"EAAUUUGGH".

Angela bolted upright in bed, awoken by the strange noise that Fareeha squawked in the middle of the night.

Fareeha was still there on her right-hand side, but she was sitting up with her legs thrown over the side of the bed. Her back was facing Angela, but when Angela shifted, she could see Fareeha's hand clamped down over her mouth to stop her shriek. Fareeha's other hand was grasping her phone, which she had been using as a flashlight.

"Fareeha? What's wrong?" said Angela.

With her hand still clasped over her mouth, Fareeha slowly turned towards Angela, eyes wide and moist. With what looked like the last of her strength, Fareeha pointed her phone down towards the floor and moved her hand from her mouth to cover the top half of her face instead.

Angela followed the light and saw Fareeha's feet suspended in the air. She lowered her gaze more and saw the problem.

On the floor was a mess of guts and legs, still twitching independently of each other. Scutigera coleoptrata. A house centipede. A big one too. But only half of one. Angela guessed that if she were to look under one of Fareeha's feet she'd find the other half.

A laugh bubbled its way up Angela's throat, but for Fareeha's sake she swallowed it down.

"I swear I'm ok with creepy crawlies", muttered Fareeha. "You can't live in all the places I have without tolerating them. But it was just so unexpected. And I just wanted to use the washroom. I just wanted to use the washroom. I just wanted to use the washroom…"

Fareeha continued to repeat the last phrase bitterly to the point where Angela worried that Fareeha had had an accident. But through sharing a bed with her, Angela knew she hadn't. Fareeha was just shocked.

"Aww, come here", said Angela.

Angela grabbed a tissue and one of Fareeha's feet. It was the right one. As she wiped the legs off Fareeha's heel, Angela imagined the crunch Fareeha must have felt when she stepped on the house centipede and she felt an empathetic shudder run down her spine.

She quickly scooped up the remaining half of the house centipede on the floor and smooshed it inside her tissue since each leg still seemed keen to run away, even without the presence of a head.

"There, all gone!" said Angela, tossing the tissue inside a garbage can next to the bed.

Fareeha rose from the bed and started moving away, forgoing her fuzzy bear slippers and walking with the dirty heel suspended in the air.

"I just wanted to use the washroom…" Angela could hear as Fareeha left the room.

Angela smiled before settling back into her spot on the bed, hugging Fareeha's pillow while waiting for her partner to return.

"Eek! That tickles!" giggled MeiLing as Angela did her best to copy an intricate pattern onto the top of MeiLing's foot.

"Hold still or I'll mess up!" Angela managed to say with her tongue sticking out in concentration.

Ana was enjoying the two younger women struggle with applying henna. The three women were sitting in a circle, painting each others' feet. Angela was doing MeiLing's. MeiLing was doing Ana's. Ana was doing Angela's. They sat in awkward positions, only able to see the person in front of them while splaying a free foot out behind them.

Half a dozen Overwatch members were out on another mission. Of them included Fareeha, Aleksandra, and Reinhardt. With each their prospective partners gone, the old roommates decided to keep each other company for what Angela considered to be her very first girls' night.

Each woman had a glass of wine within arm's reach and Athena was playing gentle classical music for them.

At first MeiLing and Angela were relatively quiet, concentrating as much as they could on not messing up the long-lasting ink on their canvases. Ana, on the other hand, had plenty of experience with henna and was comfortable chatting away.

She told the two scientists the latest gossip in town, but neither knew any of the people involved so they simply listened politely.

"So Beth said Claudia said that Amber saw Henry enter Julia's house while Charles was at work. Henry is Charles's brother, see, so Amber did not think anything of it. Until she saw them balanced on their chimney locking lips! And then Amber's sister caught them bungie jumping together naked! And then Amber saw them going at it in the middle of the night in the centre of a ring of fire! And Charles has no idea! Can you believe it?" said Ana.

"No, I can't", mumbled Angela.

"Are they sexually aroused by danger?" said MeiLing. "How interesting!"

"So anyway, now that we're on the topic of relationships, how are you doing with my daughter?" said Ana.

