Worlds Apart

A/N: I'd like to thank everyone for the comments and votes and favorites I've been getting on this story so far! For each chapter I'd like to have a little cheater's dictionary for terms vocabulary I'm using to try to keep defining them out of the story and breaking immersion.

Hawaiian phrases and meaning in this chapter:

kūloko - local

Aloha kakahiaka - good morning

E mālama nō - take it easy

Ipo - sweetheart

makua kāne - dad

makuahine -mom

maikaʻi loa - good

Keiki - kid

Aloha pō - good night

---

I wake up to my 8 a.m. alarm ringing, and there's no sight of Tia. Her bed is empty save for me, but the sheets and thin blanket are tucked around me carefully. I survey the room and see that it's still mostly dark, thanks to her black out curtains which are almost a necessity if you don't want to be woken up at the asscrack of dawn by the strong Hawiian sun.

I get dressed and head downstairs to find my girl sitting on the couch, still in her fluffy robe watching TV. "Aloha kakahiaka, E Mason," she says with half a mouthful of breakfast, and I can't help but to chuckle at the relaxed scene. She can be so seductive and sexy, but such a tomboy sometimes.

I repeat it back slowly, trying to capture her accent and the intricacies of how she said it. "Wow, that sounded touristy as shit," I chuckle, and Tia giggles before scooping some more of what looks like a parfait into her mouth.

"Made you some breakfast, and coffee is still hot," she says. I turn to see what she's watching, and it's the Kauai Morning Roast, a morning news and talk show.

I make my way into the kitchen, fill up a cup with black coffee, and I find a parfait in a wide coffee mug waiting for me. It's not the usual blueberry and strawberries I'm used to.

"What's in this, Tia?" I ask as I dart my eyes to the living room doorway that goes into the downstairs main hall. I see Scratch, wagging his fluffy little tail, barking at... I don't even know what.

"Papaya, bread fruit and mango with granola, yogurt and agave syrup." She turns her eyes from the TV to me. "Don't tell me you're opposed to fruit."

"Not at all," I say as I take my eyes off of Scratch, who's curled into a ball and just growling up at the ceiling. "This looks really damn good," I tell her as I dig in with a spoon. "Thank you for this."

"I was worried you might be one of those steak and egg only bruddas," she teases. "What do you usually eat for breakfast on your own?" she asks as she reaches for her coffee.

"If I'm working, usually just an overnight oats and protein shake. If it's a day off I usually make an omelet or a breakfast sandwich," I shrug and take my first bite. "Cereal if I'm extra lazy," I admit. "Anything interesting happening on the island this morning?"

Tia giggles. "Depends on what your definition of interesting is. I bet it's not the same as everyone else's." She pauses and sees me looking intently at the TV. "This morning they're interviewing this lady who owns a flower shop. It's been in her family since her mom and dad opened it after World War Two, and she's been making leis for decades. They're extremely beautiful."

Tia and I casually, quietly eat our breakfast together and watch the morning talk show, which covers topics of local happenings, a noted uptick in shark attacks on the south of the island, and little topics about everyday life on Kauai.

After what feels like too soon, I check my smart watch and see that I need to head out for the office. "I'm sorry Tia, but I have to get going. Duty calls."

Tia sighs and watches me as I head for the hallway. "I wish you didn't. I don't have to be at the dance academy until noon," she says and stretches languidly, her muscles flexing temptingly.

"Goddamn it, Tia. Just watching you do the simplest things boils my blood in a good way," I tell her with an unmistakable hunger in my voice.

She smirks playfully and sticks out a leg, like she's enticing me to worship her body. "You should see me do yoga sometime."

"I gotta go to work," I chuckle and shake my head as I take my hat from a coat hanger. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"But like, how later?" Tia asks as she lays down on the couch, snuggling in and wrapping her bathrobe around her. She' so adorable that she makes it hard to leave. "After work later, or you'll call me later?"

"Hmm," I say, leaning on the doorway. "That depends on what you and Lola feel comfortable with. We've been spending a lot of time together, and I don't want you two to feel like I'm trying to move in or crowd you."

"Do you want to take a night off and see how it feels? You did just get back from your assignment and were in a shootout, so maybe that's also making it harder to leave," my brainy girlfriend points out.

