Chapter Text
Sage Woods carefully closed the car door while holding the dish she had brought to the Hafeez Thanksgiving dinner and, to all effects, she wasn't freaking out.
Sure, they had been dating for only a month now but had known each other for almost three years now. She had mentioned Arman - her boyfriend - to her mom before they started dating. If she brought him home, her mother would welcome him with her arms, cautiously, open. But she would trust Sage's judgment on this: having friends, having a boyfriend, moving on.
Even before Sage knew she would start to like Arman, he had been one of the topics she brought up with her mom, so, Arman must have done the same with his family. She wouldn't be a complete stranger to them on this, deeply familiar reunion. So nothing to worry about.
Except that they've been dating for only a month, that her last relationship had been with the love of her life who had left this world too soon because his cancer came back, and that, of course, Thanksgiving was also the celebration of Farah, Arman's little sister, remission.
So no reason to be nervous, at all.
Walking to the front porch, Sage contemplated the life choices that brought her to this moment.
_______
Sage was lying on her with Arman beside her. They were both studying for their respective assignments of the week.
It had been a cold day, and they were both too lazy and comfy on her bed to even pretend they would go to the library. Paige had let them have the room to "enjoy the honeymoon phase of their relationship" as she said, so they both put the peace and quiet they had to good use.
Sage was lying on her stomach, reading one of the books of her syllabus on dramatic literature, while Arman watched an online lecture on his laptop, typing his notes.
Arman was wearing his earplugs, so the only sounds that filled the room were his rhythmic taps on the keyboard, and the ruffling of Sage's book. Between the paragraphs, Sage sneaked some glances at her boyfriend - feeling giddy at using the word - and watched his concentrated frown, before going back to her reading, smiling when the typing stopped, and she felt the warm hand absently roaming through her back. It was comfortable, and it warmed Sage's heart when her brain caught up with the domesticity of the scene.
They stayed like that for a few hours, until Arman let out a groan, closing his laptop and letting his head fall on top of her back. "Finally." Sage closed her book, and turned on the bed, now lying on her back, readjusting Arman's face to rest against her stomach. "Uhm... This is good. Please, let me lie here until the term is over."
"I thought you had time to turn this essay." She said, caressing his dark wave of hair, making Arman almost purr, and Sage felt it vibrating against her skin.
"I have to turn in this until Thanksgiving, but the sooner I finished it, the better. Mom would stress me out way more if I had school work during her preparation of 'the perfect Thanksgiving'" He air quoted the last part and Sage smiled at him. Thanksgiving was a big deal at the Hafeez household. She remembered how, last year, Arman had been constantly on call for his mom's requests. From recipes, she wanted to share, to the errands she sent him. More than once, they had been together when Mrs. Hafeez called Arman to make sure they were ready for the perfect dinner.
Arman had explained to Sage once that Farah's remission anniversary was around that time of the year, so his mom would use it as an excuse to go all out on her preparations for the holiday. Even Farah had called her out on that, but she ignored them and continued to force her family to follow her rhythm.
When Sage first heard this, she laughed, and thought that Arman mom's sounded like an awesome person she would love to meet.
Now, she still thinks that his mom is awesome, but Sage is less enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting the woman, now that she is the new girlfriend.
"I just want to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, before she leaves for the other side of the country. Now our memories are going to be tarnished with me cramming all of this." He sighed rubbing his face on her stomach, making her tank top rile up. Arman looked up at her, resting his chin on her now exposed skin, and gave her one of his blindingly warm smiles. She mentally rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She had only agreed to date him a few weeks ago, but they had been already so close, she almost forgot they hadn't been dating for long. Only when he looked at her like this, love-struck written all over his features, was she reminded that things now were different between them. And that was a good thing.
"You say it like you don't have everything under control! You always say this, but every time things turn out alright" She continued to massage his scalp, with soft eyes bored into his. "And I don't mind it. I like your company, even when we have all of this." Sage gestured to the general direction of their works. She could feel the heat going up on her face, the blush hidden by her dark complexion. She smiled at the man "Every second with you is quality time."
Arman's brain took a few seconds to catch up with her words. In a single movement, his body went up and his lips were pressing against Sage's soft ones. She could feel his smile on the kiss and had to suppress her own. One hand gently held his face close and the other grabbed the hem of his shirt, grounding her on the moment, on the feeling of him against her.
The kiss was candid and gentle, they stayed like this for what had felt like hours, and not enough time at all. At some point Arman's arms had gotten tired of supporting his weight on top of her, so they changed position, both of them were sitting on her bed, Sage had fitted herself in the space between Arman's legs and they continued the make-out session until their lips were aching and swollen from the kisses they shared. Now he was resting against her bedframe holding her back close to him, deeply inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo. Sage sighed happily, a few months ago this type of happiness had been completely out of her reach. Now, she had it all.
"Maybe we could do something for Thanksgiving too. Just the two of us."
"I thought you were going back to Boston?" He asked.
