June March leaned against the metal railing of the ferry, the wind blowing her hair back ridiculously fast as she looked out at the water. She watched as the dock got smaller and smaller, a smile growing on her lips for every foot they got away from the town. June was dressed in her Winter Formal dress, a black strappy dress and a pair of shoes she knew she was going to take off the second they hit land. She had a jacket on, due to the cold and also due to the fact that she had a bullet scar on her shoulder, preventing her from being comfortable enough to just wear the dress. Her head turned and she looked at Rafe who was sitting on one of the benches inside, his hands rifling through the  bag that they had put their clothes in. He was wearing a dress shirt and slacks, June smiling as she realized they had actually gone through with their plan.  She took slow steps back over to him, watching as he started to get frustrated with whatever he was trying to find.

"Damnit." He said in a low voice as he just dropped the bag, his eyes closing as he ran a hand over his face. June stood in front of him with a slightly amused smile, thinking he looked kind of funny being all upset over nothing.

"What'd you forget?" June asked, Rafe letting out a sigh and looking up at her.

"My phone. Somehow, I'm not really sure how but I left my phone." June let out a small giggle and then crouched down in front of her, Rafes breath catching in his throat as she reached for his hands. His face was now turning red for a different reason, the boy adjusting in his seat as he looked over her.

"You don't need your phone...we're escaping remember?" She said, Rafe looking down at her with an entranced look as he realized what she meant. They didn't need their phones, just each other for today and nobody else. This was a day without problems and other friends and family. It was just for them. "Besides if we really need one mines in the front pocket. Okay? Sound good?"

"Okay. Sounds good." He used her hand to pull her towards him, the girl taking a seat to his left and already reaching for her shoes. She pulled the strap out of the buckle and slipped the shoe off, Rafe watching her as she did it, thinking there was something quite sensual about her taking the heels off. He swallowed hard as he looked up from the shoes and to just her in general, the calm look on her face, those beautiful eyes, her long hair that was pinned back, the tight dress, her pink, soft lips. He had been imagining kissing those lips every second of everyday since the last time he had, months ago. Everyday they looked more appealing, everyday he wanted to kiss her and everyday he felt like he got closer.

Something had shifted between them in the past two or so weeks, June getting a lot more willing. June from three months ago would never have disappeared for a day with Rafe, but here she was today, on the ferry with him. Dr. Michael had told him that he was worried about his attachment to June, worried about how healthy it actually was. But when they were together he felt the best he ever did, and those thoughts in his head would disappear completely, and the only voice he would hear up there is hers. He looked down at her as she laid her head against his shoulder, their arms wrapped together and a smile on her lips as they continued to get further and further away.

"So what do you have planned?" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts and he gave her a confused look, June looking up at him and moving her head back as she observed his face. "What?"

"I don't have anything planned. That's the fun in it. Duh." He said, June rolling her eyes as she realized this meant he was going to make her decide. She already began to think of what she might want to do, Rafe watching as the thoughts began to swirl behind her eyes. However he had his own suggestion come up in his head, the boy making it. "I do want to get you some ice cream at some point. I know how much you love it."

"Oh my god yes. Okay how about this? Ice cream, bowling, dinner, and then whatever we can think up."

"Bowling?"

"I haven't been bowling in years." June said, Rafe unimpressed by her suggestion. But he looked at the smile on her face and the excitement in her eyes and couldn't help but nod, June giving him a triumphant smile as the ferry started to stop at the dock. She saw the way he looked like he was hiding something, her head shaking as she let out a sigh and looked away from him. "Okay what?"

"Well I actually did have something planned...I just wanted you to think you had a choice."  She looked at him with an unamused gaze before she let out a small chuckle, thinking it was quite funny that he had attempted to present free will to her before not liking her idea and telling her the truth. The ferry put their ramp out, docking and the captain ushering them out of the boat. Rafe and June stood, the boy holding his breath as he reached for her hand, June accepting it almost as if it didn't mean the world to him. In technical terms this wasn't a date, but it definitely was in fact a date and they both knew it. Not calling it a date took the pressure off of both of them, because if it had been called a date...this would've been their first date in almost two years. This would be their first romantic outing post-treasure hunt, and this would be Junes first date post-JJ.

"So what are we supposed to be doing then? Since you already planned something..."

"Uh...it's a surprise. Honestly I  only wanted to know what you thought so that I could make sure I chose something different. You know, so you can have like the worst time ever."

"Well I'm here with you so of course I'm gonna have the worst time ever." His mouth closed at that and he clicked his tongue, pressing his hand to his chest to feign hurt.

