Ann, cis, bi. white, old enough to be your mother. If you exclude ace, bi, or trans people, I will exclude you. Look for my artwork at completedissolution.tumblr.com
I do think you lose your right to medical privacy when you decide to become a politician and it is mad fucked up that these people hold our lives in their hands and are allowed to disappear for months on end with no explanation. You need a doctor’s note to miss school for a cold but we have no clue if Mitch McConnell is dead or alive and Tom Kean was allowed to fuck off for 4 months without telling the public why. I don’t give a fuck about your privacy, you’re not protecting my privacy, if you’re leeching tax dollars and partying it up in a rich person rehab resort somewhere while your constituents vote against our access to healthcare, we should be allowed to know. Fuck you. I say this as a disabled person, I’m always having to explain the nature of my disability and the details of my health but we’re not allowed to know what the fuck is going on with these people.
have to explain the nature of your disability and details of health? no, you don't. that's illegal, protected by HIPAA, and if pursued constitutes as harassment actionable by law.
i once had a coworker who was endlessly harassed for her bathroom breaks. She had celiac and ibs. She was told by her manager and HR that celiac "isnt a disability". We had a disability awareness month presentation a week later that listed celiac on the slideshow. She quit. We worked for the united states government btw.
Yeah. I have ulcerative colitis and it is so embarrassing to deal with in office settings. When you have to take a 15+ minute bathroom break on company time, everyone assumes you’re playing games on your phone at best or snorting coke off the toilet seat at worst. It does not occur to people that you can genuinely fight for your life on the toilet multiple times a day through no fault of your own. They bully you out of the workforce by shaming you for needing reasonable accommodations and then mock you for not working. Your boss takes note of how long it takes you to shit but senators and congressmen are allowed to disappear from their jobs for weeks or months.
I don't know who needs to hear this but... start living. The days are flying by and all you do is work, pay bills, and stress. Enjoy what you can like walks, sunsets, music, laughter. Joy doesn't have to be expensive. You deserve it.
So three years and one week ago (I checked), I asked my doctor to refer me for ADHD assessment. He was fine with it, and did so.
About a week later, I got a questionnaire, on paper, through the post. As though I were living in 19ThePast. It had a letter asking me to fill it out and post it back. It took me three weeks to buy an envelope. It took another to actually fill it out. When I did, I inserted the questionnaire, carefully wrote out the address on the envelope, stamped it, sealed it, and looked down to see the questionnaire still on the sofa. I had tried to post them back their own letter requesting I fill out the questionnaire. I, for one, consider this part of the diagnostic criteria.
Anyway, I finally sent it a week later, so it took five weeks in all. That was, as I say, three years ago.
Today, I had to go to the doctor for unrelated reasons, and I was like, "By the way. Do we know what's happening with the ADHD assessment? I know it's a long waiting list, but it's been three years and I literally never heard anything back. Thoughts?"
And today's doctor (a different one) pulled up my history to have a little look, and discovered that a week after I'd initially gone in - during the time I was supposed to fill out the questionnaire but was still vaguely trying to remember to buy an envelope - the referral people had responded to my GP and said "She hasn't done a questionnaire so we can't assess her." At which point, my GP was supposed to call and share this with me so we could discuss
He did not.
And then, of course, they did get my questionnaire, and he should have forwarded THAT to the assessment people at that point to advance the process.
He did not.
Which means I have just wasted three years and a week waiting for an assessment that was never coming. The whole thing came to an end. That was that. At no point did that first doctor ever reconsider any part of my case. He was told they couldn't proceed, and didn't even think to tell me; he just thought "Well, sucks to be her" and then moved the fuck on with his life, I presume.
