#without the corruption of letting anyone hold enough power to Be The Polis

[whetstonefires]

Thinking endlessly about how the classical Athenians were like, so, on the one hand, many administrative tasks on which our civic apparatus relies require expertise.

But on the other hand, if we appoint leaders to necessary positions on the basis that they're the ones who are best suited to that work due to knowing all about it, that's putting real power in their hands, for an extended period instead of a safe little increment, which sets up our nice democracy of Every Free Adult Native Male Who Can Afford Armor to collapse very quickly into a narrow oligarchy.

But the fact remains that administration actually is skilled labor, especially on the tens-of-thousands-of-people scale they were dealing with, and also involves situations where it's impractical to run every step of a process through a committee. Not that they really wanted to acknowledge this but they were stuck with it a bit. If nothing else, people have day jobs, they can't always be voting.

But fulltime governators for whom this is their day job have too much power.

And the way they solved this was, most of the institutional memory and expertise and even exercise of force in the name of civic order was invested in slaves.

Mint workers? Executive accountancy clerks? Cops? All state property.

Very Important Job of distinguishing counterfeit coinage: public slave. Fifty lashes if he shirked or fucked up or cheated. Considerable authority in the context of the job. Could live quite a comfortable life. Absolutely no chance of his using this role as a springboard for building a political base and usurping authority, because he didn't have legal status.

This freed the actual executive positions up to be filled by people given one-year terms by lottery who had the authority to make (routine) calls but no personal power associated with the office; they didn't have to know shit to do the job and this kept them interchangeable.

Except generals, apparently. The Athenians were like, okay generals really do have to know what the fuck they're doing or we'll all die, but we can't make military service the defining feature of citizenship, and then put ourselves under the command of a non-citizen.

(Not even because like they couldn't entrust a slave with so much power, although being under threat of a lashing if people don't like your decisions probably isn't great for making strong strategic and tactical calls; it's the cognitive dissonance.)

So they had ten elected generalships, with less term limitation, and it was in fact a good avenue by which to build a political career.

But like, what the fuck huh?

[twiceasfrustrating]

Out in the Countryside

Rating: Teen and Up

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: F/M

Fandom: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!

Relationship: Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Main Character/Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Leviathan/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Main Character/Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Asmodeus/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Beelzebub/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Belphegor/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader

Characters: Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)

Additional Tags: Poly!MC, Picnic, fluff, hand-holding, implied drinking, Beel carries you, kissing these idiots being dumb but lovable

Summary: Sometimes you just wanted to have a nice day out with all of your boyfriends. You had the brilliant idea to go out for a picnic and enjoy some time away from the usual busy life you all lived. The brothers decided to indulge your wish, so into the equivalent of the Devildom countryside you go.

There was a lot of walking involved with picnics. You had never realized before how much walking really went into getting away from civilization. Not even a city, just some form of civilization. Then again, you had never seen the countryside in the Devildom before, so it wasn't fair to expect yourself to know that information beforehand. Well, maybe you should have, considering the human realm wasn't that different.

You had been left in charge of carrying the blanket, even after insisting you could carry something else. The brothers refused to let you, sitting that the baskets (yes, multiple) were heavy because they had to bring enough for eight people (one of which was Beel and his bottomless stomach) and one was full of dishes. They were objectively stronger than you, so there was no reason to have you exercise your limited human strength. The only brother not in charge of carrying a basket was Belphegor, who they worried would fall asleep on the spot if he had to use too much energy. Even Beel was allowed a basket of food in addition to the one for dishes (granted, it was one that had specifically been made so that he could eat it while walking because you all knew that was going to happen, but still).

The choice not to burden Belphie quickly proved to be a smart one, because he was soon yawning as he walked and you worried he would start literally sleeping walking.

You held the blanket against you in much the same way he did his pillow and went up to him, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Jus' tired..." His words slurred together, showing just how true that statement was.

"Yeah, this walk is pretty exhausting." At least one person agreed with you. Everyone else seemed to be doing just fine. It almost made you angry because that meant they had been right about you carrying extra weight and how it would have been taxing on you. Stupid correct logic, "Hey? After we all eat, would you like to take a nap?"

The look he gave you told you that was a definite yes, but he clearly missed your intentions.

"I meant, would you like to take a nap with me? Maybe I can let you use my lap as a pillow?" You knew how much he enjoyed doing that, and you did too.

His eyes turned to you and a little "Mhm" left him. He could never turn down a chance to take a nap with you.

Still, he looked tired enough that you worried about him, so you reached out your hand to hold his and make sure that he wouldn't wander away if he did start sleepwalking. He gladly entwined his fingers with your own as you both walked along.

You both stayed like that until Lucifer spoke up, "This is our destination."

Your attention shifted, looking out ahead of you rather than on making sure Belphie was still awake. All you could do was stare in awe. It is so powerful that you find yourself letting go of the youngest brother's hand and stepping forward to get a better look at what lies before you.

