Chapter Text
“It’s just two years, Baran.” Trinity was sitting at the breakfast bar, holding the envelope in her hands, still unopened, that would rearrange their lives for an amount of time that made her feel dizzy. Her soulmate was pacing back and forth in the kitchen.
Baran's hands flew up, rubbing at her temples, “That’s assuming-“
She took a deep breath, trying to be the calm one, trying to understand what was at the root of her girlfriend's worries. “That I can get a job near Pittsburgh after my fellowship, I know. I will. Dr Okafor at Presby would love to hire me, and Fukimura told me I was her favorite once.”
Her soulmate's eyes were downcast, her voice was far away, “A lot can happen in two years, azizam.”
Trinity scowled, the meaning behind the phrase not quite connecting to her, “I know, but it’s not that far a drive from Baltimore, I’ll be home when I can.”
The older woman fidgeted with her thumb ring, “It's 4 hours without traffic, I don’t like my drooling idiot driving tired.”
The pet name had never lost it's ability to make Trinity smile.
“And I don’t like being away from my two favorite people, Lululemon. I’ll fly if I have to.” She ripped open the envelope and withdrew the documents. Managing her excitement as she saw the confirmation that she'd been accepted for the highly competitive fellowship.
“I just,” she could hear the way the love of her life struggled to assemble the sentence. “I’ll miss you, but I don’t want to hold you back.”
That sentence, that shaky delivery settled any doubts she’d ever had about the little box she kept hidden at the bottom of the box of her old gymnastics trophies. She was already sketching plans in the back of her mind, while she answered “You’ve never held me back, mahal, not once.”
-
The next few weeks had been occupied with frantic activity. Finding an apartment in Baltimore had been a challenge in itself, there was furniture to thrift, clothes and books to pack. Trinity could see that Baran was stressed, trying to sublimate her nerves into planning, but something was clearly eating away at her.
They were mattress shopping when Baran's attempt at emotional self-regulation, or more accurately, repression failed. Trinity had initially wanted to just get the cheapest mattress she could find, but when she'd tried to lay on it, she'd realized that years of Baran's expensive mattress, thousands of hours hunched over medical journals and charts, and her early thirties were catching up to her spine and she needed something actually good if she was going to survive her fellowship.
"You hate flying. It's expensive, it's frustrating, it's bad for the environment, and it always fucks with your knee." Her soulmate was chewing her thumbnail, shoulders hunched while she watched Trinity stand from the mattress she'd just tried.
She knew this was not about air travel. "You're not wrong. Flying sucks."
"Every time you do it you're miserable for half a day afterwards at least. Off your feet icing your knee."
She sighed, "that's true."
"So you can't just fly back to Pittsburgh every time you've got a few days off in a row. That's not sensible." Her arms crossed in front of her chest.
The mattress salesperson sensed the tension between the two of them. "I'll just give you two some time to think, I'll be back in a little bit." Some part of Trinity almost laughed at the awkward moment.
"Whether it's sensible or not, I'm going to want to be with you, lululemon."
"I won't let you hurt yourself like that." Baran's voice was clipped, tight.
The phrase landed wrong in Trinity's ears. "Excuse me?"
"I didn't mean, I'm sorry-"
Trinity felt her voice creeping up, "Damn right you didn't. You know how hard I've worked."
"I just don't want-"
She held up a hand, her eyes cold as she met her soulmate's. She took a deep breath, counted to five, calmed her voice. "I can't do this right now, Baran."
Worry, bordering on fear clouded her girlfriend's face, "Azizam, I'm so sorry, I really am, I'm just-"
Staying calm, keeping her voice level was a strain, her voice came out clipped, "We'll talk about it later. Not right now."
"But-"
"Heavy, Baran." She bit the words out hard. Taking every ounce of strength to prevent a spiral.
Her soulmate stilled. Trinity saw recognition flare in her eyes, understanding the word and it's cold delivery for the meaning it hadn't needed for almost two years.
