Iron and Glory
The hum and the glow.
The burning and the radiance and you.
- Unknown
Jeff, the self-appointed lord and king of office gossip (Jeff, not Jeffery, Jeff, not Jeffery), was the first to notice. “Holy hell,” he breathed out. Within ten minutes, everyone else in the office knew, too. Manon Blackbeak had gotten engaged.
Apparently Iskra dropped a mug when she heard the news – coffee everywhere (such a pity about her white suit). She wasn’t the only one to be … shocked. Felix lost his fifty-dollar bet (he cried). Annabelle in accounting cried harder and then did a shot of vodka right at her desk (she’d had a crush on Manon for five years oh my god). Sasha, Manon’s assistant, didn’t give a fuck (she was so far past giving a fuck, she had long since crossed the event horizon into zen bitchery and weren’t the views just lovely from over there).
But it was noon when the bomb dropped. Manon couldn’t say she was surprised.
Sasha delivered the news in-person (never a good sign). Knocking lightly on the glass door to Manon’s office, she stepped in and said, “Your grandmother would like to see you. Right fucking now.” Tipping her head to the side thoughtfully, Sasha clarified, “Excuse me – she didn’t say fucking. She simply, and quite aggressively, implied it.”
“It bet she did.” Manon murmured, smiling. “Odds that she tries to murder me right here in the office?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t bother taking that bet.” Sasha calmly replied, smoothing away a non-existent stray hair in her perfect chignon. “Your letter opener is in the left-hand drawer of your desk, as a side note.” Snorting, Manon stood up, cracked her neck, and gave Sasha a wink.
Once more into the breach.
“Manon.” Her grandmother didn’t bother to stand up when Manon walked into her office. She didn’t even bother to look up. “Take a seat.”
And Manon did, but only because she had every intention of picking her battles. Strike her when you know she’ll bleed. Casually, arrogantly, resting one heel on her knee and lounging in the chair, Manon waited. And waited. Then there it came – the boom.
Her grandmother looked up, straight at her, eyes like iron flint. Only twenty-eight years of learning to walk with her back straight, her head held goddamned high, kept Manon from flinching.
“Matron.”
“Your staff is spreading idiotic gossip. Do something about it or do something about them.”
“Would you care to clarify? Or should I just go fire them all right now?” Manon smiled, just a little, sarcastic thing.
“You think you’re funny. Fire them. Fire yourself – I don’t care. I could replace you in a heartbeat and there are more and more days when I wonder why I don’t. Wouldn’t that be something.” Matron’s head cocked to the side, her eyes locked on Manon. “The great Manon Blackbeak – the Queen of Miami they call you – carrying her mugs out in cardboard box. Don’t tempt me, granddaughter, I’m bored.
Matron snapped a folder shut and the sound cracked through the room. “Now. Why is the staff spreading the rumor that you’ve gotten yourself engaged?”
“Oh that? Because I have.” Manon held up her left hand, diamond flashing like a beacon.
“No, you haven’t.” Her grandmother replied, voice soft with fury. “Because you would know never to do that without first speaking to me.”
“Whoops.”
“You’re fired.”
“Okay.” Manon stood up, flicking her hair over one shoulder.
Matron blinked, clearly not expecting … that. “Okay.” She mimed back at Manon in a nasty, mocking tone. “Okay. God your fucking arrogance. Just like your mother, you useless bitches. Neither of you ever knew how to fight for what you wanted. I should have washed my hands of you long ago.”
For a moment, just a moment, fury split through Manon like lightning. It left everything in her head clear and clean. Don’t you fucking dare tell me about fighting for what I want. Don’t you dare speak about my mother.
And so Manon Blackbeak went to war. Tucking her hands into her pockets, she leaned one hip casually against the chair. Eyes on her grandmother, a predator out for prey, Manon softly replied, “Fire me. Go ahead. I’ll walk right here, right now, and I’ll take my entire staff with me. All of them.
You think they won’t follow? You think they’re loyal to you? You’re an idiot. I’ll burn your company down from the inside out and the outside in. I already run Miami’s nightlife. Good luck stopping me when I run my own company too.” Nodding at her once, Manon turned for the door, back straight and head held goddamned high.