The Devildom countryside was nothing like what you expected. You weren't sure what it was you expected, but it wasn't flowers. Actual flowers! Not that you recognized whatever type of flora they were, but here they were. The scene of the meadow against the pale red sky was hauntingly beautiful and all you could think of was enacting the scene straight out of a movie where you frolicked in the field. You looked at the brothers with wide eyes, begging to be allowed to go enact your plan.

Lucifer nodded, "They're safe for humans." He held out his hand to take the blanket from you, which you gladly let him.

With a twinkle in your eyes, you ran away from them and toward the field of flowers, immediately feeling how the petals softly brushed against your exposed legs. Upon closer inspection, something about them reminded you of multicolored spider flowers dripping with morning dew and dandelions with exaggeratedly large puffs. As you danced through the meadow, the dandelion puffs broke free from their stems and floated off into the sky. You stared in wonder as they flew in the wind and were carried off somewhere far away. It was moments like these where it was the clearest that the human realm and the Devildom had many similarities you never had time to think about.

The brothers watched you from the place you had split off from them, seeing how you enjoyed your first exposure to wild Devildom flowers. Your blue sundress fluttered in the same wind that carried away the puffs, making you stand out against the brilliant sky behind you. Each of them found it hard to look away and help set up the picnic like they had planned. The contrast in color made you look like a painting.

Satan paused from helping lay down the blanket to watch the wonder unfold on your face. He looked over to his next youngest brother, "Asmo, you helped her pick the outfit for today, didn't you?"

"Only the parts you can see." But those parts were still divine, "She insisted the rest of it be a surprise."

"You did well." He added before going back to helping spread the blanket.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. It was a simple outfit, but it gave them all terrible ideas about what to do with you. How else was a demon supposed to react to seeing such an innocent-looking human other than wanting to corrupt them?

"Can someone set out the food?" Beel wanted to do it himself, but he knew he was likely to eat it before anyone else could enjoy it.

Belphegor looked at him in sympathy, feeling how hungry his twin was in his own stomach, "We need to finish setting up first." He wanted to sleep though. The walk over had been exhausting and it was hitting him the hardest, "You should go check on her." He suggested, since keeping Beel away from the food was the smartest option.

"Huh? Why does he get to be the one to check on her?" Mammon burst into the conversation, "I mean- Ya should leave that kinda stuff to yer big brother. No reason ya gotta go out of yer way."

"Lmao. You're dating her and you still act like a tsun." The third-born couldn't help but laugh at how much of a trope his brother was.

He placed his hands on his hips, "Shad'up. No one understands that otaku talk of yers anyway."

"Then why are you so offended?" Levi mocked, not missing the fact that his brother clearly understood the jab well enough to know it was insulting.

"Enough." Lucifer ended the conversation before their bickering could draw your attention, "Unless one of you wants to play guard between Beel and the food, I think letting him go is the best option."

They looked at each other, knowing neither of them wanted that particular responsibility. Levi turned back to his job dejectedly while Mammon grumbled a "whatever" under his breath.

Belphie gave Beel a sly smile, knowing exactly what he had done. The redhead gave him a grateful nod before looking out to where you were now sitting among the flowers and walking toward you. He found you stroking the petals of the flowers, trying to understand how they felt soft to the touch even though they grew in a harsh environment. He sat beside you, drawing your attention to him instead.

"Oh, Beel." You pulled away from the petals and leaned against his towering frame, "Am I taking too long?"

"No." His gaze drifted down to you, seeing how peaceful your face was looking out across the field, "They're almost done getting everything ready."

You balk at his words, "Done? I didn't even help."

"Well, you looked like you were having fun. None of us wanted to bother you."

"But I should still help." You felt bad that you had left them to do all the work when you were the one that suggested a picnic in the first place.

"No one minds." They loved watching you enjoy yourself so freely. It had quickly become something akin to a hobby to them.

"I mind." It made you feel lazy to not help them set everything up. This was a relationship, so you should contribute to it as much as they did.

He didn't really know how to comment on that without undermining your feelings. It was clear you were upset about being allowed to walk away without contributing anything. You probably shouldn't have assumed they would wait for you to come back to set up, this was their date too, after all.

He couldn't think of anything to say to you, especially with your face as sour as it was. Instead of trying to use words, he reached out for a flower and plucked it from the ground. With a smile in his eyes, he placed it behind your ear.

"Watching you is nice." He gently stroked your cheek with the back of his fingers as he lowered his hand again, "Seeing you happy is the best part of a date."

The heat that rose in your body and up your face felt like it would cook you alive. You buried yourself into his shirt to hide the giddy, embarrassed smile that you were now wearing, "You can't just say stuff like that."

"Why not? Did I say something wrong?" The worry in his voice was saddening.

"Never." You shake your head and sit up ever so slightly so you can place a peck against his cheek, "Do you think they're done?"

His hand moved to his stomach, realizing for the first time since he joined you just how hungry he really was, "I hope so."

"Well then," you raise to standing and brush the dirt and pollen from your dress, "Shall we go back now?"

