A/N: This is all Eden. I decided to let this stand on it's own because I absolutely adore how she writes for Kai, especially when he's interacting with Grams.


-Eden

It took everything that Kai had not to burst into a complete laughing fit as both Luke and Liv sat on either side of him, nursing bowls of cereal in an attempt to keep their eyes from meeting their father's. Joshua Parker was a stern and disciplined man, especially in his kitchen. And while he trusted his kids to be adults about ninety percent of the time, he knew that they were bound to be a little reckless for the other ten percent.

But Joshua Parker was no fool. Kai hid his smile behind the mug of coffee he was drinking and he had to bite back a snort from being gently ribbed by Liv's elbow. Their father cleared his throat loudly, slapping the newspaper open and peeking over the edge of it as he saw the younger twins jump slightly.

"I wasn't expecting to see you so early in the morning, Son," gruffed Joshua.

Kai shrugged and rubbed the back of his head as he set the coffee cup down. "Well, I know you said you wanted to head to the market early. Figured I'd just let myself in and catch a quick wink."

Joshua scrutinized him before his eyes lowered to the newspaper. "You kids weren't out all night, were you?"

"No!" said Liv and Luke in unison, earning a quiet snicker from Kai. Liv tried to kick him under the table and he simply shifted his legs to the side to avoid the blow.

Their father hummed in appraisal before folding up the paper. He tossed a pocket-sized notebook to Kai and he caught it expertly in his right hand. Using his finger and thumb, he flipped through the pages and took note of his father's scribbles. Kai looked at his father, confusion setting in his brow. "You're not coming?"

"Can't," Joshua said while standing. "We're down a hand and you're the only one I can trust to pick out the freshest ingredients." Kai stood slowly, unable to stop the proud smile starting to form. "You know how to get there, right?"

Kai shook his head before reaching out to pat Luke and Liv on the tops of their heads. "GPS is a thing, Dad. I got this."

Joshua tossed him a set of keys. "Take the truck." Kai watched his dad snag his keys off the kitchen counter. He opened his mouth to protest but Joshua was already heading out the door. "Dinner prep's at 5:30. Don't be late."

And then he was gone. Kai waited until he heard his car's engine fading off in the distance before giving a pointed look to his younger siblings. They both visibly relaxed, sighing their relief in unison. He leaned over to rest his palms on the table, eyes darting between the two of them.

"Well?" He paused as they raised their brows. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"That you're the best brother in the world for not ratting us out?" queried Luke innocently. Liv nodded.

He scoffed, straightening up to fold his arms across his chest. "You owe me."

Liv frowned. "Already?"

He grinned. "Yes. Already."

Liv groaned, sprawling her upper body across the table. Luke moved her bowl out of the way so she didn't knock it over. "What do you want from us?"

"Nothing." Apparently he'd answered too quickly because they were both looking at him as if he'd granted them salvation. He almost hated to burst their bubble. Well, almost. "Just some information."

"I knew it," Luke replied dryly. "What do you want to know?"

Kai slid into the chair their father had previously occupied. "Tell me about your friend, Bonnie."

Both Luke and Liv looked at each other, then to Kai, then back to each other. However, it was Liv who finally spoke up as Luke dipped his spoon into his bowl to resume eating again. "Why?" Kai didn't miss the quirk of her brow.

He shrugged, trying to play it off as he leaned back. "I'm just curious." Liv didn't look like she was buying it. "She seems nice and was really worried about you two. I just want to know more about the person who took up burdening herself with your drunken antics."

"Hey!" Both of them looked gravely offended. This only made him laugh at their expense.

"I'm just saying."

"We've heard the stories from Jo," clipped Luke between chews. "You weren't exactly a saint."

"I'm still not, but hey, what's that matter, right?" He leaned in and smirked. "I'm just the good boy that never got caught."

Liv rolled her eyes. "You are the worst." Suddenly, a devious grin played on her features. "You know Bonnie is a high schooler, right? Same as us?" She pointed to Luke and herself. "As in she's younger than you?"

Kai frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'll get you all the info you want." Both Liv and Kai looked at Luke who had just taken the last bite of his cereal.

