#zahrela

Sean POV

“Ok, seriously,” Ken pressed as he lounged elegantly on one of the armchairs with a glass of champagne, “What is it with all of you always offering me clothes.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t think we have good taste?”

Ken cut his eyes towards me. “I never said that, in fact, the exact opposite, I mean,” Ken motioned towards the gorgeous suit he was wearing, “Exhibit A here.”

I grinned, pleased, letting my gaze drag down the long, lean lines of his body, the way he sat like James Bond in a casino in Monte Carlo, with the sounds of our friends laughing and celebrating and drinking around us.

I jerked back to the present when Raj plopped down beside me. “What are we talking about?”

I took a sip of my champagne. “Ken’s curious why everyone’s always trying to dress him.”

Craig, on the other couch with his arm behind Diego on the edge of the couch, snorted, “Isn’t it obvious? He’s like a Ken doll, y’know?”

Craig’s eyes flew wide and his mouth dropped open. “Holy shit, oh my god, wait, he’s a Ken doll!”

Raj was in a similar state of shock, practically shrieking, “Oh my god, a literal, live Ken doll!”

Ken rolled his eyes, “Oh my god.”

Craig laughed, tilting his head back, yelling, “Illuminati confirmed! Ken is Illuminati!”

Raj doubled over, laughing, Diego chuckling at the delight Raj and Craig had found in this new discovery.

I looked over at Ken, grinning. “You hear that? Apparently, you’re part of the Illuminati.”

Ken pursed his lips and said dryly, “I’m already part of one giant conspiracy, I don’t have time for another.”

Raj’s watch started beeping, and he looked down at it in confusion, before dawning realization broke out on his face and he bolted upright. “Dudes, dudettes, it’s time!”

Craig cursed and put his drink down, also standing.

Diego frowned, his expression dangerously close to a pout. “Time for what?”

Raj, over by the door, beamed at us as a group. “The surprise, doodlejumps! Craig and I planned this whole thing, now come on, let’s go!”

An elevator ride and a few fairy light plug-ins later, all fourteen of us were standing on the roof, watching Craig and Raj’s excitement with fond interest.

Estela, her glittering silver gown catching the fairy lights beautifully, stooped a little near the edge of the roof and pointed to where there were about twelve flares lined up and pointed at the sky. “Craig, Raj, what’s this?”

Raj clapped. “That’s the surprise! Fireworks, for New Years!”

He turned to Varyyn, explaining, “That’s a very important part of the New Years celebration back home, fireworks that go off directly at midnight.”

Craig nodded, pleased with himself. “Raj and I wanted to surprise all of you.”

Silence.

Grace cleared her throat delicately. “With, um, road flares?”

Craig nodded, confusion on his face. “Yeah!”

Estela straightened up, walking back over to the rest of us. “Craig. Raj. Right now, we’re hiding out from a death squad of highly trained, extremely well equipped mechanized mercenaries.”

Realization dawned on their faces.

Estela finished, not unkindly, “And your idea is to fire off multiple flares over our location?”

Again, silence.

Craig grumbled, “Well, when you put it like that...”

Diego reached out and ran a hand down Craig’s arm, soothing, “It was a sweet idea, at least.”

Raj, staring down at his feet, mumbled softly, “Yeah, well, let’s just...”

Zahra pointed up, face awestruck. “What the hell is that?”

In the distance, the mountain range is lighting up in shimmering, vivid colors, pulsing between a warm red and a brilliant blue.

The colors stretched far and wide across the sky above us, mixing together and breaking apart.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. “What is that?”

Varyyn responded, voice soft, “The Lights of Vaanu.”

Ken called out, “Jake, haven’t we seen these before?”

I looked over at him, frowning.

Ken was staring at the sky, eyebrows drawn together. “In the air control tower just after we landed?”

Jake nodded slowly. “Yeah, just like this.”

Varyyn smiled up at the sky, studying the play of colors. “My people believe that they are a sign of good fortune to come.”

Michelle hummed. “Well, we could sure use any luck we can get.”

