#fencing club

[theidiotwhowrites]

𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕

𝐵𝑦𝑎𝑘𝑢𝑦𝑎 𝑇𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑖 𝑥 𝐹𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

Equals

(Story is related to this post I made, lol Togami won by a landslide)

Warning;

Rude comments, Classism, Pre Despair Arc, Reader comes from a financially unstable household (broke), Rivals to lovers (slow burn?), Reader with a fencing background, Slow start, Arguing, Multipart. Kinda petty Reader (Aren't we all tho?)

You have been warned

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Hope's Peak Academy

was the most prestigious private institution where anyone could go to, fortunately, you were accepted but for you, it was a bittersweet moment.

Everyone praised you all you could think about was leaving your life behind.

Fencing is what you had that didn't let you down and now it would have been thrown aside.

You finally felt like you did something, made your family proud but it didn't feel right.

All those days you've practiced for your upcoming tournament felt like a waste.

Sleep, School, Fencing, Rinse and Repeat It was routine, the thought of breaking from it didn't sit right with you.

It wouldn't for anybody, yet. You were supposed to be grateful and not "whine" about it but how could you when what you held dear was getting stripped away you weren't an Ultimate with a mind-blowing talent; Ultimates are what the school called their most gifted and breathtaking students,

(Your fencing skills weren't all that)

Unlike them it didn't change lives, it didn't inspire hope and technically you also weren't a 'Proper Reserve Course' student by definition, being that you didn't pay your way in.

Maybe the school's leaderboard took pity on you and accepted you only because of your academics.

Maybe they have an ulterior motive.

Nobody Knows.

Standing in front of the tall building, blue pillars from behind peak out catching the corner of your eyes.

You walk through the gates but that was 2 months ago...

Now you lie awake in your dorm, boring and plain are the decorations. The only spark it has is what you added which wasn't much since you weren't able to.

The days passing by started turning into mirrored images of the last.

It is better than wondering about what you were going to eat today or if there's any water or something added to the unpredictable chaos of poverty.

You weren't your class's top student.

(mostly given that the ones that were bribed the teachers into giving them better marks)

Or had close friends of any kind from the school.

You simply laid low. Invisible.

Staying in the background, with the spotlight never gracing your face for no longer than a second...

...Till...

The speakers called your name. Echoing throughout the empty halls. The stares from the others you didn't see, you felt, buried in the back of your skull.

All eyes were focused on you while you packed your things and said your temporary goodbyes.

Sprinting, you rush towards the headmaster's office. Slowly knocking on the door, opening it with shaky hands.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble" Says the headmaster; Jin Krigri, next to his right sits another man one that's quite unfamiliar,

"Before your arrival, the school did a background check on you as we do with all our students."

He shifts his chair

"And I was informed that you had done extracurricular activities. So to make you feel more welcomed, I took it upon myself to give you that chance again".

Endorphins filled with excitement lace through your veins. This was your redemption, a second chance. The thought of it makes you wanna shout for joy. You felt like you were overflowing with bliss and swimming in happiness.

If you signed up, another competition would be in your grasp. To be able to do what was taken from you. Being awarded, adored, standing in front of a stage whilst the crowd cheers for you, holding a medal you earned.

It's almost too much to bear.

Almost.

"Why?" You question. It didnt make sense, there has to have some repercussions. Opportunities like these don't come without them. There is something that lurk beneath such a pretty offer.

A faint smile crosses the stranger's lips as Mr Kirigri speaks up again.

"I did expect that you are a smart student after all. In return, all I ask is if you continue your fencing journey with a new coach..." He gestures to his right.

"Coach Tsukuda" The man interjects, standing up from his chair before calmly walking over, and putting one of his hands in front of him.

Hesitantly, you shake it.

Mr Tsukuda's, hands are rough to the touch, lacking any moisture with it. Bumpy like an unrepaired road, It's an unpleasant feeling against your own but you don't feel the need to decline.

To not be impolite, of course.

"It's is a pleasure to meet you," He remarked.

"Ahem" Mr Krigri clears his throat, drawing attention back to him.

"As I was saying, if you choose to make the conscious choice to accept this proposal by joining our fencing club, all I ask in return is if you compete in a tournament overseas with your fellow members, you as well as them to talk about the school in a positive light. Too nudge our reputation in the right direction."

He puts heavy emphasis on the word right.

