Root stared out the window of Harold's car, eyes fixed on the Bishop, Tx sign as the approached the town line. They'd spent the weekend in Washington, Dc for the Science Bowl championships and Root was mourning the return to her home town. She and Sameen had kissed under the Cherry Blossom Trees. It was a perfect weekend, ending in Bishop High School's first ever National Science Bowl Championships.

Now, they were almost home, back to their routine and the last few months of high school. It felt unreal, like Root wasn't solid. She felt unsteady and unsure about the future. Not about her and Sameen, they were fine, but just about life and college and adulthood.

Root never thought she'd make it this far. She knew she was meant for something more than Bishop, like she was better than her mother and their terrible house and this shitty town, but it felt wrong to actually move forward. She was happy, happier than she had ever been in her entire life, but everything was so different than it was four years ago.

Sameen took her hand and Root looked away from the sign, meeting her eyes. She looked calm and Root wondered what she was thinking about. If they weren't in the car with Harold, Grace, Mrs. Reese, and Lionel, she would have asked.

Instead, she handed Sameen her trophy and burrowed deeper into Sameen's letterman jacket. She might not be an athlete, but she was a Bishop High superstar now. She'd probably get her picture in the glass cabinets by the front office. Martine would be so pissed.

Root looked around the car. Harold was driving, Grace sitting next to him, leaning across the armrest so they could talk quietly. Mrs. Reese and Lionel were in the middle set of seats. Sameen had made fun of Harold's big, shiny car, but it fit all of them comfortably, and they could probably have fit John in the back row with them. She leaned forward.

"Ask me a science question!"

Mrs. Reese laughed, turning to smile at her. "You just spent all weekend answering science questions. Don't you want a break?"

Root rolled her eyes, pulling her legs up onto the seat. "It's more important for me to be ready now. I have a reputation to uphold."

"Queen of the Nerds," Sameen joked. "People are going to be stopping her in the hall to ask her what microbacteria lives on Mars. Don't answer that."

Root shut her mouth with a click, grinning. She felt good, despite the weirdness. Burying her nose in the jacket, she breathed in the smell of Sameen. Only a month and a half left of high school and they'd be gone. They could be grown-ups and Root would be free of her mother's shadow. She watched the town sign pass by her window.

"Maybe I should have asked you to tutor me," Lionel groaned. "I let Shortstack turn me into a dumb jock."

"I have a 4.0 GPA," Sameen retorted. "I made you a jock. You made yourself dumb."

"At least I'm taller than you," Lionel snorted. "Dumb and tall is better than short and smart."

Root kicked the back of his seat. "Some of us are smart and tall."

"Children," Mrs. Reese sighed. "Can we have one event that doesn't dissolve into bickering?"

"No," Sameen and Lionel answered in unison.

Mrs. Reese leaned forward to the front seats and reached out to put her hand on Grace's arm. "Be glad you missed the rough years. I'll take bickering over silence any day."

Root looked out the window, frowning. The months after her mother was arrested and she'd lost her hearing had been the worst of her life. Until then, she'd thought the worst thing in the world was physical pain, or that emotional pain only got as bad as seeing the girl you liked with a boy. She had no idea that she could feel broken, empty and too full all at once.

It felt like a lifetime ago, like it had happened to someone else and Root had gone to see the movie. Even last summer in Houston, when she and Sameen had finally had to talk about their problems, felt like years ago. Root already felt like she was an adult, like she was 25 and could handle anything.

The car turned onto their street and Root sat back up. She turned to Sameen and blushed when she saw Sameen staring at her.

"What?"

Sameen shrugged. "You're pretty."

Root laughed, shaking her head. "You're so weird sometimes."

"Probably."

Harold pulled into Mrs. Reese's driveway and Root unbuckled her seatbelt. She was excited for dinner. Mrs. Reese and Grace were cooking, which meant it would be amazing, and they had promised ice cream after. The air was warm when she opened her door and stepped out of the car. Root looked up at the orange sky.

"It feels like we just left."

"Really," Lionel asked, slamming his door shut, "I'm exhausted."