FORTUNATELY today's doctor was fantastic - she immediately printed out the questionnaire, gave it to me with a pen, and told me to fill it out and immediately give it in to reception before I left. So huzzah for her, and we are back on for ADHDiagnosis, but Jesus Pissing Christ
And you know, I don't want to be too damning towards the NHS; apart from anything else, last year I found a lump in one breast, and from the day I noticed and called the GP to the hospital staff going "That's a cyst, let's drain it. You're cured." was... 6 days? No, 5. Start to finish. I called on the Wednesday, they removed it on the Monday. And even that was a delayed time, because of the weekend in between, AND it didn't cost a penny.
But their ADHD assessment systems are certainly much more lacking than the warm and crisp efficiency of Pauline the Breast Clinic Nurse
Update: Had a call from the doctor yesterday, SUPER apologetic
Turns out in the instant after I gave my questionnaire to the receptionist and walked out the door - my beautiful, hard-won, twice-completed, and above all essential questionnaire - it somehow vanished from this plane of existence and was immediately lost.
It has not been scanned. It has not been added to my file. It is simply lost. Gone. Missing. A questionnaire-shaped hole in the world. No more questionnaire for Elanor
"I'm so sorry," the doctor said. "I've made them look through every piece of paper in the building, but no one can find it. So, I've printed off another. Come in ASAP - it's waiting behind reception for you, and they've all been instructed to treat it with the utmost care and priority."
So that's tomorrow's job.
Weirdly, I am feeling zen about it. Encouraged, actually. This doctor noticed the problem because, one week after she was told about the three year failure, she herself cared enough to chase it up and so was able to discover the second crack in the system I had managed to find and fall in. Also, she's not posting me another paper copy for me to take five weeks to find a stamp over; she's arranged for me to go and do it in person. She's impressed upon the staff at the surgery that they must treat this questionnaire like it's news from Marathon, so that it instantly takes priority the second it leaves my hands. So like... I actually think that's a positive thing and a good sign that she's actively fighting my corner. Shout out to Doctor Lee, she's a real one
I also think, on balance, the irony of repeatedly being victim to the symptoms of Symptoms Disease from the very healthcare workers I need to be assessed for Symptoms Disease myself is, to say the least, poetic.
Yesterday I was pressed for time so I drove to work instead of walking (it's about 45 minutes to walk and the weather is currently Delightful). I then had a full day in work, and then at the end of the day, I had a lovely walk back home in the sunshine
It was outside my house that I looked around and went "Has someone stolen my car WAIT A PISSING MINUTE"
So today, I need to go in and rescue my car, which I accidentally abandoned in work, and then go and fill out my third ADHD questionnaire at the doctor's
I really wish the questionnaire had a box for this
remember when Elementary adapted the holmes stories and made Watson a woman which removed the gay subtext but then made Moriarty also a woman and gave them weird lesbian subtext. masterful technique. the never-before-seen uno yuri reverse
Happy pride to black trans people in particular I know it can be tough out here with how often the image of what and who counts as queer always seems to never consider us
It's nuts how common it is to not allow children to be angry, even (especially) in households where adults are angry all the time. As a child I knew my own anger was unacceptable--not just expressing it outwardly but feeling it at all. So now as an adult my immediate reaction to my own anger is often to feel guilt instead of like. Noticing when someone is being rude or unfair or my boundaries are being violated or whatever. fucked up.
I wanted to kick myself so badly for missing the opportunity to kiss Lin at the dock. What was I waiting for? She didn’t hesitate for one second at the notion of spending the night… but I couldn’t believe the luck… surely this was all some kind of cruel dream from which I’d be waking up to the sound of Rohan throwing up.
I took up my accustomed place near the bow of the ferry, remembering sailing lessons with Katara and Sokka who refused to let me be as afraid of the water as Toph was. Toph had her reasons, but I wasn’t Toph.
The weather began to turn. The wind from the west was beginning to drive the waves and it started to rain.
I should have been miserable, but I couldn’t be. Not when Kya had offered for me to stay the night. And she hadn’t slapped me for kissing her.
I set my back to the wind and smiled.