Grace, eyes bright with curiosity, turned to Aleister, excitement in her voice as she said, “I think it’s the Doppler Effect!”

Aleister’s eyes widened as he looked down at Grace, and he smiled, looking somewhat dumbfounded. “You’re absolutely brilliant, you know that?”

Grace blushed, curling into Aleister’s chest for a moment before turning back to the rest of us and explaining, “When something, like a distant star, moves really fast toward you, it tints blue from the change in the light’s wavelength. And when something moves really fast away from you, it tints red.”

Aleister nodded in agreement. “So this could be both happening at the same time. Not the physical space of the island itself, but the way time is dilating or contracting on the island!”

He laughed a little, shaking his head. “Absolutely incredible.”

Grace tucked her hand in his elbow and smiled up at him. “It is.”

He flushed a deep crimson.

Jake coughed over his chuckle, and said, “Well I don’t know about y’all but I’m gonna stick with Blues Clues over here. I want that good luck.”

Raj clapped a hand on Jake’s shoulder, beaming once more. “Well, it’s not exactly fireworks but it’s close enough for me.”

Raj checked his watch. “Twelve seconds to midnight, let’s count it down!”

As a group, we chanted, “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!”

I turned towards Ken to find him already walking towards me. He smiled at me, looking like a goddamn dream on the rooftop in that silk suit with the fairy lights giving his skin an amber sheen, his hazel eyes warm and inviting.

I reached for him and picked him up easily, enjoying the way he gasped in surprise, reflexively wrapping his legs around my waist.

I ignored the spike of hot arousal sparked by the action, grinning at Ken, whose face was now level with mine, and said softly to him, “Happy New Year, Ken.”

Ken whispered back to me, “Happy New Year, Sean.”

Under the light above us and around us, the sound of laughter and celebration, everything fell away the moment our lips met, his mouth soft and plush and perfect against mine, the kiss deep but brief. 

I pulled away from him and smiled against his lips.

Ken murmured, “Don’t look now, but everyone else is still making out.”

I glanced over his shoulder and saw that yes, indeed, most of them were.

While Raj, Lila, and Jake were trying to hold in their obvious delight at the other couples still kissing, and Varyyn was looking on in confusion, Grace had hooked a hand in Aleister’s collar and had dragged his head down to plant one hell of a kiss on him.

Craig was cupping Diego’s face in his hands, kissing him with the fervor of someone who thought they might not get a second chance, Diego’s hands hidden beneath Craig’s letterman jacket.

Estela had one hand on Zahra’s face, tilting her face back to kiss her deeply, slowly, and Estela’s other hand was tucked under Zahra’s shirt, while Zahra’s hands clutched at Estela’s bare back.

Quinn’s arms were around Michelle’s neck, reaching up to tangle in her hair, as the two of them kissed softly, Quinn smiling against Michelle’s lips, causing Michelle to chuckle and pull Quinn closer to her, Michelle’s hands running up and down the satin blue of Quinn’s gown.

Varyyn said softly, “Is this another tradition of yours? Kissing at midnight?”

Jake grinned, answering, “Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be a full-on making out session like these dorks here are doing.”

Zahra lifted one hand to flip Jake off, and he laughed.

Varyyn tilted his head. “Ok. I think I understand.”

Jake looked over at Varyyn, a sly smile creeping across his face. “Don’t feel left out, Boy King.”

And with that, Jake walked over, pulled Varyyn’s head down, and kissed him.

Ken muffled a surprised laugh into my shoulder, and Raj and Lila laughed in outright surprise, Raj cheering loudly, “THOSE ARE MY FRIENDS ALL GETTING SOME!”

We were up on the rooftop for about another half hour, making rounds and kissing each other’s cheeks and hugging one another tightly.

We’d been through so much in the last forty-eight hours alone, and to have a moment of peace like this was just...

Perfect.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ken walking up to me, and I turned to greet him, the smile on my face slowly disappearing when I saw the look on his face.

When he was close to me, he took my hand, tugging gently. “Come on, let’s go.”

I pushed down on the flurry of panic in my gut. “Is something wrong?”