Root just shrugged, pulling Sameen's jacket closed. "The weekend seems too good to be true. I think it may have been a dream."

"I'm the only dream here," Sameen said, appearing around the back of the car. "This weekend was real."

Root didn't answer. She hooked her arm in Sameen's and started heading towards the house. They passed Mrs. Reese as she pulled the mail from the box. Sameen dropped Root's arm to hop up the front steps and unlock the door.

When they were inside, Root pulled off her jacket and hung it on a hook by the door. She carefully pulled her shoes off, laughing when Sameen just kicked hers off into a pile by the door.

"Mom!" Sameen called out the front door. "Come on. I'm starving!"

Mrs. Reese walked through the door, Harold and Grace trailing after her. She had the mail tucked under her arms, but one letter was clutched in her other hand. Grinning, she held it out to Sameen.

"It's from Harvard."

Root gasped, her heart immediately racing. It was Sameen's decision letter. Root wanted to vomit. This is what they'd been waiting for, but it was so real now. What if Sameen didn't get in? What if she did, but Root didn't get in to MIT? What if they both got in and they got to move forward together?

Sameen took the letter with a steady hand, looking unbothered. She moved to open it, but Harold stopped her.

"Before you open that," he said, smiling, "I should say that Root's letter from MIT is here, too."

"What!" Root screamed. "Where?"

"We didn't want to give it to you before your quiz, so we pinned it to the fridge for you to open when we got back."

Root ran forward, weaving between their parents and back out the front door. The porch was cold under her feet for a moment, then the grass was cold under her feet as she raced across the yard. Her letter was here and she was going to know, with absolute certainty, what her future held.

She was halfway across the street in seconds. A loud whoop made her look over her shoulder and she laughed. Sameen had grabbed her bike and was rapidly catching up to Root.

"No fair!" Root laughed when Sameen overtook her. "Cheater!"

"You love me!"

Root ran faster. She watched Sameen jump off her bike and dump it into the grass, Harvard envelope still clutched in her hand. Leaping over the curb and into Harold's yard, Root realized she left her keys in Sameen's jacket.

"Oh no!" Root took deep breaths, doubling over to rest her hands on her knees. "The keys."

A jingling made her look up. Sameen grinned at her, holding the keys in her hand. "Not all of us are blinded by emotions."

"Ha Ha," Root breathed. She walked the last few steps to the front door, anxiously bouncing on her toes. "Come one, Sameen! The emotions are blinding me!"

Sameen slid the key into the door and Root was suddenly so glad she'd made a copy when she first moved in. The door was barely open before Root pushed in, stumbling down the entryway and hurrying into the kitchen. The envelope was on the fridge, pinned there by a Dallas Texas Cowboys magnet and Root wondered if Harold had ever watched a sports game in his life.

She pulled the envelope off with trembling hands, her breath still too fast. Her heart was in her throat and she stepped back into the hall to find Sameen. Sameen still looked calm, holding her letter at her side. It made Root relax a little bit, seeing Sameen so relaxed. They'd be fine no matter what happened. Sameen would be her voice of reason and she could be Sameen's excitement.

"Are we going to break up if we don't go to the same college?" Root asked, hating how her voice trembled. "Does it all rest on this?"

"No way," Sameen said, walking to her. She put her hand on Root's cheek. "We're going to be together forever."

Root laughed, eyes welling up. "That's a little unrealistic, but I'll go with it."

Sameen kissed her, softly, and Root had to pull away to keep from actually crying. This was it. They would open their letters, see if they were going to college together in Boston, and then they would plan for the future. No matter what, they would be together. As long as they could.

She took a breath and turned her envelope over. Sliding her finger under the fold, she ripped it open with one quick tug. In front of her, Sameen opened her own letter. Root sent a prayer to a god she knew wasn't real and pulled her letter out.

'Dear Samantha,

On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my pleasure to offer you admission to the MIT Class of…'

"Holy shit," Root breathed, hands shaking. "Holy shit."

"Did you get in?" Sameen asked.

