boundaries [s.m]

chapter twenty-seven

I'm gonna love you in every kind of way - H.E.R., every kind of way
-
shawn grins to himself, standing at the island of his family home, whilst aaliyah completes some homework, and their mother cooks the family's lunch.

"i have never seen you this tanned before in my life! what did aria do?" karen chuckles, observing his sons fairly odd tanned skin.

"it started off as fake tan, since she said i was apparently too pale, and then as soon as that started to ware away, she would put baby oil on me, and i basically just baked. i think the cycle on the coast helped that. i was literally only wearing shorts, and had baby oil all over me," he smiles, chopping up the vegetables for his mum. "i think she's the one. dad was right."

"i'm always right," his dad tells him with a laugh, walking into the kitchen. 

"don't marry her tomorrow," aaliyah jokes, making shawn laugh.

"no, but i'm asking her to move in tomorrow, even though she literally just bought her own place," he shrugs. "oh well, we were talking about it in france, and she said she could easily let go of the place, and get her rent back that she already paid."

"must be kind landlords," karen observes. "that's good, you'll finally be eating decently, and not having takeout every single night."

"mum, she's starting uni in september. will she really have the time to cook knowing her?" he jokes, chuckling. "god, it's like i'm not gonna even exist for the next three years. just wait."

"hey mendes fam!" aria cheers, walking into the room. "so sorry about that, when liam calls, he always wants a twenty minute chat," she says, walking further into the kitchen, and heading straight to the sink to do the dishes, excusing herself from the call she had with her brother.

"aria, move away from the sink," karen scolds. "you are not touching anything in this house which requires you to do any sort of work."

"but-"

"no buts young lady, now go sit down and relax. go make her a coffee shawn," karen guides, not looking up from cooking.

"but-"

"shut your mouth, mister. she's your girlfriend, treat her like she is," she scolds him, making everyone laugh. shawn playfully rolls his eyes, before putting down what he was chopping, and walking over to aria, kissing her forehead softly.

"see? i kissed her. i'm treating her like my girlfriend," he points out.

"your mums right, shawn. i could really use a coffee after that," she pauses to fake a yawn. "really long drive and really long conversation with my brother."

"you're lucky i love you," aria grins at him, leaning up and pressing her lips to his, before walking to the table, sitting down opposite aaliyah. "why are you doing homework? it's summer."

"summer tasks," she groans, as aria chuckles softly. "you know what? you're so lucky you're going to uni in two weeks."

"really?" she chuckles, as shawn comes over to the table, a mug of coffee in his hands. "i'm looking forward to it, just not the workload."

"one coffee for the lady," shawn says, handing her the mug, and sitting down next to her.

"thanks hun," she beams back, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, and kissing his cheek softly. shawns cheeks flush gently, as he looks down at aria, smiling gently at her. "you're so sweet."

"you're welcome," he grins, leaning down to kiss her briefly, before aria pulls her arm away, going back to sitting normally, whilst shawn places his hand over her thigh.

"so, tell us about your holiday," karen says, taking a seat next to aaliyah, whilst manuel sits at the head of the table, as the lunch gets cooked. "how was it?"

"it was honestly amazing, i think we both had the chance to relax and reconnect," aria says, looking up at shawn with a smile. "although we had a little slip up at the beginning, i think after that, we really did enjoy ourselves."

"yeah, after i won her back over with a picnic, the rest of the holiday was great. and the wine tasting was great too. my birthday was probably the best day. we went to this private island and went swimming with turtles," he chuckles, making aria smile in glee. "that was fun."

"wait, what happened?" aaliyah asks, looking at shawn and aria curiously. "you guys fought?"

"uh," aria says, looking up at shawn anxiously, as he nods, taking control of the situation.

"i said something which i shouldn't have, but i think we got over it quickly," shawn says gently, squeezing arias thigh. "don't worry, it was me who was being a complete idiot, but we've worked through it, and everything's fine now."
-
as the sun fell asleep, so did we-

shawn snaps out of his trance, the music casting him into a trail of love, as he looks over at aria, who's scrolling on her laptop, sitting on shawns couch, and looking intently at the screen.

he picks up the two mugs of coffee, strolling over to the couch, placing one in front of aria, on the glass coffee table, and still holding his, as he takes a seat next to her. immediately, her legs rest over shawns lap, and he smiles softly to himself, looking at her, before looking at the tv, which plays an episode of suits.

"so," aria begins, closing her laptop, and looking at shawn with a small grin. "i have a wedding coming up."

"oh, you do?" shawn asks, slightly snarky. "who are you marrying?"

"not me, you idiot," she slaps his shoulder lightly, chuckling to herself. "one of my cousins is getting married in two weeks."

"aw, that's sweet," shawn grins, still not catching on to what aria is implying. she sighs dramatically, taking the mug of coffee out of shawns hands, placing it down on the table, moving her laptop, and crawling over to him, snuggling herself in his arms.

"you really are stupid," she grins, chuckling. "shawn, i need a date for the wedding."

"oh!" he says, finally realising. "yeah, i'll take you. gladly. what colour is your dress?"

"mauve," she answers, sitting up, and looking at shawn, who twirls a piece of her hair in his fingertips. "i found a shirt which matches it. would you wear a mauve shirt?"

"sure," he says, a small laugh leaving his lips. "anything you want me to wear, i will. even if you want me to come in a paper bag, i will."

"okay, i want you to come in a mauve paper bag," aria jokes, as shawn chuckles, nodding.

"okay, great. i'll make sure i come in a mauve paper bag," he jokes back, making aria laugh. "aria?"

"hmm?"

"move in with me."