"Ouch. Okay so we're doing the thing where you pretend you hate me tonight... right?"

"Oh I'm not pretending. I do hate you." She said in a sure tone, trying not to smile as if she wasn't admitting hatred to him.

"Ha ha...so funny." Rafe said, a twinge of worry in his chest as he looked down at her for a moment. He laughed a bit at the smile that she was fighting on her lips, his confidence cooling his worry almost immediately and pushing him to make a comment back. "Listen, baby...I know you don't hate me. It's way too obvious."

Rafe had leaned down to whisper the comment, his breath fanning over her face as he shifted the tension between them. Rafe calling her baby made her heart drop, and the way he was acting right now was the exact Rafe she had unfortunately been chasing for months. Her Rafe. The specific version of him that only she got, the one that would do it for her every time he made an appearance, which explained the tense knot in her stomach as they approached a corner.  Another unfortunate thing was that he was 100% correct, she didn't hate him, not even close. And as he detached from her side to press the cross walk button she watched him and his cool confidence, her head tilting slightly as her gaze slid over his dress shirt, and the particular tightness of it in a few places.

"Your cheeks are red." He said, a smirk on his lips that only grew as her cheeks burned more at his comment. He knew he was doing something right because she was silent, his head dropping as he laughed slightly. When he looked down he saw her tights, her feet that weren't covered by a shoe and his smirk dropped, the light for the cross walk turning as he kneeled down in front of her.

"What are you doing? Let's go." June said, not walking as she waited for him. He was rifling through the bag they had brought, reaching deep down into it and pulling out the pair of sneakers she had packed.

"You cant just walk around barefoot. No, it's too cold for that." He said, shaking his head as he looked down at the shoes.  He untied the sneakers and then grabbed her by the ankle, stuffing her foot into the shoe and shaking his head at her carelessness.  She used his shoulder for balance as he continued to put her shoe on, tying the laces on both and then standing. He then proceeded to pull the heels she had been carrying from her hand, using his hands to zip the bag and then putting it back on his shoulders. June watched him as he nonchalantly looked at the red crosswalk picture, walking towards the button and pressing it again and then stopping back at her side. "Better?"

"Yeah." She said in a dazed tone, her eyebrows furrowed as she questioned his chivalry. Her stomach was fluttering dangerously and he seemed to not really notice at all what any of that had meant to her, his blatant concern for her, the fact he had changed her shoes, that he had tied them and unburdened her with carrying the heels she regretfully wore. He was no longer holding her hand, his fingers shoved into his pants pocket as he waited for the light to change. The cocky asshole she had just been talking to a moment ago had turned into about the softest  guy she'd ever met within an instant, and June felt the color drain from her face as a flashing red light blinked in her head at the speed of his mood swing. She needed to think about something else.

The light changed and they walked across the street,  June unadmittedly feeling more comfortable in the  sneakers than she was barefoot. Wherever they were going was clearly in walking distance, June unsure of  just how planned out this evening would be.

"We are getting ice cream first by the way." Rafe broke the silence, June feeling a rush of relief in her as she thought about what flavor she would get. However she had an idea, an excited smile covering her lips as they turned the corner around a building.

"Oh my god we should do something fun with the ice cream!" Rafe looked at her with a confused expression, not sure what she meant by that.

"Okay like what?"

"How about I choose a flavor for you, you choose a flavor for me." He once again looked unimpressed by the idea, but she seemed excited about it so he rolled his eyes and agreed, June jumping excitedly as they walked into view of the ice cream store they were headed for. "Man I'm surprised this place is open considering its January."

"Of course they're open. How else would they make money? Plus it's inside so it kind of doesn't matter what the temperature—listen I don't like peanut butter okay? So like don't get me anything peanut buttery or I swear to god Juney I'll throw that shit out, okay? Right out." He seemed genuinely worried about the ice cream flavor she would choose as he opened the door for her, June being the one to roll her eyes now as she walked through the door.

"Oh my god so I should definitely get you the peanut butter blast?" Rafes face scrunched up as she said it, knowing that she would do that just to spite him. "I know you don't like peanut butter dipshit, don't you remember your birthday?"

