Chapter Text
September 2023
They were adults.
Eighteen-year-olds with millions and millions (and millions) of dollars with nowhere to go.
No one to trust.
All exhausted both mentally and physically from chasing after the gold and avoiding being murdered for so long... it'll do that to you.
Yet it was over.
The hunt was over, the money was theirs.
Most of it that is.
Portions of the money went to those who helped them fight the fight, righteously.
Each of the Pogue's earned their fair sure of the gold, equating to about seventy million each. Legal issues aroused but with Popes family claiming ownership of the treasures it was a no-brainer for them to decide how their money would be split to the ones who helped defend their history.
No greed or second-guessing was involved.
Sarah, John B, JJ, Kiara, and Cleo were why Pope and his family would get to stand with their history and finally make a good name for Denmark Tanney.
It had been a long two years of fighting for what was theirs, but it was over.
When all was said and done it only made sense for the Pogue’s to go where home was to them for so many months.
The place that was their home away from home, where they grew together and adapted. Learning more about themselves and their friendship than they ever had before.
There was not much convincing to be done when it came to deciding on this being their first stop on their “surf trip.”
Two years ago, when the trip was first mentioned JJ didn’t foresee Sarah joining them out on the water, but the girl proved to be a true Pogue.
Barbados was where they had learned so much about their strengths and weaknesses. Sarah picking up a board for the first time, joining the rest of her Pogue’s out on the water. At the beginning of their time on the island, she found herself addicted to the waves, wanting to start at daybreak until she couldn’t stand to walk by lunch.
Soon she was even finding herself catching them dinner with Kiara at sundown.
After losing her family in the end, it just made sense to go to the place where she was the happiest.
Sarah hadn't even told her friends that she had purchased the land with the cottages to go with. Two cottages to be exact, a deal that she had done all on her own and a trait she had absorbed from her dad. One trait she isn’t so embarrassed about inheriting given that she’d used it to give to her friends rather than taking.
Even if Barbados wasn't where they found themselves permanently, she knew it was where they would end up when needing to be with each other and away from everyone else.
Collecting their baggage from the small aircraft they traveled to the island in, Sarah was giddy not wanting to keep the surprise any longer.
Kie was the first to catch on when they stepped off the plane with JJ in tow.
“Does she seem more puppy excited today than usual?” JJ leaned over tugging the bag from Kie’s hand throwing it into the cab.
“Definitely, new toy happy.”
John B had overhead and nodded in agreement.
Sarah’s leg bounced, nose glued to the window as they traveled to the address, she had given the driver. The road traveled along the coast, winding more than they drove straight.
“I feel sick.” JJ leaned on his arm that was holding him in place from shifting throughout the vehicle. The cab driver looking through the mirror with an eyebrow raised questioning whether he was going to puke.
“He’s being dramatic.” Kie smiled not at all convinced.
“Yeah sure.” JJ hid his head out the window.
It was an hour after that, that they reached their destination. The car slowing down as it drove down the long driveway, seashells crunching under the wheels. Palm trees brushing against the car causing JJ to whip his head back to avoid the recoil of the branches.
The car made a stop between two beach cottages.
The group was silent as JJ was the first to step out, amazed by the view between the two cottages.
"Is this real life?" Kie dropped her bag staring between her friends.
Sarah squealed between her two hands clasped at her mouth, "Okay I can't take it anymore. This is all ours."
"Say syke?" "What?" "Christ."
"Sarah, what do you mean that this is all ours?" John B turned from the view of the water to look at his girlfriend.
“I mean that this is all, ours” Sarah’s arms widen out to the land around them. “I bought it for us.”
“You bought this?” JJ sputtered “Are you freaking kidding me? You bought this?”
“The houses?” John B followed up to JJ “Sarah Cameron are you telling me that this is all ours?”
“It’s all ours baby!” Sarah howled jumping into her boyfriend’s arms, him almost not catching her from the state of shock he was still in.
“You’re not joking?” His voice was soft once he realized she was still clinging to him.
“All of this is ours,” Sarah promises digging her head into his shoulder. “This is our happy place. I promise.”
“Oh my god!” Kie pounced on the back of Sarah, wrapping her arms around them both then JJ piling behind John.
The sound of a car pulling away brought them back but with all their belongings from the car stocked in a pile in their sandy, seashell-filled driveway they watched as the driver drove away leaving them there.
“Holy shit, this is it.” JJ walked closer to the sound of water coming up to the beach that was their backyard. He turned around and they all could swear his eyes were a little red. He took the hat from his head bending it between his hands. He bent down a bit to let out the biggest shout of excitement.
