Zahra turned out as genial as Ana expected her to be, and possessed a mischievous streak that matched Safiya's. Lucky it was then, that Zahra also had a keener emotional perception than the dolt she was dating – which meant she drew the lines that Safiya had to stay behind. Ana had been worried that Safiya's…exuberance would smother Kamilah and tire the woman quickly, but constant subtle interventions by Zahra quickly put those concerns to rest. While Kamilah was still getting used to Safiya, she had formed an 'alliance' of sorts with Zahra, retiring to the side whenever their Amari started to bicker. The little chit-chats about their partners often included Zaid as well, who had his fair share of stories to tell about his late wife.

And they were only in day two. It was safe to say the week would be smooth indeed.

"Just get the platter," Ana said. She held the phone away when she slipped on a t-shirt, putting it back to her ear in time to catch the gist of Safiya's sentence.

"–so little haloumi."

"Then buy more."

"But there'll be too much."

"So we'll stick it in the fridge."

Safiya sighed over the line, then spoke to Zahra, "She said buy more too."

"Told you. Besides don't act like you don't want more."

Safiya gave a whine very much like Ana's.

"Come on, just because that woman said you look plump? Look at yourself – you're more muscle than fat."

"But her kid agreed!"

"Safiya, we've been here far too long agonising over your fucking cheese," Ana listened to Zahra chiding Safiya with glee as she strode out of her room. "Either we order here and now, or we're going to that vegetarian place."

"No!"

"Okay, so are we done?" Ana asked when she heard the beeping of an interactive menu in the background.

"Yes yes yes. Thanks for your help–, oh wait! You didn't give any!"

"Yeah yeah, go fuck yourself." She ended the call in the middle of Safiya's raspberry.

Ana spun her phone between her fingers, and tossed it from hand to hand as she hopped down the stairs. She found the living room empty, though its lights were still on – as was the kitchen's, where indistinct murmuring could be heard.

"–Ana's like her mother," she heard as she moved close. "Whatever she wants to do, she'll do it. Doesn't matter if there's an army of horses trying to pull her back."

"It can be…frustrating at times."

She paused before turning into the doorway, listening to her father's deep chuckle.

"You're telling me." The sound of porcelain clicking on the countertop. "But I guess in this regard, Safiya's the one who takes after her mother more. Those two, all you can do is try to catch up. At least Ana knows how to slow down…sometimes. More tea?"

"Yes, thanks."

"This one is easier to deal with," Zaid continued. "But she doesn't like being told to do anything blindly. So just give her a reason if she's being difficult."

"Well, well, well." Ana made her drama-worthy entrance. "Teaching her how to manipulate me, I see."

"Were you listening?"

"Just enough to know I was being betrayed," she said pointedly at her father, and took a seat next to Kamilah at the counter. Both Zaid and Kamilah were nursing a cup of tea, accompanied by a plate of butter cookies.

"I don't want you scaring Kamilah off because you can't think straight."

"I can't do anything straight. Besides, I'm already her slave." Ana tilted her head to bite on the cookie Kamilah held up for her. "See?"

Zaid sigh as he poured another cup of tea and pushed it towards Ana. "At least for you, I can tell Kamilah what to do. All I can say to Zahra is 'good luck'."

"Well, how did you deal with mama?"

"I can honestly say, I have no idea." Zaid looked at Kamilah, and nodded his head at Ana. "How do you deal with this troublesome bag?"

"I don't."

Ana opened her mouth–

"She's the one who deals with me."

Ana shut her mouth as Zaid cocked an appraising brow.

"Seems like you hit the jackpot, Ana." He drained his cup and got off the stool. "Finally someone who takes your side."

"More like, the first person in my life who isn't an asshole," she drawled.

Zaid merely hummed and offered no rebuttal.

Quiet had settled over the house past midnight, after Safiya and Zahra's glorious return with their food and their lazing about in the living room after. Not wanting to disturb the serene air, Ana padded softly up the stairs and down the corridor. The lights in the study and her father's bedroom were out, but Safiya's was still on, spilling from the gap beneath the door. She stopped outside her own room and peeked in, checking on Kamilah who was still fast asleep in bed, unaware that Ana had slipped from her arms. Satisfied, Ana moved on towards the sliding glass doors at the end of the hallway, stepping through them and onto the balcony.

