"Hey."

I turned around, smiling when my eyes met Alexis. "Hey."

"Early riser," she said, smiling a sweet smile as she walked over to me.

She held out a cup of coffee, her eyes meeting the contractor I was speaking with. "H-hi. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here, or I would've brought you a cup."

The contractor chuckled, shaking his head. "It's no problem at all. You must be..?"

She stuck out her free hand, smiling. "Alexis. I'm Fred's wife."

My stomach flipped, making me look down at her. It had been far too long since I'd heard that statement from her.

"Right," he said, "I'm William. I'll be helping you guys build your dream cabin."

"I can't wait," Alexis excitedly said.

I cleared my throat, looking back to William. "U-uh, he's got some blueprints for us."

"Right," Alexis said, "yeah, let's look over them. It's still a secret, right? The kids don't know?"

I shook my head, looking down at her.

"I'll give you guys these, and you can call me whenever you have a more solid idea of what you're wanting. I have another meeting with another client, but I'll in touch."

"Of course, thank you," I said, shaking his hand.

"It was nice meeting you," he said, shaking Alexis's hand delicately.

"Likewise," she said, and we watched as he walked away.

She stepped in front of me, holding her coffee close to her. "I can't wait."

I just watched her, unable to really speak. I was still taken aback by her referring to herself as my wife again.

She looked back at me soon enough, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I softly said, "y-yeah, I'm good. Thank you for the coffee."

She nodded, taking a sip of hers. "So, we're doing, like, all of the painting and stuff, right?"

"You said you were my wife," I said, unable to take my eyes off of her.

She looked over at me, her lips slightly parting before she darted her tongue out to lick them. She always did that when she was contemplating what exactly to say.

"Was that okay with you?" She asked.

"It made my entire fucking life," I chuckled, looking over at her, "not even just my day."

She smiled, biting down on her lip. "Well, that's what I am, right?"

I nodded, placing my coffee down on the table that William had set up. I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me, my eyes locked on hers.

"Let's put our rings back on," I said, looking down at her.

She looked up at me, raking her hands through my hair.

"Please," I whispered, "I miss you. Sell the apartment. Move back in. Please."

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pressing kisses to my cheek. "It's all I've been thinking about lately."

"So do it," I said.

She smiled. "Are you sure you're ready to have to put up with me full-time again?"

I looked down at her, stroking her cheek. "It's all I've been thinking about lately."

She bit down on her lip, gently grabbing my jaw. She pressed a soft kiss to my lips, trailing her free hand down my arm.

"Come on," I muttered against her lips, "I've missed you."

I pulled away from her, grabbing her face. "I've missed your lips."

She smiled, pressing a kiss to my palm.

"And I've missed your hair," I said, raking one of my hands through her hair, "and I've missed your eyes. And I've missed your collarbones."

She quietly giggled as I pressed kisses to her pointy collarbones, making me smile.

"And I've missed your-your hips, and your legs. God, I've missed your fucking legs."

She smiled down at me as I knelt down, lifting her dress to press soft kisses to her legs.

"I miss every part of you," I said, looking up at her.

She bit back a smile, looking away from me.

"And I miss your laugh, your smile, your eyes," I said, standing back upright, "I miss waking up and seeing your face."

She pulled me into her, wrapping her arms around my middle. She pressed the side of her face against my chest, melting into my body with a hug.

"Are you sure you're ready for me to come back?"

"I never wanted you to leave," I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

She rested her chin against my chest, biting down on her lip. "I want to ask the kids about it. I don't want to just jump into it and overwhelm them."

I nodded. "Let's talk to the kids about it. But if they say yes, you're back, right?"

She smiled up at me, nodding. "I'm back."

~*~

"Hey, be careful," Zach said, "don't slip. These rocks are always wet."

I watched as he took on the steep trail with ease, honestly, a bit confused- how could I play every sport and struggle with this, yet Zach could hike with his eyes closed?

"H-how many times have you hiked this trail?" I asked, carefully stepping around the wet rocks.

"Uh, I come here when I'm sick of my mom, really. So I hike it pretty often."

"Right," I muttered, grabbing a branch for support, "Zach, this isn't easy."

"Well, nothing good in life is easy."

I looked at him, cracking a smile. He looked back at me before nodding towards an opening in the trees.

"We're almost there."

"I'll beat you to it."

"Not without busting your ass."

"You have no faith in me," I said, cutting in front of him.

I turned around and walked backwards, wiggling my eyebrows. "Yeah. Backwards. Beat that."

"Better watch it, you're walking into poison ivy."

I panicked and tripped, earning a chuckle from him. He shook his head, his tongue in his bottom lip. "You should've seen the look on your face."

"You should've seen the look on your face," I mocked, "asshole."

"Mm," he muttered, catching up to me, "alright. Go to your right, through those trees."

"Are there, like, other people here?" I asked, looking over at him.

"What, are you wanting to get it on?" He asked, making me knit my eyebrows together and nearly choke on my own breath.

"Henry, I'm kidding," he chuckled, "unless."

"Zach," I said, giving him a light shove.

He laughed, shaking his head. "Be careful right here, too."

I followed him until we made it to what looked like a makeshift beach- an Illinois beach.

But it was beautiful.

"This is really, really beautiful," I said, resting my hands on my hips.

"Isn't it?" He asked, smiling over at me, "this place is really special to me. And I brought your dumbass here."

I smiled, taking a step closer to him. He dropped his backpack and grabbed my jaw, pressing a kiss to my lips.

I cleared my throat as he pulled away, raking a hand through my hair. I squinted over at him and smiled, earning a quiet laugh from him.

"Hey," I said, "I have to tell you something."

He looked up at me as he squatted down next to his backpack, unzipping it. "Yeah?"

