e :)

just like you did the previous days, you got back to your room incredibly late. the sunsets here in the philippines were just too beautiful to miss even once. not even exhaustion could stop you from watching them.

you were dead on your feet after a long day of exploring the island with your girlfriend, salma and jana. it took immeasurable strength just to even keep your eyes open any longer. you could have fallen asleep right then and there in front of the house. only the thought of your soft bed kept you going.

you were the first to enter your room, patri following closely behind you. you didn’t talk, that would take too much effort, but you didn’t need to. patri silently went into the en-suite bathroom while you walked over to your bags to get your pajamas.

you were kneeling on the ground, ruffling through your bags, when suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you thought you saw something move above you. you didn’t think too much of it; your body was working on auto-pilot by this point. the only important thing was to get into bed as soon as possible. there was no time for something else.

when you’d finally found your pajamas, you eventually looked up. and your heart stopped immediately. oh no. for one hopeful, delusional second you convinced yourself it was a hallucination. you’d been out in the sun a lot, maybe you had a sunstroke. this… thing could not be real.

one thing everyone knew about you: you hated every insect, spider, animal with more than four legs, that was bigger than your little finger’s nail. they looked disgusting, crawled places no one wanted them, and had too many fucking legs.

this had to be a nightmare. it wasn’t, but you whished it was. because there, above your head, in the darkest corner of the room, clung the biggest spider you’d ever seen in your life. every muscle in your body locked up. your pajamas slipped out of your hands and onto the wooden floor; your eyes wide as saucers.

another thing to know about you: when you encountered such animals, your body forgot how to function. the only thing you could do was stare and hope someone else was with you to deal with it. you always thanked the heavens for bringing patri into your life, because she did exactly that. your girlfriend didn’t have a problem with these animals and was always up to get them out of your sight. you did the same for her when it came to snakes.

it was just very unfortunate that you were currently alone. patri was still in the bathroom doing whatever. brushing her teeth or something like that. you couldn’t hear water running, so at least she wasn’t showering. small victories.

with that thing dangerously looming over you, you slowly began your retreat. thank god your body started working again, you wouldn’t have wanted to stay here for a second longer.

“...patri?”, you called weakly while you crawled across the ground.

she didn’t respond. you would have been surprised if she had, your voice had been much too quiet. but you didn’t want to chance disturbing the eight-legged monster by talking too loudly.

“...patri.”, you tried again, louder, with a noticeable crack in your voice.

“si?”, came the muffled reply through the ajar door, clueless as to your current predicament. you breathed out a sigh of relief. thank you to whoever was watching over you. you’d never been happier hearing your girlfriend’s voice.

“can you come out here real quick?”

patri didn’t respond verbally, but you could hear her footsteps. you didn’t turn to look, though. your eyes stayed on the spider.

eventually, you bumped into something. your back was pressed against the wall near the bathroom door. you hadn’t even realized you’d already covered that much distance. but this was the furthest you could go without leaving the room. you looked at the space between you and the corner on the other side. this should be enough to not get jumped by the spider…probably.

“que pasa- AAH!”

your heart jumped into your throat and you did your best not to scream as well when you watched the spider’s legs suddenly start to move, disturbed by patri’s sheer loudness. you did shush your girlfriend, though.

“fuck! be quiet, it’s moving.”, you squealed, pressing yourself even harder into the wall behind you. for a moment, you thought about jumping ship and running out of this room, but you weren’t so heartless as to leave patri alone with this. there would be no use in doing that anyway, you had to sleep in here at the end of the day. unfortunately. this was quickly turning into your worst nightmare.

you waited anxiously, quietly, rooted to the spot. you on the ground, patri stood just a few meters next to you by the door to the bathroom. you didn’t move a muscle. you didn’t breathe. one of its impossibly long legs slowly lifted. then another. the spider adjusted itself by what couldn’t have been more than a few centimeters. eventually, the spider settled again.

there was a collective sigh of relief. patri looked down at you and mouthed an apology. you just glared at her. she nearly gave you a heart attack, after all. you could still feel it beating wildly against your ribs. your girlfriend smiled nervously.

