Summer was in full swing, but the temperatures hadn’t quite matched up with what Anissa was used to in Freeland. Not that she was complaining. Of course Atlantis wouldn’t be impacted by the whims of climate change, not when it existed in a plane all of its own. (The coastal environment probably helped, too.) What they got in return were breezy, cool mornings and warm afternoons, perfect for early morning jogs and for walking to work with one’s girlfriend.
They’d stopped for coffee (and to splurge on a pastry or two, because they deserved it) on the way. Anissa tossed an apple up in the air and caught it deftly. She’d found it at the end of her bed that morning, and hadn’t been able to shake the desire to eat it, even though she had no idea where it’d come from. She’d held onto it in the meantime, thinking she might use it for a snack at work.
Or as a continuation of her breakfast. She hadn’t decided.
“So what’s on the docket for tonight?” she asked.
“Oh, I have no plans!” Shamara exclaimed, smiling happily as she walked breezily hand in hand with her girlfriend on another beautiful summertime morning. Things had gone well with their foray back in time, which had left her in a great mood for a good long while. “Anything you wanna do? Maybe… we could go swimming in the ocean by the moonlight, that sort of thing?”
She smiled as Anissa caught the apple. “Looks yummy.”
“Ohhh.” Anissa’s eyebrows shot upwards. “I like the sound of that.” It’d be chilly, but they could keep each other warm, and there was something very romantic about swimming under the stars. They deserved a treat like that, she thought. Maybe they could build a bonfire, make s’mores…
Her gaze drifted to the apple in her hand, and she lifted it to take a bite. It was perfect: tart, juicy, just the right amount of sweetness. “I don’t know if it’s just because I haven’t had an apple in a while, or because it’s Atlantis, but this is - I swear on my life - the best --” Anissa’s voice trailed off as her vision swam a little. “Whoa.”
“I thought I might get tired of doing beachside things after a lifetime here but sharing them with you made them all feel new again. Camping out there feels so peaceful.” Shamara replied, hugging Anissa’s side. “Just you and me and the moonlight.”
Shamara focused on Anissa as she described the apple with a smile that said she was loving how excited Anissa was about this perfect apple. She sensed a disturbance, however, as soon as Anissa did. Her brow furrowed and she entwined her arm with Anissa’s, studying her face. “Something’s… Wrong.”
“Yeah, I -” Her limbs felt heavy all of a sudden, and Shamara’s voice seemed very far away. “I’m gonna -”
Anissa could feel her consciousness leave all at once, just as she lost the ability to stand any longer.
“Anissa!” Shamara exclaimed as she felt her girlfriend go limp at her side. She let Anissa fall onto her, propping her up just as she seemed to properly lose consciousness. “Stars above what do I do?”
Descending lightly onto the pavement, Shamara sat on the sidewalk cradling Anissa, brushing a hand over her hair. She only seemed to be asleep, weirdly. Shamara didn’t really feel anything wrong in or with Anissa, just...sleep. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m gonna check the network and see if this is something else. And then we’re going to medical.”
There was nothing wrong with Anissa, or so the doctors said. She was in peak health overall; she just happened to be unconscious, unexpectedly. All they could do was wait -- or treat her like Sleeping Beauty, it turned out.
Anissa had no idea how long she’d been asleep. The only way she knew that any time had passed at all was that she was waking up in an entirely different place than she’d last been. It was enough to make her heart race, and she tried to sit up. “Shamara?”
After the trip to medical, where they had told her Anissa was fine and this didn't have to (and probably shouldn't) stay there, Shamara brought Anissa back to her room, warning both their team leaders that there was a slight issue that would make them late for work. And then it had been a simple case of realizing what both Snow White and Sleeping Beauty had in common. Snow White occurred because of the apple, but others had mentioned Sleeping Beauty for obvious reasons. To Shamara that was just a coma but if this worked by fairytale rules then perhaps she could take the role of every Prince Charming figure in the tales.