Her hand just touched the handle when Matron snapped, “Try that shit and I’ll bring a bloodbath down around you. Now get back to work.”
Grinning, Manon sauntered back to her desk, tasting blood on her tongue, her own wild heartbeat, iron and glory.
+
Elide’s day went a little bit differently. For one, no one tried to fire her.
Aelin did show up at the end of her shift to body tackle her, hug her, scream at her, hug her again, and then say, “Really, Blackbeak? It had to be Blackbeak?”
Hugging Aelin back, Elide laughed, “Yes, Linny. It had to be her. But if you want to go down this road, I can reminisce about what Rowan was like when you guys got engaged. Tell me – did he know how to do his own laundry at that point or were the piles of clothes just a modern art installation …?"
“Okay!” Aelin shoved her shoulder. “Shut up, nothing to see here. Come on, I’m taking you out to dinner and I want to know everything. And I mean everything.” As Aelin tugged Elide out of the door, Jeffery, poor Jeffery, sat the reception desk looking very confused.
He ate a bite of granola bar. He looked around the now-quiet waiting room. He shook his head. Speaking to no one but his still-desperately confused self, Jeffery asked, “Who are these women? Why do they all look like scary models? And why do they keep showing up here? Why??”
And the universe did not respond. This should be comforting.
+
Aelin took another bite (and then nearly choked on that bite) of sushi. “She proposed in the grocery store? Manon Blackbeak? Manon. Blackbeak. Tall. Unfortunately attractive. Ridiculous hair – she dyes it doesn’t she? That Manon.”
“Yes!” Elide laughed, using the interlude to snag a piece of Aelin’s sushi. “That Manon. Right there next to the gluten free bread.”
“Now I’ve heard everything.” Aelin muttered, shaking her head. “You could me tell that the mayor of Miami is actually three goblins stapled together and I wouldn’t even be surprised. Actually,” she paused and thought about, “I think that one’s true. His skin’s always been suspiciously green.”
“Thank you, Linny. That is exactly what I want to be talking about right now.”
“Good! Great – have you heard the one about the Denver airport? Because that’s – ”
“Aelin.” Elide interrupted gently. “What is the rule about conspiracy theories.”
Reciting from a memory that had clearly been drilled into her skull, Aelin replied, “Conspiracy Theory Aelin can only come out after three or more drinks have been consumed on a Friday night by all involved. Otherwise she must remain in her cave. It is a nice cave. There are snacks.”
“Thank you.” Elide stole another piece of sushi.
“Hey!” Aelin swatted at her hand. “Since I can’t tell you about the Denver airport – I know, I know don’t make that face – I guess you’ll just have to tell me more about last night. Details Ellie!”
“Oh I don’t think you want all the details.” Elide took a healthy sip of sake and felt the alcohol fucking burn.
“Dear god. Please no. That’s about sex, right? Ellie. No. Gah, gah.” Aelin shuddered, muttering something like my baby sister …. Manon Blackbeak … gahhh. She proceeded to chug half her beer in one go before, somehow, finding the fortitude to carry on. “Okay. Now that we’ve gotten past … aghhhh … tell me something, anything else.”
“We got a cat named Pickles. Well. I got a cat named Pickles, so Manon’s along for the ride. But she loves the little fur ball, so don’t believe a fucking word she says.”
Aelin started on another beer, her eyebrows practically in hairline. “Manon has a cat now?!”
“Mhmm!” Elide grinned, stealing more sushi and really fucking content with life at this very moment.
“Motherfucker.” Aelin murmured. “Mo-ther-fuck-er. You got Manon to have a cat – cheers to that.”
“I am a worker of miracles.”
They drank. They ate. They definitely drank some more. And maybe it was the alcohol slowing Elide’s system down, but it there came a point where it seemed like Aelin wasn’t laughing as quickly as her jokes, that Aelin’s smile was on a time delay, a beat off from the rest of reality.
When she told a story about Jeffery finding an iguana in his backpack and Aelin didn’t even crack a grin, Elide kicked her sister’s leg under the table. “Linny. What gives? You love Jeffery stories.”
“Right yes. Sorry. Iguana.” Aelin blinked her way back. But she didn’t really smile.
“Linny.”