“that’s…that’s a very big spider.”, she whispered. the understatement of the year, this thing was bigger than your hand, but okay. you couldn’t believe it either, at first.

“i know.”, you deadpanned.

“i’ve never seen one that big.”, she added.

“patri…”, you sighed. you didn’t want to discuss its size any longer. seeing it was more than traumatising enough. “please just make it go away.”

this was why you’d called for her. your girlfriend was good with those things. spiders, bugs, animals. just yesterday, she’d slapped an incredibly fat and disgusting-looking bug from your shirt. patri was fearless. patri would deal with it.

“erm…do i have to?”

your brows furrowed. that was not the answer you expected. or wanted. your stared at her. your girlfriend’s gaze was now fixed on the animal, tilting her head from left to right. it looked like she was trying to measure its size or something. hopefully, she was trying to figure out how to get it out of here.

“what do you mean? i definitely can’t do it.”, you said incredulously. desperately.

“...it’s really big.”, patri repeated her words from earlier as though they explained everything. they did, but you didn’t want to admit it. if your girlfriend was too afraid to do it, who else was there? surely not you. salma and jana were…debatable. they weren’t as bad as you, but still bad.

patri met your eyes again. the disgust and underlying fear were clear to see. “i think that’s out of my paygrade. i can deal with small spiders. not…monsters.”

despite the absolute horror coursing through your body, a short laugh escaped you. great to see that your girlfriend could still find the humor in such situations. not helpful at all, but, at least, it got you to relax a bit.

“what are we going to do then?”, you asked and carefully rose from the ground. your ass was starting to get numb from sitting on the hard wooden floor for so long. you walked over to your girlfriend, subconsciously searching for protection. your arm brushed hers.

“i think…i think we should get salma. and jana.” she stopped and tilted her head to the side. then, “maybe not jana. she’s too small. that thing will eat her alive.”

-

“madre mia!”

that reaction was to be expected, though it didn’t help you in your current situation. you’d called reinforcements - salma and jana. the worst two people to ask for help with something like this, but the only hope you had.

both of them stared at the spider in horror. it was your fault, you may have downplayed the size of it a little. you weren’t sorry, though. they would have never come otherwise.

“please help.”, you said.

for a long moment, no one said anything. the room had somehow even gotten quieter with four people. four pairs of eyes stayed fixed on the spider on the wall. no one could look away. always keep the danger in your sight.

beside you, jana slowly reached into her back pocket and fished out her phone. you noticed the movement and looked over.

“...what are you doing?”, you asked in confusion.

“i feel like this is worth documenting. i can put this in my vlog.”

you shook your head in disbelief. but that was jana. very loveable, but sometimes - often - very weird. and stubborn. you let out a defeated sigh and rubbed your face. at least, if you were to die tonight, you supposed, there would be evidence of what had happened.

salma had been standing the furthest from you, and the spider. she was practically half out the door. her expression could only be described as utter disgust. you were surprised she’d even come over and stayed here for this long. salma screamed when patri’s parakeets came near her, so you weren’t expecting her to have a love for spiders to be honest. deep down, you almost felt proud of her.

salma looked between the three of you before settling on patri next to you. “you’re the spider expert. why don’t you just get it out?”

“no!”, patri immediately countered, eyes narrowing. “small spiders. not whatever this is.”

“well, but i can’t help you. i will not go anywhere near that.”, salma replied. her voice got louder by the end and your eyes fell back on the spider in fearful anticipation. you did not want a repeat of earlier. it didn’t seem to be bothered, for now.

“they really never stop, do they?”, jana murmured quietly, turning her phone toward patri and salma. they were bickering. again. they couldn’t stop, it seemed like.

they’d been at it since you got here. all because of a stupid comment patri had made at the airport. neither was willing to repeat it, so you didn’t even know what was going on exactly. they’d probably forgotten themselves.

