A/N: Yay for long hiatuses and random, cheesy endings. Enjoy.
Pure Intentions
Chapter Seventeen: Summer Rain
Had they been just another couple in the midst of a maturing romance, Shawn and Violet would've introduced one another into their own respective households a long time ago. But they weren't and they hadn't, simply because they were traveling non-stop and it was hardly anything to be discussed and/or planned. She had never been to the house he had once shared for several years with his ex-wife and kids and he had never seen (nor was he going to see) the small and inconsiderable apartment that she had rented for the most part of her days in university and was teased endlessly for by Chris. It was also the one she also had dreamed of living in with Matthew all before they had become engaged, but she digressed.
They had arrived in San Antonio a mere few hours ago and she was certain they were spending the night at Shawn's. He needn't have asked, but he did anyway; he was never one to jump the gun.
"Of course," she had said once they had landed, and with the anxious look on his face she knew he had been a bit nervous to ask her.
"You didn't have to ask, you know what my answer would be – is," she had told him reassuringly.
The man still looked a little uneasy. "M'sorry," was all he had managed in response, his voice sheepish and his face even more so. Violet just wrapped an arm around his waist in a half-hug. "Something wrong?" she knew there was, she just didn't want him to know that.
He shook his head as they walked to luggage claim, partially dizzy as a result of all the air travelling he had done in his lifetime. "I'm fine." The conversation ended there, but not before she had kissed the lower line of his jaw and told him she loved him.
"I know," he had said simply, spotting their suitcases and pulling from her grip to grab them. He returned and smiled in relief, albeit a bit transparently, to have been spared from a flight delay, unlike Chris and a countless amount of his fellow colleagues. "I love you too."
Violet looked up at him as they made their way to the doors. "I know," she said, smirking. "I know."
-x-
On the drive from the airport, Violet was surprised when her phone rang unexpectedly, the caller I.D not sounexpectedly reading her brother's name and number. She pressed the answer button without any further thought and held the cell to her ear. "'Hi."
"Where are you?" It figured...Chris was never one to say hello. Especially to her because he thought there was an unwritten rule of not having to greet your siblings on the phone because...well, they're your siblings. She rolled her eyes, grinning amusedly despite herself. "San Antonio, Chrissy," she replied, tapping a knuckle against the window and giggling when she heard an agitated huff.
"Don't call me that," muttered Chris, taking darkly to his tantalizing childhood nickname. "Not around anyone else, anyway..."
Violet cast a glance to Shawn, who was too lost in his own world to pay any heed to the woman sitting beside him, let alone what she was doing or who she was talking to. Something was the matter she thought with a frown, he had only begun acting so unlike himself last night. She had yet to find the answer, but was more than determined to...
"Hello? Earth to Violet?"
She brought her focus back to the conversation she was currently having with Chris, having zoned out momentarily. "Hm?"
"Can you do me a favour?"
She stayed silent, pretending to consider this – something she was sure would annoy him. Hearing a grunt of impatience from her brother, she snickered. "All right. What is it you need, your highness?"
Unbeknownst to her Chris narrowed his eyes, a sign that his temper was seriously being tested. If these entire 'queen' remarks didn't stop soon...He'd heard enough from Jay, and he'd hate to be charged with murder for strangling the one person he was closest to...
"Cut it out," he commanded, biting back his initial acidity. He could hear her sober up, and before he had the chance to feel guilty he continued. "Can you check us in?"
No sound was heard for the following seconds. For a minute Chris believed his call had dropped, but was proved wrong when Violet let out a breath. "We're going to be leaving in ten minutes and by the time I get there I'll be so tired that I'll just collapse on the floor and—"
"I'm sleeping at Shawn's tonight."
Chris blinked, taken aback by what he had heard, or what he had thought he had heard. "What?"
"I'm sleeping at Shawn's tonight," Violet repeated, and then added: "If that's OK with you..." Her tone was timid and apprehensive, he noticed as he mulled over what she was telling him. It was almost as if she was afraid he was going to yell at her and forbid her from doing such a thing.
