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Outside, the party is winding down, family and friends amiably chatting as they break down tables and collect food into containers to be stored for later. The lanterns strung haphazardly overhead cast soft light over everything, a rainbow's worth of globes suspended against the night sky. If you looked hard enough you could even see the faint glow of The Pressy's hull suspended above the planet, lit by the distant light of the sun. Ratthi laughs at something Arada said, her hand on his shoulder as she leans in conspiratorially, then starts trying to shush him as he laughs even louder and harder.
Mensah would feel guilty for not helping with teardown as she watches through the window, but she has a sleepy baby cuddled in her arms in the dark living room and she’s feeling very comfortable where she's at. So she watches, rubbing Tainara's back in slow, smooth motions.
SecUnit enters so quietly she would have been hard pressed to notice it if she wasn't so accustomed to its silent, stoic presence. She looks up at it and nods at the spot on the couch next to her, a mute request.
It sits gingerly, the couch creaking under its weight. Tainara makes a fussy noise, shifting in Mensah's arms.
"Shhhh, shh shh shh," she whispers, rubbing Tainara's back again. "It's alright, little star, you can sleep now."
"Sorry," SecUnit says, moving to get back up. "I can leave."
"Stay." Mensah frees her hand, catching it by the wrist. It freezes, taking on that stiff and abnormal stillness of being that it sometimes displays when it's distressed. She withdraws her hand. "Sorry. Sorry, I should have-"
"It's okay."
SecUnit settles back into the couch, slowly and carefully tucking its hands between its knees and folding its thighs in over them to pin them in place. She wonders if it picked that up from Tano; how they tuck their hands beneath their thighs or into their armpits when they're cold. It's a habit of theirs Mensah still finds endearing even after all these years.
Unfortunately, the disturbance has fully woken Tainara and she wriggles in Mensah's arms, turning to face the person intruding on their peace with a glare only an infant could manage. SecUnit doesn't look at her, but it does tilt a drone towards her face.
"Teh-oo," says Tainara, definitively. Then she sticks a hand in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully while still giving SecUnit a narrow eyed glower.
"Very well said," Mensah says, patting the girl on the back.
Tainara pops her hand out of her mouth and reaches for SecUnit with sticky fingers.
"Teh-oo!" she says again, firmly.
"No, no, SecUnit doesn't like to be touched." Mensah says, moving so that Tainara's hands are a further distance from SecUnit's flinching arm.
"Teh-oo! Teh-oo!" Tainara shouts, squirming to reach for SecUnit even more insistently. "Booboo!"
"It's okay. It's fine if it's – it's alright," SecUnit says, reaching out a hand hesitantly. Mensah watches a thin line appear between its brows, the only indication of its distaste for the sticky hand that reaches out and curls fingers around one of its to tug it closer.
Tainara hums her approval, reaching out with both hands now to spread SecUnit's fingers apart, inspecting its palm. She leans in and places a slobbery baby kiss in its cupped palm, then pats it in satisfaction.
"Teh-oo," Tainara declares, magnanimously. "Ah behr."
"Oh." SecUnit blinks, turning its actual face to look down at its hand.
Mensah hides a smile behind a hand. "Your first kiss?"
"I guess so," it says softly, almost dazed, closing its hand and tucking it back between its thighs. It looks back down at the floor.
Mensah laughs under her breath, moving to snuggle Tainara back up against her chest and rubbing her back again. She watches through the window as the lanterns wink out one by one, leaving only the wide slash of stars illuminating the lawn. Reflected in the glass panes, she sees SecUnit turn its face toward her, starlight mirrored in its eyes. It looks at her with such open admiration that her heart squeezes. She feels an edge of guilt; to be so admired when she is so weak, so scared all the time.
She doesn't deserve it.
She pretends not to see.
---
The next day, Mensah sees SecUnit holding Tainara's hands as she toddles awkwardly along, determined to reach the picnic table on the lawn. It's so tall it's bent nearly double to accommodate her, but accommodate her it does. They reach the picnic table and Tainara squeals her approval, grabbing the bench and bouncing her knees in an attempt to clamber up onto it. SecUnit picks her up and puts her on the bench, kneeling beside it, a steady hand behind her back so she doesn't tip off onto the grass. The older kids run past, playing tag, a cacophony of joyful noise trailed by a small swarm of drones.
It's so much more gentle than it gives itself credit for. This person who thinks it is nothing but a killer, entertaining a toddler's every little whim.
Farai steps up behind her, purposely walking with heavy steps to alert her, and wraps her arms around Mensah’s waist, chin resting on her shoulder. Mensah holds her hand and reaches back to cup her cheek, rocking slowly in place with her. Farai sighs into her neck. Tano peeks around the corner from the kitchen, a dish in one hand and a towel in the other. They pause in drying the dish, following their wives' gaze to the lawn, and the corners of their eyes crinkle as they smile. They disappear back into the kitchen, humming a song as they go.
It feels right that SecUnit is here, with them.
Everything feels so safe when it's home.
---
When it visits, SecUnit always feels awkward and out of place. The longer it has been gone, the worse the feeling is.
Now it sits on the porch, keeping tabs on all the kids with individually assigned drones, its eyes on the night sky. The kids are in the tall grass just at the edge of the lawn, capturing glowing insects in jars. Mensah walks with them, long colorful skirt getting caught in the brush, laughing when one of the older kids tugs her garment free and starts brushing off seedpods only to have them stick to his hand. He chases her, rubbing his hands on her loose, thin-strapped shirt. She catches him under an arm and ruffles his hair, more seedpods taking roost there in their gentle tussling.
She looks so happy here. So at peace. So in her element.
SecUnit looks up at the stars and wonders why she keeps it around when she's surrounded by so much love. What could it possibly have to offer to her?
A drone captures her looking back towards the porch and smiling, crows feet crinkling as she stands up so straight and sturdy. The picture of strength and dignity. Unbreakable.
And looking at it as though it has value.
Worth.
A place amongst her family.
SecUnit tries (and fails) not to succumb to its melty feeling.
---
Mensah sighs, pressing the garment into SecUnit’s hands. It's a handwoven piece, one of a kind, an oversized pullover in many colors. Everyone had been given the opportunity to pick a color to add, creating a tapestry of their love."This is from all of us. Every color was picked out by someone."
She points out the darkest blue threads. "This one is Tainara's. She slapped the spool so hard it rolled away."
SecUnit runs its fingers over the thread in question, interwoven with all the rest. "Which one is yours?"
Mensah smiles, finding her own dark purple in the enormous hood. "This one."
There's a lot of it there; she had started the weave before she had everyone else's colors.
It contemplates the garment for a moment, one hand hovering almost reverently over her color.
"Thank you, Dr. Mensah," it says finally. "I will treasure this."
"Just take care of yourself."
"I will try."
"Promise me?"
"I promise," it says solemnly.
"Good."
Impulsively Mensah stands up on her tip toes, planting a brief, chaste kiss on its jaw. It blinks at her owlishly when she settles back onto her heels. "For luck. I expect to see you back soon."
She raises a finger as though she's scolding one of her eldest. "In one piece, mind you! Tell Perihelion I said hello and thank you for the seeds. I'll send you both pictures when the flowers bloom in the greenhouse."
It cracks the faintest of smiles. Fractional twitches at the corners of its mouth. A grin, for SecUnit. Mensah feels honored to receive such a precious gift.
"Acknowledged."
Then it turns and walks down to the embarkation zone, disappearing through the airlocks leading back out into space.
Mensah wipes at the corner of her eye, knowing it will come back.
It will always come back.