“guys!”, you hissed before the argument could properly start. or escalate. “can we please focus?”

three heads, and a phone, turned toward you. then, almost in sync, all of them looked back at the spider. another silence fell over the room.

unsure what you should do, your gaze fell on your girlfriend. after a few more seconds, jana also turned her head in her direction. then salma. when patri finally tore her gaze away, she was met with three sets of eyes staring at her expectantly.

“what?”, she asked, brows furrowed.

you let your gaze drift very deliberately to the spider and raised your eyebrows. patri huffed, and looked around. she was searching for support she wouldn’t get from either one of you.

“mierda.”, she sighed and rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in defeat. “why did i even bother to get you if you’re just standing there. filming, instead of helping.”

that last part was directed at jana, who simply shrugged at the comment, completely unbothered. “i love you, too.”, she said and blew patri a kiss.

salma was a different story. “you called. you should be glad i’m still here.”, she grumbled and shoved your girlfriend forward.

“okay!” you quickly intervened, stepping between them, else they would start arguing again. “that’s enough.”

patri pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. then another. “fine.”, she muttered. “fine.”

it didn’t sound very confident. it sounded like someone who had reluctantly accepted their fate. she looked around the room.

“you should get something to put over it. like a basket. or don’t you have those tupperware boxes?”, jana helpfully supplied from behind you.

your girlfriend ignored her, but walked over to her back pack. she rummaged through it, careful to not make too much noise, and eventually pulled out your (empty) lunch box. she looked at it, then at the spider. then she nodded. “i think this will do.”

“you’re using that?!”, you gasped. that was your lunch box. it was for food. not for a spider. you could never use it again if that spider was put in there.

“we don’t have anything else, do we? i won’t touch that thing with my hands.”, patri huffed.

she grabbed the little wooden chair from under the table and dragged it toward the corner. the scraping sound echoed through the room, making all for of you instinctively tense and look up.

“could you be any louder?”, salma hissed. “oy, jana, stop filming me!”, she groaned, and covered jana’s camera with her hand. “ay!” jana gasped and slapped her hand away, but turned her phone back toward patri anyway.

your girlfriend didn’t even look, she just raised her middle finger. “fuck off. i hate all of you.” your eyes narrowed, but patri quickly looked behind her and met your eyes. “not you, amor. i love you. even though you’re letting me do all this alone.”

“i love you, too.”, you sang. because you did. very much. she was your knight in (not so) shining armour. when all this was over, you’d make sure to thank your girlfriend thoroughly.

“okay.” patri rolled her shoulders. “i can do this.”

she climbed onto the chair carefully, your lunch box tightly gripped in her hand. beside you, jana zoomed in. you got scared for a second, nearly jumping up in the air while your heart rate increased, when you suddenly saw the spider so close on the display.

“don’t do that.”, you huffed and nudged the younger woman’s arm. jana bumped her hip into yours in retaliation.

meanwhile, patri was…talking to the spider. what?

“okay. okay, i’m just going to- i’m just going to put this over you and- i’ll put this over you and get you outside. you’ll like it out there. much better than in here. please don’t move. or do, but please go outside. that would be very nice. okay? i’m just going to- okay. wait.”

salma, you and jana looked at each other in confusion. “you’re doing amazing, patri.”, said jana, who was smiling gleefully, focused on catching everything with her phone. she really captured every tiny movement your girlfriend made.

salma just looked done with everything. “you have a very weird girlfriend, tia.”, she directed at you.

patri did not seem to have heard a word of it. her entire focus was on getting this spider out as soon as possible. it turned out to be a rather hard task to accomplish, she just didn’t want to go near it.

