Chapter Text
Reedy tones fluttered gently on the warm breeze that passed through the Ranch’s verdant pastures, the sun-soaked land of the island teeming with life, even on a sweltering summer day like today. Kenny stood under his favorite tree by the barn, playing a simple, nonsense tune on his wooden flute, his stylings interspersed with the occasional moo or bleat of his animal wards grazing nearby.
Another spring had come and gone, Kenny’s favorite season giving way to hot days made for lazing about. Everything seemed to lag a bit in the summer, as if the heat slowed everything and everyone down, but Kenny couldn’t complain. Longer summer days meant more hours of sunlight to play with, which meant that not only did he get to spend more time outdoors every day, but also that he also got to spend more time with the people he cared about.
“Hey Kenny, nice tune!”
And there she was, Kenny’s favorite person to spend time with.
Kenny lowered his flute and his lips automatically flickered into a smile. His girlfriend, Juniper, grinned and waved wildly at him from afar, the tote bag in the crook of her elbow swinging as she made her way up the path from her farm.
A year had passed since Kenny and Juniper started dating and he couldn’t be happier. When he broke the news to his parents, they were over the moon – or, at least, that’s how he interpreted their slightly more-animated-than-usual reactions. His dad had clapped a hand on his shoulder and expressed that Juniper was a responsible gal and good for him, while his mom had folded her arms and, with a smile on her face, let out a scoff and said, “about time.”
While neither of his parents would admit it, they had grown fond of the city-girl-turned-farmer even before he and Juniper got together. Once their relationship was official, though, she came around for plenty of family dinners and got to partake in the full initiation ceremony that was experiencing Jack’s breadth of unique cooking. Seeing how well his girlfriend got along with his parents only made his fondness for her grow, their meals together feeling even more complete with Juniper filling out that final fourth seat at their kitchen table.
The gate leading to the pasture opened across from where he stood, the tinny creak of the weathered hinge catching his attention. Juniper secured the gate behind her before bounding up to him, the freckles on her smiling cheeks catching in the sunlight.
“Hi, hon’!”
He loved when she called him that.
“Howdy, darlin’!”
He also loved calling her that, generously and freely.
Kenny opened his arms just as Juniper threw herself into him, their timing always impeccable when it came to their big bear hugs. He tightened his arms around her and comically nuzzled his face into her neck, giggles streaming out of her as she tried to smooch him away. Their silly kerfuffle nearly took his hat off and he had to whip a hand up behind her to catch it by its rim. She planted a firm kiss to the juncture of his jaw and neck, her cheek scraping lightly against his stubble, and a shudder rippled down his spine.
“All right, cowboy, settle down,” Juniper teased as she pulled back, a light flush to her cheeks. “I brought goodies.”
As much as he wanted to continue canoodling, his curiosity over the mentioned goodies won out and he pointedly eyed the tote bag hanging on her arm. She chuckled at his expression, withdrawing from the circle of his arms and twisting in place to rummage through her bag. Her hand emerged with two glass bottles wedged between the fingers of a clawed hand.
“Here! I probably should’ve just grabbed them one at a time but… welp,” she chuckled, offering a bottle to him with an awkward flick of her wrist, “so grab one before it falls out of my fingers!”
Kenny laughed and took one of the bottles from her straining grip. The chilled glass against his skin felt nice, the condensation frosting the outside of the bottle flattening into small splotches where his fingers pressed into its surface.
“Ooh, it’s cold! What’d you make?”
Juniper adjusted her grip on her own bottle and gave it a good shake, prompting Kenny to do the same. “I decided to combine one of your favorites – green tea – with one of my favorites – lemonade – and make some iced tea lemonades! I figured it’s been so hot out that you could use a refreshing drink.”
“That’s real sweet of you! You’re so thoughtful!” Kenny thanked, eager to try her new concoction. “Would you like to sit a spell and have them together?”
She whipped out a small container from her tote, the contents within rattling against each other. “I also brought some cinnamon-sugar roasted almonds for us, so… yes, please.”
Kenny’s eyes lit up, enamored with the adorable look on her face. “Sounds like it’s a great time to take a break, then!”
He walked them back over to the base of the tree and bent down between two of the larger roots, preparing to angle himself so they could use one of the roots as a makeshift table. Before he could properly position himself, though, Juniper stepped in between his legs and sat down, wiggling her hips back to settle snugly against him as she started to unpack her tote bag.
Oh. Okay.