"Lucas!" Liv looked both confused and outraged. Just who was Bonnie that even his edgy sister felt the need to be so protective?

"What? It's a small town. Not like he couldn't dig up the information himself eventually." There was a glint in Kai's eye that gave him flashbacks to when they were younger. He knew that look. He knew that look too well. "I'll save you the leg work."

Kai narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Alright, you little punk. What do you want?"

Luke held up three fingers. "Three passes." Liv blinked, confused, but Kai spied the sudden understanding that blossomed over her features. "It is our senior year. We're gonna need you to cover for us again, no doubt. Oh, and last night doesn't count."

He sputtered a laugh, blinking wide-eyed at his younger brother. That little brat. Kai had to give it to his younger brother. He knew how to turn a situation around in his favor. "Fine. Get me my intel and I'll decide if what you've got is good enough to cover your asses three more times."

Liv and Luke high-fived each other before they hopped up to take their bowls into the kitchen to clean them. Kai grabbed up the keys to his father's truck and started heading out the door. He pulled out his phone and quickly texted his own twin.

-If you've been giving them tips, Jo, you're in big trouble.


Just because Kai had the company credit card didn't mean that he wasn't going to haggle for a good deal. He wanted quality produce and meats and he needed to know what the producers were like in Mystic Falls. Especially since it was made pretty clear that his father was grooming him to take over the business in the area. And if he could make great connections with the producers, then the business would thrive.

His dad didn't make him bust his ass in school for nothing.

After an hour of perusing the entire marketplace, Kai got everything on his dad's list and he did it without having to issue a single name drop. Sure, he could have taken the easy way out and just said he was Joshua Parker's son. But then where was the fun in that? There was no growth.

He even managed to convince a few of them to make personal deliveries to the restaurant. Kai had his dad's truck, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he just wanted to drive his car to work. Could he blame him? Kai bought the car and did all the body work himself, as well as tuning up all the guts inside. He wouldn't hold it against his old man for wanting to live a little.

Just as Kai was getting ready to head back to the truck, he heard a conflict bubbling up just a few feet away from him. Turning to glance over his shoulder, he saw an older black woman fussing with one of the local butchers. There were three, but there was one that his father did business with. Judging by the way the altercation was progressing, Kai had a pretty good idea as to why that was.

"It's every week with you, I swear!"

"It wouldn't have to be if you'd stop trying to pull one over on me, Rogers," spat the older black woman. She rested a hand on her hip while shoving the plastic bag in the other man's face. "You call this a prime cut of meat? I paid good money for a cut of fat!"

Kai and a small group of others paused in their shopping. The rest just kept shopping like nothing was wrong. Apparently this wasn't a new development. A few even chuckled among themselves. He smirked as he shoved a hand into his pocket.

"Your eyesight is going, woman!"

"Your eyesight is gonna go in five seconds if you don't quit trying to highway rob me!"

"Dammit, Sheila! Stop trying to sabotage my business!"

"Give me my meat, Jonathan!"

Kai couldn't take much more of this. Without missing a beat, he sidled up next to the older woman and gently prodded the bag from her fingers. Both the butcher and the woman eyed him - their offense clearly written on their faces. He, however, ignored them so he could peek into the bag.

The woman wasn't lying. It definitely was mostly fat.

"You know, in a small town like this it's pretty important to show some appreciation to your regulars. Otherwise, you'll lose business." Kai held the bag out to the butcher. "So if you want this nice lady to keep you in her good graces, I would suggest either cutting her the prime hunk of meat you promised or give her a refund."

"Who in the hell do you think-"

"I'm the Sous Chef for Vera's," said Kai easily. "You know the place, right? I'm sure you do. In fact, I'm almost positive you've tried to secure a goods contract with the Head Chef, Joshua Parker." Jonathan immediately shut his mouth, his lips forming into a thin line as Kai fished out his wallet and handed him a business card. Jonathan's eyes went wide when he saw Kai's name and title but he shrugged and gave a wink instead. "Adjust your business attitude a little bit and I'll see about dropping your name a few times when talk of contract renewal comes around."

When Kai turned to look at the older woman, he saw her eyeing him suspiciously. But he cranked up the charm and waited for Jonathan to hand her her money back. Sheila wasn't about to fall for it though.