Angela's hand slipped, leaving a thick streak of brown on a part of MeiLing's foot that she hadn't painted yet. Angela grimaced but MeiLing hadn't seemed to notice. What would happen if she tried to wipe it off as quickly as possible? Maybe she could fix it somehow.

"Mmmm. So. Mei. How's Aleks been treating you?" said Angela.

"Oh my gosh! She's been great! Yesterday she got us matching pinky rings! Said she saw them when passing a street vendor and bought them on a whim! Well, her pinky ring was designed to be a thumb ring, but she has really thick fingers you know", said MeiLing. She grew so excited to talk about Aleksandra that with each word she spoke faster and faster until Angela could barely understand what MeiLing was saying. "AndsheknowsIreallylikecaramelsosheboughtmethisbigfancyboxofcaramelsandweatethemtogetheranditwaswholesomeandfunand…"

"That is nice, Mei", interrupted Ana. "But don't you want to hear about Angela and Fareeha?"

"Oh!" squealed MeiLing. "I definitely want to hear about you two! Are you official yet?"

"Do not think of running away, Angela", said Ana. "Or else I will put henna on your face while you sleep."

Angela gulped. If this was what girls' nights were like, she wasn't liking it. She took a deep swig of wine.

"You can ask Fareeha yourself, if you'd like", said Angela. "She's your daughter after all…"

"You are both my daughters", snapped Ana. "I looked after you like one of my own when you first joined Overwatch. All those times I brought meals to your office. Or when I had to carry you to your bed because you would pass out anywhere and everywhere. Honestly, you were more trouble than Fareeha sometimes, and you were almost a legal adult! Are you telling me that was worth nothing?"

"Ok, ok you don't have to guilt trip me", said Angela. She spoke with exasperation but secretly she felt warm from Ana's declaration of parenthood.

"Good girl", said Ana.

Angela couldn't see Ana unless she turned her head, but she could see that MeiLing had stopped painting Ana's foot and had turned to look at her with excitement.

"Well, we're in love with each other…" started Angela.

MeiLing squealed, but Ana shushed her quickly.

"Everyone who has eyes - or even just one - already knows that", said Ana. "But something is different, I can feel it. Ever since the picnic. Call it women's intuition."

Angela groaned.

"Yeah, ok", said Angela. We talked during the picnic. Clarified a lot of things. We want to be lifelong partners. And I, well I want to… cross some physical lines…"

"Fareeha does too", interrupted Ana, and Angela's face burst into flames. MeiLing squealed again and Ana allowed it this time.

"But we won't be doing any of that. Because Fareeha's scared that it won't work out and our relationship will fall apart because of it", said Angela.

Strangely, the more Angela spoke, the easier she was finding to share personal details.

"Could it be…?" said Ana. "Could it be because I was a poor example? Splitting up with her father when she was so young?"

"It sounds like Fareeha doesn't trust Angela", said MeiLing. "Or maybe she doesn't trust herself."

"It's me", said Angela with a grimace. "She's been cheated on a lot. And somehow she got wind of my casual relationship history."

From the brief silence, Angela could almost picture Ana paling just out of her peripheral vision.

"Cheated on… Heavens, I had no idea", said Ana. "But your one-night stands, ok, I admit that was me. But she would have found out sooner or later! Everybody pre-recall knew about your… habits. Oh, never mind, ok, ok, I am sorry. There. So… what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about it?" said Angela. "I'm not going to do anything. Fareeha wants space, so I'll give her some space…"

"Ha! You are glued to her side every minute of the day!" said MeiLing.

"Emotional space?" said Angela.

"She has told you more during that one picnic than she will ever be willing to tell me", said Ana jealously.

"Oh, well, hmm…" said Angela.

"Have you kissed yet?" said MeiLing eagerly.

"Oh, no, that's one of those lines I can't cross…" said Angela.

"It sounds to me that you are lovers in everything but name", said MeiLing. "Oh, and sexual intimacy, I suppose. Are you two going to be exclusive to each other? Even when you have sexual urges?"

