Lily still contacts Johnathan when they have a trip to make, but Will texts John on his own time and they never ever talk about work. On top of that, whenever they have a flight, Will makes sure to leave Johnathan a little gift that’s always related to bunnies. 

So far, he has collected a handful of Post-Its with bunny doodles doing various things, a tiny rabbit carved out of an eraser with a penknife and two more bunny origami. Johnathan snaps a photo of each one and sends them to Will to show that he has received Will’s affections. It is a heady feeling to have Will’s affections. Johnathan feels quite blessed. It also makes him guilty for not knowing how to reciprocate in a way that Will appreciates. But he’s working on it.

Johnathan collects these physical items of Will’s friendship in a Tupperware container he buys just to keep them. And on one of Will’s trips to New York, he takes them home for safekeeping. It is where his brother sees them.

“Are those from Mr Phantom, Johnathan?” Henry asks.

He nods, ears warming.

“Ah,” his brother smiles. “So, you’ve been talking to him then.”

“When I have the opportunity,” he answers. Johnathan can feel his brother wanting to go somewhere with this topic. Would it be rude to walk away if he doesn’t want to carry on this conversation he can see in his brother’s eyes.

“Have you been letting Mr Phantom into the cockpit?” Henry wonders with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Johnathan mutters. “We talk during breaks.”

His brother badly conceals a chuckle with a cough. “You mean your toilet breaks.”

He refuses to respond. 

“Surely you can arrange to meet him on other occasions,” suggests Henry. 

“Will is busy,” says Johnathan. He bites his tongue after, knowing that his brother will certainly catch the use of personal names. 

“Have you asked?” Henry says dryly. 

Johnathan has not. Truthfully, he is afraid of mistaking Will’s friendliness for flirtation and can’t bear the thought of Will’s disgust when he finds out about Johnathan’s desires. Instead, he is determined to be content with what friendship he and Will have now. Deep down, he is decidedly not content, but he will strive to be. A friend deserves that.

~

To Henry Saxe, Johnathan’s giant crush was cute. And he was more than happy to let his brother take the occasional time off to fly William around. Especially since despite his extra duties, Johnathan had not slackened on his job as Henry Saxe’s CFO. It was truly remarkable how efficient Johnathan was when motivated.

Johnathan was currently back in New York for the next couple of days until William needed to return to LA. Henry was happy to welcome Johnathan home. He was also glad to see his brother’s little situation going well. To be fair, Johnathan had gotten further than he’d expected though he imagined that was more of Mr Phantom’s influence. But they were stagnating now. 

Apparently, Johnathan was fine with the few moments of interaction he had with Mr Phantom during their flights. Which was fine if Johnathan wanted to be doing that for the rest of his life. But Henry was not fine with it. 

His brother deserved to be happy. And if William was the key to his brother’s eternal happiness, Henry would do everything in his power to nudge them both in the right direction. The family’s rules that Uncle Quentin had instilled in them were, well, really more of a guideline to living well anyway. He decided he would have a business trip to LA.

When Johnathan exited his room after squirrelling away his newfound possessions from William that he thought Henry didn’t know about, Henry announced his travel plans.

“Johnathan,” he called. “Something came up and I must make a trip to LA.” Johnathan eyed him suspiciously. “Do you think Mr Phantom would mind terribly if I hitched a ride on his plane when you fly him back?”

“I don’t,” Johnathan answered. “But I will ask him for you.”

Henry smiled. “Excellent. Thank you, Johnathan.”

Johnathan returns to his room, presumably to ask William for permission on his behalf. Henry laughs into his tea. It’s too amusing. 

~

John

Will, I would like to ask you something.

Will

John!

Ask me anything!! 

John

My brother has business in LA. He is asking permission to take the same flight.

Will

Mr Henry Saxe wants to come to LA with us?

Of course, he’s welcome!

The more the merrier yay!

Johnathan smiles then. Will is unbearably cute even through the phone screen. Perhaps only having about ten minutes to be with Will on every flight is a good thing. Otherwise, he might actually combust from the heat of his desire.

Once more, he exits his room to inform his brother that Will has given permission. 

“Will leaves the day after, at two in the afternoon. Is that too rushed for you?” he asks his brother.

“No, not at all,” Henry smiles. Johnathan narrows his eyes. “Ah, Johnathan, would you mind terribly if I took over you in piloting the plane?”

“You want to fly the plane?” he blinks. That is unexpected.

“Yes,” answers Henry serenely. “It has been a while since I’ve flown, but my next flight review is coming up. I’d like to get in some practice if you don’t mind.”

Johnathan is hesitant. “Henry…” he says.

“There will be a co-pilot, I will be fine. And you can spend the time with Mr Phantom instead, without having to take breaks just to see him,” Henry bribes so blatantly.

He looks askance at his brother, who only returns a guileless smile. Johnathan knows better, of course he does. But Henry is offering a chance to spend a whole flight with Will, instead of the ten minutes he snatches. Johnathan sighs minutely. He already knows he will say yes.

“Alright,” he answers. “I will inform Will.”

But before he can do that, Henry interrupts him. “Perhaps you might like to surprise him?” he suggests.

Johnathan is ashamed that he thinks about it. Still, he agrees. Will is very good at leaving him pleasant surprises. For once, he would like to be the one doing the surprising and making Will smile. If anyone deserves to be happy the way Will makes Johnathan feel, it’s Will himself.

Henry Saxe laughs quietly to himself when he realises, he’s just made himself Johnathan’s literal wingman. He gives himself a mental pat on the back. 

~

Johnathan is nervous. Like all good pilots, Henry had arrived early to prep for the return flight to LA. He had accompanied his brother, thinking to work on the plane while waiting for Will’s arrival. Will is predictably fifteen minutes late.

When he enters the cabin, he’s too busy talking to Ms Pierce to notice Johnathan sitting there. It is only when he stands and Lily notices him, that Will turns to look too. 

“Will. Ms Pierce.” He greets them politely. Lily nods politely at him.

At once, Will’s full attention is on Johnathan. “John!” he cries. “Not that I’m not happy to see you—you look very handsome, John—but shouldn’t you be…there?” he points to the locked doors of the cockpit. 

Johnathan shakes his head. “My brother has volunteered to fly our return trip to LA today.”

“Ah, you Saxe brothers are equally good-looking as you are talented,” Will says with a wink. Johnathan feels his ears burn. “Does that mean you’ll be my in-flight entertainment today?” 

He chances a glance at Ms Pierce. She has already settled in her seat and put in earbuds. Cheeks warm with a mixture of embarrassment and shyness, Johnathan nods.

Will’s delight is incandescent. Johnathan feels breathless yet again. He laughs and reaches for Johnathan’s hand. And he lets Will pull him to the seat across him. “Excellent, I was going to work on the flight until you came out for your toilet breaks—which is so boring! But since you’re here, we’re going to have so much fun!” Will tells him, eyes glinting with mirth. Johnathan’s stomach flutters with anticipation.