"Yeah, I did just get in last night," I agree. "We can talk about this later, because I gotta scoot," I say and head out before my beautiful Hawaiian can distract me further.

I just get to the bottom of the steps and pause, wondering if I should go back and kiss her goodbye. The last time I left her, I damn near got shot. I can't count a grazing as getting shot. It'd be like cutting yourself while cooking and saying you got stabbed.

I shake my head and hop in my Lincoln, turning on the local radio station and heading down what I've started referring to as Pelekai Hill.

---

"Morning, Craig," I say to my boss as I sit at my desk and take my hat off.

"What the hell are you doing back, Mason? I told you to take today off. You only got back last night and your stitches are still in."

"I got fucking grazed, Craig. And I don't need to see our trauma therapist or anything, either. Yeah, I discharged my weapon at a subject but nobody died," I argue.

"Why the hell are you fighting a free day off, Keats?" Tom Callway asks, throwing a ball of paper at me.

I catch the ball with my winged arm as if that would completely dispel the chief from benching me for the day. "Because I don't need the day off, Callway. I'm pretty sure there's something on this damned island that I can find to do without getting myself into trouble."

"Gonna go make friendly with the Indians over in the sheriff's department? From what I hear, Sheriff Aleki really likes you."

"Jonah's a better cop than you, Callway," I say dismissively and rest my dress fedora on my head. "I'm gonna go do some ground work. Keep pushing a pencil and hope another important job comes up, Tom. If something does, call me back in and I'll do that for you, too."

"Are you really going to do old fashioned police work, or are you off to bang that Island girl I heard you're with?" Tom calls to my back as I make it to the office door. I glare over my shoulder and see that Craig had stopped drinking his coffee mid sip.

I sigh and wrench the door open and slam it behind me. I didn't move here from fucking Maine to be rumor milled and hear an actually good cop be slandered.

---

"Jonah, it's Keats. Anything going on today you and the brown shirts need help with?" I ask into the bottom of my phone from the courthouse parking lot.

"Not really, Law Man. Pretty quiet day on beautiful Kauai," he responds in that deep raspy voice that always sounds like he just inhaled smoke. "What's the matter? Bored after your action packed adventure in Maui?" he teases.

"Something like that," I say slowly as my eyes watch traffic go by. "Chief wants to bench me for the day and says I should talk to the councilor. It's the rules and shit, but it wasn't that big of a deal."

There's silence for a bit before he says, "You know Mason, none of my deputies have fired a gun in the line of duty. It's all been training and range firing. Maybe that was a bigger deal than you think." This is a more serious and veteran Jonah than I'm used to. "I get you're a fancy fed and I'm just an old kūloko sheriff, but you've seen more than a lot of people who've been doing this for years. So maybe you should take a day off. Have you even just taken a day to sit on the beach or just explore the island, or any of the other islands?"

I take a deep sigh and let it out, not even thinking about him hearing it until he says, "Yeah, actually take the day off, Mason. Take a day to actually relax. Just enjoy the island. Don't try to research it, don't try to work off the job. Stroll the island like you've always lived here, and let that help you understand it. I bet that natural mana you'll find, or that will find you, will help you."

"Thanks, Jonah. I think I'll take you up on that advice."

"E mālama nō, Law Man," he tells me in probably the softest voice I've heard from him, and I'm starting to understand why Tia refers to him as Uncle Jonah.

---

I do as Jonah suggested, and I find myself on a secluded beach I didn't know existed, with just a six-pack of Guinness. It isn't Hawaiian by any means, but it was my beer of choice back home, and I can drink all six at a fair pace without so much as getting drunk. I have a feeling that if I call him, he'll give me a ride home and I know my car would be fine.

As I nearly finish my first beer and watch the sun start to set over the vast Pacific, my phone buzzes. I pick it up to see it's Tia. *Hey. Haven't heard from you since this morning. Not trying to cling, just checking in.*

I smile and text back, *Doing fine. Jonah convinced me to take the day off like my boss wanted. Sitting at a beach having a beer.*

*Everything okay or just relaxing? Lemme know if I'm prying.* I smile at Tia's check-in while trying not to smother me. She wants me to know she cares without scaring me off. I'm used to being a loner, and I think Tia is, too. Neither of us seem sure about how to do this caring relationship thing, especially with both of us being strong and independent. We want to show we care without stepping on or underselling the other.

