Root woke up slowly, stretching her arms above her head with a groan. They didn't have anywhere to go today and she was looking forward to a slow morning. Sameen had promised her a trip to the city to visit the new bookstore, but that didn't have to happen right away. Sucking in a slow breath, Root ran her hands over her face, her eyes still closed.

Sameen was pressed against her side and Root rolled over, throwing her arm over the warm body next to her. The surprise of Bear's fur tickling her face woke her fully. She opened her eyes and sat up, the blanket falling to her lap. Bear was lying in Sameen's spot, his head on her pillow.

"Where's your momma?" Root asked him. "Where'd she go without you?"

Bear rolled onto his back, exposing his stomach. He woofed softly and Root smiled, scratching him with one hand. She reached onto her side table, pulling her phone off the wireless charger she made a couple weekends ago. Unlocking it, she checked her messages. Sameen hadn't texted her, but Gen had. There was a text asking if she was awake yet.

Root rolled her eyes and tossed her phone on the bed. Bear rolled over again, laying his head in her lap. She petted his head, trying not to worry. Sameen wouldn't have left Bear behind if she was just out jogging and the bedroom door wouldn't be shut if she was home. Had Sameen left during the night? She hadn't done that in months now. Root licked her lips, looking around the room for a note.

Her eyes landed on the chalkboard wall. Next to a sketch of the respiratory system was a large message, written in Sameen's neat scrawl. 'DOING TAI CHI WITH OUR WEIRD ASS FRIENDS.' Root laughed, startling Bear.

Root wondered how Sameen had been roped into that. Maybe they'd promised her food.

"Ok, Bear," Root sighed, moving his head away, "let's go find Sameen."

She kicked the blanket away with her legs, scooting to the edge and dropping her feet onto the wooden floor. Root shivered as she stood up. The room was chilly and she kept forgetting to put pajamas on before she fell asleep. When she was tangled up with Sameen, still sweating from sex, it never seemed cold enough for clothing.

In the morning, when she was hurrying to her dresser, her entire body covered in goosebumps, she wished she'd at least put on her dog shirt. Pulling open a drawer, Root picked out underwear for the day. If Sameen was going to be busy with their friends, Root would take the opportunity to get some work done.

She pulled open another drawer, deciding to wear her new sweatpants and Bishop High sweatshirt. The cold winter had prompted the school to sell new gear. Root smiled, remembering the event the school had put together. She stepped into her boxer briefs, holding onto the dresser, her fingers brushing Sameen's 1st soccer trophy.

Control had organized a book fair type of event, with tables of sweaters and scarves in school colors. Sameen, Gen, Martine, and the rest of the soccer team had been forced to stand out in the cold and mingle with the town. Of course, Root had shown up in her 'borrowed' letterman jacket and brought them all hot chocolate.

She pulled her sweatshirt over her head, glad for the warmth. A strange noise came from outside and she turned to look at the window. The noise happened again, but this time Root could tell it was someone screaming. Was the tai chi happening on the front lawn?

Quickly stepping into her pants, Root hopped across the room to the window. Pushing aside the dark, light-blocking curtains, she saw her friends on the lawn, screaming at each other. Martine was holding Gen's phone over her head, out of reach.

Root slid the window up. She climbed out onto the roof, crawling across it on her hands and knees. She stopped at the edge, looking down as Gen jumped to catch her phone.

"Who's David?" Martine asked, looking up at the phone above her head. "Why is he inviting you to the Valentine's Day concert?"

"Give it back!" Gen grunted, jumping again. "Don't read my texts!"

Root laughed, adjusting herself and hanging her legs over the edge of the roof. "Give her the phone, Martine. She's just a kid."

"Look who finally decided to wake up," Lionel scoffed. "You get enough beauty sleep? It's almost noon."

"This casual look takes work, Lionel." Root flipped her hair over her shoulder. "You can't rush beauty."

Sameen snorted, crossing her arms. "Are you going to join us?"

"No," Root answered, smiling. "I'm going to work on Scully."