“i can do this. patricia, you can do this. it’s a spider. a very big spider, but that’s not important. you’re bigger than that spider. it should be afraid of you. just…be brave. you are brave. okay.”

silence fell over the room as the tension rose. then, out of nowhere, patri lunged forward. thunk. the lunch box hit the wall. patri screamed. you screamed. salma and jana all screamed. the tense stillness had been replaced by frantic noise. the room had fallen into complete chaos.

salma had frantically run for cover in the bathroom, only her head peeked around the doorframe. jana had attached herself to your arm with a grip so tight it almost hurt. you had simply turned your head away, unable to watch on any longer, and stumbled back.

“dios mio!”, patri shrieked. “i can feel it move. ay, that is disgusting! please help, please help!”

your girlfriend was the only one who hadn’t moved. she couldn’t, logically. patri was standing perfectly still on top of the chair, both hands pressed flat against your lunch box as though letting go for just one second would unleash all evil upon the world. it would, in your opinion.

she glanced toward the table, the lid of the box laid on top of it, before her gaze fell on salma. she was standing just a few steps away from it.

“salma! get the the lid.” her voice sounded frantic, shaky. you couldn’t blame her. if your roles were reversed, you’d probably have already fainted by now.

salma’s eyes widened and she firmly shook her head. “no way! i’m staying right here.”

“salma!”, patri repeated.

“no!”

“oh my god.”, you muttered, and pulled away from jana, who was filming their whole interaction, phone moving from left to right.

even though it was the last thing you wanted to do, you walked over to the table, grabbed the lid and carried it over to patri. you stopped at what you deemed a safe distance away from her and stretched out your arm.

your girlfriend didn’t even comment anymore. she took the lid - you immediately hurried back to jana - and slowly slid it under the box.

“make sure it doesn’t get out again, okay!”

“that was the plan, jana.”, patri replied through gritted teeth.

very, very carefully, she pressed the lunch box firmly against the lid, so it wouldn’t fall off. she shifted her grip once, to make sure the spider was safely trapped inside. nothing happened.

“...i think i got it.”, patri sighed. then she looked at the three of you. you all gave her encouraging thumbs up, which she didn’t acknowledge at all. her eyes met yours. “...now what?”

you blinked and tilted your head to the side. “...you take it outside?”

your girlfriend stared at you. then she looked at the lunch box she still held against the wall. then back at you.

“can’t any of you do it? i think i’ve done enough already. it’s trapped.”

silence greeted her. absolutely no one spoke. beside you, salma, who had come back out of the bathroom, suddenly found the floor incredibly interesting. jana lowered her phone, looking anywhere but your girlfriend. you bit your lip and smiled apologetically.

“wow.”, patri muttered. “what amazing friends i have.”

“you’re doing great, though.”, jana offered helpfully.

“shut up.”

“love you, too.”

patri let out a long, suffering sigh before carefully climbing down from the chair. every movement was painfully slow. the lunch box was held out in front of her with both hands, as far away from her body as physically possible.

you and salma instinctively shuffled backwards to give her room. jana, on the other hand, hit by a sudden wave of braveness, stepped closer.

“jana.”, patri warned. “if you put that camera any closer to my face, i’m gonna throw the spider at you.”

the shorter woman gasped dramatically, and completely ignored patri’s words. “rude.”

your girlfriend rolled her eyes. “can someone please open the door?”

with very little enthusiasm, you reluctantly stepped forward and reached for the handle while keeping as much distance as you could. the door swung open.

the three of you watched as your girlfriend disappeared outside, one cautious step after the other. none of you dared follow. instead, you hovered in the doorway, collectively holding your breath.

it was very dark outside. too dark to properly see what patri was doing. she went further and further, until she was swallowed by the night. then-

“MIERDA!”

your girlfriend’s scream shattered the quiet. suddenly, she came sprinting back toward you faster than you’d ever seen her run on a football pitch.

patri practically threw herself at you and through the doorway before slamming the door shut behind her, breathing heavily.

“what the fuck was that?”, salma gasped.