After a long moment, Baran spoke again, her voice low and gentle, sad. "Do you want me to stay? I can just wait in the car."
Trinity wordlessly reached out a hand towards her girlfriend, taking her hand, holding it tight. "Stay?"
Baran nodded, stayed.
Trinity led the two back to a mattress she had tried earlier, waved vaguely in the salesperson's direction. When the employee arrived, she completed the transaction with as little speech as possible, arranged the delivery.
When they reached the car, still hand in hand, Trinity frowned, let go. "Will you drive? I know we were planning to do other stuff today, but can we just go home?"
"Of course."
At home, Trinity did not settle into her usual spot on the couch, opting instead for the plush armchair, a clear and unambiguous signal. "Two years, Baran. Two years, two months and ten days."
"I know, Trinity."
"I know you do. So why did you say that?"
"I wasn't thinking, it came out wrong."
"That's what concerns me, mahal. You're always thinking, always careful, so careful. So, what happened?"
Baran's voice wavered, "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. How can I help you, what do you need?"
She kept her voice even, every word slow and careful, "What does Emery always say in group, lululemon? This thing only works when we talk to each other. I'm managing, it's noisy, but I'm managing. What I need is to know why it happened, and I know you, I know you have a pretty good idea of that, and I need to know what that is."
"I'm scared, Trinity. So much. All the time. Of losing you. Of not being there for you, when you need me. Of growing apart because we're not together. Of something happening to you. Two years is so much fucking time, and I'm so fucking scared."
"I love you so much, Baran. You are my home. It's not going to be two years, I'm going to come back as often as I possibly can."
"But flying is so hard on you, and driving tired is so dangerous, what if something happens?"
"I'll take the train."
Baran blinked at her, caught off guard, "The train?"
"The hours are weird, It'll take longer than driving, it's not convenient."
"Then why?"
"We both get what we need if I take the train. I get you, and you don't have to worry."
"You've thought about this."
"I've got the app on my phone. Ready to buy tickets once I actually have a fellowship schedule. I'm serious about this, babe."
"I'm still worried. Not about the train. About distance, time, about losing us."
"I know. That's why we have to talk about it, when we worry, when we need reassurance, we have to talk to each other."
Baran nodded, from her seat on the couch. "You're right. I'm sorry, I should have-"
Trinity's face split into a wicked grin, "Hmm, what's that, I can't hear your apology from over there, why don't you come sit on my lap where I can hear you better."
Her girlfriend rolled her eyes, smiled softly, and followed the suggestion.
'Soon,' Trinity thought to herself, 'so soon I'm going to show you exactly how serious I am.'
-
The lease started in June, giving her a month to get moved in before the fellowship actually started. Halfway through the month, they were caravanning down, Trinity driving the U-Haul with the last of her large items, Baran following behind in Trinity's car. They'd get everything unloaded, and take the train back to Pittsburgh together, to spend the last handful of days together they could. Of course, there was a part of the plan that Baran had yet to be filled in on, which had Trinity making a few furtive phone calls and sending surreptitious texts every time they stopped to stretch their legs, or to refuel their vehicles or bodies.
They spent the afternoon, and the next day unloading, and moving Trinity in. Trinity tried to insist that she’d have plenty of time to assemble the flatpacked furniture, to unpack the cardboard boxes, to sort her clothing and shelve her books, and all those mundane tasks when she was living here alone with nothing to keep her busy but work, studying, trash tv, and nature documentaries. She tried at several points to distract her soulmate with such propositions as ‘testing the furniture’ or the offer of a less than chaste massage as thanks for the hard work, but to her dismay, the older woman was frustratingly task oriented.
On the second night, the pair were hungrily tearing through a pizza, physically exhausted, but proud of the work done. The apartment was practically completely moved into, a fact that Trinity felt conflicted about. On the one hand, it looked nice, it was organized, maybe even in a way she might be able keep up on her own. On the other, she'd been counting on having boxes to unpack as a way of keeping herself occupied and from dwelling on her thoughts, for at least a month or two, when she was alone at the apartment that would never really feel like home. She tried to shake the thoughts off, she'd deal with the months alone when the time came. She had something much more important to deal with right now.
