“Are you sure I don’t look...weird?”

“You look fine,” Ezra says, rolling his eyes. He’s busy folding a little square of fabric, meticulously making some strange shape before he tucks it into the pocket of Jasper’s suit jacket. “There. Perfect.”

Jasper looks in the mirror, dubious. He feels out of his element in the suit; even his hair is uncharacteristically perfect, pushed away from his face and held in place with gravity-defying charm. In his formal clothes, Jasper feels a little like a kid playing dress-up. He’s never been at home in suits; they’ve always been the uniform of his father. They’re not something he would choose for himself. Though, I guess Alex technically chose this one for me.

“Go. You’re gonna be late,” Ezra says, hitting Jasper in the back with a rolled-up shirt. Jasper shoots him a glare, but Ezra just grins, yawning, still in his pajamas. Jasper knows his brother will probably crawl right back into bed as soon as he is gone. It’s a Saturday, after all, and yesterday had been spent drinking and laughing with their friends, as usual. Except, of course, for Jasper and Alex.

Jasper leaves to meet Alex, thinking about their night at the bar. It had been nice to go out as a group again—even nicer still to get rid of his complicated feelings about the last bar outing they’d had. Especially since this time, he and Alex had gone as an official couple for the first time. It had been almost anticlimactic, given the lack of reactions from everyone else, but Jasper is glad it happened. He’s still getting used to the idea of seriously dating Alex, but he gets the feeling it won’t be hard—especially after all they’ve already done. Like working backwards, he thinks, amused. It fits that we started with a date and we’re finishing with one, too. It’s not quite a finish, though; Jasper likes to think of it as a new start. A better one, hopefully.

“Hey,” Alex says, smiling when he opens the door. Jasper can feel his heart scrambling to climb up his throat. He almost says something stupid, looking at Alex, but he bites his tongue and tries to compose himself. Of course he looks good in a suit. He thinks Alex is probably the type of person who’s mistaken for an actor. It was certainly one of the first things Jasper had thought when he’d met Alex. “You ready?”

“I’m ready,” Jasper says, clearing his throat when his voice comes out a little thin. “You said it was in Heathwood, right?”

“That’s right,” Alex says, turning to lock the door behind him. His blue-gray jacket is draped across his arm and when he turns, Jasper reaches out to touch it, smiling. Alex smells like a rich cologne, earthy and warm. If we weren’t on a schedule, I might ask him to wait, Jasper thinks, turning away to hide his blush.

Since deciding where they’re going with their relationship, Jasper found it easier to give in to what he wants. Instead of wasting his time worrying about whether Alex is interested or whether he’s overstepping his bounds, Jasper found himself pleasantly unconcerned about slipping his hand into Alex’s or leaning over to kiss him in the car. Before they leave the apartment, Jasper does just that, leaning across the center console. Alex knows it’s coming, glancing over at Jasper and smiling, meeting him halfway. Whatever spark it was they had the first time they’d kissed, accidentally and in the middle of a bar, it’s still there. The attraction between them feels full now, supported by both their friendship and physicality. No more questions or worries. Just what I’ve been looking for from the very beginning.

The venue is beautiful. When they arrive, Jasper leans toward the window, trying to see the entirety of the sprawling estate. It’s a beautiful white building with columns at the front, the porch draped in roses. It’s definitely the place for a fairy-tale wedding, if he’s ever seen one. It looks familiar, too. It isn’t until Alex parks at the side that Jasper realizes why. He can almost see the photo in his mind, pristine and framed on a wall at the entryway to his parents’ house. The way they had been perfectly positioned in the photo, as if they’d spent hours practicing the pose. How Jasper had once looked at the picture with a childish wonder, impressed by his father’s regal stature and his mother’s effortless beauty. It took a long time for the shine to wear off that picture. Even now, though, I think that maybe it was real. Maybe it showed something—a moment in time when they weren’t miserable.

“What?” Alex asks, keys in hand, pausing as he moves to open the car door.

“My parents were married here,” Jasper says, tearing his gaze from the window. What a weird coincidence. Their relationship can’t even compare to Reid and Benjamin, from what I’ve heard. “I remember the picture.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I used to look at it all the time. I thought it was beautiful. I wanted to get married just to be able to visit the place,” Jasper laughs. Alex nods, looking out the window and past Jasper. He seems to think, a little dip appearing between his eyebrows.

“Okay. I’ll get called a copycat, but we can get married here.” Alex shrugs, pushing his car door open. He says it as if it’s simple—as if the promise means nothing. Jasper stares, feeling his heart thud for a second time, and wonders what he did to deserve Alex. He knows, even if they’ve had one of the least picture-perfect relationships, they’re not going to give in. Whatever they have, it’s permanent. Neither of them could get rid of the other if they wanted to. They’re connected, despite all the misunderstandings and questions they’ve had.

“All right,” Jasper says, “it’s a plan.