“Kai. Kai I swear to God if you don’t start loading the van, we’re never going to make it to Idaho,” I yelled from my spot on the couch as I helped Juniper put her hair up.

We had been preparing for the wedding for the last two months and it had been through a lot of trial and error. What we had planned for Juniper’s hair had to be completely changed due to the fact that they had to shave the underside of it for her surgery. The surgery had gone wonderfully, she was no longer constantly fatigued, no more headaches, no more risk of us losing her. But having to shave her head slightly had killed her, worried it took away from her femininity. To help with this, I had taken her to a barber and we had both gotten matching undercuts, the only part of my hair that was long anymore was the top. Juniper was able to hide the fact part of her head was shaved thanks to the length of her hair, but it still upset her.

Connor had surprised Kai and me one day by showing up with his once waist-length bright green hair now short, barely reaching his shoulders, and dyed a beautiful caramel brown. He had explained that the brown was as close to his natural color as they could get, and it fit him perfectly.

Juniper and I had gone dress shopping for her wedding, finding a beautiful, tight, ankle-length dress that was able to be tailored so it wouldn’t catch in the wheels of her wheelchair. I had allowed her to pick my outfit and she had gone for an emerald green suit with a black shirt underneath, and an emerald bow tie. She was planning to braid my hair and pin it to the back of my head with a beautiful silver moon clip that would match the sun Kai was wearing. Our suits matched, his tailored tight, and mine flared at the legs to hide my prosthetic. The only person's outfit I hadn’t seen was Connor’s, but Kai had taken him and promised that the suit he had chosen was lovely.

“Shiloh,” Kai groaned, pulling the suitcases from our bedroom, “Shi why the fuck do you have so much shit?”

“What are you talking about? I packed two suitcases,” I snorted, finishing Juniper’s hair.

“I packed a backpack,” he huffed.

“Kai…” getting to my feet, I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist, “I know, honey. Which is why I packed two suitcases. Because you didn’t pack near enough clothes to be in Idaho for 11 days.”

“Can we even afford to be closed for 11 days?” he sighed, “maybe I should just come home sooner…”

“You can’t,” Juniper called softly, checking over her bag, “because they’re touring the cafe while we’re gone. So there’s no reason for you to work.”

“Ugh.”

Kai and I had found a buyer for the cafe quickly, someone wanting to keep the spirit that Kai had cultivated and we were surprised to find that it was one of the regulars, a lovely couple named Maria and Pauline. They were planning to buy it for over Kai’s asking price, meaning that we were using my savings momentarily to live. He hated this, constantly grumbling when I would pay a bill or buy groceries, and there was no convincing him that as his boyfriend, it was my job to step up and help. I eventually gave up and started paying them without telling him, and Kai had fought against this but eventually would give in when I’d kiss him.

“Kai,” I smiled, using the flirty tone I knew he loved, “Kai… something… Winters, it’s okay. I know you’re scared of the change. But it’s good. It’s such a good thing. We’ve already started packing the house, Juniper and Connor are going to look at the one in Idaho when we get there. If they really don’t like it, Connor is planning to rent an apartment in Boise. Everything is wonderful,” I kissed him softly, “everything is fine.”

“Have I never told you? My middle name is Orion. Anyway, I know,” he nodded, “fine. I will stop being so grumbly. Where the fuck is Connor?”

“I was on the phone you twit,” Connor called, coming up the stairs from the apartment, “I have to go to Florida on New Year's Eve. My mom isn’t doing good.”

“You can go now if you need, Connor! We can push the wedding, I know how important she is to you,” Juniper started to panic and Connor rushed over, kissing her softly to calm her.

“Shh. My aunt is there. They just want me to see her one more time. Don’t worry. Our wedding will go as planned. That other thing we talked about will go as planned. Don’t worry, Juni. I swear everything is fine. Our wedding is so important to me,” Connor smiled, rubbing her cheek, “you’re my family, remember?”

“And you’re mine,” Juniper nodded, wiping a tear away.

“Well, what the fuck are we then?” I huffed.

“I don’t know. Annoyances?” Connor shrugged.

“I will literally throw you in the pond at my parent's farm if you’re going to be a dick,” I stuck my tongue out, making Connor laugh.

“I love you too.”

We finally left the house, all loading into the van, and I had to go through security at the airport with Juniper, leaning on her wheelchair when they had me take my leg off to go through the scanner. She let me lean into her fully as I put my leg back on and we boarded the plane, Kai and I sat far from them thanks to how we had to plan out the flight.

“Shiloh,” Kai smiled, taking my hand, “can we go on a real date on New Year's Eve? Watch the fireworks, have drinks and dinner, and stay in a hotel? I already planned everything.”

