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tardytothepardy · 3 years ago

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Fruits Basket - Vol 23

It's the final banquet babyyyy

(i hate how blurry that picture is but my camera just wouldn't fucking focus)(also yeah i colored in the speech bubbles, they were kinda confusing without context and didn't have anything to do with this specific frame)

So everyone's gathered in the main Sohma house, and no one really knows what's going on. They have no idea what to expect. Hiro notes that the grown-ups are "the ones who can't sit still today". Some miscellaneous stuff happens but I'm not sure if it's worth talking about? After the miscellaneous stuff, it is announced that Akito is ready for everyone to see, and out she steps in a kimono (I bet it's red; she'd look great in red, I think) and asks where Shigure is, because he apparently dipped out. Ritsu is in complete awe, does Akito partake in the same hobby he does? No, Ritsu, this is who she is.

There's a brief flashback to the previous book, where Shigure gave her something, and said "I guess you could call it a farewell present." Akito did not take kindly to that at all, and lashed out, accusing him of being the first to abandon her. He asks where she got that idea, he meant that she's finally becoming her own person, rather than the person her father wanted her to be, and his gift was something to commemorate that. Welcome in the new Akito, and all that.

Back to the present, Akito explains that the rest of the Juunishi were able to become their true selves, beyond the curse, and so she decided to as well. She tries to apologize, but she can't-- she knows that won't make up for anything that she did, at all.

It goes back to that memory with Shigure (this chapter is just a series of flashbacks and flashpresents) and he teases her, saying that he didn't know he was so important to her, and Akito insists that wasn't the case, that he was the one that she was most afraid of, the one that strayed the furtherest from her, bond or not. He says he had to keep his cool, be nonchalant, because otherwise he'd explode (ka-blooey). He says that he's childish, and doesn't like getting hurt, he hates losing, and he can't stand sharing things. This causes Akito to basically go Ó///Ò in realization, and he confirms that realization (the realization being that he likes her as well, in case you didn't catch it. It kinda took me a second on first reading, and I'm not exactly explaining this the best), and says that if Akito wants to reject him, now's the time, that if she comes to him again, it'll become a Thing. They'll become a Thing.

Back to the meeting, Akito says that she still wants to live with the Sohma family, because there are still things she feels she needs to do. She still is, at the end of the day, the head of the family, it's her duty (probably). She plans on talking to Ren, which I imagine will go well. After the meeting (I think, I don't think it's before, though timey wimey stuff is difficult), Akito is with Shigure, and he's asking if she wants him to stay at the main Sohma house, and she asks if he's angry about it. The vibe I get from him is "yesn't", honestly, but hey if they're happy, I guess it's fine.

Next chapter!

So there are two exposition characters (I'm sorry but that's really all they are) at school, and one of them sees Kyo. She gets excited, maybe she can go talk to him, and the other thinks he's waiting for Tohru, his girlfriend, to finish up with her tests. The first girl goes, "Whaaa?? When did that happen??", and the second says that it happened shortly after Tohru came back from the hospital. The first girl's hopes and dreams are apparently destroyed, I guess she liked Kyo.

It pans back to Tohru, now finished with her test, and the teacher, Mayu, wishing her a good summer vacation, it'll be her last. She also asks if something happened in the Sohma family, because a certain He seemed a little happier when she saw him yesterday. Tohru took "he" to mean Kyo and Yuki, and was basically like "yeah I guess so". Mayu played it off, yeah yeah those two that's definitely who she meant yeah totally see you next school term byeeee.

At the house (Shigure's house), Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru are talking about the meeting, and how it felt like it came out of nowhere. They were surprised that Tohru already knew about Akito, but she had to pretend she didn't for Akito's privacy (you don't just out people, that's rude). She asks if it was that much of a shock, and Yuki says he's mostly dumbfounded, though there has been a lot going on lately, a lot to think about. Kyo says he feels weird about it, simply because now he knows he's been violent with a woman all this time, but also says something about if Akito was a man, Kyo would be in trouble if there was another guy who liked Tohru. I'm not really sure where he got that idea, but Yuki thought it was pretty funny. It made Tohru realize that the air between Kyo and Yuki had cooled off significantly, and they seemed to be more at ease with each other than they ever had before (i mean in the beginning yuki would sneeze and kyo would be like "and i took that personally", so yeah they've changed a lot). She asked Kyo what had caused that change, and he told her that Yuki beat the crap out of him, and knocked some screws loose, but it was okay. They needed to be loosened.