Kissing Anissa was never, ever a chore even if she preferred everyone to be awake and alert for this kind of thing. But needs must, and so Shamara was still raising her head from the gentlest kiss when Anissa started waking up. Shamara smiled. "You're in my bed, you're okay. I don't know what that tells you but I just woke you from your supposed magical slumber with a kiss…"
“A magical what now?” That didn’t make any sense, but Anissa’s brain was so foggy that nothing would have made much sense. At least Shamara was there, she thought. At least she knew she was somewhere safe.
Anissa pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed at her face. “How long was I out?” She remembered walking to work with Shamara, and then… her eyes widened. “The apple. Shit, I should’ve known.”
Shamara smoothed her hand over Anissa's hair, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend even as she sat upright. "Yeah the apple. Snow White came to mind, medical said Sleeping Beauty. You were fine, just sleeping. So I… kissed you. Like in those stories."
“Huh.” Anissa hesitated for a moment before a wide smile crossed her face. “So you’re my Prince Charming, is that it?” If she had to be woken up by a kiss, she was incredibly glad that she’d been with Shamara instead of someone else. That part of those stories had always bothered her: that the princess never got a choice in who kissed her. Oh, she was sure the women were always glad to be awake, finally, but it always rubbed her wrong to think about how they never had a choice.
She was waking up quickly, in no doubt because her really beautiful girlfriend was right there. Anissa slid her arms around Shamara’s waist to return the embrace. “I’m glad it was you.”
The smile on Anissa's face spread warmth along Shamara's chest. She was glad the implications of what this kind of kiss might mean didn't make Anissa feel uncomfortable despite the lack of free will, quite the opposite. "Yeah I guess I am Princess Charming."
Shamara kissed Anissa's temple. "I'm glad I was there. I'll try to always be there, Anissa."
“I know.” It was a new feeling, the confidence Anissa was able to have in their relationship. Even though she knew that it was always possible something would take Shamara away, she wasn’t filled with doubt that Shamara would leave willingly, unlike she was in previous relationships. Shamara didn’t have secrets. Shamara wasn’t holding her at an arm’s length. She wasn’t holding Shamara at an arm’s length, either.
Anissa leaned into the kiss, wondering how it was possible something so simple could make her feel all warm and tingly everywhere. “I love you, you know.”
The peaceful, loving atmosphere between them made Shamara close her eyes, basking in how amazing this felt. It wasn’t the turbulent longing she thought she’d wanted from seeing her sister and Eve’s struggle, and that was even better. She opened her eyes only once Anissa’s confession made her hold her breath for a second. Shamara smiled softly, eyes wide, afraid to say anything that might somehow ruin the moment.
At last releasing a breath, Shamara smiled widely. “I love you too. Oh, that feels good to say!”
Squeezing Anissa, she showered her girlfriend with kisses all over her face.
A laugh bubbled up in Anissa’s chest as Shamara kissed her. It did feel good. It was something Anissa really hadn’t had before. Oh, sure, there had been relationships, but never one where she felt like it was this safe to be open, to be fully herself.
“I should’ve said it before,” Anissa admitted. She should’ve said it a hundred times before. Before something worse happened. Before either of them disappeared. She didn’t want to hold back anymore, especially not in the face of Shamara’s unyielding loyalty and support. “But waiting did make this more of a fairytale ending.”
“The timing did make it more symbolic but it would have been fairytale-like whenever you said it. Because it’s you. And me.” Shamara explained. Nothing changed, not even her fear that one of them would be taken away or the even deeper fear that Anissa would want to return home after the war, where Shamara couldn’t follow. That thought allowed her happiness to waver for just a second before she forced herself to bask in the now. Now was wonderful.
Anissa’s smile widened and she leaned in for another kiss, feeling a hundred times more awake than she had just a few minutes before. “Yeah, you’re right. We were already a fairytale.”