She hooked the handheld vacuum through her forearm, letting it hang by its handle. Walking farther out to that one familiar spot, Ana turned back, took two running steps forward and jumped. She caught onto the edge of the roof and hauled herself up easily.

"Get off my lawn."

Ana groaned as she set her knees on the flat surface. "Why are you everywhere I go?"

"This is my house too, pea brains. Why'd you bring the vacuum?" Safiya asked, frowning at said device clicking dully against the roof.

"To clean?" Ana deadpanned. "I see you're lying on all that dirt and dust like the pig you are."

"Fuck off. We never cleaned when we came up here before."

"Yeah well. I'm bringing Kamilah here tomorrow so…" She turned the vacuum on. "Sit up and let me clean."

Safiya grumbled but did so anyway, adjusting her butt this way and that so Ana could take care of her immediate area. She watched as Ana cleaned up their corner of the roof.

"You know it'll be dirty again tomorrow, right?" Safiya said when Ana sat down beside her.

"At least it'll be cleaner than when you sat down without a flying fuck. Look at you." She brushed off the back of Safiya's hair – thank goodness she had much less now – and her clothes. Ana had finished when she noticed the amused gaze fixed on her. "What."

"I never thought I'd see this day," Safiya crooned, patting her head. "Little Ana's taking care of her sister and romancing her girlfriend like a lovestr–" She laughed when Ana threw her hand off.

"Why don't you try 'romancing' Zahra instead of annoying me all the fucking time."

"Well… I haven't seen you for a long time." She raised a hand again, but it was swatted down before she could do anything. "But I guess you're right." Safiya leaned back on her hands, heaving a sigh at the sky. "I feel kind of bad, actually. I've barely even the time for Zahra between missions, and we live on the same base."

"You've been busy."

"Yeah, but still. Think I've spent more time away from her than with her. Excuse or no, it's difficult." Safiya tapped her feet together in idle thought when the sisters fell into silence. "You know…" Safiya started slowly. "I've been thinking of transferring out of the Sa'ka."

Ana looked at her in surprise. "But you like it there."

"I do." More feet-tapping. "But it's kind of fucking up the rest of my life. I couldn't see you or papa for an entire year because of them. And…I really want to spend more time with Zahra."

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"No?" Safiya said incredulously, as though Ana had said something utterly stupid. "I don't want her thinking this is her fault or something."

"No, but she's the reason, yes?"

"She's not the only reason."

"Oh please," Ana scoffed. "Don't pull the family card on me. You were perfectly fine until Zahra came along."

A wry smile. "How do you know?"

Ana stared at her lighthearted visage, as impenetrable as a poker face. "We're used to it, aren't we?"

"Yup, we are. And that's kind of sad, isn't it?" Safiya pulled her feet in, hugging her knees. "Ah well. Point is, Zahra deserves more than a girlfriend who's only around for two weeks before she gets pulled away by another mission again."

"Then talk to her. Come on," Ana added when Safiya appeared hesitant. "If you don't, then how do you know how she feels about this?"

"It can't be good to only see each other once in a blue moon–"

"Yeah, but that's how you think. Do you see what I'm getting at? Fuck's sake, sis." Ana shifted on the spot to face her sister. "You've always done this. You don't bother about what others think, you just go ahead and do it. I know," she interrupted when Safiya was about to raise an argument. "You wanna do this for Zahra. But just–, just for once in your fucking life, use your big fat mouth for something useful. Okay?"

Safiya kept silent for a while, staring at Ana after her outburst. Then her lips spread slowly into a grin, and her hands flew forward to pinch Ana's cheeks. "Look at you," she said, keeping her grip despite Ana trying to shake her off. "Our baby's all grown up and giving advice. I'm so proud of you." Before Ana could react, Safiya lurched forward to smack a kiss on her forehead, only to receive a sound slap on the cheek by Ana's flailing hand.

"Ow!"

"I'm not your baby," Ana grumbled.

"No? I'm guessing you're Kamilah's now, huh." She dodged another slap, snickering. "It's okay. Kamilah's pretty cool."

"I know." Ana wiped at her forehead idly. "And Zahra's pretty cool too."

"I know," Safiya sighed. "She's amazing."