She picked up her phone, checking if any of her co-conspirators had any updates for her, Baran frowned, "everything okay?"
"Hmm?"
"You've been checking your phone a lot today."
"Sorry, just, checking on something."
"Trinity..."
Baran looked worried, so she offered a carefully incomplete answer. "Okay okay. Some of our friends are putting together a little party tomorrow after we get home. I had wanted to surprise you, I didn't want to make you worry."
"Hmm. Well, I suppose that sounds nice." There was suspicion in her soulmate's voice, she probably knew that Trinity wasn't being entirely forthcoming, but she seemed willing to let it go at least for now.
"It'll be nice I promise. We can just make an appearance and bail if you're worn out after the train ride." She tried not to think about how awkward it would be if they were barely at a party in their honor, but, that was a problem for future Trinity to deal with.
"If you say so, azizam." Her soulmate stood and started to gather up the trash from dinner. "We should clean up and get to bed, we've got an early morning and a long day tomorrow."
"You're not upset, are you lululemon?" Trinity bit the inside of her cheek.
"I love you Trinity. I'm just tired, I'm worried. I feel like I'm already missing you, I'm scared of losing us." The fragile tone was nearly enough to bring her to tears.
"Yeah, let's go to bed, baby. I'll hold you, okay?"
-
Trinity snapped awake with her alarm, downing an energy drink, and starting toast before her girlfriend had even stood from bed. "How you doing, MILF? Breakfast will be ready in 10, and we need to leave for the station in 45."
Baran was leaning in the doorframe, dressed in yoga pants and matching jacket, running a hand down her face. "Since when are you so lively this early?"
Truthfully, Trinity hadn't gotten much sleep last night, she was experiencing a potent cocktail of anxiety and excitement. "I'm just getting myself used to this schedule, I'm gonna be catching this early train pretty often. So I need to adapt." She flashed her best smile, as she plated toast, avocado, and runny fried eggs.
Her soulmate smiled back. “Is that so?”
-
They finished breakfast, grabbed their bags, and made their way to the train station, in the grey predawn light. Baran procured herself a hot tea and Trinity an iced coffee while they waited for their train. Trinity wrapped an arm around her girlfriend’s waist as they found a bench.
The train eventually arrived, and the long ride home began. Baran working on her crosswords, Trinity opting for an audiobook, not wanting to experiment with the potent mixture of reading related motion sickness and with her dyslexia, especially when she was already nervous, she’d save the print materials she wanted to review for when she was no longer in motion.
Halfway through the trip, she got the last message she was waiting on. Two from Yolanda. One photo, one text.
Yo-Yo: All set up, don’t screw this up Santos.
“Everything alright, my love?” Baran looked up from her crossword.
“Everything’s perfect.” She smiled, and tucked the phone back into her pocket.
-
Nearly twelve hours after she woke up this morning, the pair were standing outside their home. Trinity made a show of patting her pockets, "Babe, do you have your keys handy? I think mine are at the bottom of my backpack," knowing full well that her house key was currently on Yolanda's person, with the intention that it would be returned to her at Jezebel's this evening.
Baran rolled her eyes affectionately, produced her keys, unlocking their condo and swinging open the door, stepping inside and stopping short, her voice a faint gasp, "Trinity? What's all this?"
Trinity Santos thanked God, or some equivalent, for Yolanda Garcia, Samira Mohan, and Princess de la Cruz. The scene was perfect. Dozens of electric candles flickering on every surface, bouquets of flowers in vases intentionally distributed around the living room. In the center, a small table, a crisp white table cloth, and placed on it a few cherished memories.
A silver and green centerpiece from the first birthday party that Baran had thrown her.
A vase with a dozen carefully dried roses, the same ones Baran had given her on their first Valentines together.