"I, uh, came out to my dad," I said, looking down at him.

He looked up at me, an impressed look on his face. "Oh. How'd that go?"

"Surprisingly, suspiciously well."

He chuckled. "I agree with the surprisingly part."

He pulled a blanket out of his backpack, placing it in front of the water. He sat down and patted the spot next to him, making me sit next to him.

"What, you didn't think my dad would be open to it?" I asked.

"Your entire bloodline oozes toxic masculinity."

I laughed, looking away from him. "I wish I had a valid argument against that statement."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Does anyone else know?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm gonna tell Josie and my mom, just not sure when. Or how."

"What about Hero?"

I looked over at him, knitting my brows together. "Hero's going through a lot right now. I'll tell him way later."

He slowly nodded, trailing his eyes down me. I kept my eyes locked on his, watching his every move.

"The shorts are nice," he said.

"Liking the five inch inseam?"

"A bisexual man's dream."

I laughed, biting down on my lip as I looked away from him.

"But maybe you should wear some underwear next time," he sighed, falling on his back.

I looked back at him, lifting an eyebrow. "Why do you care about my underwear?"

"Oh, I think about them all the time," he whispered, smiling up at me.

"Yeah?" I asked, "well, I have on underwear. Even put on my nicest ones for you."

"Oh, it's very appreciated," he muttered, trailing his fingertips up my arm.

"You totally complimented, you know."

"Your dick?" He asked, looking up at me.

"I mean, if it looks like I don't have on underwear-"

He laughed, biting down on his lip.

"These two inches are flattered," I whispered, looking down at him.

He leaned up, his face only centimeters away from mine. I felt my breath getting more labored at the tension that was currently thick enough to cut with a knife.

He trailed his eyes down me, slowly, and back up me as he clenched his jaw.

"You're definitely not two inches," he said, grinning, "maybe three, but not two. Give yourself a little bit of credit."

~*~

"Hey, Fran!"

I turned around when I heard my name, my eyes going round at the sight of Brian running towards me.

"H-hey, Brian."

"Hey," he greeted, stopping in front of me, "I haven't heard from you."

"I-I've been really busy," I said, nodding up at him.

He nodded, biting down on his lip. "Well, I know your birthday's tomorrow. So happy early birthday."

"Thank you, Brian," I softly said, and we began to walk to Josie's car together.

"Did I do something?" He blurted, looking down at me, "you kinda went awol on me after we went out for lunch together."

"No," I said, shaking my head, "I promise. You didn't do anything. There's just a lot going on right now."

He nodded, gripping the straps of his backpack. "Are you having a big celebration?"

I inhaled, shaking my head as I let out the heavy breath. "No. I'm not."

"Oh, why not? It's a big day. Big sixteen."

"I'm just not big on crowded rooms," I said, nodding up at him with a smile.

He laughed, nodding. "Right."

We walked in silence, making me let out a sigh and close my eyes. "I'm sorry for b-"

I kept my eyes closed for a second too long, and walked right into a car. Brian grabbed my hand and pulled me upright, chuckling a quiet chuckle.

I opened my eyes, unable to bite back my laughter. "S-sorry."

"What were you actually sorry for?" He asked, smiling.

"For disappearing," I said, "like I did."

He shook his head. "It's okay, things happen."

I wanted to just blurt out everything I was going through, because Brian was a good listener. He was sweet and understanding, and I loved that. But I couldn't do that, because Hero's business was most certainly not mine to spill.

"Hey, is Hero okay?" He asked, "I haven't seen him in a few days."

"He's, uh, away at a big football camp in Washington," I said, "he went back with my grandparents when they left."

"Oh," he said, "oh, that's awesome."

"Yeah," I said, immediately feeling guilty for lying, even though that's what I'd been instructed to tell everyone who asked.

"How long's he gone for?"

"He'll be back," I said, "s-soon. I'm not entirely sure what day it's over."

"Well, it sucks that he's not going to be here for your birthday," he said, "I know he's not happy about that. You're his whole world."

I bit down on my lip, looking up at Brian for a split second and back down. "Well, Josie's car is up here, so."

"I can drive you home if you need me to," he said.

"No," I said, "thank you, but I'm on her way. So."

He nodded, smiling what looked like a defeated smile. "Well, I'll see you around, Fran."

I bit down on my lip, letting out a sigh. Had I just messed up Brian? My dream guy?

"And happy early birthday, again," he said, nodding as he walked away.

"Brian," I called out, but he'd already gotten far enough away to be out of hearing distance.

"Hello," Josie greeted, smiling as she unlocked her car.

"Hey," I said, opening my door.

"Uh oh. Are you okay?" She asked, throwing her bag in the back of her car.

"Y-yeah," I said, "I'm fine."

"I saw you and Brian talking," she said, looking over at me as she buckled up.

"I haven't even thought about anything but Hero for the past, what, week now? I feel so bad for just disappearing like I did on him."

"Well, if I know anything about Brian, it's that he'll stick around and wait on you to come back. He really likes you, Fran."

I rested my elbow on the door and my head in my hand, sighing.

"Hey, no dreary energy," she said, "you are the birthday girl. Officially."

I smiled a soft smile, shaking my head. "I wish Hero was okay."

"I do, too," she said.

"I took him for granted," I said, "I always thought he was obnoxious and loud, and now, I'd do anything for him to be that way again."

"It's gonna take time, but he'll be back," she softly said, "I promise. Look. The sun doesn't even shine when Hero King isn't shining."

I smiled, looking up at the grey skies.

Josie had always been a great cousin and an even better friend, but she seemed different. Like she listened more intently, like she cared about things more.

"I can't wait for you to see my birthday gift for you," she said, grinning over at me.

I smiled. "I can't wait, either."

~*~

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