In other words, Mr Krigri wants you to make the school look good. It was nothing short of unsurprising. Playing only a pawn in the time-consuming game of social climbing.

You agreed to such conditions. Being the school's talking puppet for a moment in time is better than the constant agony of boredom and longing for excitement. Some may disagree but it is a price willing to be paid.

The next day painfully went by.

Seconds turned into minutes.

Minutes turned into hours and at this rate, you felt like you were going to rip your hair out by the roots as the hands of time perceived to move slower and slower and even slower.

The bell rings, ending your torment.

Lazily, you turn the metal handle mounted on the wooden door, walking inside.

Yanking the strap of the duffle bag, destined to be forgotten before today, pulling it over your shoulder, leaving from whence you came.

Hope's peak was undoubtedly beautiful. A perfect muse for photography. However its only flaw are the stairs, You trance your index finger over the matte black railing. It is such a tedious experience but how else were you going to get there?

After what feels like forever, you stand before the Gymnatorium.

The temporary room for the fencing club. It calls your name like a siren song.

Spacious

It's the first thing you notice, the room is elegant yet simplistic. Gym equipment is neatly placed in the corners of the room.

Everyone talked in their own flock, mingling with their friends. Selectivity amongst others. Everyone except one.

Silently reading on a bench with a scowl on his face. Blonde hair falls to his face as a white-gloved hand fixes his hair. For a second they look up, his eyes connecting with yours.

The door behind you creaked behind you, ripping you from your thoughts. Making you look at the source of the sound

Coach Tsukuda stands in front of the door, he signals you to come closer. A sense of unease washes over you.

"You're here," He says, his voice lacking surprise, simply pointing out facts. He pauses to think of his next words.

"How good would you say you were at fencing before now?" Odd.

You shrugged. Doubt clouds your next judgment.

You thought you were good but are you?. Are you actually or were the people you were surrounded with weren't any better? Questioning your abilities.

"I don't know, good I guess" Was your response. Being humble about your talents. Maybe they were good but I didn't earn you a title. You still weren't an ultimate.

"Why do you ask?" You added. Not really sure where he was going with this.

"I've been thinking. That's our best fencer-" Coach points at the blonde on the bench, who continues to read. Not noticing that he is the object of your conversation.

"He thinks he lacks any competition and truth be told he's not wrong and you haven't showcased your skills to me, go and put on your gear, I'll be back to you in a second"

You oblige. Putting on your gear you notice, it's tight.

You are still able to move somewhat comfortably but it feels strange. Perhaps it's from the length of time you haven't worn it or you just need a new one. You toss your uniform in your bag.

Out of the changing rooms. You see Mr Tsukuda who stands next to the boy on the bench, signalling you to come towards them. Well, he's off of the bench now so you can't call him that anymore. You should ask what his name is.

Standing on the safety mat, it's a peculiar feeling under your shoes.

Mr Tsukuda's gestures to you

"This is who you will be fighting against, nothing drastic, best of five hits. "

The coach steps to the side and steps forward, to the boy.

He looks you up and down. Sapphire eyes studying your body. Judging every inch of you.

The tension is thick. To distract from it, you try to introduce yourself.

"Uhhh, Hi my name is-" Try, he cuts you off.

"I know who you are, I have not the energy to entertain this discussion you plan on conjuring with me, commoner. Let's get this over with. You will lose either way."

His tongue is razor sharp, cutting into you, deep. Dripping with disdain.

What is his problem? Did he wake up on the wrong side of life or something? He had not only rejected your advances but as well as insulted you in the same breath.

Tough Crowd.

So sure that he's better. It doesn't matter to you who does but now you want to, to win, simply push it in his face. To mess with his sense of arrogance.

You scuff at his remark. Glaring at his monotone expression.

He grabs what seems random to be a random épeé however it has an interesting design, one you haven't seen before.

Like any sport fencing has rules, mostly with its equipment. Every fencing sword has its own set of rules. Foil, only being able to touch your competitor's torso. Saber, allowing you to hit your opponent's waist up, only. However, the Éppé is the easiest to remember, having free range.

Grabbing your éppé, you get in a stance. He makes one last swift movement as he puts on his mask.

"Start!" The words echo through your ears. With a quick pace, he lunges towards you. You raise your blade. Swords clashing together, stepping back. Maintaining momentum, dodging his attacks. The tip of the blade touches your chest. "I suggest you give up, to prevent the shame of your inevitable loss."

