#kenjilynn

These aren't that greaf but idc I'm just getting all the sillies out because I'm going through sad stuff and this is making me happy so let me enjoy Kenlynn ok 😭

"This is super suspicious, D," Kenji commented, slinging his sleeping bag over his shoulder as he and Darius strode down a camping trail.

Darius glanced over at his adopted brother and raised an eyebrow. He adjusted his backpack onto his shoulders, silently wishing he had packed lighter for their camping trip... and that he had even a fraction of the muscular definition that Kenji had.

"What makes you say that, Kenj?" He asked, glancing around at the high trees overhead. The sun was high in the sky and he blinked harshly against the glare.

"Your-- our mom claimed that we were having a family camping trip," Kenji started.

"... And?"

"And she and Brant ditched us to go stay in some other part of the forest. Without us," He complained, crossing his arms.

"She said it was for... brotherly bonding," Darius tried, though he had to agree with him. 

"Without Brant?" Kenji finally inquired. Darius sighed. None of this was making any sense. Why were him and Kenji being alienated from this trip? Brant and their mother hadn't told them anything. They just beamed ear to ear as they ushered them down a different forest path alongside a map to guide the way. Something about a… surprise. What surprise would be out here?

"And now we have to go to some specific camp site two miles from here. My legs are going to be killing me," Kenji continued dramatically, pulling out the map of the numerous campsites scattered about the forest.

Darius rolled his eyes good-naturedly before he glanced over at the map. "Uh, Kenj... You're holding the map upside down," He advised with a chuckle.

Kenji squinted hardly at the map. His cheeks lightly dusted pink in embarrassment as he quickly turned the map to its proper orientation. "I knew that. I'm a master at directions, remember?"

Darius only snorted in amusement as they continued their walk. Eventually, they made it to a lovely grotto carved into the side of a small rock face. A natural green curtain hung across the small cave entrance, decorated with yellow zinnias. Two glass lanterns with candles lit inside were hung in front of the cave mouth, supposedly there to illuminate the surroundings at night. Hung above the lanterns was a painted banner with bold letters that read "Welcome, Nublar Six!" 

Darius and Kenji looked at each other with baffled expressions. They rushed inside, eager to see if their suspicions were true. They passed a few more flickering lanterns that illuminated their path. The interior of the grotto was small and cozy, but sizable enough for a good portion of people to bunker down inside. It was fully lit thanks to lanterns and tiki torches. Brightly colored paper lanterns and streamers hung from the ceiling, coupled by a few chrysanthemum garlands.

Sitting in the center of the cave around a foldable table lit with candles were Sammy and Yasmina. Everyone's jaws dropped as their gazes landed on each other.

Sammy was the first to make a sound-- a loud, high-pitched squeal. She jumped to her feet and booked it over to the brothers, arms wide. She pulled Darius into a tight bear hug, lifting him off the ground and squeezing the breath out of him.

"Oh my goodness! You're here! You're really here!" She chirped, eventually setting Darius down. He slightly staggered, winded. She turned to Kenji and did the same to him. "I was just telling Yaz how excited I was to see her and now you guys are here too! What are the odds?! I must be dreamin'!" 

Yasmina came over with a grin and pulled Darius into a less forceful embrace than Sammy had. “Darius, it’s so good to see you.”

”It’s so great to see you!” Darius grinned back, returning the hug. Meanwhile, Kenji had lifted Sammy into the air and was spinning her around in a circle, their laughter echoing off the cave walls. 

Kenji eventually turned his attention to Yaz and she smirked at him. “Good to see you again… dingus.”

”You know you missed me, Yaz,” Kenji declared, pulling her into a hug. Yaz groaned but hugged him back with an embarrassed look as Sammy giggled at her girlfriend’s reaction.

Once they stepped back from the embrace, Darius tilted his head. “What are you two doing here? Aren’t you two supposed to be in Texas and Montana?”

