My fist fanfiction if roughly 10 years. Let's see if I've still got it ...

1. Reunited and it feels so good!

I can't believe it!

For a moment Anne Boonchuy, 23-year-old herpetologist at the Aquarium of the Pacific in LA, California, seriously considered having hallucinations due to some unknown amphibian contact poison when she saw the reflections of two very well known people on the window in front of her. People whom she could never forget, but had not seen in quite some time. People who had walked different ways of life than her for the last 10 years, but whom Anne had still remembered fondly most of the time and missed terribly sometimes, as her now faster beating heart reminded her.

Anne barely even realized Sasha's impressed chortle and Marcy's protesting whine when she hugged her two dearest friends with maybe too much strength after way too much time apart.

"You guys remembered," she mumbled, trying to keep the floodgates from opening while noticing the arms of the other two women embracing her warmly.

"Of course we did!" Marcy replied, her voice breaking a little. Anne wasn't sure if that was because the young Asian woman was excited or overwhelmed. Probably both. „Sasha started planning this more than a month ago."

"Well, it was my idea," the blond Caucasian woman chuckled. „Originally. As soon as I had told Marce I was immediately swarmed with notes on how to improve the surprise."

"It worked," Anne acknowledged and ended the group hug, stepping back and sniffing, not caring anymore if her tears were visible. „I'd have expected a video chat but …"

"On our 10th anniversary?" Sasha shook her head and smoothed her hair back, smiling at the clearly heavily emotional Thai woman before her. „Not a chance, Boonchuy. We've cornered you and you won't escape us for at least a few hours."

Anne couldn't help but smile. "Marcy, you flew here just for my birthday?" she asked her oldest friend, touched.

"Silly Anna-banana!" Marcy grinned, clasping Anne's hand with her own and gently squeezing it. „It was the perfect opportunity. We haven't seen each other for way too long! How could I NOT come?"

"True." Anne was still wrestling with her emotions while taking a good long look at the other two women. Time had been very nice to both of them she thought. Sasha had retained part of her roguish bad girl vibe, exemplified by her obviously still well trained figure, the stylish leather jacket/skirt combo and of course the scar on her face, courtesy by Anne herself so long ago. But now it was tempered by an aura of gentle maturity, probably gained through the many hours of working with kids just like her younger self. Anne had no doubt that Sasha had planned a night of excitement for her, but she also knew that the blonde would listen to her if Anne told her she wanted to do something else – something that would have been unthinkable to teen Sasha on that fateful night when they opened the music box and woke up in Amphibia.

No sign of emotional maturity on Marcy though. The intense childish glee on the face of Anne's oldest friend was the same as in their youth whenever she had found another topic to obsess over, the small eager movements of her whole body which practically radiated excitement about what they had planned for her, the unbridled joy in her voice … all of it was so Marcy! She had definitely grown up though. Anne would still describe her as cute, but the long silky hair, the earrings, the not exaggeratedly curvaceous, but definitely less lanky body … Marcy was a woman! When had that happened? Had Anne not been filled up to the brink with happiness at the moment, she maybe would have felt … inadequate next to both of their beauty, standing here in her work uniform, slightly tired after a long day at work, though that tiredness fast replaced by excitement fast.

"Are you ready to go, Anne?" Sasha asked, ripping her out of her thoughts. „It's bad enough that you had to work on your birthday, we should make the most of the rest of it."

Anne smiled brightly. She hadn't really had any plans for her birthday, but now that Sasha and Marcy were here, that had definitely changed. „No, it's the end of my shift. Which you undoubtedly knew, Sasha," she said, feigning sternness for just a moment. „What have you planned for me?"

„Well, I thought we should start with the strip joint before …"

"Sasha!" Marcy interrupted her, elbowing the blonde. After a brief glare, countered by Sasha sticking out the tip of her tongue, Marcy continued: „For real, Anne, we thought we'd just have a bite first, wherever you want because we picked a dozen different restaurants, which are all great, then we could drive to the beach and walk around a bit chatting, or maybe watch a movie, if you prefer that – there are at least three movies I think you'd like to see – and later on Sasha knows this bar not far from her place …"

"Marcy!" Anne interrupted her friend, laughing. She had imagined spending the rest of her birthday relaxing, watching a show and getting a good night's sleep. Whatever would happen now would be SO much better, she was sure of that! „Everything that includes you two sounds awesome. Let's go!"