Later, it seems that Kyo and Tohru went to Kazuma's house, where Kazuma said "I have no regrets. At this point, I'm prepared for death at any time.", because he's happy, y'know? But Tohru and (that other guy whose name completely escapes me wtf) protest at that, saying that you can't say things like that, it's not true! The other whispers to Kazuma that he can't die yet, because when they get married and have kids, he'll be a grandparent, which he seems to like the idea of. He tells Tohru that he eagerly awaits that time, but since Tohru didn't overhear it, she just awkwardly agrees that she also can't wait. (Kyo kinda caught on though)

Izusu comes in, says, "This is stupid, by the way", then walks out before anyone can respond. Tohru follows after her, and Kyo asks what Izusu was saying. Kazuma says that a lot has happened recently, and not everyone is going through the same thing.

Going with Tohru, she finds Izusu in another room, saying that she doesn't get it, how can he (Kyo, presumably) act like nothing's wrong, after all that's happened, and how Tohru can do the same, after she got so hurt?! Those kinds of hurt don't go away easily. Izusu continues, and says that if she had to choose to forgive Akito or not, she wouldn't, because she can't. She doesn't want Akito to apologize, and she can't help but feel like she's doing something wrong, because she can't make herself accept everything and move on. Tohru reassures her that there's nothing wrong with her, she didn't do anything wrong. Izusu wonders if her demeanor will turn Haru away, if it will disappoint him. Tohru says that there's no way that Haru could hate her.

The scene changes to Akito, who is talking to that one old lady who pops up every now and then, but I've never seen her name, who says that Akito went to see Ren again, but heard that she wasn't able to really talk to her. She says it would be faster to chase her out of the house, but it's also possible that Akito complicated things by staying at the house. She continues, saying how it must be nice being young, and being able to change your life so easily. She notes that she was born with the Sohma family, and raised with them, and has lived at the house for sixty years, she couldn't change her life now. Akito says that no one can change every thing, and no one would be asking her to. Maybe all she needs is a helping hand. In the end, the maid simply walks away, but y'know, not everyone wants to change, or feels like they can, it's fine.

In the next chapter, it seems like it's the date with Tohru and Kyo that Uotani and Hanajima decided to tag along with. Kyo is thinking back to that moment when he tore off his bracelet, and how afterward, Tohru picked up all the beads. She put them in a little bowl in her room, next to the picture of her mom. In the moment, he could only watch as she did it, and in all honesty he wouldn't have minded if she had tossed them into a fire, but it also occurred to him that he might regret not having them. As he watched Tohru pick up the beads, he thought of it like she was "protecting both the me of now and the me of the future". Alternatively, and this one is a bit spoopy, she was gathering the memories of the people over the (many, many, many) years that had worn that bracelet. Either way, he realized that loving someone isn't just about loving the person as they currently are, but as they were, and as they will be.

That's what he thinks anyway.

I mentioned the date but I didn't talk about it at all. They went to a zoo, Uotani got excited about seeing elephants, and they went to a place with cats, and the cats did not care either way about Kyo. It was neat. By the end of the day, Tohru went off to use the bathroom, leaving Kyo with Hanajima and Uotani. This is when Hanajima asks Kyo if he's going to take Tohru away with him. She knew the time would come, eventually, when she, Uotani, and Tohru, would part ways, but it still hurts to think about. Uotani says that, despite how they might act, they do like Kyo, even if they think he's a bit of a dumbass (Uotani's words, btw), and it's because they both think he's a good guy. He just has to take care of Tohru, because she's like family to them, so he'd best not fuck up.

When Tohru comes back, Kyo says there's a place that he wants to take Tohru before going home. Can we go see what Yuki's up to first? Okay yeah we're going to do that now, we'll get back to Tohru and Kyo, don't worry.

So Yuki's at Kakeru's place, and it seems that they're talking about their college plans. Apparently Yuki's going to a college pretty far away from where they're currently at, but if they have subjects that he's interested in, it's fine. (I don't think it's ever said what exactly those subjects are. Like, what's his major? Do I really care? Eh. But it's still nice to know. Same thing for Kakeru, what is he doing?) When Yuki says he'll be living on his own, Kakeru asks if he can manage, he doesn't want to go for a visit and see an emaciated Yuki (living on like,, partially-cooked instant ramen noodles, and several scattered half-empty water bottles in a nest of laundry and schoolwork). Yuki is more optimistic, saying he's going to learn by doing (so that means those cups of instant ramen will be completely cooked). Apparently he told Machi about it and she's fine with it, though she would not be fine if she heard Kakeru saying that anyone is "climbing the stairway to adulthood" which honestly I wouldn't be fine with that either, that just sounds stupid.