"Only one question left." Baran said, from where she was curled on the sofa next to Yolanda. They were both holding flash cards.

"What's the score?" Aftab asked, bouncing on his feet next to Trinity.

"Trinity has 11, you have 12."

Aftab was too sweet of a kid to gloat, but Yolanda gave him a proud nod and his whole face lit up. Trinity scowled at her. Traitor.

"Trinity." Yolanda held up her next question. "52 year old male, 6 days post-hemicolectomy. Presents with sudden onset shortness of breath, pleuritic pain, and mild tachycard-"

"Pulmonary embolism!"

Baran laughed at her yelling, trying to hide it behind her hand. Yolanda merely raised an eyebrow and said, "The question was actually, 'which tests are indicated to confirm the most likely diagnosis?'."

"Well, I know that too! D-dimer and a CTPA."

"You already gave your answer!"

Trinity shoved Aftab's shoulder. He giggled.

"I'll count it." Yolanda declared. For a brief moment Trinity thought that she was finally on her side, then realised that evening the scores, with Aftab's last question left, was just her way of having fun. She loved a competition. Even if it was her girlfriend versus a 9 year old.

"Okay, pesaram." Baran said, sitting up straighter. "It all comes down to this."

Baran also had a flair for the dramatic, it seemed. Although Trinity did want the prize. Aftab stopped bouncing, suddenly all focus. He wanted it too.

"What is the name of the process where a cell divides into two identical cells?"

Was this really what they were teaching 4th graders now? How was he expected to know that? Trinity suddenly felt guilty. Maybe they could share the prize.

"Mitosis!"

Trinity's mouth fell open. Baran whooped, surging from the couch to wrap her arms around him. They jumped up and down together, victorious.

Trinity flopped down into the space Baran had vacated, landing heavily on Yolanda. An arm immediately draped across her shoulder, pulling her into Yolanda's side.

Yolanda grinned down at her, eyes dancing with delight. "Smart kid."

"Too smart. He's going to run the world one day."

Yolanda pressed a kiss to her hair, and they both watched as Aftab and Baran danced with joy. He caught her eye, and she couldn't help but smile at him, "A worthy winner."

The reminder of their competition had him running to the kitchen. They heard a drawer slam before he careened back to them, socks sliding over hardwood floors. He clutched a menu in his hand.

Trinity groaned. "Pizza, really? All this power and that's the takeout you picked?"

"Don't be a sore loser, Trinny."

Baran and Yolanda laughed, and Trinity tried to hide her face in Yolanda's armpit. Which was difficult, because she was shaking with every chuckle.

A small finger poked her cheek. She un-buried herself to see Aftab's face inches from hers. His eyes were a copy of Baran's. Trinity never stood a chance.

"I'll let you pick a topping."

"You're very gracious in victory."

"I know."

Baran looked like she was overflowing, the type of contentment that pushed outwards at the seams. Even Yolanda's expression had slipped from amusement to something far softer. Trinity made a note to tease her about it later.

"Fine. Pineapple."

Aftab's face twisted in disgust. "Nooooo!"

Trinity laughed. Loud and carefree and delighted. She had never felt warmer.

"Okay, okay. Show me what they've got."

Aftab jostled his way onto the couch, leaning between her and Yolanda, who grabbed Baran's wrist to pull her down to join them.

She pads down the stairs and into the kitchen. She gets everything she needs to make Barbari and snags a bunch of figs from her tree to make jam. 

She thinks about putting some music on but she swears her little song bird will wake at the sound of any music just to come plop herself down and make googoo eyes at Baran and serenade her. The thought makes her smile as she thinks back to when Trinity had been trying to hide the fact that she had the voice of an angel. But it's a gift she has and when she's happy she sings or at least hums. In the shower. Brushing her teeth. Tying her shoes. Chilling on the couch. Driving. Hell, she even caught her happily humming while charting recently. 