"Yeah." Root looked up, grinning. "I got in!"

Sameen laughed and wrapped her arms around Root's waist, lifting her into the air. Root buried her face in Sameen's hair, laughing and crying at once. She had gotten into MIT. She was going to move to Boston and study Aerospace Engineering and live with Sameen.

Root leaned back and Sameen put her down. "Wait," she asked, reaching up to wipe tears away, her letter brushing against her face, "what about you?"

Sameen unwrapped one arm from Root and held her letter up.

"'Dear Ms. Shaw,

I am delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions has admitted you-'"

Root pressed her lips to Sameen's, kissing her as hard as she could. They were going to Boston, going to stay together. Their kiss tasted salty, Root's tears running down her cheeks. Sameen's lips were soft on her own and Root could feel every kiss that led to this one. They had worked through so much, tried so hard to get here. Sameen had gotten them here.

Root dropped her letter and cupped Sameen's face in her hands. She pulled back just enough to breath.

"Thank you," Root whispered, her lips brushing against Sameen's. "Thanks for never giving up on me."

"How could I?" Sameen asked, her hands wandering under Root's shirt. "You're my stars and moon, nerd. I would be a mess without you."

Laughing, Root shook her head. "No way. You probably would have been Martine's friend, popular and scary."

Sameen hummed, biting Root's lip. "I was a mess before Bishop and I would have been a bigger mess here."

"You haven't told me about that," Root pouted. "One of these days, you'll tell me about you past."

Sameen just kissed Root again, her hands pushing her shirt up and running over her stomach. Root knew that they had to go back to Sameen's house and tell their parents that they got in, but right now, she was happy to just kiss Sameen and think about all the kisses they were going to have from now until eternity.

She pulled away again. "Want to have some quick, celebration sex before dinner?"

"God, yes."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sameen sat back on her heels, watching Root try and catch her breath. They'd run away after ice cream to keep celebrating in their own way. Hanging out with the family is nice, but what they'd spent the last few hours doing wasn't something they wanted to include their parents in. She smiled when Root reached out for her, eyes still closed.

"More?" Sameen asked, crawling forward. "Already?"

"Please, no. Mercy!"

Chuckling, Sameen laid on Root, their slick bodies sticking together. Sameen's body was sensitive, bites and bruises throbbing. Root's arms wrapped around Sameen's waist, pulling her close and tangling their legs together. Sameen shifted her arms, resting them on either side of Root's head and looking down on her.

"Baby," Sameen joked. "Can't even handle a seventh round."

Root finally opened her eyes. "Fuck you."

"Mmm." Sameen pressed a quick kiss to Root's bruised lips. "You did."

"You are too smug," Root sighed. "My own fault, I suppose."

Sameen shrugged, her skin sticking to Root's. "Do you realize that we are only going to have sex with each other? We were each other's firsts and, as long as we stay together, we'll be each other's lasts."

"There you go again," Root said, her mouth quirking up. "Talking about forever."

Sameen rolled her eyes and dropped down, burying her face in Root's neck. Root smelled so familiar now that Sameen's muscles automatically relaxed when they were close. The smallest hint of Root and Sameen was calm. Not that she needed to calm down right now, she wasn't stressed out, but she knew that when the reality of graduating and going to college set in, she'd stress out.

Her relationship with Root was so stable, comfortable and open, that Sameen couldn't imagine something breaking them up. She wondered what the pressure of college would bring. It was a new city with new people and new stressors. Would they fight? Would they make up like they always had? Sameen wondered if worry was an emotion, or if it was like stress – a reasonable response to stimuli.

Root would know, but Sameen didn't feel like asking. Root would want to know what she was worrying about and Sameen wouldn't be able to answer. She wasn't worried or stressed and it…made her stressed. Root traced lazy patterns on Sameen's back, humming softly to herself. They had school tomorrow, so they should get ready for bed soon.

"Hey," Sameen mumbled, lifting her head, "wanna go to the hill?"

