Chapter Text
The sounds of splashing echo through the air as kids run about the pool, cheering and shouting as they go. Despite the chaos, Angela finds it all quite peaceful, floating on her back with her eyes closed as she soaks in the sunny day.
A smile pulls to her lips as she feels the water around her move, cracking an eye open to see Lian smiling down at her.
“Hey, Dulzura,” Angela greets with a bright smile, shifting to stand instead of float.
“Qíng rén,” Lian smiles back, “How does it feel to be sixteen?”
“About the same as it felt to be fifteen,” The technically older girl chuckles.
“Good to know,” Lian grins back, “Now I can prepare myself.”
Angela may only be a few months older than Lian, born in August of 1966 to Lian’s May of 1967, but her girlfriend has never let it go, holding the months between them over Angela’s head.
Angela rolls her eyes, opening her mouth to reply. Before she can, a splash behind her douses her in the cold, chlorine filled water, forcing both her and Lian to cover their eyes. As the water settles, small arms grab onto her shoulders, the weight of a small child settling onto her back as Bi-Han climbs up for a piggy back ride.
“Hi, Frog,” Angela laughs as Bi-Han’s chin settles on top of her head.
“Hi, Toad,” Bi-Han grins back, “Can you do the dolphin thing?”
Angela hums, pretending to consider the request.
Ever since Bi-Han learned to swim, a skill Angela is proud to say she had a hand in teaching him, it has been incredibly hard to keep him out of the water, more so when she or Kuai Liang are swimming as well. Ever the creative one, Bi-Han has come up with a number of games to be played in the pool, one of them being the dolphin game, inspired by Angela letting him ride on her back as she swam around the pool during his first swimming lesson.
“I dunno, Chaparrito,” She shrugs, eyes sparkling with mirth, “I think I’m all dolphined out.”
“Please!” He begs, turning his best puppy dog eyes onto Lian in the hopes that she will help him.
“Don’t look at me,” The elder cryomancer chuckles, holding her hands up in mock surrender, “I’m not gonna help you.”
It has become a well known fact that Lian will always side with Angela, something they would get mocked for, were anyone willing to risk the eldest Tian sibling’s wrath.
“But you could be the shark,” Bi-Han presses, pouting in dismay.
“I’m not hunting my girlfriend,” Lian deadpans.
The younger cryomancer slumps against Angela’s back in dismay, causing the older girl to roll her eyes fondly.
“Alright,” She relents, a playful exasperation in her tone, “But just once, okay?”
Bi-Han nods vigorously, his smile so wide it looks like it hurts as Angela dives down into the water, taking off with surprising speed for someone who has an extra hundred pounds of weight on her back.
Lian watches them go, a smile on her face as her brother’s cheers echo through the air.
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“You don’t want to swim, Kuai Liang?” Ms. Queen asks as she sits down on the pool chair next to the boy in question.
Reclined on his own chair, Kuai Liang turns the page in his book, “Not yet, I wanna finish this chapter first.”
“Ah, the allure of a good book,” Ms. Queen smiles, darting her eyes over to the pool to check on Angela.
The birthday girl is laughing brightly, wrapped up in her girlfriend's arms as Bi-Han dives down into the water to retrieve another pool toy.
“What’s it about?” Ms. Queen asks, turning her attention back to the young boy beside her.
“Traditional Japanese tea ceremonies,” He answers, turning the page yet again.
Ms. Queen blinks in surprise, “That’s a very interesting topic.”
Kuai Liang shrugs, frowning slightly in dismay, “The library didn’t have anything on traditional Chinese food or dinner customs, so…”
The local library is rather small, and to be perfectly honest, Ms. Queen is surprised it had anything on tea at all, much less something specific. It is disappointing, but not entirely surprising that he had not been able to find what he wanted.
“You know, I have a friend a few towns over that runs a bookshop,” She tells him, pulling the boy’s attention away from the page and to her face for the first time in their conversation, “He specializes in books that prepare you to travel, logistics advice, avoiding culture shock, that sort of thing.”
Closing his book, Kuai Liang sits up, his attention now entirely fixed on her as he nods for her to continue.
“I can’t promise he’ll have anything,” She warns, because for all Darryl tries to keep a varied stock, his shop is still a small one, “But I could ask him if you’d like?”
“Really?” Kuai Liang breathes out, eyes wide.
“Really,” Ms. Queen nods, “If he doesn’t have one, he’d probably know who to ask.”
