The spray of water from the shower head was fine. It felt good, in fact. To feel the layer of grime and sweat from training get washed away. But it did not feel as good on one particular spot.

It's nothing, Ana told herself. One swipe of the soap bar across that spot, and her little lie was tossed out the window.

"You alright?" Layla asked when a hiss escaped through gritted teeth.

"I think so." But she turned anyway, so Layla could see her back in full. "Is it bad?"

Another sharp sting when Layla's wet hand wiped across her left shoulder blade. "Oh. The holorounds nicked you real good."

"Is it bleeding?"

"Not anymore, I think... Hm. One's really long, though." Layla traced a line across her shoulder blade. "This is the shorter one." Then she poked at a spot right below, and traced a line that nearly reached her spine. "This one looks a little deeper. Why don't you go to the hospital later?"

"I don't want to," Ana groaned, turning back to the front. Kamilah was on duty.

"You'd better. Don't want it to get infected."

"I'll be fine," she insisted, turning the shower back on. As if to taunt her, the wounds stung again as soap water ran past them.

Layla clicked her tongue. "Come on. You need to get it dressed. Don't make it worse."

"Maybe she doesn't want to go because Shadid's there," Mesi chimed in helpfully, turning off her own shower. She smiled benignly when Ana shot her glare.

"Is that it, Ana? Feeling a little shy, are we?"

Ana groaned – inwardly this time – and clenched her jaw, turning back to the task at hand.

"Maybe she can't look Shadid in the eye after whatever happened last night."

"She probably got humiliated," Layla said in an attempt to get a rise out of Ana. A very lousy attempt.

"Shot down every time she tried to be clever."

Layla leaned in to peer closely at Ana – who continued rinsing the suds off her body as though she had no urge to smack Layla upside the head. "Or maybe she turned out to be a dud. Forgot what dates are aside from the sex." Her eyes widened and she shared a victorious look with Mesi, who was pulling on her clothes by the lockers.

"Is that it, Ana? Did you sleep with her?" Layla grinned at Ana's eye roll. "Is that why you refuse to tell us anything? You're embarrassed because you got completely dommed by–"

"I did not get 'dommed', thank you very much," Ana said finally, shutting off the shower. She walked back to the bench where her towel lay, making sure not to slip on the wet tiles and to keep calm under Mesi's searching gaze. Layla's unsubtle probes were nothing compared to this woman's eyes. Sometimes it felt like Mesi saw more than she let on.

"So you're saying you did have sex." Ana could swear Mesi's smile was growing to be more like Layla's. Too much time together, those two.

"We did not." It was the most honest of all truths. They had not the energy left to do much after returning from the movies, and fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

"Maybe she blacked out after Shadid had her way with her." Layla had come over to join them, whipping Ana's bum with her own towel. "Oh come on," she added when Ana grunted in pain. "It wasn't that painful–oh. Damn." Layla pulled away Ana's towel, which had jerked roughly across her back at the hit. "You're bleeding, Ana."

Fuck. Ana turned her towel over in her hands, spotting the smear of red on white.

"Come on, then." Mesi rose from the bench, packing up her things. "We're going to the hospital."

"'We'?" Ana asked.

"We have to make sure that you go," Mesi said, as Layla started getting dressed. "And we'll get front row seats."

"Oh fuck you all."

"What, getting fucked by Shadid wasn't enough?" Layla snickered.

"Fuck you especially."

"Khally. Khally Khally."

When she got no response, she beat her palm harder against the man's chest.

"Khally–"

"What."

"We can't go to my room."

"Why not."

"I already drank all the beer there."

"So?"

"So," Ana sang. "We gotta go to the break room."

"We're not going to the break room."

"But there's beer there!" Ana whined, hanging off Khalid's neck where her arm was slung over. She did not resist when Khalid clicked his tongue and tugged her upright.

"We're not getting any more beer. Oh come the fuck on, Ana!" Khalid said when Ana's feet stopped working, forcing him to pull her up the stairs by the waist. "I am not–" He pulled her up two steps. "Letting you–" Another two. "Drink anymore–" Three steps. "So you can puke again–ah fuck it."