I can't fucking believe it!

"Guys, we've been here for nearly three hours!" Sasha exclaimed, standing up. „Damn, we need to get going!"

They had gone to an Italian restaurant in the end. A bit boring, but that was on Anne since she was okay with all of Sasha's and Marcy's choices and was seemingly way more patient – or less hungry and more sadistic – than her friends, Marcy had even lent her one of her nerd dice – which OF COURSE she had in her bag – to finally make a choice and they were now sitting here because of a frickin' die roll! Not that the food hadn't been good, but seriously ...

"Oh no!" Marcy shouted, immediately reaching for her phone. „I think two movies have already started, but maybe we can …"

"Guys!" Anne interrupted them and grabbed their wrists. Sasha looked at her in surprise. „It's great that you planned so much stuff for me, I'm really touched, but … if it's alright with you … I'd rather spend more time here, just us talking." She smiled. „I can go to the beach or the movies anytime, but interacting with you two in person, that's special."

Marcy awwwwed, big ol' softie that she was. „Of course, Anne," she said, putting away the phone. When had she learned to separate herself from nerd-enabling devices so easily? „This is your day. If you enjoy talking about mundane life with us so much, than that's exactly what we'll do. Right, Sasha?"

Sasha gave them her most expressive pout, causing both of her friends to grin, and sat down again. „Seriously," she mumbled, in her best expression of a grumpy teenager, „now all my plans have been reduced to rubble." But she couldn't hold back a smile anymore after two short, downright adorable giggles from her friends. Maybe she had become a big ol' softie too? She patted Anne's hand. „But Marcy's right – this is your day, Anne. You call the shots." She waved down the waiter, ordering another round of their drinks. Since they had decided to start with non-alcoholic beverages and move on to alcoholic ones at the bar, it wouldn't affect her driving anyhow. „So, what else do you wanna know?"

Anne put her arms above her head, stretching. Sasha was pleased to see that there were still some visible muscles left on her friend's arms. Anne might not be engaging in as many sports activities than as a teen anymore, and she definitely wasn't fighting for her life anymore on a daily basis – at least as far as Sasha was aware of –, but the young Thai was still in decent shape. Nice! She blinked, where had that come from? She focused on Anne's face again who was just taking a sip, sighing contently. „Nnng! It's so nice to be able to just unwind right after work," Anne confessed. „Especially in good company." She winked at both of them. „Well, not that I found it boring or anything, I love hanging out with you guys, but we already talked about work- and living-related stuff … and since you gave me all the power …" Anne had a dangerous glimmer in her eyes and she started grinning. Sasha liked it. „Soooo, spill! I wanna hear about your love life! Are you dating? Anything serious? It's probably best to get this out of the way before we reach Sasha's bar, get drunk and spill our deepest, darkest secrets in front of each other, regretting it tomorrow and forever breaking apart our friendship."

That caused Marcy to giggle and Sasha to snort. „You are still watching way too much of that romance crap, Boonchuy," she diagnosed. Her patient didn't deny the accusation, grinning back cheekily.

"Eeeeh, nothing in my love life compares to the deep, dark secrets of mine you two already know about," Marcy confessed, rubbing her head. As bad as that sounded, Sasha had no doubt that Marcy was referencing her time as a mental slave to the Core. She was glad her black-haired friend was seemingly able to speak openly about that topic today without any visible trauma. „I mean, sure I've dated another guy since we last spoke … heck, when was that, two years ago? … Didn't go anywhere though. It pretty much ended after he heard that I draw a web-comic for a living."

"Well, that's just dumb," Sasha announced. „I've read much of it. Your drawings are really detailed and you clearly put much thought into the overall story. Cute heroines too."

Marcy blushed a bit, mumbling a soft „Thanks".

