Work Text:
It's been forever since we've had a proper girls' night, but at this point, we'll take what we can get.
My schedule hasn't aligned with Tara's or Simone's in months, let alone both, so we're compromising with a quick bite to eat at our favorite local diner. It's the lunch rush, so it takes a little while, but waiting is always more bearable in good company. Besides, it gives me time to agonize over every item on the menu. They don't serve that many dishes, but everything looks good when I'm hungry, and I'm not the most decisive even when I'm full. At least the others aren't any faster at making up their minds than I am.
We've only just ordered and been seated when Simone opens the floodgates: "So… is there something going on between you and Xavier?"
I hesitate. I used to be better at keeping my personal and professional lives separate, but ever since I introduced my boyfriends to each other, it hasn't felt as necessary to hide my feelings for any of them. Technically, it's not a big deal since workplace romances aren't strictly against the rules for Hunters, but I feel weird just admitting it. "Is that really how it looks?"
"You're kidding, right?" Simone raises her eyebrows. "Even Nero's noticed."
"You should see yourselves," adds Tara. "You two are always together—going out to eat, taking breaks, walking home, all the time. And," she continues, leaning closer from across the table, "don't think the rest of us haven't noticed that you've gone to the last few Association events as each other's plus-ones."
I sigh. I could try to put up a fight, but at this point, denial would just be a waste of everyone's time. Still, that doesn't mean I have to admit it outright, either. "Why are you asking about my love life all of a sudden, anyway?"
"Because…" Pausing for dramatic effect, Simone takes a magazine out of her extra-large purse (the better to carry around all her equipment 'just in case'), then flips to a page and points at a picture. "That's totally you!"
"Uh…" I stare at the candid shot of myself dining out with Rafayel. Damn tabloids. Why do all my boyfriends have to be so high-profile? "Okay, so… yeah, that's me, but…" It's so obviously a date that I can't even say it's not what it looks like. The 'me' in the picture is at least one cocktail into the evening and grinning in a way that I really, really hope the general public finds endearing instead of too-tipsy. At least only half my face is showing, so it's not like I'm recognizable to anyone who doesn't already know me.
"Oh my gosh, Lyra," gasps Tara. "Are you two-timing Xavier?"
"Of course not!" I know Xavier's jealous habits better than most; two-timing him might be suicide. Thank the stars we settled on open communication almost from the very start.
Simone is scrutinizing my expression. "So then you two aren't dating?"
I heave a sigh, trying to buy time while my mind races for a way to explain all this. "Are you running this interrogation because one of you is into Xavier, or something?" I ask, looking between Simone and Tara. "Come on, you two are ganging up on me! Don't I get the chance to tease either of you?"
Tara shakes her head. "I'm letting my soulmate come to me. Romance is still in my future for now."
I turn to Simone, desperate for something else to talk about. "What about you and Nero?"
"Nothing to report," replies Simone, crossing her arms. "He may be cute, in a nerdy sort of way, but he's way too into Lumiere to give anyone else the time of day. I'm not gonna waste my time chasing after someone who barely notices me. But this isn't about me—I'm not the one whose picture ended up in a magazine."
"And with Rafayel," says Tara, eyes sparkling. "You met him as part of your first mission, right? How long after you met did you two start dating?"
I struggle with my words for a moment. "It wasn't love at first sight, if that's what you're asking. Like, 'dating' doesn't mean we're exclusive, you know?"
"I guess that makes sense," responds Tara, but I can't help but notice that she looks disappointed. What a romantic. "Celebrities probably date a lot of people, right?"
"It seems like they either date a lot, or not at all," puts in Simone. "Or they're secretly married."
Tara's eyes widen. "Do you think Rafayel has a secret family somewhere?"
"Definitely not," I say, almost interrupting. "That guy can barely take care of himself, let alone anyone else. And he doesn't have a good enough memory to keep other people's secrets." Not that I don't trust him with mine, but he's got more than enough secrets of his own.
Simone raises her eyebrows. "Sounds like you know him pretty well."
"I don't have a choice," I return. "Back when we first met… he did help me out with my first Protocore investigation, but then he decided that because he did me a favor, I had to be his bodyguard until further notice. He gets that I'm a Hunter first and his bodyguard second, but I'm basically always on call."
"I can't believe you never told me," says Tara, looking scandalized, but clears her expression quickly enough that I know she was exaggerating. "Anyway, I get that high-profile people need security details sometimes, but… why have a dedicated bodyguard on call 24/7?"
I shrug. "In case Wanderers attack while he's combing beaches for paint ingredients? I don't know." Plenty of reasons, actually, but all of the ones that come to mind involve outing Rafayel as a Lemurian, and that's not something I'd be willing to do even if he gave me permission outright.
