Fareeha loved being with her aunts and uncles. Ami's friends visited them regularly at the house while ami was away, and they often went out with mama to eat some nice food. Sometimes mama cooked for all of them too, and the kitchen would be busy and noisy with all the jokes and laughter, which continued even when mama scolded the grown-ups for making a mess. They always cleaned up after though, so that's okay.
Then there were times when mama was busy, so she let Fareeha go out alone with them, like today. It's always fun to hang out with the grown-ups – they were just like her friends in school, except there were more things they could do together. Fareeha loved riding on Uncle Khalid's shoulders, and she always giggled when he hopped around on his feet, holding her hands in a silly dance. She really liked how high she could go on Khalid's shoulders – he was taller than mama and ami – and she could see really, really far over everyone's heads. Auntie Layla said she was already 'taking after your ami' like this, and though Fareeha didn't understand, she supposed being like ami was something good – after all, mama usually smiled when she said the same.
Layla was kind of like ami – she liked having fun all the time, and talked a lot with Fareeha. And, whenever Fareeha said she wanted to go somewhere, Layla would take her hand and they would all go there right away. If it's a sweet shop, she'd plop a large bag of candies into Fareeha's hands. If there were toys, Fareeha would walk out with a new toy held snugly in her arms. Nothing really stopped Layla from doing what she wanted, like ami, but sometimes she'd listen to Auntie Mesi…who was more like mama. She was quieter, and would do things like pat down her hair, adjust her dress, and wipe her face with a tissue. She noticed Mesi giving Layla little kisses that ami would give mama too, but when she asked if they had a kid, they blinked at her in surprise while Khalid bent over from his loud guffaws, slapping at his legs until Mesi knocked his head.
They're weird, but Fareeha liked them.
"And…here we are!" Khalid announced, waving both hands at the aisle filled with plushies. "Let's get that tiger for your mama!"
"Isn't it funny how you know the toy store better than an actual kid?" Layla nudged at him, and he shrugged.
"I pamper my nieces and nephews with toys. That's better than – I don't know – not giving a single shi–," Khalid caught himself when Mesi squinted back at him, as she led Fareeha down the aisle. "–sheep. Not giving a sheep about them."
"Whatever."
Fareeha ran her eyes down the aisle until she spotted the collection of toys she wanted, tugging on Mesi's hand excitedly, and they ran towards shelves stuffed with tiger plushies. She looked over them in wonder, marveling at how many different types there were – cartoony ones, life-like ones, orange ones, white ones, and there were a few in purple, even.
"A purple tiger? Now that's exotic," Mesi said, laughter bubbling in her tone.
"Nah. Ami has a purple dragon already. No more purples." Fareeha put the toy back carefully.
"Ana has a purple dragon?" Khalid asked. "What is that, a euphemism?"
"That's her toy, remember?" Layla said, as Fareeha continued picking up different plushies. "That old thing missing an eye. We found it in her barracks room on D&D night."
"Oh, yeah!" Khalid laughed. "Then she brought it back home when we wouldn't shut up about it. She named it something dumb too. What is it, Poop?"
"It's Fart," Fareeha informed him with a pout. "And it's cute, not dumb!"
"Of course! Sorry, Uncle Khalid's the dumb one." He crouched down beside her, mirroring her pout until she burst into giggles. He poked a finger at the toy she was holding. "So, do you want this one?"
"Mm." Fareeha examined the toy, tilting her head this way and that. "Nah. This one looks silly. Ami said mama's fierce, so we gotta get a tiger that's fierce too."
"Kamilah? Fierce?" Layla drawled. "Now that's news."
"Bet Ana's getting clawed to death right about now," Khalid whispered, and the two fell into quiet giggles, while Mesi remained the only adult focused on the task Ana had handed to them.
Fareeha looked through nearly every single toy on the shelf, and grew a little despondent until Mesi held one out to her.
"Here! How about this one? See." Mesi held the tiger so it was staring back at them. "Its face looks like your mama when she's being quiet and scary."
"Mama's not scary," Fareeha said, taking the toy for a good look.