"I was, but things are a little... erratic, back home. Mom is dealing with a lot now that the hospital is under new management. There is a new board of directors and the old Chief of Surgery is..." Sage let out a tired breath. "From what she told me, a lot is going on in Edenbrook right now and mom probably won't even be at home for Thanksgiving. Amy and Mateo are going to travel with their families. So they won't be there either."
"What about Lennox?"
Sage laughed. "If I came back home all alone for Thanksgiving, she would call me a loser, but probably would spend the holiday with me, or drag me to her family dinner, but I don't want to intrude. She says she hates it, but I think she misses them a lot now that she is away from them, traveling across the world being a top star athlete." Sage rolled her eyes. "You know, being her usual insufferable self."
Arman hummed his agreement, kissing the top of her short fro, before turning unusually quiet. "What's wrong?"
"I was thinking..." Sage could feel the anxiety on Arman's voice, even if he tried to downplay it. "Since you are going to be here for the holidays, do you want to go home with me? My sister and her friends decided to rent a beach house for a luau on Saturday, so mom put me as the responsible adult. You could come with me, it would be fun having you with me instead of a round of kids."
Sage looked at Arman. This wasn't about watching his sister, of course. It was about meeting his family. Being with him for the important moments. Celebrating with them Farah's recovery. Being introduced as his girlfriend. Telling them they were serious.
Like usual, Arman was giving her an out, as if saying "it's okay if we are not ready for this yet, it doesn't have to be a big deal", true to his everlasting promise, Sage had always been the one to set the pace of their relationship. He wanted her to be ready, and he would let it go, if she asked him to, without ever putting her on the spot or blaming her.
But yet, Sage could see in his eyes, this was important to him. His family was important to him, and he wanted them to be a part of this new happy moment of his life. She could see the nervousness in his eyes, waiting for her answer.
She also could also see something else. The same spark he had in his eyes since the night they first met: Hope. Hope on her, that she would be ready to take the next step, hope on them. Sage was unable to look away from those big dark hopeful eyes, as she was to turn them down. She gave him a shy smile.
"I would love to go with you.
___________
That had happened weeks ago, for the current timeline, Sage's desire was to bolt back to her car and run away. Maybe leave the pumpkin bread at the doorstep as an offering. But yeah, running looked like a good option right now. Consequences? We can deal with them later, no need to think about them now.
Her thoughts were spiraling out of control inside her head when the front door opened, taking her out of it. Looking like his charming self he opened the door with his phone on hand. She had texted him telling him she was down the street, he probably had gone out to wait for her at the entrance. Her heart filled with affection. When his eyes laid upon her figure, they lightened up like Christmas lights.
Sage had only the time to take her dish out of the way before Arman engulfed her in a bear-like hug, pulling her closer as he could. Sage closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the pleasant warmth. He smelled good.
When he let her go, he only pulled away enough to watch her face, still holding her waist close to him. He had one of his handsome smiles, but yet, it was different, lighter, happier, content, like everything, was where it was supposed to be. She couldn't help but smile back, she knew this feeling way too well.
"Hey." He said in a breathy voice watching her as if she was the most beautiful thing he had laid his eyes upon. Mentally she thanked Paige for helping her put together the best outfit for meeting Arman's parents." "You look, wow... You are so beautiful."
"Thanks" Sage let out a burst of small nervous laughter. "I hope this is enough to hide how much I'm freaking out right now." Arman took both of his hands and gently held her face between them, making sure she was watching his face. Sage realized he had shaved.
"There is no reason to be nervous, love." She could feel her heart skip a beat at his words. "They are going to love you. Because you make me happy. They are going to be happy for us, okay?" Sage could see the confidence, the care, and the trust he had in her. Sage nodded.
"Okay." Sage said back to him nodding to herself and letting out the last of her shaky breaths. "I'm ready."
Arman smiled at her and brought his lips down to hers in what was supposed to be a comforting kiss, but Sage craved for something to ground her, guide her through all of this emotional turmoil, so she holds him close by his shirt and invited him to deepen the kiss.
Arman gladly took up on her offer, turning the gentle, soft touch he had on her into something needier yet offering. Taking what she would give, but offering everything she needed. The time, the place, the reasons, nothing mattered in the world now beyond them and the now.
"I think he went to pick up our guest of honor." A voice came from inside the open door, coming closer to them, before a sudden sounding stop. "Oh, dear!"
Sage and Arman let go of each other at an almost comical speed. Turning to face the house at the same time. Watching them from the house entrance was an older woman, probably in her late 30's, she wore a lilac blazer that made Sage think of Sunday masses. On the other hand, her expression was so knowing, Sage felt the impetus of hiding in Arman's chest for the rest of her stay there, and never look up again. He had a nice chest, so it would be probably easy.
Things got worse when the man came behind the woman and watched them both with raised eyebrows. "Well, I think he found her alright." He let out a chuckling from his chest that was very similar to the way Arman laughed. The man loudly whispered to his wife. "Do you think they know we are here?"