"Shut up...." You mutter under your breath, he seems to be getting to you. "En garde!"

The contrast of your outfits becomes more clear. A dry taste fills your mouth. Adrenaline rushes through your brain. Under your gloves, sweat drips from your palms. Your next moves are calculated. You swung, A slash against his waist stops him in his tracks. Gaining you a point.

"Wanna give up?" You taunted, mocking his previous statement.

You can hear his teeth clench under his mask as he makes his next attack. You move your blade. Determined. Both blades swing left to right.

Your eyes scan over the room, glassed over. The sleeves feel like they dig into your wrist.

Faces close to each. Weapons stranded against each other. Looking for an opening. A thud rings out, as he lands to the floor. The sound of your heartbeat fills your ears.

You hit him with one final strike, and simultaneously the metal of the sword hit your leg with force.

"Take a break" Coach says.

He gets up from the floor, brushing the dirt off of him. Dropping it without a care, leaving.

Your hands feel sore to the touch. He comes to a sharp halt. Standing there before he utters. For the first time in his life, he has met an equal. A person on the same level as him.

"Byakuya Togami...."

"Excuse me?" You say, taking off your mask.

"Byakuya Togami.....it's my name, considering you asked earlier. However, do not think for a moment this means I am willing to fraternize with you."

Oh....So he's not so cold after all?

... To be continued ...

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Should I continue this?

I can't believe this took me a month, it feels like nobody write about fencing even though it's such an interesting sport and I say this purely off research. Where I live we don't have that so I have no prior experience.

And when people write about fencing in media, it's very overlooked. It's kinda like a place holder for time rather than the main plot point but whatever.

Also shout out to the people who supported me on this long adventure. (You know who you are)

Thank you for reading, it is really appreciated. (◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍)⁠ﾉ⁠♡

[transkholins]

rereading gideon the ninth and using my five months of fencing to slowly figure out what fencing style the cavaliers are primarily using (it's foil btw)

[zhoras-bitch]

The Cardinal of the Church just happened to adopt the one in a billion time catcher whose power is instantly recognizable since birth because of her unique eye color. Uh-huh.

[normshortfornormal]

MORE steb fencing au bc my brain is thinking so much note: the reader, steb, and maddie do epee, and as such this is very epee centric so please keep that in mind!

steb does both epee and sabre

you, steb, and maddie started fencing at the same time. maddie convinced steb to try fencing and he ended up enjoying it more than he expected

the number of epees was really small when you guys joined. sometimes it would just be the three of you and your coach. because of that, the three of you grew pretty close

steb had an advantage because of of his height (at least 6'0 feet/183cm), which gave him a longer reach/range. because of that, you learned early on how to fence against taller people

the first time you beat him in a bout, you're so happy that he's a little endeared

one day, maddie doesn't come to that day's session because she's sick. it's just you and steb, and that day, you guys become a little closer

when you guys become good friends or start having feelings for each other, steb decides to get you a brand new blade for your birthday. the grip is perfect for your hand size and the weight is perfect for you, and the blade is perfect for what you specialize in (whether that be parries or flicking or something else)

either that, or when your blade breaks, he gets you a brand new one

you and steb both do badly in your first tournament, but the support of having each other makes everything a little better and a little more fun

after your first tournament, you two decide to work together so you can do much better in your next tournament. you guys do a lot of drills together, sometimes you can do drills for at least an hour, but doing it with him makes the time pass so fast

by your third tournament, you guys are a LOT closer, so close that you guys end up surprising each other by buying bouquets of flowers for each other (to wish good luck and commemorate any victories you guys have)

steb gets into fixing gear first. you eventually join him when you realize you sort of miss his presence in fencing

some days, when you two are too tired to fence, you'll just fix broken gear together and enjoy each other's company

sometimes, when steb wants you all to himself, he'll ask ahead of time if you want to fix gear together, and you two spend the entire time in the storage room fixing gear together. spending time together like this, it feels like no time passes at all

you two end up getting into the habit of going out to eat after fencing. when one of you invites the other over to eat at either yours or his place, that's when things really start to change between you two

[nethnad]

rewatching the swordfight scene from the sea devils right now and

this has got to be the strangest en guarde position i've ever seen. sir what are you doing

[lynxfrost13]

Rotating a potential new STAR unit oc… really old gal who lost her cadre in some horrible accident and she’s not the laidback suave girl she used to be but what can she do!

