Trigger Warning! Read with Caution!
"Sometimes all you can do is lie in bed, and hope to fall asleep before you fall apart."
The night had fallen, and darkness had swallowed the whole apartment, but if someone stayed a little more and waited for their eyes to adjust, they will see a silhouette of a man, hunched at the corner of a window sill; clutching a bowtie on his chest.
The apartment was never noisy, nor was it never silent. The stillness of the place will always be disturbed by the continuous sobs and plea of the man on the window sill; begging for his family to come back to him.
This is Connor's life now. Every day, every night he hopes. Every morning and every evening he waits. But, no one ever comes back.
It still didn't deter him from hoping Oliver's return.
He can be considered as dead if you picture his life, but he had to stay strong. He needed to continue living because he still hasn't apologized or told the Oliver that he loves him.
Connor then heard a padding of feet outside his door, he quickly jumped from his position, ran towards the doorway and opened it even before his visitor had a chance to knock. He gasped at the sight of the man in front of him. There he is, Oliver Hampton in all his glory. He wanted to embrace him and kissed him, but the anger searing from the other man had stopped him.
"Oliver," Connor whispered instead, and slowly lifted his hand to brush his fingers against his husband.
"Don't," Oliver scowled and he stepped back from Connor's reach. "I'm not here to make amends with you. I'm so sick and tired of your games Connor. I just wanted to know why. Why did you do all these horrible things to me? Why do you love hurting me?" Oliver asked menacingly; tears pooling from his eyes. "Are you happy now that our baby is gone?"
"No Oliver! Please! Listen please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I lied, I lied that I didn't want the baby. I lied when I said I didn't love you. I lied! I lied!" Connor chanted, and despite Oliver's evil glares, he took a step forward and gripped Oliver's elbows. "I love you! Please Oliver, believe me when I said that I love you. You're the most amazing thing that ever happened to me."
"No! No! No!" Oliver denied and struggled to release his arms from Connor's grasp. "I never wanted to believe you. You wanted this. You want our baby gone; you want us gone, so you could be with Thomas. Stop lying Connor!" Oliver cried out. "Don't lie to me anymore!"
"No baby, please look at me," Connor pleaded and clasped Oliver's face with his hands. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that I'm lying when I said this," Connor paused as he waited patiently for Oliver's sobs to stop and for Oliver to look at him straightly. Connor took a deep breath and he said sincerely, "you are the love of my life, Oliver. And I 'm the worst person in the whole world for making the person I care most suffer because of my own stupidity. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for hurting you," Connor gently rested his forehead against Oliver's and closed his eyes. "Please Oliver… please believe me when I say that I truly love you," he breathed on Oliver's lips.
"I…I…" Oliver managed to say before his trembling lips were captured by Connor's.
Connor used Oliver's frozen state to seize his mouth and quickly plunge his tongue inside the latter's open mouth. He slurped Oliver's tongue with his own, trying every possible way to taste Oliver. Connor kissed him passionately hard, but after a while, he noticed that Oliver wasn't kissing him back. He parted their lips and rested his forehead on Oliver's right shoulder. "Please Oliver… believe me… please come back."
"I can't. I won't come back to you!" Oliver said ferociously.
Connor cowered away from Oliver's frightening voice, and took a step back from the taller man. He then now noticed the puddle of blood around their feet; dripping from Oliver's trousers.
"Oliver… Oliver, you're bleeding… Oh god! We need to go to the hospital!" He grabbed Oliver's hand, but the taller man snatched his hand away from Connor. "Oliver, we have to go! We have to save you."
"They already did, but they also let my baby die. You let my baby die!" Oliver hover Connor's numb body and repeatedly poked him. "You wished for the baby's death! You wanted this! You wanted us gone! You asked for your own misery!"
"No! No! No! Stop! Pease stop! I didn't want this," Connor denied Oliver's accusations and covered his hands with his ears. "Stop! Stop! I'm sorry, Oliver … Please Stop!" He besought as he crumpled to his knees. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean it... I want you… I want our family back."