The mother's day card that Cyrus had given Trinity last year, unprompted, a hand drawn dromiciomimus appearing inside above his name.
Half a dozen other tiny memories of the life they'd already come to share together, had built together.
Baran turned to face her, reverently, "Trinity, really-"
The words stilled in her throat at the sight. While the table in front of her had been sentimental, a collection of confused and heartfelt emotions, the opposite vision, Trinity Santos, on one knee, velvet jewelry box in hand, was breathtaking.
"Baran Al-Hashimi, you are my soulmate, my home, the love of my life. My second favorite person, my MILF in lululemon, my reason. You brighten my life every day, and I choose you, today, every day, forever. I never want you to doubt, that I am in this with you, for you, because of you, for a single day of the rest of our lives. I know that spending time apart is going to be hard, so I want to give you this ring, this promise, this oath, that I am with you, that I am here for you, that I am choosing you. Baran, mahal, will you do me the unimaginable honor of letting me marry you?"
The velvet box opened, holding two rings inside. The first, a delicate gold band, with four lab grown diamonds, the largest a perfect raindrop, haloed with three delicate round stones, all glittering warmly in the faux-candlelight. The second, seafoam green silicone, simple, practical, something that could be worn under nitrile gloves, would stand up to the wear and tear of a doctor's hands on shift.
"Trinity Santos, my pretty, stubborn, drooling idiot. Why are you on your bad knee? Of course I'll marry you. Now stand up and kiss me, before your joint spasms."
Trinity was perfectly happy to oblige.
As their lips broke apart, her soulmate smiled, "So this 'party' our friends supposedly wanted to plan for tonight, I take it that's to celebrate, and you planned it, and I'm the last to know about all this?"
"Guilty as charged." She rested her forehead against her fiancé's and grinned,
"And the constant checking your phone, that was you organizing all that, all this?" She gestured around the room.
"I wanted it to be special." She gave her a peck on the lips.
"Who set this up?"
"Yolanda, Samira, and Princess."
"You're ridiculous. You're lucky I love you."
"So incredibly lucky."
-
As the couple walked into Jezebel's, greeted by screaming cheers from their friends. Baran flashed the ring, beaming.
Huckleberry slammed into her, hugging her hard. "You have no idea how hard it's gonna be working for her without you, Trin."
"Hey, that's my fiancé you're talking about, as far as I'm concerned she's a perfect angel who can do no wrong, so whatever it is, it's your fault." She smirked into his shoulder.
"Hurtful."
"I'll try to go easy on you, Dennis. I know you'll miss her almost as much as I will." The soon to be R4 ducked his head and smiled, wandering off in search of a fresh drink.
~
Yolanda found them next, handing over jangling metal to the younger of the pair, "Your keys, Trinity."
"Thanks, Yo-yo. It was perfect."
"I'm always perfect." Trinity rolled her eyes.
"You say that, but I thought you said you'd introduce us to the famous Selene tonight."
Yolanda flushed at the mention of the girlfriend she hadn't let her friends meet quite yet, "Her sister went into labor two hours ago, so she's at Presby L&D right now, instead of her meeting you two, and I'm meeting her family after this."
"Well, you'll just have to bring her over for dinner this week. There's no way I'm going back to Baltimore without meeting the woman who marked Yolanda Garcia."
"Deal, but only if she's cooking." The surgeon gestured towards Baran.
Lightly indignant, she fired back, "I thought you liked my cooking!"
"No comment." The surgeon flashed a grin, and drifted off to find something to drink, the delicate glyphs on her calves barely visible in the dim bar lights.
~
The soulmates found their way to a booth, Baran cuddling into Trinity’s side, as they nursed their drinks, and before long they were joined by another pair sitting across from them.
“Told you she’d say yes.”
“Hi Princess, Perlah.” Trinity smiled at the two women who’d all but adopted her.
Baran rolled her eyes, “please tell me there wasn’t a betting board on whether I’d say yes.”
Perlah laughed, “don’t worry, no one would have taken the long odds on that one. Now, when she'd pop the question on the other hand..."