"I can't even imagine sleeping with anyone other than Fareeha at this point", said Angela.

"Do you imagine it often?" said Ana.

Angela chose to ignore the question.

"What a strange relationship", said MeiLing. "How different would it actually be if you made love?"

"Made love?" laughed Ana. "How old-fashioned! Who says that anymore?"

MeiLing blushed a pretty pink.

"I… I don't know", muttered Angela, wishing for the conversation to end.

"It has been five days since the picnic", said Ana suddenly. Angela noticed Ana's hand had stilled.

"Um, I guess so?" said Angela.

"Ask her to make the relationship official again", said Ana.

"Huh? Why?" said MeiLing.

Angela finally turned her head to look at the white-haired woman next to her. Ana looked like she just had an epiphany.

"Trust me", said Ana. "Fareeha made up her mind three days ago. She wants an official relationship. But she feels awkward about it after what she told you at the picnic. Now she does not know how to bring it up again. She has always been an awkward baby bird, that one."

"What makes you so sure?" said Angela, incredibly dubious. She tried to remember what had happened three days ago. Nothing stood out.

"Mother knows best", said Ana.

"But - "

"Mother. Knows. Best."

Angela and MeiLing looked at each other, completely perplexed.

"But you have to put together another grand gesture", said Ana. "No matter what, she will say yes to you. And then you two will have a long and happy relationship. And you will have children. And your children will ask how their mothers became a couple. And it will not do to simply say, 'I asked her and she said yes'. I need a romantic story that I will enjoy telling over and over again until the little ones roll their eyes every time I start again."

"Ana… the last time we planned a grand gesture…" started Angela.

"Yes, yes, I know. But that was before Fareeha's change of heart", said Ana. "It's different now."

Angela wanted to believe what Ana was saying so, so bad.

"Well, I'm not going to risk rejection and heartbreak again, just so there's a chance you'll have a good story to tell", said Angela.

"It would be a good memory for Fareeha too! Do not forget that she is such a sap. All she wants is something out of a romance movie. Do you not want Fareeha to be happy?"

"Ana… no."

Ana didn't respond. Nobody said anything for a good minute.

"I just want my nice story, dammit!" said Ana.

MeiLing laughed.

"Ooo!" said MeiLing, clapping her hands together. She had long ago set down her henna supplies. "I have the perfect idea!"

"I said no!" said Angela.

"Fareeha's motif is the peregrine falcon, right?" continued MeiLing. "Male peregrine falcons perform a complex ritual of courtship behaviour, including bold, acrobatic flight."

"I'm not a male peregrine falcon", said Angela.

"Are you saying my Fareeha is male?" said Ana.

"What?" said Angela incredulously. "I meant, I'm not a falcon…"

"Among birds of prey, females are larger than males", said MeiLing, rather unhelpfully.

"In holy scriptures, angels are actually referred to as male, you know", said Ana.

"Neither of us are male, goddammit!" said Angela.

Ana and MeiLing laughed.

"We know, we are just messing with you", said MeiLing.

Angela smiled. She always appreciated how earnest her friend was. She wondered why she never talked like this with MeiLing before. Maybe girls' night wasn't so bad after all. Angela returned to her work on MeiLing's henna tattoo. Feeling creative, she started to turn the large, accidental streak she gave earlier into a leaf, with the thick line becoming the stem. Angela could feel Ana resume work on her foot as well.

"So. Ana. What's going on between you and Reinhardt", said Angela.

"Ooo!" said MeiLing, her hands stilling once more.

Ana continued her work for several more seconds before responding.

"A woman my age knows what she wants."

"So does that mean…" started Angela.

"A woman. My age. Knows. What she wants."

Angela and MeiLing giggled with each other.

The trio continued to talk late into the night. Ana finished her henna tattoo first, and Angela was eager to see what the experienced woman had drawn on her. It was dense and beautiful. There were flowers, there were birds, and one big tree in the centre… wait what was that.

