Chapter Text
Baran did not think of it as a surprise, after all she was walking back into her own home. That’s as usual as it gets, there is no reason to alert Trinity when all she is doing is to walk into her own home. Well, if not for the minute detail, she was walking into her home a day earlier than planned. And as Baran took in the scene ahead of her, hand held onto her luggage, in her hallway with her coat still on, maybe Santos and her have different definitions of important information.
A month ago, Baran got an email inviting her to speak at a conference organised by healthcare policy makers. Baran was considering it carefully, as she does with most things, especially because she still found it painful to revisit her experiences in the field. Not painful because of memories, but because in parts she would have to perform for an audience, the less savoury part of advocacy. But on other hand, she was aware how invaluable her expertise can be in matters as these.
Mohan took a look at the event’s website and chimed in a You are twice as experienced as the male speakers Dr.Al-Hashimi, you have to be on that podium!and Abbot nodded along to Samira adding his own Tell Gloria I will cover your shifts and Baran left those two alone in the break-room with a smile. She arranged for Azar to be with his father that weekend and knew Trinity would dog sit Arty. Baran emailed the organisers her confirmation, along with her conditions for participation, and spent her days off preparing a presentation.
Trinity was most helpful listening to her practice her speech, helping her format the presentation, giving feedback. The only time she was distracted was one week before the conference. Baran invited her over for dinner and practice – the dinner went great. Azar and Trinity discussed soccer, and Baran took Azar upstairs for his night routine. She came back down to start on her presentation when she found Trinity extremely distracted. She was looking at something on her phone, then quickly picked up a sleepy Arty from the dog bed, took a photo and went back to her phone. Baran called her name twice, and all she got was a distracted Sure, yeah, aha. It took another few minutes before Trinity got back to job at hand, but Baran can feel her practically buzzing – Baran was pretty sure Trinity would shift in her excitement.
Baran should have asked, she should have! But she had a firm not my monkey, not my circus policy and while this was her wolf, it was not a circus yet. She truly should have asked what had Trinity grinning to herself. But they got swept up in preparation, and then travel logistics, and finally the actual travel and she forgotten all about it.
Baran had a great time at the conference, her speech went perfectly, and few panelists engaged with her in an earnest, educated manner – so when a sudden bout of flu cut short the final panels, Baran did not feel bad flying in early. She did her part, made impact, and she gets to enjoy a day off at home – what’s to complain about. Well that was the impression she was under, until she actually stepped into her home and one Trinity Santos disabused her of the pleasant notion.
Because her neat, clean, organised home has mutated into some juvenile student housing. For one, her kitchen had too many chip packets open on the counter, a bunch of alcohol bottles crowded together and empty glasses everywhere. Her living room transformed into game room with the TV still on and frozen mid explosion, way too many pillows on the floor and some music trickling in through the closed porch doors. Baran straightens a pillow or two out of habit, but realises the real solution lays in backyard, lounging in the garden. Baran walks quietly through the doors, picks up the garden hose, and aims all her frustration expertly. The shocked yell let out by Trinity as she fell off her chair made it worth it.
_
Trinity is pleasantly buzzed. Or rather Trinity was pleasantly buzzed. Now she is cranky, she hates getting wet! Her first instinct is to strangle Fuckleberry by his pasty neck for the prank, but as she wipes water off her face she notices that Huckleberry is off to her side in shock himself. He must have jumped from his chair to avoid the water. A little movement on the side catches her eye, Crash who was lost to the world dozing off Mel’s shoulder, fell of the chair. Still cannot hold her liqour, Trinity grins, she got so many pictures of baby J drooling. But it is Mel who is properly helpful, twitching her head and shoulder to something behind her. Through her alcohol daze, Trinity hears the happy yips of Arty, one she let’s out only around the lovely Al-Hashimi’s. Oh no!
Trinity puts on her best grin and turns around, “Baraaaaaaan! You are back!”
But her enthusiasm is met with a stare colder than this morning’s winter sun. Baran is holding the nozzle like a gun in one hand, and cradling Artemis in the other. She seems intently focused on Santos that she doesn’t even notice the puppy drooling all over her nice coat.
Trinity immediately lifts her hands in surrender, “Don’t shoot officer, I come in peace!”
Baran seems to have jolted out of whatever daze she herself was in, drags her eyes up and back to Trinity's face and just lifts her eyebrow.
Trinity turns back to the hooligans in the garden, claps her hands loud, and goes “Alright folks, you heard the lady, time to clean up this joint like we are professional cleaners hired by corrupt cops to get rid of the crime scene”
“Well at-least your shitty speeches are ACAB”, says Samira walking in through the backyard door, carrying the bagels and coffee she sent her off to get and Dennis murmurs a The lady didn't even say anything, just lifted an eyebrow
She kicks Dennis in the ass with her foot and reaches for her bagel order (which is actually Baran's favourite order, sue her she missed Baran okay). She rushes to the porch, swaps the hose for the bagel. Baran acquiesces. She then turns Baran around by her shoulders, walks her into the house while shouting back orders.
