#god...to be two cultivation partners following directions from a severed arm...

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Clown to Equine communication failed; They are separate species.

[First] Prev <--> Next

[puppetwritings]

To Heaven and Back || Pt. 2 || Junhui

Pt. 1 // Pt. 2 // Pt. 3 // Pt. 4 // Pt. 5 // Pt. 6 // Pt. 7 //

Word Count: 4889

Genre: chinese mythology, fantasy, angst, fluff

Summary: You had been a martial god, sitting at the helm of Heaven’s armies, for a very long time. So long, that you had began to forget what your human life was like but for some reason, recently, you were dreaming of past events again.

———

You walked for what felt like an hour, following the heavy demon scent until the smell morphed into something putrid and disgusting. It was a smell that you had become accustomed to when you were alive, but now that you had distanced yourself from it for seven hundred years, you couldn’t help the bile that began to crawl up your throat. Corpses. It was the smell of corpses. The smell was overwhelming and mixed with the smell of fresh blood, it was even worse. You swallowed the bile and continued walking, pushing through the smell but you stopped once more at the horrific sight in front of you.

Honestly! Why hadn’t anyone warned you about this? Because you were a renowned war goddess? Well, this renowned war goddess hadn’t been on the battle field for seven hundred years. That wasn’t a lot of time for gods and deities? That was a complete lie.

From the trees, blood dripped. It reminded you of rain water from after the rain. Except there had been no rain and the “rain” that dripped from the trees fell down like syrup, dying the grass in a puddle of red. Oh, how lovely this scene was.

This was where the blood was. Then the corpses? You looked up, fearing for what you might see. Ah, yes. They hung from there but not in full pieces. An entire tree was dedicated to arms and another was dedicated to legs, and then heads, and then torsos, and several other trees were dedicated to unmentionables. Once a tree was full, the person who cut up the bodies would move onto the next tree. Clothes were respectfully hung on separate trees—sorted again quite neatly. This demon seemed to really value organization. You wondered what would happen if you just…no. It was better not to needlessly anger the demon before you even met it.

You continued to trudge forward, flinching when your boots squished into the ground. You looked down, watching as little red bubbles formed and sighed. You hoped that your white clothing wouldn’t get stained this disgusting color.

When you made it to the other side of the passage, your stomach twisted in knots. Just how many people had this thing eaten before Heaven finally took notice? You were always saying that Heaven needed to pay more attention to these demonic—

Your thoughts were interrupted again by a strange hissing sound. Your hand laid on the hilt of your sword and you looked at the rundown temple before you. Or was it a temple? It was built to look like a temple, but really it was a rundown shack. There was no spiritual energy around it but it had been long consumed by demonic energy.

“Oh?” the voice slithered out of its hiding place and seemed to snake around your mind. “We have a guest, it seems.”

We? You frowned. Aside from you, you only felt…one other presence.

“Oh, yes, yes, it seems we have. And a handsome one at that.”

The words didn’t seem to be getting farther or nearer, but you heard grass and skeletons shifting. It wasn’t the sound of footsteps, rather it was the sound of…slithering?

“Handsome, handsome…and beautiful.”

You looked around. It was hard to decipher where the voice was coming from as its energy was all around. You let out a sigh and simply pulled out your sword. “Are you the thing that I’ve come to kill?”

“Kill? Kill? This beautiful Young Master wants to kill us, sister.”

“Oh, sister, that is dreadful.”

One voice…two souls? You pursed your lips and slowly turned back towards the temple-like shack. Slowly, from the depths, you saw something moving and soon, you saw a pair of glowing eyes. Two pairs, actually.

“A snake demon,” you breathed out.

“He’s smart too,” one head hissed as the body moved forward. You unconsciously stepped back.

“Oh, sister, can we keep him? It has been so long since we’ve had a toy as handsome as this.”

You felt a shiver run down your spine. Normally immortals or deities took care of exterminating demons and it rarely touched upon the gods. Even when it did, it was usually none of your business! You weren’t used to the demons’ coquettish way of speaking or the way their eyes flirtatiously looked you up and down. It made you want to hurl but at the same time you were flattered. You wondered if this was because of your ginormous ego or if this was the demons’ powers working.

