Juniper woke up to Reggie physically pulling blankets off him at six-thirty in the morning.
"This is abuse," Juniper mumbled into the mattress.
"We're late."
"For WHAT?"
"You'll see."
Juniper opened one eye slowly.
Rain tapped softly against the brownstone windows. The room still glowed blue with early morning light, and Reggie stood beside the bed already fully dressed in black cashmere like some sort of emotionally unavailable secret agent.
Juniper squinted at him suspiciously.
"You look expensive."
"I am expensive."
"That's spiritually grim."
Reggie checked his watch.
"Get up."
Juniper pulled the blanket dramatically over his head again.
"No."
"It's your birthday."
"That means I should be allowed to sleep until noon like a Renaissance prince."
"You have forty minutes."
Juniper peeked out from the blankets.
"You're weirdly intense for someone whose zodiac sign is basically a head injury."
Reggie sighed.
"Please stop talking about astrology before sunrise."
"YOU fell in love with a Pisces."
"Yes," Reggie said flatly. "A mistake I now live with daily."
Juniper gasped in delight.
"You're joking now. That's emotional growth."
Reggie leaned down suddenly and kissed him slow enough that Juniper immediately forgot his own name.
When Reggie pulled back, Juniper looked deeply offended.
"That was manipulative."
"You're still in bed."
"Fair."
Three hours later Juniper sat barefoot on Reggie's private jet wearing silk pajamas under a massive coat while aggressively eating birthday pastries.
"This better not be another surprise country," Juniper warned.
Across from him, Reggie calmly reviewed documents on an iPad.
"You liked the last surprise country."
"That's not the point."
"You cried in France."
"I cry recreationally."
Reggie looked up briefly.
"That's true."
Juniper narrowed his eyes.
"You're being suspiciously calm."
"That's because I prepared."
"Oh no."
Reggie reached into his bag.
And handed Juniper:
a binder.
Juniper stared at it.
The cover read:
PISCES RELATIONAL CARE STRATEGY
Prepared for Mr. Reggie Vale
Juniper stopped breathing.
"...What."
"You said I wasn't emotionally attentive enough to water signs."
Juniper opened the binder slowly in absolute horror.
Inside:
tabs.
Charts.
Highlighted sections.
Bullet points.
One page literally read:
PISCES REQUIREMENTS:
- emotional reassurance
- ocean proximity
- soft lighting
- artistic stimulation
- forehead kisses
- occasional dramatic suffering
Juniper looked up in disbelief.
"REGGIE."
"My assistant compiled research."
"There are footnotes."
"I requested academic sources."
Juniper flipped pages frantically.
"Oh my God."
"Oh my GOD."
"THIS ONE SAYS 'AVOID RAISING YOUR VOICE DURING MERCURY RETROGRADE.'"
"You seemed adamant about that."
Juniper physically collapsed sideways across the couch laughing.
"This is the most insane thing anyone's ever done for me."
Reggie looked genuinely puzzled.
"You sent me seventeen TikToks about Pisces emotional needs."
"THAT WAS A JOKE."
"You were very convincing."
Juniper grabbed his own face dramatically.
"You made a Pisces dossier."
"Yes."
"You assigned STAFF."
"Yes."
"Oh my God. You're clinically in love with me."
Reggie finally smiled slightly.
"That's been established."
Juniper stared at him helplessly.
God.
How was he supposed to survive this man?
Four hours later Juniper looked out the jet window and frowned.
"There's nothing here."
"Correct."
"Reggie."
"Yes?"
"Why are we landing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."
"You said Pisces recharge best surrounded entirely by water."
Juniper blinked slowly.
"...Did your assistant write that too."
"Yes."
The jet descended through clouds.
And then Juniper saw it.
A tiny island.
Hidden in endless blue ocean near the Azores.
No hotels.
No tourists.
No docks.
Just:
green cliffs
wildflowers
black volcanic rock
and one beautiful little house near the sea.
Juniper stopped functioning instantly.
"Oh."
Reggie watched him carefully now.
Like he'd been waiting for this reaction specifically.
The jet landed on a private strip so discreet it looked fictional.
The second Juniper stepped outside:
ocean wind hit him.
Salt air.
Waves crashing below cliffs.
Nothing else for miles.
No paparazzi.
No board meetings.
No Manhattan.
Just water.
Juniper turned slowly.
"...What is this place."
Reggie slid one hand into his coat pocket.
"I bought it years ago."
"You bought an island."
"Yes."
"That sentence should not be legal."
Reggie ignored him.
"I never brought anyone here before."
Juniper's chest tightened immediately.
Oh no.
No no no.
That was emotionally loaded.
They walked slowly toward the small house overlooking the cliffs.
Wildflowers bent in the wind around them.
The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction.
Juniper felt suddenly, terrifyingly emotional.
Which unfortunately happened constantly around Reggie now.
Inside, the house was warm and simple compared to Reggie's usual billionaire insanity.
Soft blankets.
Books everywhere.
Huge windows facing the sea.
It didn't feel like a status symbol.
It felt private.
Real.
Juniper wandered toward the windows slowly.
"You did all this because I'm a Pisces?"
Reggie walked up behind him.
"Yes."
"That's deeply embarrassing for you."
"Probably."
Juniper laughed softly.
Then Reggie wrapped his arms around him from behind.
Steady.
Certain.
Home.
"My assistant informed me," Reggie said seriously, "that Pisces experience emotional regulation through proximity to meaningful bodies of water."
Juniper made a strangled sound laughing.
"Oh my God."
"So," Reggie continued calmly, "for your birthday I've isolated you on a private island in the Atlantic for optimal emotional enrichment."
Juniper turned in his arms, barely able to breathe from affection.
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"I know."
"You literally kidnapped me to a Pisces habitat."
"Yes."
Juniper looked up at him.
At this impossible man who:
- bought islands
- made binders about astrology
- loved him with terrifying consistency
- learned softness specifically for him
And suddenly Juniper remembered the boy on the sidewalk with lavender matcha dripping down his coat.
The one who looked lonely enough to break the world.
Juniper touched his face gently.
"You know," he said softly, "The Sanctuary still thinks you're spiritually evil."
"That's fair."
"But they also think you worship me."
Reggie didn't hesitate.
"I do."
Juniper's heart gave up completely.
Outside, waves crashed endlessly against the cliffs.
Inside, Reggie kissed him slowly beneath the soft island light while the Atlantic surrounded them entirely.
And for the first time in his life—
Juniper didn't feel trapped by singular love.
He felt found.