Playground Games

It took maybe three seconds for Army to lean over and mold himself to her body after she stretched out on the bed. Stimulus and response; he was reliable like that.

Another thing she could count on- Army would swallow his own vulnerability and do something to try and make her feel better. It wasn’t ideal- it would have been better for them if they’d talked through their mutual apprehension, and, whenever she was feeling uncertain about or desperately scrambling for reasons to justify her decision over the coming year, this moment would resurface over and over again. Here in the moment, though, she trusted him. Army knew her better than virtually anyone else, and whatever he was about to do was going to get the job done.

Sure enough, her boyfriend held her hand- gentle, yet firm. He pressed his forehead down into hers, driving her down into the bed. He was so close; she needed only to give into the pressure, to tilt her head back for her lips to reach his. For now, though, she pushed back as hard as she could, with effort enough to make her forehead hurt.

Then he spoke- trash talk, because of course- and the ardor-infused sweat she’d just washed off began to bead again at the base of her neck. She pulled her phone (which was primed to go off when they had absolutely no time left) tighter to her chest, until both of their hands went white from the force.

She took a moment to take everything in; she registered the warmth of his hand wrapped around hers, his breath on her lips, the cocky glint in his eyes. Her heart was beating really fast; she had the biggest crush on her own boyfriend, it was almost embarrassing. 3 months, she repeated to herself. Then her mouth cracked open into a grin.

“It’s a date.”

Then she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

*  *  * 15 Months Later *  *  *

Amy traced two fingers over her lips as she walked, as though briefly lost in a memory. It was a shock at first to be back- everything was at once intimately familiar and intensely foreign. She recognized the buildings, but some of the storefronts and signage had changed since she was here last. Even now, it was mostly her subconscious and not Google Maps that was guiding her through the twists and turns of Kyoto's side streets to her destination.

When she arrived, she stared up at the apartment building with an annoyed look on her face. She’d gone through the possible explanations in her head- he was on a run, he was napping, he’d lost his phone- but each fell apart in the face of the fact that she’d sent her first message with the news of her return 3 whole days ago. Now it felt like she was dropping in unannounced, even though that definitely wasn’t the case.

But despite her expression, Amy was giddy. She’d missed the Rodriguezes, and she was excited to see them again. She was looking forward to handing off her shopping bag of gifts- a giant thing of cashews, and another giant thing of mixed nuts- to Carmen, and watching her face light up with their cooking potential. She was looking forward to catching up with Felina, hearing about and laughing at the stupid shit the men of Tension had been up to. And… Amy smiled to herself.

She called down the elevator, humming and thinking about french fries.