Surprised, Kenny leaned his back against the trunk of the tree and Juniper followed, her backside pressing up against him and causing his thighs to squeeze around her in an instinctive desire to draw her in closer. At the sudden constriction, she paused and glanced at him over her shoulder, her alluring eyes peering up at him through her lashes.
“Sorry, did you need more space?” she asked, her hips tilting into his as she spoke.
Kenny flinched, biting back a small groan that threatened to spill out, and stammered, “Oh, no, no, you’re okay. This is perfect. Perfectly fine.”
Juniper’s eyes crinkled with her innocent smile, making Kenny’s heart skip a beat. Goodness, he loved her smile. She turned back to her task, unbothered, and he felt heat crawl up the back of his neck as he wondered how innocent she really was when she did provocative things like this… and just how much he wanted to test it.
Throughout their year of courtship, Kenny and Juniper had seen both less-than-ideal and wonderful sides of each other, weathering every storm that swept by in their time together and basking in each others’ sunshine for the rest. Rather than simply going on dates, it felt like they were truly living life together, and he was happy with the cadence of their relationship.
When it came to getting intimately physical, though, Kenny was a bit lost. He had his own self-imposed timeline of courtship that they had already fulfilled for the most part: build a friendship, go on dates, become official, and so on. He hadn’t thought too much about the “so on” part of things, and especially not the sexual aspects that came with it.
Well, that was a bit of a fib: he had some imaginations about Juniper in delightfully compromising positions and a raunchy dream or four or ten about her, but he hadn’t verbalized anything aloud yet. It was clear they were attracted to each other physically, and though a part of him would gladly cross that threshold with her, there was another frustrating part of him that felt like he had to wait for something, wait for some reason before he could go through with it.
Kenny had never gotten this far in a relationship with anyone and wasn’t sure how to navigate it without potentially messing things up. He wasn’t entirely sure why his brain decided that he needed to hold back the extent of his affection and attraction to her; all he knew was that everything so far with Juniper had been new, and wonderful, and exciting, and he wanted to do things right because that was the least she deserved. He cared for her, deeply, and he felt like there was some magical, probably obvious thing he still needed to do, or say, to show her just how much she mattered to him before he could allow himself to fully step over that line with her.
“Ta-da!” Juniper sang, throwing out jazz hands. She had placed a neat square of cloth in front of them and set the bottles, the open container of almonds, and a few napkins on top. “Mini picnic with my boyfriend!”
See?! This precious woman deserves the world! Kenny thought, his chest aching with endearment.
Kenny leaned his chin on her shoulder and reached out a hand to rub the top of her right knee affectionately. “I look away for a second and by the time I turn back you’ve already got this all set up! Juniper, you are just the cutest thing.”
Miss Muffin, who had been snuffling around in the grass on the other side of the pasture, lifted her head and mooed loudly in protest. Kenny and Juniper looked at each other for the few seconds the bovine’s drawn-out low lasted, simultaneously bursting into laughter afterwards.
Kenny cupped a hand around his mouth and called out, “Sorry Miss Muffin, Juniper’s my favorite! I can’t help it!”
Juniper got out a few more giggles before joining in and shouting out, “Yeah, sorry Miss Muffin, I’ll bring you some bananas next time I come by to make up for this heinous transgression!”
Miss Muffin snorted and dipped her head in reluctant agreement, the promise of bananas enough to placate her, and lumbered away to leave them be. Juniper’s body still shook with mirth and Kenny couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss one of her freckled, shaking shoulders.
She hummed in contentment and looped an arm around him to palm his cheek, her fingers sliding up to gently caress the wavy ends of his hair that poked out from beneath his hat.
“That Miss Muffin, what a card,” Juniper mused with a shake of her head as she idly twirled a lock of his hair around her index finger. “Do I need to watch out for her? Is she the jealous sort?”
“Nah, you should be fine, especially if’n you’re plannin’ to bribe her with your bananas. Goddess knows how much our animals love the produce from your farm.”
“And with how well my fruit trees are doing this season, you bet your animals will be getting some nice treats in the near future,” Juniper said with a snicker, adding, “we’re going to have to start calling her Miss Banana Muffin soon enough.”
A hearty laugh tumbled out of Kenny, the image of his favorite cow wearing a giant, banana-patterned muffin liner thoroughly tickling his funny bone. “That would make for a great Spooky Festival costume right there.”