“I…” your voice faded with one word and you smiled at them charmingly, making them swoon some more. “I can’t stay with you ladies.”

One of the snake heads pouted, “And why is that?”

At this point, you had stopped stepping back. You knew that it was useless. If you truly decided to escape they would fly forward and strangle you. Their fangs were venomous and their tail could be considered stronger than the Spiritual Binding Cord—your powers would be rendered useless, not to mention your current handicap with your sword situation. So, you allowed them to come forward and you pretended like you were being persuaded. Perhaps this would help them lower their guard.

Soon, the snake sisters were only a meter or so in front of you.

“That is because…because I’m forced to kill you,” you said, stuttering with grief as tears began to well up in your eyes. You shielded your eyes rather dramatically. “They—they captured my little sister and my parents. They knew that I was a cultivator and I had a bit of talent so they threatened me. If I don’t come back with your heads by sunset tomorrow, my family will be slaughtered.”

At this point, you wondered if appealing to demons’ emotions actually helped. After all, demons were known to be cruel right? Wouldn’t they just say something like “oh, your family is dead? Then that’s more of a reason to stay with us!”

Surprisingly, that was not the direction they took.

“How terrible!” one of the snake heads said as one arm fell over your shoulders and another hand was lifted to stroke your chest. The closest head leaned against your shoulder and the one remaining stared into your eyes. “Would you like us to kill these horrible, horrible people for you?”

“No,” you said, shaking your head as you allowed your hand to fall back to your side. You met her gaze. “I just…I only want my family back.”

“But then you would have to kill us.”

“I know!” you spun away, acting anguished at the thought when in reality you were having trouble holding back a gag. They smelled of rotten corpses and reptiles. “But I don’t want to. How could I kill you two? This world needs more beauty—I can’t take any away.”

“You,” one of the snake sisters smiled, “you believe that we’re pretty?”

“Just…beautiful,” you breathed out, sending them another smile. “And that’s why I’m tortured.”

“If we kill the one who kidnapped your family, then we won’t have to die either,” one snake sister said, their arms holding you once more.

“Ah,” you frowned, pretending to be tempted.

“Come now, young hero. Don’t be so unreasonable. They’re the ones who are evil, are they not?” one sister whispered in your ear. Her breath was hot, making your back crawl.

“That’s…true. They are evil,” you acted as if you were falling under their spell.

“Yes…yes, so we should go into town and kill them,” one of the snake sisters reasoned.

You nodded.

“And once you’re happy, we can take you back here…”

You nodded again with less hesitation and the sisters smiled contently as they took your hand and began to pull you out of the forest and back into the red mess.

It happened in a flurry and the sisters barely had time to react. Your sword was unsheathed and was about to go through the double-headed snake demon when one of the heads turned around, bearing her venomous fangs. You flew back, flinging their hand off of you just in time.

You grabbed the sword from mid-air and landed lightly on the ground, the fallen leaves floating up before settling.

“You weren’t under our enchantment? Turns out you’re more than just a small cultivator, aren’t you?” the other head snarled.

“You’re right! I’m not,” you grinned, holding out your sword in front of you. “And as pretty as you are, I’m afraid today will be your last day.”

Instead of colliding with the snake demon, you fell back instead. Your steps were light and if it weren’t for your partner lashing her teeth and swinging at you with her claws, it would look like quite the lovely and graceful dance.

Despite losing your sword and your badge, you were still a level-headed person. You were able to fight agilely with your slight handicap and you were worthy of your title as a martial god. Soon, the demoness was on the ground, it’s two heads held in your hand. You scrunched your nose and looked at them, “I’ll have to bring you guys somewhere cleanse your soul.”

You tossed up the heads and pulled open the small red pouch. The heads were absorbed into it with a stream of light and next the body was as well. The pouch bulged a moment before shrinking back to its original size. You place the pouch back against your chest and sighed, flicking off the blood that was on your trusty new sword.

