Chapter Text
Miranda was in her office, at her desk, reviewing a photo shoot when the newest Emily quickly entered then stood, shifting from foot to foot. It only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to Miranda. Finally, the woman spoke, so timidly it made Miranda cringe internally.
“The Ambassador and their entourage is here.”
Crossing out the photo she was examining, Miranda tossed the red marker on the desk and looked up. She removed her glasses and looked at her assistant. “I was unaware Ambassador Franklin had an appointment this morning.”
“Not him.” Emily's eyes widened and glanced out the huge window behind Miranda. “The Ambassador.”
Quietly inhaling in surprise, Miranda didn't have to turn to know what Emily was seeing outside her window. The New York skyline rarely changed much. Usually the change was a result of some catastrophe, such as the day Americans held their breath and watched the towers fall. But, six months ago the whole of humanity took a gasping breath as a multitude of ships descended on the Earth and stopped, holding themselves at various heights above the ground. In a matter of hours, every major city, and some small ones, had a watcher hovering above it. They had departed over time, one by one, and now the only one left was the largest and visible through her window. “I suppose you shouldn't keep them waiting then.”
“Yes, Miranda.” Emily left quickly and Miranda calmed herself just before several...beings, entered her office. They were similar to humans, bipedal, two arms, one head with facial features similar to humans and rather thick dark hair. One of the things that set them apart from humans was that they were tall, taller than most humans and thin with just slightly longer limbs than were proportionally correct for humans. Their skeletal structure, if they had such a thing, seemed delicate but not so much that they didn't project the sense that they could defend themselves if necessary. The uniforms of the beings she believed to be guards seemed functional and each of them had a scar on their right cheek. The robes The Ambassador wore seemed ceremonial, but the individual to their left was covered head to toe in formless fabric. The only part of this being Miranda could see were the eyes. Large, dark eyes that watched Miranda carefully from the moment they entered the office. She understood that protocol was important to them, but as they were here unannounced she decided on a few power moves of her own, one of which was to remain seated. However, she did allow The Ambassador to initiate the conversation. When they spoke, the sound made her ears itch just a little. The translator's voice wasn't much better, and Miranda resisted the urge to rub her ear when the English words were uttered.
“Thank you for seeing us on this short notice.”
“It's my pleasure. Please, sit.” Miranda gestured to the two seats in front of her desk and tilted her head to acknowledge the short notice comment. After they and their companion settled into their chairs, she spoke again. “What brings you to my office this morning, Ambassador?”
“I am told that you are the foremost authority on human fashion.”
“I am the editor-in-chief of the most respected fashion magazine in the world.” Miranda acknowledged. “That position does give me a certain amount of authority over the fashion industry.”
Again The Ambassador spoke in their own language and the translator dutifully relayed the words. “My offspring is going to participate in one of your, human, joining rituals. We believe the joining will help people, humans, understand that we are here for peaceful reasons. Bonding our two species together.” The Ambassador paused slightly to let the translator catch up then continued. “I am told that there is a significance to the...clothing, worn by participants at such an event. It is our hope, that you would be willing to craft an acceptable garment utilizing a combination of our own traditional bonding ceremony designs with ones from your culture.”
“Joining?” Miranda shifted her focus to the being seated next to The Ambassador. “Bonding.” She swallowed hard as the wide eyes visible seemed to radiate anger, terror and a certain amount of resignation. “You want me to design a wedding...” she stopped herself from saying dress, “outfit?” She glanced back at The Ambassador as the answer again made her ear itch before the translator conveyed the response.
“Yes.”
Miranda tried to quell the inexplicable stab of jealousy and refocused on the large, dark eyes that seemed even wider now. “Who, may I ask, is the human participant in this.... joining?”
“His name is Gang Chao Chen. He is from the area of your world that is labeled, China. He approached me with a serious proposition and several reasons why he should be joined to my offspring.”
“Hmmm... well he's certainly living up to his name then.” Miranda's fingertips absently brushed across her skin, from collarbone to collarbone as she tried to calm her pounding heart and thought about the meaning of the groom's name, Bold Victory. “I will do some research into the traditional ceremonial outfits of his country. Having access to the history of your own such outfits would be of great help in this endeavor.”
The Ambassador gestured to one of the 'guards' who stepped forward placing a flat device on Miranda's desk. They tapped the item, causing a projection to appear above it. The Ambassador explained the device. “This will give you access to the database on our ship. It is keyed to deliver information regarding our own 'fashion' history.”