“Sorry.” Aelin bit on her knuckle. “I just …” Aelin reached out and, delicately, delicately, brushed her thumb over the thin scar on Elide’s cheek. An old memory. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
“How this time you seem so happy. And how I didn’t see it last time – how unhappy you were.”
Taking Aelin’s hand in her own, Elide murmured. “I told you, you need to stop apologizing.”
“I will never stop being sorry that you thought you were alone.”
“Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius.” Elide gripped her sister’s hand tighter than tight. “I have never lived a single day where I didn’t have you.”
“I love you too asshole.” Gently kicking Elide’s foot under the table, Aelin flicked a smile up at her. “But are you? Happy with Manon?”
Elide smiled right back, fierce and real, “Yes. Yes. Lorcan – he hurt me, he fucking abused me. But Manon … I trust her with my life. She’s been making me smile since that day we met on the playground when we were eight years old.”
“Well thank god you finally figured your shit out. The amount of pinning and sexual tension between you two was unbearable.”
Blushing hard enough that she had to bury her face in her hands, Elide finally got out, “Was it really that bad?”
“Unbearable.”
“It couldn’t have been that obvious?”
“Elide. There were astronauts on the International Space Station who were aware of the situation.”
“Shut up!”
“I will not. As your maid of honor, I have many hysterical and embarrassing stories to tell at the wedding.”
“Who said you’re my maid of honor?”
“Me.”
Flipping her sister off, Elide made Aelin buy more alcohol. And then they drank. At one point, at some point (Elide had well and truly lost track of time), she said to Aelin, “I gave her mum’s ring. This morning. I wanted to … it felt right.”
And Aelin squeezed Elide’s hand tight, squeezed and held on. “Your mom would be so proud of you. She is proud of you. Look at where you are. Look at who you are. Fucking remarkable.”
Elide held onto her sister’s hand, trying to put all the love she didn’t know how to say into this one touch, this thing here. Aelin seemed to understand, because she didn’t let go.
+
[Blackbeak – GAH]
A: Don’t worry blackbeak ive got yo girl
Shes a little wasted
were a little
wasted
M: motherfucker
A: hey that’s my line
+
On the Uber ride back to Manon’s apartment, Elide laid her head on Aelin’s shoulder and drifted, the pretty lights of the pretty city swirling around them. A little sleepy herself, Aelin wrapped an arm around Elide’s shoulders and said softly, “She called me, you know. Manon. To tell me that she was going to ask you to marry her.”
“She did?”
“Mhmm.”
“To ask your permission?”
Aelin laughed, “Are you kidding? Manon Blackbeak ask anyone’s permission? No. She, uh, she said that she knew how important we are to each other. And so she wanted me to understand her intentions towards you.”
When Aelin went quiet, Elide poked her lightly in the ribs. “And?”
“And what?”
“Her intentions.” Another poke. “What exactly are they?”
Pressing a kiss into Elide’s hair, Aelin finally said, “That she loves you. And that she never wants you to be scared about losing the place you call home again.”
“Oh.” Elide had to blink back tears, and then she couldn’t and the water washed over her, clean and clear.
+
Knock knock knock
When the door to their apartment swung open, Elide lit up like the sun. “Manon!” She threw herself forward, and Manon caught her, of course Manon caught her, Manon was always there.
“Hey babe.” Manon murmured against her hair, holding Elide upright and smoothing a hand down her back. “Have fun tonight?”
“So much.” Elide leaned up to kiss her cheek, “Hey, you’re not in heels! You’re like a normal height. I’m like a normal height. This is so exciting! Pickles!” Detangling herself from Manon, Elide wandered after the cat softly chanting Pick-les Pick-les Pick-les
Pickles fucking ran for it.
Leaning against the doorway, Aelin slapped her most winning smile on her face and said, real casual-like, “Hi.” There may or may not have been an eyebrow wiggle.
“What the fuck did you do?” Manon crossed her arms, looking distinctly unimpressed. And a little amused.
“Technically, it’s ‘what did the sake do.’ Although, I did the buy the sake, so …” Aelin leaned more against the doorway, really not sober.
Rolling her eyes, Manon said, “Do you want to come inside or would you just like to become the hallway vagabond?”
“Umm?” Aelin was way too tipsy to disguise her look of surprise.