You smiled down at it, “Maybe you’re worthy of a name…still, I miss my own sword.”

You sighed and sheathed it, tucking it back into its spot, before sluggishly making your way back to the inn.

 Mission? Finished. Demon? Sent to be purified. Now, as you leisurely walked down the street, still in your male disguise, you let out a long sigh. What were you going to do now? Normally, after this you should head back up to Heaven and wait until you can report the good news to the Emperor. However, the conference was still going on and it would be another three weeks before it would let up. With no one to help you no matter how hard you shouted, you decided to wander where you had previously landed in order to find your sword or at least your badge.

You used your new sword, cleverly named Replacement (Tìdài), to shift the bushes around.

Your spiritual energy was once again suppressed to one of a regular human being. You seemed like an extremely lost young swordsmen to anyone who passed and while this made you an easy target for demons, at least people won’t glance at you in awe. You’d rather blend in with humans than scare off demons.

You straightened your back and frowned, putting a hand on your waist. Where had they gone? You closed your eyes and searched for any trace of energy from your sword, but there was none. No. There was some, but it would flicker in and out of your line of sight. It was too hard to follow. Had someone really taken it?

You crouched down helplessly and began to draw lines on the dirt of the ground. You let out a short sigh before an idea popped into your head. You stood and released the seal you had put on your spiritual energy. The branches shook and the leaves shivered. Wind blew through the forest as you held the hilt of your sword with both hands, vertically to the ground, and drove it into the dirt.

“Tudi gong, come out.”

The winds stilled for a long time before a small bump, resembling a mole hill, emerged from the dirt. Soon, a full figure came out. The old man stood, hunched, with a cane in his hand. He bowed respectfully, realizing that you a higher god.

“Are you the earth lord of this region?” you asked, crossing your arms.

The old man nodded, his head still bowed. “Yes, I am, General. How may I be of service?”

You cleared your throat, suddenly feeling the delayed embarrassment of being a martial god and having your sword stolen by some petty demon. “I landed here last week. Did you take notice of that event?”

Tudi Gong chuckled and nodded.

“After I landed, I realized my sword and my Heaven’s badge had disappeared. I want you to search this region to see if you can sense any spiritual energy similar to mine.”

“Yes, General.”

“I’m staying at Blue Lark Inn. Come find me once you’re done with your search.”

“Yes, General.”

You turned to walk away but you paused a moment before reaching into your pouch and handing him some money. The old man’s eyes sparkled and you turned again to walk away. Earth gods common, but nowadays they were often ignored. Their shrines were covered in moss and hidden in trees. Travelers had no way of finding them now to ask for guidance while lost. It was unfortunate that these helpful deities were now poor and on the verge of fading.

You headed back to the inn, assured that it will soon be resolved. You laid down on the bed and closed your eyes.

It was night when you heard a knocking. You opened your eyes and opened the door to find Tudi Gong’s bowed figure again. You stepped aside, letting him in. You lit a candle and poured the old man some tea. “What are your findings?”

“I followed traces of your spiritual energy until I reached a place about two to three days travel from here—by foot, of course—and I followed it to this…cave.”

“A cave?” your eyes widened. “Were there demons in there?”

“No, no, but the air was heavy with demonic energy.”

“Are they trying to turn my sword into a demon sword?” you slammed your hand down on the table angrily.

“Please, General, calm yourself. The demonic energy…it was pure.”

“Pure demonic energy?”

“There are beings in this world born a demon, but if cultivated the right way, they might be able to travel the righteous path. This was the kind of energy I felt.”

You nodded slowly. So…it was a good demon? You pulled out your pouch and droped a few more coins in front of the old man. “Thank you for your assistance, Tudi Gong.”

“Will you be heading there then?” the old man asked, concern on his face.

You nodded.

“I will draw you a map then,” he mumbled, heading out to find paper and brush and ink.

When he finished, he handed you the map with two hands and you looked over it, humming in appreciation. “As expected of a Tudi Gong…even your map skills are exquisite.”

