history
Deonna Wilson was 3 the first time she met Jason Douglass, though neither of them could tell you that without their parents telling stories about it constantly. Jason was just her mother's new best friend's son the first time they met, which meant they were forced to see each other when their parents got together, but Jason mostly spent his time with Deonna's older brother, Eli. And that's how it was for years. Years and years. Jason even went off to college with no more than a "yeah, see you around" from Deonna, and it probably would have stayed that simple if it wasn't for Christmas break his Sophomore year in college, when he actually came along with his parents to the house for dinner, and the two of them bumped into each other in the hallway by the front door. Deonna was shocked, because the lanky, annoying boy who only paid attention to Eli and the friends the two of them made together had gotten fit and grew his hair a little longer, and he was handsome, which was just embarrassing, especially when she felt herself blush as he smiled at her and said her name in that tone that said he was happy to see her.
She promised him by the end of the visit (after a lot of pestering) that if she got into college where he was going that she would go out on one date with him. Just ONE. He happily agreed and said he was going to make for sure she stuck to it, and then they said goodbye again. A few months later, Deonna applied to six colleges, and was accepted to three: NYU, Northwestern, and UCLA. She figured where her life would go from there was up to fate, and she put the names of the three colleges in a hat and made Eli draw one for her. As he unfolded it, he smirked at her, and she groaned "NYU, really?" as he started laughing. He took the other two papers and crumpled them all up, tossing them in the trash, and she went back to her room to send in her paperwork to become a student of the college Jason had made his home.
The two of them started dating her first year (he was in his third), after one date turned into two, and then five, and then twelve... and then they just spent a lot of time together. It wasn't one of those fast things, and it wasn't some romcom romance, but they suited each other well enough to enjoy hanging out, and it was nice to have someone in town from home. Even when they broke up Jason's last year of college, it wasn't any huge deal. They still spent time together, still went out to late night diner meals that were far too greasy and too often based around french fries, and watched movies together on the weekends. Deonna even made friends with Jason's next girlfriend, and the one after that, too. Jason wasn't as fond of her boyfriends, but that was to be expected, considering how protective he was. They stopped hanging out as much once Jason was out of college, but they still kept in contact over the phone, and still saw each other back home on holidays.
Dee was 23 when she and Jason decided to try dating again. They were both fairly established in their careers, and neither of them had any kind of expectations about a real realationship coming out of the whole thing, but they were both bored and lonely, and they were in the same city. Plus, they both knew they could trust the other person, so that made it easy enough. The next year, Jason moved home to Illinois for a job, and Dee followed him a half a year later. He proposed that Christmas, and they got married eight months later, two days after Jason's 29th birthday. At the wedding, in his best man speech, Eli finally confessed that he'd actually pulled UCLA from the hat when Dee had asked him to choose her fate for her, but he'd known as soon as he'd looked up that she was hoping for NYU, and he'd tossed all three of the papers away together so she would never know he'd lied. "You're welcome," he said, and then ran as his little sister chased him around the reception.
It didn't take Jason and Dee long to decide to start trying for a baby, and their first son, Christopher, was born fifteen months after the wedding. It took them another seven years to decide to try for a second baby, and that pregnancy wound up bringing twins into the family. Kaison John was born four minutes before Callie Jo, and Dee declared the "baby factory" completely closed.
Kai and Callie were the kind of babies that people stopped and looked at. Not just because they were well dressed and their parents kept their hair done perfectly, but because both of them were beautiful children. Kai had eyes so dark brown they almost looked black, and Callie's eyes were a much lighter brown. Callie's hair was pure black, and Kai's was a lighter brown. Both of them had perfect chubby cheeks and grasping hands that reached for anyone that would pick them up and love them.
Kai and Callie were close from moment one, and the two of them even had their own form of twin-speak from the time they were tiny. They spent a lot of time side-by-side, each playing with toys, murmuring at each other in their secret language. Most of that stopped when they got into school, though, and started making new friends. Over time, most of the language was lost, but they kept a few of the "most important" words, and still use them with each other now.
Christopher was very much the protective older brother for his siblings, and all it would take was one time telling him about being picked on, or about how some kids threatened them, and Christopher would show up at the fence at the school at the end of the day, waiting for Kai and Callie. He was great at dodging at the small jerks, intimidating them and making them run off. The one time that wasn't enough to stop the problem, he went to the kid's older sibling and made for sure it was clear that it would end, or there were going to be problems between them, too.
Kai was often seen as a gentle soul when he was young, and looking back it makes sense that people thought he might wind up coming out gay when he got old enough to understand sexuality. The thing was, though, that his gentleness was tied mostly to Callie and her gentle nature. He claims she's always made him a better person. As for his sexuality, he has never once questioned it. In fact, his first girlfriend was when he was 11, and they got caught by Callie in the treehouse in the back of the house, kissing. (He's still never quite lived that one down, actually. Any time she wants to make him flail at her, she just brings it up. Usually under her breath so that their parents don't fuss.)
Callie graduated from High School as Salutatorian, and Kai graduated somewhere in the middle of their class. He never cared about going to college, so he went to work at a local mechanic's shop, training under the old man that owned the place (Otis). Otis made for sure he was well-trained, then had him take tests to get certified. Kai stayed at the shop until Otis retired and his son Harvey took over. Harvey upped the prices, changed the hours, and dropped Kai's pay, so he moved on. He spent some time just doing mechanic work on-call until he found another shop, where he settled in for two years. At the end of that, Harvey was ready to sell Otis' old shop (after he'd run it into the ground), and Kai had saved up enough that he bought it. He did his best to get the business back to the old way, and within a few years, he was in the position to hire on two additional mechanics. One was an old friend from school, and the other was Callie's husband, Gene.
One day, Kai was at his favorite wonton house, and he ran into a beautiful woman that had a smile that lit the entire room. He was immediately enthralled by Rashel, and he flirted with her like crazy. They ate their dinner together, and the two of them talked and talked and talked until he almost lost his voice. They wound up getting together on Friday, too, and then again the next week, and on and on. She was the first woman outside of Callie he'd ever talked to that much. It was nice. A little overwhelming at times, but great. And then they took a few extra days between one time and another of seeing each other, and then it was a week and no date and two and three and... it just wasn't a thing anymore. And that was strange, too. There was no fighting, no drama, just what almost seemed like a natural end to the relationship.
A year later, they met up again, and it was the same damn thing. They spent time together, laughed and talked and had great sex and then it ended again. Again with no drama, no fighting, no anger. Then two years later, Rashel wound up bringing her car to the shop. A hook-up in her fixed car, and they went back to doing the same thing again. A short, but intense relationship that died out almost as quick as it started. It's a true on-again, off-again, but he honestly loves her so much it scares him. Which is probably a huge part of why the cycle goes the way it does, and why he doesn't reach out to her intentionally and simply lets the universe bring them together as it sees fit.
Kai stays busy as hell, but one day maybe he'll admit that Callie is probably right about him and Rashel, and that the two of them belong together. For now, though, he's avoiding that whole thought. He knows that it's likely that the world will bring them back together any time now, because he's starting to think it feels like it's been too damn long. Hell, maybe he'll even reach out first this time.