They gazed out at the rows of houses stretching before them, cool winds sweeping over the rooftop as the nostalgia settled in. Many a time had they climbed onto the roof when grounded – just to give the illusion that they had slipped out, and to hear their parents' outrage through the windows. Troublemakers, they really were. Ana peered at Safiya out of the corner of her eye. How much had her sister changed, she wondered, beneath that rascally façade she insisted on keeping.

Maybe they did spend too long apart.

Safiya clapped both hands on her knees, then shifted to kneel on the roof. "Well, time to go back down." She moved a leg, but paused abruptly and fixed Ana with a penetrating gaze. Her eyes flickered away for a moment, then refocused on her sister.

"Since we're here, might as well tell you. That mission I told you about?"

Ana nodded.

"They're going to masquerade it as some joint exercise, but it's actually a hunt," she uttered quietly. "For some isolated cells leftover from the insurgency."

"Oh."

"Yup. Some of them escaped into Jordan to regroup, and we're going to stomp their asses into the ground once and for all." Her serious countenance gave way to an affectionate smile in no time, and she ruffled Ana's hair. "It's gonna be a few months long so…take care of whatever you need to."

With a grunt, Safiya got onto her feet and stretched her back. "You coming down too?" she asked, striding over to the edge.

"Yeah." Ana raised herself into a crouch as Safiya hopped off the edge – and panicked.

"Oh fu–!"

She had made an awkward jerk backwards while she hopped off – as if in sudden change of heart – but her feet were already off the ledge, and she dropped down anyway. A mighty crash reached Ana's ears, and she rushed over to the edge as Safiya gave a pained cry. Looking down, Ana saw Safiya lying on her front, in the middle of the toppled table and chairs that Zaid had brought out earlier for afternoon tea. Obviously she had forgotten about the new additions and jumped off without thinking.

"Holy fuck," Ana said as Safiya rolled onto her back, pain written all over her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm dying," Safiya moaned. She brought a hand up to worry at the cut on her cheek, and noticed blood trickling from the long gash on her outer forearm.

"I need a medic…"

Zahra had come rushing out while Safiya was still sitting up with Ana's help, and she was followed by a disorientated Kamilah a few minutes after. Kamilah took one look at the older Amari, her shoulders slumping in resignation when she spotted the wound on Safiya's arm. She ushered the women back into the house and dressed Safiya's wound, making an offhand remark about their 'family resemblance'. They retired to their own rooms after the minor emergency was over, and Kamilah fell asleep on top of Ana so she would not 'go off and do something stupid as well'.

Zaid remained in his room through the night undisturbed, all thanks to the earplugs he was wearing.

Having a bandaged arm, a band-aid on her cheek and bruises on her elbows and knees seemed not to deter Safiya's energy at all. That was not unexpected, of course. But it did give Ana something to play with.

"Remember to get the Roomba!" Zaid called from upstairs.

"Yeah yeah," Ana called back loud enough for him to hear, shoving her wallet into her back pocket as she headed for the garage. The three women were already gathered behind the car, waiting for her to arrive with the car keys.

"So," she said, twirling the keys on a finger. "Who's drivi–"

"Oh my god," Safiya exclaimed, grabbing onto her wrist. She looked at Ana's hand – currently clutching onto the keys – then reached for Kamilah's hand, bringing it up to eye level. Breathing a victorious cackle, she held the hands up to Zahra so she could see the matching rings. "Zahri, look! They're married!"

She promptly let go of Kamilah when Ana clamped onto her bandage, but gritted her teeth together after the pained yelp, staring right back into Ana's eyes as the grip over her wound tightened. "Let go."

The corner of Safiya's mouth quirked, and she tensed up her forearm as they fell into a power struggle, which was broken with a simple, "Ana."

Ana glanced at Kamilah, who cocked her head in silent command. She stood in open defiance for one, two seconds before she loosened her hand very reluctantly. But before Safiya could say anything, Ana smacked her in the face, just hard enough to make her nose tingle. Zahra let out a giggle while Kamilah raised her brows at Ana, who merely nodded at the car and zipped towards the driver's seat.

Kamilah climbed in beside her. "You two are really…"

"Incorrigible?" Ana deadpanned, starting up the engine as the other two entered the backseat.

"Why don't we have couple stuff, babe?" Safiya asked.

"Why haven't you bought us something?"