The four of them ran towards the stairs of the coral cottage up onto the porch, Sarah reached in the pocket of her shorts for the key. Her hands were shaking from the exhilaration of opening the door to their house.
She could feel John B grabbing her shoulders shaking her from excitement as she fiddled with the key, finally opening the door.
From the experience of watching Rose, Sarah had already had the cottages professionally cleaned and everything from earlier owners gutted. She had already ordered the basics for everyone and even had the kitchen stocked ready for their first few nights.
The four separated as they ran into every room, opening every door that was there. Hollering at everything they loved.
“I call this room!” JJ’s voice echoed
“This is ours!” John B followed from the other end of the house, still not far but his voice was closer to Sarah who was standing in the kitchen than Kie’s was who was next.
“Mine!” Kie’s voice came from the room across from JJ’s.
The three came out meeting Sarah in the kitchen, she was leaned over across the counter smiling at them coming in.
“Now I ordered the basics, but I figured you’d wanna make the place our own, so I didn’t go crazy,” Sarah explains, laying her chin down on her hands on the counter. “This is all ours, our own Chataeu.”
“Poguelandia” JJ smirked.
“Ooo” John B slapped his hand on JJ’s back. “Poguelandia.”
Kie smiled at Sarah nodding before looking at the boys.
“Kookiest damn Pogues this island will ever see.”
“I know that’s damn right!” JJ yelled
“You know what our first night here calls for right?” Sarah bit her lip while digging into the refrigerator stepping to the side to show her friends the entire stock of beer, she’d ordered for them.
“No freaking way.” Kie stepped around the counter to admire the goods.
“God bless your girlfriend bro.” JJ praised. “Tonight, we shall party.”
__________
The bags were dumped in their respective rooms, the refrigerator practically unpacked, and the beer scattered among the four of them around the fire Kie had built for them.
“Okay, so you just called a realtor one day and said, hey I need a beach cottage and just bought it?” Kie laughed at the ease of the process.
“Well, you make it seem so easy. Of course, there was like paperwork involved and shit but money talks you know.” Sarah smirked across the fire
“Oh, listen to her, money talks.” JJ mocks throwing his beer can into his growing pile already feeling the glare from the figure sitting next to him on his right. “Chill, I’ll grab them before we go in.”
“Better.”
“I mean I had heard Rose and my dad before.” She shrugs as if it were as simple as that, signing a piece of paper.
“What’s up with the extra?” John B nods towards the other cottage sitting next to their claimed coral one.
Sarah shrugs, “I figured it could be a guest place you know if Wheezy or Pope or anyone else we know wanted to crash.”
“Gotcha.” The four were quiet when recognizing that they really didn’t have many people to come and visit. Their circle pretty much shrunk the past few years.
“We’re it for each other,” Sarah explains, playing with the top of the can until she wiggles it loose and throws it into the fire. “I wanted us to have a place where we didn’t have to feel like we were constantly being watched or having to explain ourselves. Those few months on the island with just us were some of my favorite memories of my life. We don’t have to stay here or make this our permanent home, but I wanted a place that we would always have to come back to.”
“A place we can be ourselves.” Kie whispers
“To feel safe.” JJ plays with a stick he’s holding in the fire.
“To not have to watch our back.”
“Yeah...” Sarah bites her lip scooting closer to John B, laying her head onto his shoulder. “We’ve been through so much together already, there’s no one I would feel more comfortable to share this place with.”
“We’re just missing a few of the good ones to make it complete.” John B raises his can. “To the Pogues, we lost along the way and those who will join us down the road.”
“The Pogues.” The three toasted
------
It wasn’t easy adjusting to the trauma of the last few years.
Kiara and JJ found each other taking turns, helping each other recover from nightmares of what they’d been through.
Between the alcohol, the newness of the cottage, and the darkness of the room she woke herself up in a drenched sweat and panic.
Her feet hit the floor and she rushed to where she remembered JJ had set himself up earlier in the day. Not bothering to knock she opens the door, quietly shutting it behind her.
The moon was set high in the sky and JJ had the perfect view of the reflection of the moon on the water through his window. It was easy to find and stumble to his bed.
She didn’t say anything to wake him up, they never did anymore. Instead, she moves the covers down climbing in scooting closer into the bed until she feels JJ’s body. Turning her body she uses her leg next to his, settling it between his two.
He stirs.
“You, ok?” His eyes don’t open but he moves so his legs are trapping hers, pulling his arm over her side.
Safe.
“Mmhmm” She pulls him tighter burying her head into his chest.
“Mmkay.” He’s back to sleep within seconds with Kie not long behind.