The first few days with her swollen eye was perhaps worse than when she took off the bandages after her eye surgery. The discomfort from the new implant was more manageable, and there was only a tiny chance of Ana hurting her eye on accident. With the tattoo, Ana became hyperaware of how much physical contact her eye experienced on a daily basis – after all, each time was marked with either a yelp or scream. Apparently she liked pressing her face into the pillow while sleeping, and rubbing her eyes with too much force, because those were the top two causes of Ana bending over in agony. Kamilah got used to the random screeches quickly, and her moral support was offered in succinct reminders to 'Stop touching your eye, you idiot!'.

More nights passed with Ana 'swaddling' herself in a hoodie so she wouldn't rub her eyes in a sleepy haze, until the pain became less of a problem than the itch that grew two weeks later. It took an infinite amount of discipline to not rub or pick at the scabs and ruin the tattoo in the process. But of course, she had to manage. It was two weeks later, when Ana washed and wiped her face one morning, that she could look in the mirror without feeling a twinge of pain nor itch on her inked skin. A muttered 'Thank fuck' marked the end of her tattoo woes, and she was able to live life without a care yet again.

At least, for a short while. Ana's marksmanship had earned a fair share of attention and – according to her captain – there had been more eyes on her performance in recent exercises. She took the news with a smirk and quip, not worrying too much about the added attention. Her record, with all its strengths and flaws, would speak for itself – and it seemed her superiors were convinced. Ana soon found herself on constant travel with the Guard, keeping watch on both foreign and Egyptian dignitaries. For months, she was kept on constant move around the Middle East, South Asia and Europe, with only brief stops at home for a breather before being flown away again.

Amira was her one constant companion in her travels, and Ana got to see Khalid only half the time. It was tiring, truth be told, but constant contact with the people back home helped to keep her going. She found solace in the regular chats and calls while she lay in her bunk, body drained of energy after being on alert for extended periods of time. With a busy schedule like this, the months passed by in a blink of an eye. At the end of the year, Ana was finally flown back to Cairo, where she was assigned stable guard duties for the months to come. Just in time too – it was her wedding anniversary three weeks later.

The squad crashed at their house the night before – so they wouldn't 'block anything' – and gifted them a cake…along with a matching pair of bikinis. Too bad they couldn't give a beach as well, Ana commented, and received a smack of chocolate cake on her cheek. Nevertheless, beach or no, the bikinis would find some use soon enough.

Kamilah wanted a simple day together – as expected, and that suited Ana just fine. After all that time away from home, just staying in place with her wife was a gift in itself. Still, that didn't stop Ana from surprising her with breakfast in bed – though it quickly became breakfast on the floor because Kamilah didn't want to dirty their fresh bed sheets. There was a certain charm in sitting on the wooden floor, bathing in sunlight shining through the windows while they ate; Ana running her fingers through Kamilah's bedraggled hair, smiling as her wife recounted all that had happened while she was gone.

They stayed on the floor long after their waffles and eggs and fruit were gone, sipping lukewarm tea and wondering how to spend the unplanned hours before their night out. The answer was to laze about the house, shop online for new sweaters and kitchen appliances, make a big bowl of salad that left them hungry for some ice cream, try to tame Kamilah's hair into a nice braid like Ana's, then order a hair straightener when they failed miserably.

"It's okay," Ana cooed, kissing the top of ruffled locks. "You look good in any kind of hair."

Kamilah cocked a brow. "Really. Maybe I should get an undercut."

"Babe," she sighed. "You distract me enough as it is."

And distracted Ana was again, when she laid eyes on her wife that evening. She felt a sense of déjà vu, gazing at Kamilah in that white dress and blue scarf around her shoulders, wearing the necklace Ana had given her just that evening. Feels just like the first time.

"You're gorgeous," she said, smiling at the peck on her lips.

"So are you." Kamilah ran an appreciative eye over the navy dress she wore, then adjusted Ana's silver earrings – her anniversary gift. She followed Ana down to the garage, then pouted when the passenger door was held open for her. "Not letting me drive again?"

"Honey, I wanna live to see our second anniversary."

"I'm better now, you know."

"Oh yeah, I know all too well." She grinned when Kamilah rolled her eyes, and got into the car without a rebuttal.

