“Hello?” she answered, her voice thick with sleep.
“What’s the number one rule about birthdays?”
“What? Zeke? What are you on about?”
“What’s the number one rule about birthdays?”
Zaya’s groaning voice boomed out of his wristband. “That you’re an arsehole that never lets me sleep.”
“Wrong. That we always have to spend them together.” A dog-walker passed by behind him and their poodle barked a squalling yap.
“Are yououtside?” she cried.
In response, he pressed her buzzer, hard, for five seconds. Twenty seconds later, the door burst open to reveal Zaya dressed solely in an oversized t-shirt. He scooped her up, clutching her tightly to him as he swung her in a circle. He was home.
He kissed the top of Zaya’s dirty-blonde hair, styled in her signature twin braids.
“What the hell?” she said, through a choked sob.
“Surprise?”
“You mean, you just stood there while your only friend was dragged off into the abyss?”
“She’s not myonlyfriend,” grumbled Zeke. “Splat is kinda nice to me, and Noah is…”One of the best people I’ve ever met. Gorgeous.Literally my goddamn guardian angel.“Noah arranged this whole day for me.”
“Careful, it almost sounds like you like them. That you like it there.”
He and Zaya lay sprawled over a turquoise rug that filled most of the living room space in Zaya’s flat. They’d quickly settled back into their childhood position: heads on each other’s shoulders, legs pointing in opposite directions. The feel of her body took him back to warm summer childhood nights; their heads pressed together as they crawled together through the bushes of the fields by their house to feed the foxes.
“Definitely not. I’m utter crap, Zaya. Next time we go over the wall, I’m bound to get someone killed for real.” He rubbed his hand over his face.
She reached back to slap his chest. “Stop that. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if they conscripted me. You’re being so hard on yourself.”
He couldn’t help but hear the echo of Noah’s words in what she said.
“Honestly, Zeke.” Zaya’s weight on his shoulder lifted, leaving the spot cold and vacant. Opening his eyes, he saw she’d twisted around to face him, looking stern. “You’ve always been so stubborn. You succeed at anything you put your mind to. This whole soldier thing is just taking a bit longer. You’ll see. You’re the bravest person I know,” she said, solemnly.
He scoffed.
“I’m serious.” Zaya pulled his arms, yanking him upright. “You’re so much stronger than you think,” she whispered, blinking rapidly several times. “I’ve been lost without you. Anyway. Let’s not waste the day crying.”
He smiled. “Save your tears for—”
“—a rainy day,” Zaya finished. On instinct, their eyes flickered to the family portrait on her bookshelf. Their mother was standing in the middle, her arms wrapped around the two of them—ten years old, wearing grins, faces plastered with matching ice cream smears. If Zeke chose chocolate, so did Zaya. Wherever she went, he was always two steps behind.
In a handful of hours, he’d leave her behind again. Every cell in his body ached to stay with her. But, there was also a part of him that wondered what Frankie, Splat and the others were doing right now. Did he… miss them?
They spent the morning in the sun, meandering around the block, then the park, and then around the block again, trading stories and secrets. He told one outlandish tale after another, surprising himself at how much he enjoyed telling Zaya about his squad. Zaya spoke about how busy work was at her architecture firm, who’d been tasked with redesigning supply caches for soldiers over the wall. When she bit her lip to suppress a smile at the mention of a colleague she was meeting later, he teased and tormented her for a solid five minutes.
“Hey, what about you? You’re clearly hitting it off with Frankie.”
He bellowed a laugh, which ricocheted off the sky-rise buildings towering above them.
“Oh, shut up. Don’t deny it. Your eyes lit up when she messaged you a second ago. You forget I know you better than you know yourself. Besides, it’s about time you finally met someone.”
They rounded the corner, approaching Zaya’s building.
“Frankie didn’t message me.”