Ken looked up at me, grinning. “Yes. There is.” He stood up on his toes to whisper in my ear, “You and I are not naked.”

I shivered. “Oh. Yeah. Ok.”

Ken leaned away from me, tugging on my hand again, his eyes dark and promising, and I tried to keep my libido under control, failing miserably at the filthy thoughts running through my head.

He led me away from the others quietly, and once we were in the elevator, out of sight, he pushed me into a corner and pressed himself up against me.

I groaned, wrapping my arms around him and lowering my head to tell him, “You’re killing me here, baby.”

Ken inhaled sharply, turning his head to kiss my cheek softly. “I love it when you call me that.”

I grinned, ducking my head to mouth at his neck, grazing my teeth across the skin.

He stood there for a moment, murmuring nothings, until he abruptly pulled away, dragging me by the hand out of the elevator.

I sighed, “You really know how to cut somebody off.”

Ken looked back over his shoulder, eyes glittering, as he led me down the hotel hallway. “What I wanna do with you won’t fit in an elevator.”

I groaned loudly, and he laughed.

Trying to keep my head on, I asked him, “Where are we going?”

“Diego said he found this really great room today while he was exploring, and he suggested I take advantage of it,” Ken answered.

I thought about the way Craig had been watching Diego recently. “You’d think he’d want to take advantage of it himself.”

Ken laughed. “Who says he’s not? He never said this room was one of a kind.”

He stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall, reaching into his pocket and pulling out one of the master keys Zahra had made, unlocking the door.

He turned around and pulled me inside. 

It really was a gorgeous hotel room, a four-poster bed with thick velvet curtains and plush bedding rested on top of a thick faux fur rug, while a blazing fireplace roared on the wall.

It was cozy and perfect.

But I only had eyes for Ken. 

I pulled him into my arms, swaying slightly to music we couldn’t hear.

He chuckled against my shoulder.

We stayed like that for a bit, silent but for what we said with our hands.

“Why is it,” I whispered against his temple, “that I feel so comfortable with you, without even saying a word?”

Ken laughed, sighing teasingly, “Maybe because I’m just so amazing.”

I reached up, tracing his cheek with the tips of my fingers. “Only you could say something like that and still be selling yourself short.”

Ken scoffed, blushing beautifully. “Oh please. You’re the amazing one here.”

I tried to protest, but Ken shushed me.

“No, really,” He said, “This time next year I’ll be out looking for a job, and you’re gonna be on TV every Sunday.”

He studied me carefully, the soft look in his eyes nearly more than I could stand.

He reached up, sliding his hands into my hair. He smiled sweetly at me, murmuring, “When the whole country gets to know you the way I do, they’re gonna fall in love with you.”

I felt my stomach erupt into butterflies, my heart beating faster in my chest. I wanted so badly to tell him, then and there, in the warm glow of the fire, when he was so soft and welcoming in my arms, I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, had loved him since practically the moment we met.

But for some reason, I didn’t.

I cupped his face in my hands, adoring the way he leaned into me, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment.

I whispered to him, “You’re the only one I want to know me that way, Ken.”

His answering smile was brilliant.

I leaned down, kissing him, letting it grow deeper by the second, licking into his mouth, stepping in a little closer to him, the air around us growing charged.

I wrapped my hands around Ken’s waist and leaned down to drag my nose along the edge of his jaw, smiling when I heard the small intake of breath. I pressed my mouth to the hollow beneath his ear and laved my tongue over it, relishing the shiver that went through his whole body as I did so.

I whispered, “You know that promise I made a few days ago in Elyys’tel?”

Ken shivered again. “Yes.”

I pulled away, locking eyes with him, his hazel gaze molten, his pupils dilated. I smiled, slow and dirty at him, my heart beginning to pound as arousal built in my stomach.

With urgency in my hands, I tugged his clothes off, letting them fall to the floor, kissing him through it.

When I moved to kiss down his chest, he pushed gently at my shoulders.