Root nodded and unwrapped her arms. Sameen climbed off of her, moving carefully so she wouldn't hurt any part of Root's body. Once she was free, she slid off the bed to the floor and crossed to her dresser. Her room was cold from the air conditioning and she shivered.

"I like your butt," Root said from the bed as she sat up. "It's nice. Firm."

Sameen snorted. "It's also sore."

"What can I say? I like it and so do my teeth."

Ignoring her, Sameen pulled her top drawer open. As she rifled through her underwear, she heard sheets sliding around behind her and guessed Root was getting up. Long arms wrapped around her waist seconds later.

"You're always so warm," Root murmured into her ear. "My little furnace."

"You'll be glad for the heat when winter in Boston starts." Sameen pulled a pair of plain boxers out of her drawer and moved out of Root's grip. "Me and Bear are going to save your life."

Root smiled softly, leaning against her own dresser. "You already did."

Reminded of Root's mom and what happened, Sameen looked away, stepping into her underwear. Root hadn't really joked about it before. She talked about her deafness, but not about her mom. It was still sensitive, even if Root wasn't angry anymore. Sameen pulled a sports bra out of her drawer and over her head.

"I'm wearing your jacket," Root announced, pulling a T-shirt over her head. "You're never getting it back."

"There are worse things to lose," Sameen said, smirking. "Besides, you look good in it."

Closing her drawer, Sameen opened the next one. She pulled out her overalls, not bothering with a shirt. No one was going to see them and it was hot outside, all traces of their cold winter gone. As she stepped into them, she looked at Root, watching as she buttoned her shorts.

"Have I told you about my childhood?" Sameen asked, surprising herself. "Before Bishop."

Root frowned at her, sliding her arms into the letterman jacket. "Not really."

Shrugging, Sameen gathered her things from the top of her dresser. Her wallet went into her back right pocket, phone into the front left, keys clipped to a belt loop. She wondered how they had gotten this far without telling each other everything. Her life with her parents didn't make her upset, so why hadn't she talked about it?

"You were so private when we met," Root said, answering Sameen's silent question. "I didn't pry."

"Maybe I'll tell you soon."

Root grinned, heading for the door. "Maybe I'll listen."

Sameen chuckled and followed Root out into the hallway. Bear stuck his head out of Lionel's room, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Sameen waved him back in and quietly jogged over to Lionel's room to shut the door. Bear and Lionel should spend time together before they were separated in a couple of months.

She walked back to Root and they started down the stairs in silence. The house was still in the late hour, the only light a soft green glow from the kitchen, the time on the oven. Stopping by the door, they slipped into flip-flops and headed out into the warm night.

While Sameen locked the front door, Root wandered down the walkway, staring up at the stars. Sameen couldn't think of a time they were outside and Root didn't look up. She stepped off the porch and walked past Root, snagging her arm and pulling her towards the car.

"Come on, we're literally going somewhere to stargaze."

Laughing, Root let Sameen pull her forward. "I'm trying to memorize it! We're leaving soon!"

Sameen released her and unlocked her car door. "You already painted it. Our star chart will hang above our bed in the new apartment, too."

"That's lasted a long time, considering it's made out of cotton and White-out."

Sameen dropped into her seat, reaching across to unlock Root's door. Pulling her seat belt across her chest, she kicked flipflops off, preferring to drive barefoot. She started the car. She would miss these late night trips when they moved. The hill was one of her favorite spots and it made her feel big, vast and empty in a good way. Maybe they'd find a campsite outside of Boston, somewhere to look at the sky. She heard the click of Root's seatbelt and pulled away from the curb.

Root rolled down her window, arm working the hand crank. The warm air flooded the car and Sameen breathed it in, savoring the smell of damp grass. She knew what cities smelled like, cars and metals and food, but she'd grown accustomed to Bishop. When she moved here, she was sure she was going to hate it. It was so different from the traveling lifestyle she'd had when her dad was alive.

They crossed the town line and made it to the hill quickly. Sameen's headlights barely made a dent in the darkness. She only knew where the hill was because her headlights suddenly had something to bounce off of. Root rolled her window up as Sameen pulled off the road.