"Didn't you tell him that you work part-time too, Mar-Mar?" Anne inquired, looking concerned. Always concerned about her friends. Anne hadn't really changed, Sasha concluded. It brought a faint smile to her face again. „Or did you give that up?"

"Oh no, I mean the jobs are still changing once in a while, but I still work that stuff too," Marcy answered, briefly looking down, mumbling something. Sasha thought that she had heard the word „dad" in there, but she chose not to probe. It seemed to bother her friend and the day was too nice for that.

"Don't worry, Marcy, one day the right person will just show up and it will happen," Anne encouraged her, gently squeezing Marcy's arm. „You are pretty, smart, full of energy, creative and so many other things and many people out there appreciate those. Sasha and I certainly do." She looked at Sasha for confirmation, who nodded.

"Seriously, many guys out there just seem to hate it if a woman has unconventional interests," Sasha argued accusingly, scowling while remembering a few of her own dates. Seriously, what was it about fencing that scared those guys shitless? „I mean, we're in the 21st century, for Frog's sake! But some of those jerks seem to think, hey, that woman doesn't think about cleaning, cooking and raising kids all the time – does that mean I have to help with those things later while she is living her hobbies instead of me living mine, I'm outta here." She emptied her drink and put down the glass a little loudly.

"They aren't all like that, Sash," Marcy disagreed, a little shy after seeing that outburst. „I mean, sometimes you DO find someone who shares your hobbies. We just haven't yet …"

"But you are okay, Sasha, are you?" Anne asked her, leaning a little closer and looking at her, concerned. Frog, what was it with that woman and her boundless supply of empathy? Would Anne EVER stop caring about her? Not that it didn't feel really nice … but before more than the faintest amount of blush could color her pale skin, Anne's lips turned into a mischievous smile. „Or have you sworn off guys completely and turned full lezzy on us?", earning her a choking sound from a currently drinking Marcy.

Sasha snorted again, meeting Anne's stare with a challenging grin. „You wish, Boonchuy," she retorted. „I like to have the full menu available to me still, thank you very much. What if I became full-on lez and then I meet the right guy? Would be a tragedy!" She showed a cocky smile, her eyes darting between Anne and Marcy, who was still recovering her breath. „Or is any of the beautiful ladies here looking for a Waybright experience by any chance …?"

Marcy just blushed, a deep, downright adorable red, and buried her face in her hands, chuckling with a mixture of amusement and nervousness. Dang, Sasha hadn't thought that this teasing comment would have THAT much of an affect, she was a bit proud. Anne however was holding up better. Sure, her healthy natural skin tone was getting noticeably darker on her cheeks, but Sasha's former second-in-command wasn't just admitting defeat. Sasha liked that.

"Oh, get over yourself, Waybright!" Anne countered, laughing and staring at Sasha provocatively. „Remember, I saw you covered in earwax once. You aren't THAT irresistible!"

"And how'd YOU know?" Her stare intensified and she leaned closer to Anne too, who was now retreating slightly, her smile waning. Oh, was the blush getting more pronounced too? That was GREAT! „After all you have never dared to … try … us …" Between the last words Sasha put her fingers on the table and moved them towards Anne in a spider-like crawl, a teasing grin never leaving her face.

"Oh knock it off, you two, please!" Marcy was still red all over her face, but she seemingly had regained control and was currently giggling at this display. „This is getting too … too …"

"Real?" Sasha offered.

This time Anne chuckled. „You wish, Waybright," she repeated Sasha's earlier line and took a final sip. „But really – knock it off! Do you WANT Marcy to die tonight?"

Sasha looked at her other friend apologetically, yet still amused. „I'm sorry, Mar-Mar," she offered honestly. „It was just too tempting …"

"It's okay," Marcy murmured, waving dismissively. She looked away shyly. „I kinda … missed this. This carefree talking … even your teasing … all of it. Very much."

