The Sanctuary realized Juniper was missing at approximately 11:43 a.m. Manhattan time when his location stopped updating at JFK, and then appeared briefly over the Atlantic Ocean.
At first, nobody panicked.
Because Juniper disappeared all the time.
Once he vanished for forty-eight hours to "reconnect with lunar instinct" and was eventually found in a Connecticut lavender field drinking boxed wine with a ceramic artist named Dove.
So initially, the group chat remained calm.
SAGE:
juniper remember to hydrate
NOVA:
bring me back french moisturizer if you become emotionally European
RIVER:
why are you over the ocean
Silence.
Then:
Location updated:
Paris, France.
The Sanctuary erupted instantly.
By the time Juniper finally checked his phone again, he and Reggie were sitting at a tiny café near the Seine while Juniper attempted to emotionally recover from:
- the Louvre
- Paris at night
- Reggie buying him pastries because "you looked overwhelmed"
- the fact that Reggie kept touching the small of his back absentmindedly in crowds
Which Juniper absolutely was not thinking about constantly.
His phone buzzed violently.
127 unread messages.
Juniper inhaled sharply.
"Oh no."
Across from him, Reggie looked up from his espresso.
"What?"
"The Sanctuary discovered I'm in France."
Reggie considered this.
"Why is that a problem?"
Juniper stared at him.
"You've never been in a spiritually codependent polycule and it shows."
He opened the chat carefully.
Immediate chaos.
SAGE:
JUNIPER REYES WHAT THE FUCK
NOVA:
HE TOOK YOU TO EUROPE???
RIVER:
this is how emotionally singular attachments begin
ELIAS:
courage refuses to eat
ORION:
i knew Aries men were aviation based threats
Juniper rubbed his forehead.
Reggie watched him with open fascination.
"You all share locations internationally?"
"You don't understand communal intimacy."
"I don't think I want to."
Juniper finally sent a voice note.
Immediately the café went quiet because apparently even Parisian strangers wanted gossip.
Juniper whispered dramatically into the phone:
"Okay first of all everyone calm down. He just brought me to France spontaneously because I mentioned the Louvre."
Silence from the group chat.
Then:
SAGE:
HE WHAT
RIVER:
oh spiritually we are LOSING him
NOVA:
Juniper has become yacht compatible
SAGE:
put him on the phone
Reggie raised an eyebrow.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Sage talks to you like an exorcist."
"That's fair."
Juniper sighed and typed:
it's not serious
we're literally just hanging out
Three dots appeared instantly.
Then:
SAGE:
hanging out is how monogamy starts
Juniper nearly dropped his phone.
Across the table, Reggie watched him carefully.
"What's wrong?"
Juniper looked up too quickly.
"Nothing."
"Your face changed."
"That's invasive."
"It's observant."
Juniper hated that response because unfortunately it was attractive.
His phone buzzed again.
This time:
video call.
The Sanctuary had initiated emergency protocol.
Juniper answered reluctantly.
Ten faces appeared immediately crowded together inside the Chelsea apartment.
Courage was wearing a tiny scarf.
"OH MY GOD," Nova yelled. "You look French already."
"I've been here twelve hours."
"Your energy shifted."
"STOP saying that."
Sage leaned toward the camera intensely.
"Juniper. We need to discuss your aura contamination."
Reggie nearly choked on his espresso.
Juniper pointed accusingly.
"Don't laugh. This is serious to them."
"To THEM?"
Juniper ignored him.
Sage continued grimly:
"You crossed an ocean with an Aries billionaire whose attachment style is visibly carnivorous."
Reggie looked offended.
"I'm sitting right here."
"We know," Sage replied coldly. "Your energy is extremely loud."
Juniper pressed a hand over his face.
This was becoming a diplomatic incident.
River appeared beside Sage holding several crystals.
"We've discussed it collectively," they announced, "and upon your return we'll need a full chakra realignment retreat in Sedona."
Juniper blinked.
"A WHAT."
"Three days minimum."
"With desert grounding."
"And couples energy detoxification."
"There are no couples!"
Dead silence.
Every member of The Sanctuary stared at him knowingly.
Even Courage looked judgmental.
Juniper looked horrified.
"Oh my God. You people are insane."
Sage pointed dramatically through the screen.
"You flew to Paris with him after ONE dinner."
"He has a hypersonic jet!"
"That sentence is exactly the problem."
Reggie leaned back in his chair, visibly entertained now.
"What exactly happens at a chakra realignment retreat?"
Ten people answered at once:
- "sound baths"
- "ego cleansing"
- "guided vulnerability"
- "tantric recalibration"
- "desert fasting"
Reggie looked physically alarmed for the first time since Juniper met him.
"...That sounds terrible."
"It's healing," Sage corrected.
"It sounds like psychological warfare."
Juniper laughed before he could stop himself.
Reggie looked over immediately.
And there it was again:
that tiny softening around his eyes whenever Juniper laughed.
The Sanctuary noticed instantly.
"Oh no," Nova whispered.
"HE'S LOOKING AT HIM AGAIN."
Sage gasped like someone witnessing a murder.
"Juniper," they said gravely, "I need you to understand something very important."
Juniper already hated this tone.
"Aries men do not casually fly people to Paris."
Juniper opened his mouth.
Closed it again.
Because annoyingly—
he had started realizing that too.
The call ended forty minutes later with:
- multiple warnings
- a scheduled emergency aura cleanse
- Orion mailing Juniper "protective moon water"
- Sage threatening to spiritually litigate Reggie
When the screen finally went dark, Juniper slumped dramatically into his chair.
"My life has become unmanageable."
Reggie watched him for a moment.
Then:
"Do they always care about you this much?"
Juniper blinked.
The question sounded strangely careful.
"Yeah," Juniper said softly. "That's kind of the point."
Something unreadable crossed Reggie's face then.
Gone almost immediately.
Like he didn't know what to do with the idea of being cared for communally instead of transactionally.
Juniper's chest tightened unexpectedly.
Then Reggie looked at him over the candlelit café table and said:
"So how bad would it be if I kept you in Paris another week?"
Juniper's soul briefly left his body.