Trinity blinked, "you're kidding."
Baran kissed her cheek and grinned, "Oh, you have to tell me who won that one."
Perlah smirked, as grabbed her wife's waist, and kissed behind her ear. "Is it really any surprise my wife called it?"
"She helped me plan it!" Trinity gaped in amazement, "She's suggested the date!"
Princess smiled, leaning into her wife's soft kisses, "you can thank me when we spend most of it on your wedding present. Now, if you'll excuse us, I think Perlah would like to get out of here, get me home. Romantic gestures always put her in a mood. But you two are coming over for dinner at least once more before before you leave, Trinity.”
The couple scooted out of the booth and swiftly made for the door, hands wrapped around each other’s waists.
~
Next to congratulate them was another pair of soulmates, who’s support had helped the couple immensely.
“Baran! You would not believe how hard it was not to tell you about this.” Samira was smiling wide as she and Emery slid into the booth.
“My fiancée mentioned you helped decorate, and you still didn’t tell me? I thought we were friends, Mira.” Mock severity barely disguising the giggle in Baran’s voice.
“She made me swear!” She laughed, nudging her wife.
“Proposals are serious business, babe.” Emery flashed a wicked grin, “Santos deserved to have her moment, it took her long enough to get here.”
“Hey! I bet you’re just mad you both lost the bet.” Trinity fired back.
“You would be too, if you knew how much was in the pot, and how much Emery is spending on the twins’ hockey fees.” Samira laughed.
The surgeon beamed with parental pride, “They’re gonna go pro, Mira, it’s worth it.”
“They’re 7, Em.” Samira rolled her eyes fondly.
Emery blushed, seemingly remembering that they were in public, “You know, I’m really happy I was wrong about you two.”
Samira smiled, “for the record, I believed in you both from the beginning.”
“That’s because you’re a sap, baby.”
“Thank you both, you two, and group helped us both a lot.” Baran smiled softly.
“You know, speaking of soulmates, have you two met Selene yet? Yoyo said she’d be here tonight, but her sister just had to go into labor, at Presby I might add.” Trinity prodded.
“We uh, met her yesterday, while you two were still in Baltimore.” Samira frowned. “She’s great, they’re great together.”
“I swear it’s like she’s trying to hide her from me, is she weird or something?” She pouted.
“You’re one of her closest friends, Trinity. She wants your approval.” Samira smiled softly, resting her head on Emery’s shoulder.
“Well, she better introduce me to her soon then, or she won't get it..”
Emery laughed. “We’ll see you two for trivia next week, still right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world." Baran smiled.
Samira whispered something into her wife's ear, and Emery jolted to attention. "You two enjoy your night, I think we might head home early. To get some rest." Though something in the surgeon's tone suggested it might not be the prospect of rest that was motivating their hasty departure.
~
Trinity was at the bar, waiting for drinks, when Emma sidled up next to her.
"I'm really happy for you Trinity!" The girl squeaked.
"Thanks, Emma, it's still a little surreal."
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking about asking her for so long, planning this, being on the other side of it is, hard to describe."
"So how'd you do it?"
"Oh, did you not hear the story? Yolanda, Samira and Princess set it all up while we were-"
"No, I mean." The younger girl chewed on her lip, "How'd you work up the nerve? How'd you pick a ring? How'd you know it was the right thing for you two?"
"Oh. You're thinking about it, huh?"
"It feels ridiculous. She's had this whole life before me. Does she even want to get married again? Plus like, her kids don't exactly love that she's with me, and all, it's getting better, but..."
"You've gotta talk to her about that, about whether it's right for you two, if that's what you want. I can't answer that for you. The ring? The nerve? That we can talk about."
"Yeah okay."
The two of them got their drinks and grinned, realizing that Dana had slid into the booth across from Baran, patting the seat next to her for Emma. “Hey, kid, I was just telling your girl here how much of a pain in everyone’s ass you were before she showed up.”