“Really?” I smiled brightly, “oh I’d love that! Sure. It’ll be our… 3-month anniversary?”

“That’s not what we agreed,” he kissed me softly, “remember?”

“Ah… right. We agreed that the 3 months after your incident count as dating. Okay. 6 months then.”

“6 entire months,” he sighed happily, “I know… that Will strung you along for 5 years. But I promise I’m not going to do that okay? I have plans for the future. As soon as we’re settled in Idaho, we can really start planning.”

“Deal,” I nodded, cuddling close to him.

We landed in Boise 4 hours later thanks to a connecting flight in Oakland, California and I groaned, clinging to Kai as we walked down the terminal. Stopping at baggage claim, I yawned until I heard a sharp whistle from my left.

Ah.

Shit.

Not him.

Isaac came bouncing over, his once shoulder-length curls now short and piled on the top of his head, his broken arm still in a sling but no longer needing a cast.

“Why are you here?” I sighed.

“Well hello to you too, big brother,” Isaac stuck his tongue out.

“Holy…” Juniper whispered.

“Shit,” Connor finished.

“What?” Isaac and I said at the same time.

“Listen. We knew you were identical twins… but if Isaac’s hair was long like yours and you stood next to each other, I wouldn’t know who was who,” Connor snorted.

“I would,” Kai shrugged.

“Yeah right,” Juniper rolled her eyes, “how the fuck would you do that?”

“Shiloh has a mole on the side of his neck,” Kai poked the large freckle on the right side of my throat, just under my jawline, “and Isaac doesn’t.”

“Really?” Isaac looked at me and I studied him, realizing Kai was right.

“How in the hell did you notice that?” I laughed.

“I know where every one of your freckles is,” Kai winked, making my face flair.

“Oh! Shiloh did you finally-” Isaac started before I threw a hand over his mouth.

“Shut the fuck up, Iz,” I growled.

“Ah come on… have you and Kai… bumped uglies?”

“Ugh. No. Can we leave the airport now?”

“For sure. I brought Pa’s van so it’ll be easier on Juni.”

“Oh yeah we didn’t even introduce ourselves,” Juniper laughed, “I’m Juniper Winters. This is my fiance Connor Hale,” she gestured to Connor, “and that… thing over there is my older brother Kai.”

“Nicely met,” Isaac nodded, “I’m Isaac. Everyone calls me Iz.”

“I still don’t like you,” Connor narrowed his eyes, “but! Your idiocy brought us Shiloh so… I’ll learn I guess,” he shrugged, “now let’s get the fuck out of the airport. I’m so tired of them.”

We reached my parent's farm half an hour later and Kai was staring with wide eyes, clearly astonished.

“You… left this behind?” he whispered, helping Juniper out of the van.

“I hadn’t lived here in three years, Kai,” I snorted, unloading the bags, “but this is my childhood home.”

“It’s beautiful,” Juniper whispered.

“Shi!” my mother called from the porch, rushing down and hugging me tightly before her gaze fell on Kai, “Holy… fuck you’re so much hotter in person,” Joanna gasped.

“Ma!” I snapped, “go find your husband and call him hot.”

“Hm… fine,” she shrugged, turning to Juniper and Connor, “hi you two. I got everything set up out back for tomorrow. Do you wanna come and see?”

“Mhm,” Juniper wiggled and followed Joanna and Connor into the backyard, leaving Kai and me standing next to my father's van.

“Well, what the hell do we do now?” I sighed.

“Shiloh Jasper Hartley,” a voice called from the porch and I froze.

“Ah… hi Pa,” clearing my throat, I looked over as Thatcher made his way to us.

“You leave with no notice. Barely any phone calls. No information about what’s going on in your life. Now, your mother is running around getting things set up for a wedding and you decide that rather than come early to help, it’s best you don’t?” he put his hands on his hips, staring down at me and I hid behind Kai.

“Pa…”

“I’m kidding. I don’t care,” Thatcher snorted before he started to laugh, “ah it’s great to meet you, Kai,” he held his hand out and Kai shook it quickly.

“Yes… yes you too,” Kai swallowed thickly.

“Did I scare you?”

“Um… a bit but it’s more that this is the first time I’m meeting a partner's parents and… I just don’t know what to do with myself,” Kai flushed, making me laugh.

“Oh babe you’re adorable,” I kissed his shoulder and he glared at me.

“Why are you being affectionate in front of your Dad?” he hissed.

“Huh? Because I can be? I grew up finding my parents making out on the couch -disgusting, by the way- so I don’t think that open affection is strange. It’s showing you I care and don’t mind who sees that we’re together. That’s all.”