Miranda studied the display for a moment then reached out and touched an item shown. It immediately came to the foreground of the projection and the pertinent information began to scroll next to it. The controls seemed fairly intuitive so Miranda nodded and tapped the point she believed would turn off the display. It did, and the device seemed to merely wait to be reactivated. “Thank you.”
“Will you need anything else?”
“Yes. When, and where, is the joining ceremony to take place? And how often will your offspring...” She caught the large, dark eyes again, “Sorry I don't know your name.” Miranda smiled softly, not showing any teeth. “When will you be able to confer with me?”
“He will be a representative of his country, but he has explained that he does not strictly adhere to the more traditional aspects of his ancestors. Some of his traditions will be observed, and others will not. However, the ceremony will be a mixture of our culture, this country and his and will be held here in New York. In two cycles of your moon... months.” The translator conveyed The Ambassador's confusion at the question aimed at their offspring. “Confer?”
“Of course.” Miranda's tone could have been construed as insulting. Addressing them as if The Ambassador was a child to be spoken to in simple terms, she asked. “They are the one to be wearing the item, are they not? They should most definitely have a say in what it will look like.” Miranda saw The Ambassador take a tell-tale breath as they began to speak and beat them to the punch. “It is traditional for the participants to choose their own clothing.” When no further sound was issued from them, Miranda glanced at the eyes looking at her with a bit less terror and what could possibly be considered amusement. Miranda continued. “Two months is not a lot of time. I would require at least short conferences with...” again she turned to the intended wedding participant, “...you, frequently.”
“It is problematic to travel from the ship to here.” The Ambassador made the equivalent of a sigh. “Safety requires the streets to be closed and cleared. The more often that happens the more... complaints there are.”
“Have there been threats?” Miranda knew that famous people often had concerns in that regard. Many a celebrity and some of the models had dealt with overzealous fans. She had a few of those in her own past as well. “We can put precautions in place.” Miranda reached up and rubbed her ear as The Ambassador spoke again.
“The decision for my...offspring, to be joined to a human is widely accepted among my people, it is...tradition. Of course, there are those who oppose our presence on this world in general. It is reasonable that when the joining is announced there will be some humans protesting the event.”
“I see.” Miranda nodded. The Anti-Alien protesters were extremely vocal on the news nearly every night, especially here where the last ship still hovered over the city. Miranda could imagine they would be even more vocal when the news of the wedding broke. “There are always detractors for even the best ideas.” Turning to the soon-to-be married being, Miranda asked, “How did you meet your intended partner?” The response was as shocking in its content as its clarity.
“I have not.”
Before she could stop herself, Miranda laughed and playfully accused, “You speak English!” She immediately regretted it when the large, dark eyes lowered in shame. “No offense intended.” Miranda smiled when the eyes lifted to meet hers again. “I think it's wise to keep your abilities to yourself.” Now the import of the response hit her. “What do you mean you have not? You haven't met the person you're scheduled to marry in two months?”
The Ambassador answered, via the translator. “We were told that many joining ceremonies of his people are 'arranged' by the parents.”
“Traditionally that may be true, but in this day and age it's not exactly common.” Miranda shook her head. “I would never choose someone for my daughters to marry. They will choose their partners for themselves.”
The Ambassador's offspring shifted forward, their eyes glittering. “You have offspring?!”
Miranda smiled and nodded. “Twin girls.” Reaching forward she turned the picture frame on her desk around for her visitors to see. “They are currently twelve years old, but their birthday is coming up soon. Their names are Caroline and Cassidy.” Miranda took a deep breath as a sound emanated from her young visitor. She identified it as foreign, as alien, as it was, it was still familiar. Laughter.
“That is....” The being laughed and glanced at the rest of their party. “... amazing.”
“Oh?” Miranda glanced at the others who took their cue from The Ambassador's offspring and also seemed to be chuckling. She was ready to be let in on the joke. Especially if it had to do with her daughters.
“In the pantheon of our ancient Gods there are two tricksters. I do not believe humans could pronounce their names, but they translate to Carolina and Cassandra.” The visitor reached out to gently touch the photo. “I would be greatly honored to meet your offspring.”
Now Miranda smiled, joining in the room's amusement. “Tricksters eh? That does seem to fit.” She put forth an offer. “We would be honored to have you as our guests for our evening meal tonight.”
There was no mistaking the excitement in the young visitor's voice. “It would be my honor.”