So I went back up the stairs to the temple house, my feet heavier with every step. As I went, the wind came up, strong, blowing spray at me from the suddenly huge waves. The moon, which seemed to have been blessing every move I made since Lin arrived, was now just barely peeking out between thick, fast-moving clouds.
I really began to wonder if Yue was watching. Every time I missed my chance these past few weeks it had gone dark. Hadn’t it? Was I imagining things?
As I reached the courtyard, the rain started to pour, buckets of it, and really freaking cold. I went back inside, drenched to the skin, feeling lost and probably looking like something a cat dragged in.
Even walking the last few blocks home in a downpour wasn’t enough to kill my mood. I had made it through dinner with everyone, and without any worse consequences than taking Ikki to lunch one day. Kya and Pema had made up a feast that would see me through a double workout in the morning.
And Pema had let me go without helping in the kitchen.
She had learned Katara’s lovingly meddling ways awfully well for someone who had spent comparatively little time with my other mother.
I was determined that if I were to see Lin again, whenever that might be, I was going to say something. I was going to say that we should…. why did “start dating” sound so thin? It wasn’t just that I wanted to see Lin on dates, though that was definitely true. I wanted more. I wanted whatever she wanted to give me.
I approached the exterior of my apartment building and looked around for any lurkers, but finding none, shot my cables up to the hook above my balcony. I swung up just a little too high, and guided myself back down to land lightly enough not to bother Old Lady Shi, who loved to complain about my boots on her ceiling.
I stepped under the eaves and began shedding my sodden armor. I knew it would take me an hour or more to get it dry, oiled, and cleaned before I could go to bed.
But that wasn’t so bad.
I could watch the moon set and remember our conversation on the rock.
But “start dating” was easily understood, and I hoped that I was reading her correctly, that she felt the same way I did. The look in her eyes as she talked about the moonlight in my hair! Why the flameo didn’t I kiss her then? I can’t have imagined that she was disappointed that I didn’t.
By the time I had showered and put a kettle on to boil, the rain had let up, and the clouds had moved on their way further east, away from the bay. I toweled off the chair I kept on the balcony and settled in with my kit to clean my armor.
With a routine I’d practiced more times than I could possibly count, I reviewed my entire uniform.
But I knew I’d be doing it again the next day, distracted as I was remembering her stories. And the look in her eyes when I pulled away from kissing her cheek.
But when she did kiss me, on the cheek, her expression was so soft and hopeful. Like this was just the first of many kisses.
That made my heart pound.
There would be a next time, I realized. As many next times as I wanted.
Maybe she hadn’t kissed me earlier, but she wasn’t sad when I kissed her cheek.
For the first time.
I slept better that night than I had for a long time.
Dealing with Lin’s unpredictable schedule meant two things: one, I needed to keep myself busy, because it seemed silly to spend my days pining away, waiting for her to be free; but two, it had to be very flexible, so that I could be ready at any time, to be there for her.
Pinga was delighted when I said I’d like to start volunteering more at the hospital. Maybe teaching some new healers, something like that. I’d spent a very big part of my life as a healer and herbalist, and while it had been nice to have a few years doing other things and taking it easy, I’d always loved when I was able to make people’s pain go away.
At my desk the next day, I reviewed my calendar and realized just how full it was. I could see where my assistant had marked a slot for Family Dinner, but in such a way that I could cross it out and have room for whatever priority would spring up.
I had new eyes that day. Where would Kya see herself? In the eight hours I had marked as “home”? In the one day in a month that was blacked out?
I flipped back through the months of the year, and saw just how many of those days had notes about what I had done instead of laundry, or cleaning, or… anything.
I had changes to make.
A week went by, and Lin and I had a few phone conversations in the meantime. Mostly they were the “how was your day” kind. I let Lin vent about the bureaucratic nonsense she coped with, and she seemed to enjoy the anecdotes I shared about my new students. I recognized a sort of easy intimacy growing between us… sharing hints of the hopes we had for the future, saying some very lovely things about how she’d like to see me again.