I froze, backing up in worried confusion. “I’m sorry, I should have-”

“Wait, hey, come back, look at me,” Ken purred, sliding one of his hands up to cup my face, making me look at him. He smiled gently at me. “Sean, I’m not saying stop or no, I just...”

He paused, biting his lower lip.

I stood there, rubbing circles on his bare back with my thumbs, letting him come around to it in his own way.

He took a deep breath. “Two things. First, Sean, you’re always taking care of me.”

He leaned forward, kissing my skin exposed by my open collar, and I tried not to gasp at the wet heat of his tongue.

He whispered against my collarbone, “Let me take care of you.”

He pushed me, gently, over towards the bed, and then pushed at my shoulders until I sat on the bed. 

I smiled at him. “Ken, really, you don’t have to-”

He shushed me, “Sean.”

God his eyes were gorgeous.

He knelt down, spreading my legs apart, and my breath caught in my throat, my heart beating faster.

Ken reached for my belt buckle, letting his knuckles graze over where my erection was tenting my pants, and he whispered over my gasp, “Let me take care of you.”

He unbuckled my belt, unzipped my pants, the sounds loud in my ears alongside the draining of blood from my head to my lower body, and I practically ached with want.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him, my heart pounding.

He leaned down, running his mouth along the ridge in my boxer briefs and my eyes closed, breath hissing out through my teeth.

Ken pulled my underwear down, and inhaled sharply when my dick sprang free.

He licked his lips, and I groaned at the sight.

He cocked an eyebrow at me, smiling for a moment, before settling his arms on my thighs, leaning in close, his breath hot on my already overheated skin, his piano fingers wrapping around my length, and as my heart jumped into overdrive he swallowed me down.

I was barely aware of the soft, emphatic, “Ohhhh, wow, baby,” that escaped me, I wasn’t aware of the bedding I was crushing in my fingers or the way my head had fallen back, I was only aware of how fucking perfect his mouth felt on me.

Wet, hot suction sliding up and down, a tongue tracing the underside, running teasingly along the glans, before pulling off with a soft pop, making me shudder before that mouth dipped down to work at the base.

I groaned, louder.

Suddenly, Ken gasped sharply.

My eyes flew open, and I saw my hands had found their way into his hair, gripping just a little too tightly. 

I felt blinded by lust for a moment, staring at Ken’s spit-slicked lips, kneeling between my thighs, his eyes wide with arousal, his hands still sliding across my skin, jerking me off, slow and steady.

I leaned down, pulling him into a desperate, hungry kiss.

He gave as good as he got, careful not to pull too hard, his mouth eager as he pushed closer into me. 

I lifted him up, standing and shuddering when his bare skin rubbed against me. 

Ken tugged viciously at my clothes until the buttons on my dress shirt popped off. 

I laughed, shrugging off the fabric and stepping out of my pants and boxer briefs, reaching out to pull Ken flush against me.

He instinctively rolled his hips against mine and I groaned, letting my head fall onto his shoulder, pressing back against him.

“Bed,” Ken gasped.

“Ok,” I answered, sweeping him up and laying him down on the bed.

I stood there, just staring at him for a moment, with what was surely an expression of dumbfounded adoration. He looked like everything I’d ever dreamed of, his hair mussed, lips swollen, his dick thick against his thigh, eyes dark and wanton.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying to control myself, before I followed him onto the bed, running my hands along his sides, pressing soft kisses up his chest.

Then, faintly, I heard Ken huff.

I looked up at him, finding him frowning at me.

“What?” I asked.

Ken reached out, sliding his hand into my hair. “Sean, that second thing I was talking about?”

I nodded.

Ken’s eyes glittered in the firelight. “I don’t want you to hold back with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love how gentle you are with me, how caring, but sometimes, I just want to really feel it.”

I closed my eyes, swallowing hard. “I just...I’m afraid of hurting you.”

Ken hummed, “And that’s fine. I’m not saying I want you to like, beat me up or anything because, just to be clear, I do not want that.”

He tilted my face up to look at him, to see how serious he was as he said, “What I do want, sometimes...sometimes I want it to hurt a little. I wanna feel like you’re taking me apart, in all the best ways, without being afraid that you’ll break me.”

