Author's note: I'm making it a point to not worry too much over how long it's taking me to get chapters done while I'm trying to get back into a routine, though I can't say that I don't care when I miss a deadline, either. I'm actually largely pleased with how things are going overall lately. I've got a much better idea of what I can get done during the week and I'm getting better at not letting myself be distracted from writing during my free time on the weekends. With the long weekend coming up this week, I'm looking forward to putting that to use and getting closer to getting myself caught up and on schedule.

This chapter was originally planned to upload as Friday evening's update, but I pushed my target date back to Monday evening because of an idea that I've had floating around in my head for some time now that I was having trouble not doing anything with. I realized far too late that I couldn't get both that and this chapter done even close to on schedule, so I've put it on the back burner for the moment in the interest of getting this story back on schedule. I'll be working on it over the weekend and I hope to have it posted along with this coming Monday's update. That reminds me: if anyone is interested in keeping up to date with when the next chapters will release, I can be found on Tumblr (username kumoma13).

There's no music to note for this chapter; as you'll soon see, there's far more interest in the news than music at the moment.

Fareeha blinked in confusion as she stood in Angela's doorway. She'd heard the words but, as it often seemed to be since her leave started, it seemed too good to be true. As she stared, Angela began to look uneasy.

"F—Fareeha?"

Hearing her name made her realize that Angela couldn't hear any of the thoughts racing through her head. She was so busy thinking of her prepared apology, feeling ridiculous for having bothered and taking in the sight in front of her all at once that it took hearing her name to realize that she had yet to give a voice to any of it. Her mind raced to find the words to do so, but it seemed to stumble over itself.

"I...take it you approve?"

It took Fareeha a moment of curiosity to realize that she was smiling so widely that she was beginning to feel fatigue in her face. Giving up, she nodded and made her way inside as Angela, now laughing in her relief, stepped aside to make room for her. Fareeha's mind finally lurched into gear just in time to notice the smell that had built up in the suite over the last few minutes. Though still nauseated, she couldn't resist suddenly wanting to devour everything in sight as her eyes took in the two covered dishes on the coffee table. Two sets of silverware were each wrapped in intricately folded linen napkins next to their own glasses, one set placed with obvious care next to each of the dishes. Though she didn't take any particular interest in the teapot and the pair of tea cups on saucers in the center of the coffee table on a silver tray, it was easy enough for her to appreciate that they had been arranged with the same care as everything else. Looking at everything neatly arranged in the middle of the suite, she thought that the setting looked more like a photograph from a magazine than anything she was likely to see for herself.

"I am sorry that I didn't have time to make things look any nicer than this. The attendant left only minutes ago."

Angela's voice was the only thing that could have torn Fareeha's attention away from the setting in front of her. She turned to see Angela looking somewhat shy; she looked away at nothing in particular and failed to restrain a smile as her cheeks turned progressively deeper shades of red. Again, Fareeha realized that the reaction was caused by the fact that she was staring, but her manners alone couldn't convince her to turn her gaze away.

"What is it, love?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that...well...you look nice. Again."

Fareeha felt like kicking herself after hearing her own voice give such a feeble response, but no better words occurred to her to describe what she was seeing. They never did when she tried to explain exactly what it was that she was thinking after seeing Angela wearing something new, which was quite often. Aside from her Valkyrie armor, she couldn't remember ever having seen Angela wear the same thing twice. Every time they met, it seemed that the sole purpose of her ensemble was to catch her attention and drive her mad despite Angela's relatively simple fashion choices. It was always somehow elegant in its simplicity. Even though it was clear that she was seeking comfort above all else this morning, this occasion was no different in the effect it had. She was wearing a white cotton tank top and blue denim shorts, but something about it was different in a way that Fareeha couldn't immediately place. As she thought about it, it occurred to her that a significant difference was in how much of her skin was visible. No matter how alluring Angela's appearance was, it was always modest in that she was usually as covered as the current weather allowed. As with the night before, however, it seemed that the opposite was the case. More than that, Fareeha couldn't help noticing how little the denim shorts covered. The inseam couldn't have been more than five centimeters in length, showing off more of her legs than Fareeha had ever seen. In addition, she was wearing a white pocketed apron that covered most of her front and stopped at the middle of her thigh. With the white apron layered over the white tank top, it gave the illusion that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it at all. Even her feet were nearly bare, covered only by a pair of plush blue slippers. The thought of the overall effect made Fareeha's heart race out of control.