"While I appreciate the help, young man, I can handle my own business."

He smiled. "Oh, I have no doubt. But I just couldn't stand by and let a damsel stay in distress."

"Boy, if you don't-"

"Prime rib, right? If you'd like, I can just give you what I purchased and you can pay me for it?" Her eyes narrowed but Kai kept his smile in place "I'll just order another cut to have sent to the restaurant."

Sheila's bags were strewn about her feet and she put her hands on her hips, giving him the once over, before her nostrils flared. "Well, you gonna offer to help carry my groceries home too?"

"If you want?" He gestured to the makeshift parking lot. "I can even give the lady a ride home."

There was a long spell of silence between them. While most would have found it uncomfortable, Kai ate it up. The attention was slowly dissolving around them, which was fine. He didn't do it to put on a show.

Finally, she sighed. "Well come on then, boy." She gestured for him to follow and Kai immediately leaned over to pick up all of her bags. "Let's see what you're all about."

"Yes ma'am."


Kai couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed this hard in twenty minutes. The ride should have only taken ten, but he was constantly having to slow down because Sheila was making him laugh to the point where he was squinting. Not on purpose, either. It was just some of the off-handed comments she would give as well as her own miniature form of road rage ("Look at this fool, drivin' like he ain't never been behind the wheel a day in his life. Get off the road, you slag!").

She asked all the pertinent questions, of course. Where was he from? Why did he decide to get into the restaurant business? Why did Joshua Parker always look like someone had spit in his cereal (This comment nearly had Kai running off the road, to which Sheila quickly chastised him about his driving)?

In turn, Kai did his own form of casual interrogation. Asked all the questions he needed to know mostly about Mystic Falls (even where all the churches were and she stressed that he should attend her own church sometime). Maybe it was the whole small town aspect, but it was refreshing to be so openly invited and even spoken to like he was already a regular resident of the area. There were things he missed about the bigger city, of course. But Mystic Falls was starting to grow on him more and more.

And then there was still that little mystery to solve.

He pulled up along the curb of Sheila's cottage home. It definitely looked like the kind of house this fiery older woman would have. Kai was a gentleman and opened her door for her, helping her out of the passenger seat. She seemed to approve.

"Well, Malachai, it's been a pleasure. I think I got it from here."

"You're sure?" he asked, casually flipping his wrist over to look at the time. He had about forty-five minutes to spare before he needed to head to the restaurant for dinner prep.

"Mmhm," she said, lifting a few of the bags into her arms. "My granddaughter is here so she can help me with the rest."

He was getting ready to bid his farewells until the front door opened and a person poked their head outside. Kai dropped his keys when he saw who it was. Even from that distance, her green eyes were hard to miss.

"Need help, Grams?"

Kai wasted no time scooping the bags from Sheila's arms, along with the others she hadn't gotten to yet (and keys because, yeah). Sheila eyed him curiously and Bonnie was already halfway across the yard before she stopped short upon seeing him. He tried to look less surprised but he was almost sure that it wasn't coming off that way.

"Kai?" Bonnie tilted her head slightly before looking between both him and Sheila. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran into your grandmother at the market. I mean, I didn't know it was your grandmother but, yeah, just decided to help her with her groceries and stuff." God, was that the best he could come up with? And stuff? Really, Kai?

"Yes, such a gentleman," chimed Sheila while folding her arms across her chest. "Butcher tried to pull a fast one on your dear old grandma."

"Was it Mr. Rogers again?" Bonnie sighed while shaking her head. "I swear, he is always trying something with you."

"Beautiful day in the neighborhood my ass," she said as they began walking toward the cottage. "He thinks he's slick, but I'd lay that man out, let me tell you."

Kai couldn't stop the laughter that spilled out of him even if he'd wanted to. Seriously, who was this woman? He watched Bonnie loop her arm through Sheila's as they made their way up the small set of stairs, Kai hot on their heels.