Komaki asks how Yuki's going to get the money to live somewhere, and Yuki says that he considered asking his parents, but in the end he asked Ayame to help. Ayame was overjoyed to help, and went nuts to find a place that would suit Yuki's needs (Or be the foundation of his "empire", as he phrased it).

When asked about college, Kakeru said he'd go, not because he really wants to, but mostly because people keep telling him to. He was planning on taking over Komaki's family business (they run a laundry service), but he supposes he'll go anyway.

Later, Machi shows up with a package of meat, which Komaki was very excited about. Kakeru trotted out his "stairway to adulthood" line on Machi, and Machi punched him in the face along with the meat, she somehow balanced the meat on her fist to smash into Kakeru's face, much to Komaki's distress (over the meat, not Kakeru).

Anyway, let's go back to Tohru and Kyo.

Kyo took Tohru to the graveyard, and they're standing at the Honda's family tombstone(memorial? thingie? idk), and he says that after he graduates, he wants to leave, because he's spent his whole life up until pretty recently avoiding life, and not letting himself get involved in things. But now that he's a normal person, he wants to live in the world as a normal person, with Tohru, and because of all of this, he wants to go outside of this place that he's been his whole life. Tohru asks where he's planning to go, and he says that Kazuma knows someone with a dojo, but it's really far from where they presently live. He says he's planning on going there first, attending the dojo while he works, and then one day, he'll inherit Kazuma's dojo, using the experience from the first dojo. He hesitates on asking Tohru to break away from everything and everyone she's known to go off with him, but Tohru agrees, and says she wants to go with him, as soon as possible.

There is one thing that Tohru wants to tell Kyo, and it's that she's sure that her mom never hated him. Even if she did say that she would never forgive him, Tohru is confident that she didn't say it out of hate, she knows it. She will go along with Kyo, even if it hurts to leave everyone else, because it would hurt her more to be apart from him (🥺). To end this section, Kyo says that he'll keep the promise he made to Kyoko about Tohru, all that while back, and he'll keep it for his whole life.

(don't mind me i'm just screeching and wheezing simultaneously this shit is too much i'm gonna die)

Onto the next section, it actually has to do with Kyoko and Katsuya. Mostly Kyoko, and her last thoughts before she died. At first, it was weird. What's going on? She can't hear anything, she doesn't even really hurt. Why is it so dark? Oh crap, Tohru! She can't leave yet, she doesn't want to leave Tohru alone, she only just got into high school. She hopes that she loved her enough, and that Tohru knew that, though she wished she could have had more time to love Tohru. She finally understands, though, that leaving people behind and being left behind, they're both so hard. She hopes that someone can be there for Tohru, to protect her, stay with her as she cries.

She then sees Kyo, and recognizes him as the little orange-haired kiddo she used to talk to sometimes, and hopes that even if he forgets about her, that the next time Tohru gets lost, Kyoko wants him to find her, even just once. If he doesn't do that, she'll never forgive him(that's what she meant, out of what he heard, by the way). She hopes that he can somehow take her place, and protect Tohru, and let her be happy, let her be loved by lots of people. Even if she gets lost or makes a mistake, Kyoko wants Tohru to be proud of the life she lived.

Then she wakes up in a place. I don't really know what the place looks like, but I imagine it as a light blue shimmery place, and she can see someone walking towards her, from a distance. Katsuya. Suddenly she's young again, with her long hair and uniform, and she can be with the man she loves again. (🥺😭 dissolves in my tears)

There's a time skip, now Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, Hanajima, and Uotani have graduated, and it soon after shows Tohru and Kyo cleaning up their rooms, and reminiscing about when Tohru first arrived. A lot has changed in that time, it's incredible. Tohru thinks on how she will miss everyone, and all the things that have happened (in the span of a year, right? This all mostly happened within a year or two?). Kyo then says that everyone loves and appreciates her, and it's not like she'll never see any of them again, it's just the start of something new. Then Tohru's stomach grumbles and she gets embarrassed (oh no im hungry how embarrassing 😖)

We then jump to Yuki and Machi, and Yuki gives Machi a key to his new place, because he doesn't want her to think that he's cheating on her (why would she think that???) and then nearly fuckin yeets it out the window when she says that she's not worried that he'd do that. (So he does want her to have trust issues? Yuki, dude, you're confusing me on this) I think that Machi is a year behind Yuki, so she won't be starting college the same time as he will, but she promises that she'll follow after him and be back with him as soon as she can, which is very sweet.

