A week after the two of them began dating, Varka came one day to excitedly tell Tika that they finally got their own identity card.

Technically, Varka was an Indonesian citizen by descent, so the UESA helped them earn their citizenship. After going through a series of tests, including a biometric test to prove that they were really Indira Candrakirana’s progeny, and grueling procedures where Varka had to visit the nearest sub-district office, Varka finally got accepted as a Republic of Indonesia’s citizen. 

Funnily, Varka looked absolutely ecstatic at this, and the hilarity of the situation didn’t escape Tika’s attention. Imagine, an actual extraterrestrial being having their own identity card!

This whole time, the UESA was still protecting Varka from the public, especially from the journalists who wanted to know more about them. As long as Varka didn’t step out of the UESA complex, everything should be alright. However, Tika knew that, as an interstellar traveler who had visited literal galaxies, Varka felt somewhat trapped.

“Now you can travel”, Tika said.

“Travel? Where?” Varka asked.

“Anywhere you want!” Tika answered with a laugh. “We can go take a train to West Kalimantan and see the mountains. Or we can take a plane to Java Island. You’ll like it on Java. If you want, we can take a month of vacation and travel around. Or, you can visit your mother’s family.”

Varka froze, and Tika blinked. Shouldn’t she have said that…?

“Varka, what’s wrong?”

“Mother’s family… The people at the UESA said they agreed for a biometric test on one condition”, Varka replied, slowly, and Tika didn’t understand their hesitation. “They want to meet me, to see if I’m my mother’s progeny.”

“Oh”, Tika said. She still didn’t understand Varka’s hesitation. Shouldn’t they be happy to meet with their own mother’s family? “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“What if they don’t like me?” Varka asked back, frowning, and Tika suddenly understood Varka’s anxiety.

“Varka, you’re going to be fine. You’re an amazing person, and I bet they will like you”, Varka replied, standing on her tiptoes so she could circle her arms around Varka’s neck and pull them closer. Varka’s face turned slightly purple.

“I think you’re biased”, Varka said.

“Heck yeah I am!” Tika grinned and pressed a kiss on Varka’s cheek.

“You’re really not helping”, Varka muttered, as their face turned a deeper shade of purple. “I’m on the brink of an anxiety attack, you know.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” Tika returned. She cupped Varka’s face gently, and Varka leaned closer. Their eyes fell shut, but a line marred their forehead right between their eyebrows. They were still worried, it seemed.

“Hey, everything’s going to be fine”, Tika reassured them. “If they truly loved your mother, they will like you for who you are. Trust me, things are going to be fine. If not, they’ll have to be ready to face my wrath.”

Varka smiled and pressed a kiss to Tika’s forehead.

Yes, everything would be alright.

And so, on one nice Wednesday, Indira’s parents came to the UESA’s headquarters. The UESA, as it turned out, had accommodated for their arrival, including paying for their plane tickets and preparing a conference room for them to meet with Varka privately.

Tika decided not to go with Varka. It was a family stuff, after all, and Tika didn’t want to intrude — and anyway, she believed that Varka needed to go through this on their own.

With that, Tika decided to busy herself by cleaning her living quarter. After being left for two weeks while she went to Mothership Velrakis, and nearly a month being busy with reports and trials, to say that her room was a mess was a total understatement.

“Tika, how could you live like this”, she hummed to herself, before attacking the inside of her fridge, filled with spoiled leftovers and rotten eggs. While she was putting the freezer on defrost, she gathered takeout boxes that somehow had gotten into every corner of her living quarter, and took all the stinking garbage out.

After that, she arranged the books scattered all over her room back into their place, replaced her bedsheet, and put everything she could fit into the washing machine, before dusting and vacuuming her entire living quarter.

She was surprised to find that everything was done just before Asr prayer time. The power of disgust truly had compelled her. Eventually, she decided to rest on her couch, lazily scrolling through the app to order some takeouts for dinner.

That was when she heard a knock on her door.

“Bayu? What’s up?” she greeted after opening her door.

“Just wanna say— eh, where’s Varka?” Bayu asked out of nowhere.

“Varka’s meeting with with their mom’s family at the headquarters”, Tika answered confusedly. Why would Bayu ask about Varka? “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, but I mean, you two are like a pair of chopsticks”, Bayu said with a cheeky grin. “Well, anyway, Mom wants you and Varka to come over for dinner.”

With that, Bayu left, leaving a very confused Tika. She entered her living quarter, before plopping herself back on the couch. On her desk, a music player was playing a somber song. Outside her window, the sky of Palangka Raya City turned grey.

Rain fell heavily and Tika had dozed off for a moment. She woke up when another knock came from her door, and when she opened it, she found Varka standing by her door, a smile on their face. Tika let them in, and they sat on the couch slowly, their face bright and glowing. Tika couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

“How’s the meeting?” Tika asked, sitting next to Varka on the couch.

“I have grandparents”, Varka answered, half in disbelief. “Also aunts and uncles, and a bunch of cousins. They told me stories about my mother. How she was when she was young.”

Tika smiled. It seemed to Varka, everything that was related to their mother was really dear to them. True, Varka never outright told her, but Tika could somewhat know that the memories of their mother’s death was the reason why Varka joined Velrakis-Aran.

“I’ve never had a family this big before”, Varka said. “Thank you for making me consider to meet them, Kartika.”

“I’m happy for you, you know? You deserve a big family who loves you”, Tika returned with a smile. “What were you guys talking about, anyway?”

“My grandparents told me a lot about her childhood. They said she had always been an active member in her communities, especially the queer ones”, Varka told her. “My mother always supported me for being who I am, for being an Anara — an agender, I believe, was the human equivalent?”

“That’s really amazing, Varka”, Tika said. “What else did they say?”

“Oh, right. They live in Java Island, in a city called… Jombang?” Varka asked, uncertain.

“Oh, Jombang and Malang are pretty close”, Tika said. “My family lives in Malang City. If you want, we can take a vacation there. My parents would love seeing you.”

“You want me to meet your parents?” Varka asked.

“Are you worried?” Tika asked back. “You don’t have to worry. My parents are pretty open, and they never scare off my partners. There was this one time I brought my boyfriend, Deska, and he ended up talking about coffee with my dad.”

“I see…” Varka looked a little bit confused. “This Deska… where is he now?”

“Are you seriously jealous right now?” Tika giggled. “Seriously, though. We broke up ten years ago. He couldn’t accept my dream of going to the outer space, and… well, it wasn’t a nice break up.”

Tika still could remember the big fight that led to their breakup. Deska couldn’t accept that Tika had to leave him to Palangka Raya City to join the UESA and become a spaceship pilot. It still affected her for years — and when she was at the lowest, sometimes she thought if Deska was right. That she should have not gone to the outer space.

Even after everything that had happened, Tika did not regret going to the outer space even for one bit. She would never meet with Varka otherwise. Varka who was amazing, kind, and free-spirited — who understood her for who she was.

“You don’t deserve a guy like that”, Varka said with a pout. “This universe is so vast, and he thought he could chain you to the Earth?”

“Well, I suppose he was right”, Tika returned. “Maybe he thought I’d fall in love with a nice extraterrestrial being and leave his sorry ass alone.”

Varka let out a snort. Tika giggled.

“Oh, by the way, Auntie Ratri invited us for dinner. You wanna come?” Tika asked.

“She has invited us. It would be rude if we don’t show up”, Varka answered.

“Okay, gimme a moment to change”, Tika said, before excusing herself.