He clamped his arms around her middle and hoisted her up, carrying Ana up two flights of stairs as she slapped at his back, insisting that they go back down. Khalid did not release her until they reached the barrack's second floor and stopped at a particular door. Ana's knees buckled a little when he let her down, so Khalid held onto her as he knocked on the door.

"Milah!" Ana exclaimed, her face lighting up when Kamilah opened the door. "How'd you get into my room?"

Kamilah raised her brows, then glanced at Khalid.

"Yeah. She's really smashed."

"I can tell."

"Do you know magic, Milah? Did you teleport in my room?" Ana gasped. "Can you saw me in half?"

"I'd like to see that," Khalid muttered, guiding Ana through the doorway. She spread both arms and clung onto Kamilah's shoulders like a koala. "Sorry to dump her on you, but I left Ebo downstairs and I can't handle these two at the same time."

"It's alright."

Ana nuzzled her nose into Kamilah's hair and took a deep breath. "Why do you smell so nice… I wanna smell nice…"

"She's been going on and on about you the entire goddamn night. Lucky the others are all smashed too."

"Let's smash, Milah. I wanna smash," Ana mumbled beside Kamilah's ear, who seemed torn between laughing and snorting. The medic adjusted her posture when Ana leaned heavier on her.

"Thanks, Khalid."

"No, thank you. Now I've to go before Ebo sets something on fire." Khalid waved a hand as he started to move off, then paused. "Call me if you need help. I mean, she's calmed down, but…"

"It's alright," Kamilah repeated, shifting her arms around Ana when she wriggled in place. "I can handle her."

"Obviously." Khalid chuckled. When the sound of a man's drunken singing floated up from the ground floor, he snapped back to attention. "Okay, yeah. Good night, doc."

"Night, Khally!" Ana called after Khalid, only to be caught off guard when she was yanked farther into the room. She felt her stomach stir, but not as badly as it had earlier. Rubbing an eye idly as Kamilah pulled her over to the bed, she sat down obediently and cast her gaze all over the room.

"My room looks different," she asked. "Did you do something?"

"You're in my room, Ana." Kamilah came back with a bottle of cleanser and cotton pads in hand. She grabbed onto Ana's arm before the sniper could fall back onto the bed. "Don't lie down yet." She clicked her tongue at the minute whine. "Close your eyes."

Ana waited as Kamilah wiped the moist cotton gently across her eyes. She opened them the moment Kamilah moved onto her cheeks with fresh pads, staring aimlessly at the woman removing her makeup. Then she jerked – earning a click of the tongue from Kamilah – and looked down at her hands hurriedly. Horror grew as she stared at her fingers longer.

"Milah."

Kamilah gave a noncommittal hum, lifting Ana's chin and holding her in place. Unable to look down, Ana brought her hands up to eye level.

"Milah!" Ana repeated urgently, turning her hands over in disbelief.

"What is it."

"I lost your ring!"

The medic paused to look down at Ana's hands. "What ring?"

"The one you gave me."

"I never gave you a ring."

"No!" Ana whined. She tipped dangerously backwards, and was tugged upright again. "You gave me one! You…" She brought her hands up again and, after a moment's consideration, pointed at the ring finger on her left. "You put it here!"

Kamilah's frown gradually lightened as she watched Ana tap desperately at her finger. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, took a deep breath, then looked back down at the woman panicking over her bare finger. "Let me guess. I put it there, because you're a 'single lady'."

"Yes!" Ana's face brightened.

"Ana, I never gave you a ring." Kamilah watched her face fall a little. "And you're not single."

A quiet moment passed. "I am."

"You're with me."

"Yes," Ana drawled, cocking her head as if stating a fact plain as day. "I'm your single."

"I hate to break it to you, darling. But that means you're not single anymore."

Ana stared at Kamilah as she resumed her work again. "I'm not single?"

"No."

"You're not single?"

"No."

"Then…we can't have rings."

"Why can't we have rings?" Kamilah asked, tilting Ana's chin and wiping off her other cheek.

"Because we're not single!"

"You're not even making sense right now–"

"But I want a ring!" Ana tried to lean back again, but was held fast.