This whole section is mostly jumping from one group of people to the next, so I think I'll try to summarize:

Ritsu and Kagura are talking, it seems that Ritsu is giving Kagura his old kimonos. He's cut his hair shorter, and he mentions how Shigure apparently has quit being an author, much to the relief of his editor, Mitsuru. Kagura asks if Ritsu is going to marry Mitsuru, which leaves him very flustered. Kagura still is hung up on Kyo, and says that she'll see Kyo and Tohru go just to see Kyo. She won't well wish them, because she knows that they'll be happy regardless.

Hiro and Kisa are walking past Shigure's old house, speculating on what is going to happen to it. Hiro says he thinks it will stay as it is for a while, which makes Kisa happy. She hopes that it can stay up and that a new household can live in it. She then starts crying, thinking about Kyo and Tohru leaving, but she says that she will smile when she sees them go, on the next day. Hiro tells her to not be upset over crying, that she can cry as much as she wants, because he knows how much Tohru means to Kisa.

Haru, Izusu, and Momiji are talking, and Haru mentions how Hatori said that eventually, Shigure's gonna get punched in the face, but he never did. Momiji says that it didn't happen because they are all more mature than Shigure. He says as an aside that he doesn't think it should be allowed that Kyo is "taking away" Tohru, because he's being selfish, and that he wants to pinch Kyo. Haru asks why he shouldn't do it tomorrow, and Momiji says that he can't do it in front of Tohru, but this whole thing has given Momiji a new sense of motivation, to find the best girlfriend in the world, and then he'll show her off to Kyo (not the best motivation to find a partner but okay). Izusu pops up by saying that she thinks Tohru should break up with Kyo. I'm not sure why though.

It's shown that Hanajima is working at Kazuma's place as a cook, which is something that Kyo was not pleased to find out, but despite his best efforts, The Guy Who is Also There at the Dojo Whose Name I Cannot Remember can't figure out how to get her to leave. Kazuma says that he will miss Kyo, but he won't worry about him. He's in good hands now.

Uotani is on the phone with Kureno, saying that she'll send his regards to Tohru and Kyo. She also says that she will miss Tohru, but she's also excited for her, for the both of them. She asks if the cherry blossoms are blooming yet, and that she'll have to make her way out to see them (and Kureno) soon.

Ayame and Mine are sending well wishes gifts in the form of big flouncy dresses, for Tohru (who I imagine would be flattered but I doubt she would wear them). Mine says that now that the time has come, she finds this sensation of "children leaving the nest" to be lonely, and Ayame agrees, and says that's exactly why adults put obnoxious amounts of love into cardboard boxes with instant ramen, socks, maid outfits, what have you. (They then say that they're going to send similarly flouncy dresses to Yuki, who I doubt will respond kindly)

Mayu and Hatori are on a date, and he offers to take her with him on a summer vacation to Okinawa. He says he's never been on a "decent" vacation, and that he wants to see the country. Mayu starts cracking up at the idea of Hatori in a swimsuit, then sobers quickly at the idea of herself in one, saying that her figure isn't ideal for a swimsuit (from the way she talked about herself I think she'd be all the rage in early 2000's Western fashion).

Akito says that she's not going to see Tohru and Kyo leave, saying that if she wants to visit Tohru, she'll go and see her, but I imagine it's also for the sake of everyone else that would be there.

Finally, we end with Yuki going to talk to Tohru. He tells her that he's happy about all that has happened, and that he's glad that he has gotten to this point. He says that he was weak, that he couldn't handle being around people, but he wanted to be loved, and be needed. All he ever did, he says, is want. But during that crucial time, Tohru appeared, and fulfilled that wish without even trying. He learned so much from her, and she gave him what he needed, and that's how he is able to be the person he presently is. And he also finally says that she was basically his mother, in a way. He wonders if she was like that to everyone, with how warm, welcome, and gentle she is to everyone she meets. He goes on to say that in this time, when everyone is parting ways, everyone is thinking of Tohru, wondering if she's happy, if she's crying, if she's doing well. Finally, he thanks her, and says that he's so glad that he got to meet her, and that she was there for him, and for all of them. (He also actually says her name, which he's never done, I don't think. It's always been "Honda-san", but never "Tohru", but now he's said it. There's really not an English version of that, as far as I'm aware, but from what I know, it is a pretty significant thing.)

There's a little bit of an epilogue, showing a child walking into a house, asking where Tohru and Kyo are. A woman replies saying, "That's Grandma and Grandpa to you!", but the child pouts and says that Grandma said she could call her by her name, and that they left her behind again on their walk. The woman tells her to not get in the way of their "lovey-dovey alone time", and there's a final establishing shot of Tohru and Kyo walking together, holding hands, with Kyoko's words: "Repeat the good, and the bad. Do it all, and pile on the years."