It was a smooth drive towards the restaurant, which was set at the 10th floor of a hotel by the Nile. Ana figured it was only fitting to return to the place where she had proposed, heart doing flip-flops as she waited for an answer she yearned to hear. All that anxiety and uncertainty seemed so far away now, as she gazed at the engagement ring sitting on Kamilah's finger, where it belonged.

Soft smile curving her lips, she lifted Kamilah's hand and placed a kiss beside the well-kept ring. Kamilah never wore hers as often as Ana did, preferring to keep it safe in its box like a precious piece of treasure. Maybe Ana should buy her more…

A light caress on her cheek, and she looked up to find an amused glint in her wife's eyes.

"I hope you're not going into a food coma yet," Kamilah said, and Ana had to stifle a snort with the back of her hand.

"Of course not. Only you can put me in a coma."

Ana winked, but Kamilah merely stared back at her with a straight face. "Did you mean medically, or–?" She hid a smile behind her glass when Ana kicked her foot under the table, and took a slow sip of wine.

"So," Ana drawled, laying Kamilah's hand down and tracing the tattoo on her wrist. "Anything to say to me after a year?"

Kamilah tilted her head in thought. "You need to do the laundry better."

She clicked her tongue. "I meant positive things, albi. But since we're on the subject, you need to stop leaving your cups all over the house."

"Noted," Kamilah said, the corners of her mouth twitching. She sipped at her wine again, sighing in contentment. "So, what did you want to hear?"

"Tell me I'm amazing."

"You're amazing. Yes," she added when Ana opened her mouth. "I mean it. You are."

"Aw." Ana flapped a hand at her coyly. "You're making me blush."

Kamilah smiled, catching the fingers still tracing her tattoo. "Your turn."

"Hm." Ana leaned forward. "You're the most perfect, most beautiful woman in the world. And I couldn't love you more."

"Even when I leave my cups around the house?"

"Yes," she laughed, "Even then. Especially then. I can get a taste of the headaches I give you."

Kamilah mirrored Ana's bright smile and raised her glass of wine. "Here's to us then, and all the headaches you'll give me for the rest of our lives."

"And to all the nagging I'll hear from you," Ana said, raising her own.

"Cheers."

They slipped easily back into a more stable life, both women with regular duty hours and only the occasional emergency call back to work. Ana's presence gained slightly more attention from their neighbours, who had noticed her constant absence for the past months. So perhaps it wasn't surprising that they were saddled with two children to babysit on an evening they happened to be free, while their neighbours were occupied with an event somewhere on the far side of base. It became even less surprising when their neighbour let slip that Kamilah had looked after a couple of children while Ana was gone, which earned her some trust from the parents, and a big shit-eating grin from her wife. Who decided not to say anything…yet.

Ana swooped in, catching the boy before he ran straight into the corner of their coffee table. Instead of a reprimand, she lifted the 3-year-old high in the air, making airplane noises and flying him about the room. The boy laughed, telling her to go higher.

"Aye aye, sir," she said, and lifted her arms even further, the child squealing in delight.

"Ana!" Kamilah gasped when she came out of the kitchen, holding the boy's twin sister. "Don't do that!"

"We're just flying, Milah," Ana said, though she did lower the boy's altitude a little. She carried him forward until they stood before Kamilah, close enough for the little girl to hand her brother a bottle of strawberry milk. They held hands as they were carried over to the coffee table, then got absorbed in the colouring books their parents had dropped off with them. Ana turned on the TV just in case their attention wandered, then retreated to the back and sat heavily by the dining table.

"You okay?" Kamilah asked, pouring a cup of tea and pushing it over to her.

Ana breathed in the subtle fragrance before taking a sip, burning the tip of her tongue. "Tired. That's all."

"You can go rest, you know."

"And leave the babysitting to the pro, hm?" Ana snickered as Kamilah slapped her lightly on the thigh. "It's okay. My lips are sealed."

"When are they ever," Kamilah deadpanned, taking a slow draught of tea. She gazed over at the children, who were rubbing their colour pencils excitedly over each other's books. Drumming her fingers on table, Kamilah asked, "Do you want one?"

"One what?" Her eyes followed the direction of Kamilah's nod, landing on the twins as well. A bit of air left Ana's lungs when she understood. "Does the supermarket stock those?"

Kamilah snorted. "No, but we could. I'm just asking," she added at Ana's silent stare.

"This is…a bit sudden. Fast, and a bit sudden."