Sasha paused for a moment. „To get back to the topic – no, I'm between partners right now. And I'm alright, Anne, thanks … as you said, it will happen eventually. Or not. Life's okay, I'm content." She pondered for a moment, then she looked back at Anne. „How about you, birthday girl? Not that you HAVE to share, it's your day after all, but …"

"Nah, I don't mind," Anne replied, gazing at her drink for a moment, remembering something. „No … nothing going on right now here either. I think I told you about Brian in one of our last chats … didn't last long, and nothing since then. I think it's a mixture of your stories, weird kinda of profession and me not in a desperate frenzy to find someone as soon as possible … but still …" She looked at Marcy, then at Sasha with a strange look on her face that was a very fine mockery of true melancholic sadness. „It's not really fair that we saved the world – TWO worlds – and neither of us got a prince, let alone a t-shirt, right?"

Marcy started giggling and emptied her drink. „Totally unfair, true. Though I think I'd have rather kept our anime powers instead of a prince, I think."

"That would have been awesome," Sasha agreed. „If slightly dangerous for some ex-es of mine. And maybe the parents of some patients." Then she looked at Anne again. „You alright, dude? No need to talk about depressing stuff today, you know?"

"Nah, I'm good," Anne said, beaming at them. „How could I NOT be happy when the two greatest people in the world are spending their time with me?"

"You're very welcome."

"Awww, we love you too, Anna-banana!"

"Well, that was fun," Anne announced after a second of the three enjoying the warm atmosphere between them. „I think the birthday girl actually WANTS to have a walk on the beach now before we hit this famous bar of yours, Sasha!"

"Alright." Sasha nodded, stood up and grabbed her car keys. As long as it kept this happy expression on Anne's face, she was willing to do nearly everything right now. „Then let's go, girls!" Two cheers followed.

Ah can' believeit!

Had it really been just two drinks? Maybe three? Marcy groaned, causing these two unfeeling harpies who called themselves her friends to giggle.

"Gosh, Marce, I told you to go slow," Sasha reminded her. „You said you are no heavy drinker yourself."

Marcy pouted. Sasha was a horrible human being who never loved her, she concluded sadly.

"Ooh, Marcy, cheer up girl." Anne comforted her and patted her on the back. „Just order something non-alcoholic next until we've caught up, okay?"

Marcy showed a bright smile. Anne was a beautiful goddess who was always full of love, she concluded happily.

"Thanks, Anne … will do that. Why aren' you as nice 's Anne, Sasha?" she asked the blonde woman, scowling.

Sasha chuckled and sipped on her drink. „Guess I used up all my compassion with my patients. Sorry, Marcy. But seriously, just slow down."

"But-but … we wanned to get drunk to confess all kinds of stuff to each other, right?" Marcy asked, looking at Anne for help.

"Actually … that was exactly what we tried to avoid, Marcy," Anne answered, giggling softly. „Sorry."

"Oh," Marcy mumbled, suddenly remembering. „'m sorry. Did I ruin your birthday now?" She really hoped not. She could already feel tears forming in her eyes.

"Silly, of course not," Anne luckily said and put her hands on Sasha's and Marcy's, beaming at them. „This has been the best birthday in a long time! I've had so much fun today! Thanks, you two. Truly."

"No problem, Anne. Anytime." Sasha tenderly massaged the back of Anne's hand with her thumb before letting it go and taking another sip. "Maybe at least us two should meet up again more often. And we definitely should reactivate the chat."

Marcy frowned. Why was Sasha so mean to her, when her voice was so soft when speaking to Anne? That wasn't fair. Then she groaned again.

"Is the music in this place always 'is loud?" she asked, massaging her head.

"It isn't really that loud. You just drank too fast," Anne told her. Then she looked at Sasha. Her caring goddess had left Marcy. Life was sad. „This really is a nice bar, Sash. Not too loud or crowded. How did you find it?"

"Pure luck," Sasha admitted, emptying her drink. She had ordered drinks in their colors, however the bartender had managed that. Sash had probably told him in advance. Maybe that's why Marcy had been so excited and had rushed it. „It's not that far from my place and I'd rather not drive today anymore." She looked at Anne. „You're welcome to spend the night there too by the way. Marcy is already staying in my guest room, which is really a nice way of saying a mattress and a sleeping bag on the floor of my study ... but the couch is still available if you don't want to flag a cab at night?"