"I think he has a crush on you." Bonnie offered, causing Sheila to stop short in the entryway. Kai paused, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"Girl, you better get outta here with that talk," the older woman said with a laugh, causing Bonnie to wriggle away from Sheila's hands that looked on the verge of tickling her. Again, he couldn't stop the smile from spreading over his face even if he wanted to. The older woman looked over her shoulder at him and gestured to the first open entryway to the left. "Kitchen's over there, young man. Go on."

Rustling the bags, he gave a two-fingered salute. "Yes ma'am!" He brushed past the two women and entered the kitchen, feeling the homey vibe it gave almost instantly.

He set the bags on the counter and began unloading all of the groceries - putting away all the produce and meats first. It was a small kitchen so it wasn't hard for him to navigate through. Kai was used to being able to deduce what went where and how a person liked to have their things organized based on how their kitchen was set up. Call it a perk of having worked in a variety of kitchens in his life.

By the time he finished up (as well as putting away the dishes that had been sitting in the dish rack), Kai was about to announce that he needed to go. But when he poked his head into the hallway, no one was around. It felt a little weird creeping around in another person's home - him being a stranger and all. Yet he also knew that it would have been even more rude to leave without so much as a "goodbye".

The warmth that exuded from Sheila's home gave way to memories for Kai. Of a home back in Portland when his mother was still alive - before the jaws of death had ripped her from this world. Not to say that his home was any less loving, because it wasn't. But it lacked an older woman's comforting embrace. The sort of feeling that permeated throughout every crevice of the cottage's walls.

The cute bathrooms, the dining area (which had him thinking about the intimate breakfast nook that was nestled in the corner of the kitchen), as well as the vintage paintings and odd things littered throughout the living room. Even the worn bookshelf situated against the back wall where a "reading area" was designated had been welcoming. Kai couldn't help but wonder how many times Bonnie had fallen asleep reading by the fireplace growing up. She looked like the type who enjoyed the feel of a good, weathered book between her elegant fingers.

Meandering through the rest of the house, Kai found a backdoor and poked his head through the window. He saw Sheila and Bonnie nestled down in the dirt, tending to the older woman's garden. Kai quietly opened the door, stepping out onto the back porch and felt his heart jump into his throat.

Bonnie was tending to the irises - their deep purple petals caressing along her cheeks as she took a moment to wipe the stem and leaves clean. She brushed the back of her wrist across her nose, leaving a smudge of dirt in its wake. Her smile was wide, free and honest. Kai knew that he liked her smile, but this? This was something else entirely. It wasn't guarded, curious or even puzzled. It was sincere and Kai had to wonder if she smiled like this often or if this was a side of her that she didn't allow anyone else to see.

Could he be one of the few who had seen her this way?

"Finished already?"

Kai blinked rapidly, Sheila's voice tearing through his mind and jerking him out of the stupor that Bonnie's smile had put him in. When he refocused, that genuine smile was gone and replaced with a curious expression. He hadn't even realized his mouth had been open slightly until Sheila cleared her throat. Kai scratched the back of his head and laughed, coughing at the tail end of it.

"Yeah, I'm finished. Just wanted to let you ladies know before I head out."

Bonnie and Sheila both stood, dusting off the dirt from their hands as they made their way to him. Sheila regarded him curiously and Bonnie smiled - a softer, less honest version of the one he'd seen just seconds prior.

"Well, I certainly appreciate it, Malachai." Kai wasn't used to people other than family calling him by his given name, but coming from Sheila it felt normal so he didn't mind. "Are you free for dinner, by chance?" The woman rested a hand on the flare of her hip. "I feel like I owe you a meal for all your help today."

Mentally he groaned. Dammit. Why did work have to be a thing? Sighing, he shook his head. "Sorry, I can't. I actually have to be heading back to the restaurant soon." He eyed his watch. Yup. Fifteen minutes, exactly. He flashed a smile to the older woman. "Can I take a rain check?"

She laughed. "Sure."

Kai shook his head before turning to Bonnie. "Nice to see you again, Bonnie. I'll catch you later."

Bonnie blinked, as if she'd been knocked out of her own headspace. "Oh, yeah," she said, nodding. "For sure."

He turned, holding his arm out in farewell. "See ya!"

And before he was further entranced by those seas of green, Kai bolted back into the house, sped through the length of it, and all but jumped out the front door. His heart hammered against his chest like a war drum and he quickly climbed into the truck, his hand moving to his chest in an almost vain attempt to calm his erratic heartbeat.