Kya got very quiet when I told her how excited Inas was for the suit he’d made for me.
“Oh? Does it look good on you?”
“It would look better on the floor with that sparkly dress of yours.”
I haven’t blushed in a while, so I was glad this was just over the phone. But also, dang! I wish I’d been there for the comeback.
“You better be careful there, Beifong… don’t go breaking young girls’ hearts.”
I swear I heard her gulp when I replied, “I’ll break every heart but yours.”
And we went on like this a while, over that week.
I do wish Tenzin had more phone lines in the house. It’s kind of a drag trying to get a little privacy.
Afterward, just out of curiosity, I would go to a window or outside to see if I could find the moon. It must have just been the change in its phases, because I only saw it a couple of times, very, very late, or very early in the morning, a narrow crescent in the sky.
When I realized I could sometimes see the moon through my bedroom window, I moved an armchair over, within reach of my phone.
If I was going to be weak at the knees listening to Kya tell me about her day, I was going to listen from my favorite chair.
Just as the week ended, I came home from the hospital to find a message to call. I felt that little flutter in my stomach and a burst of excitement. At the first opportunity, after sending less-than-subtle hints to Tenzin that I wanted him to be done for the day and clear out of the office, I took a deep breath and dialed.
I was wrapping up some stretches when the phone rang late one afternoon I had carved out at home.
It rang three times, and I began to worry that this was going to be another one of those back and forth episodes. But on the fourth ring, I heard Lin’s voice, slightly breathless.
“Lin? I heard you called.”
This is why I moved this chair.
She sighed audibly, like she was easing into a comfortable chair. “Oh, good, it’s you.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear. How’s it going?”
“I called because I wanted to…to invite you for dinner. Have you eaten already?”
“No, I just got home from the hospital a few minutes ago.”
“Oh,” she said, and paused.
That’s disappointing. The ferry will be another hassle.
“What’s the matter?”
“I didn’t realize…you’d have to take another ferry back into the city. I’m sorry. I should have called earlier.”
“But you did call earlier, and now I’m calling you back. And so yes, I’d love to go out for dinner with you.”
Out with it, Beifong.
“I meant here. At my place.”
It took me a second to calculate what that meant. I hadn’t been to her place before. It could mean she wouldn’t have to leave early to be ready for work the next day. And that…well that was worth some extra effort!
“When you put it that way, I may have to find a little bit faster method,” I laughed.
I melted just a little more into my chair. A quick glance outside told me sunset was not far off.
Have you ever heard someone smile through a phone?
“I’ll see if Tenzin can give me a lift on Oogi. Can you give me half an hour to find something to wear?”
Still taking my breath away, even when she wasn’t even there.
“You won’t need— I mean, it’s nothing you need to— You can just come as you are— uh. Yes, take all the time you need.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can, I promise,” I said, grinning like a fool.
She gave me the address, we disconnected, and my mind blanked for a second. Or more accurately, my mind went on a little journey of imagination, and I was temporarily transfixed.
It wasn’t until the operator asked if I needed anything that my brain lurched back into gear and I tore my eyes away from my currently empty bed.
I told the operator to connect me to Saikhan’s desk.
“Tell Inas I’m wearing the suit he made tonight.”
“Oh, really? For how long?”
“An hour or two, I think.”
I was rather amazed at how encouraging his laugh was.
I started by rummaging through Mom’s closet again, but nothing was clicking, and I could feel time passing far too quickly. Finally I gave up and dashed through the house looking for Tenzin, who’d conveniently evaporated.
“Ikki Ikki Ikki!” I called, when I spotted her in the courtyard. “Ikki, I need your help!”
“What is it?”
“Would you please, please, please give me a ride into the city on Blueberry Spice Head?”
She gave me a narrow look. “Why?”
“Lin’s invited me over for dinner, and I need to get there as soon as I can.”
