"Okay, kids, we're in the amphibian section now. Remember, we don't disturb the animals, and we're well-behaved, okay?"
As Sasha spoke, she put down the two boys in her arms, who immediately started racing toward the toad tank. To Anne's surprise, they were followed by ten other kids entering the area.
Sasha slowly walked up to her friend afterwards and gave her a gentle grin.
"What are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming."
Sasha peeked at the kids before answering. Taking her eyes off of them for so long wasn't judicious. She learned it the hard way.
"We're doing a group session today about respect. Respecting others, the creatures, and the rules. You know, the usual stuff. They did pretty well last time at the museum, so we brought them here today."
"We?"
"Yeah, my colleagues just ran to the bathroom real quick."
Anne had indeed seen a group visit on the agenda but never presumed it would be Sasha and her kids.
Her kids. The term sounded funny in Anne's brain. She short-circuited when she saw her walking in a few minutes earlier, with two blond boys and fiery eyes just like hers. She made a link that was very obviously incorrect — because she would know if her friends had kids, right? Right?
"Ma'am! Ma'am!"
A little girl jumped from behind a tank and clasped Anne by the leg before burying her face in her knee, almost making her buckle.
"Ah, Lila, what did we say about touching strangers?"
The little girl looked up at Sasha, who crouched before her, and almost instantly hopped in her arms. She lifted her up without difficulty, and Anne very painfully avoided ogling at her arms as she did so. Sasha had always been the strongest of their little trio, but she must have been hitting the gym lately because her muscles were so well-defined under her pale skin…
"…And that's very good that you went to find an adult when you got scared by the big frog. Now, this is Anne; she's a herpetologist, and guess what? She's also a good friend of mine."
Anne's brain crashed once again when she heard the term friend, but of course, they were friends. What was she expecting? It's not like she had a particularly wet dream the night before, starring Sasha and her tongue in unholy places. Friends. Right.
"She's a herpes solo… what?"
Sasha perked up at Anne, followed by the little girl's bright brown eyes, and she took it as her cue to start speaking.
"I'm a herpetologist, which means I take care of all the animals you can see here. Most people just call me a frog lady, though."
Before Sasha could subtly thank Anne for ignoring the girl's mispronunciation — suddenly transforming her friend into an STI specialist — Lila spoke again.
"I'm afraid of frogs."
"That's okay!" Exclaimed Anne, a little bit too enthusiastically. She dropped her voice when she saw the little girl hiding in her friend's arms. "They can be very scary. But you just saw the toads; they are the biggest guys here. I think you'll like something smaller, maybe?"
She tilted her head towards the frog and pollywog section, and Sasha followed her without a word, carrying the little girl who wouldn't let go of her tank top, clutching it close. Taking care of kids from four to six years old taught her quickly that they needed physical comfort as much as spoken reassurance.
Anne clapped in her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Okay! Every little visitor in Amphibia is invited to come to see a very good pal of mine!"
Sasha looked at her with a genuine, compassionate smile and set the child down as the other arrived like a literal tide.
As Anne introduced Sprig to the audience, she saw Sasha's proud gaze drift from the children to her. She felt herself blushing at the sight of her ex-best friend standing here, seeing her doing her job and being good at it.
She knew what Sasha thought of Amphibia, her Amphibia. She expressed her worries about it being a bubble of the past. As Anne told her to just visit and her friend repeatedly declined, it became clear to her that Sasha was running. But she was here today. Sasha was back in Amphibia and saw her friend acting positively toward an adventure that radically changed her life.
What Sasha perceived as a coping mechanism was, for Anne, a way of translating a personal experience into something useful for a broader audience. She understood, now.
Sasha finally told her that, a week later, as they were eating junk food on the beach with Marcy.
"I was worried too, to be honest," whispered Marcy after a while. "But you did great, and I truly feel like this is the best thing you could've done to commemorate our adventure."
Anne remained silent, examining the sky, letting this sink in.
After a while, she started wondering if Sprig was okay, going on whatever adventure he could find. Man, she was curious about how Polly grew up. Does she have the same hair as Sprig? She thought about Hop-Pop potentially not being there anymore, and she couldn't handle the idea of being away from her friends if it was the case. They needed her.
It has been ten years.
Sasha had gotten tattoos of her swords, the gems, and the toad symbol on her shoulder blade. Marcy's comics were intrinsically correlated to what she went through.
Amphibia had robbed them of a family, of friends, and a part of themselves.
Anne's tears streamed down her cheeks as her friends hugged her tightly. She squished them in her arms and they fell back together into the fresh sand. Marcy buried her face in Anne's jacket, and Sasha nudged her nose in the crook of her neck.
"I'm so glad to have you with me."
Amphibia deprived them of many things, but it granted them love.
oOo
The moon was gleaming, piercing through the clouds of this late summer night. Sasha behind the wheel and Anne by her side, they listened quietly to her playlist as they headed home. Marcy was snoring in the backseat, mumbling occasionally.
Let me know when it's time to come back.