"Chris...?"
"That's fine," he finally said, surprising both her and his own self. If she wanted to spend the night with him that was all right. He meant it. He found he had no problems with her being with Shawn whatsoever and it made him happy to know that there was absolutely no reason for him to feel otherwise. It made her even happier to know that he was being genuine and was no longer harbouring resentment towards Shawn.
Violet smiled broadly. "Really?"
His expression matched hers. "Really." He said, feeling a tug on his shoulder and craning his neck to see that Jay was trying to tell him that they were scheduled to take off soon. "Okay," he mouthed, nodding in understanding and then getting back to his sister. "I have to go," he informed hastily, his joyous emotion faltering but only briefly. "But we're going out for dinner when I get there."
The woman's eyebrows rose. "Me and you?"
Chris chuckled. "And Jay, if you don't mind. You can bring Shawn, too, if you want."
"That sounds wonderful."
"It does, doesn't it?"
Again Chris felt a nudge, and didn't need to be warned a third time before he was bidding Violet a 'see you later'.
When he boarded his plane, the older Irvine couldn't suppress the feeling of glee that without fail overtook him, despite the accompanying nausea of being lifted high into the air in such a short amount of time. Jay watched from the seat next to him and reached for Chris' hand, startled when he noted that their fingers were already entwined. "You're happy," he used his free hand to poke at Chris' chest – the area where his heart was located. "I haven't you smile so much before."
Cerulean eyes combined with crystal blue ones. "That's 'cause you've never seen the way I look at you."
Jay scoffed playfully, swatting the slightly older man's arm and turning away from him to face the window. "Thanks for being so cheesy, jackass."
He could sense Chris smiling broadly behind his back. "You're welcome, honey muffin!"
-x-
"We need to talk," Violet announced once the extensive tour of Shawn's house came to a close, with them having started at the living room and now back in it. The radiance of the flames burning with the pit of the fireplace at the front of the room gave a loud crackle, shattering the silence that followed Violet's declaration. Shawn stared mindlessly into the orange hue before promptly snapping back into reality after a few seconds. "What?"
Violet gave a light-hearted sigh and plopped herself down on the beige leather couch seated in the center of the spacious den. She patted the cushion beside her and waved a hand for him to sit.
"C'mere," she said, and he complied, moving over to her questioningly but not offering anything but a thoughtful noise before taking the spot next to her. She looked at him in both sympathy and concern. "Are you all right?" her words were nothing but soft and experimental, but still he glanced at her as if they were razor-edged and painful.
"What do you mean?"
"You..." she thought of a good way to phrase what she had been noticing of him as of late, "you're... not acting like yourself, so I'm asking...Are you all right?"
Shawn cocked his head as if to ask for proof of what she was trying to say. Violet inched forward a bit and laid a hand on his shoulder, tracing delicate patterns on his bicep. "I mean...if I'm worrying for nothing, I'm sorry. But I can't handle you not smiling like you usually do, or being as happy as you usually are...So please tell me Shawn."
"I'm...fine." There was so much hesitancy in just those two short words, and such a vacant expression in his eyes that Violet found that even the most naive part of her could not believe him.
Her hand slipped from his arm.
"You're lying," she stated simply, not as an accusation but as a fact. He's the most honest person she knows and why he'd try his hand at lying must have a real good reason for him to do so. She isn't as angry that he'd be so secretive with her – especially after what gone on with Chris not too long ago – as much as she is disappointed. She had told him everything but did not expect him to do the same. If there were things he couldn't disclose to her, that's perfectly fine and more than understandable. But she'd hate to have to watch him act so sullenly all the time.
A huge exhalation of breath poured passed his lips; he'd decided not to attempt to go on any further in his rather pitiable and useless act. "I'm leaving for Atlanta tomorrow," he revealed, not bothering to watch her face transition from apprehension into confusion.
"Atlanta? As in Atlanta, Georgia?"
He nodded forlornly.
"What?" was all Violet could manage. "Why?"
"The custody hearing."
Immediately the woman's brows furrowed. "Custody hearing?"
