✘ O

He laughed a little. “It’s for science; we euthanize little baby mice too and use their spleens and stuff; did they not teach you this in bio class? Have you ever done a dissection.”

“I’ve never dissected a little baby before! I’ve only practiced on adult animals, but I guess that’s the difference between our sciences.” He wrapped his arms around Jamie’s waist and hummed, “What else have you been working on? Tell me more about your internship, too.”

“Well...it’s in a lab that’s studying some BSM 3 stuff, so it’s actually pretty hardcore. I mean, no BSM 4 stuff yet, but it’s China,” he shrugged, smiling at him, “Annnnd..mm, in here, we’ve been making cells light up in the dark and stuff so we can find antigens with tagged antibodies. It’s boring; I’m sure you don’t care much.”

“It’s..well, we euthanize them and take out their kidneys and mix them up, then plate them. Once they’ve grown a little, we infect them with different viruses to see how they’re doing,” he explained, nodding towards the plates, “I think it’s pretty straightforward! Cool, huh?”

Ashley’s mouth fell open and he gave his boyfriend a look of horror, “You kill little baby gerbils? You monsters! I only work on the brains of animals that are already dead and…pickled! I forgot the proper word, but you get the point.” He took another look and frowned, “Poor little gerbils. I hope your kidneys beat whatever shit they’re giving you.”

He laughed a little. “It’s for science; we euthanize little baby mice too and use their spleens and stuff; did they not teach you this in bio class? Have you ever done a dissection.”

“Okay okay, if it makes you feel better,” He laughed, pulling him towards the back room where the incubator is. The boy gently took out two plates and showed them to him before he placed it under a microscope and let the other see. “This is nerdy as hell but I’m really fuckin’ excited that it’s  going well.”

“It will. No bus for you anymore,” he warned, chuckling to himself when he caught a glimpse of Jamie’s beautiful and infectious smile.”Okay, so explain this to me? I know I wanna go into brain surgery, but I don’t do gerbils. You’re growing what from the kidneys?” He hummed as he looked at the cells, smiling to himself, “Very, very cool. I love the nerdy side of you a fuckin’ lot, in case you didn’t already know.”

“It’s..well, we euthanize them and take out their kidneys and mix them up, then plate them. Once they’ve grown a little, we infect them with different viruses to see how they’re doing,” he explained, nodding towards the plates, “I think it’s pretty straightforward! Cool, huh?”

“Nah, I was going to take the bus,” he shrugged, “But I won’t be going home until night time, so I might just take a nap at the library or something. We’ll see.” Getting up as well, he laced their fingers together and walked back to the lab, “Wanna see some cell culture? It’s cool as fuck; I’m growing them from little baby hamster kidneys.”

Ashley gasped and turned to face his boyfriend, “What do you mean you won’t be going home until night time? What the hell will you be doing all day?” He sighed and rubbed his face, “You stress me the fuck out because I gotta worry about you constantly! I’m picking you up whenever you’re done, alright? End of story.” He crinkled his nose at the mention of hamster kidneys, but allowed Jamie to show him the cultures, “Tell me all about your experiments, baby.”

“Okay okay, if it makes you feel better,” He laughed, pulling him towards the back room where the incubator is. The boy gently took out two plates and showed them to him before he placed it under a microscope and let the other see. “This is nerdy as hell but I’m really fuckin’ excited that it’s  going well.”

“I can make a cot for you out of lab coats,” Jamie replied with a slight laugh, “Or you can lay on my shoulder; I can sit on the floor if you want. I really don’t think you need to stay the night with me, love. You’ll get to see me tomorrow night.”

“That would be cute and domestic as fuck! Please do,” he laughed, kissing his cheek, “I want to stay with you, baby. You’re not gonna drive home after this, are you? That’s not safe!” With a sigh, he pushed himself off of the floor and brushed any dust off of his jeans, “Don’t be surprised when I put on 20 pounds while you’re gone from the stress alone.”

“Nah, I was going to take the bus,” he shrugged, “But I won’t be going home until night time, so I might just take a nap at the library or something. We’ll see.” Getting up as well, he laced their fingers together and walked back to the lab, “Wanna see some cell culture? It’s cool as fuck; I’m growing them from little baby hamster kidneys.”

“it ends at, like, 8 in the morning. It’s currently 3:23,” He said after he checked his phone, “I’ll be OKAY I promise. I’ll sleep tomorrow night; I thought we had a sleep date.” Giving him a small nudge, he smiled, “I’m okay, I promise.”

“We do have a sleep date. I can’t believe I get two dates in one week,” he teased, grinning. “Okay, okay. I was hoping to at least convince you to sleep in the car with me. I’ll make do somewhere in the lab to keep an eye on you.”

“I can make a cot for you out of lab coats,” Jamie replied with a slight laugh, “Or you can lay on my shoulder; I can sit on the floor if you want. I really don’t think you need to stay the night with me, love. You’ll get to see me tomorrow night.”

“That’s a long time,” Ashley whispered, sighing, “I hope you’re back before Christmas, since you’re such a snow baby and all. We can have a belated little birthday celebration for you,” he smiled, kissing him slowly. “You sure you can’t sneak away and come home with me tonight? I’d make it worth your while… It’s your turn to lay back while I do all the work.”

“Aww...” He kissed him back, giving him a tight hug, “As much as I’d love to hear you moaning my name, I really really do have stuff to do. I’ve got an exam tomorrow that I haven’t had time to go over the notes for yet. If you want, you can always sleep next to me..?”