Anne looked up, thinking for a moment. „I think I might," she admitted. She started smiling again. Anne had a really warm, infectious smile, Marcy noticed, when her own lips instinctively started mimicking Anne's. „Ending this wonderful day with a sleepover seems … fitting."

"Excluding the hangover tomorrow, that won't feel nice," Marcy mumbled, earning her two very nice laughs. She really like hearing Sasha and Anne laugh, she realized. Maybe because deep down still still felt a little guilty because of all the pain she had caused them. Her head was doing better now and the headache was replaced by a nice buzz now, but she should probably take their advice to let them catch up. She just wasn't as resilient as they were, never had been.

"Good one, Marcy. Yeah, that probably will happen," Anne mused, holding her glass and shaking it slightly, watching the blue liquid flow around. „It tastes quite nice, but I think I'll feel it tomorrow." She threw a playful glance at Sasha. „Is that your plan, Sash? Are you trying to get us hammered, drag us off and do unthinkable things to us in your unholy den of debauchery?"

Sasha rolled her eyes and chortled. „Geez, let it go, Anne," she said, smiling. „You seem way more bothered about sex than I am."

"Am not!"

Sasha winked at their friend, then she leant forward suddenly and took a good look at Marcy. „Seriously though, Mar-Mar, is it too much? We can go outside for a few minutes, no problem."

Marcy blinked. Sasha joking around and quipping was so nostalgic and her own reaction time was so slow thanks to her tipsiness that her friend switching into caring mode from one moment to another took her by surprise. A pleasant surprise and she managed produce a smile.

"Thanks, Sashy, I'm okay," she claimed.

"You sure?"

For a second a memory shot though her head. "Yeah, everythin's fiiiine." She smiled even brighter. "Come on, Anne, we're here to party! I can go farther, just order 'nother round!"

Suddenly Anne was leaning closer too. Why was there such a worried expression on their faces? "I just saw you flinch, Marcy," Anne told her. "I know when you are uncomfortable. What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing important!" she asserted. But then her smile disappeared. "Please … it's not so bad. I don' wanna damp'n the mood, Anne."

"Oh Marcy …" Anne sighed and put her hand on Marcy's cheek, gently caressing it. "When will you learn? I can't be happy if I know you are sad. Please just tell us."

"It's … nothing you can help me with."

"Maybe listening will make it a bit easier to bear still," Sasha interjected, grabbing Marcy's arm and softly squeezing it. "Let us help, Mar-Mar. We're friends, aren't we?"

Marcy deflated. She had hoped to keep this a secret, but that wasn't an option anymore. "It's … my dad," she said reluctantly. "We had a fight."

"A bad one?"

Marcy flinched again when the stoic face of her father flashed before her eyes, staring at her coldly. "Pretty bad, yeah … started as a small jab again … him telling me that I could've my own house now, had I continued studying. That it was fine 'n good that I was able to make money with my 'funny drawings' …"

"He really said that?" Anne frowned. "That's not fair, with all the heart you are pouring into them!"

Anne's empathetic words caused a warm feeling in Marcy's stomach, but she needed to get this out of her system now: "… anyway, he said that sooner or later this bubble would burst, just like aaaall the internet bubbles, and that I'd have no good job then and wouldn't be able t' sustain myself."

"Wait a sec," Sasha interrupted her. "But he KNOWS that you are a part-timer and take all necessary steps to become financially sound, right?"

"He does." Marcy sighed. "But after that he said again that part-time jobs are for people less smart than me, that I was wasting my talents, that this would never happen if I had just continued studying, if I had been able to …" she swallowed, "… leave this childish phase behind."

