Flying back to New York wouldn't have been such a bad idea, had it not been for Ruth's exhaustion and sore feet from the killer heels she wore at the wedding. Her eyes still dropped with fatigue, and her body aches from dancing that night. But Ruth didn't have time to be tired, for a flight awaited her and Raffo.

Raffo waited patiently at his front door with their packed luggage glued to his side. They're only going to be gone for a few days at most, but Ruth's tendency to over-pack made it look like they'd be gone for an entire week. She always thought of over packing as a necessary talent, but Raffo, on the other hand, didn't seem to think so and rolled his eyes every so often.

"What the hell are you going to do with five pairs of jeans and three leggings?" he had argued, watching her struggle to close the lid of her suitcase as she sumo wrestled the damn thing shut.

Instead of engaging with his unsupportive behavior, she stuck her tongue out at him and leaned her body weight harder onto the lid so the zipper wouldn't have to stretch so far between the two metals. Raffo rolled his eyes at her childish antics and stretched his hand down to help her, but she swatted it away.

"I don't need your pity help," she grumbled back, nudging the zipper over another centimeter. It took another five minutes, but she was eventually successful in getting it closed up.

And now that everything was packed up, Ruth did one last sweep over everything in the room, making sure she had everything for the weekend. Her parents were waiting for them at the airport, so she didn't have a lot of time to kill to mentally prepare herself for her one arch nemesis in life. TSA.

The flight she could handle. The nasty snacks, a given that she could take. Even the flight attendants who might flirt with Raffo didn't seem so bad. But TSA? That was the capital of anyone's anxiety. The yelling, the lack of smiles, the judgment in their eyes after looking down at your mismatched Disney socks, she was lucky she never fainted in front of them. So taking longer to look around Raffo's apartment was necessary in her eyes.

"Ruth, we need to go," Raffo reminded her, twisting the front door knob for emphasis.

Ruth frowned at the rush, but grabbed her scarf and cell phone, anyway. She went to reach for her luggage as well on the way out, but Raffo shook his head and told her he had it. Though she gave him a hard time that morning, and he was well annoyed with her for the first few hours, he was still a gentleman. So when they climbed in the car after loading it up, and he turned to buckle his seatbelt in, she didn't hesitate in gripping his jaw and drawing him closer to her. She pressed her lips to his and gave him a short, yet sweet kiss that still had her heart rocking against her chest.

"I'm sorry for being such an asshole today," she whispered, pulling back to look at him. He licked his lips. "I'm just nervous."

Raffo frowned and drew a hand up to her face. "You don't have to be nervous, you know. I'm going to be right there with you the entire time. Through TSA, Emily, those crazy New Yorkers and all."

It occurred to Ruth then that all of those things made Raffo just as uncomfortable as it did Ruth. Not them specifically, but he was going out of his comfort zone for her. He was traveling to a new place and was stuck in a large city for a few days. Raffo may tolerate Oklahoma City now, but a place like New York would be overwhelming to anyone. He didn't like new places all the time, nor did he care for the city life. And yet, he was willing to go for her, to be who she needs for a few days.

Raffo Leflore was taking a bite out of the Big Apple, and pushed away his own limitations for her. And she was more than grateful for it. So grateful that she could have cried, had it not been for the looming thoughts of TSA.

"Thank you, Raff. I can tackle this weekend because of you," she breathed, kissing the center of his palm.

But he only smiled, the sight flushing her cheeks. Will she ever get used to that smile?

Hell no.

"You can tackle this weekend because of you," he corrected. "I'm just along for the paid vacation."

She laughed loud at that and he kissed her giggling lips.

The drive over to the airport didn't take long, much to Ruth's dismay. Her parents instructed them on where to park in order to meet up for one last goodbye before they flew back to California. It was Shantelle's idea to meet in the garage so that she and Koi could save a spot for Raffo, despite not having a car of their own, which touched Ruth's heart greatly.

But as soon as they pulled up to the level, and Raffo turned a corner, Ruth wished her mother didn't save them a spot at all. She palmed her cheek as she witnessed the tail end of a heated argument between Shantelle and some random driver who wanted to park in the spot she was saving. Raffo choked on a laugh, Koi looked flustered, and Ruth wanted to bury herself under the parking structure.

Shantelle may be changing, but nobody can change that much.

"Get your bumpkin ass out of my face," she shouted, waving off the overweight white man whose face boiled with anger. "This is my daughter's spot and I'm not leaving until she gets here. So your tomato ass can just run me over because I ain't leaving."

Koi spotted Ruth and Raffo from afar and breathed out a sigh of relief. He beckoned them to drive closer and Raffo did. It wasn't until Shantelle's yelling grew louder that Raffo unbuckled his seatbelt, ready to step in and defend Ruth's mother if he needed to, when the woman handled it all herself. She took out her pocketknife and walked towards his car, threatening to scratch up his already fucked up hillbilly truck, when the man roared his Ford up and screeched out of there.

"That was so embarrassing," Ruth grumbled, rubbing a hand down the side of her face as Raffo parked his SUV.

But he only grinned, clearly elated by the commotion. "I thought it was pretty badass."

She shot him a look. "Don't encourage her."

Ruth climbed out of the car and landed straight into her dad's arms. She nearly jumped out of her skin, having not expected the loving hold, but relaxed after he murmured the reason why. He saw her grandpa's grave before he got there and thanked her for beautifying it before Jana's wedding.

"Of course, dad," she whispered, hugging him just as tightly. "I'm sure he's happy you saw him."

Koi pressed a warm kiss to the top of her head. "I'm glad I came back to see it. I'm thankful we came back to meet Raffo too, Honey-Bee. You two are perfect for each other. I don't think I've ever seen a better match."

Ruth's eyes swam with blurry tears and she hugged her dad tighter. She couldn't agree more.

By the time she pulled back to search for her mother, Shantelle was already fussing about Raffo. She fixed his hair, hugged him, and then warned him about treating her daughter well. He took her personality in with ease and promised he had no intention of hurting her daughter.

Satisfied, she hugged Raffo one more time. "You're a good one, boy. Just don't let us down."

Raffo's eyes found Koi's above Ruth, and he nodded firmly. "I won't."

Shantelle released him. She turned her attention to Ruth next and opened her arms for her. She didn't hesitate to dive into her embrace.

"I love you, Ruth baby. I hope you never questioned that," Shantelle murmured, brushing her fingers over Ruth's curls.

"I didn't," Ruth said, honestly, squeezing her mother back. "Thank you for listening to me, mom. I'm sorry it came to that."

"Don't be. I wouldn't have listened any other way."

Ruth didn't know much about fate, but she knew for a fact that had she not come back to Oklahoma when she did, her life would have been left in chaos. She'd still be hurt, her parents and her wouldn't have talked, and Ruth wouldn't have known about Emily's lies. The world worked around them for a reason, and it blew her mind just how much it had Ruth in her favor.

By the time they finished with their goodbyes, it was time to get going. Both parties waved at each other and made their ways to their prospective terminals to check in. The line to TSA wasn't very long, much to her relief, so by the time it was their turn, Ruth was confident things would go smoothly with her boyfriend at her side. She wasn't flying alone, so maybe going through the TSA wouldn't be too bad.

Well, it wouldn't have been, had it not been for the water bottle Ruth left behind in her bag.

And like she said. She hated TSA.

*****