This is crazy!

He was acting like some lovesick high schooler! No. This wasn't cool. Not cool at all. Kai needed to get his head together and quick. Because if his body inflamed and his brain turned to porridge every time he saw Bonnie, then he wasn't going to make it.

They'd have to bury him because he would have stroked out.


Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. It wasn't long before word got around that Malachai Parker was Joshua Parker's son - oldest son of the Parker family. Adjusting to life in Mystic Falls had been a bit of a breeze and others in his own age group liked to poke at him about being a "city boy". He was a fish out of water, to be sure, but he didn't mind.

Kai was already mentally filing away people on certain lists as he met them. It was his way of assessing just what kind of situation he was putting himself in, as well as the people who Bonnie tended to orbit around. He didn't necessarily care about making friends with them, but it certainly helped if he got along with them when she was around.

Caroline was an immediate favorite - her energy always threatening to bubble over like a freshly popped cork of champagne. Rebekah and Matt were the ones always cheering their friends on in whatever mess they decided to get themselves into. Tyler was keenly on Kai's radar, mostly because he was dating his baby sister and he had to throw his weight around. Mason made the transition easy and the townspeople in Mystic Falls hailed them as the Fireman and the Chef - the oddest bromance to have ever formed.

While Kai took an instant liking to Katherine, he didn't much care for her twin, Elena. Most would think that having a twin would make a person relatable, but Katherine was much more honest and down to earth. Kai especially didn't like the way that Elena was always so clippy with Bonnie. Like she'd been the one to take a shit in the Gilbert girl's cereal. The same circle of friends noticed this, but silenced Elena when they could or reminded her of her attitude and to get it straight.

Jeremy promptly became a rival, at least initially. The rumor mill was relentless in small towns so the hint that Kai had a crush on Bonnie was like a declaration of war on Little Gilbert. Yet when they crossed paths, Kai couldn't help feeling brotherly affection toward Jeremy. He was still a kid in his own right, trying to figure out who he was. Once the initial puffing of chests had concluded, Kai earned Jeremy's respect by beating him soundly in Mario Kart (the dreaded Rainbow Road, to be exact). They were becoming friends pretty fast.

Then there were the Salvatores. Stefan was a good guy and could build a mean card mansion. The two of them had challenged each other to a card castle competition at The Grill one Saturday night for shits and giggles. There hadn't been a clear winner and the decision was postponed thanks to his brother, Luke, sneezing both monuments over due to his hay fever. They'd all laughed, promising to pick up the challenge again. Yeah, he liked Stefan and Kai personally thought he deserved better than Elena. Her doe eyes always seemed to wander toward the darker, mysterious bad boy of an older brother.

Damon Salvatore. Others seemed to fawn over him (at least those without any sense did) and Kai couldn't really understand why. Sure, he wasn't some altar boy himself, but Kai at least liked to believe that he didn't have anything to prove. Damon seemed to always act like he had to validate his existence somehow.

Kai didn't like him at all. Coupled with the fact that Bonnie's eyes seemed to take on a haze of stars when he was around and that made his distaste for him grow that much more. She was changing, little by little, but had remained wholly herself (thank God) despite her ever budding curiosity over Damon's interest in her.

Sheila Bennett was his absolute favorite person in Mystic Falls - ranking right up there with Bonnie herself. There were days when they swapped the number one spot, but ultimately, Kai could never get enough of the older woman. She made him laugh until he felt his sides screaming in agony with the stories she would tell, how she would fuss over Bonnie and made a constant poke at Kai to keep an eye on her "beloved granddaughter". Had he been dubbed the honorary big brother? He hoped not. Guardian, maybe. But not that. Kai had enough siblings.

When Kai wasn't working out, helping his dad out at the restaurant, keeping his younger siblings out of trouble, or checking in on Jo to make sure she took breaks, he was always at Sheila Bennett's house. He would help out where he could, whether he was asked to or not. Just menial chores: mending the roof, cutting the yard, sweeping the porch, fixing the plumbing, and hefting things from the attic or from the basement. Kai never cared because he was going to have praise and a hot meal waiting for him when he finished. Always. Bonnie being around was the added bonus and there were jokes often thrown about how he was attempting to steal her grandmother from her.