[thewater]

genre i love: queer sports

examples:

Haikyuu!!

Creator: Haruichi Furudate

Sport: Volleyball

Medium: Manga + Anime

Queer coded to hell and back with no explicit canon. A popular anime that's very engaging. Whenever I watch it I feel like I should get my life together. It's super good, but fanbase can be a lil weird.

Fence

Author: C. S. Pacat

Sport: Fencing

Medium: 5 collated graphic novels + 2 novels

This one changed my life. I discovered it and haven’t been the same since. It’s cute, the two main characters are oblivious wee things, but there is canon representation in the older characters. Almost (if not all) of these characters are Queer As Hell. It’s brilliant. If you like Golden-Retriever-Sunshine-Boy-with-Troubled-Past x Grumpy-Black-Cat-with-Emotionally-Distant-Parents trope, then you’ll love this!

Check, Please!

Author: Ngozi Ukazu

Sport: Ice Hockey

Medium: 2 graphic novels

I saw this in my local public library once, picked it up, and never (emotionally) put it down. These books started my craving for 2D queer sports. This is what put me onto “Fence” in the first place. It’s canon, it’s sweet, the main character is a cutie, what more could you want?

Free!

Creator: Kyoto Animation

Sport: Swimming

Medium: Anime

I’ll be real, I didn’t finish all the seasons of this,,, the first two seasons slay the house down. But I dunno, guess it just didn’t keep my focus. I also don’t think anything gets canonized later,,, so it’s still just hashtag queer coded :( which is not slay.

AFTG

Author: Nora Sacavic

Sport: Exy (??!)

Medium: 3 novels

Now, you might think, “Exy isn’t a real sport” and you would be correct. Nora invented it for the novel. It’s like if the basics of lacrosse met the violence of ice hockey and it was played on a football (soccer) sized field with a mix of genders on the teams. This nonsense altered my brain chemistry, for better or worse, we will never know. However. If you seem intrigued, and want to read, PLEASE google the trigger warnings. Anything you think could possibly be triggering is definitely in this book. If you don’t want to google for fear of spoils, feel free to message me. These books are simultaneously the best and worst things I've ever had the (dis)pleasure of reading. I love them. They’re a mastery of metaphors set on a background of college sports with a mafia subplot. It’s like if a crazy fanfic got published. ALSO short king representation. Main man is 5’3, second main man is 5’0. I love this to pieces and I hate it to nothings.

Yuri on ice

Creator: MAAPA

Sport: Ice-skating

Medium: Anime

You know this one. If you don't, it’s not technically canon, but they buy each other (engagement) rings and kiss (sort of) on screen. Slays. Victor Nikiforov has my heart.

SK8 the infinity

Creaotr: Bones

Sport: Skateboarding

Medium: Anime

This one makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside i love it so much. There's angst and love and found family and tragic backstories and funny characters. Not canon though. Hashtag Japan Definitely Doesn’t Have a Homophobia Problem and That’s Definitely Not Why All of The Anime’s on This List Aren’t Canon. Anyways, it’s really cute and I watched t when i was in my own skateboarding era so i loved it so much.

If i remember more, or watch, or read more, I will add them :)

[radigalde]

Zain accident guide (fencing club route)

Well, first of all: accident in the fencing route is harder to pass compared to the polo accident. Unlike Pippa, Zain dies in most of the outcomes.

So... how do you keep him alive?

The best outcome is achieved by MC. You'll have to manually deflect all sword shards (#I strike down the flying mid-air shards with nothing but my blade alone. or #I duck and cover and-- no, why are my feet moving forward?! No, no, no I'm not trying to 1v1 an entire shower of sharp shrapnel!) through the power of anime and a whole bunch of stat checks:

have a body stat of 30 or higher or have a combination of body stat and magic stat be 30 or higher

or have a talent of agility and body stat of 20 or higher

or do a dance during conversations twice (or more) and have body stat of 20 or higher

and don't be too high on energy drinks from the vending machine before the duel (you are okay as long as you drink less than 7 of them).

Both body and magic stats start with 5 and are gained through the first chapter (yes, including the club routes). On the stats screen body stat is "Physical Strength + Athleticism", magic stat is  "Magic + Mysticism". Percentage equals to the score (i.e. 5% is the score of 5).