“Dennis, put everything in the kitchen away in containers or seal them! Samira, I love you but you are hopeless around all things inside, clean up the bottles in garden? Mel, make Javadi drink the coffee and help reset the living room!”
“Aye aye captain / shut up Santos / I have pictures from last night so I can arrange them EXACTLY”, they all speak over one another.
Fantastic.
Trinity takes the luggage dropped by the door in one hand, takes Baran by the other, and drags her upstairs.
“Freshen up, come downstairs, and it will be like the last 5 minutes never happened!”, she insists.
"But it did happen,” Baran is not giving this up without protest. Noted.
“I will make it up to you, promise!”, Trinity crosses her heart and says, “and hope to die”
“Don’t say that,” Baran says grabbing her fingers away from her heart, flinching at the D word.
Trinity looks their fingers together, joins their hands fully, and starts swaying them. She uses her free hand to hold it as a pink swear.
“Better?”, she whispers.
“Better”, Baran whispers.
_
Baran changes, walks down the stairs, and sits on the bottom stairs quietly. Artemis plops down besides her and promptly falls asleep with head besides her thigh. Baran enjoys her bagel while watching the whirlwind happening in her home. Or more of an organised operation that is winding down. There is music playing in background, Dennis is returning the packed away food to the cabinets. Mel & Javadi are fluffing the pillows. And Samira just deposited a trashbag properly. The ring leader had changed out of her wet clothes into a simple tee shirt and shorts, with a bandana tied around her neck. The same paw print ones but this is in a different colour.
“Great job crew!”, Trinity says while passing glasses of water to each of them, “brunch is on me”
The cheering is much milder than Baran expects, oh to be young and hungover she thinks.
Trinity turns around and notices Baran. She grins, slides across the floor on her socks, and flops down.
“Would the lady of the house accompany us delinquents to a humble eatery?”, she asks with a truly atrocious posh accent.
“Idiot,” Baran pushes her by the shoulder and Trinity barely budges and then with a second delay pretends to be knocked down.
_
Brunch was boisterous, with Mohan and King extremely interested in the conference rundown. Dennis and Trinity bickering about some sports statistics, she was told Dennis had been trying to get into baseball to improve rapport with the pitt dudes. Javadi is barely awake but the few times she has something to say, she definitely is not using her inside voice.
Post brunch, Samira and Victoria call it a day. But Dennis & Mel stay around for the visit to the farmers market. Trinity has one arm around Mel’s shoulder as she drags her to a kombucha stand she needs Mel to try. Baran notices Dennis is still awkwardly sticking to her side, and asks him about his hometown and how he got into medicine.
He slowly eases at that and by the time Baran has finished her fruit purchases, Dennis insists on carrying her bag and winding down the anecdote of horror show that was Dr.Robby’s cereal stash.
“No fruit. No protein. Dr.Al! Just sugar? Wholesale.”, he lets out a full body shudder.
“Well he is returning in a fortnight,” Baran consoles him, “you can be relieved of the bachelor pad horror Dennis”
He nods happily. Trinity returns with a grinning Mel in tow. A few jars of kombucha and marmalade between them, Baran knows from experience Trinity would demolish half of them within the week with her toasts. She should remind her local bakery to re-up her order for fresh breads.
-
Baran waves off Dennis and Mel .As their car pulls away, she notices Trinity is holding their purchases with one hand while munching on a hot dog with other. Baran chuckles and wonders if Dennis picked up the bag-helper habit from Trinity or she from him. Trinity looks at her questioningly, but Baran just shakes her head and loops her hand through Trinitys’ and rests her head on her arm.
“Where next to my liege?”, Trinity asks.
“What is with you and royal puns today?”, Baran wonders as she guides them to the gardening stalls she has left to explore for last.
“Right, about that”, Trinity grins impishly.
_
As the day winds down, Baran is resting in her properly arranged couch (which she sort of re-arranged when they got back home), and sipping on her tea. Trinity had left for the night with plans to pick them up for Azar’s archery game tomorrow. Artemis is asleep in the bed, the tiara still on her head. And Baran grins looking at the photos Trinity got from the competition. Apparently Mel shared some renfaire stuff last week and one of them was a competition for the best Royal Hound and Trinity thought it would be a hoot if little Arty was in the competition. And now there are pictures of Artemis being crowned standing between a weirded out Doberman and a confused Husky.
No wonder Trinity continued the celebrations by inviting the crew back to Baran’s. Mohan sent a video of Trinity carrying Javadi on her shoulders who in turn had Arty raised like Simba. One more of Arty in a little cape and makeup to look like blood pouncing on Dennis and he pretending to get mauled. Artemis lets out a snort in her sleep, ears twitching. Baran grins, takes a quick video and sends it Trinity.
“She is rather silly for a beast”, Baran texts her.
“I will teach her to be fierce and growl hard,” Santos says with faux sincerity.
The banter continues into the night until both of them fall asleep. Baran last thought being, ever since she met Trinity surprises to her plans tend to have a way of turning out to be some of the best days. The smile on her face stays through the night.