Nodding once again, he shifts in his spot so he can stand up. However, as he gets to his knees, he stops and looks up at you. His arms open wide And you know exactly what he's thinking about. With a shy smirk, you fall into his arms, sitting awkwardly on his bicep and trying to balance yourself.

Beel places his other hand against your knees to keep you steady as he stands up and lifts you straight into the sky. You giggle widely as you raise higher and higher, seeing how more of the area unfolds before you with height. Now you can see how the sea of colors you were just sitting in weaves together and how far it seems to stretch out.

Your eyes widen in awe, "It's amazing..." You can't really explain how beautiful the meadow is. It's not like the ones in the human realm that look delicate and fair. No. This one looks dangerous, those dew stricken petals reaching out to link each flower to its neighbor.

"You like it?"

"I love it." You couldn't imagine seeing this in the human realm. The flowers were just too unique.

"Whaddya think yer doing over there?"

You both turn to look toward Mammon, who is yelling at you from where the picnic has been fully set up. Clearly, he isn't a fan of being left out from a single intimate moment.

"I think that's our cue." You tell him, looking down but holding on tightly.

"Uhn." He turns on his heels, carefully keeping you perched on his arm and listening to you laugh at the unusual way to travel.

As you near everyone else, you both get a few looks of confusion, some of jealousy, and one from Belphie that lets you know that whatever just happened was all according to his plans. Of course, it was. The youngest brother couldn't go a day without planning something. At least it wasn't nefarious this time.

"I'm glad you both decided to join us." Lucifer said, glance drifting from Beel you, "Do you need help getting down?"

You debate for a moment of you can get down by yourself. You figure Beel would set you down if you asked, but that's not as fun as having to make Lucifer reach up to you for once, "Please?"

Stepping forward, the eldest brother places his hands against your waist and slowly lifts you back to the ground. As your feet touch the dirt below, he notices the flower in your hair, placing a gloved hand under your chin and lifting your head so he can get a better look at it.

"Yes?" You ask, wondering what he could be thinking about.

"Nothing." He bends down at the waist and presses his lips against yours, his tongue quickly assaulting your own and making your head swim before pulling away, "You look beautiful."

The haze is short-lived as he pulls away and you can only admonish him, "Lucifer! This is a group date. None of that." Quick kisses and pecks were one thing, but trying to rile you up was off-limits.

The grin that crosses his face is fully aware of what he did, but uncaring because he got what he wanted, "Of course." Even if you complained, the goal was that he wouldn't be outdone by his younger brother in your eyes. Of course, some of the others saw through him, but the only opinion that mattered on the issue was yours.

Asmo took the opportunity to skip up to you from behind and wrap his arm around your own, "Sit next to me, Darling~" He tugged at you gently to try and lead you to a spot on the blanket.

Of course, he was the first one to actually ask you to sit with them. He had no compunctions over trying to get you to pick him first and foremost. He would respect your boundaries, but he still wanted you as much as everyone else.

"Gladly." You let him guide you to the blanket and sat down where he indicated. That still left your other side open though. You pay the spot next to you and looked up, "Levi? Will you join me?"

His orange eyes sparkled so much that it almost looked like he was going to cry. Why would you ever choose a disgusting otaku like him? That was probably what he was thinking. That was also exactly why you had to explicitly choose him. You loved him as much as the rest of his brothers, but he didn't seem to believe you. Every now and again, he needed a reminder that you had chosen him just as much as anyone else.

He gladly sat on your other side and the rest of the brothers fell into different places around the small banquet. Beel looked uncomfortable as he was forced to only look at the food in front of him. Belphie, ever the good brother, passed him an entire basket of food and told him to start with that while everyone else took the chance to grab from the pile in the middle. That basket lasted about as long as it took everyone to make their first plate.

"We brought wine if you would like." Satan held up the deep red, unopened bottle for you to see.

You looked at him skeptically, "Didn't we learn that I can't handle that stuff already?" That was kind of how this entire mess started in the first place. Not that you regretted it in the long run, even if it was a nightmare to deal with at the time.

He shook his head, "This is from the human realm. At least, I assume you have some tolerance for it." Although, none of the brothers would mind another incident like the one from that night. In retrospect, some of them found the memory endearing and were mildly curious how much further it could go now that you weren't confused about your feelings anymore.

But... this wine wouldn't do that to you, "Please pour a glass." It really was the ideal of a picnic date. Not that anything about this date was traditional, but it was definitely your ideal. There was nothing better than just getting to spend a day with your boyfriends and enjoying each of them. They really did find ways to spoil you and make you so very happy that this was your life now.