”We were, but I was speaking with Yaz just a second ago, and our parents decided to take us on a camping trip... At the exact same time,” Sammy answered, gesturing to herself and Yaz. “I thought it was odd coming all the way up to California for that, but I’m glad I did! I get to see two of my best friends in the world and my awesome girlfriend!!” She clapped eagerly, practically radiating joy as she pulled Yaz into a side hug. Yaz chuckled, cheeks blushing.

”Only two?” A familiar voice asked.

Everyone spun around to find Ben and Brooklynn standing at the mouth of the tunnel.

”Hey, guys,” Ben waved, his eyes reflecting his amazement.

”Brooklynn! Ben!” Kenji exclaimed and immediately ran to his girlfriend. He kissed Brooklynn on the cheek. “It feels like forever since I’ve seen you in person!” He then turned to Ben and pat him on the shoulder. “Both of you!”

”It has been a while,” Ben agreed with a nod. Everyone began exchanging a series of hugs and greetings. The cave bounced their excited clamoring off the walls.

”It’s been far too long. This is amazing! How are we all here at the same place and same time??” Sammy questioned.

Ben’s gaze grew thoughtful. “I think this has something to do with our parents scheming behind our backs. They must’ve organized this.”

”I thought my dads have been off this weekend,” Brooklynn nodded in agreement. “Now I guess I know why. They’re terrible at keeping secrets.”

“So we have the next few days to hang out?! All six of us?!” Sammy squealed. 

“It appears so,” Darius grinned at the prospect. The next three days with his group of friends, most of whom he hadn’t seen past a video call in months? What could be a better way to spend the weekend? 

"Then we don’t have time to waste, gang! Let's get this reunion party started!" Kenji declared, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He scrolled through his playlist and soon, the cave was filled with the beat of loud dance music.

Sammy giggled and pulled Yaz into a wild dance number. Yaz frantically tried to keep up with her, giggling as she did so.

Kenji dramatically extended his hand to Brooklynn with a bow. “May I have this dance?”

Brooklynn snorted in amusement with a smile as she put a hand in his. “Of course.”

As the two started dancing to the upbeat tune together, Darius and Ben stared at each other. They were obviously the only two without a dance partner.

Darius grinned and extended his arms. “Alright, island boy. Wanna be my dance partner?”

”I’m not the best dancer…” Ben trailed off in embarrassment before shrugging it away. “Ah, what the heck?” 

The two began dancing of their own accord, sometimes pulling the other into spins or other dance moves.

Eventually Darius ended up dancing with Brooklynn, and then Sammy. Sammy was the hardest to keep up with. He found himself out of breath by the time the song ended and the six collapsed onto the floor. Laughter filled the room.

”Oh! I brought candy!” Sammy chirped, reaching into her travel bag to pull out Skittles, M&Ms, and Reeses. She tossed them into the center of the tight circle. 

“Sugar!” Brooklynn exclaimed, pouring a few of the miniature Reese’s cups into the palm of her hand. She ate one and almost seemed to melt on the spot. “Ah… almost as good as caffeine,” She dreamily chuckled.

Darius snickered as he got himself a handful of Skittles. Sammy was still rummaging through her bag and pulled out a deck of cards. “Anyone up for a game of Uno?”

”That would be a deadly competition, Sam,” Yaz said seriously before her tone lightened. “… I’m in!”

Everyone else chorused their agreement and the classic card game was soon underway. After several minutes, they were getting down to what was assumed to be the end of the game. Ben only had one card left.

Yaz glanced up from her cards deviously at Kenji. She threw down a plus four. “Sorry, Kenj. It’s just how the game goes.”

”That’s cruel, Yaz. Why would you do that to Ben?” Kenji snorted before throwing down his own plus four on top of hers.

Ben’s eyes widened, as he was on the receiving end of all this madness. “Seriously guys?! Eight cards?! I was just about to win!” 