The old man laughed. “General, you flatter me.”

“It’s better than that rotten god of art and literature,” you nodded in approval and looked at the old man grateful. “One more thing…”

“Yes, General?”

“Don’t tell anyone about this event,” you said sheepishly. You pointed timidly upwards towards the Heavens. “They don’t know since they’re in a meeting. I would like to keep this blunder hidden.”

“Of course, General.”

“Ah, and did you happen to see a badge of some sort on your search?”

The old man’s eyes sparkled and he bowed as he produced the badge. You felt your heart leap with joy. “I was going to ask if this was yours, General.”

“Where did you find it?” you asked, happily taking it back and tying the string around your waist.

“It was abandoned near where the sword was. It could only be considered great luck that a demon hadn’t snatched it and tried to break into heaven.”

You nodded. That was why you had been most anxious to find it. But now all was done and settled. You smiled, “Thank you again.”

“It has been my pleasure to serve you,” with one last bow, the old man retreated from the room and left.

The next morning, you set out of the town in high spirits. Your hair was pulled back simply in a bun with a hair pin pushed through, the rest of your hair was left to flow wherever it pleased. Your clothes were a pure white, almost blinding to the eye, with silver lining. Your sword sat against your side and your bag was slung over your shoulder. Your appearance was still that of a dashing young master and you allowed your energy to flow like a cultivator rather than a mortal.

Your journey remained peaceful for the first day until you reached the first town between here and where you had left. This town—or rather this village—was small and peaceful. However, the moment you settled and stepped in, you felt that something was amiss.

You stepped further in and a moment later, villagers had rushed out with pitchforks and with burning torches. You raised your hands up in surprise and shock.

There was a pause before the villagers squinted at you in suspicion. “You look like a Taoist cultivator.”

You nodded. “I am. I was only passing through.”

The hostility evaporated into thin air and the villagers, one after another, went down to their knees. You took a step back. Ah, mortals really were unpredictable.

“Young cultivator, please help us!” the person who you presumed was the village head spoke out. “For weeks we have been haunted by this—this female ghost.”

“A female ghost?” you raised an eyebrow.

“Y-yes,” another person spoke out. “We believe to be the late daughter of our village head. She was married out but never arrived at her husbands doorstep…”

“So, you think she became resentful and has come back to haunt you all?”

The villagers nodded.

Likely…but also highly unlikely. If anything, she most likely wanted justice for what had happened and she had no choice but to dwell in her old home before justice was found. But in a small village like this, barely controlled by the government above, it was hard to find any justice.

“Very well…I can attempt to help her release her anger,” you nodded. That was a simple spirit cultivation task. You would be able to handle it even if it wasn’t in your area of expertise.

The villagers looked at you happily and kowtowed several times before listening to you urging them to stand up.

You were given a place to stay at the village head’s home. You met his wife and his younger son and another daughter of his. They told you that it had not been a willing marriage. They also informed you of her temper and how she acted when she was still alive. The information wasn’t very helpful, but this Xiu Linying was a very interesting character.

On the second day of your travel, you successfully found the ghost. After reciting some spells with a lot of care to do it correctly, the spirit was purified. It turns out that she had almost arrived at her husband’s doorsteps when there had been a band of thieves that jumped out and killed her and the group escorting her. They had been sent by her husband-to-be.

Upon reporting this to the village head, you saw anger as expected. The ghost of Xiu Linying smiled, happy that justice would be served, and willingly left.

The third day of your travel, you were behind. You left the village with extra money and extra food that you didn’t need. Gods didn’t have to eat and you had plenty of money, but the villagers insisted and wouldn’t let you leave until you took your rewards. Still, you appreciated the taste of food so you weren’t too burdened.

At night, you found a small cave and you closed your eyes, sensing for demonic energy when you heard a small whimper. It was soft and a cry for help. You opened your eyes and frowned, walking towards the sound. It grew louder and louder but it was still just a squeak. You brushed aside the bushes and your eyes widened at the pure white form in front of you. As the head lifted to look at you, let out the breath you had been holding. A white fox.