Connor then felt strong hands shaking his shoulders. "Connor! Connor!" Connor recognized Asher's distant voice. "Wake up, buddy!"
"Oliver!" Connor shouted as he woke up gasping for air.
Connor then felt a hand rubbing his back. "Ei… it's okay, it's just a nightmare. It's not true," Asher comforted him, and offered him a glass of water.
Connor immediately drank it and tried relaxing his shaky body. After a minute of deep breaths and the repeated open-close fist exercise, he realized that he wasn't at home, but in a plane where anyone can witness his breakdown. He immediately sat up and was very thankful that Asher, who had already been used to his nightmares, was the only one who watched him heave for air.
'Thank god for Business Class flight,' Connor thought as he repositioned his body to the spacious area of his plane seat.
"Another nightmare?" Asher asked tentatively as to not startle his friend. "What is it this time?"
Connor turned his head towards Asher and quirked his eyebrow to his friend's question. "They are all the same," He responded monotonously and twisted his head on the left to watch the sunrise from the window pane. "I'm sorry for waking you up," he said after a while.
"It's okay… I understand," Asher said and lightly patted Connor's shoulders. Asher understood Connor's nightmares weren't every night, but it's getting worse as the month of May passed by; Mochi should have been born around this time and they should have celebrated Mochi's 5th birthday. 'Should have been' was the key word, but it didn't happen because of the miscarriage; hence, the nightmares.
"God Connor, when will you move on?" Asher was supposed to sound irritated, but his erratic question was ended with sympathy when he saw Connor discreetly wiped the tears from his cheeks. "It's already been what… 5 years… It's time to get over him, Connor."
"5 years and 4 months to be exact," Connor automatically corrected his friend.
Five years of pleading for Oliver's family to tell him where Oliver had run off to. Every day he went to Oliver's home in Lima and begged Oliver's family to tell him where Oliver was, but they refused him every single time. He only stopped when they threatened him with a restraining order after he spent the night on their front porch.
64 months of waiting in his apartment for the love of his life to take him back. His nightmare seems real because that's what he did for the last 5 years; looking out on the window sill, waiting for a brunette to walk in the entrance door of his apartment building. Sometimes he wishes his nightmares was his reality. At least in those dreams, he got a chance to tell Oliver his feelings and he had the opportunity to apologize.
278 weeks spent with regrets that the last thing you said to the man carrying your child is to rod of it. Oh how Connor wish that he hadn't said those words.
1947 days of agonized pain for the loss of Mochi. He didn't even know if his baby were buried or cremated. After the accident, the Hamptons never did acknowledge him as Mochi's father. Connor's parents told him that they could sue them for withholding such information from him, but Connor refused their idea straight away. He didn't want the next time he sees Oliver at a court, hating him more for filing a case against his family.
46751 hours of burying himself to work and booze. Despite all the alcohol he consumed, he still didn't feel any better though. Things remain as they were...
Mochi is dead.
Oliver left him.
He is alone.
These are the facts that have haunted Connor for the last five years.
"You see, it's been five years—"Asher's explanation was cut off.
"Can you just help me take my mind off him for a moment?" Connor said without looking at Asher. "Just tell me about the details of our client again."
Asher stared at his friend for a moment, but then complied with his request. He took a white folder from his suitcase and wore his reading glasses, rattling the details of their business trip. "We would arrive at the hotel by 8:00 am. Our next agenda wouldn't be after lunch, so we could use that time to rest in our rooms… or do you want to go somewhere else, you know we could join a tour or drink at pubs?"
Connor shook his head. "No, I wanted to rest instead."
"But we could do some fun stuff or something. You barely even left your apartment. If it weren't for Gemma insisting you to go to this trip on, you would have stayed at your loft or at the office. Come on Connor, lighten up a bit."
"I'm not in the mood Asher, I just wanted this to be over."
"Fine… Fine…" Asher never succeeded in persuading Connor to go out of his apartment; his friend always refused to his and Gemma's invitations, and would only coop on the corner of his bedroom; doing whatever he thinks is the best way to handle his loss.
