𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 {𝚓𝚓 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔}

𝚜.𝟷 𝚎𝚙.𝟾 -𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎-

"who else is gonna put up with me this way? / I need you, I breathe you, I'll never leave you / they would rue the day, I was alone without you."

~

The Runway

The next day, Tate sat on the edge of the hot tub next to JJ, one leg resting in the water and the other out. A few feet away, Kiara and Pope tested out their pulley system on a tree, but JJ and Tate weren't paying them any attention. "Wanna go on a date?" JJ asked, his hand running absentmindedly up and down her thigh.

"Huh?"

JJ looked up at her, his eyes sparkling almost teasingly. "Remember when I beat you in our race? Like- the first time we hung out as a couple." Tate thought for a second, and then nodded her head slowly. "Right. So you told me I could take you out on a real date-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Tate cut him off, laughing, "you did not beat me!"

JJ's laugh cut through the still, humid air like a knife. "I thought you wouldn't pick up on that," he said, his shoulders shaking as he bent his head down and took a sip from the bottle in his hand.

"I so beat you."

"So, when can I take you on a date? An actual one?"

He looked at her expectantly, but Tate only laughed again. With everything going on... with everything they'd been through in the last few weeks, the idea of a date seemed so ridiculously easy it wasn't even possible. "Whenever you want, J," she said with a lofty grin.

"Right now," said JJ without missing a beat.

Tate rolled her eyes. "Whenever you want- with a day's warning," she corrected herself. "I need time to get ready." She gestured down at her messy hair and old swimsuit. "Can't go out looking like this."

"I think you look great," JJ said with a shrug. Tate pushed his shoulder, offsetting his balance enough for him to almost topple over into the hot tub. He caught himself at the last second, but his attention was diverted. "Hey!" he called out, and Tate whirled around to see John B stalking towards them through the backyard.

She hadn't seen him since he left for his fishing trip with Ward Cameron that morning, and now he was looking moody and serious. "What's up with you?" she called to him, "Something wrong in Kook-land?"

JJ laughed. "Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything," he said.

"No, he did not," corrected Pope. "I did that."

John B ignored them all, not even stopping to say hello. He simply passed by the group and headed for the door of the house, a determined look on his face. "Okay, that's it?" JJ said, confused.