And that's the end!

I think I'm heartless, because I didn't cry at the end. I wanted to, but I didn't. Overall, I really liked this series! It was a lot of fun to read, a lot of shit goes down, it was a rollercoaster. Thinking back on how the story started, knowing some of the events that occurred before the story started, it all kinda leaves a bitter taste in my mouth (mainly the teasing that Kyo gets about him "training in the mountains", and knowing what was actually going on, it's kinda hard to laugh now 😬). One thing that I was kinda expecting the story to mention, but never did, was Izusu's mark on her back. It looks like some kinda of scar, but I never saw anything addressing it. Now that I think about it, it could have been from a number of things, but it was never said explicitly, which I think is weird. I think I'm gonna leave it here (I'm typing this last portion on my phone at 3:45am so it could be better).

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cynicallystiles · 4 years ago

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Seasons of Love: The One with Prom Night

Disclaimer: Moodboard made by me. Pictures found on Google!

Author: @cynicallystiles

Request: @itrocksmysocks basically requested this by making me obsessed with the triplets a year ago.

Warning: Swearing maybe.

Notes: The long awaited series is here! The whole thing still isn’t finished ahead of time like I wanted. So, we’ll see if I actually stay on schedule with this one. Credit to @thotmendes for imagining the triplets into existence about a year ago! Thanks for your patience! Please COMMENT/REBLOG if you enjoy it!

Pairing: Kallie Hayes (OC) x Mendes Triplets

Masterlist Series Masterlist

Chapter One Chapter Three

Words: ~3.6k

She cheers as she pumps her fist in delight. "Yess!" He chuckles while she jumps to her feet and does a cute little dance. "Can we go now??"

"After dinner." He watches her push out her bottom lip and sit down next to him again. "Kallie," he groans slightly. "Mom's almost done with dinner. It'd be rude to skip," he reminds her.

She sighs, scooting in and laying her head on his shoulder to watch the sunset. "You're right," she concedes. "But, right after?" She tilts her head slightly to look up at him.

"Right after," he promises. She goes back to looking at the multitude of colors in the sky, while he rests his head on hers. He loved being the one that she counted on for comfort. It was something that had started on the night of their prom during their last year in high school.

Raul sat on the couch in his living room the night of their last prom of high school. He swirled the thumbsticks of his controller vigorously to complete a challenge while his brothers were in their rooms getting ready.

Prom was in about two hours and despite their and Kallie's begging, he had decided he wasn't going. He didn't have a date (not for lack of girls asking), and he didn't like dressing up anyway. It wasn't his scene and nothing was gonna change his mind.

Peter and Shawn enter the living room in varying degrees of being dressed for the prom. Raul barely looks at them as he continues with his game. "Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Peter questions.

"It's gonna be our last big thing together before graduating," Shawn reminds him. All he does is roll his eyes with a sigh.

Shaking his head, the only thing that sounds in the living room for a moment is the clicking of his controller and the low level of the game on the television. That is until a pounding sounds on the door. The two boys not preoccupied with the game look toward the front of the house.

"Who's that?" Shawn questions.

Peter just shrugs as he takes a step toward the door. "Your fly is still open," Raul points out without looking. Peter looks down and frantically zips it when they hear the door open and rapid footsteps head toward them.

Kallie appears in the entryway, hair already done professionally by the salon she loves but no makeup covering her ivory features. She's breathing heavily and for a moment, Shawn thinks it's because she sprinted from her house down the street.

But then he sees the light glint off of her wet cheeks and notices her red nose and the puffiness forming around her eyes. He rushes over as she fully enters the room and takes her by her shoulders to look over her.

"What happened?? Are you okay?" His eyes don't see anything physically wrong, which is a relief. But, that still begged the question of why she was in such a state.

She sniffles loudly and opens her mouth to explain. "Eli...he, uh," she tries to get through it but she hiccups and her face scrunches up in sadness. "He texted..." a whimper falls from her lips and she can't even finish.

At this point, Raul has paused his game and is turned on the couch to observe the situation. Peter is standing in stunned silence by the other entrance to the room. Shawn carefully takes the phone clutched tightly in her hand to scroll through the messages from her boyfriend.

His eyebrows furrow together and he clenches his jaw. Make that her ex-boyfriend. Without a word, he pulls her into him and carefully lays his hand on the back of her head as not to mess up the stylist's work. He doesn't even care that he's wearing pants without a belt and his shirt isn't buttoned at all.