”Sorry, man. Can’t have you beating us all just yet,” Kenji chuckled as snickering echoed around the cave. Ben muttered to himself as he drew eight cards and set one down according to Kenji’s instructions on the color.

Sammy made a face. “We’re doing double stacking… right?”

”Those were the rules, yeah,” Darius confirmed before glancing at Sammy’s two cards. His face fell in realization.

”Well then…” Sammy threw down double red fours. “I win!” She cheered.

The cave was filled with a cacophony of groans of defeat and victorious or impressed giggles.

”Let’s go, Sammy!” Brooklynn cheered, nudging her friend with her shoulder.

”That’s the first game I’ve won in a while. My mom always wins. Er… Sorry, Yaz. I know you love winnin',” Sammy apologized sheepishly to her girlfriend, who still seemed to be registering the unexpected loss.

Yaz’s eyes rounded but she smiled and dismissively waved a hand. “Eh. Good game. I’ll admit it. You beat me,” She snickered, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead. Sammy giggled at the reaction and did the same back to her.

"Who's up for another round?" Brooklynn chuckled, gathering the cards together.

"A chance for redemption? Definitely," Ben nodded. Brooklynn shuffled the cards and begun dealing them. Once Uno got old, they opted for playing a game of charades and even a round of trivia that Ben had brought along.

Eventually, they ended off the night outside of the cave underneath the stars. A crackling campfire was situated in the center of a circle of rocks and logs. Thankfully, their parents had supplied them with an abundant amount of smores and firewood.

Kenji had his arm wrapped around Brooklynn, playfully trying to smudge her face with a marshmallow. She snickered and kept trying to dodge it, but just ended up eating it before it touched her freckled cheeks. Yaz sat with her head on Sammy's shoulder, while Sammy rested her head atop Yaz's. Ben and Darius sat together, trying to see who could create the bigger stack of smores to devour.

They all listened as Sammy began a story about Yaz visiting her down at her ranch in Texas. "You should've seen her riding a horse for the first time," Sammy was giggling. "She was bouncing around wildly. I half thought she was gonna fall off into the nearby pig sty."

"The horse was galloping! I wasn't prepared for that!" Yaz defended in a humored tone.

"I put ya on the calmest horse in the ranch," Sammy replied. "Poppy was a dear."

"I never said I was the world's best horse rider like you are, Sammy," Yaz nudged her shoulder.

"No, but you are the world's greatest track star," Sammy corrected. The two laughed.

"It seems like you two had fun," Darius smiled at them. He was glad their relationship was still going strong, despite the long distance. Kenji's and Brooklynn's appeared to be doing the same.

Sammy nodded enthusiastically. "We did so much more on the ranch, but that's enough about us. How have you all been?"

"Good. I've continued my lectures on dinosaurs on my channel. It's gotten popular, mostly thanks to Brooklynn. She sent some people my way," Darius nodded to her in appreciation.

"It was my pleasure, D," Brooklynn grinned. "Who knew so many Brooklanders were dinosaur geeks?"

"Speaking of dinosaurs, how has the isle been, Ben?" Darius inquired in interest.

"Wonderful. Dr. Turner and I have been taking good care of all our friends," Ben declared. "Bumpy's gotten so much bigger. Little Eatie too. We might need to come up with a better name for her, actually. She's almost bigger than her mother," He chuckled.

"Hmm... Great Eatie! It makes her sound all royal," Kenji suggested. Brooklynn raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

Sammy's eyes widened. "Oh! I like that name!"

"We're not calling her that," Yaz snorted, shaking her head. "What about Angel and Rebel? Are they doing okay?"

Sammy clapped eagerly. "Oh! Yeah! How are the little babies?"

"Also older. And not so little anymore," Ben added. "They're still thriving in the arctic biome. Dr. Turner and I have been keeping a close eye on them. Same with Pierce."

The air was filled with stories for the next two hours. Darius felt warm, and not just because of the firelight flickering before him. Though they had all separated since returning to their families, their friendship was still as strong as it was since they had left the isles.