"I know," Kamilah sighed. "But I've been talking to a friend – you know, the one who's working in a lab now?"

"Yeah."

"She's been talking about how they're developing a new procedure that allows same-sex couples to have a child of their own. Biologically."

"I hate to break it to you, but it's not really new. It's called artificial insemination."

Kamilah flicked her cheek. "It's not the same, smartass. This one allows the parents have a child of their own. Just their DNA. Nothing from a third party."

"And…?"

"And she knows I'm married to you. So she wants to find out if we're willing to participate in the experiment – to see if it works."

"You mean, have a baby."

"No, a dinosaur. Yes, a baby."

"Does…she have a deadline, or something? For the decision?"

"Near the end of year. November, I think. They still have a few things to straighten out."

Ana tapped idly on the side of her cup. "Do you want one?"

Kamilah huffed softly. "Honestly, I'm not really sure myself. I just haven't thought that far into the future yet." Her gaze drifted back towards the children, who were showing each other their masterworks. "But after that I've been thinking… How it'd be like to have a little you running around the house."

"What, running around and breaking stuff?" Ana grinned. "Shooting everything with a water gun? Whining for attention every five minutes?"

Kamilah leaned in close, with a gentle curve on her lips. "Having your eyes. Your smile. Your laugh."

"I don't know," Ana said, a little breathless as Kamilah's fingers slipped between her own. "I'd prefer your eyes instead."

"Will you consider it?" Kamilah asked softly. "No pressure, I'm not even sure myself either. It's just…something to think about."

Under her tender gaze, all Ana could say was, "Of course."

And think she did. Like Kamilah, Ana never really thought about the future in detail. At least, not one with a child in it. All that ever passed her mind was growing old with her other half. Sipping tea, bickering endlessly, watching each other's hairs turn grey, tracing each new wrinkle that lined their faces. Sometimes she'd imagine themselves with a dog, a cat, or both. But somehow, a child never appeared in those daydreams.

Since their conversation that night, Ana grew more…aware. Not that anything had changed between Kamilah and her, and the subject was never brought up again except in passing jest. But suddenly she saw more – as if she had been living with tunnel vision her whole life, and she was just starting to notice more children in the crowds that passed by. For the first time in her life, they were not just some vague, faraway possibility. She had an opportunity to have one of her own, and she couldn't help but think about it often.

It was on Kamilah's mind too. Ana could tell from the way her eyes lingered on the children as well, wearing a faint smile as they watched the young ones laughing and running away from parents chasing frantically after them, afraid they would get hurt. As the days passed in a blur, she started to wonder. How Kamilah would look like with a baby in her arms. How they would hold little hands as they taught their child to walk. How it would feel to carry the child on her shoulders as they ran through the park, with Kamilah close on her heels and reminding her to be more careful.

But sometimes, there was fear as well. That she wasn't ready. That they didn't have time or energy. Were they rushing into it, just because they were being offered an opportunity? What were the risks, the costs? It compelled her to bring it up with Kamilah again, in bits and pieces that slowly grew into little discussions, and eventually an understanding.

They were both leaning towards accepting the offer, and had no great objections against it. But they decided to give it a little time, let it simmer. Perhaps get more used to the idea of having a child, before making their decision.

Hakim's head jerked up and turned around, his eyes lighting up when he saw the cup of mango juice Ana held out. "Ey! Thanks."

He sucked on the straw eagerly as Ana joined him on polished stone bench, feeling the occasional water droplets splash at them from the water fountain ahead. Lots of people – adults and children alike – hopped over the water spouts on the floor and cackled when they were caught by a jet of water. Dense crowds milled around the fountain, most of them attracted to the food festival held in the mall nearby. Their squad was still inside and stuffing their mouths with everything they could get, but Hakim had bailed out first because of the sheer number of people inside. Adofo had followed him, but wandered off by himself and was nowhere to be seen now.

Ana drank more of her iced coffee, glancing over at Hakim when he chuckled to himself again. Noticing the attention, he angled his phone so Ana could see a video of his son, dragging a purple marker over his cheek and adding to the other little scribbles on his face.

"Your son's grown a lot," Ana said.

Hakim flashed her a bright smile. "Yeah. Each time I go home, it seems like he's grown a few more inches."

"Really? Puberty's going to be a ride then."

"Oh yeah, for sure. The boy's going to be taller than me. Already has bigger dreams too. Just told me he wants to be an astronaut and discover a new galaxy." He scrolled past a few photos and paused on one with his son holding up a spaceship.