"I'm gonna kill him," he promises through clenched teeth. No one hurts his best friend and gets away with it. He feels her shake her head as she pulls away.

"No," she murmurs, the tears finally settling down. "I kind of felt this coming...I just didn't expect him to do it on prom night." She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "I don't know if I can go alone and see him with her..."

Shawn shakes his head. "Of course, not. I'm gonna be your date now," he offers.

"Shawn," she sighs. "I'm not letting you ditch your date to take me." Peter steps forward and opens his mouth. "No. Nuhhuh!" She warns as she looks between the two. "Neither of you are dumping your dates for me. I can suck it up for one night."

Shawn and Peter frown. Neither of them thinks that she should have to go alone. How dare he ruin her months of planning to go with another girl. Their thoughts are interrupted by a serious tone, "No, you won't."

The three of them turn at the same time to see Raul standing up and the television has already been turned off. She sniffles again, brows scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he sighs, walking over to them. Peter silently does the same. "You're not going to prom alone. I'm gonna take you," he declares.

Peter snorts but quickly tries to cover it up and Shawn starts to laugh. Kallie just stares at him incredulously. "Wha-but you hate this stuff," she points out.

"I don't hate you." He arches one eyebrow and looks away as if that explained everything. She gapes at him for a long moment. "What color is your dress?"

Kallie stutters out, "It's, uh...it's lilac purple. Why?"

"Don't worry about it," Raul instructs and shoves his hands into his sweatpants. "Go home, finish getting ready...I'll be over to pick you up in an hour and a half."

Exchanging bewildered glances with Peter and Shawn, Kallie does as she's told and finishes getting ready at her house. She sits on the couch anxiously after finishing up. Not five minutes later, there's a knock at the door.

She quickly answers it to find Raul a couple of steps back with his head down. Hearing the door, he lifts his eyes from Kallie's feet to her face. His eyes twinkle a tiny bit seeing her all dolled up.

Kallie notes how odd it is that his tie and pocket square match her dress so nicely this last minute. He pulls his hand from behind his back to produce a plastic box with a tastefully sized corsage and boutonnière made of actual lilacs.

She raises her eyebrows. The surprises just kept coming apparently. "Shawn and Peter are picking up their dates. They'll meet us there," Raul clues her in and moves to put the corsage on her left wrist.

Fastening his flower on the lapel of his black jacket, she whispers, "I'm not even gonna ask how you pulled this together so quickly." A slight amusement tinges her voice and a smirk pulls at his lips. "But, thank you..."

"Any time," he responds. She looks up from the lapel. Her green eyes pop against the black of her mascara and the light purple shimmer across her lids. His breath catches slightly before he clears his throat and offers his elbow. "Shall we?"

"We shall," she giggles in return.

Raul was the perfect date the whole night. From pulling out her chair for her to refilling their drinks. Despite all the single girls clamoring for his attention (his bad-boy exterior had every girl crushing hard), he stayed glued to Kallie's side.

And when she sat watching Eli, her ex, dance with the girl he left her for, Raul made sure to take her out to the floor to dance. He made a fool of himself with his long limbs and no idea how to use them. But, it brightened her mood and so he didn't care.

He even slow danced with her, making sure that Eli was looking in her direction when he spun her under his arm producing her beautiful giggle. It was magical. After the king and queen were crowned, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Wanna get out of here?"

Kallie nods immediately. Despite having spent ages planning and looking forward to this night, she wanted nothing more than to go do something else with Raul. He laces his fingers with hers and leads her out to his car where he holds open her door.

They find themselves at a local park, walking the concrete running path with absurdly large waffle cones clutched in their hands. She had traded her heels for silver sandals she had packed in case her feet started to hurt. His tie was abandoned in the car, leaving his shirt unbuttoned slightly.

The silence between them was comfortable. It always had been since they started hanging out. He wasn't really much of a talker, and with her, he didn't really need to be. She found comfort in the silence that filled the air between them and she liked that he wasn't one for shallow conversations.

After finishing their cones, they wander across the grass to sit side by side on the swing set. She lets the tip of her toes slowly rock her back and forth. Raul grips the chains of the swing, allowing him to lean back into the open air lazily.

Kallie flips a curl out of her eye as she turns in the swing to face him. "Hey," she says softly.

"Yeah?" He leans back up and shifts to look at her.

She smiles to herself and meets his soft hazel eyes that look more brown in the dark. "Thank you...for being my date tonight." He chuckles slightly and rolls his eyes. "No, I'm serious," she laughs. He returns his gaze to hers while she continues. "You didn't have to save me from embarrassment and you did."