"We have two meetings for today; one is with Hapstall's legal department, and the other is with the founder of the new law firm, Eve Rothlo," Asher read the information from the folder. "Hapstall's meeting will be after lunch, while Rothlo's would be around 5. Hapstall and Rothlo have the same objective. They were asking for assistance to help with their own cases, but we can only choose one case at the moment since all of our lawyers are pre-occupied."
Asher placed the folders and glasses back to his bag and sat comfortably again. "I don't really get why Gemma wanted us to meet with Rothlo when Hapstall was a better option for this collaborative case," Asher wondered. "What do you think?"
"I also don't know... we'll just have to find out when we get there," Connor answered quietly as he watched the sunlight beams on his arm.
They were quiet for a moment, enjoying the stillness of their flight, but Asher started squirming in his seat, bothered that he hasn't said his opinion about Connor's odd way of living.
"Connor, don't be mad at me okay? I just wanted to give you an advice," Asher started.
"No offense Asher, but the last time you gave me an advice, I lost my husband and my baby," Connor quipped back.
'So much for not being it my fault,' Asher thought woefully. He zipped his mouth from talking back because he knew his friend was hurting; also because he knew caused a big part of Connor's sufferings. "I mean, you really have to move on, Connor. There are tons of guys out there, on their knees bent just to catch a glance of the most prestige gay bachelor in Philadelphia. They are all waiting for you with arms wide open."
Connor this time turned his head and looked at Asher with great intensity as he responded. "Well, they are wasting their time because I'm waiting for my only one," He smiled at the end of his sentence and looked back at the clouds again, waiting patiently for their plane to land on Californian soil.
"Good morning! Oliver Hampton's office. How may I help you?" The assistant answered the ringing line.
"Simon! Connect me with Oliver, immediately!" The hurried sound of the woman on the other side ordered the receptionist.
"Right away, Ma'am" Simon responded, and pressed a button on the telephone to announce to his boss the waiting call.
"Sir Hampton, Ms. Eve Rothlo is on line 1," He released the button when he heard his boss pick up the other line.
"Speaking," Oliver greeted his ex-mentor and current boss.
"No time for greetings Oliver! We have an emergency," Eve answered frantically.
"What kind of emergency? Did you… did you wear a leather scarf in this kind of weather again?" He mockingly asked. He twirled in his office seat and crossed his long legs.
If you knew Oliver Hampton then, you wouldn't recognize him now. The once Walmart-shirt guy was now clad with only designers' clothing. He was wearing a black polo shirt from Gucci, topping it with Navy Blue jacket from Marc Jacobs, his skin-tight jeans is an Armani classic, paired with a suede shoes from Prada; and even his belts and other accessories are from Hermes. His coke-bottled glasses are long gone; emphasizing his great brown eyes. For a technology consultant, he sure do know how to dress himself.
"This is not a fashion Emergency, Oliver! I have to go to Provence Town because my grandmother is sick."
"Oh god! Eve, I'm sorry… Is she alright?" Oliver asked his friend worriedly.
"Yeah… yeah, she is just having those tantrum days where she wanted to see her favorite grandchild," Eve breathed. "And that was unfortunately me, so I really have to go there before she hurts herself, okay?"
"Okay… yeah... go go… but what does this have to do with me?" He asked while playing with the cord of his phone.
Eve released a forced giggle. "About that… uhmm… I have to meet Connor Walsh today and I was—"Eve weren't able to finish his explanation when Oliver shouted his answer.
"No! No! No!" Oliver stood angrily. "I told you before that I won't be any part of that account. You promised me, Eve, that I won't ever have to meet him if I do my job. I hacked into theor database. I helped our client, I can do anything else, but not this."
"Oliver, I don't really get why you don't want to meet them, but fine… it's your issues, not mine. But please Oliver, don't mix your personal affairs with our business. We need to win this case. If we lose this one, then we're done for. They are our chance to get it."
"Then use someone else, not me. I'm not a lawyer, I can't do anything else but hack," Oliver compromised. "Why are you making me do this?"
