There was something jarring about arriving suddenly in Atlantis Intake. Having grown up on the island, it took a minute for Samaira to understand what was happening around her -- after all, this was a new experience for her. She could see how difficult it must’ve been for her parents and family members who’d been pulled in from their own worlds. She’d spotted Astrid in Intake as well, but the process was a lot to take in and she’d really only had a few moments to shoot her a reassuring smile and thumbs up before being swept off for processing.
Discovering she was suddenly in the past (along with a very large number of her friends, family, and peers) was a lot less startling than the realization that it meant that her parents were still babies, practically. Sam had sighed to herself, equal parts excited to meet them and preparing for the many potential options for reactions that she’d get from them. (After all, ‘emotionally constipated’ was an understatement when it came to Kady Orloff-Diaz and Penny Adiyodi.)
The reunion/first meeting now behind them, she’d slipped away to give her parents a chance to react in peace, to give herself a chance to consolidate the emotions she’d absorbed in their meeting, and to find Astrid. There was a lot in the world, after all -- a lot of panic, excitement, some fear, a lot of nerves, and a tremendous amount of joy -- and her ‘sponge’ was rather saturated. Astrid was one of the few points in her life, especially here in the past, that gave her a grounding post, something to pull away from what came with her empathy and to refocus on the present and on herself.
She had tears in her eyes, but they weren’t really her own tears (a by-product of emotional overload). Finding Astrid wasn’t hard, attuned as she was to her, and she offered a smile as she joined her, tangling her arms around her. “What a fucking day.”
Astrid really couldn’t have put it better herself. Even growing up in Atlantis with all of the weird shit that happened here on regular basis, suddenly finding herself in the past had been a surprise. Their parents were freakishly young, the whole thing was fucking weird, but she figured it could also be kind of an adventure and at least it seemed like most of their friends had made the trip, too.
Still, even without her girlfriend’s empathic abilities, Astrid had felt like she needed a beat to just take it all in. If it had been warmer, she might have headed to the beach, but it was December in Atlantis and they were in the middle of a fucking blizzard. The lounge at Atlantis Hotel had served as a passable second after checking in and finding some more weather-appropriate clothing.
Not even surprised when Sam found her, Astrid looked over at her girlfriend and offered her a smile. “You look like you could use a drink.”
Sam had found a jacket sometime through the day, but she was still in her usual ‘completely unprepared for cool weather’ outfit when she settled in right at Astrid’s side, snuggling up close to her to leech warmth away from her. She rested her head on her shoulder, a laugh escaping her, wiping away those tears. “Honestly, I’m pretty okay,” she said. “Mom and Dad got us out of the bulk of the chaos early enough, so I was able to detox a little throughout the day.”
She tangled her arms around Astrid, worming one behind her back so that she could embrace her as they sat together. “Did you see your parents?”
“My mom,” Sam answered, “but Dad’s on a mission.” She made a slight face. Seeing her mom has been great, of course, but she was a little envious of all the people who’d gotten to see both parents without having a wait. She was glad Sam had gotten to see hers though, and that they’d gotten her out of the madness that was Intake today. Astrid kind of felt sorry for every working that department today.
“How much are yours freaking out?” she asked with a little bit of an amused look on her face. Their parents and their extended families weren’t exactly known for being calm.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. Do we know when they get back?” Sam asked, her brow furrowing. She hated the fact that there were some folks off-base. It meant there were others like Astrid who wouldn’t get to see their family just yet, and no one really knew how long they’d be in Atlantis. (Based on experience, she could assume it was at least through Christmas.)
“A lot,” she said, smiling warmly again. “But they’re dealing with it well. They’re having trouble believing I’m theirs. Apparently, I’m well-adjusted. I keep telling them they haven’t seen my inexplicably angry for no apparent reason.”
Astrid shook her head. No one had been able to tell her how long the mission would last or what they were doing, but she hopes it wouldn’t last very long. “It’s okay,” she said. She knew Sam would feel the hint of envy, but it was past Atlantis when the war was still happening and she’d heard enough stories of those days that him being away wasn’t really a surprise. At least she knew he’d probably have some good stories when he returned and in the meantime she could content herself with spending time with Sam, with her mom and with their friends. If she remembered the stories right, these missions rarely lasted for very long anyway.
“You do give a good first impression,” she offered, with a smile. “And you did offer to start a support group.”
Sam did feel the envy, and pulled herself closer in response, pressing a kiss to Astrid’s shoulder comfortingly. “I suspect they’ll be back by the weekend. I think they usually lasted a week or so, if I remember correctly,” she said. She didn’t know for sure, of course, but it seemed a decent enough guess.
“It’s a gift,” she said, grinning. “I also still stand by that suggestion. It’d be incredibly useful for so many of them!”
“You’re probably right, on both counts,” Astrid agreed. Her father’s stories about missions in the past hadn’t been that specific about time and the war had ended before she was born, but it had never sounded like they tended to last very long. Her mom hadn’t been able to tell her how long he would gone, but she suspected it wouldn’t be much longer.
“So, what do you want to do tonight?” she asked.
“Mm, I’m exhausted,” she admitted, and it was true. It’d been a long day in itself, but the empathy meant feeling everyone’s long day, and that was always tiring. “I’d be happy with takeout and laying around. Are we in a hotel room or staying with someone?”
“I got us a room, because I had a feeling you’d be beat tonight,” Astrid said. She knew they could both have probably stayed with their parents or somewhere, but privacy would be harder to come by in a house with someone else than a hotel room that was just theirs. “What are you in the mood for?” One thing about Atlantis, it had every kind of food you could imagine. They could probably even get it delivered if they didn’t feel like going to pick it up.
“Mm, I don’t even know. Chinese? Thai? You pick, I trust you,” she said, yawning suddenly, almost on cue. “Come on, we’d better get moving towards the hotel room before I completely pass out and force you to carry me to bed.”
“Perish the thought.” Astrid couldn’t help a small, fond smile as she slipped an arm around her girlfriend to lead her to their room, using her other hand to quickly text an order to Dash Parr.