"I didn't," he argues casually. Kallie's eyebrows twitch together briefly. "You were never gonna be an embarrassment, Kallie. Date or no date, you were the prettiest girl there."

A furious blush rises to her cheeks. "Thanks." She smiles despite feeling suddenly nervous under his gaze. Her body shivers and she inhales slightly.

"You're cold," Raul realizes and moves quickly to take off his suit jacket.

"No, I'm fine-" she tries to argue but he's already settling his jacket on her shoulders. Kallie watches how his brows knit together while he makes sure the jacket is securely resting around her. Her eyes flit to his hands where they linger as he plays with one of her curls.

When she looks back up at him, the distance between them is less. Raul looks back up from his hand to her eyes with a soft smile. For the first time since she's known him, Kallie notices how innocent he looks. Normally, he's a bad boy. A player. Innocent wasn't in his vocabulary.

But at that moment, she remembers that he has the same face as her other best friends. The same one as Shawn, who cries while watching romantic dramas with her, and the same one as Peter, who doesn't have an insincere bone in his body. And she wonders how she never saw it.

"It's all fake isn't it?" She blurts out.

He tilts his head curiously. "I don't know what-"

"Your reputation," Kallie interrupts. "You're not a player at all..."

Raul chuckles and hangs his head for a moment. He looks back up and all of his aloofness is gone. "You figured me out."

"Sorry, I didn't sooner," she whispers, her gaze flicking to the playful smirk on his lips. He shakes his head slightly, his smile growing.

Licking his lips, he leans closer. Her breathing gets shallow and her eyelids flutter closed. Raul's lips brush against hers sending a shockwave of goosebumps over her. With a slight jitter, he slides his hand to the back of her neck and pushes his lips forward.

It's a soft kiss. He doesn't kiss too fast, or too much. Just his plush lips against hers for a few long moments. Raul doesn't want to pressure her or make her uncomfortable. It was sweet. When he pulls back, he nudges his nose against hers and swipes his thumb along her cheek quickly.

She lets out a tiny, content breath and opens her eyes. Before she can say anything, a buzzing sound startles her. Kallie clutches her chest and giggles while Raul reaches carefully into an inside pocket of his jacket.

"Yeah?" He deadpans when he puts the phone to his ear.

"Yeah? Man, where did you guys go?! You've been gone for like an hour!"

Kallie chuckles when she hears the boys on the other side of the line. He rolls his eyes and responds, "We left. Whole thing was getting lame."

She watches carefully at how easily he puts on the disinterested tone. It really marveled her to watch him play the part. As she tunes back into the conversation, she hears the end of it.

"Yeah, we'll meet you at home. Drop your dates off at home...this is for Musketeers only." With that, he hangs up and looks at Kallie with a wink. "Let's go."

He grabs her hand and stands up to lead her back to the car. When they meet back up with Shawn and Peter, the two automatically act like nothing had happened. But both of them never forgot about it.

It was an innocent kiss. One that was a result of being caught up in the moment. Kallie didn't know why he had kissed her that night, or even why she kissed him back. But, she never brought it up. So, neither did he.

The two of them head back into the house and settle in at the table for dinner. Neither of them notices the slightly curious looks from Shawn and Peter. Or if they do, they ignore them. Dinner is yummy as usual, but a little less energetic than it would have been if not for the sale of the cabin.

Kallie and Peter help Karen clear the table and load the dishwasher before heading back into the living room. Shawn and Raul have already immersed themselves in a video game round and they're equally matched. She clears her throat loudly from behind the couch.

Shawn answers before Raul can, "One sec, Kal. I've almost got him, then we can chill."

"Sure, you do," Raul chuckles as he promptly wins the round and sets the controller on the coffee table in front of them. "I promised her ice cream after dinner," he explains as he stands up.

Peter plops down in his seat and picks up the controller to play with Shawn, but he sets his down as well. "Oh, sweet. Let me get my jacket and we can all get some," he says happily unaware as he heads toward the stairs.

"Actually," Kallie calls after him with an apologetic look, "this is kind of just me and Raul's thing. Like a tradition..." Her voice is soft as she lets him down gently. It was never easy for her to exclude any of the boys from her activities with the others. But, they all had their separate things with her. It was only fair.

Peter sinks lower into the couch, the awkwardness from the exclusion making him uncomfortable. "Right..." Shawn concedes slowly.