"Sometimes artists' fans are as bad as their haters," suggests Simone. "Maybe he's keeping you on in case some stalker shows up at odd hours."
I almost laugh at the idea that Rafayel would actually need a Hunter's help to deal with an unwanted intruder. Although he likes insisting that he's a… what did he call himself that one time… fragile fishie, he can definitely handle himself in a fight against ordinary humans. Hell, he can handle most lower-level Wanderers on his own, which is more than most civilians can say. But instead, I just nod and say, "Maybe."
"So, to recap," says Tara. "You're dating Rafayel, but it's not serious?"
"I…" It feels like a big mistake to agree that it's not serious, like Rafayel is going to burst through the door any second and sulk at me until I take it back. "Listen, it's complicated."
Simone chuckles. "Yeah, I think we picked up on that."
"We won't make you explain yourself if you don't want to," says Tara, sincere as always, and glances at Simone as if to make sure she got the memo too. "But you know you can tell us anything, right?"
Honestly, I don't have anything against telling them about my situation, but it's not exactly conventional, and even the thought of explaining it is exhausting. Still, it's not like we're short on time—the people several numbers ahead of us haven't gotten their meals yet—so it's a long story won't cut it. "Okay, well… I have… more than one boyfriend. And yes, they do know about this," I add, seeing my friends' expressions. "Maybe I make some questionable choices now and then, but I'm not a cheater."
"I swear, only you could pull that off," responds Simone. "Then that means you're dating Xavier and Rafayel?"
I shake my head. "I'm steady with Xavier and Rafayel."
Tara blinks. "Oh… wow. Poor Zayne."
That catches me off guard. She and Simone have both met Zayne before, even if I only introduced them briefly, but I wasn't expecting to hear his name right now. "What's Zayne got to do with this?"
"Doesn't he pick you up and drive you home if it's raining?" asks Simone, resting her chin on her hand. "And there can be a lot of traffic between here and the hospital. That seems like the kind of thing a guy would only do if he liked you, but you're taken! Twice over, too."
I clear my throat. "Don't go feeling too sorry for Zayne yet. He's my boyfriend, too."
"What?!" squeals Tara. "Lyra!"
"Exactly how many boyfriends do you have?!" demands Simone, at almost the same time.
I press my lips together, but any more stalling I do at this point will be obvious. "Uh. Five."
"FIVE?!" Simone and Tara exclaim together. I feel myself turn scarlet as a number of people sitting at other tables glance over at them with some annoyance, pulling an apologetic expression and glaring at Tara and Simone. I'm not actually angry, but I am more than a little embarrassed. Hopefully everyone missed the context.
"Leave some guys for the rest of us!" adds Simone, giving me a gentle but earnest shove.
"Who are the others?" asks Tara, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She does enjoy her fair share of gossip, but she's more curious than nosy, and she can take a hint if someone gets uncomfortable or if something actually needs to be kept under wraps. She's mentioned before that she just likes knowing more about people, and that's part of what led her to the occult.
"I… uh, can't really tell you." Sylus is… well, Sylus, and Caleb is in a high enough position that I don't know if it'd cause some kind of scandal if word got out that the Farspace Fleet's prodigy of a colonel has a girlfriend. Not that I don't trust Tara and Simone to keep it quiet, but I should probably find out whether the topic is off-limits, just in case.
Simone smiles. "Top secret, huh?"
"Xavier, Rafayel, Zayne, and… two mysterious lovers," says Tara, counting off on her fingers, and stares at me once more in wonderment. "How do you even handle having that many boyfriends?"
"Very carefully," I say, and Simone rolls her eyes, but she hasn't lost her smile. I reach across the table and give her a gentle nudge in response. "No, I'm kidding. They're all really busy with their own things, so our schedules don't clash as much as you'd think they would."
"I guess a Hunter, an artist, and a cardiologist would have pretty full calendars, huh," says Simone. "And if the other ones are anything like that…" She gives me a pointed, though affectionate, look. "You really like the hard workers, huh?"
Only now that Simone says it do I recognize the one thing all my boyfriends have in common—their work ethic. Then again, that's something I value in myself, too. "Yeah, you're right. Believe it or not, I didn't really think about that before."
Simone snorts softly. "Probably because you're too busy."
"It's because they're all so different!" I exclaim, careful to keep my voice at a respectful volume. "It has nothing to do with how busy I am!"
Tara, meanwhile, has been rummaging in her purse—significantly smaller than Simone's, but apparently more cluttered. "You know what this means…" Triumphantly, she holds up a pack of worn cards. "It's tarot time!"
I glance around, praying our food comes to interrupt us. "Do we have time?"
