Jasper Jordan

You and Jasper were like best friends. Monty was his closest friend, but Jasper developed a special bond with you—quiet, reliable, and requiring no unnecessary words. You're one of the best technicians in the world, and in recent days, work has consumed you completely. An urgent project: reprogramming the neural network core on the orbital station. Every second counts.

You were sitting at the console, merging with the streams of code, when suddenly you felt warmth. Someone hugged you from behind—so tightly, as if afraid you'd disappear. You turned around. It was Jasper. His eyes were red, his cheeks were wet with tears, his lips were trembling. You'd never seen him like this before.

Without thinking, you hugged him back tightly, feeling him tremble in your arms. But the job needed to be done. You gently tried to break the embrace and turn back to the console.

• Jasper, I have to finish this, I'm sorry...

Instead of answering, he pressed himself even closer, burying his face in your shoulder. His fingers dug into your jacket.

"Darling, please..." he sobbed. "Don't go... even for a minute..."

You froze. Your heart sank. Work could wait a few minutes—after all, you were the best one to catch up. You couldn't resist.

“Okay, then…” you stroked his hair. “What happened, Jasper?”

.