Translation of one of my texts. This takes place in the season finale, between the battle in Naples and the wedding.
Enjoy you're reading and let me know if you liked it!
-.-.-.-Love in Paris
Nomi was frozen, eyes haggard, her gaze fixed on a scene that Amanita couldn't see. She exchanged a look with Bug and began to make plans in her head. The woman of her life was going to survive this horror. She would hunt down and kill Whispers herself with her bare hands if necessary.
"He's dead."
Nomi's voice snatched her from her plans and Amanita rushed to take her in his arms. At that moment, she would have given anything to be a sensate and see what she saw. Not knowing was unbearable.
"Who? Not Will. Tell me it's not Will."
They had already almost lost the adorable Kala and they just learned that she would live. Rajan had promised to keep them informed at the slightest change. They could not lose Will. Not now.
"Whispers," Nomi said with disbelief and hysteria. "Whispers is dead, and Lila with him. Will ... No, Wolfgang killed them. And the president. We ... we are free."
Amanita had to sit down. Her legs were shaking. If Nomi had not clung to the table, she would have done the same. Bug stood up to yell his joy, shaking the van where they were hiding. He took Nomi in his arms and pulled her into an impromptu dance before pushing her into Amanita's arms and kissing them both on the forehead. He shouted something that Amanda did not even understand. It was as if she was in a fog, the sounds were blurry and her tears blurred everything else. But what mattered was Nomi's hands clinging to her shoulders and her hands tracing circles on her skin. Amanita realized that they were both crying.
"Do you know what that means?" Amanita managed to articulate between two sobs.
"What?"
"We can start planning the wedding."
Nomi's laughter mingled with her tears as she searched for her lips. It was over. She would never have to worry about the BPO taking her away. They had won the war and she could never kiss enough Bug and Will and Wolfgang and all the others. She just had to dry her tears and manage to let go of Nomi's lips. In two or three hours she might be able to do it. Or two to three days. Or after they made love, if she could convince Bug to leave them alone without raising his eyebrows suggestively every time he saw them until the end of their lives. It would be so good to make love to Nomi again without being afraid of losing her. How long had this spectre been hanging over their
caresses?
She had to let go of her all the same. Amanita had a new war to wage.
The evening went and pass and the days that followed were a whirlwind of emotions. Their hearts were full of joy and relief and euphoria succeeded one another in close waves. Amanita was not the only one to cling to her lover as if she could not believe that all of this was real. Then reality caught up with them all. If Amanita had believed or hoped that things would calm down and she and Nomi could rest, she would have lost her illusions very quickly. Fortunately, she didn't have much hope to begun. It was necessary to flee, to disperse, the time that things settle down and that the allied faction inside the BPO contact them. Lila's mafia friends could also be looking for them.
Lito, Hernando and Daniela were the first to leave, to save Lito's chances of playing the role of his life. Capheus flew next, to do the same with his political career. Kala being confined to the hospital, Wolfgang, Sun and their people decided to stay in Naples to protect and evacuate her if necessary. As soon as she was on her feet, Sun and Mun would return to Korea and look for a possible amnesty. After these intense days of living with each other, it was a heartbreak to have to say goodbye, especially to the companions of the cluster. The others, after all, would never really leave each other.
While the first ones were packing their bags and the others were watching Kala, Amanita, Nomi, Will and Riley gathered to decide the rest. Will and Riley would go to London. It was necessary to closely monitor the evolution of the BPO.
"In this case, the ideal would be that we look for a new hideout in Paris," declared Amanita. "It's logical. This gives you and Kala and Wolfgang a place to fall back in case things get out of hand again. There is an international airport nearby allowing us to escape to just about anywhere. And if someone tracks us, will it be in Paris, where they've almost surprised us? No, they will look for us in Naples or Berlin."
Nomi looked at her anxiously and then spoke silently with the other two. They stood up and noiselessly left the room, closing the door behind them. Nomi took hold of Amanita's hands.
"Are you sure Neets? I know you want everything to become normal again."
"Nomi, that's normality now. Well, not the international conspiracies I hope, but you and your cluster. I want to make sure all of you are safe. If we stay in Europe, we can help them more than from San Francisco."