Tara nods enthusiastically. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do a full reading." I'm still not totally sure I believe in fortune-telling, but she clearly does, and her eyes are shining in anticipation. Even if she's planning on telling me whatever I want to hear, at least she's not going to make up things to stress me out. I force myself to relax as she spreads out her deck in both hands. "Just pick one card for each of your boyfriends. Whichever ones feel right."
I'm not sure what she means, but I run my fingers over the cards, surprised at the way some of them actually feel different than others. Their surface is the same, but my fingers feel different when they move over them. Maybe this is what she means. After collecting five cards and making mental notes of which one stands for each, I push the first card forward. "This one's for Xavier."
"The Star," says Tara, looking relieved. That must be a good sign, or maybe it's just because she knows Xavier too, so she can interpret it better. "Peace, hope, and a shared vision. Reconnecting emotionally and spiritually." She hesitates. "Have you been heartbroken recently?"
"Uh, no?" Maybe when the arcade did me dirty last time I was playing the two-prong claw machine, but certainly not in a romantic sense.
"Do you know if Xavier has?"
I shake my head. He's lost more than enough to qualify as heartbroken, but I don't know the specifics or how recent any of it was. Under the circumstances, maybe that's for the best.
"Maybe that's it, then," says Tara thoughtfully. "The Star is also a reminder not to close off your heart, because love is still possible and worthwhile."
I move another card toward Tara. "Here's Zayne's."
Tara flips it over, and Simone stares at it for a second before taking the words right out of my mouth. "Death? They're not going to die, are they?"
"No, no!" exclaims Tara, waving her hands. "Death as a symbol is more about transformation—a change, recent or upcoming. This is just a single card instead of a full reading, so there's no hint about whether it's for the better, but… I know you, so I have a hunch it will be. Even if it's not, you can figure it out." Tara smiles. "Maybe this change will make your bond stronger."
I nod thoughtfully. "This one's Rafayel's."
Tara flips over the card and gasps. The Lovers. "Oh my gosh, is Rafayel your soulmate?!"
That's a simple question with a complicated answer. Inexplicably, I feel equally drawn to each of my boyfriends—if I only had one of them, I'd probably think that one was my soulmate—but as it is, I have five of them at once. "He'd probably say yes, but I feel just as strong a connection with all the others."
"Lucky," says Tara, but looks more awestruck than envious. "Anyway, the Lovers are a reminder that love isn't just superficial, it's a choice you make with your whole being. You just…" She looks me up and down and smiles. "Made that choice a little differently, I'd say."
I slide another card forward, and Tara eyes me with some anticipation. "Who's this one?"
Technically, Tara has met Sylus before, even if only as 'Skye', the mysterious fruit vendor. (Long story.) But honestly, I'd prefer to forget that ever happened, and I don't want to lie my way through another set of questions, so I just say, "It's a secret."
Tara flips the card—the Devil—and tosses me a meaningful look. "So… he's a bad boy?"
"Something like that," I answer, unable to be more specific.
"Well… the Devil comes with problems, as you might have guessed," says Tara slowly. "Control issues, usually, or addiction. But if you're honest with each other, you should be able to avoid getting entrapped." Those dangers ring uncomfortably true, but thankfully, we're already committed to being honest with each other, so we should be able to avoid whatever misfortune the Devil might foretell. (I hope.)
I come back to myself, realizing that Tara is looking at me expectantly. Hastily, I push the last card toward her. "Also a secret," I say, by way of explanation, but Tara looks so crestfallen that I add, "For now."
"For now, huh?" Simone smiles, crossing her arms as Tara flips the card. "Maybe we'll get to meet this one."
"Strength," says Tara. "Patience, compassion, and tenderness. Be honest, give each other space, and choose confidence over fear." Maybe there really is something to this tarot stuff. "Your connection might need endurance and care, but if you build it on mutual respect, it'll last forever." Relief washes over me as I feel like I made the right decision. Our relationship might not have worked out for the better if I didn't call him on his feelings and give them some direction, but as it is, this seems like a good omen.
A young waitress's voice breaks into my thoughts. "Sorry for the wait!" she exclaims, setting down our meals, and I resolve to tip her on the way out. Her dedication to the job is clear, and more importantly, her timing is perfect. "Here you go, ladies. Enjoy!"
We murmur our thanks, the waitress smiles and departs, and Tara collects her cards and slides them back into their case. The mood has shifted and lightened, and now everything feels clearer. And I feel hungrier than ever. Simone probably does too, because she eyes her personal pizza with delight. "Okay, we'll let you off the hook now that the food's here, but you better keep us posted now that we know."
Tara nods her agreement, preparing to dig into her chicken sandwich. "I for one am looking forward to meeting Mr. Devil and Mr. Strength someday."
I sigh, but I can't muster any actual exasperation in front of my deluxe cheeseburger. "Just don't call them that to their faces when you do."