“Ooh! Can I come too?”
“I swear by any spirit you can name that I will take you and only you with us to the next Farmers Market if you do this for me.”
She pursed her lips and touched her chin, thinking. “And tell me all the details after you get back?”
“All the details,” I nodded solemnly…that are age appropriate, I thought.
I called down to the grocer on the ground level and argued for a few minutes with the kid who does Tan’s deliveries. In the end, I had to nearly double her tip to get her to bring what I wanted.
We were in the air in a matter of minutes. As we flew, I second guessed myself about my dress, whether or not I needed to have brought something like flowers, or even money to buy flowers. I closed my eyes in despair. I had no money to buy a bottle of wine.
I knew deep down that Lin wouldn’t mind any of that. No more than I would have expected anything like that from her. She’d worn her armor to the Island for dinner, and it was perfect. She was perfect.
Yu Jin let herself in and brought the basket over with the vegetables and fish.
“Who’s your hot date tonight? You haven’t gotten this much food in weeks.”
I tried to growl at her, but she just crossed her arms and glared right back at me.
“You don’t tell me, I’ll tell Tan to ask you out.”
I shook my head.
“She’s an old friend. We aren’t dating,” I faltered rather than truly finishing the sentence. I had to clamp down on my voice before it shook.
“What do you like about her?” Ikki asked. “She’s a lot nicer now than when we were little, but she’s still pretty grouchy.”
“She’s smart, and she’s funny sometimes, and she’s a great listener, and she likes a lot of the things that I like.”
“She’s beautiful too,” Ikki remarked, her eyes forward.
“She is,” I agreed.
“So what’s different now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it kinda seems like you started liking her all of a sudden. Did something change?”
“But you want to, don’t you? This is some of the best stuff we have downstairs.”
I froze, my hand stretched over the basket.
Taking a deep breath, I met the kid’s gaze.
“Yes, I want to.”
I was thunderstruck. Ikki was right. It had only been a little more than a month since that Pro-bending match we went to, and between then and now I’d fallen pretty hard. Even Ikki had noticed… though maybe she was more observant than I was giving her credit for.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “It’s like I started to see her in a new light after we went to the arena.”
“I hope someday I find a girlfriend like that,” she answered, doing her best to be casual, and keeping her eyes focused on the city lights.
“Well, Ikki, I’m almost certain that will happen. Giving your aunt a ride at the last minute is very kind, and being kind is one of the most attractive things in the world. And you’re becoming more beautiful by the day.”
She smiled and we started to descend toward the plaza outside the police station. It wasn’t far from her apartment, so I gave the top of Ikki’s head a kiss and jumped down to the pavement.
“Don’t wait up!” I called, waving.
“All the details!” she called back, with a mischievous grin.
When Yu Jin looked down at the empty basket, she shook her head. “I told Tan he waited too long.”
She winked and let herself out.
Lin’s building was deceptively modest, with a grocery on the street level. Other small shops lined the sidewalks, all quieting down now after the work day. I went around the side street, pressed the button for the 4th floor, and went in when it buzzed. The floors were rich marble, the baseboards new dark polished wood. The stairs spiraled upward and the windows at the landings were stained glass. I climbed the stairs and knocked.
After a moment Lin opened the door, and I was struck with just how soft she looked. She was barefoot, and wearing a silk suit tailored to fit her perfectly, in a dusty green, like summer leaves. Her skin was pale but her cheeks were soft pink, as though that were part of the plan, a rose in bloom. Her eyes glittered bright green in the golden light of the sunset that shone in through the west window.
I didn’t know what to say. All I could do was look at her.
She’s here.
Breathe.
She leaned forward and kissed my cheek, and took my hands and pulled me through the door.