“R… really?”

“Kai,” coming in front of him, I pushed Thatcher out of the way and cupped Kai’s cheeks, “I will never be ashamed of being with you. We know everything about each other. I adore you for who you are, remember?”

“I do,” he smiled and kissed my nose, “Thatcher… is there anything I can help with?”

“Hm. Are you strong?” Thatcher smiled.

“A bit but I can only move things or whatever for so long with my back. I can carry Shiloh though.”

“Great. Then you can help me move the picnic table to the side of the farm by the vegetable patch. We don’t have enough chairs in the house for everyone to eat dinner together,” Thatcher threw his arm around Kai’s shoulder and pulled him around the side of the house.

Clicking my tongue, I started unloading the van by myself when Isaac came running over, picking up one of the suitcases.

“I’m still mad at you,” I sighed.

“I know,” Isaac whispered, “but I don’t know how to make it better other than stupid little tasks like this. Um… I started therapy. To get past Jana and what William did to me. It’s going well.”

“I went back to therapy.”

“Huh? Why?” he looked at me surprised as we walked into the house.

“Um… okay come here,” pulling Isaac into my old bedroom, I closed the door behind us, “you can’t tell Ma and Pa.”

“I promise. We have plenty of secrets.”

“I know,” shakily, I lifted my sweater and showed him the newer self-harm scars.

“Shi! You can’t,” he stared wide-eyed, “not with your condition. Oh, this one was so deep. What the fuck!”

“The day you called to tell us what Will did,” I sighed softly, “my apartment had just flooded and Juniper was told she has a brain tumor. That’s why we thought she was dying. She’s okay now, they took it out and all her neurological symptoms like seizures and exhaustion are gone. But it was also the same day Kai and I officially got together. My emotions were everywhere, I lost control of myself the one time I wasn’t with Kai that day and…”

“Shiloh,” he hugged me tightly and I wrapped my arms around him, “we’re twins. So your pain is mine. You can’t keep doing this. I know how hard it can be for you. The depression. The anxiety. I know. But I can’t lose my brother. I love Ma and Pa, don’t get me wrong, but you’re my other piece. If I lost you… it would kill me. So keep getting help. Please. If not for me… for Ma and Pa. It would kill them if you were gone.”

“I… I will. I promise. Kai and I both go to therapy. He’s had a terrible life. It was still bad when I showed up. I almost lost him a month after we met. It broke my heart. I had never been so cold. That’s when… that’s when I realized that what I felt for him went past friendship. But he was in no place to know that for months. When I finally told him, he tried to push me away again, worried he had nothing to offer me. I don’t want anything from him. I just want him. He agreed and now… well we decided that the little outings I took him on after he… he tried to kill himself, were dates too. So we’ve almost been together for 6 months. I… I love him, Isaac.”

“Good,” Isaac smile, wiping a tear from my cheek, “that’s all I want for you. To see my favorite brother loved.”

“I’m your only brother,” I laughed.

“No. I have two more. Kai and Connor. If… Connor can forgive me eventually. If you all can.”

“I’ve forgiven you. I just need to learn to like you again.”

“I can handle that. Do you feel good enough to go back to the family now?”

“I do. Oh and Iz?”

“Hm,” he smiled, his hand on the doorknob.

“Thank you.”

“Always.”

We left my bedroom and headed into the backyard where we found Juniper and my mother talking about the decorations that littered the farm underneath a massive cloth tent, and Connor was helping Kai and Thatcher move the table, cursing under his breath the entire time.

“I am too small to be doing this,” Connor yelled, clearly frustrated.

“Shut up Connor,” Kai grumbled, “I have a bad back but you don’t see me bitching.”

“Pa,” I laughed, “Pa I know for a fact you can lift the table over your head. You don’t need them.”

“I know,” Thatcher smiled, “I wanted to see if they’d actually help me. Move boys. I’ve got it,” he lifted up the table easily and moved it where he wanted, “there we go.”

Kai and Connor stared at him before they both started to laugh.

“Oh I love it here,” Connor snorted, “I don’t wanna leave.”

“Move into the house on Pine,” I called softly, “we can go back to the weekly dinners we used to have with Ma and Pa. Only this time, as a much larger group without… a shadow hanging around us.”

“We have to see it first,” Connor smiled at Juniper who was fully enamored with the arch my mother had put together, “but I don’t see why we wouldn’t.”

“Kai,” I smiled and he came over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist, “do you want to go see the house here after dinner?”

“Absolutely,” he kissed me softly before rubbing his nose with mine, “I can’t wait."

“Me either.”