"And the wedding?"
"I'll take care of it. You deal with the BPO and coordinate the others with Bug. I'm in charge of wedding planning.
"I don't believe it. All this is an excuse to get married in Paris isn't it?"
"Exactly. Now, go prevent Lito from another panic attack before his departure, I'll reserve our tickets for London and Paris."
They exchanged two or three or twenty kisses before Nomi left the room. Amanita sat down to save their places without stopping to smile while biting her lips to find the taste of Nomi.
Finally, thought Amanita three days later while looking on her computer, the idea of a Parisian wedding had its advantages. This way she could organize it as quickly as possible, before everything degenerates again. It was not paranoia but pragmatism. And after all, her mother had always dreamed of coming to Paris. More so with Amanita's three fathers...
She approached the subject the same night, while they were in bed.
"At least we can all run away quickly if necessary," she explained. "And if everything is really settled, if we have nothing to fear from the BPO, then I want a real romantic wedding to end this story. I want my family to be there, I want to be able to prove that we do not risk anything anymore and that they can see us happy."
"Neets, you know I do want that too. I love your family, they have always been adorable with me. This is the family I would have liked to have growing up. Before I met you, I would never have imagined that you could be so understanding and open-minded."
As always when Nomi mentioned the young woman she was before their meeting, Amanita feels a ball of rage swelling in her belly. Nomi cried the first time her mother hugged her, just after she told her she was trans, clinging to her as if she were trying to catch up with the years of abuse and abandonment on the part of her family.
"Of course, all those in Naples must be here too," continued Amanita, who didn't want to address the dramatic issue of Nomi's family immediately.
Nomi nodded, looking at the chair in the corner of their room.
"I told her," she replied to an invisible interlocutor before turning to Amanita. "Lito just passed and has already announced the news on his side. Daniela is all excited and jumps everywhere so she is happy for us, but you have to call tomorrow to pick a date as soon as possible. With his movie, it will not be easy to have Lito there."
"Tell them that it will be done in the morning. It is out of the question that our favourite actor is not here. Capheus is next on the list, and then my parents. We set the date, then I look for a place. And where are you with the BPO? And how are the others?"
She listened to the cluster's stories a long time before falling asleep, her head against Nomi's shoulder.
The next day, Amanita waited to be alone then called Capheus and Daniela. Then, she forced Nomi to quit her computers so they could call her family together from hers. It was a risk, but they wanted to see her mother to tell her. Hearing her voice was not enough for something so important. Bug was scrambling their communication and they had a second hideout ready, just in case.
The vision of her mother and her three fathers on the screen bring tears to her eyes. She had called her of course as soon as Wolfgang had killed Whispers but to see her was different.
"You're okay. Oh, I'm so relieved! I was afraid you'd hidden things from me so as not to worry. And Nomi, where is Nomi?"
Her fiancée, who was standing slightly behind, almost rested her head on Amanita's shoulder to appear in the corner of the camera.
"I'm here, Mrs Caplan," she greeted her in a trembling voice. "I'm fine."
"And the others? Everyone is well? When are you coming back? I can't wait to hold you both in my arms, and those three too."
Amanita remembered Nomi, her hand clutching her stomach, terrified of losing Kala. They had talked about this. Her mother would never know how much Nomi could be impacted by the suffering of her cluster.
"Everyone is well. We just wanted to reassure you, but we do not come back right away."
"Of course. Make sure nothing bad survives that dreadful BPO. There are too many innocent lives at stake. Just don't do too much, take time for yourself please."
They were all silent, overwhelmed by emotion. Amanita's fathers surrounded her mother, one holding out a packet of tissues then use one himself, the other two just stayed with a hand on her arm and on her shoulder.
"These last days have been amazing mom," continued Amanita. "Nomi did kung fu to save me from these BPO monsters! Well, it was Sun in Nomi's body, but it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen!"
Behind her, Nomi had a silent laugh, unless it was Sun. Now that she had met them, Amanita began to guess who she was talking to whenever someone other than Nomi was standing in front of her, but it was harder when she turned her back. She refrained from asking the question, but the two fingers that began to descend slowly up her spine were Nomi's. She had her answer.
