my lady, the tiger

some Fire Nation Royal family plszz! 🔥

…rare sight, completely harmless Azula :)

Teacher AU/Birthday Fic for Herongraystairs 😁

Jem looked up from the mess strewn across the floor as the door opened. Thankfully it wasn’t another student coming back because they’d forgotten something. It was Tessa Gray. She looked astronomically more put together than he felt. She looked like someone’s fantasy of a hot librarian. He tried to push that thought out but it had been a shitty day and he didn’t have the willpower to boss his own brain around. Her hair was pulled back and twisted into a high bun. Not tight enough to be severe. The side sweep of bangs over her forehead kept the look soft. The blouse was buttoned all the way up but fit tight beneath the belted cardigan and disappeared into a dark wool skirt. She had little boots that matched the belt.

She was beautiful. Thankfully she hadn’t noticed him staring because she was frowning at the disaster.

“I thought you had juniors for last period.”

“I do,” he said.

“It looks like you have wild boars for last period.”

“They’re honestly about the same except wild boars don’t use Axe body spray or have instagram accounts.”

“What happened?”

“Birthday party.”

“You let your classes throw birthday parties?”

“This was the last time,” Jem said.

She laughed and it was adorable.

“Do you want help? Marsha will murder you if you leave the chip wrappers on the floor,” she said.

“Marsha adores me,” Jem said.

“Everyone adores you,” she said.

He smiled at that and hoisted himself out of his desk chair to start picking snack wrappers and discarded pieces of music up off the floor. The kids had pushed the music stands back against the wall so they could sit on the floor and sing terrible renditions of show tunes and variations of Happy Birthday to the three kids who had birthdays in the month. It had been fun. They’d brought snacks and cakes and there had been a lot of laughter. Someone had sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from Sound of Music and everyone had laughed until they were rolling on the floor.

Jem told stories while Tessa laughed along and helped him pick up the detritous the kids had left after running for the doors with the last bell. They’d tried to clean up at least a little. She kicked off her shoes. The music room was one of the few carpeted places in the school and watching her walk around in stocking feet was not helping his over active imagination where she was concerned.

“Do you want some cake?” he asked.

“Chocolate?”

“There’s some chocolate left but Bethany had an ice cream cake, it won’t last the weekend,” he said.

She didn’t like chocolate. He knew that. He knew a lot about her. He’d made careful mental notes. God, the sixteen year olds were better at managing their crushes than he was. Jem wasn’t shy. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was how carefully platonic she kept everything. Tessa was friendly but there was no special regard. It was flirty and kind but it wasn’t any more flirty or kind than she was with Will.

They were a set, the three of them. Will and Jem had been there two years before she joined the teaching team and Will had gotten the dubious job of helping bring the new teacher up to speed. Jem remembered how much he’d complained about the assignment. It had taken him less than a week to be utterly enamored by her. He’d brought her to lunch with Jem and Jem had settled into the friendship like she was someone he’d known in another life.

He served her a piece of ice cream cake in a plastic cup and she settled down on the battered sofa in back corner of the percussion section. She hadn’t put her shoes back on. He wasn’t quite brave enough to sit beside her and took a seat at the drum kit and asked about her day.

They were still comparing notes and eating cake when Will appeared.

“I got cornered by Branwell talking about the science fair. I don’t think I could even make a baking soda volcano and he wants to tell me all about some kid’s solar algae something or other. I’m sure it’s brilliant but it is Friday,” Will said.

He threw himself down on the sofa beside Tessa, comfortable in the spot that Jem had chickened out of taking. A little flicker of jealousy turned over in his chest. It got worse when Will grabbed her wrist and casually pulled her hand over so he could eat her cake off her spoon like it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Jem caught himself before complaining. That wouldn’t help anything. He’d just give it all away and embarrass himself.

“Is she coming?” Will asked.

“Where?” Tessa asked perking up and looking at Jem.

“You still want to go out?” Jem said.

“It’s Friday. I have three freshman sections this semester. I want nothing more than to be drunk until Monday morning.”

“Oh, bars. Bars are worse than freshman classes,” Tessa said. “I’ll take another piece of cake and head home.”

“We could stay in. I want a drink and not to not talk to anyone under thirty five. I don’t need to go to a bar to do that.”

“You’re twenty seven,” Jem told him at the same time Tessa said, “I’m twenty six.”

“Fuck all of us then, I’m going to go to one of those dive bars populated entirely by old men.”

Tessa laughed and elbowed him. Will took it as an invitation, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in against his side. She let him. She made a face and shook her head but she also settled into his side and didn’t hide the edge of a smile.

“We could binge watch something,” Jem said.

He did not want to go to a bar. He did not want Tessa going out somewhere with Will. He didn’t want to be alone while they were together. Jem had never worried so much about being left out before he met these two people. They were the best friends he had ever had and that should have been enough but no. No. He was jealous that she snuggled into Will’s shoulder. He was jealous whenever Will gave her his undivided attention. He was a mess.

“Good Place,” Tessa said immediately.

“We’re taking the rest of this cake,” Will said. “And we’re stopping for something stronger.”

“Are we celebrating?”

“We’re celebrating surviving the week before Halloween at a public high school,” Will declared.

He pulled Tessa to her feet and stole the last bit of her cake without letting go of her. Will caught Jem on his way by and Jem let himself get swept up in it. He wrapped an arm around Will’s back as they headed for the door. Tessa was laughing. Will was making jokes and Jem let himself enjoy it. Tessa stumbled back into her shoes and retrieved her bag from his office.

Jem reached out a hand and gestured her towards the door where he was waiting with a hand on the light switch. She took his hand and laced her fingers with his. For a moment he was too startled by her palm against his to remember to shut off the light but Will whined from the hall and pulled him back to reality.

He clicked off the light and stepped out into the florescent soaked beige and green hallway without letting go of her. He really wasn’t any better than a teenager with a crush. Will threw an arm around his shoulder and steered them out a back door towards the car. It was Will’s car but it wasn’t unusual for the three of them to carpool in in the mornings and if he wasn’t holding hands with Tessa Gray, there wouldn’t be anything unusual about carpooling home either.