[oleandercrowns]

ROMANCE HEADCANONS. 🌹

TAGGED BY:  @bvgeyman​​ (thank you gorgeous) TAGGING: anyone and everyone who wants to do this, feel free to say I tagged you or just take this for yourself 

NAME: Adrian Hong

NICKNAME:  Adonis, the devil

GENDER: Male with androgynous tendencies 

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:  Bisexual (but prefers men)

PREFERRED PET NAMES: Master or Sir (lolol)

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Uninterested and bored

FAVORITE CANON/FANDOM SHIP: My favorite canon ship for Adrian would be his longest one, no matter how many years go by he and Dorian (written by the gorgeous and absolutely phenomenal @bvgeyman​ I love you so much ) are always together. No matter the distance no matter the time, when one is awake the other isn’t far behind and together they cause the most beautiful chaos. Adrian needs someone who can challenge him and keep him interested, someone who can overpower him at times but will allow themselves to be captured and Dorian is that person. Adrian reveres them as if they were holy and he’d gladly drink the poison from their lips with a smile. Adrian otherwise is very hard to ship with due to his nature and the fact that not many are willing to actually challenge him for power. He seduces but he enjoys being seduced as well and people seem to forget that when writing with him. But Dorian has always been the one who seduces just as good as he gets.

FAVORITE CROSSOVER SHIP: My blog is fandomless therefore there’s too many crossover ships

OPINION ON TRUE LOVE: Adrian does not believe in love, even though he has been proven wrong on that topic once or twice, he still refuses to believe it exists. People use people for gain, love is merely a facade to lower ones walls in order to destroy them from the inside out.

OPINION ON LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: There is no such thing, there is only desire

HOW ‘ROMANTIC’ ARE THEY?: It certainly depends upon the person that he is being romantic with. Things can vary from lavish gifts that he knows the other adores to sensual seduction in order to make them feel like they’re his world. Adrian is not romantic by nature, his is artificial just like his love most of the time, he mainly uses it to get what he wants.

IDEAL PHYSICAL TRAITS: Someone that exudes beauty and confidence. Dorian is a good example of that, a creature that is as dangerous as they are seductive and beautiful. Adrian’s ideal person is Dorian himself, even the chill with which they sometimes regard him with their gaze is enough to make him feel something.

IDEAL PERSONALITY TRAITS: Someone that can entertain him without being too much of a narcissist, there is only room for one of those and that is him. But he needs someone who can hold an intellectual conversation with, someone of refined tastes that can add to the conversation. Attraction can only go so far and Adrian bores easily, if you’re easily coerced he will take advantage of that though he too will grow bored of it fairly quickly. There has to be some type of gain or chase lest the beast grows restless and devours his toy.

UNATTRACTIVE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Everything can be beautiful to Adrian in it’s own way. Even a rotting corpse has it’s aesthetics.

UNATTRACTIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS: Showing weakness, sniveling, groveling, hypocrites 

IDEAL DATE: Adrian enjoys the finer things in life so an elegant restaurant with only the finest foods and wines. Somewhere that is popular where he can be seen, he enjoys the attention. But he also attends auctions (of the illegal kind) and would be more than happy to be wined and dined in such a venue, watching as the prizes are walked across the stage and modeled. If you buy him something he might just take you back home, but whether you leave or not, well whose to say.

DO THEY HAVE A TYPE?: Adrian desires someone who is confident, someone that can provide him with entertainment without becoming dull. Someone who can indulge in his “darker side”, he would say he can’t stand narcissists but that’s only because he wants all the attention on himself. Though he is willing to relent to certain people. But otherwise his type is someone that is just as corrupt as he is, someone he can watch the world burn with and who isn’t afraid to challenge him for power.

AVERAGE RELATIONSHIP LENGTH: Dorian is his longest relationship at six and a half years, any other relationship usually ends in murder or complete and absolute destruction of the mind. Anything else is usually just a one-night stand.

PREFERRED NON-SEXUAL INTIMACY: Adrian is quite fond of having his hair played with. It’s relaxing and makes him feel pampered as he lays his head down on the person’s lap. It is something he has always enjoyed though rarely allows himself to partake in.

COMMITMENT LEVEL:  Adrian’s level of commitment is nearly non-existent, he is a selfish and greedy creature and will use and abuse you until you are of no use to him. There are very few people he is committed too and fewer still are those that are still around him. If he is devoted then he will be for the rest of his life. Connections that run that deep will never be severed, if he is devoted he will always come when called. Though should you abuse that devotion, he will sever all ties and either pretend you never existed or he’ll murder you for your betrayal.

OPINION OF PUBLIC AFFECTION: He doesn’t care, he enjoys shock value of it especially if things lead to sex. Adrian is a creature that loves to cause chaos and what better way than to do something considered taboo?

PAST RELATIONSHIPS?: Adrian has had a few past relationships, most have ended and with every one that ends Adrian has sworn to never let anyone else get close to him or his heart. He very nearly let himself be destroyed by one but has since moved on and sealed that part of his life up to never revisit again. Another was a poly with Dorian and another, the third disappeared though Adrian was always closer with Dorian, he still cared for their third but after his experience he vowed to never be apart of another poly relationship again. When it’s healthy it works but there were too many things that Adrian experienced to turn him away from it. The only good thing that came from the poly was Dorian whom he has never stopped loving and regardless of how many years go by, of how many different bodies Dorian inhabits, he will never stop loving them.