"Are you alright, love?" Angela's expression turned to one of concern when Fareeha started to look unsteady on her feet.

"Yes...I'm fine." It wasn't entirely true, but Fareeha didn't want to worry Angela needlessly any more than she wanted to admit to the source of the problem. "I'm just a little tired. I should probably sit down." I should probably blindfold myself, too.

Though she clearly wasn't entirely convinced, Angela didn't say anything else about the matter as she took Fareeha's hand and led her to the sofa. Fareeha didn't sit as much as she collapsed; she didn't notice it until she found herself finally able to rest, but she was far more exhausted than she realized. Between the lack of sleep and the hangover she was still battling, she hadn't had much energy to spare and the trip to her hotel room and back seemed to have taken all of it. She looked up at Angela and wondered where she was going; she was expecting that they would both be sitting, but after escorting Fareeha to the couch, Angela made her way to the kitchen instead. She returned a moment later, smiling cheerfully and holding what looked like a grocery bag.

"Here you are...these are the things that Tracer said you would want. The kettle is heating, so I will be serving tea in just a moment." Still smiling, she turned and made her way into the kitchen again with a noticeable spring in her step despite her feeling sick and fatigued. Fareeha watched her curiously, wondering if she wasn't missing something.

"Oh...right! Thanks!" Fareeha was excited to finally put the items to use, as anxious to rid herself of her hangover as she was to satisfy her curiosity. She considered pulling them all out but, looking at the careful arrangement on the coffee table, she thought better of it and instead put the bag down on the floor in front of her. The arrangement was too elegant to disrupt by spreading groceries everywhere.

Angela returned a moment later with a carton of eggs in hand. She was eyeing them suspiciously as she sat next to Fareeha and handed them to her. "Here you are. Tracer said that you would know what to do with them. So...what are you going to do with them?"

Slightly anxious with curiosity, Angela bent forward and started pulling items out of the grocery bag and placing them on the coffee table. Though she didn't like the thought of leaving the job to someone else, the careful arrangement of the items made Fareeha glad that she hadn't done the job herself. She struggled to recall the instructions that Lena had given her in the message she'd received while she was on her way to the lobby of her hotel room, but it was a blur. Between trying to get through the crowd and thinking about Angela, she'd nearly forgotten them only a moment after she'd read them. She rested the eggs in her lap and quickly pulled out her phone to open the message again, then put it back in her pocket before starting to open the carton of eggs.

"It looks like I just have to mix them together."

"And then what?"

"Nothing, from the looks of it."

Angela only felt more confused as she watched Fareeha carefully crack the shell of one of the eggs and empty its contents into the glass on the coffee table. Putting the empty shell into the carton and setting it aside, she started opening the bottles and adding dashes of each to the glass on top of the unbroken egg yolk. After adding the salt and grinding some black pepper on top of the tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce, she poured a small amount of vodka on top of it all and stared at it for a moment.

"So, that's it?" Angela was about to offer to take the glass into the kitchen to cook it, halted only by the feeling that she was missing something important.

"Yes, that's it. Apparently."

Though excited by her curiosity, Fareeha didn't feel entirely confident about what she was about to do. Noticing the way that she was holding the glass, it occurred to Angela that she looked as though she was about to take a drink from it. Her eyes wide with horror, she finally understood what was happening and couldn't stop herself from speaking out.