"Why haven't you bought us something?"

Ana exchanged a glance with Kamilah, a corner of her mouth curving up. "Aren't you glad we're not like them, Milah?" Ana asked as she backed out of the garage.

"Very."

"Oi!"

"What's this betrayal, Kamilah?" Zahra asked in mock hurt.

Kamilah pressed her lips together to hide her growing smile.

The couples went their own ways when they reached the mall, in the interest of separating the Amari sisters and finally getting 'some peace and quiet' as Zahra put it. Well, that and sneaking some time alone to do whatever they wanted.

The place was not very crowded, thanks to the fact that it was a weekday afternoon. Which meant gawking at the auto show in middle of the mall involved no pushing or shoving with other shoppers. Ana was free to properly admire the rows of traditional cars and sleek hovercars, moving along the displays slowly and itching to touch every single one of them. Kamilah wandered off to the collection of hoverbikes to the side, gazing longingly at the sexy new models she would no doubt like to ride back home.

Unable to resist poking fun, Ana sent a picture of the fat 'heavy breathing' cat to Kamilah, and clamped a hand over her mouth when a menacing squint was shot in her direction. The picture was promptly sent back to her when Ana lingered in front of a TV at an electronics retailer, watching her Queen performing on the large high-definition screen.

They reunited with Safiya and Zahra – who had switched jackets for some reason – and were pulled to the arcade, where their 'peace and quiet' was finally shattered. The sisters went on a competitive rampage through all the machines, while the other two sat in the corner, engaged in private conversation as they won three Pachimari plushies at the claw machine. One went to an Amari each, and the last went to Kamilah, because Safiya had redeemed a large polar bear toy for her partner.

All in all, a smooth and relatively uneventful day – until they had to make a detour back to the mall, having forgotten to buy the Roomba for Zaid. Returning empty-handed would have been a surefire way to be denied the dinner he had made.

A short burp turned Ana's gaze from her computer screen to the door, where Kamilah was walking through with a hand over her mouth and a towel slung over her shoulders.

"Someone ate too much just now," Ana sang as she turned back to the screen, where a man was cutting open a wheel of Parmigiano. Despite having eaten a filling dinner, her craving for cheese grew as she watched the documentary, and tried to assuage it with a handful of popcorn. She paused the video when Kamilah set two bottles of beer on the table. "You took so long, I thought you drowned in the bathroom."

"And you didn't bother to come save me," Kamilah snipped back as she went to hang her towel.

"You're a grown woman. You would've figured something out." She tapped on the spacebar to resume the show, wincing at the rap of knuckles on top of her head.

Kamilah gave a partial eye roll, pulling a chair over and taking the bowl of popcorn Ana handed to her. "Zahra was in the kitchen, so I stayed there for a while."

"Should I be worried?" She snickered when a popcorn flew into her face.

"Why am I still with you?"

"My stunning good looks?"

"Maybe after a few of these," Kamilah drawled, taking a long draught of beer.

"Oh?" Ana leaned over. "And how stunning do I look after a few?"

"You look nearly-human."

"I guess god-like beauty is not your thing." Ana grinned when Kamilah broke out into a chuckle, unable to keep a straight face anymore. Ana caught her lips in a kiss to seal the victory, slowly growing deeper as the need for intimacy burgeoned after the past few days of behaving around the family. Her tongue dipped in to taste the bitter tang mixed with–

"Bitches–, oh."

They broke apart immediately, heads snapping towards the door where Safiya had stepped through.

"20 years and you still haven't learnt how to knock!"

"No need to feel shy, little one," Safiya cooed in a lousy imitation of their mother. "When two people really love each other–"

"What do you want?" Ana snapped, before checking herself when Kamilah's hand rested on her knee.

Still wearing that impish smirk, Safiya asked, "How about a day trip to Ismaïlia, hm?"

"Tomorrow?"

"No, Friday. Papa wants to go to the park tomorrow and picnic like an old fart."

"Not only old farts have picnics."

"Whatever. Anyway we can probably rent bikes there. You know how to ride one, Kami?"

"Yes."

"She rides a motorcycle, you donkey."

