, smiling at his boyfriend.
Jude smiled back and gave Connor a quick kiss before the two of them went back downstairs for brunch.
-!-!-!-!-!-
"I am so full," Jude groaned as he walked besides Connor, on the way back to Connor's place.
"Nice to meet you, so full," Connor said, grinning.
"Connor!" Jude exclaimed, slightly pushing Connor at his bad joke.
Connor laughed. "Sorry."
Jude just shook his head. "Seriously, though, I don't think I can ever eat again."
"Me neither," Connor agreed, his stomach so full that he probably couldn't eat a single pea. "The food was really good, though."
"It always is," Jude sighed.
The two of them kept on walking, Connor getting caught up on the latest of what was happening with each member of the Adams Foster family, and before long they were at the front door of Connor's apartment. It was later than when Connor thought they would get to the apartment again, not that he minded. As he opened the door, he saw Taylor sitting on the couch, Daria laid out on top of her. When they heard the door open, Daria sat up and both of them looked at Jude and Connor with huge grins on their faces.
"How was brunch?" Taylor asked.
Jude looked over at Connor, confused. Connor grinned along with the women, because he knew what must have happened.
"Brunch was good," Jude said. A few moments passed of silence. "Okay, what's up with all of you guys, smiling like that?"
"Oh, I don't know," Taylor said, shaking her head. She raised her left hand to brush her hand away, but Jude didn't notice the ring that was now on her finger.
"What?" he asked.
"No idea," Taylor said again, twisting the finger around as she looked at Jude.
Jude remained oblivious. "Seriously, what?"
Taylor looked at him like he was the stupidest person in the world, and then thrust out her left hand so he could clearly see the ring on her finger. It took him a second, but realization broke on his face and he gasped.
"You two… Oh my god… Connor, are you seeing this?"
Connor said that he was, and he gave Jude a kiss on the cheek as Jude kept on freaking out about the ring. Before long, Jude had gone over to Taylor, asking her all sorts of questions about every little detail of the proposal, and Connor moved over to Daria, the two of them watching Jude and Taylor for awhile.
"Congratulations," Connor said.
Daria looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks," she said. "It feels good, you know?"
Connor smiled back and nodded. "I'm sure it does."
"Us being together for the rest of our lives wasn't even a question, really," Daria said, low enough for only Connor to hear. "But it feels good to know that we're going to be celebrating that. When you love somebody like how I love Taylor, it's hard to not want to show that love off to everyone, you know?"
Connor knew. All he wanted to do was tell the world that Jude was his, but since he couldn't at the moment due to baseball, he stuck with being proud to be with Jude around people it was safe to be proud around. Connor smiled at Daria again before nodding.
Somehow, he knew that everything would turn out okay. For Connor, for Daria, for Jude and Taylor. Because when the world could seem as strong and safe as it did at that moment, it didn't seem possible that the happiness could all fade away. So Connor celebrated for Daria and Taylor that night, Jude at his side the entire time, smiling the entire time because he was nothing but excited for the future.
Author's Note: thanks for reading! Sorry this update took forever, school has been keeping me busy recently, and when I tried to update last night, my internet connection bugged out on me. Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me, I appreciate you all so much. (Also, thanks again to that wonderful guest who reminds me to update, even though I know who you are now- thanks!) The next chapter takes place ten months in the future, just so you guys know. I'll update as soon as I possibly can. Thanks again for everything!