“I have an appointment for the evening meal tonight.” As the translator spoke, The Ambassador's words seemed to deflate their offspring slightly. The disappointment was noticed and The Ambassador nodded, the translator dutifully letting the human in the room follow the conversation. “However, if you wish to accept I have no objections, provided you take a security contingent with you.”
“One guard will be plenty.” the younger being assured their parent. “And they will remain outside Ms. Priestly's dwelling.”
“Four,” The Ambassador countered but conceded the stipulation, “stationed outside the dwelling so that all points of access are visible, and two drones.”
“No drones.”
The Ambassador sighed and spoke, the translator conveying their firmness on the subject. “One drone, and four guards... stationed outside.”
Miranda now found the expressive eyes turned to her and she nodded. “Acceptable.”
Nodding at the agreement, the younger being now spoke in their own language. “'Kosi, Umpathi'way.”
Miranda was interested that the translator faltered slightly when conveying the younger being's words. “Thank you... my parent.”
Happy that the arrangements were settled, Miranda informed her future guest, “You may arrive any time you wish after six pm. We normally eat our evening meal at seven o'clock.” She paused for a moment to retrieve a business card from her desk drawer. She held out the card to her future guest, not terribly surprised when one of the guards stepped forward to take it. “My home address is on the back. Do you have any dietary restrictions?”
“'Kosi...” The dark eyes crinkled at the corners as they glanced at the card the guard had handed them. “Thank you.” Then they answered the question. “Not exactly restriction, however I prefer vegetation.”
“Understood.” Miranda nodded. “Cassidy will be thrilled to have another vegetarian in the house.” She watched her soon-to-be dinner companion. “I'm sure the girls will be ecstatic to help with the outfit... not that you would have to take any of their suggestions.”
“I would welcome any input they might have.”
Chuckling at that, Miranda nodded, “You may rethink that when you hear their suggestions.” She tilted her head as she spoke. “I love my daughters, however, their taste in fashion often leaves something to be desired and the designation of 'trickster' may not be far off the mark.”
Dark eyes twinkled as the young visitor stood, along with their parent and the rest of the entourage. “Understood.”
Miranda rose from her seat as well. “I will see you tonight then.”
The Ambassador bowed slightly. “Thank you for your help in this matter.” They began to leave, filing out after two of the guards, the translator followed behind them.
The young being also bowed, “I look forward to tonight.”
Nodding, Miranda agreed. “As do I.” She watched as they left her office, followed by the last two guards. When they were all gone, Miranda shook her head and sat back down. “Emily.” In less than three seconds her assistant was standing in front of her desk.
“Yes, Miranda?”
“Pull the design meeting up to two. Rearrange my afternoon. Push everything you can to Monday.” She waved her hands over the computer screen that held her schedule. “I want to leave by five.”
Emily blinked then nodded once. “Yes, Miranda.” She was just happy that this was a weekend the girls were with Miranda, which meant nothing needed to be rescheduled for tomorrow or Sunday. She cringed a bit thinking about how packed and crazy Monday was going to be. Shifting some things from Monday back to Tuesday seemed to be the answer, no matter how much fast talking it was going to take. Resuming her seat, the redhead pulled up Miranda's schedule on her screen and reached for the phone, muttering even as she dialed the first number.
“I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.”
-----
“Girls, I want you to go upstairs and get dressed for supper. We are having a guest.” Miranda was expecting the protests.
“Ewww... dressed? What's wrong with what we have on?” Cassidy had changed out of her school uniform immediately after getting home, into the standard sweatpants and hoodie combo she'd begun wearing around the house. Miranda assumed it was just to annoy her, although the outfit did seem quite comfortable and was not at all inappropriate for homewear.
“Who's the guest, Mom?” Caroline knew as well as her sister did that guests were a rarity in the house. Most of the time when dining with someone outside the family it was done in a restaurant venue.
“You don't have to go all out, but I would appreciate more than the normal house attire. She glared at Cassidy, then turned to Caroline. “We will be hosting The Ambassador's child this evening.”
“I didn't know Ambassador Franklin had a child.”
“Mmmm... not him.” Miranda licked her lips and smiled; she had used the word child on purpose. Her children had inherited their trickster ways from somewhere after all. Her eyes held a bit of mischief because she knew that the girls were going to be excited about their guest. “The Ambassador's...offspring. They were in my office today and their offspring expressed their interest in meeting you, my offspring. So I invited them to share our evening meal with us.” She watched, her smile growing as her daughters blinked, and processed what she had said.