"Does Tracer...does she want us to drink this revolting concoction?"

Fareeha laughed nervously. She didn't want to seem insensitive to Angela's understandable surprise, but curiosity kept her from being entirely enthusiastic about agreeing that it was necessarily disgusting. "She said that it will help. She seemed confident enough about it."

"I cannot help but wonder why. Where did she ever hear of such a horrible thing?"

"She said that McCree showed her how to make it."

"Jesse...I should have known. Horrible."

Fareeha looked up to see Angela staring at the glass in her hand with a look of disgust. Something about the tone of voice made her wonder whether it was directed at McCree or the prairie oyster. Getting the feeling that it was better to not ask, she turned her attention back to the glass.

"I...should probably get this over with."

Angela cringed as she watched Fareeha raise the glass to her lips, consciously forcing herself to not try to stop her as she saw the egg disappear into her mouth. Fareeha closed her eyes tightly as she swallowed the contents of the glass as quickly as she could. She sat as still as stone as her stomach tossed violently for a moment, not daring to do as much as open her eyes until it settled. Opening her eyes slowly and moving carefully, she placed the glass on the coffee table while Angela waited nervously. She readied herself to rush Fareeha to the bathroom, certain that there was no way that something so vile would stay in her stomach for very long.

"That could have been worse."

Angela stared at Fareeha in shock. She looked at the glass sitting near the ingredients on the table, wondering what she could have been missing. Despite her best efforts and years of studying human physiology, her horror kept her from thinking of a single reason for a reaction to ingesting something so vile other than an immediate and violent rejection. Fareeha looked up again and struggled to not laugh at the expression on Angela's face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open slightly and she gripped the bottom of her apron in tightly clenched fists as though it were trying to escape.

"I...take it that means that you don't want one?"

Angela could only shake her head as she attempted to collect herself. "I am still trying to figure out how you are keeping it down."

"It wasn't bad, actually. It was kind of like eating a real oyster. You just have to take it all at once. I can't say I'd recommend trying to chew it, though."

Angela continued to stare in disbelief. "Do you feel any better?"

"I don't feel worse, so I'm not complaining." Though her stomach still hadn't settled entirely, it was no worse than it was before once she'd had a moment to recover. More than anything else at the moment, it reminded her that she was still hungry.

Hearing the tea kettle whistling in the kitchen, Angela stood and began collecting the ingredients from the coffee table. Placing them back into the grocery bag, she took it, the glass and the porcelain teapot from the table. "I am glad you are feeling better. Or, at least, not worse." She bent down and kissed Fareeha's cheek before heading back into the kitchen.

Fareeha once again got the feeling that she was being cared for as she watched Angela walk away, an arm and both hands full. A feeling of guilt quickly took root and led her to carefully stand. She wavered slightly as she did so and was surprised by the amount of effort that it took. Her body felt strangely heavy now that she was home. Home...that's still a strange thought. I think I could get used to it, though. She smiled and dismissed it as she put her focus into keeping steady as she followed Angela into the kitchen.

"Can I help with anything?"

Angela turned, looking surprised to see her there. "No, I will take care of everything. You should sit and rest...you still do not look entirely well."

"I'm fine, really. I'm just tired." Fareeha looked around for anything that needed doing, but the only thing she could see that required attention were the groceries that Angela was putting away and the whistling cast iron tea kettle on the stove that she didn't have any idea what to do with. Everything else in the kitchen was as neatly arranged as the coffee table, giving her the impression that she could only do more harm than good by touching any of it.

"It is nice of you to offer, but there is not much left to do but make the tea. Do not worry...I will take care of everything."