She put the car in neutral and turned it off, the sudden silence echoing in her ears. The cicadas were screaming when she opened her door and climbed out, another thing she realized she'd miss in Boston. Were there sounds like that in cities? She couldn't really remember. Would sirens and car horns become normal to her?

Following Root up the hill, Sameen sighed, tucking her hands into the pockets of her overalls. They stopped at the top and Sameen dug her toes into the grass.

"Remember when we first talked?" Sameen asked, trudging over to where Root was staring up at the stars. "Right here?"

"Our first date?" Root said, smiling. "I remember."

"That wasn't a date." Sameen smiled despite herself. "A date is when two people purposefully go somewhere together. We just both showed up here."

Root shrugged, still looking up. "It was a Fate Date. Meant to be."

"Ok, Root."

Sameen dropped to the ground, sitting cross legged on ground. They hadn't come out here too often recently. Now that they had the train and the treehouse, they didn't need to run as far to get away from everyone else. They also had more friends to hang out with, friends who weren't dating Sameen's brother.

She made a mental note to call John soon and see how he and his wives were doing. It was still weird to think of the stoic giant she'd been saddled with as a married man. He was an adult now and that meant she was almost an adult now. She'd be living with Root and making breakfast and going to class and work and bars.

Houston hadn't been a good example of what their life was going to be like. They'd barely been talking then, even if they weren't officially fighting. Sameen had been unsettled, having nightmares and doubts. Root was trying to keep it all together and pretend nothing was wrong. They'd said terrible things to each other.

It would be better in Boston. There wouldn't be any history there, no lingering trauma or people who knew too much. It would be Root and Sameen and Bear and the future. Sameen wondered what Root wanted when they moved away.

"Hey, Root?" Sameen asked, glancing up. "What's your perfect Sunday morning?"

Root finally tore her eyes away from the sky to looked down. She shrugged and lowered herself into the grass, legs stretching in front of her. "Right now? Or in the future?"

"The future. After college. The perfect Sunday morning."

"Well," Root started, "you're there and Bear. I'd sleep in, but not too late. You'd probably make breakfast."

"Because you can't cook?" Sameen laughed.

Root rolled her eyes, blushing. "It doesn't matter why. I just think that you'd make me breakfast. Waffles and bacon."

"I would."

"Good," Root said, bumping their shoulders together. "We'd eat breakfast on the couch, watching the X-Files."

Sameen leaned back on her hands, looking out into the dark countryside around them. "Remember when we watched that every day?"

"I do," Root answered, sighing wistfully. "It was our only thing in common."

"Only for a little bit," Sameen added. "We had more in common later, once we started hanging out."

"That's true, I guess. I think you just humored me for a while."

Sameen nodded. "Probably. You hooked me pretty quickly. You were cute and smart and you kept texting me."

Root leaned her head on Sameen's shoulder and Sameen shifted closer, resting her head on top of Root's. "You were so strong. You could lift two bicycles over your head."

"You like this?" Sameen asked, lifting her arm to show off her bicep.

Root pushed Sameen's arm away, laughing. "You think you're so cool."

"I am so cool," Sameen retorted. "You're only cool because you're friends with me."

"Do you want to know my perfect Sunday or not?"

Sameen nodded, her cheek rubbing against Root's hair. "Tell me."

"Ok," Root started again, "I sleep in and when I wake up, it's cold, but not too cold. A little rainy and you've made me waffles. Bear is sitting in our hallway, waiting for me and I pet him and go to the kitchen. You're only wearing a T-Shirt and you're setting the table. We eat, it's quiet, and we watch X-Files. Then, I get some work done, like a project, and you work out. It's easy and soft and nice. Bear naps with his belly up."

Sameen smiled, picturing their Sunday morning. Their apartment would have wood floors, but a lot of carpets. A big kitchen with huge fridge. It would have pictures of their family on the fridge, even pictures of Sameen's parents.

"How does that sound?" Root asked.

"It sounds great," Sameen assured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I love you."

"I love you, too."