You smiled as you slowly knelt down and reached out your hand. A white fox…somehow, it reminded you of the companion you had when you were alive.

The fox stared at you and was less trusting and much less friendly than the one you had kept as a pet. You pulled out some of the food and ripped out a small piece, holding it out for the fox and hoping that you could coax it to you. The fox sniffed at the steamed bun but took a few tentative steps forward before biting down. It allowed you to lift it up.

You smiled at the sight but frowned at the red on its hind legs. You glanced at the fox before carefully brushing aside it’s fur. On its hind leg were small punctures, resembling a bite mark. It had been injured and was stuck here to recuperate. Your heart ached for it a little and you went into your bag, pulling out strips of cloth used to bandage wounds. You held your hand over the wound as the fox ate the steamed bun and once it was cleansed, you began to wrap it.

The fox stared at you, watching your every move curiously. You gave it a reassuring smile and tied up the bandage with a light knot. “There you go.”

The fox barked and you smiled. “Your welcome.”

You let the fox down but it crawled back into your lap, settling there like it had made its decision. You chuckled and petting its head. You could feel a faint trace of demonic energy but it wasn’t large and it wasn’t as if it harmed anyone. It was probably just born a demon, like Tudi Gong had said. This small white fox was harmless, you decided.

You took it back to the cave you were going to stay at and set up camp there. When you woke up the next day, you frowned at the white fox and sighed. “Little fox, I have to leave now. I don’t think you should follow me.”

The fox looked up at you sadly and you petted it again with a smile.

“Make sure you get home safely, okay?” and with that, you stood and made your way out of the cave.

The fox whined a little, but you had already started heading out.

To the fox’s surprise, it didn’t have to follow you. You were already walking in the direction that it was heading in. The fox bounded happily behind you, not acting suspicious even when you turned around. You raised an eyebrow at it, but look slightly amused as you crouched down. The fox walked up to you.

“Why are you so brazenly following me?” The fox looked slightly indignant so you changed your question. “Do you live in this direction?”

It gave a yelp, signaling that it did live in this direction and continued walking past you. You laughed and followed the fox.

The fifth day was when you neared your destination. At this point, the little fox thought it was strange. Why were you going in the direction of its home?

You frowned down at the map. You were heading the right way. Just a few more hours and you might be at the cave. You glanced at the fox who was still following you and the fox looked at you. Although you two wondered the same thing, you would never have known.

When you got to the cave, the sun had started to set. Unlike what you had expected, the area was not shrouded in demonic energy. It was more comparable to the energy of spirits.

You stepped towards the mouth of the cave and the fox jumped in front of you. You frowned but smiled, patting it on the head. “I’ve gotten to my destination, little fox. It would be better if you headed on your way now.”

The fox seemed to frown at you but you stepped around it and looked around. You could feel the swords energy spilling out and crawling towards you. You pursed your lips and turned a corner.

The fox jumped in front of you again and you frowned. “What? What is it?”

It barked several times but it was a feeble attempt of communication, in hopes if tell you what kind of cave you were wandering into. You gave it an amused smile, “I’ll be fine.”

The fox growled in frustration and disappeared, running deeper into the cave. You sighed slightly. Did it live here? Then, was it a spirit?

You let the thought disappear and continued to venture into the cave. If this little fox lived here then there’s no reason that the other spirits that lived here weren’t good.

However, your naïve reasoning began to waver the further you travelled into the cave. The further you stepped, the stronger the energy became. It started to press down on your shoulders and weighed heavily like demonic energy. So, this is what Tudi Gong had meant when he said demonic energy. Still, it couldn’t be compared to demons like the snake demon.

The cave wasn’t dark and was obviously inhabited. Torches were placed against the wall and shined brightly, the fire flickering as you walked past. You looked around, trying to find clues that would lead you to learn of what this place was but there were no decorations on the walls aside from the torches and the occasional lamp.