So she just very quietly hums to herself. Her hands flow through the motions of making the bread and jam that she at one point in her childhood complained about because it wasn't American food. It always makes a melancholy feeling stir in her until she takes out her phone, snaps a few pictures, and sends them to her parents telling them she loves them and misses them.

It's about an hour or so later that the bread is done and the jam is cooling in the fridge. She's plating tomatoes and cucumbers, peeling eggs, and brewing tea when Trinity’s voice comes from behind her. She nearly jumps out of her skin.

“You know I got chastised for hiding the fact that I can sing but don't think I haven't caught on that you certainly know how to carry a tune.” Trinity says while leaning on the counter making those music hungry googoo eyes.

“Azizam, you scared me!” Baran scolds, reaching across the counter and booping the younger woman's nose. “And don't flatter me, I was only humming. Nothing like you.” She says turning back to her preparation.

Only moments later, arms wrap around her waist, and a chin is propped on her shoulder. “I think you’re like me. I see your foot tapping in the car and how you sway with the music. Not everyone does that ya know.”

“Don't be silly.” Baran dismisses trying not to squirm.

“Turn around and dance with me?” Trinity softly requests. “Just for a minute and then I'll help you get everything together to take upstairs. Yola is still out like a light so there's no hangry girlfriend waiting for us.”

Baran pauses. “There's no music.” 

“We'll make it.” The younger murmurs back as she turns the older around. “I'm going to start but when it splits you take over the melody and I'll take the harmony.”

“How do you know that I can even do that? Or that I'll know the song?” Baran challenges though she's smiling because Trinity is looking at her with those big green eyes. 

“I just know a singer when I see one. And I'm picking a song that you're very familiar with.” Trinity whispers before leaning in for a quick kiss. She takes one hand and places the other on Baran's hip, but not before placing Baran’s on her shoulder.

She starts humming and Baran immediately knows the song. Trinity begins to sing and they begin to sway.

Trinity So this is love hmm hmm hmmm

Trinity So this is love

Trinity So this is what makes life divine

Trinity I'm all aglow

Trinity smiles and nods to Baran.

Baran And now I know

Trinity And now I know

BothThe key to all heaven is mine

Baran My heart has wings

Baran And I can fly

Both I'll touch every star in the sky

Both So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of

Baran hums.

Trinity hums back.

Both So this is love

As their voices fall away, before Trinity can get a smug look on her face, Baran pulls her into a kiss. Trinity returns it immediately, dropping their hands so she can wrap her hand completely around Baran’s waist. It could have been a minute or second when they hear clapping.

They break apart and look in the direction of the noise to find their girlfriend learning on the wall. She looks somewhat smug but also has that fondness she used to fight tooth and nail to hide. Now it rests on her face with reckless abandon.

“Breakfast and a show.” Yolanda says lightly. 

Baran hides her face in Trinity’s neck, whining, embarrassed beyond belief that she’s been caught. “I sounded bad shut up.” She demands, the whine carrying over in her voice.

“Baby you sounded amazing. We sounded amazing.” Trinity mumbles into the side of her hair while gesturing to Yolanda to come over. “Now let's get everything we need and head upstairs.”

Yolanda wraps her arms around both her girlfriends and squeezes them tightly, placing a kiss on each of their heads. “Bee, you just did all this, Trin and I will finish up and be there in a few.”

“But–”

 “Go My Love. I’m not taking no for an answer. You just did all of this. Let us do a little bit.” Yolanda says firmly, pulling her gently out of Trinity’s hold and into hers. She kisses her softly the way she does when they first wake up. It makes sense, the surgeon woke up alone this morning. 

“Okay.” She says leaning in for a peck. The smile Yolanda gives her is radiant. 