Fareeha still didn't feel entirely comfortable with the thought, but something about the way that Angela insisted again kept Fareeha from arguing the point any further. Unlike when she had mentioned McCree, however, she appeared to be quite happy about doing the work herself. Fareeha couldn't place why, but she was certain that Angela was enjoying herself. She watched silently as the last of the things from the grocery bag disappeared into cabinets, nearly too quickly to be seen but with the same care that had gone into placing everything else. With practiced hands, she moved to the cast iron kettle on the stove and poured a small amount of water into the ceramic teapot before placing the kettle back on the stove. After swirling the hot water around in the teapot for a moment, she poured it out and reached into the cabinet for a small tin. She opened the lid, releasing the scent of peppermint into the kitchen.

"I hope you like it. I know that you do not usually drink tea, but it should help you feel a bit better this morning." Angela seemed hopeful about the thought as she spooned tea leaves into the teapot.

"I'm sure that it will go down a bit easier than the prairie oyster. I probably should've waited to try the tea first."

Angela laughed while suppressing a shudder. "I certainly hope so. It is a first flush Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe peppermint Darjeeling tea. It is quite light and should not make it as difficult to get back to sleep as coffee would."

Though she hadn't understood a word that had been said about it outside of "peppermint Darjeeling tea," Fareeha resisted the urge to ask. Angela looked too proud of the words she'd used to risk taking away from the moment by asking what significance they had. She didn't need to understand them to feel confident, anyway; she knew Angela's taste to be impeccable, so a vote of confidence from her was more than sufficient.

Starting to feel awkward standing there and watching Angela work without doing herself led Fareeha to break the silence. "Why are there so many dishes?"

"I was not certain how hungry you would be. I erred on the side of caution."

Fareeha's stomach rumbled in an odd way, as though it was torn between demanding to be fed and demanding that it not be disturbed. Her mind, however, had made its decision when the smell of the food first registered.

"It never ceases to amaze me how well you know me."

Angela only smiled as she reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a large glass pitcher filled with what looked like apple juice. She took the pitcher and another glass to the coffee table, then returned just as the kettle whistled again, signaling her to lift it from the stove and fill the teapot. When she was satisfied, she turned the stove off and set the kettle aside, then fitted a pink knitted tea cozy over the teapot and carefully lifted it from the countertop.

"The tea is nearly ready! Come, sit back down."

Fareeha again wondered why Angela seemed so excited. She did as asked and, as she again fell onto the sofa a bit harder than she'd intended, Angela placed the teapot on the silver tray between the teacups. Fareeha noted the elegant pink floral pattern on the white cups trimmed with gold and their matching saucers. She was certain that she had seen them sitting on the tea trolley when she first arrived the day before and found herself again wondering how much care had gone into choosing this hotel room. With the teapot in place, Angela returned to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a large platter filled with fruit that she placed on the coffee table. Fareeha, who was in the middle of taking in the fragrance of the tea, was distracted by the careful arrangement of assorted sliced fruit on the platter. Halved grapefruit with small silver spoons and apples were arranged around several bunches of grapes in the center in a pattern that showed clear attention to detail.

"What is it, love?" Angela stopped in the middle of lifting the covers of the dishes, revealing large plates of scrambled eggs and toast. She took in Fareeha's bewildered expression and wondered if there wasn't a problem.

"You're amazing. How did you manage all of this?" Taking in the sight and smells overwhelming her senses, she felt as though everything was too perfect to be a coincidence. It was as though everything had been arranged specifically to appeal to her. Of course not...what a horribly self-centered thought. Despite trying to deny the possibility, however, she couldn't stop it from causing her heart to race again.

Angela smiled shyly as she shook her head and removed the covers. "I cannot take credit for any of it. The kitchen prepared everything this morning; I merely found places to put everything."

"And it's all perfect. I don't know how you found time to do it all."

Angela seemed to be lost for words and began to turn red again as she set the covers aside and handed one of the dishes and wrapped sets of silverware to Fareeha. After taking a moment to fill both of the glasses with juice, she sat next to her and reached forward to take her own dish. Fareeha watched her in amazement and again got the feeling that Angela was doing this all for her benefit. Her feelings of guilt were replaced with appreciation as she pulled a fork out of the linen. Though she couldn't explain why, the thought made warmth spread inside of her. It reminded her of the feeling of being sent off for the day by a loving wife only hours earlier. A small part of her mind continued shouting at her that she should feel guilty for enjoying it and that she should be doing her fair share of the work, but she silenced it in favor of savoring the moment. I think I could get used to this.