Angela had spent some time in the Middle East so she could read some of the Arabic that Ana had woven into the leaves of the tree. She barely knew any words, but she had learned how to write her name in Arabic. With a bit of squinting it soon became clear what Ana had done.

ANGELA + FAREEHA

Upon closer inspection, the leaves of the tree were shaped as hearts.

Angela's slack jaw did not escape Ana's attention.

"Nobody can read Arabic, it will be fine", said Ana.

"One other person can, and she's the only one that matters!" exclaimed Angela.

"Huh? What did she do?" said MeiLing. "Wow, Ana, that henna is amazing! I'm sorry about what I'm doing to you… How long does henna last, again?"

"Oh, up to three weeks maybe", said Ana. "But even if henna is temporary, Angela and Fareeha are forever."

Ana's shit-eating grin was too much, and Angela shifted, storing energy in her limbs, ready to pounce.

"No!", said Ana. "No excessive movement, or you will smear all my hard work! And how will you explain to Fareeha that you tackled her 61-year-old mother? Bad Angela!"

Angela flipped a page of her book, but she wasn't really reading. The book itself was interesting – it was one that Reinhardt had brought her while she had been recovering. She didn't normally read high fantasy, but she wanted to give new things a chance. But it was noisy in the hangar and the smell of melted metal didn't help. More than that, the sight of Fareeha busy working on her suit was a distraction – albeit a welcome one.

The team was back from their mission and brought back another new member. Her name was Brigitte Lindholm, Torbjörn's youngest daughter. Brigitte had eagerly introduced herself to Angela, having heard stories of Angela from her father and Reinhardt as a child. Angela had smiled and responded that Brigitte may not have remembered her, but Angela had met Brigitte before, when Torbjörn brought his toddler to the base to show off. Angela remembered how the young Fareeha sniffed uncertainly at the child before scampering off. She had never been comfortable around anyone her age or younger.

But now Fareeha was getting along famously with Brigitte. At the moment the two were excitedly discussing something about Fareeha's suit. Brigitte had never worked on a flying mech suit before.

Despite his daughter joining the team, Torbjörn was still in Sweden, helping take care of his grandchildren. Brigitte was less interested in Overwatch, and more concerned about reuniting with Reinhardt again after a brief separation to officially finish her engineering degree.

"It must be nice having your squire back", said Angela to Reinhardt, who was lounging next to her, also trying to concentrate on a book.

"Oh yes!" said Reinhardt. "My armour was in desperate need of repair!"

Brigitte and Fareeha were taking a break after a heavy welding session. The hangar was hot, and they had stripped their heavy long-sleeved shirts, tying them about their waists. Angela snuck peeks over her book, hungrily devouring a sweaty tank top clad Fareeha with her eyes.

"They look like they could be sisters", said Reinhardt, also watching the two women.

Angela supposed there were some similarities between Brigitte and Fareeha. They were wearing the same Overwatch work clothes and tank tops underneath. They were both heavily muscled, although Brigitte, being shorter, looked much stockier. And both of their eyes were lit up from imagining how to improve Fareeha's suit.

"Was Brigitte always your favourite?" asked Angela. "She's your goddaughter after all."

Reinhardt laughed.

"Silly, I have no favourites!" he loudly proclaimed.

Angela was surprised when she felt Reinhardt tap on her shoulder. Her head jolted to look at him. Reinhardt was leaning forward towards her, and he reached up to cup her ear. He did a surprisingly good job at whispering.

"You were always my favourite."

Angela was hit by a sudden pressure in her chest and she had to swallow to clear the lump in her throat. At the same time, she felt awkward about the unexpected proclamation of affection and her words got caught on her tongue.

"I'm sure you say that to them too", said Angela, blinking, surprised at the moisture in her eyes.

"It's true", said Reinhardt. "I loved Fareeha the moment I met her. She was such a little rascal! But when you came I had never felt so protective of anyone before. Well, you and Jesse, both. Fareeha had Ana. Brigitte had two solid parents and a gazillion siblings at home. You were all alone."

"I didn't need anyone", said Angela. "I was already almost an adult."