*If I had any idea where I was, I'd send you an invite.* I hit send and then pause before typing out another message. *Want me to bring my beer back to your place? Backyard beer and star gazing?*

*:)* is all I get back in reply. Taking it as all the invite I need, I finish up my one beer and head back to Tia's. As I get to my car, Callway's teasing jab from earlier works its way into my head. He could have picked up that little rumor from anyone. Callway is probably a regular at the Three Tikis and could have overheard it or been told from anyone there.

When I pull into the big driveway on Pelekai Hill, Tia's on the front porch waiting for me. "Just can't keep away, huh Lawman?" she teases.

"If you were dating someone as radiant, funny and sweet as you, could you stay away, either?" I play back as I retrieve the five Guinness left from my back seat.

"Always the flatterer, aren't you, ipo?" Tia smiles as I climb the stairs to her. "All jokes aside, I'm glad to see you again so soon," she says and wraps her arms around my neck, kissing me. "I happily accept your compliments."

As the sun gets lower and lower in the Hawaiian sky, she takes my hand and leads me back behind the house, through her backyard. I was surprised to see a gorgeous wood plank walk-way leading to a patio with a hammock and tiki torches. Her hips sway as she leads the way up the trail. "My makua kāne built this in his free time over years. He and my makuahine spent a lot of nights out here together."

In the time it takes us to get to the patio, the sun sinks lower, casting long shadows across the landscape and turning Tia's dark hair into a cascade of inky silk.

I sit in the hammock and crack two beers while Tia lights the torches around us, keeping away the mosquitos as well as casting a warm glow around us. "I don't actually know much about you, Mason," she says as she lays in the hammock, my arms curling around her as I hand her a beer.

"What do you want to know?" I ask. "Family stuff, what Maine is like?" I take a sip of my beer and wait for her first question.

"How did you wind up here on Kauai?" she asks, lacing her fingers through mine.

"Uhm, I started marshaling in the county I grew up in. Everybody knew me, and they saw that same kid that grew up around there as someone who was just playing cops and robbers. So if I wanted to take myself seriously and be a good cop, and not deal with the people I grew up with and not see their bad sides I didn't want to know about, I had to leave," I explain. "When Marshal Herrington retired and his post opened up, I jumped at the chance to be reassigned."

"Do you regret it?" Tia asks, tracing the veins of my palm not holding a beer.

"Nah," I say without hesitation. "I haven't been here long, but it's beautiful and a nature enthusiast's paradise."

"So you are an outdoorsy guy, not just a runner?" she asks, turning and nuzzling into my neck, making me chuckle.

"Big time. Hiking, canoeing, hunting, camping. It's kind of hard to grow up in Maine and not fall in love with the streams and forests around you," I say wistfully.

"Well maybe we need to focus on getting you out here more. There's so much on the island and the islands around us to explore. We have jungles, and mountains, waterfalls and beaches, cliffs and caves. You're right in that this is a paradise, but I don't think you've had the chance to properly experience it," Tia tells me, and I can hear her passion for this place in her words.

"I'd love to experience it, and it sounds like I have the perfect guide."

"Yeah? Who? What the hell is her name?" Tia asks, her voice sharp and she looks over her shoulder at me, daggers in her eyes.

"You, Tia! It's you! Who the fuck do you think I meant?" I say, immediately defensive, and then she breaks into giggles and my face softens. Oh, I get it. Haha you're so funny," I roll my eyes at her antics but I can't help but smile.

"Wait a moment. You have weekends off unless you're on assignments, right?"

"Yeah. We're not 24/7 offices or constantly on call like city police or deputies. We have regular office hours unless something crazy is going off. Why?" I ask, pressing my larger hand against hers, chuckling at the size difference.

"I only have a morning youth class I teach on Saturday and then I'm off on Sundays. Right after my morning hulas we could go on little adventures together around the islands," Tia offers, kissing the back of my hand as she entwines our fingers again. "We can try for another jungle hike or run and leave Scratch at home this time to avoid another injury," she laughs.

"I think that sounds wonderful. I enjoyed that first mile jungle run, well, until you got hurt."

"Class gets out at 11 a.m., so we'll have all day Saturday to hike, and then we can play Sunday by ear if that sounds maikaʻi loa?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," I say with a nod of my head. Tia smiles at my increasing ability to pick up on the local tongue. "I've been studying a lot, and sometimes it's just context clues," I shrug.