"Does she now?" Safiya perked up. "What do you ride? Is it a hoverbike? What does it look like–?" Ana narrowed her eyes and – surprisingly – Safiya picked up on the cue, and threw her hands up. "Fine, fine. So park tomorrow, Ismaïlia on Friday, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Alright then." Safiya inched out of the door and thrust her head back in. "If you need any dental dams, just ask–"

"Get out!"

The door was snapped shut, and they could hear her guffaws move farther down the hallway towards her own room.

"I'm gonna fucking strangle her," Ana muttered, snatching the bottle on her table and taking a big gulp. The cool liquid doused some of her irritation.

"You don't mean that."

"Like hell I don't." She opened her mouth to let Kamilah deliver a few pieces of popcorn. "Maybe I'll push her into the lake tomorrow."

Kamilah quirked a brow, but offered no follow-up. Instead, she tossed another popcorn into her mouth and nodded at the computer. "Restart that. I want to watch too."

The sun was rather unforgiving at noon, but the family managed to snatch a shady spot under a tree to 'start being old farts'. Safiya was banished to the corner closest to the edge for that comment alone, though Zahra did pass her a few cans of drink from their ice box in compensation. Zaid had chosen this spot well – just across them was the performers' corner, where a group of dancers were practicing for their weekend performance. The entertainment kept them sufficiently occupied while they worked through the food, but was not enough to keep them rooted there after they were done. The younger ones split from the shade, leaving Zaid alone to sip at his soda, foot tapping in time with the music as he watched the rehearsals.

Safiya and Zahra made a beeline for the bicycle rentals, but Ana chose to continue on foot, accompanying Kamilah on her first visit to this park. But where Kamilah admired the scenery and pulled her down every side path they came across, Ana was kept occupied with something else.

She tilted her head constantly from side-to-side, back and forth. But no matter how much she did it, she just could not get used to the lack of weight. Her head felt so light. Too light. Out of habit, Ana rotated her head yet again, only to have fingers clamp onto the lower back of her skull and keep her in place.

"Your head is going to roll off your neck, Ana."

"It just feels weird, alright?" Ana retorted as Kamilah's fingers slid up into her hair, and ran through black tresses which were now much shorter. Their little excursion out for breakfast had somehow led to Safiya issuing a dare to Ana, who immediately went to a nearby hair salon and chopped off her hair – which was now shoulder-length. Gone was the beautiful ponytail when she tied her hair, now replaced by a ratty little excuse for one.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have done it." They walked onto a wooden bridge stretching across a wide stream.

"Yes, I should've." She paused for Kamilah to take photos of the area. "At least I made her eat her words."

"You want her to eat her words?" Kamilah said, eyes not leaving her phone as she snapped another picture. "Then you should've cut your hair short."

"As in, short short?"

"Yes." She watched as revelation dawned on Ana's face. "I was joking."

"But…"

"Don't."

Ana smiled when Kamilah slipped a hand into her own, as if to hold her in place before she could run off to a hair salon again. "I meant, I don't think I'd look as good in short hair."

"Nonsense. You look good in anything."

She returned the peck on her lips. "I know. I just wanted you to say it." Ana managed to steal a couple more kisses before she spotted a family approaching the bridge, and had to desist. Pressing her lips on Kamilah's temple, she leaned on the bridge's railing and looked out at the vast park before them–

"Wait."

"What?" Kamilah asked at her whisper.

Ana kept quiet though, and increased the magnification of her cybernetic eye. Zahra and Safiya came into view, as clearly as if they were standing right before her. The women had left their bikes by the cycling path and were standing on the grass, right beside the–

"Safiya's at the lake," Ana muttered, a sinister smile curving her lips. "I'm going to…"

"Ana."

"Milah, this is perfect–" The argument died on her tongue when she turned towards Kamilah, who held out both palms. Ana looked at her quizzically.

"Give me your wallet and phone."

Cackling maniacally, Ana bounced on the balls of her feet as she handed the items over. She gave Kamilah a big smooch, declared "I love you!" and sprinted off to commit her diabolical deed.

Kamilah's foresight was accurate; Safiya did manage to pull Ana into the lake while she fell. Zaid had taken one look at his two daughters, who were soaked to the bone, and flat-out refused to ferry them back in his car. They were forced to take a bus all the way home, attracting many curious glances at their corner, where they stood dripping water onto the floor. At least the journey did not take long, and there were no hard feelings between the two.