Hi everyone! I'm finally updating Soulmates again. I'm so sorry it's been so long. I got super busy with school, my fan account on Instagram, and Amino. The last little while has been very productive in a sense. I've done a lot of editing, done some organizing, wrapped friendship bracelet thread around clothespins, posted and caught up on some fan account things (reached 1k followers on my fan account yay!), posted on my YouTube, saw Little Women and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, watched The Mandalorian, done some homework, etc! I'm going to try to be better at updating in the future, but you all know how much of a struggle it is. Thank you for sticking with me thus far and supporting me across all the different platforms. Here is Chapter 17!! Enjoy! :)

Chapter 17

A blush bloomed across Biana's face as they both realized who the shriek belonged to.

"Linh..." Tam breathed fiercely. He turned around and saw his twin sister bathing in absolute delight. Linh had been jumping for joy over and over again, whilst exclaiming "Tam and Biana, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Tam blushed bright red as his line of sight saw Biana smiling a little. "What?!" Tam asked as he walked closer to her instead of turning back to Linh.

"You're so cute when you're angry," Biana said meekly. Her blush deepened and her gaze shifted downward as Biana continued, "It's really endearing."

Tam laughed nervously. "You're cute when you're nervous though. I think that's more endearing than me being cute when I'm angry," he said and then thought for a moment. "Actually, I'm probably more threatening when I'm angry..."

"Oh well I guess it's probably just me that thinks you're cute when you're angry," Biana told him quickly.

"Yeah that's... true. Yeah, true," Tam said, agreeing with her.

Biana lightly hit his arm. "I think... you should do something about Linh though. Be nice!" she warned.

Tam just shook his head. "I may be protective of Linh, but she just invaded a moment that was private... between you and me."

"Don't siblings often do that?" Biana asked insightfully.

"Well..." Tam trailed off as he thought.

"Don't tell me you haven't done it to Linh because I'm sure you have. I've done it to Fitz too," Biana said trying to relate.

Tam sort of stared at her. "Well... yes, I guess I have," he said meekly.

"I don't think you should be annoyed by it then," Biana said with a gentle smile. "All siblings have moments like that."

A sigh escaped Tam's mouth. "Fine... but we're still continuing our date. I'll send Linh home. Plus, I need to talk to her briefly about what happened with Dex."

Biana nodded. "Of course!"

Tam wandered over to Linh. Anxiously waiting for him, Linh glanced up at him and smiled briefly. "Look, I'm sorry, Tam," Linh apologized. "I couldn't help myself, and you never take enough time for yourself. You act like you need to protect me and worry about me. I want to be able to do that for you."

Linh's eyes were full of compassion as Tam met her gaze. "Linh... I get that, but you need to respect my privacy sometimes and especially in a matter like this," he told her.

Linh nodded as Tam continued, asking his main question, "What was that with Dex?"

A flush spread over Linh's face. "It was a ploy to get you and Biana to leave... sort of," she said slowly.

Tam stared at her and said, "I'm not sure I believe that but fine. Also, I'm sorry for how overprotective I've been the past couple days. I think I'm beginning to understand your side of things. Now, go home and let me finish my date off."

Linh sighed in relief. "Yes, of course," she said excitedly. "Go enjoy your date!"

Tam smiled at her shortly and returned back to waiting Biana as Linh left in a flourish of light. Tam took a seat by Biana's side, and she snuggled into him without a second thought. Tam jumped as Biana's head touched his shoulder. "Tam... are you okay with this?" Biana asked shyly.

Tam nodded. "Yeah. I'm just a little jumpy at the moment," he whispered to her.

Biana laughed and let out a gentle sigh. "I'm glad you two are on better terms now. I know how it is..." she said trailing off into her own thoughts.

"With Fitz?" Tam inquired as he found himself leaning his head on Biana's.

"Yeah, with Fitz. I find it's a bit different of a circumstance than with you and Linh though," she replied as her gaze swept across the ocean and the sand around them. Biana's fingers found Tam's hand and closed around it.

Tam took a deep breath as he allowed himself to relax into the sand a little more. "Yeah, I can see that," he told her and then said, "Fitz really likes Sophie, right?"

"Yes, he does. I'm not sure how this all is going to work out, but both Keefe and Fitz like her. Only one of them or someone else is her soulmate, and... I'm afraid one of them is going to get their heart broken," Biana answered.

"Well... maybe we should bring in a distraction," Tam devised. "Like another girl?"

"Which girls are you thinking of?" Biana asked as a small smile formed on her face.

Tam thought for a moment and then said two names. "Marella and Stina."

"They could work. I mean I think either one of those girls would be a good match for Keefe. Not sure about Fitz though," Biana explained.

Tam took another moment to really lay out his thoughts. "Okay, Markella's a pyrokinetic, and Stina's an Empath," he ended up saying. "Stina could be a huge help to both of them. Fitz and Keefe are both so emotional."

Biana laughed. "That is very true. I have definitely witnessed it over the years," she noted.

"You sure have," Tam said with a chuckle. "You've spent a lot of time with both of them."

"Fitz being my brother and Keefe being his best friend..." Biana added. The sun was beginning to set in the distance. The waves rippled in and onto the beach coming closer minute by minute.

Tam laughed and pulled Biana in closer wrapping his arms around her. "The tide's starting to come in. Should we head home now?" he whispered.

Biana sighed and tried to enjoy the moment before it ended. "Yeah... I guess we should get going," she told him while trying to hide her disappointment.

A brief smile was given, and Tam stood up, pulling Biana up with him. He kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the beach for a little bit. "You ready to lightleap now?" Tam asked, looking at Biana to see her reaction.

"Sure. I wish it didn't have to be over though," Biana admitted. She looked up at him and smiled sadly. "Thank you for this wonderful date!"

"Of course. I hope the moment won't be over either... we can go out on another date sometime!" Tam said, trying to figure out a good solution.

Biana grinned. "I'd like that," she said happily.

Tam grinned back at her as he raised his pathfinder to the sky. The sun was almost gone in the twilight that had taken over the bright day-time sky. They walked into the path of light that appeared on sandy ground, and Tam took Biana back to Everglen.

When Tam returned to Ripplespire, he discovered that his Week 2 letter had arrived. "Linh!" Tam exclaimed excitedly. "My letter's here!"

Thank you so much for reading Chapter 17! I hope you enjoyed it. Comment anything you want, any questions, any favorite parts so far, etc! Then, you can head to the next part for a little surprise story that takes place in a different AU than Soulmates. 

CHAPTERLY GIF:

Frozen 2!! How did you like Frozen 2 if you saw it? I loved it, so here we are with a Frozen 2 Elsa GIF! 

Well, thank you for reading! Now, you head over to the bonus story (or Chapter 18 if you are reading this after I have also published Chapter 18)! Until next time (Chapter 18 most likely haha)!