“Surely she’s heard all those stories by now Dana, you didn’t know me for all that long, pre-Baran.”
“Maybe so, but I’m an old lady, I’m allowed to repeat myself if I want.”
Emma nuzzled into her soulmate’s neck, “you’re not that old, baby.”
Dana flushed, Trinity grinned, “Baby, is it now?”
“Shut it, Santos. Here I was about to tell you how proud I was of how far you’ve come.”
“Yeah, this one deserves most of the credit for that.” She patted Baran’s thigh affectionately.
“You worked plenty hard, kid, always had it in you, you just needed a reason. How’s it feel?”
Trinity’s eyes flicked to the ring on her beloved’s finger, then up to meet Emma’s, “It’s amazing. It wasn’t easy, honestly, it was pretty terrifying, but pushing through, deciding to be brave, best decision I ever made.”
There was a faraway glimmer in Emma’s expression, as the couple stood, drifting off to find some quiet corner to dance in together, leaving Baran and Trinity to enjoy their drinks.
~
Cassie had pulled Baran aside on her way back from the bathroom, Trinity saw them across the bar, the redhead pulling her soulmate into a tight hug, before the two made their way back to the booth where Trinity was picking at a plate of nachos.
"Santos," the eldest of the three nodded at her, tipping her can of sparkling water in greeting.
"McKay," the youngest smiled, and slid the plate of nachos across the table.
Baran shook her head and laughed. “I’m sorry Nina couldn’t make it tonight, Cassie.”
“She’s at an educator’s conference up in Boston. I had meant to go with her, but the last month of my fellowship has just been so busy, you know? I have barely been able to string together a long weekend all year, much less a week.” Cassie was hungrily munching away at the nachos, no doubt having hardly eaten during her shift as an Addiction Medicine fellow at the university hospital.
"Yes, I remember my fellowship, a busy time, hardly had time for anything." Baran pointedly looked at Trinity.
"Thanks, Cass. We'll make it work, lululemon." Trinity frowned, taking a pull from her beer.
"Oh shit, uh, I didn't mean you two. You two are solid." the graduating fellow shoved more nachos into her mouth, presumably to prevent herself from shoving her foot further into it.
Baran smiled, leaning onto her shoulder, "I know we will, babe, I just think you're overconfident about scheduling."
"Trinity Santos? Overconfident? I've never heard such a thing," the redhead smirked.
"Hey, I usually deliver." She snarked back, but there was no heat in it.
Baran kissed her check, "you deliver plenty, my drooling idiot."
Cassie cleared her throat, "anyway, Nina sends her congratulations, and thanks again for having us over for dinner last week."
Trinity grinned, "she can congratulate us with the recipe for that plum cake she made."
"I'll tell her, I think she found it online, I'm sure she'll be happy to pass it on," her eyes lingered on Baran's ring, and leaned across the table towards Trinity, her voice dropping to a whisper, "and uh, any chance you'd pass me the name of your jeweler?"
Baran's eyebrows shot up, "oh?"
Cassie smirked, standing up from the booth, "just thinking."
~
The night was dragging gently along, the assembled crowd beginning to thin, she and Baran were on the dance floor, swaying gently to a slow song, holding each other close, when a shoulder knocked into hers.
"Hey, loser," the voice was low, friendly, dripping with familiar sarcasm.
"Sup, Crash?" she nodded minutely in greeting,
"Oh, you know. Some dumb party because my best friend finally got off her ass and popped the question to her girlfriend or whatever. You?" Baran snorted.
"Yeah, you know, slow-dancing with some MILF next to a weirdo and some baddie who's way too good for her." Chantana cackled.
The song ended, and the two couples drifted towards a table to talk.
"You really did it, Trin." The psych resident was grinning brightly in the colorful light near the dance floor.
"Told you I would."
"I'd have been pissed if you hadn't, we had way too many conversations about that ring for you not to give it to her."
The younger girl's girlfriend, who had been gazing dreamily at the twinkling cluster of stones on Baran's left hand jerked upright. "You helped pick it out?"