"You don't need one. Ana–," Kamilah said exasperatedly when Ana's head slipped out of her grasp. "Stop moving! I need to get your makeup off before–"

"I lost the ring," Ana lamented, obviously having lost track of their conversation. "Now I don't have one and I'm not single."

"Ana." Kamilah grabbed onto Ana's shoulders before she could slump backwards. "Ana, will you stop being a child for two seconds–"

"I'm a single child," Ana moaned. With the hands on her shoulders finally gone, she was now free to flop down on the bed. Ana rolled onto her stomach, uttering incoherent sentences and sobbing drily until Kamilah pulled her back up. She stopped abruptly at the sight of the ring Kamilah held before her.

"Look. I found your ring." Kamilah took the hand Ana had been pointing at and slipped it through her finger. Then she kept the hand up, making sure Ana was aware of the ring's presence. "Now do me a favour and keep still."

Now a happy child, Ana stayed in place, staring at the ring and giggling occasionally for no apparent reason as Kamilah cleaned her up. She raised her arms at Kamilah's urging, the medic pulling off her top and checking the dressing on her back. After Ana shook her head when asked if her wounds hurt, Kamilah guided her gently down on the bed and rested her head on the pillow. Ana managed to shirk off her pants with Kamilah's help, and kept her hand up when the covers were pulled over her, so that the ring remained visible.

"It's so pretty," Ana mumbled.

Kamilah sighed, pulling her hand down. "You're really ridiculous sometimes."

"Your face is ridiculous…"

Fuck…

Ana cracked her eyes open and immediately shut them, burnt by the sunlight like a vampire by silver. Her head hurt worse than the time she slipped in the showers and hit her head on the handrail.

Fuck Ebo and his fucking drinking games.

Bringing a hand up to shield her eyes, Ana opened them again. Slowly, until she was looking comfortably up at the ceiling in Kamilah's room. Khalid must have brought her here last night. She could vaguely remember nearly throwing up on him, then being carried up the stairs. She also recalled seeing Kamilah's face, then…nothing.

Sighing as another throb passed through her head, Ana reached out to her right, only to meet with empty space. She turned her head and found her partner missing. Ana shifted forward, resting on Kamilah's pillow and wondering if she had gone to work already. No, wait – the medic had the day off as well.

Ana took a glimpse at the windows, where Kamilah had forgotten to draw the curtains. It should be well into the morning by now. After stealing a few more indulgent minutes on the pillow, Ana pushed herself up, feeling the headache intensify and the floor sway a little. Her stomach did a brief flip, but thankfully it felt empty. She glanced around the room just to make sure Kamilah was indeed not there, then dropped her feet to the floor.

She noticed the glass of water on the nightstand as she yawned, and leaned over to read the post-it beside a tissue with two pills on it.

Out getting food. Take your aspirin.
P.S. You look like hell.

"Bitch," Ana snorted. It put a smile on her face nonetheless, and she tossed the pills into her mouth. While she was gulping down the entire glass of water, she noticed something new. Setting the glass down, Ana brought her hand up to examine the ring sitting snugly at the base of her ring finger. She cocked her head, wondering how it got there. It was Kamilah's – a black band patterned with silver vines. Ana did not remember borrowing her ring… Did she?

It was pretty, though. One that Kamilah wore often.

She had twisted it once around her finger when a click came from the door, followed by the best sight for sore eyes.

"You're awake."

"What gave it away?" Ana deadpanned, voice still a little scratchy. She did not bother to hide the smile when Kamilah rolled her eyes, watching the medic shed her shoes and place her paper bag on the table. Kamilah strode over, running a hand down her tousled hair and bent down. But when Ana tilted her head up, Kamilah wrinkled her nose and moved away.

"You stink."

"You stole my line," Ana said, closing her eyes when Kamilah flicked her forehead. She was about to lie back down when she remembered something. "One question."

"Mm."

She lifted her hand. "Did we get married last night?"

"No." Kamilah took the tissue from the nightstand and crumpled it. "You kept crying about how you lost a ring I never gave you. Speaking of which." She stretched out a hand. "Give it back."