“Offspring?” Caroline's eyes widened. “You mean.... THE, The Ambassador?! The alien? From the ship?!”
“No Way!” Cassidy jumped in place and did a fist pumping motion. “Yes! This is SO cool!”
“Girls. Listen to me. I'm going to be having several meetings with them over the next few months.” Miranda got their full attention. “But, there are some safety issues. So you musn't tell anyone when they will be here. Do you understand?”
“We can't tell anyone?” Cassidy's excitement was dampened somewhat. “No one?”
“Safety?” Caroline had always been more cautious of the press. “Are they in danger?”
Miranda was glad that the girls didn't seem to be afraid of the aliens. They were more concerned with the very real threat of the press/stalkers than they were the imagined threat of an alien being coming in their home. Still, she gave them the choice. “If having them here makes you uncomfortable let me know and I will conduct any other business we have at the office.” She saw their nods and acknowledged their response. “Good. Now, please go dress for dinner.” She grinned at her youngest, most excited child... offspring. “You will be happy to know that our guest also,” she used her fingers to make air quotes, “prefers vegetation.” The response to that was another fist pump from Cassidy.
Miranda chuckled and gave the girls another instruction. “Please try not to giggle at the odd phrasing our guest might use when speaking.” Miranda spoke several languages, and the actual phrasing of the English/Alien speech was not much of an issue. What tripped up Miranda the most was the gender neutrality of the beings. After a lifetime of thinking in terms of he/him, she/her, the they/them pronouns were not as natural to her as they should be. When the ships first appeared over the cities and the aliens made their presence known, the they/them phrasing had started in earnest. Especially among the people who dealt with them the most. There had been a PR campaign that helped as well.
Truth be told it should have started quite some time before that with the prevalence of non-binary people in society, however, the push against that had been quite strong until the extra-terrestrials had appeared. When the aliens arrived people suddenly had other things to worry about. Now that Miranda thought about it, several so-called 'issues' virtually disappeared after people had something else to hold their attention.
“They speak English quite well, but they are translating their own language into English in their head, the word choices and phrasing may sound a little odd to us. I've been studying their phrasing all afternoon.”
“Sure.” Caroline waved off that concern as she walked toward the stairs. “There's lots of kids at school who have accents.”
“Yeah.” Cassidy followed her sister to the staircase. “I like hearing the different accents. I'm sure our guest tonight will have a cool one. I've heard them speak on tv before.”
Miranda took a deep breath happy that both girls seemed comfortable with the they/them pronouns and watched her children as they went to change. She hoped the girls would get along with their visitor tonight. She didn't know why she was nervous about that. Why would it be important for the girls and The Ambassador's offspring to get along? She knew they were barely going to interact after this. That brought on thoughts of the impending wedding. Miranda shook her head against the concern the future event brought her. She absently brushed her fingers on the spot just under her throat as she contemplated her own feelings on the 'arrangement'. With a shake of her head, Miranda put those thoughts aside. She had been asked to help, and she would. Right now she wanted to make sure everything was prepared for their guest's arrival and walked into the dining room to check the table setting.
------
The vehicle silently glided over the roadway until it came to a stop in front of what they had been told was quite an impressive dwelling. Two of the guard detail exited the car and escorted them toward the door, as the drone that had followed their car rose to hover over the house. The other guards continued around the block to station themselves on the other side of the home. They were surprised when the door opened as they approached and were amused as the small human smiled before turning away from the door to loudly announce.
“MOM! They're here!”
“Cassidy!” Miranda kept her voice to a tolerable level as she appeared in the hall. “Moderate your tone. Our guest does not want to hear you bellowing.” She held the door with one hand and urged Cassidy toward the stairs with the others. “Go find your sister and meet us in the sitting room.” With a deep breath, Miranda faced the being she had encountered in her office, again dressed head to toe with only their eyes visible. She indicated that her visitor should enter. “Come in, please. Welcome to our home.”
“Thank you.” They crossed the threshold and when the door was closed behind them, bowed slightly. “I'm grateful for your hospitality.”
“Our pleasure.” Miranda gestured down the hall toward the sitting room. “It will still be a short time before the meal is fully cooked. We can relax and talk until it is finished.”
With a small bow, they followed Miranda. “A most pleasant way to pass the time, I'm sure.”
“My childr...offspring, will join us soon as well.” Miranda crossed to a small side table which held several crystal bottles and an insulated bucket. “Would you like a drink while we wait?”
“We do not ingest what you call, alcohol.”