Rafe thought back to  the peanut butter incident from a few years ago, probably one of his worst birthdays to date. He remembered that Adam had invited him over since Ward was out of town, Adam had gotten him a king size Reece's as a gift. Rafe had taken it but when he had quietly mentioned his dislike for peanut butter, Adam had proceeded to force feed the Reeces into his mouth. This resulted in a fist fight in the backyard, a fist fight that Adam had won, and a fist fight that had prevented the two boys from talking for a whole week. June only remembered this because she had run downstairs to the yelling, and had screamed at the top of her lungs for them to stop, resulting in her brother pushing her into the grass. This was pre June and Rafe, but her brothers inclusion of her had halted the fight, Rafe running over to make sure she was okay, which resulted in his loss.

"Could I have one scoop of mint chocolate chip...and then whatever he's getting." She gave him a raised eyebrow as he accepted his minty fate, the boy stepping forwards and looking up at the menu as the memory faded away. He scratched at his chin, feeling a bit of stubble coming up and then dropping his hand and looking to the cashier who was waiting for him to answer.

"I'll have a rocky road." June smiled to herself  as she reached for her card, pulling open the back of the backpack but before she could even get her wallet out Rafe had paid, his wallet in his pocket. Her jaw clenched as she remembered what that money he was spending was from, her eyes closing briefly as she pushed the thought away,  remembering that this was their escape.

They got their ice creams a moment later and then they took a booth, Rafe sitting across from June with a deadpan look on his face. June held the mint in her hands and then she sat it down, pushing it across the middle and to the space in front of him. He pushed the rocky road over to her, Rafe watching as she took a bite, the girl doing a happy little dance as she tasted the ice cream.

"Good to know that you still do your little dance when you get ice cream." Rafe said, a genuine smile on his lips. His teeth were showing and his eyes crinkled and June could tell he was genuinely pleased by this fact , the girl shrugging as she spoke.

"Ice cream never gets any less exciting."

"I'm not too much of a fan, you know." Rafe said, June looking at him in confusion as he said it, this was something that must've changed only since they had broken up, because they used to go out for ice cream all the time.

"Since when?"

"Since always." He said admittedly, taking a bite of the ice cream and shrugging. Her face scrunched up into disbelief, and she narrowed her eyes.

"We used to get ice cream all the time, you never had any complaints then." He let out a short chuckle and reached across the table, using his spoon to scoop some of her rocky road out and then bringing it back to his mouth.

"That's because you love ice cream and I love you" Junes smug face fell as he looked over her face, her stomach and heart fluttering in her again as she realized once again how unintentionally sweet he was being today. Or fully intentionally and he was just smooth. She wasn't sure. They settled into a silence as she processed the information and thought about his never ending flow of love that went her way. She wondered internally what it was about her that made him so enamored by her, why he could never let go, why he loved her no matter what. "So why didn't you tell me about the greenhouse?"

June was caught off guard by his question, she hadn't expected him to bring it up.

"It really has nothing to do with you in particular, I haven't told anyone." She said in a defeated tone, her eyes unable to meet his as she took a bite of his mint ice cream. He felt slightly relieved that he wasn't the only one being shut out, but now he was curious as to why she was keeping something so big a secret.

"Why?" He asked, and June let out a sigh, preparing to explain it to him the only way she knew how.

"I just didn't want it to be June March who owned it. I didn't want it to become a thing you know? I just wanted it to be just mine. You ever feel like that about something?" Rafe knew what she was talking about more than she even knew, his head nodding and his lips tightening as he looked at her, the thing that he wanted to be just his.

"I know I don't have anyone to tell, but I won't tell anyone. Your secrets safe with me." June surely appreciated this, sucking a breath in and giving him a thankful smile before looking towards the door.

"Where we going after this?"

"Skating."

:::

"You know I'm bad at skating. Now you've got me ice skating?" June said in a nervous tone, her hand glued to the railing around the rink as she looked at Rafe. He stepped onto the ice and shook his head, taking slow strides towards where she was and holding his hands out. She looked at them in confusion and slowly slid her hands into his, the boy reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of gloves. He pulled them onto her hand and then gave her a pat on the head, June rolling her eyes as he skated ahead of her.

She could tell he wasn't sure if himself either, mostly just confident in his walking skills. He wasn't hanging onto the wall, but he was still kind of walking like a toddler, the boy looking over his shoulder and waving her after him.

"Wait up." She said, using the railing to get closer to him. He had his hand outstretched for her, June knitting their fingers together as she approached him. He pulled her closer, putting his arm around her shoulders and using her to help himself stay steady.

"This is fun through right?" He said, looking down at her with a grin.

"Oh so fun. Absolutely not terrified of busting my ass." June said, giving him a sarcastic look.

"At least if you fall I go down with you. So we fall together."

____________

something sexual may or may not happen in the next chapter DONT HATE ME because JJ is coming soon