I began to blather. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t find anything new to wear, and I was running out of time so Ikki gave me a ride and I had to promise to bring her to the Farmers Market, but I also forgot to bring any money for flowers or wine, and I shouldn’t have just showed up empty-handed—”
I stopped her with two fingers pressed to her lips. “Breathe,” I repeated out loud, with half a laugh.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
Her place was big. Tall ceilings, large windows. Natural colors…earth tones, of course. Not a lot of furniture, but what she had was high quality. A few houseplants, some wall hangings. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. I still had a lot to learn about someone I’d known my whole life.
But I was looking forward to that.
I followed her into the kitchen, where she had a few dishes cooking. It smelled delicious, but also a little different from what I was used to. Earth Kingdom spices. I took a big whiff and sighed contentedly.
She handed me a drink. “I’m almost done,” she said. “You can make yourself comfortable.”
It felt so formal, having to serve her, invite her to get comfortable, knowing she wasn’t quite there yet.
Much as I loved the suit (and the look she gave me when I opened the door), I longed to be cooking in comfortable clothes while she put her feet up after work, or took a nap…
In our bed.
I was comfortable, and very happy, but still also a little nervous. This was a big step forward between us. I mean, I was going to suggest we try dating a while before getting too serious. When she came to dinner at the island, that was different… it’s hard to have real privacy there. And when I suggested she stay the night, as much as I wanted it, I knew it wasn’t possible. It was half a joke.
I wandered back out into the living room, looking at the pictures on the walls, checking the titles of the books on a large lacquered bookcase. The light was fading fast, now that the sun was down, and I squinted to see some of them.
She came in and turned on a lamp, which filled the room with a warm light. I turned to see her, and thought I could come home to that every night, which made my insides jump a little.
I’d had girlfriends before, some serious, but there was always some reason it didn’t work out. Endearing little quirks turned into annoyances turned into arguments turned into one or the other of us calling it off. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes it was a relief. I didn’t regret anything, and always learned a lesson. I remained at least friends with some.
I leaned against the counter, a thousand thoughts rolling in my head. Could I be good enough for her? Could I be there enough? Could I be flexible enough?
And then I needed a drink of water.
But this was Lin. I didn’t like her because she was cute, funny, or sexy, though she was all those things. The words I would use to describe her were different from those other women. Intelligent, thoughtful, insightful, witty, loyal, honorable, determined, righteous, independent… but also curt, intense, proud, obstinate. I was fully aware of this before we went to that Pro-bending match, but it didn’t scare me off. As a matter of fact, it made me all the more attracted, because I knew that Lin wasn’t going to hide anything from me. Sure, I just said I had more to learn, but I already believed it was going to be worth it.
I checked on the oven and made small adjustments to everything, knowing it would just take time to finish. I could stay, cornered in my own kitchen, or try to make small talk or big talk with Kya, or…
I could go to the bathroom.
Coward.
She went into another room, and I looked out the window again at the lights starting to glitter across the city. I realized the west windows weren’t just windows, but doors to a balcony. I went over and opened them, and went out into the dusk. I turned to look when I heard the door close behind me, which I thought was weird, because it wasn’t windy. The sky was actually clear overhead.
Then I saw that there was a bright light behind me. I turned, but I had to cover my eyes from the glare, startled and a little scared.
“Kya,” an echoing voice said. “Kya, I need you to know something.”
I stared into the mirror. Was I really going to initiate a relationship? At our ages?
In the mirror, there was a flare of light, which was odd. I had checked, and knew that the moon was new that night.
But I heard a voice ask me, “What are you waiting for?”
It was a woman’s voice, high and clear. She sounded a little bit like Asami. I was baffled, but looking at the light, details began to appear as my eyes adjusted. A lovely woman all in white, with gleaming white hair, ribbons floating around her, creating a sphere.
“Aunt Yue?” I asked. My voice was shaking.
“Kya, my dear. I want you to know that I have been with you, all your life, but especially during this past month. Sokka was my one true love, but my duty took me from him too soon. I promised I would always be with him, and I was, keeping him safe, and helping him to feel love.”