Ana pouted. "I thought gifts had no take backs."

"It wasn't a gift. It's a loan."

"Why are you so mean," Ana muttered, taking the ring off when Kamilah wiggled her fingers pointedly. She dropped it into the woman's open hand and slumped back down, head spinning when it hit the pillow. But her eyes snapped open again when she remembered a second thing. "Today's the 25th."

"It is."

Ana watched her kneel down and rummage around the nightstand's drawer. She kept quiet for a while, then asked, "Wanna go visit my mom?"

Kamilah paused, glancing over at her. "Your mom is dead."

"I know," Ana intoned, as Kamilah fished out an envelope and shut the drawer. "Let's go visit a medium so I can introduce you to her– I meant visit her grave, jeez."

"Don't you usually visit with your family?"

"They couldn't get away. So it's just me today."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Her eyelids fluttered to accompany her sarcasm, "No, I invited you just for kicks."

Kamilah's brows quirked. "A little grumpy today, aren't you?"

"I wonder why." Ana pressed her face into the pillow. The constant throb in her skull had lightened, though her brain felt like it was tightly bundled in very heavy cotton. She did feel a little better though, at the lips pressing on her temple and fingertips caressing her head.

"We'll go after you wash up and eat something."

Ana groaned reluctantly into the pillow, but was slowly coaxed out of bed by soft murmurs. That, and by being told she would wash the bed sheets if she stayed any longer.

They stopped before the gravestone in near-perfect synch, and stood still in a short moment of silence. Ana ran an eye over the little plot, which seemed well-taken care of by the cleaner – no dirt build-up on the stone, grass trimmed without a weed in sight. She noted the fresh flower sitting in the simple vase the Amari had left before the tomb. The clean-up had been recent, no doubt.

Ana raised a hand to take off her shades, but stopped at a sudden change of heart. The sun's too bright, she told herself. Instead, she slipped her fingers from between Kamilah's, and knelt down to add a white tulip into the vase – single stalk, as her mother had always preferred her flowers.

She knelt there in silence, at a loss for what to do. All the times before, her family had been with her. She would try to tell on her sister while Safiya did the same, the both of them rattling on while their father asked his wife why she had left him alone, and under the mercy of their children. Safiya was always the one to start the shenanigans. And for the first time in three years, she understood why Safiya always disobeyed their father's order to behave in front of the grave for once.

Closing her eyes, Ana took measured breaths, swallowing through a throat tightening at the quiet air of the cemetery, which threatened to leave her alone with memories she kept under lock and key. She placed a hand on stone warmed by the afternoon sun, its grainy texture helping to anchor her in the present.

You'd be proud, wouldn't you? I survived the insurgency intact. Got a promotion. And a…

Ana turned her head to look up at Kamilah, who watched her silently. She put on a smile, rising to her feet and kissing her partner's cheek.

"Well, mama," Ana said, slinging an arm around Kamilah's shoulders. "I know you're not really in a position to say 'hi', but here's my girlfriend." She squeezed the woman shooting her a bemused glance.

"Is that really how you talk to your mother?"

"Yeah. If she doesn't like it, then she's welcome to try and nag at me."

Kamilah's mouth twitched, and she turned her gaze back to the headstone. "Zayirah Amari," she read the name aloud, cocking her head. "She took your father's name?"

"Ah. No," Ana laughed. "Amari is her name. It's my father who took her name."

"Oh? He must really love her."

"Well, he did," she drawled. "When they decided Safiya would take my mom's name, he felt left out and wanted to change his name too."

Kamilah snorted in laughter. "Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently it caused a fight between him and my grandparents, but he didn't care. Said they could disown him since he was changing his name anyway."

"Sounds like someone I know."

"Hm?" Ana leaned in. "Planning to change my name, Shadid?" She chuckled at the hard nudge in her side, dropping her arm from Kamilah's shoulders to rub at the sore spot. Then she sighed, turning back to the gravestone.