"Because, right now, you're the only one I can trust," Eve deadpanned. "You may not be a lawyer, but you know this case more than the others. You're the one who personally hack in their system, and found the anomalies. Please Oliver, please." She pleaded.
"Belle, I… I just…" When Eve heard his hesitation, she doesn't have a choice but to use his mentor card.
"Come on, Oliver. This is my dream, my life. And as my mentee, you should know this; you were there when I started this firm. It even created Oliver Hampton version two-point-o. I devoted years of building this law firm, and despite my busy schedule, I still make the time to teach you everything you need to know about it. If you can't do this to the company, then please do this for me. Do this because you value our friendship, and you don't want me to lose my company."
Oliver really wanted to help Eve, but helping her means facing Connor. And even after five years, his knees tremble whenever he remembers him, what Connor did to him. "I… uhmm… Can you give me a moment to think please? I'm sorry I can't agree immediately. I just have to talk to someone first."
"Okay… sure sure… but please Oliver, I'm begging you here. The meeting is on 5, make up your mind before that."
"Merci!" Oliver then hung up his phone and hurriedly made a call to his best friend.
The biggest change in Oliver's life was not his impeccable taste in fashion, or his newfangled attitudes and habits, but it was how he depended more on his family and friends for help whenever he faces troubles. He didn't think of it as a burden anymore, rather, he thought that they were helping him lift off his problems.
The phone rang three times before it was answered on the other end.
"He's here!" Oliver exclaimed on the phone. "He's here!"
"Who's there? Oliver, what happened to you?" Laurel alarmingly questioned him.
Laurel and Oliver's friendship grew after the accident, and even when Oliver moved to another state; separating the budding relationship between the two friends, their friendship stayed strong. She was also Oliver's best option in this situation because his whole family will be bias to him and will decide instantly even before he was finished explaining.
"Connor!" Oliver shouted. "Connor is here!"
Oliver heard a ruffling noise of sheets on the other end, he winced when he didn't take into account that Laurel was doing night shifts this month, and had woken up his friend from her slumber.
"Oliver… okay, calm down. Deep breaths, baby," Laurel instructed with her soft voice. "In and out… in and out… I don't want you losing on me."
After his calming exercise, he flopped back down on his office chair and repeated his dilemma again. "What am I going to do, Laurel? Connor is here, and I have to face him."
"I thought we have already talk about that when you agreed on Eve's idea?" Laurel asked, her voice a little slurry from being disturbed in her sleep.
"Yeah… we talked about the 1% probability that Connor and I would meet. I only agreed to her idea when I knew that my face and name will not be recognized by anyone whose last name is Walsh."
"Then what's the problem? You knew he would come to your company. If that really bothers you then just made an excuse that you're sick and you can't go to work or something," Laurel offered and let a yawn on the end of her sentence.
"Okay, there are so many wrong things with what you've said. Number 1, I'm sorry for waking you up in that ungodly hour."
"Totally forgiven," Laurel intercepted.
"Number 2, I'm already at the office, so I can't miss work and tell them that I'm on sick leave. And number three, I knew he would come, but I didn't know that I would have to meet him outright," Oliver finished helplessly.
"Meeting him outright?" Laurel repeated just to be sure. And when she heard his friend made an affirming sound, she sighed irritated. "Okay, Hampton. You really have to tell me everything. Meeting him today? Can you tell me exactly what happened? Start from the beginning," She ordered.
"Eve had a family emergency, and she begged me that I have to replace her in the collaboration meeting."
"Then refused her," Laurel immediately supplied.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" He asked her sarcastically. "She begged me, Laurel. She begged me, and Eve Rothlo doesn't beg, Laurel. She really wanted this case."
Laurel sighed; frustrated at his friend's indecisiveness before starting her own explanation. "I don't really have a say here, Oliver. You already made up your mind. You wanted this. Uh-uh. Don't deny it Hampton," She added when she heard her friend squirming on the other end. "Actually, you needed this."
"I do?"