It stung a little considering this was the first time she was admitting to having a 'special' thing to do with him. He was okay when it was with Peter because he didn't feel threatened by him anymore. But, with Raul it's different. He's always had the jealousy bug when it comes to him and he could never quite shake it.

Seeing the disappointed look, she crosses the room and pulls him into a hug by his neck. He returns it gratefully while sneaking a glare in Raul's direction. He just rolls his eyes at the envy. "Stop that," she whispers, knowing what he thinks he's getting away with. "I'll text you after he drops me off," she promises.

"Okay." He grins into her shoulder at that comment, knowing that he'll be the last one she sees tonight.

After releasing Shawn, she heads over to the couch and leans down to kiss Peter on the cheek. He returns the gesture softly like he always does. "See you at breakfast," he says quietly with a smile. Peter never seemed to care that she split her time with all three of them. He was just happy that she enjoyed the time they spent together as much as he did.

"Not if I see you first, Picasso," she responds playfully with a wink.

Raul grabs the helmets for his motorcycle and leads her outside. She gives one last tiny wave before closing the door. Shawn immediately sits back down to resume the game with Peter. As the two click away on their controllers, Shawn breaks the silence.

"You have to tell me that you're at least bothered by her getting on that death trap with him," he laments exasperatedly.

Peter shrugs one shoulder. "Yes! Of course, it bothers me," he sighs. "But, I have to trust that even though he's reckless...he would never be reckless with her."

"...you're right. That helps," Shawn breathes out, a little calm washing over him at Peter's wise words. Though he said the words out loud, and also had her promise, there was still a little weight in his chest that wouldn't go away until the next time he sees her.

Later that night, Shawn paces around his room with occasional glances out his window to see if Raul was home. It was just before midnight and they had already been out for hours. There was no way that they had only gone out for ice cream. They had to be doing something else.

The rest of the house is asleep when the sound of Raul's motorcycle cut through Shawn's anxious thoughts. He quickly scrambles to turn off his desk lamp so it doesn't seem like he was waiting up. Though, he peeks through his blinds to watch him walk up the driveway to the porch.

Once he was out of sight, Shawn jumps into bed and pretends to be asleep as he hears Raul try to creep past his door to his own room. He was terrible at being stealthy. Shawn waits for the opening and close of Raul's door before sitting up in bed.

He glances at his phone, counting backward, "Three...two...one..." Like clockwork, Kallie's name flashes across his screen and he grabs it on his way out the door. He didn't need to read it, it always said the same thing.

He creeps downstairs, much better than Raul ever could, and quietly leaves out the front door. He pauses under the roof of the porch to throw his hood up and then takes off at a sprint down the street. Shawn hasn't even broken a sweat by the time he reaches her backyard.

Shawn sends a short text as he looks up at her window and waits. The lamp next to the window turns on and it quietly shifts open. Kallie leans out over the sill to beam down at him. "You're getting slower, Mendes," she teases.

"As if, Hayes," he scoffs. "Send it down," he demands impatiently.

She rolls her eyes and disappears from the window before a rope ladder unfolds down the side of the house. He begins to climb the homemade contraption, quickly but carefully. They had to get innovative after Shawn almost broke the trellis he used to climb and they almost got caught.

After carefully maneuvering through the window, Shawn helps her tuck the ladder back under her bed for now. He kicks off his shoes and takes off his jacket as she closes the window and her blinds before turning back to him. She leans against it coyly with her legs crossed.

Shawn can't help the way his eyes trail up the smooth skin of her legs to her pajama shorts. Kallie notices and raises a brow at him. "Stare much?" She chuckles as she stands and walks toward him.

"Well," he begins, his cheeks slightly red. He meets her in the middle of the room at the foot of her bed. "I can't really help it," he laughs.

She looks up at him, the foot of height difference stretching between them. "Is that right?" She smirks. He shrugs, returning the same look. Slowly, she grabs the hem of her shirt and twists it over her head. Nothing underneath but bare, soft skin.

Shawn chuckles, the sound coming out strangled and weak. He chews on the inside of his cheek as he smiles reluctantly. "That's not fair," he groans out.

"It isn't?" She plays innocent as she closes the space between them. He shakes his head, not hiding the flicker of his gaze to her chest. Kallie stands on her tiptoes as she rests her hands on Shawn's chest to whisper in his ear, "Then, why don't you do something about it?"

His eyes immediately gaze into hers, the lamplight making his usual dark brown eyes seem slightly golden. He grabs her suddenly by the waist, pulling her hips against his. She lets out a surprised gasp as her hands slide to his biceps. "I will," he almost growls.

With that, he leans down and crashes his lips into hers.

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