Kai would let Bonnie wreck him in UNO as penance.

Before long, it was Thanksgiving (Kai's absolute favorite holiday) and he was very adamant about having Bonnie and Sheila over for a traditional, Parker Family Thanksgiving. Joshua had heard much about Sheila, but had never really interacted with her personally until that day. Needless to say, the two older ones hit it off immediately - Sheila fussing over the state of Joshua's hearing ("Huh, what was that you said, Sheila?") and how he needed to take better care of himself. Sheila and Bonnie were fan favorites in the Parker household.

December soon approached and Kai felt his mood shifting in a different direction. Everyone seemed to recognize it - curious if anything was going on. He forced smiles and gave false reassurances. Jo knew what was up - she'd sensed it first. Call it the weird twin bond they had. Luke and Liv shortly followed and it wasn't until he'd lost his temper in the kitchen at Vera's that his father told him to take the first flight back to Portland to get his head on straight. It was the first time they'd argued in a while and he saw how visibly shaken his siblings were.

When he arrived in Portland, he received a text from Jo. It was the name of a well-known psychiatrist in Portland that one of her co-workers had recommended to her. Was he having a mental breakdown? Everything had been going so well and then he just...lost it. Like he couldn't even recognize himself in the mirror anymore. He couldn't figure out who was talking or why he was constantly feeling like he had a chip on his shoulder. Kai was just so fucking angry. What had he forgotten to do?

It took him a week to finally schedule an appointment with Dr. Elizabeth Winters. The first session had been only an hour consisting of idle chatter while she listened. She watched him. He watched her. She didn't scribble anything down on her notebook at all - something that was a bit of a stereotype, of course, but Kai had been expecting it. She spoke to him like he was a person and not someone who had a problem, even though it was clear that he did, in fact, have a problem.

Kai saw her every day for the rest of that week.

Both friends and family called and texted regularly, making sure that he was okay. It was strange and he was happy. His mood was starting to lift little by little. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. By the end of the second week, however, Kai was getting restless at the house and had gone on an excessive cleaning spree. He visited his mother's grave and cried relentlessly over her headstone, falling asleep in the dirt only to wake up screaming hours later.

Something was definitely wrong with him. There had been for a long time now. How could he have forgotten about it?

A week before Christmas, he got a text from Bonnie and it changed everything.

-Kai? Are you okay? I've tried reaching out to everyone, but no one knows why you left and your family isn't talking for obvious reasons. I know it's probably none of my business, but I want you to know that I'm here if you ever need anything. Grams misses you. We all miss you. Come home soon.

He cried himself to sleep and didn't get out of bed for two days.

Instead of responding to Bonnie, Kai forced himself out of bed and made another appointment with Dr. Winters. She sat him down in her office and gave both a prescription and a schedule for his weekly therapy sessions.

He'd fucking relapsed and not even realized it.

Kai had been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder when he was in high school, shortly after his mother had died. It was genetic and he'd inherited it from her - almost as if her death had triggered it to bloom inside of him. The struggles with college were mild in comparison to his own manic depression and having to constantly combat it was always wearing him out. But his family had remained steadfast beside him - encouraging him and giving him love every step of the way. He had attended therapy weekly and was always on time with his medication.

...until he moved to Mystic Falls, that is.

Everything had changed when he'd first met Bonnie. He'd even cut back on smoking and threw himself into the whirlwind that was his new life there in that sleepy little town. Kai had gotten so wrapped up in that world that he'd forgotten about taking his medication. He'd forgotten to schedule therapy sessions with the local therapist. He'd been swept away by a sea of green and Kai had almost drowned in them.

Kai didn't come home for Christmas that year.

Regardless of the sudden changes in his life, he knew he needed to take care of himself. He didn't want to wreck the world around him, dragging it into a proverbial black hole the way that his mother had during her last months alive before she finally died.

He was happy. He wanted to remain happy. Always.

"Guess who's back, you punks?"