Ana had slipped her phone out of her pocket when Kamilah asked, "What was she like?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Well… She was stubborn. Strong. Very dedicated to the army – she climbed the ranks pretty quickly. We couldn't see much of her – or my father, for that matter – they're always busy on deployments. But when she came back, there was nothing we could do to pry her off our backs. She'd take us out for shopping, eating, movies, whatever we wanted to do. Made sure to spend as much time with us as possible before she had to leave again."

"What else…" Ana hummed. She folded her arms, fingers drumming at her elbow. "I'm pretty sure she almost got an aneurysm when Safiya and I hit our rebellious stage. She'd ground us only to have us escaping through our windows. Gave us curfews only to have us come home the next morning."

"Sounds like she had her hands full," Kamilah said with a smile.

"Oh she did, alright. But it all worked out in the end, I guess. She managed to shape her daughters up and toss them into the academy."

Ana fell silent, tossing her phone between her hands. "We were planning to go to Korea, you know. After I graduated from the academy. We wanted to go in winter so we could try snowboarding and skiing and stuff."

"Then the insurgency happened."

"Yep." Zayirah had been one of the casualties in the first wave of insurgent attacks. When they received the news, Ana had only been a mere four months from graduating. It had been a shock. A very rude shock. One that Ana was still unsure she had fully recovered from.

She glanced over at Kamilah, who was looking silently at the grave. But she stopped herself before her thoughts could wander any further into unpleasant territory. Sighing heavily, Ana brought up her phone and unlocked it.

"Do you miss her?" Kamilah asked quietly.

"Of course." Ana tapped on her home page blankly, forgetting what she had unlocked her phone for, all of a sudden. "Some days it hits me all over again that she's gone." It was rather impressive how steady her voice was, compared to how her body felt. Swiping through the same few home pages again and again, Ana finally noticed what she had been looking for.

"I've a confession, Milah," she said, taking off her shades.

Kamilah, who had been gazing at her in concern, tilted her head. "And that is…?"

Ana turned the phone screen towards Kamilah, so she could watch the sniper tap on the Qur'an app. "I do pray. A little."

"Only in front of tombstones."

"Hey, it's still praying," Ana retorted. She brought up the single bookmark she had created, and tapped on it for the third time. She turned her head when Kamilah shifted closer.

"Do you want me to…"

"No, it's fine." She gave a small smile. "I…want to do this by myself."

Kamilah nodded and wrapped an arm loosely around her back, resting a hand on her hip. She glanced briefly at Kamilah, feeling a calm settle in the pit of her stomach, which had started to flutter. Then she looked back at her phone, reading the familiar letters which somehow seemed utterly foreign at the same time.

"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful…"

Layla: [So I heard Shadid's not in base too]

Layla: [Wanna spill?]

[Glitter all over your face, yes]

Layla: [That's not a no]

Ana glanced at Kamilah sitting by her on the bench, with a cup of frozen yoghurt in hand as they watched the buskers perform in the city square. The urge to just say 'yes' made her fingers twitch. What she would not give to let every single human being on this earth know that Kamilah Shadid had chosen her, of all people, to be with. But alas, the time has not yet come. So Ana settled with…

[Go away]

Layla: [Ok. But you still have my address right]

Layla: [You know. For when you send the wedding invitations]

[You're not invited]

Layla: [Interesting]

[Ugh I'm out]

Layla: [Don't use too much tongue babe ;) ]

Only when Kamilah turned her head did Ana realise an audible groan had slipped past her lips.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just Layla." She let Kamilah sneak a peek at the conversation.

"You do use a lot of tongue," Kamilah said with an impish smile, eating another spoonful of yoghurt.

"I don't hear you complaining."

"I can't complain with your tongue in my mouth."

"Oh? Well, your mouth is free now. So do tell." Ana leaned forward, putting on the most attentive expression, only to receive a chaste peck on her lips.

"I don't kiss and tell," Kamilah murmured.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Why don't you ask yourself that question?"

Oh. Ana nodded slowly, wagging a finger at her. "Nice one," she conceded, taking the cup of yoghurt Kamilah handed to her. With one last glance at the phone, she sighed and pocketed it, digging into her half of the treat.

"You can tell, you know."

"I know."

"But…?"