"Ha! Spoken like the teenager you were!" said Reinhardt. "That's why I always gave you so much space!"

Angela smiled at Reinhardt, but was unconvinced.

"Listen", said Reinhardt, switching to German. "You needed us as much as we needed you. You may not have realized it, but we were always watching out for you. And we're here for you now. I'm here."

Reinhardt handed his book to Angela. Unsure what to do with it, Angela placed it in her lap.

"Open it", said Reinhardt.

"Open?" Angela shook the book. Lo and behold, it rattled. It wasn't a book at all!

Angela opened the book, which was actually a box designed to look like a book. Inside was a stash of chocolates. She laughed.

"Only us German-speaking folk have a refined taste in chocolate", joked Reinhardt.

"Oh Reinhardt… thank you."

"I know I can't be your Papi, but I can be your Papa."

Angela threw her arms as far as they would go around Reinhardt's shoulders. Reinhardt's other two daughters glanced at them quizzically.

It was crazy. She was being crazy.

Angela was awake earlier than she had any right to be again. She couldn't sleep, thinking about MeiLing's little fact about peregrine falcons' courtship behaviour.

"Bold, acrobatic flight, huh…" muttered Angela as she dashed after her drone.

If she were to do it, what would it look like?

As Angela began her parabolic descent, she threw her arms forward and grabbed her knees, tumbling a few times in the air before she spread out her limbs and flared her wings out. She had no way of knowing if the flips were clean, but she knew she straightened out properly when she looked up and saw the blinking light of her drone through the pitch-black darkness. After using her suit for so long she had developed a decent sense of up and down, even without visual cues.

Satisfied that she didn't feel motion sickness from the movement, Angela shot up and tried something new, a twist over the shoulder and spiralling downwards. She didn't know how much she had fallen until she sent herself flying towards the drone again, which she had left stationary in the same spot, high in the sky. She had fallen quite a bit, but not far enough to come anywhere close to the ground.

Inspired by the success of not killing herself, Angela lost herself in trying new tricks, twirling, twisting, flipping, changing directions as quickly as her style of controlled falling allowed her to. Soon, she was moving her drone about as naturally as she could fly, forgetting the controller in her hands as if it were an extension of her, rather than a tool. She was so absorbed in this newfound joy that she didn't notice that the sun had already risen, until something caught her eye far down on the ground. It wasn't something that she'd ever be able to miss.

"Fa-Fareeha!" Angela was completely out of breath when the name found its way past her dry lips. Only when she licked them did she realize how cold she was, despite the warmth from her suit, and Angela realized it was probably a good time to stop and descend towards the figure on the ground, watching her.

"Good morning", said Angela awkwardly when she finally landed safely in front of Fareeha.

Fareeha had pulled boots on, but she was still wearing the tank top and pajama shorts she had worn to bed. Her hair was messy and missing their usual ornaments.

"Beautiful", murmured Fareeha in return. "I've never seen you fly like that before. It was so beautiful."

Angela blushed, pleased at herself for being able to impress Fareeha.

"So this is what you've been doing every morning?" said Fareeha. "Flying?"

Ah, so she knew. Angela thought she had been stealthy the whole time she sneaked out before sunrise to practice flying.

"Yeah, I was feeling rusty", said Angela.

"I could have come with you", said Fareeha. "You've been going out while it was so dark out. It could've been dangerous."

"I didn't want to wake you. And it turned out alright. I just wanted…" Angela paused. "I wanted to be able to stand on my own. I want to be able to catch you if you fall."

Fareeha smiled.

"Silly", said Fareeha. "You don't have to worry about that. You've already caught me before."

Bold, acrobatic flight… Bold.

"We've caught each other", said Angela. She stepped closer to Fareeha. She noticed an eyelash stuck to Fareeha's tattoo. She removed her glove and cupped Fareeha's cheek, brushing the eyelash away with her thumb.

Upon noticing how cold Angela's hand was, Fareeha reached out to warm her. But she didn't reach for her hand. She cradled Angela's face with both hands and rubbed life back into Angela's ears instead, where she was the coldest. She knew where the cold nipped the most.