[theclaravoyant]

I saw that you were taking fitzskimmons prompts on ao3, and my prompt was an AU fitzskimmons where they meet in highschool or at the academy of something... or an AU where Fitz and Simmons meet vigilante Daisy

AN ~ Hi! sorry for taking so (sooooo) long to respond to this, I was already in the process of writing a College AU and an Academy AU so I wanted to make sure I got to the part of your request that hadn’t been requested before. I hope you enjoyed the others if you’ve had a chance to read them, but either way, here is yours! It’s a bit of a slowburn, but not too much, and if you/anyone is interested in a second part let me know bc I’m loving this verse... anyway, I’ll let it speak for itself, without further ado

Poly FitzSkimmons. Rated T for some political themes & light sexual references.Read on AO3 (~3700wd)

Evolution

Doctors Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons were, famously, amongst the brightest minds of their age. Young, attractive, ambitious and intelligent beyond belief, they had the world at their feet. As is the case with many bright, passionate young people however, these two had good and gentle hearts and were content to live pleasantly, but modestly. They worked hard and loved each other, and over the years they built a home together, in a classic brownstone near where they’d met, near where they’d worked together; a warm and steady place to come back to as their projects and everything else struggled to pull them apart.

Then, one night, they had a visitor.

The pair were mulling over a new research proposal, in front of the fireplace and over glasses of red wine - the picture of warmth and quiet decadence – when all of a sudden a woman who was a hurricane burst into their living room. She was moving quickly and it was hard to tell anything except that she was short, with short hair, a blur of black and white desperate to make sure that she had not been followed. Then she turned to the Doctors, eyes wide and desperate, and demanded breathlessly –

“Are you with Shield?”

It was not long after they assured her that they were, that their intruder pulled a face of extraordinary agony and staggered toward their sofa, slowly collapsing.

“Water,” she begged, and Fitz hurried to comply while Jemma looked over the state of their new arrival, who was finally still as she lay out on the sofa, breathing shakily. The need for an explanation faded to a prickling curiosity as they all concerned themselves with the stranger’s survival. She’d taken a bullet to the gut, and there was blood and pain to patch up and a good amount of brandy to drink – split between the stranger and Fitz, who had never had the stomach for medical operations, ad-hoc or otherwise.

“Honestly, Fitz!” Jemma rolled her eyes and snatched the bottle away. “Get the poor girl a change of clothes. Everything’s covered in blood here.”

The stranger tracked him to the doorway with her eyes, smiling, and Fitz felt strangely comforted by her friendliness and optimism in such dire circumstances. He paused for a moment, to smile back.

“The poor girl’s name is Daisy,” the stranger murmured.

“Sorry. Daisy. Of course,” Jemma corrected herself. “I didn’t think you were listening.”

“It’s better than feeling,” Daisy said, as if that was an explanation.

Fitz disappeared upstairs, and returned with clothes and bedding. Jemma finished cleaning and dressing Daisy’s wound, and insisted upon feeding her.

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Daisy insisted, waving it off. “I’ve already bled all over your place. I’m starting to regret this. I think I’d better go.”

“Nonsense!” Jemma declared. “I’ll just heat up a plate of leftovers, it’s no trouble. And if you’re with Shield, you can stay however long you want, especially since you can barely sit.”

Daisy broke off eye contact, and Jemma frowned. For a moment, her heart accelerated and the floor seemed to shift beneath her. Had they invited an enemy into their home?

“Actually,” Daisy confessed, “I’m not with Shield. I used to be, but I… left. For personal reasons. A friend of mine told me you two were good people to go to if I needed help and, well – “

She gestured to her prone body. Jemma smiled softly, reassured a little.

“Are you with anyone else?” she wondered.

“No. Just me.”

“How did the injury happen then, if you don’t mind?”

Daisy pressed her lips together. “Uh, I’m not sure if I should –“

“You did bleed all over my living room,” Jemma pointed out, more sternly. “I think I have the right to know why.”

Daisy sighed.

“Have you heard of the Watchdogs?”

The flinty spark of fury that crossed behind Jemma’s eyes was reflected in Daisy’s own, and a trust formed between them at the thought.

“Of course,” Jemma said, nonetheless. “Human supremicists. I’ve heard their next big plan is to get hold of the Sokovia Accords registry and do who-knows-what to the Gifted people on it.”

Daisy frowned.

“From my research, they’ve already got the records. Some of them, anyhow. People are feeding them information from the inside. Shield wanted to be part of it. Not the corruption thing, obviously, but the Accords, so I couldn’t stay.”

Jemma pieced it all together slowly in her mind.

“You’re Inhuman,” she breathed.

“Are you scared?” Daisy returned.

