Something Real...

Collapsing onto the blanket, Kie realized for the first time she didn’t have anywhere else she wanted to be.

As he sat beside her, it almost felt like the island didn’t exist beyond the fence. 

Kiara warmly hummed, eyes trailing along the soft dusting of freckles on his face as she leaned closer.

“Pretty sure I know what your new place is missing,” she said, setting the camera down beside her.

“You do?” he asked, leaning back to get a better look at her.

“Mhm, you need a plant or something. Don’t worry, as your temporary roommate, that makes me qualified to help,” she leaned on her back to look up at the sky.

Stars dotted faintly, slipping between soft clouds as the navy blue settled in. There was a long pause as she turned to look at him. His mouth worked, almost as if he was attempting to find the right words. 

“You do realize we don’t have to keep pretending while we’re here, Kie,” he mumbled, fixating on her as if he couldn’t bring himself to look away. ”We don’t have to claim that this is just the roommates thing or whatever bullshit we keep saying to avoid talking about Friday.”

Kie watched the way he reached over to adjust his signet ring on her necklace again.

As if touching it was the only thing keeping any of this real.

The concept of it just being the two of them felt tangible. Something out of a dream. One where none of the bad shit happened and the reality of how fucked up things were didn’t exist. She could almost forget the past, the agreement, and even Lisbon. 

Kie sat up, pushed to her knees and used his shoulder for support to climb into his lap. He sighed, leaning in to press his forehead to hers. The warmth of his breath spilling across her cheeks.

“I mean, think about it. We don’t have to talk about the Kooks or Pogues. My sister isn’t here,” Rafe exhaled slowly, his hand moving up, the back of his fingers brushing along her jaw. “We sure as hell don’t have to be discreet.”

She could hear him swallow as his nose brushed hers.

“Do you have any idea how dramatic you are sometimes?" she whispered, fingers toying with the back of his hair.

“Oh, I’m the dramatic one? But you… you’re refusing to talk about what we’re doing,” he muttered.

“Yes, Rafe. You know you are,” she breathed, shaking her head. “Can we just see what happens?”

Kie felt his hand catch her elbow as he nodded almost reluctantly.

For a moment, it felt real. She focused on the flecks of blue in his irises, noting how similar they were to the faded night sky. His eyes slowly shut while her gaze drifted to his mouth.

It was so quiet, she could hear the catch in her breath.

As the space between them slowly thinned, she allowed herself to think maybe he was right. 

Maybe what they had was good.