"Not… not just in the life saving kind of way", said Angela hesitantly, and stopped. Bold, she reminded herself. "We've caught each other here too", she moved her hand and pressed it against Fareeha's chest. She felt the little gasp in the way Fareeha's chest moved, despite Fareeha's attempt to hide it. "And here", continued Angela. With her other hand she grasped Fareeha's right hand and brought it to her own chest.

Fareeha didn't resist. She didn't move a muscle, save for her other hand, which was still doing its best to warm Angela's ear.

Could it be? Was Ana right about Fareeha changing her mind?

"Fareeha, I -"

"Hold on, right there", interrupted Fareeha. "Not like this, I'm basically wearing my underwear right now."

With that, Fareeha pulled away from a slack-jawed Angela.

Fareeha saw the look on Angela's face, so she grabbed and held both of Angela's hands.

"I'll be right back, I promise. Just stay right here."

It was like a spell. Fareeha sprinted off and must have only been gone ten minutes, but Angela's feet were rooted to the ground all the same. Angela's mind raced to where her legs could not.

Not like this? Not like this? Not like this?, repeated Angela in her head.

"Ok!" called Fareeha when she came back, waving at Angela from a distance. She was wearing her Raptora suit but had foregone her helmet. "I'm ready!" She continued jogging back to where Angela stood.

"You literally put on armour to talk to me!" cried Angela in despair.

"No, no! That's not what I…!"

Fareeha ran a hand through her hair and suddenly paused. She removed her gloves and put them on the ground. Then she walked up to Angela and did the same with hers and picked up Angela's drone controller.

"Come on", said Fareeha leading Angela by the hand while simultaneously handing her the controller. "Let's fly."

"Fareeha, I want to talk…"

"Life isn't about the end goal, right? It's about the journey."

Angela recalled the conversation that this came up in.

"What does that have to do with-?"

"I've decided. That I won't be scared anymore. Of things that will break me."

"Where is this coming from?"

"And", continued Fareeha. "I won't be scared that I might break you."

"You could never… Was that ever a concern?"

"Come on", said Fareeha again. This time she pressed Angela's controller into her hands. "Let's fly."

"What…?"

"I want a story."

And then it dawned on Angela. What Fareeha was trying to say. That she was giving her the green light. But green light to exactly what? To giving their relationship a chance? How far was Fareeha willing to go? Was there anything Angela wanted to clarify? What if Angela didn't want to fly and just wanted to grab that frustrating woman who didn't know how to put words to her feelings and seal her lips with a kiss instead? It wasn't like Fareeha was going to use those lips to say anything useful anyway…

"Angela, you're thinking too much", said Fareeha, interrupting her chain of thoughts. "Come on, I've always wanted to play tag in the sky."

"But I…!"

"Ok, here's the rule. One more sentence. But I get the last word!" said Fareeha playfully. She seemed to be enjoying this.

Angela couldn't handle the pressure.

"I've known from the beginning that peregrine falcons mate for life!", exclaimed Angela.

Fareeha smiled.

"I know. I trust you."

Then Fareeha was gone. She shot up into the air, but after a few meters, turned around and hovered, extending an ungloved hand towards Angela.

Angela didn't hesitate one second. She leapt after Fareeha, but just as she reached her, Fareeha turned on her thrusters and went higher, just out of Angela's reach. When Angela flew after her again, Fareeha went higher still.

Angela was frustrated for just a second, but she knew that there was no way Fareeha was going to win. Angela was accustomed to flying by controlled falling as it made her a harder target to hit, but she could always follow a moving object smoothly if she wanted to. No matter how erratically Fareeha flew, Angela's suit had the advantage, even if she turned off her brain.

Angela sighed and decided to play along with Fareeha. She activated her suit to follow continuously instead of manually putting in the signals each time she wanted to fly to Fareeha. Yes, technically Fareeha's suit could fly faster, but that was costly to her fuel, and Fareeha knew better than to manage her fuel that way.