"You will have to tell us all this in detail," smiled her mother. "But I must know, do you think it is possible that I come to Paris? I really want to see you, even if it's only an hour or two if you think the risk is too big."
Amanita turned to exchange a big smile with Nomi. They took each other's hand and turned to the screen.
"Actually, Mrs Caplan …"
"We called you to ask you to come to our wedding in Paris!"
Her mother's laptop fell back, accompanied by the sound of a metal table falling to the floor. All that was visible now was the blue sky and the tops of garden trees.
"Mum?"
Only cries and bursts of laughter answered her. A hand ends up grabbing the computer to straighten it.
"Forgive your mother, darling. She's too busy kissing your other fathers and jumping around to tell you how happy she is."
"And I would like her to let me go to congratulate you, added a voice in the background. That's wonderful news."
"We are all very happy for you darling and we take the tickets tonight. Give us the date and the place and we'll be there to blow our nose and admire you both."
"I'll send you the date as soon as we have the confirmation of our friends. It will be in about a month and we still have to find the place."
"A month of preparation for a Parisian wedding? You are ambitious."
"We'll have all the help we need," Nomi said, looking down at the wall, smiling.
Amanita blew a kiss in the same direction.
"I always said my daughter was a winner," his father continued with a smile. "You have a competitive side. Your mother is in an open relationship with three men. And look at you, about to marry eight people at once."
"I have always taught my daughter to never limit herself to what her parents could get," proudly added her mother, "but to seek double."
Amanita burst out laughing and wished her parents a good day before promising to send them the details and turn off the computer. Behind her, Nomi hugged her even harder and covered her with kisses on her forehead.
"Your family is wonderful and your mother is amazing. How can she accept everything like that, so easily and without judgment?"
"She named me after a hallucinogenic mushroom. What did you expect from a woman like her?"
Nomi kissed her one last time with passion and then began a conversation with Will and Riley. Bug raised a thum in their direction and she went to him to see how the research for the last big BPO assholes still in business went. She could not help being a little ashamed to do nothing to help on that side. But Nomi reassured her again and again about it, telling her that she had done more than enough for their cause and that it was time for her to be a little selfish for once. Amanita did not protest. She was happy and proud to have participated in this adventure, but she wanted to live another, which would belong only to her and Nomi.
Three days passed, and everything seemed to move faster. River El-Saadawi was busy purifying the work of her mother by fire. Kala had left the hospital. Amanita had the impression of living a dream. The marriage date was getting closer, however, so she ordered Nomi to go off and buy a dress and Bug to accompany him. He faltered, with tears in his eyes, that he would find her the most beautiful wedding dress of all time.
Once alone, Amanita prepared the strongest cafe she could, took a deep breath and picked up her phone.
"Mr Marks? Here Amanita Caplan, do you remember me?"
"The friend of Nomi. I gave you my number at my daughter's wedding. My other daughter."
"That's right."
That was one of the only two reasons that Amanita called this man instead of sending him a venomous and threatening e-mail. He used the only real name of Nomi and called her his daughter. Okay, he needed to think twice to remember that he had two daughters and he said that Amanita was Nomi's friend because he could accept having a transsexual daughter, but my god, did she have to like girls, in addition to the rest? Well, at least that man was trying. It was not like his odious wife. Amanita refused to give the harpy the title of mother. She had not won it.
The second reason was that this man had delayed Amanita at the end of the marriage to give her a crumpled napkin on which he had written two phone numbers. "For emergency cases," he whispered, and Amanita had checked. He had given him his personal number and his law firm's.
When she showed it to Nomi, she had cried all night.
"Is Nomi all right? This FBI agent fool is not looking for him any more?"
This time the worry was palpable in his voice and Amanita smiled softly. All was not lost for her fiancee. She could have a father in the future, maybe.
"Nomi is fine. In fact, that's why I'm calling you. We are going to get married."
"Get married? You and Nomi?"
Well, leopards can't change their spots. Chase the intolerance, but homophobia will always be there in a corner of your head, Amanita thought grimly. She breathed slowly. She didn't want to be unnecessarily aggressive and searched for her words. In the phone, she heard a door open and close.
