Day 1 of @rqgfemslashweek! The prompt for today was Celebrations
Surprise!
Sasha has been staying aboard the airship with Earhart and her crew for a few months now. To celebrate her being there, Am gets her a present to help her fit in and know that she's always welcome there.
“I have a surprise for you!”
“What? Why?” The suspicion that built up in Sasha’s gut faded when she saw the way Amelia smiled back at her, the excitement in her features as she bounded toward her captain’s cabin.
“Come on! It’s not bad, I promise.”
She held out her hand and Sasha took it, allowing herself to be dragged inside the small room.
Sasha had taken Amelia’s offer to come back and visit a few months ago, and then she just never left. Despite being twice as tall as most of the crew, she fit in well and learned both the literal and figurative ropes quickly enough. Occasionally she would take to the helm, but she preferred to spend most of her time in the mechanical rigging or the crow’s nest, watching the clouds and staring at the sky she once wondered if she’d ever be allowed to see. And the rest of the time she spent with Amelia.
Without Bertie and Zolf around arguing and bickering constantly, Sasha found herself at ease rather quickly, letting herself laugh and chat with Amelia, nothing held back. She couldn’t remember ever smiling as much as she did when they were together.
Surprises, though, scared her on principle. Every time there was a ‘surprise’ in Other London, every time a plan went off the rails, it never meant good news. But Sasha trusted Amelia, ignoring every wall she’d ever built to keep herself safe.
So, she allowed Amelia to pull her into the captain’s cabin and shut the door behind them.
“I got you a gift!”
“You did what? You didn’t have to… I don’t have anything for you.”
Amelia laughed. “That’s not the point. The point is that I wanted to get you something. Close your eyes.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes!”
A faint smile on her lips, Sasha obliged and shut her eyes tight. She could hear rustling on the far side of the cabin, and then footsteps leading back over to her. From the clicking of Amelia’s boots, Sasha knew she was bouncing in place with excitement as she’d seen her do so often.
“Okay, you can open up.”
Sasha opened her eyes and was immediately greeted with the sight of an outrageously decorated aviator’s hat, similar to the one Amelia wore when she was on deck. It was covered in cogs and bits, with a gigantic feather sticking out of the top.
“You’ve been here for a couple months now, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like without you at this point. Like, for the crew, but for me, especially.” Amelia reached up and gently took Sasha’s hand in her own. Sasha didn’t resist. “As long as you want to call this ship home, you’re always welcome. And you’re welcome with me. So, I wanted to get you something to celebrate! And I know you like my hat, so it seemed a pretty obvious choice.”
“Thank you…” Sasha spent a few seconds staring at the hat, then at Amelia and that sparkle in her eyes, and then the cycle repeated. After a moment, she set the hat aside and sat down on the bed so that she was closer to Amelia’s level. “Truth is, I can’t imagine leaving. I didn’t think of the word ‘home,’ but… you’re not wrong. You make this place home.”
Amelia smiled and beamed up at Sasha, then darted forward to kiss her, smiling against her lips, while Sasha held her tightly.
After a while, Amelia tugged away, excitement still glimmering in her eyes. “C’mon, try it on!”
Sasha chuckled, but did as requested and donned the ridiculously floppy hat.
“I feel… I feel powerful? I don’t know what it is, but I love it.” Sasha examined her appearance in a mirror.
“First Mate Sasha! You look perfect!” Amelia squealed. “I mean, you know, you’re not actually my First Mate in an official sense, but-”
“I know, I know,” Sasha laughed, spinning her head around so that she could see herself and her new hat from every angle. After a moment, she teased, “I think your hat is still bigger.”
“Well, of course. I’m the captain. I always get the biggest hat.”
While Sasha had checked out the hat in the mirror, Amelia had crawled up on top her desk to stand beside her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“Thank you, Am,” Sasha said softly. “This is… it means a lot.”
Amelia pressed a kiss to Sasha’s cheek, which she could only barely reach due to the floppiness of the new hat. Meanwhile, Sasha couldn’t stop smiling, mesmerized by the reflection of her and Amelia together.
Maybe, she realized, not every surprise was a bad thing.