They ate in silence for a moment, both of them too hungry to delay any further. The only interruptions were made by Angela when she occasionally stopped eating to pull fruit from the platter for Fareeha, leaving her lost between feeling compelled to argue and loving the attention. Between loving the feeling of being cared for and not wanting to do anything to disrupt the look of happiness on Angela's face every time there was something that needed to be done, she was eventually able to entirely ignore the part of her attempting to make her feel guilty about enjoying herself quite so much. Though she didn't normally eat such light things, she was surprised by how easy it was to keep it down. Her stomach offered minimal protest, her hunger finally winning out over nausea. As always, Angela had made the perfect choice. The feeling of being cared for was almost too much to endure without a reaction, but her sense of pride caused her to ignore the stinging sensation in her eyes as she blinked to ensure that they were still dry.

After a few minutes, Angela finally spoke. "What do you think? How is everything?"

Fareeha smiled as she loaded her fork with more eggs. "They're much better when they've been cooked."

Angela laughed aloud, only narrowly avoiding choking on her toast. "I am certain that Tracer meant well and I do not mean to say that this prairie oyster of hers does not work, but I think that I will show you how to make a Corpse Reviver. It should go down a bit more smoothly."

"A what?"

"Just another bit of the hair of the dog that bit you. I would suggest a Bloody Mary, but I know that you do not particularly care for tomatoes." Noting the look of guilt on Fareeha's face, she couldn't help wondering what had caused it, though she was capable of hazarding a guess. "What is wrong?"

"I was just thinking about the prairie oyster. I didn't give it much thought at the time, but I suppose that it's a bit early in the day to be drinking vodka."

Scheisse. I knew it. Angela had forgotten until it was entirely too late to avoid the subject. "If it makes you feel any better, I am not in a position to judge." Following a look of confusion from Fareeha, she added, "I was creative in disposing of the leftover Eiswein from last night."

Much to Angela's surprise, Fareeha shook her head while she was chewing. "You know yourself and your limits better than anyone else. If it suits you, that should be good enough for anyone else, too."

Overwhelmed, Angela leaned in and kissed Fareeha before she could take another bite. After a long moment, she pulled away and sighed peacefully. Fareeha appeared to be confused, though not at all displeased.

"Not that I'm complaining, but...what was that for?"

"Being understanding."

Fareeha could only smile in response as she finished her eggs. It didn't seem to her as though she had done anything special, but she couldn't help appreciating any moment in which she managed to make Angela happy. As she picked up the last of her toast from her now empty plate, Angela put her own unfinished food on the coffee table and stood.

"I will take that." She leaned forward and picked up the plate from Fareeha's lap, then took it into the kitchen before there could be any protest. Just as Fareeha was considering putting her warm feelings aside for a moment for the sake of being polite, Angela returned with another dish.

"Here you are. It is tartiflette; a little heavy for this morning, perhaps, but you seem to be feeling a bit better so I thought you would like it. I know how much you love bacon."

Fareeha thanked her as she took the plate and examined it with wide eyes. The potatoes, cheese and onions were irresistible and the flecks of bacon scattered throughout made it difficult for her to keep her excitement quiet. The only thing marring the experience was the habit of feeling uneasy about the bacon. She was never particularly religious, but as she was part of a small minority taking that stance, bacon was incredibly rare when she was growing up. When she did come by it, she usually passed on the opportunity, both out of respect for anyone that may be offended and a lack of interest in defending her position yet again. Now, however, it was easy to put the thought out of mind; nobody was more understanding or less judgemental of her than Angela.