"You do need this… It's time, Oliver," She said with a gentle voice. "It's already been 5 years. You can't hide from him forever. You have to get out there and face him. I'm not saying that you and him have to be friends because I really don't want you to do that, and that's way too much for you to handle right now. Think of meeting him as part of a healing process. What you've been doing for the past five years are patching your wounds with bandages, when what you should have done is to stitch it close for it to really heal; meeting Connor will be your only help to find closure."
Oliver knew Laurel was right. He knew that he must face Connor again, but he is still scared that he'll make a wrong decision again.
"But… but what if—"
"No, he won't. I promise you that he won't. But if he still has the guts to do it, then I'll be the one to castrate Connor if he hurt you again," She promised sincerely.
"I didn't peg you for being barbaric, Mrs. Delfino," Oliver joked, somehow relieved from Laurel's promise to him.
He heard a giggle and another deeper voice coming from his speaker phone. "Well, being the only girl with a house full of little Franks will do something to your mental state," She yawned again. "Okay, I really have to cut our conversation because my husband is calling me to bed and I still have a shift later."
"Yeah yeah... Thanks for the advice, Laurel! I love you!"
"I love you too. And remember Oliver that we'll always be there for you," She reminded him.
"I know."
"Now go! Meet the Walsh, and win the case. After that, everything we'll be fine again. Au revoir!" She said finally and hung up the phone.
Oliver hung his phone call with Laurel, and pressed a series of button to redirect him to Eve's assistant. "Bring me all the data you collected about the Mahoney v. Gibson case. Rapide!" He barked and put the phone back.
He flopped down tiredly to his chair and thought for a moment how his reunion with his ex-husband will turn out to be.
The clock is rapidly ticking as Oliver and his assistant, Simon; garnered all the material concerning the collaborative case with Connor's company.
Oliver was sitting restlessly in his chair; silently reading Eve's proposal project while his assistant recited all information about the company. Oliver was irritated at his boss for making him do this on the last minute, but he was still confident that he could deliver the proposal without breaking a sweat.
In the past five years, he had said good bye to the old—shy and timid—Oliver Hampton, and had said hello to the now confident, braver and wiser Oliver. His journey to change wasn't easy; he had consultants and attended trainings and seminars to be seen like he was now, but not one bit he complained, because this time he was changing for himself and not for other people.
Oliver closed the folder after he finished reading the proposal and can now be fully attentive to what his assistant was narrating. He listened about the Corporation's goals and objectives, vision mission and all that crap; however, the pen he had been twirling in his hand dropped when he heard something implausible. He sat up straight and looked at Simon incredulously. "What did you say?" He asked furiously.
Simon looked at him nervously, he wasn't used to seeing his boss so angry; he wondered if he had said something wrong. "Uhmm… uhh… The Walsh-Millstone Law Firm had created and contributed to numerous foundations; such as, the Trevor project, PAFPI, TOMORROW, the foundation for abusive—"
Simon's voice was drowned by Oliver's thoughts.
'TOMORROW'
Oliver quickly dismissed his subordinate and once he was alone in his office, he quickly logged on to his computer and for once in the last five years, he searched about his ex-husband. He typed 'Connor Walsh, TOMORROW' in the Google Search bar and clicked the first link that redirect him to their main site. He read and read and read, he even turned off his alarm when it rang at 4:50, he just continued reading until he was satisfied with his research about the foundation.
Four years ago, Connor and Gemma Walsh had founded TOMORROW. The foundation's focus were for pregnant individuals; mainly the male carriers. The foundation's mission was to develop advanced facilities and provide additional treatment for the health and wellness of the carriers and their unborn child.
What more mind blowing was not just the foundation's establishment date was on Oliver's birthday, but the logo of the TOMORROW Foundation. Their symbol was shaped like a sword, with three crystals in the middle, and it is freaking similar with the Christmas gift that he gave Connor 5 years ago. The foundation's name was also imprinted on the same area where he engraved it.
He sat there silently as he stared at the TOMORROW logo in his desktop. He thought of what Connor's reason for creating this, but he can't think of any logical explanation for Connor's actions. He sighed heavily, still confused with his new knowledge about his ex-husband. "Un-freaking-believable! What the hell do you want, Connor?" He shouted angrily and slammed his fist on his desk.