Ken dragged me upwards, guiding me into a soft, chaste kiss. “I wanna put that trust and faith in you, and for you to have the trust and faith that I can take it.”

He leaned back against the pillows, continuing, “I don’t want you to feel like you have to hold back.”

I shuddered against him.

Then, just to make sure, I asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ken breathed, “I’m sure.”

So I complied.

I let my fingers dig into his sides a little more, dragging my mouth down his chest, my teeth grazing his dark tawny skin.

Ken moaned when I got down to his hips, sucking hard on his skin, moving my mouth down to his dick, holding his hips down with my hands, sliding my tongue up and down his length.

He positively keened, thrashing a little against the sheets, his hips staying perfectly still in my grip as I teased him, little soft sucking motions here and there, dragging my tongue along the shaft in long laborious strokes.

I sat up, letting go of him to say through my quick breathing, “Lube. Condom.”

Ken smiled, panting, “Bedside table.”

I frowned at him but reached over to inspect the table, pulling open the drawer. 

Sure enough, a tube of lubricant and a couple condoms were waiting there. I grinned, picking up the lube and one of the condoms.

“Diego?” I asked.

“That’s my secret to keep.” Ken smiled, spreading his thighs wide.

I settled in between his legs, spilling a generous amount of lube on my fingers before reaching down.

Ken’s eyes rolled back in his head as I worked in slow, careful circles, opening him up slowly. I stared at him, his chest heaving, his head thrashing on his pillow, his hands twisting the bedclothes beneath him. When I would press against a spot inside him with my fingers, he would gasp wildly, trying to roll his hips up into my touch, my hand pinning him to the bed.

Finally, he gasped, “I’m good, Sean, I’m ready, please, please, God I’m begging you.”

I kissed his hip, soothing, “Just a second, baby, ok, I promise.”

I opened the condom packet, when Ken’s hands closed around mine.

He looked up at me from underneath his eyelashes. “I got this.”

He reached down, rolling the condom down my erection with extreme care.

I closed my eyes, running my hands up and down Ken’s arms, my breath hissing through my teeth at the incredible pressure he was giving me.

Ken leaned up, wrapping his arms around my neck, kissing me, slow, long, and filthy.

Following him down, I laid him carefully against the satin sheets.

I reached down, lined myself up, and pushed into him. 

Ken’s mouth dropped open, his hands slipping down to my shoulders, his nails biting into my skin.

I pushed forward until I was completely inside him, then waited there, shaking at the sensation. 

God, he was so beautiful, and he felt even better, the perfect silken stretch around me, hot and slick, tight around me.

Trying to keep my heart-rate down, I asked Ken, “You ok?”

He nodded, grinning. “Beyond belief. Don’t stop, Sean, please.”

“Tell me if that changes,” I said softly, and started to move.

I knew from the start neither of us were gonna last long from the start, but man that fact became crystal clear the moment I started rocking against Ken.

I switched between long, rough thrusts and grinding our hips together, helpless to do anything but continue, building in speed and intensity with each moment, desperate for us both to find release.

Ken’s fingernails dragged down my back every time I pushed all the way back inside, the edge of pain making my head spin in agonizing pleasure.

Panting, Ken cried out, “Sean, please, I’m close, I’m really close.”

I let loose, my hips slamming into him frantically, my own orgasm building, building, building.

Just when I thought I couldn’t stand it any longer, Ken started shaking beneath me, crying out wordlessly, his fingernails scratching down my back as he came, and I quickly followed, unable to do anything but hold him tight, my vision whiting out in ecstasy.

---

After shaking through the aftershocks and cleaning each other up a bit, we collapsed back down on the bed, exhausted.

Ken curled into my chest, stretching languorously like a cat. “God, that felt good.”

I pulled him in closer, his skin like velvet under my hands. “You liked it? I wasn’t too rough with you?”

Ken looked up at me, smiling sweetly. “Sean, how are you such a sweetheart when you literally have every reason to be the most arrogant person in the world?”