Angela had to maneuver to catch Fareeha from her front side, else she risk catching fire to her face. It turned out that she didn't need to, because Fareeha turned off her thrusters when Angela got close anyway.

"There!" proclaimed Angela, pressing a finger firmly to Fareeha's knee. "You're it!"

Angela's eyes widened, realizing that she had not prepared herself to be chased. She saw Fareeha's grin and knew Fareeha was looking forward to the hunt.

Fareeha gave Angela time to pull her drone from the ground. She had never flown with the drone when she had Fareeha to fly to before.

But here was the problem. Angela didn't want Fareeha to chase her. She wanted them to fly together. But apparently, Fareeha wanted a story.

Angela didn't slow down. She flew in a straight path, something Fareeha would have no problems catching up with. But as soon as she could hear Fareeha nearby, she jerked her knees up to her chest and started falling.

Fareeha had to pull up suddenly to keep herself from ramming into Angela and watched in surprise as Angela cheekily backflipped away to safety.

I'll give her bold, acrobatic flight, alright.

Fareeha had said that her flying was beautiful. Surely her flips and tumbles were as clumsy as they felt. Angela had never taken a gymnastics course or anything before. She tried to keep it simple.

If she flew the drone right, she could take turns sharper than Fareeha would be able to. She might not be able to fly faster than Fareeha in a straight line, but maybe she could loop around her. She flew a figure eight around Fareeha, delighted when she saw Fareeha tuck so that her thrusters could "brake" in the air to turn around.

To any observer watching the pair fly during combat drills, it was obvious who the leader was. It had never occurred to Angela the amount of freedom she had with her drone.

"The male peregrine falcon impresses the female with its bold, acrobatic flight." Angela shooed MeiLing's narration out of her head. But she sought to do just what MeiLing's voice said.

Angela danced around Fareeha, adding flair with flips and twists whenever she dared. She surprised Fareeha and herself by staying just an arm's reach away each time Fareeha got close.

Angela was panting, a gigantic smile pasted on her face, despite the strain on her back and core. All of a sudden, there was a flash of light in her eyes, blinding her temporarily. The sun had risen to a very specific point in the sky, and while Fareeha was blocking it with her body, she had tricked Angela into looking at her before darting out of the way.

As Angela regained her sight, she realized that Fareeha had vanished. Angela panicked and looked at the ground, her first instinct being that Fareeha was done with their game and had run away again. But then she heard the sound of whistling air and looked up.

Fareeha had climbed high into the air, killed her thrusters and started diving towards Angela. Fearing a collision, Angela started flying forward again, but Fareeha just angled her dive to intercept Angela.

Fareeha was on course to cause a high-speed collision, and Angela started to sweat. How should she fly to avoid injury? If she tried to avoid Fareeha, Fareeha might try to do the same at the last second and end up turning the same way. Angela decided to let Fareeha catch her by flying in a predictable straight line, and she trusted that Fareeha wouldn't do anything to hurt either of them.

Angela willed herself to look at Fareeha as she got closer, but at the last second, squeezed her eyes closed out of fear.

When there was no bodily harm done and Angela heard the sound of thrusters being turned on again, she opened her eyes.

Fareeha had dived right past her and was now flying steadily under her, belly-side up. Instead of poking Angela and claiming her victory, Fareeha extended her arms outwards, waiting for Angela to accept her embrace.

Angela didn't have to be asked twice.

Slowly, Angela floated into Fareeha's outstretched arms. Fareeha gently wrapped her arms around Angela, careful not to squeeze too hard while she had her suit on.

Angela relaxed, letting Fareeha's suit do all the work to keep both of them cruising along.

"I will always catch you if you fall", promised Fareeha.

"Excuse me, I do believe that I will always catch you if you fall", said Angela, bringing their foreheads together.

Angela ran her ungloved hands through Fareeha's loose hair, and immediately she felt Fareeha's body release a great shudder, even through her suit. It was like Fareeha was releasing a great burden.

Finally, Fareeha closed the distance between their lips.

Angela found herself falling into the sky.