"What, not be a soldier like his dad?"

Hakim snorted. "If he doesn't pull his math grades up, he might just end up like his old man. But you know how kids are. He'll have a new dream in another few months." He gazed at the photo, before the screen went dark. "You know he wanted to be a sniper like you for a while?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. After your grenade thing. I pointed at the news one night and said, 'That's Auntie Ana.' Then all of a sudden he wanted to be a 'cool shooter' like you. Still don't know how to feel about that."

"Proud of him for having good taste?" Ana chortled when Hakim knocked his shoulder against hers.

"Fuck off. Let me have my kid. You can have your own sniper children."

"'Children'? Got my whole future planned out, haven't you?"

"What," Hakim said with a crooked smile. "Aren't you planning to have kids with Kamilah?"

"Er. Well–, it's a… I mean we're–," Ana stammered helplessly, caught off guard when Hakim hit so close to mark.

He stared at Ana, eyes widening. "Wait, you are! Come on, come on. Tell me, you are!" Hakim scooted closer to her, bending his head as if sharing a secret.

"Kind of. We're thinking about it. But I don't know," she said with a shrug. "It's going to be difficult raising a child between deployments and all that."

"Well, yeah." Hakim tapped at his phone's screen thoughtfully. "And having to leave them behind every time you go away? Never gets easier."

"Mm-hm."

"But then again," he added. "With people like us, there's never going to be a perfect time to have a kid. We'll always be busy, and things happen. My wife got pregnant during the insurgency, remember? Just before we got deployed. But we managed to make it work."

"Thing is, your wife isn't in the army too."

"Yeah. Okay, maybe my example isn't the best. How about your parents? They still raised you right, didn't they?" He clapped an arm around her shoulders when she shrugged again. "Look. If you do decide to have one, I'm sure you and Kamilah can work something out. You're both capable women. Not gonna lie, it won't be easy. But let me tell you – I'd rather eat a hundred bullets than give up being a dad."

Nails bit deep into Ana's back as Kamilah's body locked up, head thrown back to cry her name to the ceiling. Ana kept her fingers working, pressing her face into the curve of her partner's neck, feeling each tremble as Kamilah rode out a climax denied to her for much too long. Grinning, she nibbled her way up the side of Kamilah's neck, kissing the underside of her jaw, letting her fingers slow as Kamilah's muscles relaxed.

"Now we're even," Ana purred into her ear, feeling Kamilah shiver under her breath.

Kamilah made a half-hearted noise in the back of her throat, turning her head to nuzzle into Ana's hair. Fingers stopped digging into her back, and Ana eased her own out of Kamilah. She brought the slick digits to her mouth, eyes locking with Kamilah's half-lidded gaze as she pushed the fingers in, up to the knuckles. Kamilah smiled faintly at the display, waiting for the fingers to reappear, before claiming Ana's lips again. Her tongue slid in easily, Ana sharing the taste of her lover. Kamilah hummed against her lips at the end of the kiss, and sat back in Ana's lap, eyes closing as kisses trailed slowly along her shoulder.

Ana had returned from a month-long assignment recently, only to sit in an empty house and miss her wife, who had gone to Alexandria for some Medical Corps training. Kamilah came back two weeks later, and Ana tackled her to the ground the moment they laid eyes on each other. After dragging the clingy sniper into the bedroom, Kamilah decided to prolong the torture and reduced her wife to a begging mess before giving her what she wanted. Ana never knew how shamelessly she could plead for an orgasm, but hey. It's always good to learn more about herself…and even better to turn it around on her wife.

Kamilah dipped in for another soft kiss, as Ana hugged around her middle and fell back into the pillows. A kiss on her neck, then Kamilah slid off her perch on Ana's hips. Turning onto her side, Ana snuggled closer to Kamilah as she smoothed a hand over her wife's mussed hair, watching Kamilah's eyes slowly fall shut. She waited, taking one breath only to lose it, then breathing in again to calm her nerves.

"Milah?" Ana said softly, wondering if she had fallen asleep.

"Mm."

"Let's do it."

"We just did it," Kamilah murmured in that same sleepy tone, but Ana had just the thing to wake her up.

"No. I mean, let's have a baby."