Again he confirmed this with a movement of his head. "Between me and..." He trailed off, his voice low, and finally met Violet's eyes. By not inquiring further, she was subconsciously and patiently waiting for him to explain the sudden situation.
"Yesterday I was told that it had been moved up from its original date."
"And that would be...?"
"The 26th of next month," he clarified. She once again paused, waiting for him to say more. He was quick to oblige, spurred on by the oncoming realization Violet was giving way to.
"It's taking place Wednesday, but I have to be there by evening tomorrow..."
Violet looked at him in miscomprehension. "So why'd you come here if you knew you had to leave?"
He combed his fingers through his hair and then tucked Violet's loose blonde strands behind the left side of her neck making it so that the right was bare and he could tenderly brush his fingertips across the skin. She shivered at the feather-light contact. "I wanted to spend the night with you," he murmured, watching in fascination and awe as his touch caused goose-bumps to run rampant all over the exposed bits of her flesh. "I didn't want to just leave."
Violet held her breath as she felt him pull her closer with one hand and used the other to cup and caress the underside of her jaw. "So..." she said, closing her eyes under his intense gaze and taking everything in, "the gala?"
She felt him stiffen and the repetitive stroking of her cheek stop. She fluttered her lids open to see him looking down at her sadly. "I won't be there," he whispered. "I'm sorry."
Her chest deflated a bit in disappointment, but she knew that he was only going to absent for the sake of his kids. And she wasn't going to be the one to stand in the way of his role as a father. "It's okay," she responded genuinely. "I'd rather have you miss it than you...lose your..." she didn't know how to not sound annoyingly informative, "...case."
He smiled and she lit up instantly, having missed seeing him so lively, even if it had only been for a day or two.
"I'm so glad you understand. I swear I'll make it up to you—"
Violet giggled. "Honestly, Shawn. Your children are far more important than being my date to some social fling that, if it weren't for that fact that it gives me an excuse to dress up fancy, I could care less about." She bit her lip and then gradually broke out into a grin. "As for 'making it up' to me, I'm sure we could arrange... something."
"Oh really?" Shawn chuckled at her suggestiveness. "I guess we could..." He leaned into her, well within the proximity for a kiss, but before their lips had the chance to meet, Violet's cell phone vibrated from the confinements of her jeans pocket and made her jump, Shawn starting as well and then breaking out into laughter because of it.
Violet shushed him humorously before answering. "Hello?"
"I've just landed and I'm starving." Again Chris got straight to the point. "Let's find somewhere to eat."
The younger Irvine rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling. Shawn knew immediately who she was talking to. "I got an idea. How about you go driving around, search for a good restaurant and then call me when you're done?"
Chris scoffed, pretending that he was offended at having to do all the 'work'. "I just got off a flight, cut me some slack!"
"Never!"
The two tossed meaningless insults back and forth, before Chris finally 'gave in' and promised he'd start scouring the city for the best eatery. But before either of them hung up, Chris asked if Shawn was coming. Violet, in turn, blocked the speaker with one hand and asked the same question but this time towards the man himself.
"Would it be all right?"
"Of course!" She hit him lightly for thinking otherwise.
He thought about it for a short amount of time before smiling and accepting the warm invite. Violet gave him a peck on the lips in response and grinned when an audible "ew!" emanated from the other side of the line. "Get a room!" she heard a few seconds later.
Both she and Shawn smirked at this. "We're in one," she said slyly. "His bedroom, to be more specific..Right, Shawn?"
The older man, going along with the ruse, suppressed a laugh. "Oh yeah," he agreed, "on my bed..."
Violet just about died from hearing Chris' reaction: a squeak and then a low growl. She then made exaggerated kissing noises and laboured her breathing a bit. She even went as far as to whine Shawn's name (who was now burying his head in one of the pillows that adorned the couch in order to keep from laughing uncontrollably) and acted as if she just only realized Chris was still on the phone.
"Chrissy? Do you want me to put you on speaker phone?"
The line went dead right after.