Objectively, it was hard to be scared of a fairly drunk, fairly immobile young woman who’d stumbled quite literally into you while bleeding, even if the blood was from a rather serious bullet wound she seemed to have successfully ignored for some time. On top of that, Daisy seemed friendly and kind and open, and did not invite nor threaten violence, Inhuman or no. Jemma shook her head.

“You’ve given me no reason to be afraid.”

At the simply stated reassurance, Daisy felt herself settle a little. She took a few deep breaths in silence; letting it sink in; letting herself be reassured of her safety and of the legitimacy of Coulson’s recommendations.

“You should tell Fitz when he comes down, though,” Jemma prompted. “He won’t be bothered at all, unless you try to keep something from him.”

“Fair enough,” Daisy agreed. “Now about these clothes – sorry, but I may need your help.”

-

One night of emergency accommodation turned into a few days, and then weeks. At first, Daisy only stayed at Jemma’s insistence as a medical professional, and then, like when Jemma left for a conference in Kyoto, out of simple ease and preference. She was welcome here, and Fitz was a kind and safe, if slightly obscure, person to be around. As Daisy recovered, she began to pick up household chores to repay her hosts, and one night, she even cooked for herself and Fitz while he was out.

From the kitchen, Daisy heard him – them? - stumble through the door in a bundle of bags and suitcases. She stuck her head into the hall and saw Jemma in loose tracksuit pants and a cardigan, held and guided by Fitz, who was still suited-up and well-groomed but for the slight wear of a day in the office (and at least one very enthusiastic kiss, Daisy added, observing his hair).

“Daisy!” Jemma cheered, though her exhaustion was obvious from frazzled hair and bags under her eyes. “Good to see you!”

“You too!” Daisy greeted, her genuine joy mixing with the sinking feeling of being unwelcome as she realised what she might be interrupting. “Uh – I didn’t know you’d be back so soon, Jemma, but if you guys want a night off from babysitting the Inhuman, I’ll make myself scarce. I made vindaloo, it’s on the stove.”

“Nonsense!” Jemma waved her off, at the same time Fitz perked up.

“You cooked?”

Daisy’s smile returned, hearing their enthusiasm.

“Well, if you’re sure,” she said, “I’ll put some rice on and dish up. We’ll spread it between three, easy.”

They reconvened in the lounge room, since none of them were feeling particularly formal, and Daisy passed around the plates. Over dinner, they got to talking about what Jemma had been up to, a few recent stories from the lab at Fitz’s work, and a brief, if incomplete update on Daisy’s goings-on.

“Mm-“ Jemma leapt to interrupt over a mouthful of sweet potato. Hurrying to swallow it down, she continued: “I was talking to my colleagues the other day, and it got me thinking – what do you think about an Inhuman cure?”

Daisy stiffened. “Cure?”

“It doesn’t exist yet,” Jemma clarified, “but apparently there’s a group in Toronto working on it. I know medicalisation of things has caused a lot of trouble in the past, but Inhumanity’s quite new, and – in the academic field, anyway – there’s a lot of debate about what it – well, what it is.”

Daisy clenched a hand around her fork.

“I don’t really know what it is,” she confessed, a little stiffly. “But I really don’t think a cure is a good idea. My powers are a part of me. I couldn’t decide not to be Inhuman any more than I could decide not to be half Chinese. Other people deciding that for me? No thank you.”

“But if it could be assured to be voluntary,” Jemma clarified. “Hypothetically.”

Daisy pushed a piece of chicken around with her fork.

“Don’t you think each Inhuman should have that choice?” Jemma pressed.

Daisy took a deep breath. She could feel Jemma’s eyes burning into her, where she was intently avoiding their gaze. She was just trying to be kind, trying to be interested, it wasn’t her fault she was tweaking nerves. Not any more than it was Daisy’s fault that the windows and the ornaments on the bookshelves around them started shaking.

“Jemma,” Fitz warned quietly, looking around. “I don’t think she wants to talk about that anymore.”

Jemma looked around too, then, and noticed. She stood up, turning on the spot to observe the quake.

“Oh, my…”

“Excuse me.”

Daisy leapt out of her seat and bolted up the stairs, and slammed the door behind her. A few seconds later, the shaking ceased, and Fitz and Jemma were left to finish their meal in silence.

When they were done, and Daisy still had not come down, Jemma heated her plate and took it up instead. She knocked on the door, and waited for Daisy to call her before she pushed in a little way. Daisy perked up at the sight of her food, and of Jemma’s apologetic face.

“I’m sorry,” Jemma said. “I’m a scientist, I’m used to having more… willing subjects. I shouldn’t have pushed. I didn’t mean to make you feel abnormal or unwelcome. You’re safe here, and loved. I promise. I just get really interrogative sometimes.”

“I get it,” Daisy promised, to Jemma’s relief. “And to be honest, it’s nice that you care about my opinions. I’m sick of everyone else having discussions about ‘the Inhuman problem’. Like hello. I’m a person.”

She rolled her eyes, and Jemma nodded in agreement and sympathy. Then Daisy sighed.