Soon, the torches disappeared but a light at the end of the tunnel emerged. You frowned to yourself—shouldn’t it be night by now? But as you approached the exit, you realized it was artificial lighting. Two tall pillars sat on either side of the opening and held fire at the top. You looked at them, amazing by the delicate pictures etched into the pillars.

You tore your gaze away from them and continued walking towards the open area that was flanked by grass and trees. You continued walking until you reached the cave, sitting across from where you had just left.

The cave was a simple round room. Inside were five torches, carefully placed around the room to light it up. Around the room were tables and on top of each table were boxes. You walked over to a box and opened it to find a sword inside. You inhaled sharply. A sword connoisseur? That means your sword must be in here…

You continued opening the boxes and could only frown when you found nothing.

A moment later you heard a muffled yelp and when you turned around you found the little fox with your sword in its mouth. You lit up immediately and walked over, bending down to pat the small fox’s head.

“Thanks, little fox,” you said, your eyes sparkly as your hand brushed down the scabbard that had lotuses engraved near the hilt of the sword. You turned back to the fox with a small frown. “But…aren’t you going to get in trouble?”

The fox bark and jumped several times as if to reassure you that you didn’t have to worry. You grinned and watched as the fox trotted out of the sword cave, seemingly urging you back to the tunnel that had brought you hear. You followed it for several paces before stopping again.

The wind brushed the top of the trees and you watched as the leaves shivered. In that wind, you heard the low sound of the guqin, crying out mournfully for its lover. You turned towards the sound and followed it in a trance. The fox stared after you in shock and froze for a moment before it trotted after you.

One note after another, it stayed with you until it formed a full melody. The further you walked into the forest, the louder the sound of the guqin become, though it was still a low hum in the wind.

You stopped at the edge of the forest, one hand against the trunk of the tree as you looked out into the clearing. Just beyond that was a lake. A bridge stretched from the clearing until it reached a small island where there was a gazebo and, in that gazebo, sat the guqin and its master.

You stopped breathing for a moment and could only stare blankly at the figure that produced such a mournful sound. The fox sat beside you, looking from the guqin player to you. After a moment, it stood again and tugged at the edge of your robes. You glanced down, barely registering what you were looking at before you came back to your senses and you smiled. You looked back at the guqin player and turned around, following the fox away.