After a moment of draining his emotion to put his professional mask, Oliver then stood up and marched to the meeting room where he will once again face the demon of his past.
After Connor's successful meeting with the Hapstall's, they made a short stop to their hotel for a change of clothes. He would have signed those agreement papers for the collaborative case if it weren't for Gemma's insistence on checking the other firm. After he freshened up, he and Asher proceeded to go to Rothlo's main office and meet Eve.
They were ushered to the top floor's meeting room, it was small but decent compared to the Hapstall's. They had been waiting for around 15 minutes for Ms. Rothlo to arrive.
"You should have just signed with Caleb," Asher suggested impatiently in his seat. He twirled the chair and faced his business partner, who was currently standing on the corner of a full-length glass window; enjoying the overview of California.
Before Connor could respond to Asher's suggestion, he heard a knock from the entrance door and man entered looking apologetic. "I'm sorry for the delay, sir. Ms. Rothlo had an emergency to attend to, but Mr. Hampton will join you in a moment," He gave a small smile and hurriedly exit the room.
The two men froze in their position when they heard Oliver's last name from the staff earlier.
"Did he—"Connor started as he stared at the closed door.
"He did. Oh shit!" Asher finished for him, standing up from his seat.
Connor needed to know for sure if he heard the assistant right. He quickly ran to the door and opened it, ready to shout and look for the person earlier, but his jaw dropped dead when he was faced with a man dressed in impeccable fashion, and a 100% replica of the love of his life.
"Oliver," Connor whispered unbelievably. He then subtly pinched his thigh to know if he was just dreaming again. He can't be more grateful for pain when he felt his nails digging on his thigh. "It really is you…"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Walsh. We are sorry for the delay," Oliver said blankly, not wanting to let Connor see an ounce of his emotion.
"Oliver…" Connor whispered desperately, and just like in his dreams, he tentatively reached for Oliver's hands.
Oliver saw the movement and side step from Connor, and with a stoic face he gestured for them to enter the room. "Please set aside your personal affairs, this meeting is important to me, so please stay professional, Mr. Walsh," Oliver said before entering the room. Because of the small entryway, their shoulders brush when Oliver entered the room first, ignoring Connor when the latter whispered 'I've been looking for you forever.'
Asher heard the whole exchange and knew that his best friend felt overwhelmed, and tried rescuing him from his frozen state. He walked in front of Connor and asked him if he wants to reschedule the meeting. Unfortunately, the words 'leaving' and 'Oliver' should never be used in the same sentence, because he immediately saw the tears pooling from Connor's eyes as his friend shook his head frantically.
"No no no… I can do this; I want to talk to him after the meeting. I just found him, Asher."
"Are you sure?" Asher probed again. "He's still here if we reschedule, I know you can't think properly after seeing him now."
"But what if he's not here anymore… I'm not taking any chances of losing him again," Connor replied sternly, and walked to sit at the end of the meeting table.
At the corner of his eye, Oliver watched Asher said things to a frozen Connor, and waited until Connor and Asher took their proper seats. He turned back from them and inhaled deeply before starting his report. 'I can do this,' He thought lastly.
Asher's eyes move from Oliver to Connor throughout the meeting, and if the situation was different, he would have laughed at his friend's love struck face. However, he knew what Connor had been through throughout the years and he was very happy for him that after five years, he had finally found Oliver.
'He was enjoying this…' Connor thought lovingly as he listened to Oliver's report. Truth to be told, their case was not even comparable with the Hapstall's, it was a sure lose. If it had not been Oliver who was reporting the case to him, he would have signed the proposal with Caleb Hapstall already. So even if the meeting hasn't finished yet, he had decided that he will personally take the case and help Rothlo win the case.
'He is so different' Connor observed Oliver. 'The way he speaks and moves are the same, but it gives off a different aura. He seems more confident, poised and… and stronger.'
And Connor was falling for him even more.
"…so that's the reason why you should take this case with us. We still have more evidence against the other party, but we won't reveal that yet until you agreed to help us with the case," Oliver finished and turned off the projector using the controller in his hand. "What do you think?" He asked giddily, pleased to finish his work successfully.