Liv and Luke both yelled in delight, rushing over to Kai and practically barreling him over in the front yard just as he set his bags down. Jo came running out the door to see what all the fuss was about and Joshua was in the middle of drying his hands with a dish towel. Kai laughed when he was able to pry his younger siblings off of him and he caught the look of relief washing over his dad's face. He knew that his father was the most worried of them all.

"Welcome home, Son," he said and Kai felt his brows cinch slightly as a knot formed in his chest. "Are you good?"

Kai watched Liv and Luke scamper back into the house with his bags. He didn't bother stopping them. "Yeah, I'm good, Dad."

"Good. Now hurry up and come on in. Dinner's almost ready."

"Uh, I gotta stop by a few places first." Kai flashed him a smile to reassure him that everything was fine. "You guys go ahead without me."

"We'll wait until you get back. Be careful."

He watched his father disappear back into the house before turning to Jo. "My rent's good, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Who do you think I am?" Jo squeaked when Kai pulled her into a hug. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just have some stuff to take care of." He let her go, pulling his keys out so he could take his own car that was still parked in the driveway. "It won't take long, I promise. I'll stay here for a few days just to ease Dad's mind, then I'm going back to my place."

Jo nodded and then shrugged. "You don't have to explain it to me. You're grown." She shooed him off and he laughed, pressing a loud kiss to her cheek. "Be careful!"

"Always!"

When Kai knocked on Sheila Bennett's door, he didn't expect a warm welcome. But he certainly didn't expect a pepper grinder to come flying at him. Kai barely dodged it before getting smacked in the face with a dishrag.

"Malachai Parker! You've got some nerve!"

"Ow-hey! Sheila, wait a minute! Let me explain!"

She tried to wallop him with the rolling pin next and he couldn't help but laugh at how much this probably resembled a sitcom. Of course, Sheila thought he was laughing at her expense and made a move to grab an umbrella from the rack when he'd finally wrestled the rolling pin from her. You'd think she was a jilted lover with the way that she was carrying on.

Dodging the umbrella, Kai quickly reached off to the side and thrust a bouquet of tulips, lilies, and jasmines into her face. This halted her motions long enough for him to skitter inside and plant a kiss on the older woman's cheek. She smacked his shoulder and he danced away from her when she tried to do it again.

The two of them said nothing once they were inside the kitchen. Kai watched her arrange the flowers in a clear vase before moving to the cabinet to retrieve two cups. She'd apparently just put the kettle on and was making tea. Sheila didn't ask for an explanation and Kai wasn't sure if he had one that he could properly give to her. Not yet, anyway.

He was about three sips into his forgiveness brew when the front door opened suddenly. Bonnie burst through and looked around, her green eyes wide with surprise before a smile spread over her lips. Goddamn, he'd really missed that smile. How had he gone months without it?

"You're back! I thought that was your car!"

Kai stood just as Bonnie crossed the room and gave him a warm hug. There was nothing romantic behind it. He hadn't expected it to be. But it was welcoming all the same and that's all Kai could have asked for.

"I can't stay for long, Bonnie. I just came by to make sure that your Grams didn't hate my guts and, well, to give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular box. Holding it out for her, she looked at it curiously before Kai nodded for her to open it.

Bonnie gasped slightly, covering her mouth with one hand as she eyed the charm bracelet. It was silver and gold and each charm held a special meaning. Currently, there were four charms hanging from the bracelet with room for three more to be hung around it. A golden book/journal as a show of her love for reading and writing, a silver game controller (because she was a beast at Mario Kart), a golden rosebud that reflected her love of flowers, and a silver "B" for her name.

Kai jumped slightly when Bonnie hugged him again and he wrapped his arms around her. "Happy Birthday, Bonster." He pulled her off of him and laughed. "Anyway, I can't stay. I promised my folks I'd have dinner with them. We'll catch up."

Just as he turned to head out the door, Bonnie grabbed his arm to stop him. Peering over his shoulder at her, he couldn't miss the worried expression lining her face. "Are you back?"

There was a flicker of warmth that seemed to seep and spread throughout his entire body. Even if it was just out of friendship, budding and fresh, Bonnie had been worried about him. "Yeah, I'm back." He flashed her his best impish grin and winked. "For good."