The dance thing may be a problem because there are only 3 instances when you can do it before the duel, and all of them come at the price of embracing a cuckoo 1 of them may be locked out for you:

#I say nothing, I merely start dancing the Tango de la Muerte. at the very start of the club segment. It gives you a bunch of small stat increases (including +1 for Adrian relationship), huge boost to boldness, and Simpsons reference. But it's available only if you chose Spandex Tracksuit as your main clothes.

#It's time to do the Dance of Joyâ! when you finish gearing up in the armory. Doesn't offer anything aside from cuckoo increase.

#I AM Michael Jackson. I put on a single glove and moonwalk to the piste. when you decide on how many gloves you are goin to wear for the duel. It gives a couple of small stats increases but can backfire with -1 HP if your body stat is less than 15. It also sets your gloves counter to 1 (since you are literally wearing only one glove). Luckily, this particular value won't backfire.

Upon failing the stat check, MC with luck talent and changeling MC get additional chance, but you are at RNG's mercy here, since the success requires a dice toss. MC with both luck and changeling childhood gets slightly higher chance of success in this toss, but it's still pure RNG.

The best outcome gives a huge boost to relationships with other club members, small boost ot relationship with Adrian, and fear stat reduction.

The second-best outcome is achieved by convincing Zain to wear his mask and not trying to deflect the shards. For the former right before the duel, when you decide on stance, pick #I gravely inform the audience that only masked eyes are allowed to behold my full splendor. The problem is: this option requires 4 or more in cuckoo score to be pickable.

This outcome doesn't have any boons aside from +3 to Adrian relationship, but it also has no downsides like HP losses.

For the third-best outcome instead of convincing Zain, force Adrian to help. For that, pick #I invite Adrian to a have a front row seat to my next match. at the end of Jianhua and Gil duel. However, this option will be blocked if:

you accused Adrian in being a stalker (#"Adrian, are you stalking me?" Might as well grab the bull by the horns and body slam it.),

or picked a violent option during the conversation about sleepover/sleeping in motel (#I make a violent slashing motion that sends Adrian staggering backwards several steps.),

or annoyed him by being rude during sleepover/motel discussion (#"Not a chance in hell and quite frankly that suggestion sounds completely mental in the first place."),

or spooked him by being weird during the discussion of intrusive thoughts (#Thiiiiis iiiiis completely riiiidiculous.). However, this fragment appears in this way (and with these consequences) only if MC told Adrian about at least one strange thing before going into intrusive thoughts topic or if Adrian knows that MC works as a security guard (i.e. you talked about murder beforehand with #"There was a murder during my last work shift..." or #I launch into a long involved story regarding my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. and its silent equivalent). Also, this option is the only one available in this branch for the possessed MC.

This outcome doesn't offer much aside from Zain survival, and Adrian is going to loose 10 HP.

In all other outcomes Zain dies.

Fuck you, Zain, Pippa was much easier to save.

[thevagueambition]

Dysphoria wasn't the only reason i stopped fencing but it was load bearing and idk it feels like an underdiscussed thing, how trans people often exercise less because of dysphoria (both from the physicality and circumstancially from gendered teams, changing rooms, etc) and because of the awkwardness or even danger of being perceived to be in the "wrong" changing room

People want to fearmonger about trans athletes but a lot of us aren't even trans hobbyists

[mssoapart]

Four years ago from now, I participated in a collaboration within Winx Ask (not on Tumblr). The idea was to create an "edit" emulating a visual novel for Halloween. I drew one of the backgrounds and a couple of NPC sprites.

Date: 2020

[vidilpoge]

Hey hema people I want to do a bingo of "stuff you hear at historical fencing meets" but in my time I've gone to so few of them. What else should it go on the bingo card other then "dark souls" and "dnd" and "mtg". I think I've never gone to a fencing thing where people didnt talk about at least one of this things.

[humbug-demartino]

"Just Add Water" [S3 Ep12]

[transkholins]

shoutout to camilla hect and ahsoka tano dual-wielding is DIFFICULT

[angelhummel]

im also really liking quinn on this rewatch but i mean we're only 12 episodes in we'll see how it goes

i just love her moments in acafellas and mattress where she tells sue off and chooses glee bc its what she really likes. and blackmails sue into getting the glee club a full page in the yearbook. queenie <3 <3

[sometimeswritingsometimesdying]

@7-sided-dice spoke about haiden playing pool and now it’s running around my head that they have never won a game fairly despite harvard’s best efforts

[thebluestbluewords]

pie dough woes

"It's not even good yet!" Jane cries. "Stop stealing all the pastry, there's going to be none left for the filling! You're going to become a raw pie if you keep it up!" 

