Sam Nishimura is a wanna-be badass (the_reason) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-30 11:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, faiza hussain (excalibur), sam nishimura |
Who: Sam Nishimura, Faiza
What: Sam picks Faiza up at the airport!
When: Uh... when Faiza landed in London.
Where: London Heathrow Airport.
Ratings/Warnings: PG
Status: Complete!
The flight had been long but Faiza had spent most of it reading medical journals and watching cricket matches she’d recorded for the trip, as well as sketching out a design for a new robot. Maybe with there being someone at the ranch to help her she could get back into the robot fighting!
She was wearing a colorful headscarf that matched her shirt and trousers as she waited for her luggage.
Waiting in a special area just outside the baggage claim was one Sam Nishimura. She'd written Faiza's name on a piece of paper in purple glitter, just in case the woman didn't recognize her by her profile photo.
She was also wearing a purple dress to go with the purple glitter on the sign. The rich grape color of it stood out from the crowd, but if that wasn't enough she was also bouncing a bit.
There were a lot of women with scarves on their heads though, so it was hard to figure which one was Faiza. She hoped her flashy sign would help.
There was something sparkly and purple bouncing over to her left as she exited with her luggage. She spotted her name, and an energetic young woman. Faiza couldn’t help but grin. “You must be Samantha! I must say purple suits you. But I like purple too.”
"Oh gods please just call me Sam. The only people that call me Samantha are my parents, and they don't even bother with my name unless I'm in trouble," Sam replied, with a laugh.
She gave Faiza an energetic hug, "It's so great to meet you! I'm glad you like purple. Ooh we should stop at this market on the way to the cafe. I saw a bunch of gorgeous scarves in the fall colors, they'd look great on your head! Beautiful patterns and rich colors and really gorgeous materials."
“Well I’m not really here to shop but I don’t have to meet my colleague until tomorrow so I wouldn’t mind taking in the sights!” The Japanese girl was already endearing.
"It's not a full-on shopping spree, but you should definitely have some of these to bring back to the states, and they pack light!" Sam grinned, then checked her watch, "Let's see. Do you want a hand with your bags? I got the best parking spot I could, but it's a little bit of a walk still."
“I’ve got the bags, but thank you,” Faiza replied pleasantly. “And I’ll have to bring some back, won’t I. So you came here to study?”
"It was Lara's idea! I just followed her lead, because I wanted to be with her. It didn't matter where I studied. You can get Film degrees almost anywhere and... I guess I'm not all that ambitious."
Sam escorted Faiza through the airport, pointing at a coffee stand near the exit, "Do you need a pick me up or can you wait until the cafe? I think I could use a coffee, myself. Lara's got me up crazy hours these days."
“May I get a pick me up?” She looked over at Sam. “Your friend back in California? I suppose the time difference would make chatting overly difficult!” Sam was probably lucky that Faiza had never met Lara, or there would be minor teasing.
"We skype and text a lot, and chat on your network back there. I feel like half of me is already in California!" Sam nodded, and headed over to the coffee stand. She pulled out several 5 pound notes, and nodded up at the menu, "Order whatever you want! I made a lot on tips the other night."
“California will do that to you,” Faiza said, a little distantly. Now that she was back in England, she could feel the land with every foot step. It was a heady feeling. She swallowed - it was going to be hard to come back home. Very hard. She blinked her eyes before they started to glow or something. “Are you a waitress?”
"Uhm... no. I work another job that pays in tips," Sam replied, ducking her head a bit. She wasn't generally ashamed of what she did for a living - for fun, really, considering her bank account - but she didn't think telling a complete stranger was the best idea ever.
She placed their order, then paid and stepped around to the waiting area.
“I see,” Faiza replied, but she didn’t say anything else. Far be it for her to judge. She was still distracted by the hum of energy in the air. She hoped the drink would help. I should have known it would affect me. I just didn’t think like this!
“Going to the States was a huge adjustment, for me.”
"I'm sure it'll be a huge adjustment for me, too!" Sam nodded. She glanced over at Faiza and arched a brow, noting the woman's sudden change in overall demeanor, "Are you okay? You seem suddenly a little scatterbrained."
“Ever step somewhere and feel like you’re suddenly in a place you belong?” Faiza asked, looking over at her as the feeling passed. She could feel the pulse of the country. She understood now who Brian was. Who Captain Britain was. After she consulted with Moira, she might need to take a small holiday.
Sam shook her head. Her expression was momentarily darker, but only just for that moment, "No, I don't. But it's good that you feel like you belong here, since it's your home country isn't it?"
She handed Faiza her drink, then took a sip of hers, "They say you can never go home again, but it's nice when that mystical 'they' are wrong."
"I was born here," she said, nodding. "And I have an attachment to this country that's rather hard to explain without sounding, well, nutters." She leaned forward, smiling. "Are you American? I can't quite place your accent. Did you travel a lot? I can understand how trying to find home might be difficult, if that was the case. Oh, forgive me for assuming..."
"No, it's okay!" Sam waved a hand in the air, like that hand alone could cast away any negativity, cares, or worries, "I wasn't born here, no. I was born in Japan, but we moved around so much that I never really had one specific home. Mom and Dad have lots of houses all over the world, and they're constantly moving house between them. That's when they're not traveling other places and renting houses or staying in hotels, too."
She knew that just the mention of owning several houses and traveling alot meant that she'd had a privileged life. Sam tried not to sound upset about it, since it seemed ungrateful, "It was a blessed life, it just left me without a sense of place."
“Perhaps you need to think of it as though the whole world is your place,” Faiza pointed out. “Or just use people. People are home to me, more than any dirt.”
"Well, in that case it's got to be Lara."
Sam said it without hesitation, then started leading Faiza out of the airport and towards the parking area. Lara was the center of Sam's universe in a lot of ways, some of which she wasn't ready to accept. Where Lara hung her hat, that felt the most like home.
Obi made her feel at home, most days. Faiza smiled, following the woman out. "Is she who you're moving in with? You sound very fond of her."
"She's been my best friend forever now," Sam replied, with another nod, "We were in boarding school together, and we haven't really left each other's sides since. Except for little trips, or... her moving to California. But I told her to go, she needed to do that."
"We all need a chance to stretch our wings on our own," Faiza agreed, thoughtfully. "Though I've always wanted a friendship like that. Most of my friends are a little more distant. I'm surprised I've managed to have any sort of romantic relationship!"
"Well, I've never really been in a romantic relationship, so we're balancing each other out right now!"
Sam's car was a nice little silver thing, in excellent condition. She took better care of it than she took of herself, though Faiza had no way of knowing that. She unlocked the back seat, "Here, go ahead and put your luggage in here! Then we'll get scarves and lunch, and I can drop you wherever you're staying."
“I really appreciate this, duck. Thank you.” She gave Sam a light hug. “I think your friend is very lucky.”