The hand against his face had migrated to his jaw, Juniper’s thumb stroking a spot behind his ear that he didn’t realize was sensitive in a tingly way until that exact moment. His focus zeroed in on that feeling and he turned his face inwards, briefly catching her playful gaze before closing his eyes and pressing a tender kiss to her lips. She immediately reciprocated, using the leverage of her hand to pull his face in closer and deepen their kiss. She arched her back, the stimulation against his groin reminding him just how close she was, and he placed a hand against her bare thigh, his fingers gently gripping the soft flesh to hold on for the ride.
She pulled back first, her breaths coming out in quick pants, and her lashes fluttered prettily as she opened her eyes to look at him. Her cheeks were flushed, which wasn’t unusual for her, but something about seeing it up close right now made her look even more enticing than usual.
“We should, uh, probably have our drinks before they get too warm.”
We might be past the point of too warm, Kenny thought as he loosened his hold on her leg, his hand sliding down until it reached the top of his own thigh.
Kenny cleared his throat. “Right, we should have ‘em while they’re still cold!”
They each reached for a bottle, uncapped their respective drinks, and clink!ed their glasses together. Kenny tilted his head back to take the first swig of the concoction and let out a noise of approval as soon as the liquid hit his tongue. The lemonade, tart and sweet, complemented the slight bitterness of the green tea well, and Kenny quickly drained his glass of the delicious drink, smacking his lips in satisfaction.
The corner of Juniper’s lip lifted in amusement as she lowered her mostly-full bottle. “Good?”
“Delicious!” Kenny exclaimed, licking his lips of any flavored residue. “That really hit the spot, Juniper. Both drinks blended together quite nicely. Thank you kindly for sharing this with me!”
“Of course! I love sharing stuff with you! But, uh, y’see, I still have some time left to go on one of my furnaces and figured I’d pay my favorite neighbor a visit, hoping that my guise of snacks and drinks would last us awhile.” She sighed dramatically, her head tipping back against his shoulder. “Though, I’ve seen the way you guzzle water, so I should’ve known better. Alas.”
“Can’t help it, my girlfriend makes the tastiest things,” Kenny said matter-of-factly, wrapping his arms around her and making her giggle. “I’m sure we’ll find some way to pass the time.”
“Yeah?” Juniper asked. “Any ideas?”
Kenny glanced down, his line of sight aligning perfectly with her enticing cleavage, and his mind swarmed with all kinds of ideas.
Wait, no, focus, Kenny berated himself, his mind scrambling for something safer to think about.
“Oh! Why don’t you tell me what you’re workin’ on now? Any new commissions?”
His girlfriend scrutinized him for a beat – for what, Kenny wasn’t sure – before reaching forward to grab a handful of roasted almonds from their mini picnic blanket. She settled back against his chest and popped one of the bite-sized morsels into her mouth, lifting her hand to offer him some of the nuts from her palm. He accepted and crunched through a few of the malty, spiced delectables while Juniper launched into a story of one of her client’s latest jewelry requests.
Seeing her here, talking animatedly about her latest work, made Kenny think about how far his girlfriend had come since he met her. The friend that Kenny had known two years ago was self-sacrificing and overworked – she had set extremely high bars for success and had put it upon herself to engage in everything the island had to offer. She worked herself so hard it affected her health and, thankfully, she eventually heeded Kenny’s desperate pleas to slow down and take time to relax. Since then, she had decided to focus on a much more manageable complement of crops and fruit trees, one barn and one coop’s worth of ranch work, and a weekly trip up to the cavern to gather supplies for her new jewelry-making business.
Kenny knew that getting there was no easy task for her and he was so proud of his Juniper. She had slowly but surely worked towards overcoming her own insecurities of failure and redirected her efforts towards things she truly wanted and enjoyed. She would still always be that hardworking, shy, thoughtful woman he befriended two years ago, but now she had truly stepped into her own and Kenny was honored that he got to stand by her side through it all as both her friend and partner.
He lifted a hand to the heart locket around his neck – one of Juniper’s finest works, if he did say so himself. He rubbed a thumb across the blue-green beryl embedded in the heart-shaped metal, still awed that his talented girlfriend created such a finely detailed and significant item for him with her own two hands.
Sometimes, he could hardly even believe that she chose him, but he thanked his lucky stars every day that she did. His feelings for her had grown beyond what he had ever imagined he had the capacity for and saying that he “liked” her felt like an understatement – she was truly the best thing that had ever happened to him.
“And then the old coot asks for two more identical pieces and now I’m left wondering if he’s actually got three girlfriends or he’s just pulling my leg. Either way, he promised to pay extra to expedite, so I–”
A tinkling sound cut through their moment and Juniper suddenly ceased her tale, dipping a hand into her tote bag to fish out her phone and silence the alarm going off.