"All the same, I appreciate the effort. You can practice with me, too. I won't judge you for the way you say things or that you're trying. Well, I will judge you, but it's academically," Tia says with a laugh. "I think it's great you're learning our language. It's fun, and it's warm, and I don't want the language to die," she says softly and I frown.

I wrap Tia in a tight hug and hold her back against my chest. "I make it a point to adapt to Hawaii, not to try to make Hawaii adapt to me. If I wanted to live in a place like Maine, I would have stayed there."

Tia turns in my arms, her chest resting on mine, her big brown eyes looking up at me with a smile on her face. She slowly reaches up and touches my face. "You're quickly losing that haole title with me, Mason. Keep up the good work," she says teasingly and kisses my nose.

We spend what feels like hours laying together in that hammock, stargazing and enjoying the lack of light pollution out here. I tell Tia that I remember hunting trips back home that had this kind of darkness, and how much I've always loved the Northern Lights on cold nights.

"It's getting late and we both work in the morning. I should head in..." Tia tells me with a sigh of disappointment.

"Yeah, I won't keep you. You have an early morning with Lola, and then I bet your classes take a lot of energy."

"The adult classes and the higher level ones can. The keikis are pretty easy going, but just babysitting them and trying to keep them on task can be annoying, but they're adorable, and I want to help pass our traditions down."

As we untangle our bodies and carefully extricate ourselves from the hammock, I admit to Tia, "I've actually never seen a real hula in person. I've seen travel videos and shit about it, but I've never experienced it."

Tia smiles and takes my hand after extinguishing the tiki torches and leading me down the patio. "You know Lawman, we offer adult beginner classes if you're not too macho to try dancing."

"Is hula a thing Hawaiian men do?"

"It sure is!" Tia confirms, pride in her voice. "Males also usually tell the story or myth that goes along with the hula. You'll have to get real good before you can think about fire dancing, though. And Lola didn't lie..." she says with a smirk over her shoulder as we walk down the long set of wooden steps to the back yard, "I do like guys who dance."

I chuckle at her adding her own hook to her encouragement. "How would I be received, though? A haole trying to learn traditional Hawaiian dances?"

Tia scrunches her dark brows together. "It's kind of cringey when tourists do it. They pay $15 a head or whatever it is for the one lesson, and then we never see them again. If they're at the resort for a week or two, we might see them up to three times, but they never actually learn, you know? But you aren't the only white guy living on the island, and white Hawaiians have learned to hula before, they usually don't, probably because it's such a traditionalist dance. You could learn the Hula 'Auana, which is a lot more Western influenced, and leave the Hula Kahiko to the locals like me. There are right and wrong ways to do this, if you really wanted to."

"Let me sleep on it," I say, running a hand through my short black hair. "I could use a hobby that isn't combat training, and it sounds fun. It's just... not my normal," I shrug. "But that isn't a bad thing. If I'm going to live here for years, hell, maybe permanently or back and forth between here and Maine, I do want to understand the people better."

We make it back to the front door and Tia leans in for a kiss, which I happily give into, our lips meeting and melding together. We hold the kiss for a while but don't deepen it. There's longing in the lip lock, but we know if we push it, it'll be harder for us to go our separate ways.

"Aloha pō, E Tia,' I say softly and kiss her forehead before pulling back, a grin on her face.

"Good night to you too, Mason. I love hearing how hard you're working on the language," she beams, the wide smile warming my insides. "I'll probably text you good morning."

"I'd be okay with that," I nod as I put my brown fedora back on. "If I don't head down Pelekai Hill, I'll never leave," the words leave my mouth soft and sounding regretful. I turn my back and leave abruptly, needing to break away from the tractor beam that this woman is to me.

"Aloha pō, E Mason," she says just loud enough for me to hear, and I watch her in all of her vibrant sundressed glory as I hop into my car and head off.

---

"Mason, whatever you're working on can wait a half hour," Craig says as he stands in front of my desk, that damned giant coffee mug in his hand as always. Makes me think of the boss from Office Space every time. "The trauma counselor is here to talk about the Maui situation. I know you think it's bullshit but just jump through the damn hoops and get it over with," he grouches. "I really can't let you off of desk duty or give you marshaling assignments until you do."