Sure enough, Kamilah's eyes cracked open immediately, staring at her in a bleary haze. A few seconds went by in silence, then she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Are you really sure? You know you'll say yes to anything after sex."

"Yes."

"See."

Ana smacked her ass when she broke into languid chuckles. "I'm serious."

Kamilah took a while to settle down, exhaling slowly as she looked back at Ana. "Really? It's a big step, you know."

"Yeah. I've been thinking about it a lot lately." She traced her fingers over Kamilah's back, as if trying to write out her thoughts. "And…I do want one. I mean, it's always been an eventuality, no?"

"Mm."

"And I want to have a child with you. If I can have one with you, and only you… Just the thought of it makes me giddy."

"It does, doesn't it?"

"What about you?"

"I've been waiting for you." Kamilah smiled. "Took you long enough."

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't want to push you into it. If you don't want one, it's okay with me. And if you do…"

"I do, Milah." Ana grasped her hand tightly. "I want to."

Kamilah's smile grew wider. "Then we're having baby."

"We are."

Kamilah made the call, and they had a face-to-face meeting with her friend and a doctor the following weekend. Nothing hands-on yet – they were thoroughly briefed on IVF and all the various testing procedures that would be involved, then sat through a short lecture on the specific sciences that made their darling project possible. Ana's head was already quite filled with the list of future tests, and the science lesson made the doctor's office feel like her old classroom. But she listened raptly, asking question after question, until all her concerns were met with sound explanations.

At the end, they were given a few papers to read at home, before they signed for their participation in the next session. Other than the reading, they had another task as well: to decide who would carry the baby.

"I'll do it," Ana declared.

Kamilah cocked her head, hanging her jacket in the wardrobe before turning around. "Are you sure?"

"Why, do you want to?"

"Well…"

Ana shrugged off her own jacket and tossed it onto the bed. "Well? Do you want the morning sickness? Mood swings? Hormonal changes? Back pains? Labour pain–?"

"Okay, you're having the baby," Kamilah laughed, wrapping her arms around Ana's shoulders when she swooped in for a kiss. "No, but really. Why? Don't tell me you're just being noble."

"More like whipped," she said without missing a beat, and received a light tap on her head.

"This isn't a burden, you know. I don't want you to carry it out of obligation."

"I know," Ana murmured. "I just want to have your baby. Our baby."

"You're sure?"

She nodded.

Kamilah gazed back at her, smile growing soft as she slid a hand down to rest on Ana's stomach. "What did I ever do to deserve you," she sighed.

"Patching me up a few hundred times was a start." Ana grinned as Kamilah laughed again, and pulled her in for a kiss, writing another promise of the future on her lips.

They didn't take long to finish going through the necessary paperwork, much to the doctor's delight. In their next session, they were given a full physical to ensure no unforeseen complications would throw a wrench into the procedures. Blood and swab samples were taken in advance for 'test rounds in the lab', and Ana was prescribed some birth control pills to be taken just before December, when they would start the IVF process. Until then, all they had to do was lay back and wait.

Neither breathed a word of their plans to anyone, not even to their family. Partly to avoid questions that might touch on confidential information, and partly because their efforts might fall through, leaving them with nothing in the end. But of course, that possibility didn't stop them from making jokes and passing comments in private, pointing out little activities to do with their baby. There was an underlying excitement buzzing between them, which attracted a bit of attention from their friends. But the cheeky questions were never really a bother – a few snappy replies were always enough to put the matter to rest.

Their eagerness eased into a mute thrum in the weeks that followed. But on some nights, Ana still found herself lying awake in bed, gazing at Kamilah who was peacefully asleep. How did she manage to reach this point, she wondered. How did she manage to reach this perfect moment in her life, when she felt so content and fulfilled, and yet still had an entire future to look forward to?

Ana smiled and scooted closer to Kamilah, watching her stir briefly before falling back asleep. She would spend the rest of her life with this woman she loved so, and they would build a family together.

She couldn't wait.

Aight peeps your comments have been getting angsty (and funny lmaoo) so here's a lil reassurance. Halcyon's the alpha Happy Gays timeline. There will be ouchies, but the ending will be happy and fuckin gay. Pinky promise :3

Also, a heads-up. I'll be putting the beta Dead Gays fic on hold until Halcyon is finished. Halcyon alone is taking up a bit of energy and writing two full fics concurrently will put me on a crash course to Burnout Ville. So yis, Angst pls go to the back of the line pls thenk