"Bet her hundreds of cadets would beg to differ," Layla whispered, getting a discrete eye roll from Mesi as she snickered away with Khalid.
"Auntie Mesi?"
"Yeah, kiddo?"
Fareeha held up the tiger plush. "This one is good."
"Great!" Layla clapped her hands. "Now, do you want any toys for yourself? Or…we can go for ice cream!"
Fareeha gasped. "I want ice cream!"
"No… It's a goddamn trap, you dumbass!" Ana threw piece of popcorn at the TV screen, getting a click of the tongue from Kamilah.
"Ana," Kamilah said reproachfully, slapping at Ana's hand trying to shove popcorn into her mouth. "No! And stop throwing your food everywhere!"
"I don't throw you around." Ana cackled when Kamilah slapped at her arm, and hugged the woman lying on top of her. "So grumpy. Just the way I like you."
Kamilah groaned into Ana's chest as she received a kiss on her head, then shifted around on the couch, settling back into Ana's embrace with a muffled sigh. She left a peck on the base of Ana's neck, then turned her head to watch the movie when loud gunshots rang out from the speakers, the protagonists having walked into the trap that Ana was complaining about.
To be honest, Ana hadn't expected their drive to ebb quite so soon. Oh, it was intense, alright – Ana didn't think her toes had really uncurled yet. But her imagination had run wild before that, making a full circuit around her home – in bed, against the wall, on the tables, everything. Ana laughed soundlessly at the thought, jostling Kamilah in the process. She squeezed her fidgety wife with an arm, hand rubbing at Kamilah's back through the oversized tee she wore. Ah well. Maybe it was better they'd eased up earlier, as Ana could still feel the dull aches along her front and back, and had no doubt Kamilah felt the same as well. The frequent, subtle shift of her shoulders was quite telling, and Ana caught Kamilah's hand when it reached up to her collar again.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Ana asked, pulling at the spacious collar to get a look at the darkest bruise near Kamilah's nape – courtesy of her own teeth. Yes, 'bruise' was the word Kamilah insisted on using, because it apparently stung more than any love bite Ana had ever given her.
"Yes…" Kamilah grumbled as Ana fingered the edges of purplish skin. "Bit me like a chew toy."
"Yeah, like how I was your scratch post?" Ana smiled when she felt Kamilah try and fail to keep her laughter in. Kissing her wife's temple, Ana pulled the collar down past Kamilah's shoulder, pressing her lips to the bruise. "Better?"
"A little. Do it again."
"Demanding," Ana crooned, gladly placing another kiss on her wife's shoulder. She suckled briefly on the spot, getting a soft hum from Kamilah, who tilted her head as Ana kissed up the side of her neck. Fingers played with the tips of her hair as she nibbled on Kamilah's ear, tongue flicking over–
"Oh, come on," she groaned when the personalised message tone sounded from her phone. She pouted at Kamilah, who smiled softly and gave her a kiss, as she reached blindly for the phone on the coffee table.
Layla: [Eta 10 mins get decent or we'll sue]
"10 minutes," Ana sighed, tossing the phone back. "And so, our little piece of heaven is torn away by an incoming group of morons."
"Don't be so dramatic," Kamilah chuckled, tweaking her nose before lying back down on Ana.
They waited for more than ten minutes, but it wasn't long before they heard a car pull up in front of their house, followed by the doorbell. And when Ana opened the door, it was to Fareeha's proud grin, her bright eyes gazing up at her, over the top of a tiger plushie's head. Ana stepped aside to give Fareeha a clear line to Kamilah behind her, and the girl promptly flew towards her mother.
"Mama, mama! We got you a tiger!"
A wide smile spread over Kamilah's face as she scooped the girl up in her arms, taking the orange tiger in one hand. "It's so pretty, Fareeha! Thank you." She kissed Fareeha on the nose, getting a softer giggle in return.
"You like it?"
"Of course I do, darling."
Ana turned her gaze away from her family, to the ones standing by the doorway. "So, what are the damages–" Her voice died upon seeing the numerous bags in their hands. "My god. Tell me some of those are yours."