“I’d like that very much,” Kuai Liang replies politely, a smile beginning to pull at his face, “Thank you, Ms. Queen.”
She waves him off with a smile of her own, “Don’t mention it.”
“Kuai Liang!” Bi-Han calls out from the pool, lifting himself up onto the ledge as he waves to get his brother’s attention, “Are you done with your book?”
“Yeah!” The younger cryomancer calls back.
“Will you come swim with us?” Bi-Han asks, eyes pleading.
Kuai Liang’s gaze flicks back to Ms. Queen nervously, like he’s afraid accepting would be rude.
“You go on,” Ms. Queen tells him with a warm smile, “I doubt he’ll wait much longer before pulling you in whether you like it or not.”
Grinning, Kuai Liang rolls his eyes, standing as he runs to the edge of the pool. Rather than cannonballing in as his brother did, Kuai Liang shucks his flip-flops off and sits down on the ledge before sliding into the water, barely disrupting the surface.
Footsteps to her left pull Ms. Queen’s attention over to the newcomers. Ru and Jiahao stand beside her, smiling warmly as they place a couple presents down on the nearby table already laden with them.
“How are you enjoying the party so far?” Jiahao asks kindly.
It is hard not to be fond of the soft spoken man, his kind nature allowing him to worm his way into even the hardest of hearts.
“It’s lovely,” Ms. Queen compliments as she stands, “Thank you both for setting this up, really, Angela is just over the moon.”
“It’s no trouble,” Ru grins as she finishes arranging the pile of gifts, her southern drawl making her words slip together in a smooth lilt, “You and Angela are practically family at this point.”
Some might find the pairing of such a calm and quiet man with so vibrant and outspoken a woman to be surprising, but once you get to know them, it makes so much more sense. Both of them are kind down to their core, with a fondness for simple things and a dedication to being happy that is honestly quite refreshing.
Their love feels like a fact of the universe, like they find each other in every lifetime.
“Well, still,” Ms. Queen continues, “Thank you for the party.”
“You are very welcome,” Jiahao answers, a fond tilt to his head as he flicks his eyes over to his wife.
Ru rolls her own eyes with a playful scoff. She does not like taking people’s gratitude for the things she gifts them, so Jiahao often has to accept it for her, the two teasing each other over it often.
“Cake’s here!” Heather’s voice calls out from the gate as she enters the community pool.
The auburn haired woman strides across the patio with a bright grin, arms laden with gift bags as she holds the cake box in her hands.
“Tell me those aren’t all for my daughter?” Ms. Queen groans playfully.
“Of course they are,” Heather replies, looking almost offended by the thought that she wouldn’t buy a dozen gifts for the girl, “It is my sacred and solemn duty to spoil all of my nieces and nephews rotten.”
“A job at which you excel,” Jiahao teases, taking the cake from his hands and setting it on the picnic table with the rest of the party foods.
“Why, thank you,” Heather cursties in response, “See, this is why you’re my favorite.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Ru asks, helping Heather set the gifts onto the table.
“Nah, but you’re also kinda my boss, so…” Heather shrugs as she trails off.
Casting one last amused glance at the three of them as they begin to bicker, Ms. Queen steps over to the edge of the pool, raising her hands by her mouth to amplify her voice.
“Alright, everybody!” She calls out, getting the instant attention of every child in the vicinity.
It helps to have been the second grade teacher for almost everybody here.
“Time to dry off!” Ms. Queen informs, smiling sympathetically as they groan in dismay, “The cake has arrived!”
The groans instantly become a wall of cheers as all of the children rush out of the pool, the teenagers being somewhat more calm but still scrambling over themselves in excitement.
Ms. Queen smiles as she takes in the flurry of movement, eyes landing in her daughter as Angela chases Bi-Han around with a towel. Once she catches him, she swings him high in the air, the boy’s bright peals of laughter carrying over the din. To the side, Lian watches her girlfriend with so much warmth in her eyes it almost hurts to look at, Kuai Liang grinning softly as he runs over to his brother the moment Bi-Han’s feet are set back upon the pavement.
Ms. Queen has always worried about Angela, about whether or not she’d end up happy or if she’d settle for a life she didn’t deserve.
But now?
Looking at Angela’s bright smile, the love in the eyes of the girl at her side and the little boys who think she’s the coolest thing in the universe, she can feel that worry fading away.
Angela is happy, and god willing, she’ll stay happy for a long while yet.