“That means my furnace should be done,” she said, her words laced with hesitation. “This was a nice break but I guess we should get back to work, huh?”
Kenny smooched her temple. “I wouldn’t want to keep you, darlin’. And besides, I’m invested now. You’ve gotta finish the ol’ coot’s commission – I need to know what happens next!”
Juniper threw her head back in laughter, patting Kenny’s arm in placation. “You’ll be the first to know. But hey, uh, after I finish up this job, I should be free tomorrow. Would you like to go on a beach date with me? There’s this cool spot I found off the beaten path that I think could be a nice place to kick back and relax. Y’know, um, just the two of us, away from the summer crowd.”
At the mention of the beach, Kenny’s mind zoomed back to last summer, not long after they started dating, when he saw Juniper prancing around in that tiny white bikini of hers. He remembered Pablo teasing him about keeping his jaw off the ground as he ogled his beautiful girlfriend, his fingers itching to touch all the wonderful flesh she had on display.
Whew, that summer was a real scorcher.
Wait, he was thinking with his monkey brain again and getting off-track. He dragged his focus back down to earth to properly respond to Juniper, who had raised an amused eyebrow at him.
“Yes! That sounds fun! I’m free all afternoon tomorrow.”
Her cheeks lifted with her big smile, her eyes shining with excitement. “Great! Meet me at my house whenever you’re done with work and we can walk over together. I’ll bring some more snacks for us!”
“I’ve got a giant beach blanket I can bring, too!” Kenny suggested, scratching at the back of his neck with a small huff of laughter, “to make up for all the times I forgot a blanket for us to sit on.”
She snickered as she tidied up their makeshift picnic. “You do like to take me on a lot of dates where we end up sitting outside on the ground. But yeah, that sounds nice! The less sand I take home with me afterwards, the better, I say.”
“You got it, sugar,” Kenny said with a grin, offering her his arm to grab onto as she stood up. He got on his feet as well and assisted her by clearing off the bits of grass that had stuck to her lower back, accidentally going too low and swiping his hand across her backside.
Kenny felt his face go warm as he realized what he did, wondering if she noticed, and got his answer when she whipped her head towards him, her cheeks stained with that rosy, lychee-pink shade he found so enchanting on her.
“Careful, I’ve still got work to do, cowboy. Save it for tomorrow when we’re alone.”
Heat prickled all along his face and down his neck at her statement, his surely dumbfounded expression making her giggle. Though he knew Juniper was a shy and introverted person, he found that as they got closer and more comfortable with each other, she had a bold, mischievous side to her that would occasionally appear when they were alone.
And he liked it. A lot.
He placed a hand against her hip and gave it a gentle squeeze, his voice pitching lower as he leaned down to kiss her exposed shoulder.
“I look forward to it, darlin’,” he drawled, his lips lightly brushing against her skin as he spoke.
To his delight, her cheeks reddened deeper as she took an audible breath through her nose. To her credit, her playful smirk remained despite her fluster, and she gave him a final peck on the cheek before fully extricating herself from him. She hauled her bag up onto her shoulder, gave him a wave, and moved down the path between their properties to return to her work.
Kenny watched her until she disappeared down the grade, adjusting his pants and feeling much hotter than he did before she came to visit. He let out a big sigh, his chest deflating as the air whooshed out of him.
“Back to work, then!” Kenny stated aloud, as if voicing it would toggle his brain from Juniper mode to work mode. “Ain’t that right, Miss Muffin?”
The chatty cow raised her head from across the field and mooed loudly in response, making Kenny chuckle as he returned to his post to resume his watch over his grazing animals.
After another hour or so in the pasture, Kenny made his way into the shop to relieve his father of inventory duties. For the remainder of his time outside, his mind had raced with excitement over what kinds of surprises Juniper had in store for their private beach date. As he bid his father farewell and started weaving through the shop aisles, the combination of the cool air conditioning and his eagerness for tomorrow’s date helped renew his focus.
Though Kenny normally had his head in the clouds, somehow his mind was sharp and on point as he flew through his work, all the calculations sorted quickly and the appropriate numbers neatly jotted down in the store ledger as he finished taking stock of their inventory for the week in record time.
Jack popped back into the shop not long after to snag a clean towel from storage. Kenny flagged his father down to show him the completed ledger and even he was impressed with the speed and quality of Kenny’s work.
“This all looks good. Numbers look accurate, seems thorough,” Jack said, tapping a heavy finger against the clipboard in his hand. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so on top of things! The power of love can be a real motivator, huh?”