"Nope. Ours are in the car. These are yours." Mesi handed her bags to Ana. "No damages this time, hero."
"Thanks…" Ana peeped into the bags, finding a hoard of chocolates, sweets, and tidbits large enough to keep the entire house running on sugar high for the next few weeks. "Now, come in so I can close the door."
"Careful, guys," Layla said as they shed their shoes. "Try not to step in anything."
"Ami!" Fareeha asked when Kamilah carried her over – just before Ana could deliver a mighty smack on Layla's back. "Can we all have dinner together?"
"Yeah, sure. It'll have to be take-out though."
"Yay!" Both Fareeha's hands shot up in the air, along with three other pairs of hands from her aunts and uncle.
Ana squinted at the squad, but they just shot dazzlingly sweet smiles back at her.
"Ana, what's going on?"
"Patience, dear." Ana put the faded bandana around Kamilah's head, fastening it over her eyes.
"Why does Fareeha look so happy?"
Ana breathed a laugh when an excited giggle slipped from the girl, and Fareeha clamped a hand over her own mouth, watching Ana secure the blindfold. "You'll know soon. Now, can you see anything?"
"No. And stop aiming punches at me before you really do hit me," Kamilah said, sitting absolutely still even when she accurately guessed what Ana was doing.
"Then how do you know I'm punching you?"
"I can feel it on my face," Kamilah replied, her flat tone hiding an 'idiot' somewhere in there, Ana could tell. "At least do it a little farther away from me next time, yes?"
"Now, now. Where's the fun in that?" Ana held her by the shoulders, and guided her up from the chair. "Here we go."
Fareeha let out a little squeal, hopping on her feet as she followed beside her parents, before losing patience with their slow pace and running ahead to the garage.
"Careful, Fareeha," Ana called after her, and Kamilah's head turned towards her wife in silent question. "She just ran off. I think we should be grateful she really can't fly."
Kamilah snorted. "Doesn't stop her from trying, that's for sure."
Ana snickered, squeezing Kamilah's arms lightly as they reached the garage, where Fareeha was already bouncing on her heels beside the surprise.
"And…here we are." Ana brought them to a stop before the gift, and Kamilah held still when Ana let go of her.
"Ami, can I sit on it?"
"Of course you can." Ana reached for Fareeha as the girl raised her arms, and she lifted the girl easily, setting her down on the leather seat.
"It's so soft!" Fareeha exclaimed, wiggling in place.
"What's so soft?" Kamilah asked.
"My love for you," Ana crooned into her ear, then cackled when Kamilah turned to face her, successfully shooting a long-suffering look at Ana through the blindfold. "And…this."
She took Kamilah's hands and guided her forward, letting her palms come to rest on the seat, on either side of Fareeha. Kamilah tilted her head curiously, running one hand over the leather, and froze when her fingers touched cool steel.
"Ana…"
"Hold on, I'll give you one more hint." Ana reached over to the small screen embedded behind the windshield, thumbing the power button for the control interface. She activated the engines, and a quiet, powerful hum reached their ears. With another tap, the anti-grav cores came to life, blue glow emitting from the two outlets installed at the bottom, and the balance modules along the sides. Fareeha gave another squeal as she rose a few inches into the air.
"Ana–" Kamilah sounded breathless, Ana's name nearly strangled on her tongue. She fell silent, then said slowly, "Take off the blindfold, please."
She waited for Ana to undo the bandana, and remained motionless when the blindfold fell away, her eyes fixed in a quiet stare at the hoverbike before her. It was one of the newer models in the market, boasting smoother acceleration, an improved balance module, and an inbuilt VI program that could monitor the bike's systems, implementing safety measures in case of a malfunction.
And, for this particular one, Ana had ordered a custom paint job, insisting on colours that were the exact shade as those in the old photo of Kamilah's original bike – midnight blue with golden-yellow trim. She knew how disappointed her wife had been with each repaint of her bike, and made sure to check on the hoverbike in the shop before bringing it back home. In fact, she'd checked it twice – they didn't get the trim colour quite right the first time.