“Get in here – we are family now Galathynius.” Manon turned to walk down the hallway into the apartment, leaving the door open.
“Eww.” Aelin followed her in, but only because it was that or just fall over where she stood.
“I know. Trying not to dwell on it.”
“Oy, I have to live with the knowledge that you’re sleeping with my baby sister. Talk about trauma.”
At that, Manon looked … distinctly uncomfortable. “Thank you, Galathynius. Really wanted to be thinking about that.”
“My. Baby. Sister.” Aelin flopped down onto the couch. “Nice place. Tell me, did you intentionally go for the minimalist, modernist vibe, or did a Swedish designer named Nils break in here one night and just go fucking wild?"
“Oh fuck off.” Manon replied, no real heat behind the words. Sitting in a chair across from Aelin, Manon twisted her hair into a ponytail and looked a little … nervous? Dear god, what was the world coming to. And then, from the bedroom, they heard a cry of “Pickles! My darling!”
Holding her hands in the air, Aelin failed to bite back a smile and said, “Hey, you’re marrying her.”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Manon called out, “El, what are you doing?”
“I want to put a bow on Pickles.”
And that was it, Aelin couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer. She ended up falling off the couch and it would take her quite a while to get back on it.
“El.” Manon sighed and clearly steeled herself for the rest of the conversation. “Babe, I don’t think Pickles wants a bow.”
Walking out of their bedroom, Pickles cradled in her arms, Elide replied, “Well Pickles is a killjoy.”
“Pickles – god we need to talk about that name – wants to be left alone. Put the cat down and maybe she won’t murder us in our sleep.”
Narrowing her eyes at Manon, Elide finally replied, “Fine. But I want it on record that you’re a kill joy too.”
“Noted.”
From down on the floor (yeah, she’s still currently there), Aelin said, “Agreed!”
“Fuck off, Galathynius.”
“Hey, hey,” Elide navigated her way over to Manon (walking is currently a technical challenge) and curled up on her lap, resting her head against Manon’s chest. “Play nice. You guys are going to be sisters-in-law. Hehehe.” That vaguely-maniacal giggle was definitely in response to Aelin and Manon’s near-simultaneous flinches. “What if Pickles got a sister?”
“What if you went to sleep?” Manon replied.
“You’re no fun.”
“That’s me. Fun sucker.”
“Well, that’s not the only thing you suck – ”
“Jesus! Elide!” Aelin yelled, falling right back off the couch. “Holy hell, my ears, my eyes!”
Elide just laughed, curling in closer to Manon. “I love you,” she whispered, her eyes slowly slipping closed and her breath going soft.
“I love you too,” Manon whispered back, pressing her palm against Elide’s spine, steady and warm. And it was everything that she had ever wanted.
With Elide drifting to sleep against her, Manon glanced over at Aelin and said, “You’re welcome to stay the night. There’s the spare room, or you can sleep on the couch like the feral animal I know you are deep inside your soul.”
“Awww, Blackbeak, you think I have a soul! How sweet.” Then, crawling back onto the couch for a second time with a groan, Aelin said, “Thanks, but I’ll call Rowan. Make him pick me up. It’s good to give him small, easily accomplished tasks. It makes him feel needed.”
“Jesus,” Manon muttered, “heterosexuality.”
“Oh, I’m just getting started. You wouldn’t believe the number of pink kitchen appliances we got for wedding presents.” Aelin replied, tongue sticking out as she focused reallyintently on typing out a text. Finally setting her phone down, she said, “Look, Manon, I’ll say this once. Just once. But you’re good for her. You make her happy. Elide is better when she’s around you. I’m not going to say some stupid threat about what I’ll do if you break her heart. Because I can’t imagine anything worse than living with the knowledge that you hurt her.
I … I want to ask you for one thing. Fight alongside her. The world seems to have it out for Ellie, just a bit.” Aelin’s voice went soft, and sad. “She’s already lost too much. She keeps getting hit and she keeps getting back up and then she just gets hit again. So fight alongside her and don’t ever stop.”
Meeting Aelin’s eyes without hesitating, without flinching, Manon nodded. “She’s got me. As long as she wants me in this life and in whatever goddamned comes next, I’m here.”