Kenny’s brain stalled on his father’s comment, one phrase in particular making his ears perk up. Something about it, in this context, felt very close to an answer he was seeking.
“Love?” Kenny parroted, the word echoing in his ears like he had just been slapped upside the head with it. “Whaddya mean?”
“Yeah! Uh, love. You know the concept. Two people, together, caring deeply for each other. Like your mom and me.”
His father looked at him like he was an idiot and, based on the way his heart started racing, he was starting to think he might actually be.
“You and Juniper! You’ve been together, what, a year? You mentioned earlier that you’ve got a date with her tomorrow and, look at you, suddenly extra focused on getting your work done… I’m just putting two-and-two together here, son.”
“Right. Yeah. Love.” Kenny mulled the word over in his head, letting it roll over the images of Juniper that popped into his mind. Every mental snapshot of her smile, her excitement, her impressive work, her beautiful eyes, it all fit perfectly with the word and he clutched his chest at the realization that he–
“I love her!” Kenny proclaimed. “I love Juniper!”
Jack quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah, like I said. Is this… news to you?”
He nodded frantically, his heart palpitating wildly with this new acknowledgement. “Yes!”
His dad waved a hand toward the door. “Well, looks like your work for the day’s all done anyhow, so why don’t you take the rest off and figure out how you’re gonna tell her? I get how nerve-racking confessions can be and knowing you, son, uhh… I’ll give you tomorrow off, too.”
All Kenny could do in response was grip his father’s arm in thanks and rush out the door, running the whole way back to the house. His thoughts ran a mile a minute as he stepped into his bedroom, retrieving his phone to text Juniper with shaking fingers.
“Free… all… day… tomorrow… when… do you… wanna… leave… send!” Kenny muttered, his clumsy fingers making all sorts of typos as he eagerly sent her his update.
Not long after his message was sent, he heard the ding! of her return response that she could be ready by 11:00 AM.
With that logistic squared away, Kenny focused on pacing his room, his mind and heart both feeling so full that he thought he might explode.
He loved Juniper. Of course he did. He loved so many different things about her, it made perfect sense that he loved the her all those things stemmed from. Looking back, the word must have been on the tip of his tongue every time his heart did that special little flip when he saw or thought of her, he just didn’t recognize the language. It wasn’t until his dad verbally made the connection between “Juniper” and “love” that it all hit him as hard as a summer storm.
All this time, he had cruised through life without a care in the world but after Juniper showed up, she inspired him to be curious and try and yearn for more, and his life had become that much fuller for it. When they started dating, he began paying more attention to his actions, his words, his conduct, all in subconscious attempts to be the best version of himself for her, for them. With all this extra brain power being utilized, he faltered at every milestone in their relationship in order to overthink things through, and then some.
But now he knew this was the missing piece, the thing that was holding him back all this time. Kenny couldn’t believe how obvious it was and he accepted that yes, perhaps he truly was an idiot for not realizing it, but he didn’t care. He loved Juniper, pure and simple, and now that he had figured it out, he could finally grasp that knowledge and move forward with it.
Kenny wondered now how exactly he was going to tell her. In the past, he had gotten too preoccupied with trying to set things up perfectly before expressing his romantic feelings that she ended up beating him to the punch. This time, he didn’t want to overly worry about it. Or at least, he would try not to.
Juniper had stuck by his side despite his foibles and all the off-the-wall ways his mind worked, meeting him where he was at with grace and kindness. He wanted their relationship to be smooth and fun and perfect – or at least as perfect as he could make it. He was a caretaker, after all, and he wanted Juniper to never have to worry about anything.
But that wasn’t realistic. There would always be a push and pull between them, some days more give and some days more take. That’s what partnership really was, he was learning, and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t predict or mold their relationship to be exactly what he expected it to be.
That wasn’t nature’s way, so what made him think that should be his way?
He decided, then and there, that he would do his best to not do his best. Or, wait, no. He would try his best to not worry about doing his best and just let things happen organically, as nature intended. Mother Nature hadn’t let him down yet and he trusted that she wouldn’t start now.
He raised a hand to the heart locket around his neck, the tip of his thumb lightly tracing the details Juniper had painstakingly carved into the metal, and he inhaled deeply, then exhaled on a long breath.
He would take it one step at a time, towards her and with her, and they would handle whatever came their way together, as they always did. Either way, he would get to spend time with the love of his life soon enough – it felt so freeing to say that, even in his head – and he couldn’t wait to see where their path would lead them tomorrow.