"I don't know." Ana shrugged. "I don't really know how to. 'Hey guys, training was shit, let's hit the clubs and oh, by the way – I'm with Shadid. Thanks for the sponsored dates, suckers.'?"

Kamilah laughed softly. "Well, that's one way to do it. I don't think anyone would be surprised, honestly. With the way they've been setting us up."

"I know," she sighed. "But they've been getting on my nerves lately." She poked the spoon into the yoghurt idly. "I've been thinking–"

"Need some aspirin?"

Ana shot her a withering look. "Aren't you just full of quips today."

The teasing smile on Kamilah's lips softened, and she shifted closer to Ana, resting a hand on her thigh in a small gesture of appeasement. "So, what have you been thinking?"

"I want to get away for a while." Ana watched the street performers finish another song to a smattering of applause from the gathered crowd. "Been feeling a little…funny." She glanced over at the touch on her cheek.

"Are you alright? You've been quite…" Kamilah trailed off, searching for the right word. "Listless, the past week."

She shrugged again. "Just feel cooped up. That's all." Ana smiled, trying to alleviate the worry on Kamilah's face. "Wanna go away with me?"

"You don't want to go alone? Take a breather?"

"Oh, dearest." Ana wrapped an arm around her waist. "Being alone doesn't make me happy. You do."

Kamilah's mouth twitched in a futile attempt to hide a smile, and she pushed at Ana's shoulder when she failed spectacularly. She tried to frown, and it only made Ana's grin even brighter. A tease sat right on the tip of her tongue, but she kept it in. The sight was just a little too precious to poke at.

"So, how about it? Let's pack our bags and get away from all this." Ana waved her cup of melting yoghurt at the city square they sat in.

"Where do you even want to go?"

That stumped her for a moment. "Hm. How about Damietta? You can show me the places you've gone."

"No," Kamilah said after thinking it over. "Honestly, it was quite boring. Nothing much to see." She fell silent, gazing off into the square. In the time Ana took to eat two spoonfuls of yoghurt, she thought of, "Aswan. I've always wanted to go to the Nubian Museum. And we can visit the dam, the temples…and take boat trips. Sounds good?"

Under her lover's eager gaze, Ana could say nothing but, "Yes."

Ana sighed when she glanced at her phone, hearing the front door close behind the apartment owner, who had just left after giving them a quick run-down of the city's attractions.

"What's wrong?" Kamilah asked, walking out from the bedroom where she had deposited her duffle bag.

"Your squad and mine really need to stop yapping to each other." She tossed her phone over to Kamilah, who caught it effortlessly. Ana picked up her own bag from beside the sofa and brought it into the bedroom as well. They had taken a week's leave for their vacation, and rented a cozy little apartment to live in. To a soldier who had spent the last year living between shared bunks in field camps and a small room in base, this place was heaven. The urge to throw herself onto the very comfy-looking king-sized bed was overwhelming. And Ana, disciplined soldier that she was, dove right into it.

She lay stomach-down with her face pressed into the covers, groaning at how soft it felt and vowing never to leave this spot. Ever.

As if to cement her whimsical vow, another body laid itself on top of hers, trapping her there. Ana smiled, turning her head as Kamilah rested a cheek on her shoulder.

"You're right," she said, laying Ana's phone in front of her face. "But what can you do. They're gossipmongers."

Ana made a guttural sound from her throat. From that angle, she could just make out her squad's group chat – stagnant for the moment, thankfully.

Layla: [Ana takes 1 week leave]

Layla: [Shadid takes 1 week leave. On the same week]

Layla: [If this is coincidence I'll eat my dog's shit]

Ebo: [I'll eat my own ass]

Hakim: [I'll lick the public showers clean]

Khalid: [i'll stay out of this]

Khalid: [cos i'm smart]

Layla: [I'll let my dog eat your dick]

Khalid: [layla what the fuck]

Layla: [I know what I said]

Khalid: [you're fucking sick]

Mesi: [Lay I thought you said your dog's a lesbian]

Layla: [Yeah she only gets along with other females]

Layla: [Oh I got this pic of Breezy with her best girl hold on let me find it]

Apparently Layla had some trouble finding it, as the chat ended there and Ana's phone screen went to sleep. Just as well. She had no desire to join the conversation just yet.