I felt myself flush. “C’mon, Ken.”

“No, seriously,” Ken insisted, sitting up and swinging his leg over my hips, settling himself on my waist. “Sean, you’re incredible. You’re so incredibly protective, you’re willing to sacrifice everything for every one of us, you’re so kind and strong and gorgeous, you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to.”

He reached down, cupping my face, his gaze, dare I say it, loving.

He whispered, “You’re incredible.”

I caught his hands, turning them so I could press a kiss to each of his palms. “You’re the incredible one.”

Ken sighed, slipping back down to the bed, curling into my side, his head on my shoulder. “Let’s continue to agree to disagree. Right now I just wanna sleep for a while.”

I smiled, turning onto my side, pulling him close. “Sounds good.”

He breathed, slow and deep. “Then, when I wake up, I’m gonna give you a blowjob that’s gonna melt your brain.”

I swallowed, hard. “Uh, wow, yeah. Sounds, uh, good.”

Ken POV

Finally, as the sun was going down over the falls and all of us had settled around the fire, most of us sitting while Sean fed the fire some more wood, the mood turned a little wistful.

“Well,” Craig asked, pulling Diego closer into his chest fro where Diego was sitting between Craig’s knees, “Where would you rather be on vacation?”

Aleister, sitting a little closer to the fire with Grace tucked under his arm and two blankets, raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “You can’t seriously be asking that question.”

Michelle cut her eyes towards Aleister. “I think it’s perfectly reasonable.”

Quinn, sitting across Michelle’s lap with her head on Michelle’s shoulder, questioned, “What question would you have had him ask?”

Grace, holding her hands out to warm from the fire, grinned, “Don’t let him bother you, he’s got incurable pessimism.”

Aleister sqwacked in protest, and the rest of us laughed.

Sean, finished with the firewood, dusted his hands off, and as he walked back over to where I was, he joked, “Aleister could objectively be the happiest man on earth and yet he’d still find something to nitpick.”

Aleister turned his nose up in the air, the corners of his mouth turning up in a pleased smile. “There’s nothing wrong with being practical.”

As the others teased him some more, Sean dropped down behind me, mirroring Craig and Diego’s position, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to him, tucking my head under his chin.

I overlaid my arms on his and interlaced our fingers, smiling.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and had to stifle a laugh when I saw Raj and Jake playing hot hands with Varyyn.

I nudge Sean and pointed quietly over to where they sat, and after he turned to look, I felt his chest rumble in amusement.

I closed my eyes just for a second, feeling warm and safe and, in that one moment, not at all worried about the impending incursion into the MASADA facility.

Zahra caught my attention when she raised the hand that wasn’t holding onto Estela’s, calling out, “Ok, ok, we get it, you’re a perfectionist, but I, for one, kinda want to know the answer to Craig’s question.”

Diego, buried in Craig’s letterman jacket as well as the jacket’s owner, grinned. “Hartfeld.”

Estela wrinkled her nose. “You’d rather be in Hartfeld for the summer?”

“Rather than sleeping in a tent on a cliff in a snowstorm?” Diego pointed out. “Uh, yeah.”

Craig clicked his tongue. “No, no come on. Where would you have rather gone on vacation? I mean, when I found out that I was coming here I was pretty excited, don’t get me wrong, but I also kinda thought I’d rather be going to Australia.”

Michelle shivered in disgust. “Only you would want to voluntarily go to a continent with spiders who can eat birds.”

Craig laughed.

Diego thought for a moment, then shrugged easily. “I wanna change my answer. I’d rather be in Amsterdam.”

Criag looked down at him. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Diego nodded, a sly grin on his face. “I’ve always had a thing for windmills.”

Quinn frowned in concentration. “I think...Paris. Or London. Or Hong Kong. Or Shanghai.”

Michelle shook her head, smiling softly. “You have to pick one, Quinn.”

Quinn frowned harder. “Come back to me later, then,” and then she looked up at Michelle, asking, “What about you?”

Michelle answered immediately, “Bruges, in Belgium.”