My eyes must have looked like saucers.
“I helped him find Suki when he needed her, and I was happy for him. When their time was over, I helped him and Toph find each other. They were happy too for a while.”
“You did?”
“I did. And now that he has passed on, I want to help you, because he loved you too. You were special to him. Now that you have feelings for Lin, you need to know that the time is right. Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m… I’m not afraid. I just don’t know how she feels.”
I looked at myself in the mirror. Fleeting images wafted through my mind. Kya looking over my shoulder. Kya returning from Tan’s downstairs with the garlic we’d run out of. Kya doing the dishes while I went out to collect the washing.
Walking hand in hand to dinner on the Island, the moonlight shining in her hair.
Going to see Su and Toph, together.
The Moon Spirit Yue laughed, a sound like chimes. “You oblivious girl,” she said. “She already loves you more than you realize. As beautiful and amazing as she is, she has been waiting for you all this time, because there is no one like you. You just need to be there for her.”
“Oblivious? Me?” I felt a little indignant, but my heart was lighter than air.
“What did you think all those places you were going were? All those activities that you were doing together? Not dating? Just friendly?”
I nodded, blushing.
She floated close to me, bathing me in light, and put a kiss on my forehead. “I’m telling you to go for it,” she said, with another laugh. “Tonight is special.”
I wet my hands and rubbed them down my face, then dried it on a towel. With just a little effort, this could be a special night.
“Why tonight?”
“Because it’s the New Moon, silly. I had to be in the sky until tonight. This was the first chance I had to come down and tell it to your face. Apparently my signals with the clouds and the weather weren’t enough.”
Now I had to laugh. The Moon Spirit was an aunt to me in the best way. I didn’t even think twice about jumping up and giving her a hug, which she returned before she melted away into mist.
I heard her say “Tell Lin it wasn’t her fault about Toph. I wasn’t jealous. Have a good night.” And then she was gone.
A few moments later I heard the door behind me click open. Lin was standing there, looking at me curiously.
“What was that? Where was that light coming from?” she asked.
“That was my Aunt Yue,” I said, and I went inside, put my hands on her waist, and kissed her, the way I’d wanted to for so long. She kissed me back enthusiastically, and we just kept on with it until she jerked back and said “The fish!” and dashed for the kitchen.
There was nothing to worry about. The fish was perfect and delicious. Afterwards we cleaned up together, laughing. We went out to the living room and listened to the radio, laughing, kissing, kissing more. And more.
When it was time to go, I didn’t. Ikki won’t be getting any of those details.
When Ikki came to lunch the next week, she brought Kya.
Who was wearing that sparkly dress.
I sent Ikki home after lunch.
For an hour or two.
I wanted to see how the dress looked on the floor next to her suit.
When I brought the washing back the next day, I found out that it looked even better hanging up in the closet.
After all, this is home now. Ours.
If you liked it, please, please leave a comment. An accessible version for the visually impaired will be posted on AO3 soon.
One of the best things is rereading your own fic, but it's especially good when you have a very good writing partner ( @nyamadermont ). We made a great little story. More people ought to read it.
A Simple Favor (2018) - Old Acquaintance (1943) - Squid Game (TV 2021–2025) -Morocco (1930) - Now and Then (1995) - Victor/Victoria (1982) - She's the Man (2006) - Killing Eve (TV 2018–2022) - School of Rock (2003) - Sylvia Scarlett (1935) - Lullaby of Broadway (1951) - Flashdance (1983) - Annie Hall (1977) - The Hot Chick (2002) - Yentl (1983) - Notting Hill (1999)
Sky Ladder by Cai Guo-Qiang. The Sky Ladder was unveiled in 2016 over Quanzhou, China. It burned for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. It was the artist’s fourth and final attempt, as previous attempts had met only varying degrees of success. The artist says he had dreamt of a fire ladder 21 years prior and was very excited to see it come to life.
