When Beck's alarm goes off, both he and Jade groan into their pillows. It's still dark outside, and the apartment is cold, it's not an inviting environment for either one of them to be awake in. Jade rolls over and wraps her arms around Beck, burying her face in his neck as she does so.
"Let's just go back to sleep..." She mumbles "No one has to know."
"I wish we could..." Beck tells her, rubbing her back gently "People are going to notice if I don't show up."
"I don't want you to go."
"I know you don't." Beck sighs "But I'll be back before you know it."
He's headed to LA this morning...for two whole weeks. His agent had gotten him a role in a real Hollywood movie. Granted, it's a small role...he'll be in maybe fifteen minutes of the two hour film...but it's something. It's a step towards the film career he wants to have one day, and it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
He'll be staying with his parents while he's away. The studio had offered to put him up in a hotel, but Beck wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to spend time with his family that he might not otherwise get. He offered to let Jade come along, she's never been to California and he thought it would be a great opportunity to show her around the area where he had spent his teenage years. Unfortunately, she does eight shows a week of 'Our Town' and she can't afford the time off. Beck understands of course, but that doesn't mean they're not both disappointed to have to spend so much time apart.
Two weeks will be the longest they've gone without seeing each other since the night they first met over a year ago. Both Beck and Jade realize that given the industry they both work in, spending time apart is something they should get used to...but that won't make the two weeks apart any easier.
"I really wish I could go with you..." Jade sighs as she rolls off of Beck, allowing him to climb out of bed
"I wish you could too, but I get it. You're a star in high-demand, the play can't afford two weeks without you." Beck smirks "Besides, Cat needs your help with wedding planning anyway."
"Yeah she does." Jade scoffs "That wedding wouldn't be happening without me."
"All the more reason to stay here." Beck points out as he sits up "Hey...my car won't be here for another hour...and I should probably shower before I go. Do you want to join me?"
"Absolutely I do." Jade sits up as well, throwing the blankets off of her body "Lead the way."
With it being the most time they've ever spent apart, it will also be the most time they've ever gone without having sex with each other. Neither one of them is thrilled about that part either, but the one thing they have to look forward to is how great the sex will feel once he finally returns.
That doesn't mean they can't get everything out of their system now though.
Still a bit groggy from the sleep they had been so rudely awaken from by Beck's alarm, both Beck and Jade stumble into the bathroom attached to the apartment's master bedroom. Jade's hands fumble along the wall, looking for the light switch and both she and Beck wince as the bright light meets their pupils. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Beck makes his way over to the shower to turn it on and let the water run so it will at least be warm when they both step in.
"C'mere..." Jade smirks as she walks over to him, grabbing the bottom of his t-shirt and lifting it over his head before tossing it into the corner "There we go, much better."
"Oh yeah?" He laughs, moving to remove her shirt as well "S'your turn now."
Well, technically it's his own t-shirt that he's removing from her body...Jade has taken up the habit of sleeping in his shirts whenever the opportunity presents itself, which now that they live together is almost all the time. Actually, she's taken a liking to wearing a lot of his clothes around the apartment when no one else is around, t-shirts, hoodies, even his boxers and socks are fair game to her now. Beck pretends to be annoyed, but secretly he loves it. He thinks she looks incredibly sexy when she wears his clothes. Well...he thinks she looks incredibly sexy all the time, but even more so when she steals his clothes.
Discarding the rest of their garments, Beck and Jade step into the shower and under the now, thanks to Beck, warm spray of water. Almost immediately Jade pushes Beck against the tiled wall, kissing him as the water rushes over them both. He kisses her back with just as much passion, running his hands all over her body, not wanting to forget any inch of it over the next few weeks that he's away.
Their shower is a quick one, or at least as quick as it can be given the circumstances. Beck has a car coming to take him to the airport soon, and they're already cutting it pretty close as it is. Jade accompanies him down to their building's lobby to wait, clad in a pair of pajama shorts and one of his hoodies, her hair still damp from their wet and steamy morning shower sex.
"I think this is me..." Beck sighs as a black SUV pulls up to the curb "I can't imagine there's many other Escalade's doing airport pickups at this time of the morning."
"I'm going to miss you a lot..." Jade admits as she wraps her arms around him "Be careful, okay?"
She knows there's no sense in begging him not to go, it's too late for that now. He's going, and that's a good thing because this movie, no matter how small the part, will be good for his career and put him on the map in the Hollywood film scene. As upset as she is to have to go two weeks without him, she knows that it's for the best.
"I'm always careful." He grins "I'll text you when I get to the airport, okay? And again once I get to the gate, and then again when I get on the plane."
"I'll be asleep again..." Jade smirks "But I appreciate it."
Her intention had been to go back to sleep once he left, but now she isn't so sure that she'll be able to. After getting to used to falling asleep either next to him or wrapped up in his arms every night, Jade isn't so sure that she's going to be able to sleep all that well without him.