Sean hummed. “Right, you were always looking at pictures of that city. It’s gorgeous.”

Michelle sighed wistfully, eyes slightly glazed. “So much gorgeous architecture...”

“Well, me personally,” Zahra said, scooting in closer to Estela, “I’ve always wanted to go to Rio.”

Estela blinked, surprised. “Really? You want to go to Rio?”

Zahra rolled her eyes. “I can like semi-mainstream things!”

Jake, over on the other side of the fire and therefore out of Zahra’s range of attack, snorted. “Says the girl who’s practically got ‘I liked them before they were cool’ tattooed on her forehead.”

As the rest of us laughed or protested on Zahra’s behalf, Raj exchanged a look with Zahra, who smiled smugly. Raj grinned, reached down and grabbed a fistful of snow, and proceeded to drop it down the back of Jake’s jacket.

He yelped, bolting upright to shake the snow free, and Zahra positively cackled at him.

Raj, plopping back down, grinned, “Paris, definitely for me. All that food, man, it’d be incredible.”

“Paris is beautiful,” Grace agreed, “But honestly, I’d rather be in Cairo.”

Grace sighed, her eyes practically glowing happily. “There’s so much incredible history there.”

Aleister hummed, his gaze locked on Grace, a loving smile on his face. “Or Cusco. In Peru.”

She looked over at him, delighted. “Yes! Oh, that would be incredible, don’t you think?”

They devolved into a quiet conversation about historical importance and archeological ruins, and Craig turned to me.

“Ken,” he grinned, “Where would you rather be?”

I tilted my head up to look at Sean, who raised an eyebrow at me.

“Um, probably Barcelona. In Spain.” I said. “My sister Kessa went once on her senior trip, she said it was gorgeous.”

Sean hummed. “I’ve seen pictures, so I’d be inclined to agree with her.”

“Wow,” I smiled, “You want to go to Barcelona too?”

Sean held me tighter, answering with a breathtaking grin, “Of course, if you’re there.”

Jake snorted, and when everyone turned to look at him, he flushed, recovering with, “I’ve always wanted to go to the Sahara, maybe go on a safari?”

Craig’s mouth dropped open in pleasant surprise. “Dude that’s so hardcore, bro!”

Jake shrugged. “Not really, you’re just there to observe animals in their natural habitat. I just, I’ve always liked the idea.”

Quinn sat up, face determined. “I’ve decided. I want to go to Athens.”

“Oh, Athens!” Michelle sighed. “I’ve always wanted to go there!”

Estela hummed. “It is really pretty.”

Everyone looked over at her. 

“You’ve been to Athens?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’ve been to a few different places around the world. I wasn’t in San Trobida my whole life, you know.”

Zahra’s eyes narrowed. “That’s very interesting but it also tells us nothing.”

Estela grinned. “I have to have some secrets.”

“Ok, ok,” Craig cleared his throat. “So that means you have more experience with the world than most of us, so. Where would you go?”

Estela looked over at the fire, her whole face softening. “Mumbai. For the Festival of Colors.”

A soft rush of agreement went up throughout all of us.

Jake turned to Varyyn. “I guess you’re wondering what...”

He didn’t finish because Varyyn was curled up on a blanket next to the fire, dead asleep.

Jake snorted. “Man, we must be incredibly boring.”

Raj flicked Jake’s ear. “He’s had a busy day, Jake, let him live.”

Jake shook his head, smiling a little, and then, cautiously, he said, “You know, maybe, just for old times sake, after y’all graduate I could fly ya out to Mumbai.”

He didn’t look at us, though all of us were certainly looking at him.

He shrugged, shoulders tense. “I’ve seen the Festival of Colors before. You know.”

He swallowed, his whole body stilling, his face heavily creased with pain. “With Mike.”

We were silent, our eyes darting towards one another like we weren’t really sure what to say to that, silently asking each other what to do next.

Raj reached over, hooking his arm through Jake’s. “That’d be lit, dude. We’d have so much fun.”

Grace nodded, smiling kindly. “I’d love that.”