But the trouble was more than worth it – if only to recapture that sense of wonder Kamilah had been chasing all this time. And if her awestruck expression was any indication, Ana had succeeded…
Kamilah's face scrunched up as she turned to Ana, taking a breath as if to say something, only to give up and fly into her wife's arms, kissing her on her cheek.
"I love you."
"More than your new bike, I hope." Ana smiled when she heard the thick laugh beside her ear. She rubbed between Kamilah's shoulder blades until her wife's tight embrace loosened, and she was gifted with a peck on her lips.
"Thank you." Kamilah wiped at her eyes and grinned, turning back to look at the hoverbike. She reached for the control interface and tapped on it experimentally, bringing the bike back to rest on the ground.
"Can we ride it, mama?" Fareeha asked.
"Well…" Kamilah exchanged a glance with Ana, who shrugged. They'd never allowed Fareeha to ride on the old bike, as she was still too young for it. But the girl's pleading expression seemed to win Kamilah over, and her mother regarded the bike with a tilt of her head. "I guess the hover modules are different… Sure, why not?"
Fareeha exclaimed victoriously then, moving her legs to straddle the bike, as she'd seen Kamilah do many times before. They dug out one of their two older helmets for Fareeha, though they had to tie the straps under her chin, instead of using the buckle. Then, with the girl tied to Kamilah's front with a jacket, and Ana hugging the two from behind, Kamilah slowly rode around their small lawn in a circuit, getting used to the bike's handling. She rode in more random patterns as she gained more confidence, then decided to slip onto the main road for a little fun.
Kamilah didn't take them too far away from the neighbourhood, and made sure to stick close to the pavement, always mindful of the young rider in front of her. And though she kept her speed low, the high of riding in a bike was enough for Fareeha, who stuck her hands up in the air as they drifted smoothly down the road.
"Ana," came Kamilah's voice from the garage.
"Yeah?"
"Ana!"
"What!" Ana called back, volume growing to match Kamilah's, but she received no answer this time. She waited, then frowned when the silence continued. Tossing the newspaper onto the dining table, Ana rose to her feet and made her way to the garage – pausing when she saw Kamilah already walking down the hallway…carrying a cardboard box.
"What's that?" Ana asked, noting Kamilah's testy scowl as she took the box from her wife.
"You tell me. It's for you." Kamilah dropped her bag beside the dining table, unbuttoning her fatigues and throwing the top onto a chair carelessly. She untucked the grey tee she wore underneath, and gestured at the front door. "I arrived at the same time the deliveryman did."
"And here I thought you were moonlighting," Ana said with a small smirk, watching as Kamilah trudged into the kitchen and yanked the fridge's door open. "So, you never said why you had to stay late at the academy."
"Because of incompetent idiots, that's why." Kamilah practically ripped the top off a soda bottle, taking a long draught from it.
"Right." Ana went away to set the box on the table, not keen to stay and see if Kamilah would down a kale salad along with the soda. "Huh." She read the sender's details taped to the top of the box. "Jack? Why'd he send me stuff? Oh, thanks." Ana took the penknife Kamilah had brought out for her, and set to work on the thick tape around the box.
"Is it that American soldier from the Strike Team?" Kamilah asked, taking a seat by the table.
"Yeah. The blond one." Ana sawed through the tape, then flicked it easily out the end. "Wonder what he even sent…" She pulled open the flaps, and was greeted with a stash of candies and snacks, a small stack of photographs in one corner, and a few notes inserted between the items. There was a folded letter lying on top of everything else, and Ana took it first, reading Jack's neat handwriting.
'Hey, Ana. Jack and Gabriel here. Hope you've been doing fine, I'm sure you're happy to be back with your family. It's been a little weird to have nothing to do, but then Gabe and I went on a roadtrip and stuff. And we thought of sending you some things we talked about. Er, we tried to make sure all the food's halal, but not all of them are. We know you don't really care, but then we don't know about Kamilah and Fareeha, so yeah. Idk, I just hope these get through the customs. Haha. Anyway, here's our numbers and emails. (We still don't have the team's numbers omg. How did we forget) Keep in touch. :)
P.S. Gabe wants to tell you that we went sword fighting? I don't know, we tried out a couple of fencing lessons, but he wanted to say 'sword fighting' exactly. Is this some kind of inside joke cos I don't get it.'