“Thanks for coming to see me. And bringing me dinner. I didn’t want to run out back there, I just didn’t want to��quake up your lounge room.”

“That was you?” Jemma checked, the sparkle of fascination lighting up her face again. “How does it work? – I mean, maybe we can talk about it another day?”“Sure thing.” Daisy smiled. She was too tired to deal with an intense conversation now, but Jemma’s interest – and the way her face lit up when she was interested – were too inviting to pass up.

“Okay. Great! Well, I’m going to head to bed, then,” Jemma said. “Fitz has got a monkey documentary on downstairs, orangutans I think, if you want to join him, or steal the telly after.”

Daisy shrugged again, but smiled a little this time.

“I could go for some monkeys.”

Jemma smiled back.

“Good,” she said. “Goodnight then. And thanks for dinner.”

“You’re welcome.”

Extracting herself from Daisy’s side, Jemma made her way toward the door, but stopped when she was called back for one last offering.

“Something to put to your colleagues,” Daisy suggested. “If it really is choice you’re worried about. Can an Inhuman really make a free choice, on whether or not to take the cure, if the other choice means being outcast, outlawed and killed? That’s coercion, isn’t it?”

Jemma milled it over.

“Excellent suggestion,” she said. “I’ll put it to them.”

-

The brief tension that night was quickly forgotten, and in fact, after that, their coexistence of convenience became, increasingly, a mobilised partnership. Daisy helped Fitz and Jemma learn about Inhumans, and they helped her get information and learn who to avoid and who to talk to. Fitz and Jemma set her up with technology for the field, and at home, a proper bed in the room that used to be study, and their study spread throughout their house as a result, but they made it work. Daisy participated in their research, not always related to Inhumans – sometimes about counting birds, or testing virtual reality. More than that, she baked with Jemma, and played intense and vibrant video games with Fitz. She became a staple of the household, and of the relationship, before any of them had even noticed.

The first time they noticed, was on the way to one of Jemma’s conferences, this one in Moscow. Most of the journey to the aiport had been spent with Fitz driving, and Daisy helping Jemma practice Russian phrases in the back seat, but once they had farewelled Jemma and returned to the car, was when it happened.

“Don’t you get a little, I don’t know, jealous?” Daisy wondered. “Stuck at home while Jemma’s galavanting all around the place?”

Fitz shrugged.

“I get my fair share too,” he explained. “In fact, I’ve recently been invited to Sumatra myself, for a few months starting in June. They’re exploring technological adaptation to climate change and they wanted my help. It’s an honour, really. I was going to bring it up at dinner, because I’ve been asked to bring a research associate, and I was thinking - why don’t you come?”

Daisy blinked.

“Shouldn’t you take someone who is like…you know, actually studying?”

“Yes,” Fitz acknowledged, “but I was thinking, as more of a disguise. Indonesia’s not so far from a lot of places, there could be a lot of Inhumans that need your help. Plus, a different policy context and some contacts in the Pacific region couldn’t hurt, right?”

“I just don’t know how many Inhumans I’m going to meet in Sumatra,” Daisy objected. Fitz snorted.

“There are 50 million people there, Daisy, I’m sure one of them will find meeting you to be useful.”

“Oi.” She shoved him playfully, and laughed for a bit, but afterward, shrugged him off nonetheless. “Nah. I shouldn’t.”

“Why not? If you have people here who rely on you, we’d be happy to set something up –“

“No,” Daisy interrupted. “Although, a bit of that. But no. I was thinking more about how it would look – respected scientist leaves his wife at home, travels for several months to balmy tropical island with a mysterious stranger, they swear nothing will happen but it does and then they have to decide whether to lie about it or tell the explosive truth…”

“You make it sound like a bad movie!” Fitz objected. “Nothing would happen.”“Mm-hmm. That’s what they all say.” Daisy nodded to herself, but then asked, more seriously: “Is it really that hard to imagine?”

And it wasn’t. And so the rest of the car trip passed in silence as the two of them tried not to reflect too much on how, or how much, they’d thought about each other. When they got home, they went their separate ways, and waited for a very different kind of tension to die out. Eventually, it did – or that’s what they told themselves, but that didn’t stop Jemma coming home in the middle of the night a week later to find the two of them tangled up in bed together. Sleeping. Just sleeping. Only ever sleeping. But no longer without that question over them.

“Jemma –“ Fitz checked, the next morning, following her around the kitchen while she busied herself making omelets. “I just want to make sure you know. Nothing happened. Our bed’s just better, and we were just watching TV. I swear.”

Jemma laughed.

“It’s okay, Fitz,” she insisted. “I believe you. And I know you’d never do anything untoward without asking me first.”

Fitz frowned, caught off-guard by her choice of words.“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on. Daisy is undeniably attractive, highly intelligent, and bright in a lot of other ways too. She’s confident, strong, a total bad-ass. A rebel with a heart of gold. It’s only reasonable to expect that your eyes might wander on occasion. I know mine have.”

“What?”