“Seafood?” He thought back to how much money was in his bank account but smiled nevertheless. He’ll just have to work harder, it’s okay. “Anything you want,” he kissed the side of his head and squeezed his waist, “Yes, ten days. I need to map out the area and buy groceries and figure how the fuck to buy everything I need there? I’ve never been there babe, and I don’t know Chinese. It’s gonna be hard. I mean..you can always come with me if you want..”

“Yeah. Will you please let me treat you for once? You’ve been working so hard and I want you to relax, baby. I wanna do something nice for you,” he murmured, giving his best puppy dog eyes. “Oh my God, you’re going to China and you don’t know the language? Jesus Christ, Jamie! I’m gonna worry so much about you, you have no idea.” Ashley paused, pressing his forehead against his boyfriend’s, “You’d let me go with you? I’d really like that. A lot. You’ll probably have to force me onto the plane back to America, but that’s a given. When will you be coming home? Do you even know the date?”

He hummed, leaning his head back against the lockers. “I think I’d be back before Christmas hopefully, since they don’t celebrate Christmas and it’s not that important. We’ll see though; I haven’t thought that far yet. Yeah, I don’t mind if you come along. You can help me pick shit out and decorate my place. Besides, then you’ll know where I live whenever you come over to visit me.”

He smiled and pressed his face against his neck, giving him a few light kisses there, “Yes, we’re still going to have our date this weekend. I might have a few runs to make but no, I don’t have lab or anything. You just wanted to hang out at home, right? Mine or yours? I can always make Rome go to your place so he can have some alone time with Ren; I’m sure they’d appreciate that too.”  At the mention of the camping trip, Jamie laughed but didn’t comment; the boy was far too huffy about it to convince him otherwise. Instead, he tightened his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, “Well…I officially start January 28th, so I should probably go about ten days in advance at LEAST so I can set up my apartment and everything there.”

“Well, I’d like to go out for dinner at least. Remember that seafood restaurant that you loved? I think that’s where I want to go. I’ll make Ruby stay at your place so you can be with me,” he grinned, “If you want, I can help you with those errands. I need you to be rested up for when we get home from dinner.” He furrowed his brows and huffed, a large frown on his lips, “Ten days to set up your apartment? Ten? What the hell are you gonna do, renovate it? That’s crazy!”

“Seafood?” He thought back to how much money was in his bank account but smiled nevertheless. He’ll just have to work harder, it’s okay. “Anything you want,” he kissed the side of his head and squeezed his waist, “Yes, ten days. I need to map out the area and buy groceries and figure how the fuck to buy everything I need there? I’ve never been there babe, and I don’t know Chinese. It’s gonna be hard. I mean..you can always come with me if you want..”

“Well you still reacted like I thought you would so of course I’m still gonna tell you about it,” he snorted, leaning in and kissing the corner of his mouth. “Baby…” Smoothing his fingers over his cheek, he cupped his cheek and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him, “Next week. After the camping trip, it’s gonna be smooth sailing for a while, so you’d get me all to yourself until you’re sick of me. And no, I’m not going to stop you if you decide to come visit me; I mean, if you’re willing to go to CHINA for me…”

He climbed onto Jamie’s lap and buried his face in the other’s neck, “We’re still going on our date this weekend, right? Do you have to work early that day? I thought if you didn’t, you could stay over the night before and then we could relax all day together. You already know I don’t wanna go on that stupid camping trip, but you like to laugh at my pain,” he lifted his head and stuck out his tongue before he stole a quick kiss. “I’m gonna visit you as much as I humanly can. When…do you leave? And for how long, exactly? I need to get everything in my head so I can mentally prepare.”

He smiled and pressed his face against his neck, giving him a few light kisses there, “Yes, we’re still going to have our date this weekend. I might have a few runs to make but no, I don’t have lab or anything. You just wanted to hang out at home, right? Mine or yours? I can always make Rome go to your place so he can have some alone time with Ren; I’m sure they’d appreciate that too.”  At the mention of the camping trip, Jamie laughed but didn’t comment; the boy was far too huffy about it to convince him otherwise. Instead, he tightened his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, “Well...I officially start January 28th, so I should probably go about ten days in advance at LEAST so I can set up my apartment and everything there.”

“Well yeah, I waited to tell you because you’re going to get dramatic about it,” he rolled his eyes, “Which you’re totally doing, so I’m right. I honestly think we have time to come up with a plan about how we’re going to do this, you know?” He took his hands and leaned in, giving him a kiss on the forehead. “We’ll be okay,” Jamie said firmly, “It’ll be okay. It’s /only/ a year. Besides, if you really wanted to you can come visit me during holidays. We can talk about grad school later and focus on now”

“Then you shouldn’t have been a dick about it, since you knew it would happen,” he muttered, glaring lightly. “I’m just worried about the fact that you’re so busy already, and then you’ll be gone before we both know it.” He closed his eyes and leaned in as well, starting to sniffle again, “When does your schedule free up? And no, it’s not only a year! That’s a long fucking time! I’m gonna visit you every single chance I get, and you better not try to stop me, Jameson. I’m serious.”

“Well you still reacted like I thought you would so of course I’m still gonna tell you about it,” he snorted, leaning in and kissing the corner of his mouth. “Baby...” Smoothing his fingers over his cheek, he cupped his cheek and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him, “Next week. After the camping trip, it’s gonna be smooth sailing for a while, so you’d get me all to yourself until you’re sick of me. And no, I’m not going to stop you if you decide to come visit me; I mean, if you’re willing to go to CHINA for me...”