"They fucked!" Ana exclaimed loudly, then slapped a hand over her own mouth at the expletive. Luckily, Kamilah didn't seem to have enough energy to care at the moment.
"Who fucked?"
"The Americans."
"Oh. They're gay?"
"Yep. And it only took them years to actually do something." Ana pulled her own chair over so she could sit close to Kamilah, and set the box on both their laps, rummaging through the biscuits, chips, minicakes, and chocolate bars – all the snacks that they'd shared and talked about during their time together. Jack and Gabriel had been surprised to find out how expensive their imported snacks were, and it seemed they were intent on giving her that gift they promised.
Kamilah took a Twinkie and started munching on it, as she read the letter Ana handed to her. "Hm. They sound nice. The blond one wrote this? I thought he looked like he had a pole up his butt."
Ana barked a laugh. "He does. But he's kind of a goof in private. Gabe, too." She shoved an Oreo into her mouth, picking up a piece of paper that had a bread loaf printed on it. Written under the bread is, 'Gabe wanted to show you what Wonderbread is. But it would've expired by the time it reached you, so we settled for a pic instead. And no, it looks nothing like me. Shuddup.'
"Fareeha's going to love this," Kamilah said, digging out a box hidden beneath the snacks – a model aeroplane. She read the sticky note attached to the box, "We got this plane for Fareeha because you said she likes to fly. Actually, I bought the plane. Gabe wanted to send a pair of costume wings."
"See?" Ana laughed. "Goofs."
"Lucky they didn't send wings. Or Fareeha will really try flying."
Ana laughed through her second mouthful of cookie, as she took the stack of photos and looked through them, handing each one to Kamilah as she did so. Most of them were taken on their trip, it seemed – many were of the men at scenic locales, in their truck, or just pulling funny faces at random places. There were quite a few taken at Jack's farm – one was of Jack on a tractor, another with them doing handstands on top of a wooden fence. The last one had Gabriel standing in a field with his arms spread, holding one puffed up chicken in each hand, sending his trademark death glare into the camera, while Jack's eyes poked up from the bottom of the frame.
Ana smiled, giving the photo to Kamilah, and ran her hand through the gifts once more. "I should send them some stuff too."
"You should send them cheese. Americans love cheese, don't they?"
She cocked a brow at her wife, who was wearing a crooked smile on her lips. "You have no idea how much Jack does."
Ana: [Thanks for the gifts, boys. Came as a surprise tbh]
Ana: [Fareeha's asleep, so I'll maybe send her reaction tomorrow]
Jack: [No prob]
Ana: [Now, how the hell did you even get my address in the first place?]
Jack: [We asked Xie. Took her a while to reply that email lol]
Ana: [So. You asked for my address, but not my number?]
Ana: [REALLY?]
Jack: [We forgot and it'd be awkward to ask Xie again]
Gabriel: [Scatterbrain]
Jack: [YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SENT THE EMAIL]
Gabriel: [You didn't remind me]
Jack: [UGH]
Ana: [Alright, so. Are we gonna add the rest here too?]
[Gabriel changed the group name to 'Strike-3']
Ana: […Creative]
Gabriel: [Direct]
Ana: [Uninspired]
[Ana changed the group name to 'Ana & the Americans']
Gabriel: [Now that's narcissistic]
Ana: [Eat my entire ass]
Gabriel [Isn't that haram or something]
Ana: [THAT'S NOT EVEN–]
Ana: [THAT DOESN'T EVEN GO THERE]
Jack: [So I'll just ask Xie for the other members' details]
Jack: [Hopefully I don't sound like a stalker]
Ana: [At least then you'll have some personality]
Jack: [HEY]
[Ana changed the group name to 'Ana & the Amaricans']
Gabriel: [Fucking seriously]
Ana: [Still better than ~Strike-3~]
Ana took off her aviators only when they'd sat down at the table, but she still felt a tinge of regret at doing so, when the waitress did a double-take while she was handing out the menus. Nevertheless, Ana gave the younger woman a smile as she recovered, then hurried away after reciting the day's specials. She exchanged a glance with Kamilah after that, sharing a moment of amusement with her wife, as Fareeha quickly blurted her choice of shawarma – wraps were her newest favourite food to eat.