That was one of the things most of the general public knew regarding the aliens. “I have sparkling or flat water if you are thirsty.” Miranda pointed at each of the selections. “And ice if you prefer your drink cold.”
“Ice.” The visible eyes crinkled. “Yes, please. Ice with plain water.”
Miranda put a small scoop of crushed ice into a glass and filled it with water, passing it to her guest. “I knew of your aversion to alcohol, but do you have any objections if I were to...”
“Not at all.” Their eyes were warm, compassionate. “Please, be comfortable in your own home.”
Miranda was curious now as to how her guest would deal with the actual ingestion of the liquid. She was therefore surprised when the glass was lowered then raised under the veil, obviously tasted, and returned to the outside of the garment.
“My thanks.” They tilted their head, indicating the sofa.
Miranda gestured. “Please, you should also be comfortable. Treat my home as yours for the duration of your stay.”
The eyes seemed amused as they settled on the sofa. “Your home is lovely, very.... quiet.”
Chuckling at that, Miranda prepared her own drink, a stemmed glass half full of white wine. She settled into a seat facing her guest. “It is quiet until my offspring begin bellowing through the house and thundering up and down the stairs.” She took a sip of her drink, savoring the vintage for a moment. “I often wonder how two small humans can create such chaos.” She took another sip and listened again to the silence. This time she sighed. “And sometimes they can be quiet as mice. The loud chaos can be annoying, but the silence is often quite suspicious...” Turning her head to look at the door Miranda spoke to the shadows beyond the threshold. “Come on in, Bobbseys. Meet our guest.”
Their visitor's dark eyes wrinkled at the corners when they saw the two small beings, from the photo on Miranda's desk, appear in the doorway and move together into the room.
The girls left a wide berth around the sofa as they made their way toward their mother. When they reached her, Miranda set aside her glass to wrap one arm around each child. “These are my daughters, Caroline,” she shook the arm around Caroline and tilted her head to gently tap the top of the oldest-by-minutes twin, “and Cassidy.” She used the same method to indicate the younger of the duo. “Girls, this is The Ambassador's offspring.” She looked at their visitor and smiled. “I'm sorry I don't believe I was ever told your name.”
Their drink was also set aside and one hand pressed against their chest. “Please, forgive me.” They sighed. “I do not believe you would be able to pronounce my true name.”
“Would you say it for us?” Cassidy asked. “We can speak a little of some languages other than English. Maybe we can.”
None of them expected the response, but it was at least somewhat familiar to Miranda as she had heard it before in her office. Still alien, but definitely laughter.
“You are correct, of course.” They nodded. “I should not assume.”
The next set of sounds surprised them all so much with the fluidity and musical quality including some rolling sounds and clicks, one being so loud at the end of the sequence that Miranda and the girls almost missed actually hearing it.
They saw their host's offspring rubbing their ears but was surprised to see Miranda run her fingers over her chest, just below her throat. Blinking at that, they held up a digit to forestall any questions and repeated their name. “A'annndrr'ax'ahhQ” They waited for the response and were not disappointed as the twins began trying, unsuccessfully, to recreate the sequence. Cassidy came impressively close, however, and they clapped their hands together in appreciation. “Very close, Cassidy. Well done.”
The girl grinned. “One of my classmates is named Andrea, and your name sounds sort of like the way our French teacher pronounces her name, except for the clicks. We usually just call her Andy.”
“I see.” They nodded. “I did not know what my designation would translate to in English...” They pronounced the unfamiliar name slowly. “Andy, is acceptable to me for your ease of speaking.” Although the girls could not see it, Andy smiled at them. Turning toward Miranda, they added. “And you will also be welcome to use the shortened designation.”
“I will not.” Miranda gave a side-eyed glance to each of her daughters. “My daughters know full well that I do not often utilize what is termed as 'nicknames'. They are shortened versions of people's names...designations.” Miranda offered. “I do, however, believe my daughter is correct when she says your designation sounds very much like 'Andrea'.” She tilted her head. “I also believe the more European pronunciation would be the closest I could manage.” She pronounced the name again slowly, without the associated clicks. “Ahn drey ah.”
Their unseen smile reappeared when a human version of their designation fell from Miranda's lips. Pressing their hand against their chest, Andy maintained eye contact with Miranda as they calmed themself and spoke softly. “Acceptable.”
They all heard the timer in the kitchen ding and Miranda blinked, breaking the moment. She urged the children to move away from her as she stood. “Girls, if you would please escort our guest to the dining room. I will gather the food.”