got you somethin [amerie]

Life in Solas had been pretty eventful lately. The whole power plant thing was going strong, Amerie had gotten Luka's shithead dad arrested, and kicked her own asshole parents out of the Solas mansion. Amerie was a far cry from the girl she'd been when Aran first met her, and it made her happy to see how confident and strong Amerie had become.

Still, though, Aran knew by now that Amerie had spent her whole life being shot down and stepped all over by the clio who were supposed to care about her. So Aran decided that Amerie deserved some long-overdue recognition for all her hard work, and decided to use some extra cash from her paychecks to by her a present. She ended up getting her a fantasy novel that she hoped she would enjoy.

Holding it behind her back, she went up to Amerie's office door and knocked. "Hey Am?" she called. "You busy?"

Amerie had been working on some boring but necessary paperwork when Aran called through her door. "Come in, silly!" Amerie said, happy for the distraction. Aran swung the door open and walked in, and Amerie greeted her with a wide smile.

Though her life had been hectic lately, Amerie had been making sure she spent plenty of time with Aran, even if it was just for an hour or two before or after their training sessions. She'd finally figured out a good way to balance her work and play, and things were running more smoothly than they ever had in the past. She even had more time for Luka lately, when before she hadn't had time for either of the two important clio in her life. It was nice.

"Hiya!" she said, scooping up her legs and folding them under her. She liked when Aran came to visit her in her office. It broke up the monotony of her overloridian work.

"Hey," Aran replied, smiling. Gods Amerie was cute when she was happy. Aran might not be over her, but she was still grateful for the friendship they had. She looked down at the floor, still holding the book behind her. "So, uh, I noticed you workin' pretty hard lately...Just wanted to say, it seems like you're doing a really good job and stuff."

She hoped Amerie would like this book. It was one of Aran's favorites. She used to read it when she was in Stonecraft and pretend that she lived in the rich fantasy world. She had a feeling Amerie could use a little escapism sometimes, too.

Amerie's smile softened a little bit and she crinkled her nose. "Thanks," she said, a little embarrassed by Aran's compliment. She'd lived without praise for so long, sometimes it was hard to take. "I'm trying really hard. It's actually getting a little easier, since I have so many clio to help me out." Tamar had been a blessing, always there when Amerie needed advice. And Luka had helped take some of the workload off Amerie's shoulders. And Aran was there for everything else--for moral support and confidence boosting, among other things. She'd never be able to thank them enough for all their help.

She noticed Aran was still standing by the door. "Come sit down," she said, surprised that she hadn't already. The couch opposite Amerie's desk was usually only occupied by Aran, and so Amerie thought of it as hers. Luka preferred to stand beside or behind her when they worked together in her office.

"Oh, yeah, I will in a sec," Aran said, realizing she'd just been standing awkwardly in the door. "But first I, uh, sorta wanted to give you somethin'." She walked to over to Amerie and pulled the book out from behind her back. "It's nothin' special. Just this book I thought you'd like." She held it out to Amerie. She knew that Amerie would thank her whether or not she actually liked the book, so she watched her face to get a better idea.

Amerie's facial expression changed from expectation to confusion and intrigue. "You got me something?" she asked, as Aran walked over and brought something out from behind her back.

The smile returned to her face as Aran handed her a book. "A book?" she asked, looking up from the gift in her hand and back up to Aran. The smile was still on her face as she looked back down again, reading the title aloud. From the cover she could tell it was a fantasy book--something she had loved reading as a child but had been discouraged from as she grew. She flipped through the pages, skimming. It was already begging to be read.

"I love it, but why?" Amerie asked, looking back up at Aran. No one had ever gotten her something before, besides her parents at holidays.

Aran watched Amerie's smile grow as she looked through the book. She liked it. "I'unno, I just wanted to do somethin' for you," she mumbled, clearly happy with Amerie's reaction. "After everything you've done, I mean, I thought you deserved a present or something. It's really good," she added, obviously talking about the book.

Amerie looked back down at the book. "I can't wait to start reading it," she said, staring at the cover illustration. She looked back up again, meeting Aran's eyes. "Thank you," she said genuinely. How sweet of her to think of Amerie like this. It made Amerie feel all warm on the inside.

"Don't mention it," Aran said with a grin, waving her hand. "You gotta tell me what you think of it. I've read it like, five times."

She paused for a second, smiling at Amerie, who looked so cutely surprised to be getting a gift. She was just so cute all the time. "Aw, come'ere, Am," she said, grabbing Amerie and pulling her into a hug.

Amerie hugged the book to her chest as Aran wrapped her arms around her. "You're the best," she told her. Why was Aran so great? Amerie hadn't done anything to deserve such a great friend.

"You know, I'm almost done with this stuff. We should go do something."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Aran asked, letting Amerie go. One of the many perks to Amerie being the overloridian--besides, like, the mansion and money and stuff--is that they were pretty much unlimited in things they could do. If they wanted, they could take a balloon all the way down to Hanalei beach right now. Or go up to the Cuir ice rink. Aran had gotten to experience so many things that she never thought she'd ever do since moving here.

Of course, she was content to hang out with Amerie anywhere, whether they went off to do something exciting or just took a walk through Solas.

It was still pretty early in the afternoon--they could potentially go anywhere. "You know," Amerie said, "we still haven't been to Annerb." Aran and Amerie, though coming from very different backgrounds, hadn't been able to travel while growing up. They'd been lots of places in the last few months, and Amerie had started sorta checking things off in her mind as she got to go.

"Oh yeah!" Aran replied. Annerb island, the farming community. Aran had only ever heard of it from others and seen drawings of it in books. Aran was always up for going places she'd never been before. Plus, they'd get to take a hot air balloon, which Aran loved. That was another thing she'd never done while she lived in Stonecraft, and only a few times since she'd moved to Solas.

"It's settled, then!" Amerie said happily. She shut the folder of things she was working on and pulled a sticky note off her stack. She wrote 'LUKA' in big letters and then sat it in the middle of her desk. He'd get the hint to finish it up for her.

"I'm gonna go get ready and then let's go!" She loved going to new places, and was excited to get to see the farming community. Maybe they could ride horses or something. "Oh!" Amerie exclaimed. "We could pick pumpkins!"

"I bet they sell cider there," Aran replied, grinning. Amerie had taken her to the Solas Fall Festival about a week ago, where they'd both tried hard apple cider for the first time. Best goddamned thing she'd ever drank in her life.

As Amerie ran off to get ready, Aran did as well, which pretty much just consisted of putting shoes on. Once Am returned, they eagerly headed out for the nearest balloon station.

TBC...