As you were leaving, the song had ended. The guqin player’s slender fingers sat on top of the strings and he looked up at your back, retreating into the forest. He took note of the little white fox by your side and then took a breath, turning back to the guqin, and started a new song.

~~~

(A/N: check out the description or the thb ff tag on my blog for new chapters!)

[janellewrites]

[September 2021]

It’s just before lunchtime on September 13th and the law firm of Cochran, Langdon and Wynn’s front lobby is uncharacteristically crowded when Lola teeters in, unsteady on her heels, several grocery bags hanging from her arms, balloons tied around her wrists and a large cake box balanced in her hands.

“There she is! Gimme, gimme,” Patty the receptionist, a kind-faced middle aged woman with the sweetest phone voice and an even sweeter smile says in her sing-song voice as she stands with arms outstretched and rounds the front desk to help.

“Yeah, what can we help with?” Mason, one of the partners at the firm – a polished Ivy League type with perfectly coifed hair and a Brooks Brothers suit -- asks, a handful of lawyers and administrative staff flanking him – all of their faces familiar to Lola from run ins here and there over the past two years that Niall had worked at the firm.

Lola gives everyone a kind smile and blows a stray wand-iron curl up and out of her face as Patty carefully takes the cake from her hands. “If y’all wanna help me set up in the break room that would be great.” She holds her arms out, presenting her wares and one by one people step up to slide one off of her arm or untie a balloon from around her wrist. “Where’s the guest of honor anyway?” she wonders out loud. “And how have you kept him out of your hair this time?” Lola can’t help but smirk when she asks.

Niall wasn’t too fond of surprises. And he showed that by making it notoriously hard for anyone to spring anything on him. That made secret parties at his work like the one that Lola had planned for the day particularly challenging but a challenge that Lola was up to.

It was his birthday, after all.

“We set up a fake meeting for him with Linder,” Mason smirks, sliding the last bag from Lola’s arm. He holds it up and peers in to see the contents, taking out a paper birthday hat and holding it on his head playfully. Lola chuckles and shakes her head, not only at how silly Mason looks in the combination of a $2,000 suit and a $1 paper hat but also at the fact that Linder – who was Niall’s boss’ boss and the Wynn in Cochran, Langdon and Wynn – had gotten involved. “Linder asked him for to run some reports for it and everything, just to make sure the meeting seemed legit. Might’ve actually stressed him out, if I’m honest with you. You should definitely buy him a six-pack of something tonight to calm him down.”

Lola thinks of the Guinness she already has chilling in their fridge to go with the boxty potato pancakes that she’d emailed his mom for a recipe for in advance and plans to make for them that evening – his childhood favorite and an Irish staple. She’s already scheduled to leave work early so that she can have the cooking done by the time he walks in the house and can’t wait to see the look on his face when he unlocks the door and peeks into the kitchen, following the scent of the pancakes baking. If it turns out anything like the look on his face when he’d come home to her making a big batch of shepherd’s pie for his birthday the year before, then she can be sure that it’ll be enough to fill her heart with happiness until his next birthday comes around.

“Alright, let’s get to it,” Mason says, leading Lola out of the lobby area of the firm. “Linder’s not the very best at stalling so I’d say we have another fifteen minutes or so.”

The travel down a short hall leads into the firm’s open work space – the epitome of modern; light colors, sleek fixtures and shared desks in the center for the newer staff with glass-doored offices around the perimeter of the room for the more seasoned staff. Every time Lola sees the office, she can’t help but feel so proud of Niall. He’d worked really hard through college, kept a focus on his studies and cultivated a lot of contacts where he could, and it paid off when he passed the bar and landed this big job in the States. Now he owns a spot on the roster of one of Chicago’s most respected firms – not his dream job exactly; that spot in his heart would probably always be held by his music – but a career that he doesn’t mind that taps into a skill that he’s good at. A career that’s made Lola’s move from her hometown up to Chicago to be with him easier for her and a paycheck that allows her to take a job at the museum gift shop that she enjoys so much – a day job that surrounds her by some of her favorite art pieces and makes her smile throughout out the day even when she feels homesick for the places and the people that she’d grown up with.

Once they make it to the break room that’s nestled off to the side of the office, Niall’s coworkers have already set up much of the small space. There are multi-colored balloons floating at the center of the room, the curly strings of which are dangling over a small table where the cake box is set beside an ice bucket of champagne and few neat rows of plastic champagne flutes. As Mason moves around the room, handing out the cone hats from his bag, Lola scampers to the small restroom off to the side to check her soft curls, wipe away the excess eye liner that had begin to run during her whirlwind trips to the grocery for all of the party supplies and smooth the folds and wrinkles out of her dress.

It isn’t long before Mason is calling the room to attention to prepare everyone for the guest of honor’s entrance.

“Alright, gang. Linder says he’s wrapping up,” he says, waving his cell phone in the air, the screen still lit from what must’ve been the message that alerted him to Linder’s progress. “He’s headed here in a few.”

