The sea was so tranquil right now. Gentle waves lapped at the steep cliff side below, and the setting sun painted the whole scene in a glorious, golden hue. She sat at the edge of the platform, legs dangling freely, while her chin rested on her hand on the lower railing. She was facing west right now, across the wide, seemingly endless expanse of the Atlantic ocean; but if she'd walk around the platform she'd have the same view of the Mediterranean; and if she looked to the south and squinted really hard she could see to Moroccan coast through the haze. The platform atop the communications antenna was by far her favorite place on the base. Maybe even her favorite place in general.
She heard the door hiss open softly behind her, and didn't have to turn around to see who had joined her. A part of her wanted to be alone right now, to sort through her jumbled thoughts and emotions in solitude; but an even greater part craved warmth and closeness. So she shuffled to the left, an open invitation which was gladly accepted.
Angela slid into the open space next to her, assuming the same position, thighs and shoulders in solid contact. It hit her all at once how much she needed this that very moment; that quiet companionship, that closeness and safety and comfort that only came with a loved one. She leaned over and rested her head on Angela's shoulder, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her face. It wouldn't be long now before it would slip beneath the horizon, and it would quickly get too chilly up here with just her shorts and tee.
She sighed and opened her eyes again after a while, gazing at her hand, flexing the fingers. Muted blue and chrome; she had to wear a military-grade prosthetic because the civilian one, with fake skin and almost-natural tactile feedback, was still being manufactured.
"How are you feeling?" Angela asked. Of course she would ask. Even a simple gesture like that wouldn't escape her notice.
She sighed again, deeper this time, tainted with a twinge of melancholia. "Still getting used to it."
Angela turned her head and kissed the crown of hers. Such a simple motion and yet so powerful. Angela had tried to explain the meaning of a German word to her once. Geborgenheit, she'd called it. That feeling when you're safe, sound, and loved; when you know for an absolute fact that, right now, everything is alright. Like a baby in his mother's arms while she's gently rocking him and singing a lullaby. Like a woman resting her head in her husband's lap while he's stroking her hair, bathed in the light and soft hissing and crackling of a fireplace.
That's what she felt right now, despite everything. Despite losing yet another limb. Despite the turmoil her mother's reappearance had caused, deep down. Despite knowing that the feeling wouldn't last, couldn't last, forever.
Because once the sun had disappeared, once they had to get up and head down again, it all would come crashing down on her shoulders again, trying to crush her every so slowly. A thought occurred to her, and she had to chuckle. The Pillars of Heracles the ancient Greeks had called this place; unyielding and strong and resolute in the face of any danger. The way Angela viewed her, sometimes. And yet, she felt nothing like that right now. Atlas would've been more apt; cursed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders for all eternity.
"Talk to me, Schatz. What's going through your head?"
"Nothing big," Fareeha replied with a wan smile, "just likening myself to demigods and titans."
Her cryptic statement elicited a small laugh from Angela, and that alone made it worth it. She'd heard that laugh less and less frequently since her injury. Since...
"You hate her, don't you?" she asked, keeping her gaze on her fake hand. She didn't have to elaborate who she meant.
"I honestly don't know, Liebling." Angela replied after a sigh of her own. "I want to forgive her, if just for your sake, but I don't think I can."
She was quiet for a while, gazing into the slowly shrinking sun. The gold had turned to orange and was slowly bleeding into red and violet.
"I looked up to her, all those years ago. Idolized her. More than anyone else. She had given me this unique opportunity to help people on a scale I couldn't even have dreamt about, always kept encouraging me, pushing me past my limits when I thought I couldn't go any further. She was always there for me, cheering for my victories and holding me through my failures. She was the mother I didn't have in my life."
Angela swallowed heavily, and Fareeha just knew how her face was contorted in anguish right now.
"Which makes this betrayal even worse. Of all the people in the world, she probably knows me best. She knew why I didn't want my technology weaponized, knew both the reasons I stated openly and the ones I kept to myself. So when I found out she went ahead and did it anyway...it was like the proverbial knife in the back. My own et tu, brute?"
Fareeha straightened herself, reached out and, hesitating only slightly upon seeing her prosthetic, pulled Angela's head onto her shoulder. The sudden reversal of positions was almost comical to both of them.
"You know, I came up here to talk about your feelings." Angela said with a smile, relaxing after her brief surprise and leaning heavily into Fareeha's sturdy frame.
"I'm okay, ya amar." Fareeha replied, her hand almost automatically heading towards Angela's head to sink itself into her blonde locks, but reconsidering at the last second. Her military prosthetic had no coverings over the joints, and she didn't want to get Angela's hair all tangled up in there. "Really, I'm fine."
Just a white little lie.
"As...cold as it may seem, I think you're more affected by Ana's return than me."
Not exactly a lie, but not the whole truth either.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching as the last little curve of the sun dipped below the ocean, leaving them in the rapidly cooling twilight. More and more stars appeared overhead, and they craned their necks to watch them, thankfully unobstructed by clouds or drowned out by light pollution. They watched to constellations slowly rise. The big and little dipper to the north, the band of Orion and Sagittarius to the south. They got up silently when the first shivers trembled down Fareeha's bare arms, and shared a chaste, loving kiss.
"Just so you know," Fareeha said when they turned to the door, "I don't think Caesar really said et tu, brute, Shakespeare's made that one up."
"Oh?" Angela challenged with a smirk and raised eyebrow. "So what do you think he said?"
"Considering the circumstances, probably something along the lines of 'hurrrgghhh'."
Angela laughed at that, bright and uninhibited, and it lit Fareeha's face up more than any sunset could. But the moment passed when they turned to the door, Angela heading in first, and Fareeha hesitated for a moment before following, shoulders slacking with everything that awaited them downstairs.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends." she muttered to herself. "Once more."
Winston and Angela weren't the only ones who knew their Shakespeare.
okay, so i seriously went into this chapter intending to write about fareeha's troubles, but angela just kept butting her head in saying "yeah i know she's lost a hand and all, but i've got some real problems over here!". she can be so damn persistent _
song of the day is right where it belongs by nine inch nails. ran on repeat