"I hate them sometimes," Ana grumbled, feeling Kamilah chuckle on top of her.

"I know how you can tell them."

That piqued her interest. "Oh?"

"Mm. But that can wait for later. I'm hungry."

"Tell me."

"Tonight, Ana." She clicked her tongue at the whine and got up from the bed. "Come on, let's get lunch."

As much as Ana wanted to lay there longer, her stomach demanded another course of action. Their 90 minute flight from Cairo to Aswan only included a light snack. So Ana mustered up her will and tore herself away from the bed, making a silent promise to return to its embrace soon. She strolled into the living room and picked up the house keys lying on the coffee table. Then she went over to the window, looking out at the Nile in the distance. They had booked a 1-night felucca trip along the river. Now that should be an experience.

A touch on her back made her turn around to face Kamilah, who wore a gentle smile on her lips. Ana opened her mouth to speak, but then fell silent when Kamilah raised a hand towards her. Ana's heart stopped for a brief moment at the sight of the ring sitting in Kamilah's palm, but then logic reasserted itself and calmed her down.

"Why, yes. I will marry you," Ana joked reflexively, as the adrenaline faded from her system.

The corner of Kamilah's mouth curled in a smirk. "This would be a very poor excuse for an engagement ring."

"Sweetie, if you proposed to me with an onion ring, I'd still cry and say yes." She snickered along with Kamilah, then took the ring from her palm. It was an exact replica of Kamilah's ring – the one she had found on her finger after her last drunken episode. Except this ring was white in colour, and the vines were gold. Her heart squeezed with a tenderness that nearly weakened her knees.

Ana stared at it for a while longer, then had the ring pried from between her fingertips. Kamilah took her right hand and slipped it onto her ring finger.

"You…didn't have to."

Kamilah shrugged. "I just thought it'd be nice."

Ana caught Kamilah's hand before it dropped away, gazing down at the black band on her lover's finger. "To have couple rings?" She tugged her partner closer. "Now who's the sap?" Ana caught a faint blush on her cheeks as she leaned in to kiss Kamilah, who returned it gladly. It grew deeper as Ana wound an arm around her waist, but they broke apart before it could escalate.

Sneaking another peck, Ana murmured, "I love you."

A tender smile graced Kamilah's lips. "Love you too."

After lunch, they spent the day roaming around the city. They visited the Philae Temple, the Obelisk, made a trip to the dam, and strolled through one of the smaller markets. They had taken many photos along the way, but the one they had chosen was captured while they were walking down the Nile. Ana had called Kamilah's name and the woman, unaware that Ana had her phone's camera at ready, turned around only to be given a surprise smooch on the lips. Kamilah had broken into the purest smile then, and that was the moment captured on the phone.

Kamilah had complained that it would ruin her 'intimidating' image, but let Ana upload it onto the photo-sharing app anyway – which was Kamilah's suggestion.

1kWords – Share Your Story

amaramar02 – [River Nile, Aswan]

7 wonderful months with this babe. (Joke's on you, morons.)

lelayss: WHAT

lelayss: THE

lelayss: FUCK

amaramar02: lelayss thanks for the free stuff, wannabe matchmaker

alwaysmesi: Congrats :)

lelayss: -amaramar02- I WANT MY MONEY BACK

ebonme: I could've used the money to get that new dnd set wtf

haksters: lol refund me too

khallsa: lol

amaramar02: -alwaysmesi- thanks sweetie

amaramar02: -lelayss ebonme haksters- kiss my ass

amaramar02: PSA -khallsa- knew a long time ago

lelayss: -khallsa- say hi to Breezy, traitor

khallsa: -lelayss- lol ya bye

amaramar01: HOW DARE YOU KEEP THIS FROM YOUR OWN SISTER FOR SO LONG

amaramar01: I AM DISOWNING YOU

amaramar02: -amaramar01- do it

amaramar01: -amaramar02- jk I'm happy for you :)

amaramar01: -amaramar02- oh btw I've a girl too.

amaramar02: -amaramar01- WHAT