"I love you." Beck presses a kiss to her forehead, then moves lower and presses another one to her lips "I'll see you in two weeks, okay? And I'll talk to you so many times before then."
"I love you too." She smiles sadly at him, stepping out of their hug so he can grab his bag "Say hi to your parents for me."
"Of course." He nods, grabbing the handle of his suitcase so he can roll it out the door "I told you I love you, right?"
"You did." Jade laughs at his attempt to add humor to the sad occasion "Get going, you'll miss your flight."
"Like you'd mind that."
"I would, actually." She tells him "Because then you'd be pissed and I'd have to deal with you being cranky all day until they can get you on another plane."
"I love you." Beck tells her for the third time as he heads for the door
"I know." Jade smirks "I love you too."
She watches from the window as he loads his suitcase and backpack into the back of the car and moves around to climb in. He opens the back passenger's side door and turns to look at her one more time, blowing her a kiss that she returns, before getting into the car and closing the door behind him. Jade stays at the window until the car is completely out of view, turning around as she sadly begins walking back to the elevators to go back upstairs and hopefully back to sleep.
As Beck steps into his old RV, he feels like he's stepping back in time.
Granted, it's only a year back in time...but so much has happened to him since then that it feels like a lifetime ago. The last time he'd slept in this RV, or been inside it at all, was the night before he moved to New York. Sure, he'd already booked the role on Manhattan Med, but he had no idea just how much the role would change his life and his career. He also hadn't met Jade yet, and she has been the best part of the last year without a doubt, role or no role.
He sets his bags down on the bed, taking in the nostalgia of it all for a few more minutes before exiting the RV and returning back to his parents' house. Out of habit, he kicks his shoes off at the door before wandering further into the house to find his parents in the living room.
"You were right..." He chuckles as he sits down beside his father on the couch "Nothing has changed in there."
"I told you, we didn't touch anything." Priya insists "It felt like it would be an invasion of your privacy."
Which is partially true. The main reason they hadn't cleared out the RV or gotten rid of it was because they weren't entirely confident his whole New York excursion was going to work out, and they wanted to have it for him to return to just in case. Of course they believed in him and wanted everything to go well, but after years of watching the ups and downs of the audition process...they wanted to stick on the side of caution.
"Well thank you, I appreciate it." Beck smirks
"I don't see why you can't stay in the house."
"My schedule is going to be all over the place." Beck reminds them both "I'll be getting up early and coming back late, I don't want to wake you guys up or disrupt your lives at all."
"We've missed having you home, son." James informs him "I don't think either one of us would mind a little disruption if it means getting to see you."
"You say that now, but you might have a different opinion at four o'clock tomorrow morning."
"...you're right, we might."
The conversation moves to playing catch-up, Beck's parents fill him in on their lives in LA and what they've heard from their family in Canada, and Beck tells them about New York. He can't help bragging a bit about Jade's graduation and her booking the lead in 'Our Town', he's too proud of her to resist.
"So, things are still going well with you two then?" Priya asks
"Ma, we live together. Of course things are going well."
"People can live together and be unhappy."
"We're happy." Beck assures her "Very happy. We're in a great place right now."
"Do you..." James hesitates "Oh, never mind."
"Do I...what?"
"I was going to ask you if you see a future with Jade." James clarifies "Not an immediate future, but years down the road from now...do you think you two will still be together?"
Beck has seemed much happier in the past year that he's met Jade, and while James and Priya know part of that happiness could be attributed to his new job...they know they have to give their son's girlfriend most of the credit. Never in his adult life have they seen their son care for a girl so much. They want that happiness to stay, so they hope that he's serious about the relationship.
"I do, yeah." Beck grins "I know I haven't seriously dated that many girls...but something about Jade just feels...I dunno, kinda perfect. Kinda meant to be."
"That's great, Beck." James smiles "We're happy that you're happy."
"Thanks..." Beck laughs a bit "Me too."
"Once you get back to New York, we'd love to come visit." Priya tells him "We don't get to spend nearly as much time with you these days, and we'd like to get to know Jade a bit better too."
"Okay, sure." Beck nods with a smile "I'll have to talk to her and see what her schedule looks like for the next few months, but I'd really love it if you guys could come out and visit."
If they time it right, maybe Jade could bring them to visit him on the set of Manhattan Med...and then in turn he could bring them to see Jade in a performance of 'Our Town'. Beck likes that thought.
What he doesn't like though is being away from Jade for long stretches of time. It only takes him about three days of being in LA to figure that out. It's not that he had expected to enjoy the time apart from his girlfriend, he just hadn't expected it to be so dreadful. He knows it's only rough because they've never experienced it before, and in the future when they both hopefully move on to bigger and better projects that will allow them to travel...being away from one another won't feel so awful.
In the meantime, Beck and Jade are constantly texting one another. They call and FaceTime when they can, but that's a bit harder to make happen just because of their schedules. When Jade is free, Beck is on set filming and when Beck is free, Jade is on stage. Jade spends more than one night while Beck is away up past midnight talking on the phone with him, simply because it was her only opportunity to hear his voice that day and she didn't want to miss it.