-x-
Later, when the two couples met up at the casual and considerably medium-class restaurant the hotel staff had recommended, Chris was predictably griping about how 'traumatized' Violet and Shawn had left him after their phone conversation.
"I didn't need to hear that!" he whined, clearly grossed out by the implications of what they had been doing, "You're my sister, for God sakes!" And all Violet had done in response was laugh and insist that nothing had happened and only pretended like it so as to freak him out. "Well, it worked!" he huffed childishly. "Mission accomplished! But I still don't believe you!"
Shawn just flashed his trademark lopsided smirk and shrugged, also throwing Chris a sly wink and laughing when 'Y2J' froze up as a result.
Things only picked up from there.
After placing their orders and waiting for a good ten minutes, the waitress came back, though only to refill their glasses of water. After she lastly poured some into Chris' previously empty cup, he frowned and commented dryly: "This could not get any warmer."
Jay, apparently an ace at replying quickly to Chris' cynicism and most often annoying complaints, didn't miss a beat. "You could try putting it down your pants, that usually does the trick," he suggested in an exaggerated tone. Violet snorted and nearly spit out her drink and Shawn was no better off. Chris narrowed his eyes, disliking the fact that he was the center of amusement. "I'll put it down your pants, if you don't shut up," he shot back.
His boyfriend merely cocked an eyebrow in challenge. "You're talking 'bout the water, right?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Duh."
"That's too bad," Jay lowered his voice to close whisper and leaned forward into Chris, "I was hoping you had meant your hand."
In reply, Jay had received nothing but a very dark glare and obvious hint of pained arousal. He couldn't help but pity Chris as he went on teasing him.
Needless to say, the evening wasn't living up to Violet's original expectations, but this, whatever it was considered, was much better.
-x-
During the way back to Shawn's house, the two were unusually quiet. The only sound heard between them besides the steady revving of the vehicle was their soft breathing. Violet was practically curled up in the passenger seat and Shawn was lazed back comfortably as he drove. Soon, after several minutes had passed, both of them became aware of their not saying anything.
"I had a good time," Shawn started as Violet did as well. They glimpsed at one another and laughed, Shawn then refocused on the road ahead of them that was now being tarnished with heavy-falling rain and switched on the windshield wipers. He couldn't help but sigh in moderate displeasure.
"A rutty end to a wonderful day," he commented.
The girl beside him traced a fingertip alongside a raindrop that was slowly sliding down the glass of the window. "I think it's a beautiful end."
He hummed in thought, not quite surprised, and didn't say anything again until he brought up the topic that was weighing down his mind. "Vi?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure you're, uh...Ok?"
She observed him as he threaded one hand through his hair, the other one remaining firmly on the steering wheel and at first didn't know what he was asking. But then she remembered.
"I'm fine, Shawn," she states truthfully, shaking her head at him in mild reprimand, "It's just a dance. There'll be plenty more in the future, I'm sure. Your children however..." She gestured to the two small pictures of his daughter and son that are hanging from the rear-view mirror. "Are irreplaceable, and not to mention the most important part of your life. You're their dad, you're a family, and you deserve – no, need – to be together. I'll be damned if your ex-wife...or I, for that matter, keep you from being together."
Just then he pulled into the long winding dirt road that is his driveway and abruptly parked the car farther distance from the house than either would like. But at the moment, that doesn't matter right now because he was being overwhelmed with so much affection and adoration that he was going to go insane if he didn't express it in some way. And so he does.
With a doting kiss that progressively turns more passionate with each passing moment, they separate briefly, only to exit the car and then rejoin under the falling rain. Violet's left hand is in the back of his jeans' pocket and his right arm is around her waist. They're getting soaked pretty fast, but that fact just unites them more.
"You were right," Shawn says when they're only a few metres away from his porch, pausing on the front lawn and glancing up to the consistently gray sky. He then looks down at Violet, his blue eyes greeting her olive. "It is beautiful."
She doesn't think he means the weather now, seeing as he's gazing at their now interlocked hands. She smiles inside and out and agrees wholeheartedly. "It is."