They soon placed their orders, and Ana had to bite down a sigh when she noticed more of the wait staff glancing in their direction. She stretched out her legs and crossed her ankles with Kamilah, getting a playful tap on her chin when she shot a small pout in her wife's direction.
Ever since she'd returned home, Ana hadn't traveled out of base as much as she used to, eager to avoid the heightened attention that she received from strangers, just from walking down the street alone. It was to be expected, of course – the news had published her likeness regularly for a few years, along with the rest of the Strike Team. She supposed having a tattoo on her face only contributed to her striking appearance, and she'd taken to wearing shades each time she ventured out with her family. Obviously, the thin disguise wasn't foolproof. And though Ana had become more accustomed to the attention, she still found herself trying to wish it away on occasion.
The appetisers arrived, and so started Fareeha's whines when Kamilah tried to scoop some beans for her. She pursed her lips in a very Ana-like pout, and only relented when her mother gave her a piece of dolma instead. Ana chuckled to herself, ruffling the girl's hair before she tucked into the mezze herself, eyes wandering over to the television set into the wall opposite their table.
It was muted, so Ana just read the headlines and subtitles – detailing the reconstruction efforts in India, which was being spearheaded by the Vishkar Corporation. Ana recognised the name – the Strike Team had used some of their prototype hard-light shields that were donated to the war effort. But she'd always thought Vishkar was still a rather small entity… It seemed they've grown considerably since then, and was now opening the doors to the Architech Academy, training a new generation of architects who would rebuild all that had been destroyed during the Crisis. 'Utopaea' was their most ambitious project, which aimed to build a city from the ground up, where the old one had been destroyed by the God Program.
Ana felt a twinge at the reminder, then averted her gaze from the screen, taking a large gulp of water to soothe herself. She heaved a sigh, then opened her mouth to let Kamilah feed her a crispy brown falafel.
"Ma'am?"
Still chewing, Ana turned her fond gaze from her wife, to the smartly-dressed man who stood beside their table. "Yes?"
"Pardon me, but you are Ana Amari, are you not?"
Oh, god damn it. "As far as I know, yes."
He flashed her a warm smile. "It's an honour to meet you. I'm the owner of this restaurant, and I hope you don't mind, but I would like to treat you to this meal. Everything you order today, will be on the house."
"Ah. I, um–" Ana glanced over at Kamilah, who just shrugged back at her. "You shouldn't. I mean, it's really not necessary to…"
"Oh, I insist. It's a simple favour for all that you've done for us."
"Well, since you put it that way," Ana said, trying valiantly to suppress her sigh. "I thank you for your generosity."
"It's no problem!" His smile grew into a grin, and he straightened himself. "Is there anything else that I can get you? Please, feel free to choose anything and everything from the menu."
"I'd have to look at the menu again–"
"Can I have ice cream?"
All three adults turned to look at the hopeful expression on Fareeha's face.
"Of course," the owner said. "You can have the biggest bowl of ice cream that you can eat."
"Yay!"
"And I will get you the menu." He bowed his head to Ana, then strode off purposefully.
The umpteenth sigh that had been stuck in Ana's throat finally found release, and she gazed up at Kamilah when fingers brushed gently over her cheek.
"What is it now," Kamilah mused. "The third, fourth time?"
"I can't remember," Ana muttered. "You know, I didn't think I'd actually miss paying for stuff. But here I am."
Kamilah pinched her cheek. "Just don't let this go to your head."
Ana smiled, catching her wife's hand to place a kiss on the back of her fingers. "With you around? I don't think so."