"You're tired." Beck laughs a bit "I can hear it in your voice."
Although it's after midnight in New York, it's barely 9:30 pm in LA.
"S'been a long day." Jade admits with a small smile "I'm okay though."
"I can let you go so you can get some rest." Beck offers "We can-"
"I said I'm okay." Jade assures him "How was your day?"
"It was great." Beck admits "Even though this is a small part, I still get to work with all of these incredible actors. I'm learning so much from them, s'definitely a great experience."
"That's awesome." She tells him genuinely "I'm happy for you."
"Thanks. I'm happy for me too." Beck chuckles "How was your day?"
"Fine." Jade shrugs "Cat and I finalized the seating chart for the wedding reception, then I went to work. The show was average, nothing special but nothing went wrong either."
"I bet you were great." Beck says "I wish I could have been there to see it."
"You've seen it like five times already, nothing has changed."
"But you're so great in it every time."
"I miss you." Jade sighs
She misses coming home from work and finding him waiting up for her on the couch. She misses waking up next to him in the morning and cuddling together until the very last minute when one of them has to either get up or risk being late. She misses laying in his arms at night, talking about their days in person rather than over the phone.
"I miss you too." Beck admits "We're almost there, though. Just a few more days."
Just a few more days until he can hold her in his arms again, rubbing her back gently as they both fall asleep. He's grateful for the experiences he's gained on set, the lessons that he's been taught, and the time he's gotten with his parents...but he misses Jade.
"Yeah..." She yawns "Just a few more days."
"You're tired." He tells her again "You should go to bed."
"Fine..." Jade finally admits defeat "Talk tomorrow?"
"Talk tomorrow." He assures her "I love you."
"I love you too." She says to him "Goodnight."
"G'night, babe. Sleep well."
The first few nights that Beck was away, Jade found it hard to sleep in bed by herself. She had grown so accustomed to having him there in bed with her, that having so much space to herself felt almost foreign. Not to mention if she ever changed positions, the new part of the bed she would start to occupy would be freezing due to lack of body heat. After a couple of days, she got used to sleeping by herself again...but the cold sheets were still a pain.
When she feels something wrap around her waist in the middle of the night, she's awake immediately and on high alert. Who or what is touching her? And why? She audibly gasps.
"S'okay..." She hears a familiar voice say "S'just me."
"Beck?"
She reaches over and switches on the lamp beside the bed, rolling over again to see her boyfriend kneeling on his side of the mattress.
"Hey..." He grins "Sorry for waking you."
"You weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow!" She reminds him "I thought-"
"I changed my flight and hopped a red eye." Beck explains "There was no point in me waiting around a few extra hours when I could be home with you instead."
"Fuck, I missed you." She tells him, taking his face in her hands and kissing him
"I missed you too." He smiles
"It was worth it?" She asks "It was a good experience? You had fun?"
"Yes, yes, and yes." Beck assures her "God...I really missed you. And you know what else?"
"What?"
"I missed this..." He kisses her neck gently "And this..."
Slowly, he works his way down, kissing her neck and then her collarbone and then her chest before moving upwards again and pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Fuck..." She moans "I missed that too."
Within a matter of seconds Beck has removed her pajamas as well as his jeans and is sliding beneath the sheets next to her. Jade smiles at him as she helps him pull his t-shirt over his head, both of them now fully naked. Neither one of them care that it's after three in the morning, they've missed each other too much and the opportunity is too good to pass up...they can't resist. They don't care about sleeping right now, they care about reconnecting. They long for the desirable ache of being inside one another, and to look into each other's eyes as they each bring the other pleasure. Jade just knows that her makeup artist is going to have their work cut out for them covering her hickeys when she gets to work tomorrow, temporary markings of the love she and Beck share for one another.
"Wow..." Beck gasps as he rolls to lay on his side facing her "If that what it's going to be like the first time after we spend any kind of time apart, maybe I should go away more often."
"No..." Jade pouts "I mean, that was great...don't get me wrong, but I'd rather have you here with me all the time."
"Alright, that's fine." Beck smiles as he leans over to kiss her again "Are you cold? Do you want me to get your shirt?"
"No, that's alright." Jade leans over the side of the bed and scoops up Beck's discarded t-shirt "I can wear your's."
"Are you sure?" He laughs "I wore that on the plane. It has California germs all over it."
"But it smells like you." Jade smirks as she pulls it on, reaching down for her underwear as well "I like having you close."
"Well, good thing I'm home now." Beck reminds her, climbing out of bed to find his boxers and a new t-shirt to wear "You can fall asleep in my arms tonight, and every night for the foreseeable future."
"Sounds perfect." Jade admits as she settles back into bed "Welcome home, by the way. It's good to have you back."
"S'good to be back." He grins, now climbing into bed beside her again "Let's get some sleep."