With great difficulty, Angela gave Fareeha a few minutes to enjoy herself before asking something that had occurred to her while she was in the kitchen. "I was wondering...where are your things?" Angela strained to keep her voice steady and not show how much worry was behind the seemingly simple question.

"Lena said that she would be sending them along later. Something about not wanting me to be seen with them coming out of the hotel today."

Angela smiled as she held back a sigh of relief. "That...makes sense. You would not want people jumping to conclusions as to why you are here."

"Even if they're right?"

Angela nodded as she took another bite of her eggs. "Mostly because they are right."

Fareeha attempted to make sense of the logic for the second time that day, but gave up on it after a few seconds and turned her attention back to her tartiflette. "I suppose I shouldn't have said quite so much on my way in here, then."

"What? To whom?"

"A reporter that stopped me on the way in." Remembering Angela's reaction the last time they'd met, Fareeha decided that it was better to not give any more details about her if she could avoid it. "The questions weren't specific, but I didn't bother denying anything, either."

Fareeha was so occupied with the dish in front of her that it took a few seconds for her to realize where she had gone wrong. Feeling uneasy about the silence, she looked up to see Angela looking particularly excited. Before she could say anything to defuse the situation, Angela had set her dish on the coffee table and jumped to her feet.

"Um...Angela? What are you doing?"

Angela's only response was a smile as she looked around the room frantically for a moment before her eyes fell on the tabled that she'd tossed aside in excitement earlier when she thought that Fareeha was at the door. In a single motion, she grabbed it and jogged back to the couch, landing in a heap as she pulled up the news feeds again. Fareeha dared a glance at the screen and cringed when she realized what was happening.

"All I did was answer a few questions, really! It's not that big—"

Angela, already giggling, put a finger to Fareeha's lips as a recent news story started to play. She set the feed to play on a large holographic projection that appeared on the other side of the coffee table just in time to see a reporter gracefully spinning around the hotel staff trying to keep the crowd in order.

"Not her again!"

Fareeha gave a nervous glance to her side when she heard the irritated reaction that she was expecting. Angela sounded somewhat annoyed, but she was still smiling widely in anticipation. Though it still worried her slightly, it did nothing to take her mind away from what was to come. Angela wrapped her arms around Fareeha's as she leaned into her shoulder and watched the video feed intently. As the short interview progressed, she only grew more excited and started to bounce in place on the sofa when the potential for conflicts caused by their relationship came up. Hearing Fareeha boldly defending their relationship thrilled her; hearing her response to another statement about those lamenting the fact that they were both now spoken for caused her to take leave of her senses. Fareeha only barely managed to keep the last of her tartiflette from flying out of her hands when Angela placed a hand behind her head and pulled her close to kiss her. Seconds passed before Angela finally let her go, leaving Fareeha looking pleasantly dazed. Slowly returning to her senses, Angela returned the stream to the last point that she could remember having seen to watch the final seconds of the video. She squinted as she tried to make sense of the voices all shouting to be heard over each other as the crowd started to close in on the reporter.

"That poor girl...I actually feel sorry for her! I do not think that she knew what to do with you. You left her entirely stupefied!"

"I...think I understand the feeling."

Angela looked up and laughed again when she saw Fareeha still trying to catch her breath. "What was she saying about Tracer?"

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I was just trying to get out of there once the opportunity presented itself. It was something about sponsoring someone, so I assume that she has a candidate for Overwatch in mind."

Angela thought about it for a moment, but couldn't find any relevance to the conversation. Lena did, in fact, have a candidate that she'd recommended, but it wasn't anyone that Fareeha was likely to want to hear about. The thought of the reaction to going into further detail led her to push the conversation forward. "What were you shouting to her?"

Fareeha groaned when she remembered the promise that she'd hastily made. "I...told her that I would speak with her again another time."

Angela's eyes went wide. "You actually agreed to an interview?"