Martine finally lowered her arms and gave Gen her phone back. Gen immediately snatched it from her hands and started typing. Rolling her eyes, Martine sat in the grass, crossing her legs.

"Scully? Are you building a weird robot girlfriend?" Martine chuckled. "Are you that big of a nerd?"

Root frowned. She wanted to defend herself, but saying that Scully was from X-Files wasn't any better than saying she was building a robot girlfriend. She glanced at Sameen, pouting. Sameen winked at her and turned to the group.

"Alright," she barked, clapping her hands, "are we here to talk or are we here to tai chi?"

Groaning, Lionel, Gen, and Martine formed a line and waited for Sameen to tell them what to do. Sameen turned around, grinning up at Root. She held her arms out.

"This is power, babe."

"That's hot, babe." Root laughed, climbing to her feet. "I'll be in the train. Text me."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sameen slowed her bike to a stop next to Ruthie. She dropped her foot onto the gravel next to the train, steading herself and sitting back on her seat. Looking over the train, her eyes landed on the faded yellow 'CCPN' painted on the side. The letters glowed in the orange light of the setting sun and she wondered what they'd do with their clubhouse when they graduated.

Root would probably suggest packing everything away and taking it with them, but Sameen knew that that wasn't viable. It wrong to leave it to the elements, though. The train was where they'd gotten together and back together and now it was another home. Their own little corner of the world. Sameen rolled her eyes and climbed off her bike, kicking out her kickstand and pushing her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Bear appeared in the open door, his ears perking up. Sameen grinned and jogged forward, leaning against the edge of the train and reaching up to scratch his neck.

"Hey, buddy," Sameen said, rising to her toes so Bear could sniff her face. "How was your day?"

Bear just licked her face in response. Root must be asleep, Sameen realized. That's why she hadn't answered any texts in the last couple of hours. At some point, Root had trained Bear to be quiet when she was sleeping. Sameen smiled and pushed Bear back. She put her hands on the bed and hoisted herself up into the train.

The inside of the train was a mess. It looked like Root had started a project, gotten distracted, and then started another. Several times. Sameen looked around the room, chuckling to herself. They really would have to work on Root's cleaning habits when they moved. She started picking her way towards Root.

Scully lit up when Sameen got to the foot of the bed, displaying a silent message. 'Do you wish to continue music?'

"Uh," Sameen stuttered, shrugging helplessly. "No?"

'Thank you.' Scully displayed before going dark.

Sameen stared at the screen for a moment. That was new. Looking at Root, sprawled out in bed, Sameen smiled. It was nice that Root was listening to music again. She'd finished re-building her HAM radio last week and declared it good enough. They hadn't actually used it yet.

As Sameen stepped out of her sneakers, she took Root in. Her hair was longer than she usually kept it, dark against the white sheets. Root looked healthy and beautiful. When they'd met, Root had been so thin and so pale. Now, she was just fit, naturally lanky and radiant.

Sameen climbed onto the bed carefully, trying not to jostle Root and wake her up. She'd fallen asleep on the sheets, probably thinking she would just take a nap. She wasn't even under the blankets. Sameen smiled. The cold weather had finally gotten to Root and she'd actually kept her sweatpants on all day, but she wouldn't get under the blankets to take a nap. Sameen took off her jacket, tossing it off the bed. She laid down next to Root, reaching out to push hair out of Root's face.

"Mmm," Root groaned, sucking in air through her nose. "Sameen?"

"Yeah," Sameen said, quietly. "I'm here."

Root stretched, her toes pointing and her fingers bumping into the headboard. Her eyes blinked open and she smiled when she saw Sameen. She threw her arm over Sameen's side, snuggling closer.

"You were gone this morning. Busy with Lionel and the girls."

Sameen snorted. "We should call all our female friends 'the girls.' Isn't that sexist?"

Root shrugged and scooted down, resting her head on Sameen's shoulder. "I don't know. You're my main girl."

"I'm your only girl."

"That's true." Root sighed softly. "Forever."

Sameen pulled Root close and pressed her nose into lavender-scented hair. "How was your day?"

"Ok," Root mumbled. "I didn't get anything done. I missed you."