The city lights glinted and illuminated the night. Anne's heart raced, and her hands went clammy at seeing Sasha's sharp jawline, her nose's shape, and slender fingers tapping on the steering wheel. Anne couldn't think of anything other than Sasha's blond locks, shimmering in the silver moonlight, caught in the wind. She was focused on the road, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Anne wanted to smooth the soft lines on her forehead with her thumb.
Maybe when your life is on track,
Sasha wasn't the angry teenager she used to be. Despite not interacting, Anne knew she had had a bad reputation, and rightfully so. Waybright was not to be messed with. She got into fights a lot in high school, spitting blood on the floor, baring teeth, and going down fighting. Some ended up speculating about how she got the scar on her back because no one ever landed such a blow on her.
Anne was the only one who knew how she got it, and they both agreed not to tell Marcy about it. It was one thing to know that Sasha fought during the war. It was another to know that she almost killed her. Darcy's scythe had cleaved her skin, bruising her spine and burning the tissues, thus preventing her from bleeding to death on the castle's floor. Sasha never blamed Marcy for the months of pain she went through after their return, but they knew that if Marcy was aware of it, she would never forgive herself. Sasha didn't need to add this to the list of things Marcy felt guilty about.
"Some secrets better stay hidden forever, you know."
"Not really. You know I value honesty before anything else."
"Have you told your parents you will become the new guardian after your death? Living for the rest of eternity with nobody to look after you, because you will be the one looking after people? How do they feel knowing their child will serve such a fate?"
"Okay, I get it now. You're right, sorry."
After that, Sasha kissed her on the cheek, and before grabbing her coat to head out, she turned around, staring at the floor.
"I don't like lying to Marcy either. I just don't think she needs to know this. No matter how much I try to find anything positive she can get out of knowing that, I can't see it."
And Anne didn't know what to answer. So she gulped back the urge to come clean to Marcy, because it wasn't her story, it wasn't her scar. She could just admire from afar how at peace Sasha seemed, carrying the proof that a friend had hurt her, without needing to hurt them in return
And you don't have to hesitate.
That was the last time they had seen each other before the Calamity Trio reunited. It was months ago but that quick speck had been haunting Anne ever since. When running into Sasha at the mall sometimes, seeing her car parked on the street, or looking at old pictures, she could only think of the softness of her lips. On her cheeks but also on her hands, in the crook of her wrists, in between her thighs, on her back. She imagined her tongue, tracing the curve of her scars and tasting her skin.
Hopefully, it isn't too late.
They reached Marcy's hotel. Despite the girls' insistence to take her in for the two weeks she'd be staying in L.A., Marcy didn't concede. She didn't want to unnerve her friends with her crazy sleep schedule, or rather, her lack of sleep schedule. And they both knew there was no bargaining with Marcy when she had made up her mind about something.
Luckily for you, I'm patient,
Sasha's car drew to a stop, and she turned around to wake up her friend but stopped in her tracks when her eyes fell on Marcy's thin profile breathing calmly.
"Look at her. She's grown so much." Murmured Sasha.
Anne shifted too, and was a bit moved by seeing her friend sleeping peacefully. The last time she saw Marcy in such a vulnerable position, she wasn't sleeping; she was dying.
"I can't wake her up. I don't have the heart to. She deserves to rest."
Anne chuckled before side-eyeing Sasha, who was grinning at her.
Oh no, she knew that mischievous smile all too well.
"Don't tell me you're gonna carry her."
"Of course, I'm gonna carry her. And you're going to help me, Boonchuy."
I'm okay with you making me wait.
Ignoring the stunned looks of the night staff, Sasha and Anne took Marcy to her room. Despite bumping into all the possible corners, getting the floor wrong twice, and explaining to a very concerned customer that they were good friends and not trying to get rid of a body, they made it to Marcy's suite.
"Easy. Put her on the bed. No, head first. Here we go."
The latter eventually opened her eyes a little bit when her head hit the pillow and glimpsed at her best friends lovingly, undoubtedly still half-asleep.
"Thanks, mom."
Before Sasha could crack up, Anne covered her mouth automatically, preventing any sound from escaping her friend's lips.
"No worries, now go back to bed."
She closed her eyes again, and they headed out, tip-toeing on the carpet, careful not to trip on any of Marcy's personal belongings. They were quietly closing the door when they suddenly heard a loud bang from inside the room. Curious, they both peeked inside and saw Marcy face first on the floor, not disturbed in the slightest.
And as long as you're near, I'll be here,
"Oh man, she was out!" Sasha laughed once outside of the building.
The moon was low in the sky, but the night felt young. Sasha was still chuckling, and Anne felt warm all over. She untied her hair, and her curls unfurled on her shoulders and her back. The wind played with her locks as she watched her friend slowly calm down.
Sasha locked eyes with her again, and she blushed. This was the first time she had seen Anne with her hair down in years.
"Wow, your hair is getting pretty long-"
Anne's lips crashing against hers made her silent.
Even if it takes ten years.
oOo
The lyrics are from the song "see you later (ten years)" by Jenna Raine, which is screaming Sashanne in my opinion.