"I felt a need to. Did you see how tired she was? She was a mess. She must have been up all night long waiting for that opportunity. She was also the only one willing to make that extra effort that nobody else was. If a few minutes of talking about myself is all I have to do to keep it from being a complete loss, I can endure it. Probably."

Angela gave Fareeha another quick kiss on her cheek. "That was very kind of you. It is certainly more than I would have done. I will submit her contact information for review and have an interview scheduled."

"So you don't mind? She's going to be asking about you, after all. I can always tell her that I can't do it."

"No! You should do it!" When Fareeha jumped slightly by the enthusiastic response, she quickly added, "it will be good for you. You should get used to reporters, after all. Your fame will only increase once Overwatch has reformed. Think of it as practice."

Again, Angela consciously stopped herself from breathing a sigh of relief when Fareeha eventually nodded and turned her attention back to the last of her tartiflette. She stood and made her way to the kitchen again as she thought about the upcoming interview. She tingled inside when she thought of it. While it was true that she thought that it would be a good experience for Fareeha, she couldn't deny that her primary motivation was the fact that she loved to hear Fareeha proudly proclaiming her love for all to hear. She couldn't remove the smile from her face as she carefully removed another dish from the oven and made her way back to the sofa just in time to see Fareeha clearing her plate. She felt as though she was being rewarded for her effort when Fareeha's eyes lit up as she looked up at the dish in her hands.

"There's more? What is it?"

"Älplermagronen. Again, it is a bit heavy for this morning, but I think you will like it. Just be careful to not eat too much. You do not want to make yourself sick again."

Fareeha laughed as her stomach rumbled, seemingly demanding more in response to the warning. "I don't think that will be a problem."

Angela glowed as she handed the dish to Fareeha and took her empty one back into the kitchen. When she returned, she was surprised to see Fareeha looking up at her as though she was waiting.

"What is it, love?"

"I was just thinking about the interview. It reminded me of the phone call."

Angela's expression soured. "Oh...Fawzy. What did she want, anyway?"

"Pretty much what I assumed."

Angela was far more annoyed than worried after watching Fareeha respond to the reporter. She was filled with a confidence with which she wasn't entirely familiar within the context of relationships. "How did she go about asking about us?"

"Pretty much how I assumed." Seeing Angela's burning curiosity led Fareeha to go into a bit more detail in spite of her desire to put the matter behind her entirely. "She hasn't learned anything more about tact since the last time you saw her. It wasn't entirely bad, though. She actually wants me to be seen with you more often."

"She does?" Remembering Fawzy's apparent love of gossip, it wasn't hard for Angela to imagine that with that fact coupled with the resources available to her due to her authority, the details of her past were no longer a secret. That thought made it difficult for Angela to imagine that Fawzy would approve of her in any way.

"More than that, she won't be saying anything against our being seen together."

"She...she said that?"

"That's how I've chosen to interpret the stammering." Again, Fareeha saw curiosity burning in Angela's stare, but remembering the conversation kept her from indulging Angela this time. "As I said, she has yet to learn anything more about tact. Don't worry; we had a talk about it. I think we're seeing eye to eye on the matter now...well, she'll hopefully be choosing her words a bit more carefully from now on, anyway. She even wants us to go to some kind of a festival in the city tonight."

"A festival?" Steadily increasing love of Fareeha's defense of their relationship and the shock caused by Fawzy's change of heart made it difficult for Angela to think clearly. After a moment, her eyes lit up. "Oh! She must be talking about Sächsilüüte! With everything going on yesterday, I had nearly forgotten that it was today!"

"What is it, exactly?"

"It is a celebration of the beginning of spring. There will be parades all afternoon and a bonfire at six o'clock. I cannot remember when I was last in town to see it for myself! I know you do not particularly care for crowds, but it will be fun. Besides, you love explosions."

"Explosions?" While Angela's assessment was certainly true, Fareeha couldn't make a connection between explosions and a parade.

