After nearly a full day of airports, customs, cramped seats, and airplane food that should’ve been illegal, Zee and Mya finally stepped through the front door of their place and dropped everything. Their shoes? Kicked off. Bags? Dumped in the hallway. Sleep? Probably needed. But neither of them had any plans to nap.

Because one thing had been on their minds the entire flight home.

“Pool?” Zee asked, already tugging his hoodie off and tossing it onto the back of the couch.

“Pool,” Mya confirmed, already halfway to the bedroom to grab her swimsuit. “I need to swim. I feel like I’ve been wearing the same air for twelve hours.”

They changed faster than they ever had before. Zee grabbed a couple towels while Mya tied her hair up in a loose bun and slipped on her sandals. In less than five minutes, they were out the back door and stepping into the warm afternoon sun.

It felt so weird to be back in their own backyard after seeing giraffes stroll past their breakfast table just days before. But it was the kind of weird that felt good—safe, familiar, them.

Mya cannonballed in first.

“Welcome home!” she shouted mid-air before splashing into the water like a human firework.

Zee shielded his face but still got soaked. “Okay, rude! I was easing in!”

“You’ve been easing in for five days,” she teased, slicking her hair back. “Live a little!”

Zee dove in after her, making a splash of his own. The water was crisp, cool, and perfect. They raced from end to end, Mya winning every time (because she always cheated just a little). Then they floated on their backs, soaking in the sun and the silence, laughing every time one of them bumped into the other.

Mya swam over and rested her chin on Zee’s shoulder, still smiling. “Remember when I said I’d cry over penguins in Antarctica?”

“Still waiting on that trip,” Zee smirked.

“Well… penguins don’t have pools like this.”

“Facts,” he said. “No plushies either.”

They stayed in the water for what felt like forever. At one point, Zee swam to the edge, grabbed his waterproof phone case, and started taking underwater selfies with Mya. Half of them were blurry, the other half had her mid-laugh or sticking her tongue out at him. He knew he’d save all of them.

Eventually, the sun started dipping low, casting orange and gold streaks across the surface of the water. Mya floated next to Zee, quiet now, eyes soft.

“Home’s not bad,” she said.

“Nope,” he agreed, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face. “Especially when it comes with a view like this.”

She smirked. “You mean me or the pool?”