"Yes, we're getting married, in Paris, in three weeks. Nomi …"
"What's going on Lawrence?", his wife asked.
"It's Amanita, Nomi's friend. They are getting married."
"And what next? They will try artificial insemination? God..."
"Janet!"
"The old crone can come," said Nomi, who wanted to kill her. Nomi would love you to be here. But I warn you, this day must be the most beautiful of her life. If you come, you better smile at her, tell her that you respect her choices and that you are proud to be invited. I'm not asking you to tell her that you like her or that you agree with her lifestyle, but if you make her feel even half a second that she's worthless like you've managed to make her believe all her life, you will know that everything that'll went wrong in your life will be thanks to me."
"Is it a threat?"
He thought he was intimidating because he was a lawyer and wealthy. Unfortunately for him, Amanita had the memory of a failed lobotomy that had torn her bowels for months and fueled her rage. She burst out laughing.
"It is a promise. How do you think we've lived Nomi and me lately? When you live outside the law, you meet people. I know genius hackers, Berlin mobsters and at least one specialist in homemade bombs. If you treat Nomi badly on our wedding day, your office will fall for tax malpractices, your house will burn and it will only be the beginning. Understood?"
"Perfectly."
Mr Marks's voice was freezing. Amanita felt amazingly well.
"I still have to call Teagan, she will send you the details. She's the only thing that's worth something in your family, besides Nomi. One last thing. You have a daughter. Not an abnormal son, not a trans daughter, just a wonderful girl. It is time that you really realize it, not just theoretically."
She hung up and gave a finger to the phone.
"Neets!" Nomi shouted behind her.
Surprised, Amanita turned around. Nomi stared at her, red with emotion. Behind her, Bug made a grimace of excuse.
"You were supposed to look for your dress."
"Do you think I did not guess you were plotting something? Oh Neets, it's the sexiest thing I've ever seen you do!"
"I should have told them a long time ago. Facing the BPO has made me more reckless it seems."
Nomi hugged her, laughing.
"Like you needed to be more. Wolfgang and Kala let you know that you only have to ask for a flight to Los Angeles and they'll blow everything up, by the way."
These two had just propelled themselves on the podium of the Amanita's favourite people. For sure, she would never let anyone hurt Nomi again. She could not even hate these people. Next to the BPO, they were only a retrograde and ignorant nuisance.
"They will be there," she promised Nomi even if she was not sure to believe it. "They love you anyway and Teagan will drag them here by the scruff of the neck if necessary."
At least if they could get married on the day decided. Finding a place to get married in Paris in such a short time would be a miracle. Amanita had already said goodbye to her dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower from where she would pronounce her vows. It did not matter. She would marry in one of their shabby hideouts that she couldn't be happier.
"There's another reason I went back up," Nomi whispered in her ear, "something I could not wait to share with you. Will and Riley just leave a meeting with River El-Saadawi. The BPO will be reborn anew now that it has been cleaned. There will even be a ceremony to celebrate this moment, to which many sensitives are invited.
"The opportunity for all of us to meet," smiled Amanita.
"Yes ... Will and Riley have suggested that it take place here in Paris, in three weeks so that our friends do not have to travel twice. River El-Saadawi has already booked the place and Will has suggested that a marriage between a sensitive and sapiens would be the best way to celebrate this day. On the other hand, it could be more solemn than you want.
"As long as I marry you, everything suits me."
"That's good, because she booked the Eiffel Tower."
Amanita stared at her, gaping, and Nomi's smile widened. Finally, Amanita laughs loudly.
"I can't believe it ... I'm Jewish, bisexual, black American, I have three fathers who were Blacks Panthers and I marry my girlfriend on the Eiffel Tower. I am a fucking goddess!"
It was better than that. She was going to have everything she dreamed of. A long, happy and hectic life with a fantastic woman and a dream wedding with their three families. A family giving an unconditional love, composed of her mother and her three fathers. Another made of discomfort and suffering, on the side of Nomi. And the last, the one that had been forged in battle.
Everything would be fine.