Strangely it was Anne's side where the anger came from. "He said WHAT?" the Thai woman shouted, hitting the table so hard that their glasses started dancing. "He had NO RIGHT to say that to you, Marcy! No right! You are following your dreams while doing what you can to build up some finances! And he knows that when push comes to shove there are people who would help you … like me and Sasha." She pointed at Marcy who wasn't sure if she should cry tears of joy because of Anne's passionate defense of her or tears of fear because her friend was talking herself into a rage. "You deserve to be happy, Marcy! Maybe he doesn't know how much you suffered back then, but he knows that you did suffer! And he has NO RIGHT to take that what makes you happy away from you!" At this point Marcy finally burst into tears. She hadn't felt so cherished, so loved in quite some time. Sure, she knew that her parents wanted what they thought was best for her, but they didn't know her as well as these two women did. She tried to find the words to thank Anne properly, but was cut off.

"Easy, easy, Anne," Sasha interjected, waving apologetically at the other patrons, then putting her hands on Anne's shoulders and gently pushing the other woman back onto her seat. "I agree with you, but you're kinda causing a scene." Anne, already red, blushed further and sat down quickly. Maybe Anne was feeling the effects of the alcohol too?

Then Sasha continued: "She's right, Marcy. But it's not that drastic, or is it? They haven't thrown you out, right?"

Marcy's crying stopped as her eyes shot open. "N-no, they didn't! I … don't think they'd ever do that." She bit her lip. "It's just …"

"It's just that the criticism doesn't stop, right?" Marcy wouldn't have needed to look into Sasha's eyes to know that she understood her, having a less than perfect family herself. She did so anyhow, and the compassion she was seeing there made her choke. Then she felt Sasha's hand on her own, the strong, calloused fingers gripping her weaker ones surprisingly gently.

"Listen to me, Mar-Mar," Sasha spoke, staring at Marcy intensely. "If you ever feel that it is too much, or if for whatever reason they throw you out regardless … you come back here. Anne is right, you can count on crashing in my apartment, if I still have it, as long as you need to. We'll show them that there is much more you can rely on than just an internet bubble."

It wasn't right. She shouldn't be crying so much, not on Anne's birthday. But Marcy just couldn't stop. It took all of her strength to finally utter: "Th-th-thanks, Sa-shaa …"

She barely heard Anne talk again, but she could practically feel the other woman's pout. "That's not fair, Sasha," her old friend grumbled. "I would have invited Marcy too!"

"True, but you are the only one of us with a GREAT set of parents," Sasha countered. "I think if the situation became that bad she'd need someone who understands all about shitty parenting."

Anne pondered for a moment, the she shrugged and smile. "Can't argue with that," she admitted. "Mom and dad are cool. You're still welcome anytime, Marcy. If you need us, we'll be there for you. Just like old times."

Marcy was shaking a bit when she stood up, whether from the alcohol or the strong emotions raging inside of her, but she didn't care. She tumbled around the table and hugged both of them as close as she could, thankful that they caught her when her legs gave out. "I don't de-deserve you," she uttered while bawling. She was pretty sure that some other patrons in this bar were weirded out by this display, but she didn't care. All those years … and their friendship was still as strong as ever.

"There, there, Marce," Sasha murmured, patting Marcy's back. "It's alright. Just don't throw us into another dimension again and we're even."

A short laugh was mixed into her crying, also one of Anne's huffs. Anne!

"I-I'm sorry, Anne," she stammered, desperately trying to string together the right words. "I sh-shouldn't have …"

"Don't you dare finishing this sentence, Marcy," Anne chided her and putting a quick kiss on Marcy's cheek. "You ruined nothing. To think that after all those years we are still able to count on each other … what better present could you have given me?"

"Wait, and what is my frog-themed bracelet, chopped liver?"

"Sash!" Anne started laughing while trying to hit the blonde. "You are an awful, awful woman!"

"And yet you seem to be quite interested in my sex life still."

"Fuck you, Waybright!"

"I rest my case."

A short while later, after all the laughter and the tears had stopped, they, all of them tipsy now, were raising their final drink, as if to make a promise. A promise to never lose sight of the other two women ever again. They didn't know, but every one of them was thinking exactly the same thing in that moment.

I can't believe how much I've missed them!

Not the most innovative story idea, but oh well. More chapters planned, if I find enough time to write them.