"I will show you, if you think you can handle the trip out when the time comes. I am excited to finally be able to attend! Considering that our own assembly was held yesterday specifically because we wanted people to be in a festive mood for it, I am surprised that I managed to forget about it." Angela thought about it for a moment before smiling. "Then again, I have had much more important things on my mind since then."

Attempting to ignore the warmth she felt growing in her face, Fareeha pushed the conversation forward. "What about the call you had to make today? Is it anything that requires immediate attention?"

Fareeha immediately regretted asking when the look of annoyance returned to Angela's face. "Das geht mir am Arsch vorbei. It will have to wait until my holiday ends." After seeing Fareeha grow tense and drawing conclusions as to the reason for it, Angela smiled sweetly in an attempt to reassure her that her anger was directed elsewhere. "I am sorry, love. Do not mind me. I am merely frustrated with people that keep attempting to interfere with my holiday...and with keeping them separated from the ones that honestly cannot wait."

"What's the difference between them?"

"Whether or not they understand that I do not want to be bothered. It never ceases to amaze me how many—"

As if on cue, Angela was interrupted by a knock at the door. Taking a moment to remain calm and remember that nobody would come to see her in person outside of a dire emergency, she remembered that Fareeha's luggage was supposed to be arriving soon. She assumed that Fareeha had the same thought when she started to put her dish on the coffee table and stand.

"No, you keep eating. I will get it."

She smiled at Fareeha's apparent struggle to not argue as she returned to her älplermagronen. She rushed to the door and, as she expected, a hotel employee was standing on the other side with a suitcase and a duffel bag. After thanking him and taking the bags, she carried them into the bedroom and placed them on the bed before excitedly returning to Fareeha, who was pushing macaroni and potatoes around on her plate with a guilty expression.

"For the record, I am enjoying myself. You should not worry so much." Angela kissed Fareeha's cheek as she sat down and again picked up her plate to finish the last of her toast.

Not wanting to upset Angela if she was indeed happy, Fareeha again resolved to put the matter out of her mind. She took a moment to remember common commands for hotel rooms and called out to the ceiling for the holographic display in front of them to start scrolling through other news feeds.

"What are you looking for, love?"

"Another news station...hopefully one that's talking about something other than us." Fareeha didn't feel particularly hopeful as she looked at the list of headlines, precious few of which seemed to think that there was anything worth reporting other than the few minutes of footage of the two of them over the last day. "You always watch the news in the morning and I doubt that you've had time to do so today."

Angela felt slightly faint with elation. Despite all of the attention that people around the world gave her, she could count on one hand the ones that ever considered her as a person rather than a means to an end. "It looks as though you know me as well as I know you."

They continued to eat in relative calm, watching the few news stories that they could find that didn't concern the two of them. The only interruptions of significance came when Fareeha finished eating something and Angela returned to the kitchen to get her something else. It wasn't until she saw Fareeha stifling a yawn that she realized that the moment that she had been both cheerfully awaiting and dreading had come.

"We...should probably head back to bed. We do not want to miss too much of the parades, after all."

Despite her best effort to ignore the feeling, Angela felt relieved when Fareeha simply nodded in response. Again, thoughts of sharing a bed came to mind, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Though she'd resolved to not press the issue of intimacy and avoid it altogether for the moment, the thought still made her feel uneasy as she had no idea how to proceed when it inevitably came up. It pained her to admit that she had little experience with considering others' feelings regarding the matter. She had always simply charged ahead and done as she pleased; if whoever she was with wasn't interested then it was simply their loss in her mind, but it never happened. She never considered until years later that some of them may have simply followed along out of fear of rejection or a sense of duty. Putting Fareeha through something like that was unthinkable. It is just as well, really...I am too tired to give it thought, much less effort. Pushing her worry aside, she slowly stood and waited for Fareeha to follow. She could only smile in response as Fareeha, now full and looking only barely awake, reached out and took her hand to gently pull her toward the bedroom.