“I’m just saying: you don’t have to act like the thought of being interested in Daisy is repulsive. I understand it. I accept it! I also understand that you understand that this is, at present, a monogamous relationship and that you would never cheat on me or hurt me in any way. So I’m neither angry nor bothered. Please stop stressing about it, and start cutting tomatoes.”

Jemma pushed the chopping board, the tomatoes, and a knife toward him, and Fitz began to dice them, running mostly on muscle memory as in his head, he contemplated what she had said.

Without asking me first.

Was that all it would take? Could it be that he could, in fact, explore his relationship with Daisy without it turning into a sordid melodrama? He found the thought of it surprisingly enticing; emboldening, even. Could it be that all he had to do was ask?

Before he lost his nerve, Fitz called Daisy down for breakfast and spun the plates across the table with gusto. Daisy stepped off the stairwell with alarm in her eyes, but when she looked to Jemma for explanation, found only a slight, stifled, somewhat knowing smile. Fitz had his hands on his hips, as if prepared to speak, but it seemed the longer he stared at her the less he could think to say. She sat down without a word, trying not to laugh at the silence, crackling with mystery, that engulfed them all.

“Alright,” Fitz finally announced. “Okay. Here goes.”

He swung into his seat splaying his hands on the table as if to help him conceptualise something. Daisy and Jemma watched intently, one unknowing, and one with a good guess as to what he was about to propose, and not quite sure if she believed he would actually do it.

“So,” he began again. “As you both know, I’ve been invited to Sumatra in June. The placement is three months. Daisy knows I’ve been contemplating asking her along.”

Jemma looked to her, and Daisy nodded.

“Her main objection, as I saw it, was that it would be inappropriate for me to go away with her for so long, when we’re so close, and when I’m with you, Jemma. Now, I – I may be making a few leaps in assumptions here, but it seemed to me that, maybe, perhaps, if Jemma wasn’t… an obstacle, you – Daisy – would be inclined to take me up on that.”

“…Sure,” Daisy agreed. “I mean the rest of the stuff you said was good but – what’s going on here? Are you breaking up with Jemma? Are we having the Divorce Talk right now?”

“No,” Jemma answered for him, struggling and failing to stop herself smiling. Her heart ached for Fitz and his clearly wracked nerves, but he was doing a good job so far in putting forward his own case, so she gestured for him to continue.

“Jemma and I have been talking,” he said, “and she –um – opened up the possibility of…oh, jeez. Please don’t take this the wrong way, Daisy, but of an…open relationship. Of sorts.”

“What I said was,” Jemma clarified, “that as long as I was aware of the possibility of it, I wouldn’t mind at all if you two wanted to get together. On whatever terms the two of you are happy with, and of course, only if you’re interested. But if something happens between the two of you in Sumatra, say, I wouldn’t be bothered by it, that’s all. I love and trust the both of you and as long as you’re happy and I’m happy, there’s no reason for me to kick up a fuss.”

“And –“ Fitz jumped in. “And please don’t think this reflects negatively on our friendship at all. I don’t mean anything weird by it and I don’t just want to get in your pants, I really, really do love you as a friend too, I just – I think –“

Daisy nodded thoughtfully, seeing where he was going.

“It might not be so hard to imagine?” she posed, finishing his thought for him.

The two of them gazed between each other for a moment, thinking of all that had sat between them on the car ride home from the airport that day. Daisy checked over Jemma’s posture again, and rather than hesitation or jealousy, it seemed she was rather excited about the new development her relationships seemed to be taking. With her loyalty to Jemma no longer in question, Daisy thought maybe she could more freely consider the possibility of falling in love with sweet, awkward, heroic Fitz. (And he wasn’t half bad to look at, either.) It really wasn’t so hard to imagine it.

“Okay,” she decided. “I’m in. But, ah, one question - are we sure Jemma doesn’t want in on this? Is it just Fitz and me, or should it be all three of us? I mean, I’m down if you are.”

“It does seem natural, doesn’t it?” Jemma mused. “But are you and Fitz actually in a relationship as of this moment, or are you just testing the waters? It seems like asking for disaster if you two don’t work out, to put this much pressure on it. Maybe we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves.”

“That’s true,” Daisy agreed, “and this is all pretty new to all of us. I vote we see how it goes.”

“Alright.”

“Excellent!”

Fitz, blushing, slumped in his seat with relief and satisfaction. He smiled down at his breakfast, and then remembered –

“Speaking of eggs, eat up, I’ve got to go.”

Leaping out of his seat, he took his plate and shook the omelet into a carry-container to eat later. He rushed for his satchel and keys and Jemma and Daisy, bemused, followed him to the door. He pecked Jemma on the lips quickly, wishing her goodbye, and then turned to Daisy. They tried left, and right, and ducked out on each other until they were both grinning and laughing.

“Okay, nope, go to work. Definitely go to work,” Daisy insisted, waving him off, and then shouting down the driveway after him – “And for the love of God find a real research assistant!”