"Let the kids, Kadhim!" The woman exclaimed to her husband lightly swatting his arm to which the man only laughed again. "Let's go back inside first. They will come shortly after, I am sure."
Mortified as she already was, Sage made the mistake of thinking it was impossible to get worse when another voice, probably Farah's, came from the house. "Why is everyone on the porch?"
Sage groaned against Arman's chest, and he only laughed at this.
"Well," He said in a lighthearted voice. "It could have gone worse." Arman laughed tightening his grip around her when she tried to punch him. God, she just wanted to make a good impression.
"Is that Sage?" Farah's asked before letting out a high-pitched scream and bolting in their direction. "Oh my God! I was so excited to meet you! He wouldn't shut up about you, at all for, like, three years." Farah pushed her brother out of the way and wrapped Sage in a bone-crushing friendly hug. After she stared Sage up and down "You are way prettier in real life! Why did you agree to date this dork? You can do so much better!"
Farah, like the rest of her family was extremely good-looking. She also had the same contagious energy her brother had but turned up to 100. Sage looked back to her boyfriend, that was rolling his eyes at his sister, holding the pumpkin bread he had taken with him when his sister pushed him out of the way. She smiled at him when she answered. "I sincerely doubt it."
The younger girl hummed approvingly. "I like you already. Come on, let's get you in, you guys can make out later, it is too cold outside."
As if on cue, Arman started to whistle the tune of "Baby is cold outside" Farah groaned. "Seriously, you could do so much better them him." She said as she promptly dragged Sage inside.
The way no one ever flinched at this, made Sage realize that this was probably the norm of their household. She tried to talk to Arman's parents when she passed them. "Mr. and Mrs. Hafeez it's really nice to-"
Mrs. Hafeez only smiled. "Don't worry darling, we will have enough time to catch on, and please, Call me Fatin."
"Oh my god, I have to show you the video I'm making you are an actress! I want your honest opinion. Wait here!" Farah announced soon as they entered the hall, running upstairs, to what Sage presumed was her room.
Just like that, Sage was inside the house. Arman's parents had retreated back to the kitchen, and Arman was picking her bag from the car. Leaving her frozen on the spot. What was she supposed to do now?
That was when she noticed the portraits on the side table. Photos of their family were spread among the decorations.
There was an older photo, of Arman's parents' wedding, making Sage even more comfortable with her statement that everyone in that family was good-looking. There were also pictures of Arman as a cute baby, Farah on her brother's lap as an infant, a picture of both of them holding hands catching shells on the beach. But one photo, in particular, caught her attention.
They were all together in a room, Farah looked like she was in middle school she was sitting on an armchair, and everyone was around her. She had brought her brother closer and was kissing his cheek. There were balloons around them and people she didn't know. Sage realized that was probably the photo of the day Farah left the hospital and started remission, the doctor and nurses were celebrating with them.
Sage's heart panged with the familiar dull ache. She had the photos of the day Mateo had left the hospital printed as well. She kept them together with most of her "Remembering Dakota" items. Their ticket to the planetary, the hard copy of Dakota's movie and the Sequel She had made with Lennox and Mateo, unnumerous pictures of them, videos of them, happy, together. She remembered celebrating all of their small victories in full display, talking about them celebrating them, posting them.
And so did the Hafeez's. Together on Thanksgiving, they celebrated the fact that she had made it. Their daughter was still here, to drive them crazy, to be a spoiled teen, a bratty little sister. Farah was still alive. They had beaten it. The victory was theirs.
Sage could feel the emotion swelling on her chest. The joy of being a part of it. Celebrating the fact that there was a kid, with her loving family, enjoying her life to the fullest, and Sage was a part of it.
She looked again at Arman in the photo. he must have been only a couple of years younger than she was when she had met Dakota. And the happiness in his eyes? She knew it too well, when she first thought Dakota would recover, her smile had been like that.
Sage was grateful that he never had to lose that on him, because Farah, his light, his family, his baby sister was still alive
A strong pair of arms hugged her shoulders and he kissed her cheek. "Hey."
"Hey" She showed him the photo she was looking at. "Your sister is beautiful"
"I know, the problem is that she knows it as well, so don't let her go over her head."
Sage laughed out loud at that and turned to face Arman. His eyes were sparkling with so much excitement, happiness, and love, his smile, was the most beautiful thing. Sage tried to remember all the details of this moment, of them of him. She wanted to kiss her again, instead, she said trying to put all of her emotions into her next words. "Thank you for bringing me here Arman."
Few times since they had known each other. had Sage seen Arman so affected by her words. He kissed her, softly as if she could break if he wasn't careful enough. His eyes were teary and his happiness barely contained, he coughed trying to mask the emotions. "So are you ready for Thanksgiving with the Hafeez?"
Absolutely not was the first thing that came through her mind, but she only smiled at him.
You know what, deep down, she knew she was. For this, and for so much more.