Connor's chin rested on the heel of his wrist as he stared at Oliver. "I miss you," he slipped dreamily.
"Excuse me?" Oliver asked incredulously, his joyful aura instantly turned sour when he heard Connor's reply. "What did you say?" He crossed his arms and glared daggers at Connor.
"I… Uhmm…" Connor startled at Oliver's angry stance. "I mean… uh… Uhmm…"
"Please follow me to my office, Mr. Walsh," Oliver said with fake politeness and strutted outside the room. He was seething with anger at Connor's unprofessional response, and didn't even glanced back to make sure that Connor was following him.
When he heard the click of the door in his office being shut, he turned around and faced Connor. "What the hell was that?" Oliver asked angrily. "I told you to be professional, right? I asked you one small favor and you can't even do that!"
"I'm sorry… I just can't help myself…" Connor said shamefully, but still didn't look away from Oliver, he was still afraid that the Oliver in front of him was just another pigment of his imagination. "I just saw you and I really really wanted to say that."
"Can't you wait later? I told you that this is really important to me and I don't want our past be the reason of its failure," Oliver knew he shouldn't talk to Connor like that; he still needed his approval after all. But when Oliver thought they could separate their personal lives from business. Connor had to ruin it by saying those things. He just can't help but explode in front of him.
"I'm really sorry… I really didn't mean to say it earlier… I just… I'm just happy that I finally found you and I really miss you," Connor said sincerely.
"Can you cut that crap, Connor?! You've used that before and I'm not falling anymore of your lies. I really need you to be professional and consider our offer."
"I promise I'm not talking shit here. I really do miss you," When Connor heard Oliver let a humorless laughed, he winced. He really needed to talk to him in a less formal environment. He then straightened his stance, and put his professional mask for a while. He had to do this quickly and invite Oliver for a talk somewhere else.
"Well, Mr. Hampton where should I sign?" Connor watched as the smile he missed watching was being slowly played in front of him. "
Really?" Oliver asked astonishingly. "You're really going to help us—I mean help Eve with this case."
"Yes," He answered shortly and took his personal pen from the breast pocket of his suit.
He watched as Oliver turned around and took the folder that he flung on the table earlier. He gestured for Connor to walk to the part of his office where a couch and a coffee table was situated. They took a seat on the couch, with a fair amount of professional distance, and then Oliver pointed where Connor should sign his name.
They gave their professional thank you's and handshakes, and if Connor's professionalism cracked a bit for letting his hand linger a little longer than necessary when their hands touched, they both chose to ignore it.
Connor watched Oliver a little more before he had the courage to ask him. "Oliver… can we go out today and talk?" Connor asked hesitantly. "I really need to talk to you."
Oliver froze for a moment. "I can't," he replied; rapidly gathered his things from the table, and stood up. "It's nice doing business with you, Mr. Walsh," Oliver said blankly. "Ms. Rothlo will be contacting you about the issue's progress. Thank you and good bye."
Before Connor could ask the reason why Oliver cannot talk to him, the door of the office slammed open and a little girl, wearing a matching plaid gray vest and skirt with a black beret on her head, came rushing inside the office, and dragged a taller man who Connor was very familiar with.
'Thomas,' Connor remembered the taller man's face even if the full-grown beard had been totally shaved off.
He was stone frozen in his position when he heard the little girl yelled. "Papa! Papa!" And Connor almost fainted when he watched Oliver lifts the girl in his arms and let Thomas kiss him on the lips.
And just like that, Connor's hopes and dreams of being with Oliver died; at the same time his heart were ripped from him again. Oliver already have a new family.
Connor was late.
He was five years too late.
Title Reference: "Annie" Tomorrow Foundation where the Tomorrow song got famous for, and also because of the little girl at the end of the chapter.
Story Outline:
-5 years' time skip
-Connor and Asher business talk on plane
-Oliver finding out their client
-Business meeting
-Oliver and Thomas as a couple
-Child's entrance
Scenes Included:
-Connor creating foundations for pregnancies
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