“Should we sing happy birthday?” someone asks, and when Lola steps out of the bathroom she sees that it’s Dereck – a young guy, fresh out of law school and new to the firm like Niall was, who had invited her and Niall out to drinks with he and his wife several times. She hates to shoot him down, but she knows better.

“Only if you want him to be beet red and embarrassed for the rest of the day. Y’all now it’s gonna be hard enough for him to swallow the fact that he’s got this little party.” Lola gestures around the room and shrugs. Niall might not have been too fond of surprises but he definitely didn’t like being the center of attention. At her words several people hum in agreement.

“Then we yell surprise when he gets in,” Patty decides, bustling through the pack and holding her cone hat tight to her head as she rushes towards the light switch to flip it off. “Lola, come here, darling.” She reaches out and waves Lola into prime positioning. “Come stand at the front right… here.”

Lola does as instructed, joining the older woman in the center of the room, just to the side of the table that holds the cake and champagne. And they wait, Lola tips from side to side on her heels, having a hard time containing herself and the excitement she feels at pulling this whole thing off for the second year in a row.

When Niall finally enters the room, his brows furrow as he nibbles his bottom lip the way he always does when he was deep in thought, the thunderous shout of “Surprise!” nearly knocking him backwards into Linder who was bringing up the rear.

“Holy hell!” he yells, grabbing onto the door frame to right himself before he falls too far back, a huge smile lighting up his face. “My God. How did you—where did this-- …” He scrambles with his words, totally flustered and speechless as his cheeks heat and flush and the room buzzes with laughter and applause. Lola feels his eyes land securely on her. He takes a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling visibly with the exhale as he moves towards her and whispers “you got me” just before bringing his lips to hers to the sound of his co-workers’ exaggerated ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahh’s’.

Lola wraps her arms around his neck and steals a second kiss as he pulls her close to him, shifting his stance so that she’s at his side but still not letting go of her as he smiles at the room. Everyone quiets down, the silence interrupted by Mason calling out a chant of, “speech, speech, speech!” which it takes no time for everyone else to join.

“Alright, alright, alright,” Niall obliges, holding his free palm up to quiet the room, his other still resting on Lola’s hip. “First let me start by saying thank you, all of you, for taking the time out of your busy day to make an old lad feel special on his birthday.”

“Horan, bud, you’re twenty-eight,” Mason notes, rolling his eyes.

“Youngest one of us here, actually,” Dereck adds without missing a beat, always willing to tout the fact that since Niall came on board at the firm he no longer holds that title.

Linder waves them both off. “Quiet and let the man finish, would you?” he complains, struggling to keep the serious expression that he often wears around the office but not being able to help the way that the corners of his mouth tug up in a barely there smile.

“Appreciate that boss man.” Niall nods in his direction and then continues with a sassy, “Now, as I was saying… 

Every one of you have played a big part of making this firm like a second home for me, and I know, Patty, I’m not supposed to say that. Work life balance and all…” Niall winks at Patty and she clucks at him playfully. “But it was… important for me to find a place where I’d be comfortable since I was moving so far away from home to a city that was foreign to me. To a country that was foreign to me. And I found exactly what I was looking for and more here. This party’s proof of it.”

Lola takes a moment to let those words sink in. It isn’t that she often forgets the fact that Niall is a transplant by way of Ireland, it was just that with the way that he adjusted to situations so seamlessly and made such quick friends of everyone that he came into contact with, it’s easy to forget how difficult a transition like that really is. It had been a struggle for her to move up to Chicago from Memphis and she remembers the first few weeks in the new city  feeling a bit like walking on the moon. She can’t imagine what it had felt like for Niall who’s adjustment was even more intense. Yet through it all, he remained her rock, always willing to hold her through her homesickness and to pacify her by pulling out his record player and spinning the blues records that made her feel like she was right back at home, sitting on the porch of her parents house barefoot with a glass of iced tea the way she always used to do.

The way that it feels when he does that for her – when he brings the feeling of Memphis into their condo right when she needs it most always strikes a chord deep within her – the same chord that she hopes to strike within him with the homemade boxty for his birthday dinner and with the dessert she’s got planned for after that. The one that she’s planning to serve inside the bedroom...

“And then, you know, I would be remiss to thank everyone here without giving my Lola a very special thank you all her own,” Niall adds finally, pulling Lola close against his side and looking down at her. She smiles up at him, getting lost in his blue eyes, her heart stopping as if they were the only two people in the room when he winks at her warmly. “Thank you, my love.”

Lola beams. “You’re always welcome,” she returns, taking a deep breath to steady the butterflies that swarm around her heart.

As usual, it’s Mason who breaks up the moment with his special brand of dry humor, clearing his throat dramatically and sweeping his gaze towards the champagne and cake that awaits everyone in the center of the room. “Before the two of you start making out, Niall, my man, do you think you could cut the cake?”