Baran steps back repressing the urge to offer help and heads upstairs. A few minutes later Trinity and Yolanda come in with three trays and three plates and a ton of napkins. They all laugh together as they try to situate themselves. They do this at least twice a month and it has yet to get more graceful. They feed each other while sipping on water and tea. Kisses are given freely and often. Quiet declarations of love are whispered and mumbled against shoulders, cheeks, and lips. It’s the perfect morning. When all the plates are empty they’re carefully moved to the floor by Trinity and Yolanda. Baran watches them quietly as they do so and continues to enjoy her view as they climb back into bed. When they lay down at her sides she finally notices their eyes. They still look hungry.

“Baby, I think it’s time me and Trin say thank you for breakfast and last night. Will you let us do that?” Yolanda husks before placing a slow gentle kiss on her throat.

She looks over at Trinity and she’s giving her best pout as she slips a hand under Baran’s shirt, skimming the skin of her stomach.

“I don’t feel good.”

Yolanda is standing in front of Trinity in the stairwell, arms crossed and mouth turned down like a petulant child. 

The admission that she doesn’t feel great isn’t hard to believe and certainly isn’t what springs Trinity into action. The thing that sends her hand to cup her girlfriend’s face immediately is that she is doing it at work. She’s never struggled to admit vulnerability around Trinity, but she does in a space where she is constantly being asked to prove herself or be the best.

Yolanda’s cheek is warm under Trinity’s fingers. Not burning, but not quite normal.

“Symptoms?” Trinity asks, because at her core she is a doctor.

Yolanda shrugs. “I just feel tired and achy and keep getting hot flashes and I don’t know.”

Trinity nods, already tugging her girlfriend towards an abandoned vital machine. “Open.” she demands as she pulls out the metal thermometer.

She sticks it in Yolanda’s mouth, motioning for her to hold it. When it beeps she glances over. “99.7. Not a fever, but pretty damn close.”

Yolanda groans, but Trinity can see that she is secretly pleased that she has an excuse to go home. Trinity’s mostly just relieved that it’s only a mild fever. Yolanda’s ‘I don’t feel goods’ range from ‘i’m going to spend all night throwing up’ to ‘i kinda have a headache’.

Trinity never would have started hooking up with her if she’d known she was this dramatic. (Yes she would have.)

“Do I have to go home?” Yolanda’s voice is mildly hoarse and still very much in work mode, but Trinity can hear the hope behind it. (She’s always been good at that kind of thing—sleeping when she doesn’t feel good and taking opportunities to rest.)

Despite herself, Trinity lets a small smile grace her lips. “I’d be upset if you didn’t.”

Yolanda nods, looking very much vaguely pleased. “Tell—“

She’s cut off. “I’ll tell Shamsi. Just,” Trinity spares a moment to cup her girlfriend’s cheek. “Go home, eat some crackers, put on shitty television, I’ll bring you soup, yeah?”

Yolanda nods, eyes fluttering closed before reopening. “Yeah.”

—

“You know,” Trinity says as she enters Yolanda’s apartment. “You can watch a shitty show besides Love Island.”

Yolanda squints up from where she’s curled on the couch. She looks pretty much the same as she did earlier, if not a slight bit worse. Her hair has tugged itself out of its bun and there’s sweat beading on her temple. She shrugs. “I like it.”

Trinity snorts. “Fair enough.” And then to announce her bounty: “I brought soup.” She holds up the Panera bag in her hand. (She would have made some, but she was so tired and the Panera was sonear.)

Yolanda perks up immediately, which is how Trinity knows she isn’t gravely ill. “Potato?”

Trinity nods. “You know it.” She pulls the containers out, placing the bowl of potato soup next to Yolanda and shifting out her own of tomato. 

“Mmph,” Yolanda groans as she puts a bite in her both. “‘S good.”

Trinity can’t help but giggle because the second Yolanda walks into her own apartment she loses all composure. “Glad you think so.”

When they finish the soup, Yolanda shifts so her head rests in Trinity’s lap. Her skin is still warm to the touch, but in a way that lets Trinity know it’s barely serious. 

She means to let Yolanda fall asleep first, really. But then her head tips to the side and Yolanda adjusts her body without asking and they’re both out.