"I know." Sameen wrapped her arms around Root's shoulders, throwing a leg over her hips. "We went to the mall. Gen's David was there. He ignored her though and let his friends be mean to her. I don't like him."

Root snorted softly. "Should we beat him up?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep. "I'll hold him and you can punch."

Sameen rolled her eyes. Root and Gen weren't friends, but Root wouldn't stand by while someone else was bullied. Sameen wished she could have been there while Root was young and protected her from everyone else. She realized that meant she wished her parents had died sooner and frowned.

"What?" Root asked, looking up at her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think I miss my parents anymore. I mean, I think about them. More than I used, too. I just…they're like characters in a show I used to love. Memorialized."

Yawning, Root squeezed Sameen, arms wrapped around her stomach. "You've healed, Sameen. It's possible to love someone even if you can live without them. It just means that you don't hurt so much."

"I don't hurt at all."

"I know." Root sighed. "You don't love or hurt or anything. You protect people, though. You support them. Me, Lionel, Gen. Even Martine. My beautiful, Batman girlfriend."

"I'm not Batman," Sameen laughed. "I'm just doing my best."

Root kissed Sameen's neck. "You do me the best."

Sameen chuckled, rubbing her legs against Root's. She was disappointed that the cold forced them to wear so much clothing. As happy as she was that it wasn't sweltering, Sameen missed being able to touch Root's bare skin whenever she wanted to. She pulled back, moving her arms to Root's waist and pushing her hands under Root's sweatshirt.

"You're too tired to do anything right now," Sameen pointed out. "I don't want you to tie me up and then fall asleep."

"I suppose," Root murmured, sounding disappointed. "You could get out of it. You're good at that."

Sameen spread her fingers out, running them over Root's warm stomach. Giggling, Root tried to push her hands away.

"Your fingers are cold! It's waking me up."

"Good." Sameen pushed Root onto her back, crawling on top of her. She ran her hands up Root's chest, running her thumbs over her breasts. Root's body was soft under her hands and Sameen could feel her heart speeding up. "I want you to be awake for this."

Root blinked up at her, her hands dipping in to Sameen's front pockets. "Let's take it easy."

Sameen shrugged and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Root's forehead. Trailing her lips down Root's face, she pressed another kiss onto her nose. "Whatever you want."

"I want to go to the bookstore tomorrow," Root said, smiling. "You owe me."

Brushing her lips over Root's, Sameen scratched her nails down Root's stomach. "If I remember last night correctly, you're the one that owes me."

Root nipped at Sameen's lip, pulling it into her mouth and letting it go with a pop. She moved in for a kiss, but stopped when a huge yawn forced it's way out. Sighing, Sameen rolled to the side. Root was too tired to do anything. They had been really busy later with friends and school and extracurriculars. Root stretched again, her toes pointing.

"Come back," Root pouted. "I'm awake."

"No, you're not." Sameen pushed the blanket down, pulling it out from under Root. "You know, if you made this bed, it'd be easier to get in it."

Root just lifted her legs when Sameen tapped them and slid them under the blankets. "But then you wouldn't tuck me in."

Sameen rolled her eyes, but pulled the blanket over them. She snuggled up to Root, wrapping her arms around her and tucking her head under Root's chin. It was warm this close to Root and as Sameen slid her hands back under her sweatshirt, she felt herself grow sleepy.

"I'd still tuck you in, Root." Sameen closed her eyes. "And I'll be better about plans. They just ambushed me this morning."

"You're too cool for school, Sameen. Everyone loves you."

"God knows why," Sameen snorted. "I don't try to make anyone love me."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Root."

"Ok, it's bed time. Take me to the bookstore tomorrow."

The bed dipped as Bear jumped up and Sameen opened her eyes, watching as he turned in a circle before lying down behind Root. He rested his head next to Sameen's arm on Root's side. She should get him a red collar for Valentine's Day. Root would like that.

"Ok, Root," Sameen agreed. "I'll take you to the bookstore and buy you whatever you want."

"I just want you, Sameen."

"Well, you've got me. Forever."

"Good."