"No, Chantana, she helped me design it." Trinity's grin was catlike, mischievous.
"Oh, really? I didn't know you knew so much about engagement rings, baby," there was a probing quality in her voice.
"Uh, I mean, I just have an eye for design, and for telling Trinity when she's being ridiculous, which is all the time." Victoria was gnawing on her lip.
"Don't be modest Vic, you're the one who found the jeweler that takes custom designs and works with lab grown stones. You did so much research!"
Baran smiled, "it really is the perfect ring, thank you for helping her, Victoria. I'm sure she'd be happy to return the favor if you're doing any," she paused for effect, "jewelry shopping."
Victoria buried her face in her hands, in a vain attempt to conceal the flush to her cheeks.
Trinity kissed her fiancée on the cheek, "Oh absolutely, any time Crash."
As another slow song came on, Chantana took Victoria's hand, standing her up from the chair, "If you'll excuse us, ladies, I'd like to have this dance."
~
They'd spoken to all their friends, danced, laughed, smiled, everything Trinity had hoped for. Baran hugged her close, "ready to head home, azizam?"
"Yeah, let's." Trinity and her fiancée moved to leave, arm in arm, making for Baran's car.
Outside the door, Dennis was leaning against the wall, gazing absentmindedly at his phone.
"Hey, Huckleberry, you good?" She sounded concerned.
"Yeah, just, thinking about, you know, change. Amy had to sell the farm, you two are engaged, you're leaving for Baltimore, by the time your fellowship is done, I'll be somewhere else, working on mine, and who knows where I'll wind up after you know?" He let out a sigh.
"We'll always be happy to see you, Dennis. Amy and Theo too, I know the farm is gone, but she's still here." Baran offered.
He shrugged, "I'm hoping to wind up in Erie, but..." he shrugged, "it's still in the air, you know."
"You're like a brother to me, Huck. We may be apart, but, well..." she bumped her shoulder against his, "you'll always be family."
He leaned against her, "you too, Trin. You too."
"Plus, I'm gonna be back to harass you all the time, you're not getting rid of me that easy."
"And I'm still your boss for another year, and you told Cyrus you'd take him camping." Baran placed an affectionate hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Huck, you want a ride home? No need for you to call a cab." She punched him in the shoulder.
He smiled, punched her back, and followed them to the Subaru.
~
The soulmates had been exhausted when they had made it home, falling asleep in each other’s arms the moment their heads had landed on pillows. Entirely too few hours later, the unfeeling circuits of Baran’s alarm clock activated an unfairly loud speaker, propelling the pair to wakefulness on the first day of the rest of their lives.
"Already?" Baran groaned.
"I'm afraid so." Trinity took a deep breath of her girlfriend fiancée's curly hair, the scent of orange and mint lingering from her shampoo. She rolled slightly, reaching to snooze the alarm. "Maybe a few more minutes."
Her soulmate sighed contentedly, "do you feel it?"
The younger woman, eyes closed, gently ran her thumb across the glyphs on her beloved's chest, the slight differences in skin texture so familiar after hundreds of mornings just like this one, "we're engaged, I'm going to marry you, you're stuck with me forever. Of course I feel it."
She felt her beloved's back press into her chest, "hmm, I suppose I did say yes. I guess I'll keep you, but you're making breakfast this morning, for keeping me out so late last night."
Trinity pressed a kiss just below Baran's ear, "You got it baby-"
"Good breakfast, No oatmeal or avocado toast either, I want an omelet and those breakfast potatoes you say are for special occasions." the mock indignation in her voice settled into something tender, reverent, "Today counts."
"So demanding," she laughed gently, "but before I get out of our bed, you'll have to do one thing for me."
"Oh? What's that?" an eager tone sneaking in to her voice.
Trinity adjusted her hand slightly, the one idly tracing the marks she'd made almost three full years ago, gently twisting her wrist in Baran's grip. "You'll have to let go of my arm, I kind of need it to cook."