"You're a raw pie." Jay manages, yanking his hand back out of Jane’s rolling pin range with a handful of dough scraps that he doesn’t deserve. There’s not even cinnamon on them yet, and if he’d just wait, and stop ruining all her plans they’d be twice as nice with the cinnamon and butter mixture she’s got planned for them. 

"You're a delicious baked pie,” Carlos says earnestly, turning his huge and terrible begging eyes up at Jane. "You're perfect and hot and a harbinger of good things into all of our lives." 

Much like a pie (baked), Jane is not going to melt under this pressure. Her butter has already solidified through the transformative cooking process, and she's got nothing left in her to be melted, even by sweet boyfriends with swoon-worthy puppy dog eyes. 

She props her elbows up on the countertop, careful of the flour bowl she's got out by her left elbow to dust the minipie dough with as she works. 

"You're very sweet, but if you eat any more of my pastry," Jane threatens. "I'm going to need to kick you out of the kitchen. And I'll feel bad about it, and then you'll be directly responsible for making me feel bad, and that's not what good boyfriends do." 

"Lucky 'or 'ou--" Jay tries. 

Jane dips her fingers into the flour bowl. If they're going to be menaces in her kitchen, there are consequences that all boys must face. "Choose your next words carefully." 

Jay wisely chooses to swallow the mouthful of raw dough he's stolen from her minipie preparations before trying again. "I said, lucky for you, we're evil--"

Jane launches her handful of flour at him. 

"Hey!" 

Their kitchen gets morning and afternoon sun because the boys insisted on picking the kitchen with the high, wide windows. It means they need to keep the fans running even in the winter if Jane's doing anything finicky with cold pastry dough, but the sight of her isle boys drinking in the sunlight that spills from the windows most of the day is well worth it. The afternoon sun they've got right now is highlighting the flour stuck to Jay's shirt, his hair, his eyelashes. 

"Oops." Jane says sweetly. "I didn't see you there." 

"Beh." Jay spits. There's sort of a lot of flour in his mouth. Oops.She should probably feel worse about that. "Peh. Ew." 

"I didn't mean for you to swallow it!" Jane cries, but oh, she can't help but laugh too. "I was just-- oh, there's so much in your hair, oh goodness." 

"Janey." 

"Yes!" Jane squeaks. She's doing a poor job at containing her giggles. Jay's eyes look so bright and pretty, even covered in flour. Jane's never looked so pretty before, not even when she's dressed to the nines and cleaned up and not covered in flour and buttery fingerprints from where they'd had a slight incident with part of the cinnamon sugar filling before. 

"You really want us to stop?" 

Oh. 

"I mean, I wanted to make a nice dessert, and it's not-- I like having you here in the kitchen with me, but it's hard to finish the pies when you keep eating all my ingredients, and I had a tray for snails all buttered already, and--" Jane forces herself to slow down, take a breath. There's no reason for her to be anxious about baking. "Don't go away, but please stop eating all my ingredients. They'll taste a lot better once they're baked, and I really do want you to try the pies once they're done." 

Jay smiles at her, flour and all, and Jane can feel the tense muscles all along her back relaxing without anything more than the small reassurance. “Okay. We can stop." 

"Thank you." 

“But you should teach us to make this dough sometime. It’s too good to keep it to yourself.” 

“You don’t—“ Jane laughs, because she can’t stop herself. “You don’t even like baking!” 

Carlos drapes himself over her side, careful and warm and comfortable even though he’s made of bones and dried spaghetti noodles. “Because we don’t know how. It’s not like we had the chance to learn as kids.” 

“I’m not a very good teacher,” Jane warns. “I’m impatient. And you’re too smart for your own good.” 

Carlos leans harder. “You taught me how to straighten my hair properly. That took a lot of patience.” 

“Pastry isn’t quite the same thing as hair, babe. There’s a lot more butter in pastry, if you’re doing it right.” 

“I’ll try putting butter in my hair if you’ll teach us how to make pie,” Jay offers, “you know you want to try butter conditioning. I’ll text Evie about it.” 

“No!” 

“Too late, I’m doing it!” Jay says cheerfully. “Butter—conditioner—thoughts? And send.”