People gave me a wide berth as I walked down the street and hopped onto a trolley headed in the right direction. I did give everyone the courtesy of staying on the outside, hanging onto a pole instead of sitting inside. But the young woman to my left and the older man in a button down to my right still leaned well away from me as we rolled down the street. I couldn't blame them. The garbage smell was distracting even to me.

That was why I was heading home first rather than going straight to the office like I'd planned. I didn't think I could focus with the essence of garbage wafting up to my nose every time I moved. I knew it was bad if even I could smell it.

I hopped off the trolley as someone yelled out at me from inside. "You stink, lady! Would it hurt you to take a bath?" People could be really rude sometimes.

I had the urge to tell him that was exactly what I was going to do, but on the list of possible comebacks, that was too weak to embarrass myself with. So I just gave him the one-fingered salute and moved on.

I reached the safe-ish street my apartment building was on—safe cost too much money—and tried to take the stairs two at a time like I usually did. Unfortunately, my knee wasn't happy with that decision.

"Ow, ow, ow," I muttered under my breath as I slowed down and took them at a slower clip, one at a time. Like a child! Still cursing under my breath, I made it to my floor. The worn, patterned carpet and the institutional-gray walls gave it a kind of dingy appearance, but it was clean and in good repair so I wasn't going to complain.

I used the retinal scanner and fingerprint lock I had installed myself before I stuck my key into the physical lock to open the door. Maybe it was paranoid to have three different kinds of locks, but I didn't always deal with the most savory people in the course of my job. So I had all three.

The inside of my place was spare since I didn't bother with a lot of stuff. The only thing I'd added to the one-bedroom setup was a bed for Omari, next to mine. Though I'd probably have to figure something else out soon. Omari was already starting to accumulate toys in the living room populated by a worn-out couch and scarred coffee table.

I walked through our bedroom and to the bathroom, stripping and dumping my clothes in the hamper just outside the tiny room. Hmm. I rummaged through the dirty clothing and found a sheet. I shoved the garbage-clothes inside and tied it up in an effort to hold in the stink. Better. But I'd have to do laundry soon. Another thing to add to my growing list.

Hopping into the shower, I scrubbed up quickly, thinking about everything I needed to get done before I had to pick Omari up from school. I was out in under ten minutes and dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie in another two. I eyed my boots and sighed as I shoved my feet into my sneakers instead. I needed to clean the boots before I wore them again.

Then I was out and off to my office. I needed to check to make sure I received the second half of my payment, check my email, and buy groceries before I went to the school. All right. I could do this. But multi-tasking was probably in order.

I tapped my watch and checked my bank account. It looked a little happier than it did this morning. Always nice not to have to shake my clients down after the fact.

I reached my office and sat my butt down in my chair, turning my computer on. Going to my emails, I started scrolling through. Bill, bill, bill... Potential client. I sent out a standard billing schedule for the job they were inquiring about. Someone I didn't want to talk to, someone trying to sell me something...

I can't wait to see you.

I paused, a shot of excitement hitting me. I knew there was a goofy grin on my face as I opened that one. Good thing nobody was around to see it. It was short and to the point, but it might as well have been a flowery three-page poem for the way my heart fluttered after seeing it.

Tomorrow night can't come soon enough.

I miss you.

-Ashur

Awww.

He was coming out to the city dome tomorrow to visit. I totally agreed with the sentiment of the email. But as Dragon Lord of his territory, he couldn't just drop everything and come see me every day. Just like I couldn't play hooky from work. I typed back my response, keeping it short too.

Miss you too. Can't wait to see you :).

XOXO

Mia

Were the Xs and Os too much? I was overthinking it, I decided after deleting and retyping them twice. I clicked send, feeling a little happier.

I scrolled through a few more in my inbox before I stopped at the one I'd received earlier.

Watch your back.

I felt the back of my neck tingle as I stared at it. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. I stared at it a little longer, but nothing jumped out at me. Shaking my head, I stood up and closed everything down. I didn't have time to dwell on it either way. If something else happened, I'd revisit the situation. Right now, I needed to get to the market.

The biggest outdoor market in this quadrant wasn't that far away, so that was where I headed. You could find anything you wanted there, from one-second hair curlers to spare car parts and food. It was more than a bit of a sensory overload though. I walked through the people hawking their wares at full volume, trying to be heard over everyone else doing the same. Blinking lights and waving streamers vied for my attention.

"Self-cleaning underwear! Never feel less than fresh!"

Uh huh.

"Want to lose weight but don't want to do the work? This machine will exercise you while you sleep!"

"Can't decide on a paint color? Try this tri-chromatic wonder!"

I tuned them all out and pushed through the crowd to get to the stalls selling food.

Hmm. What would a six-year-old want to eat? And what should he eat?

I'd been making do with what I already had in the apartment, but I needed to make a better effort. Plus, we'd run out of everything.

I ended up getting some dried pasta, rice, a few vegetables and fruits, though most of them were frozen or canned. The fresh produce was even more expensive than the already-expensive preserved stuff. Water wasn't the easiest thing to come by these days. I also grabbed some frozen Syn-Tho-Chik nuggets and other quick prep foods I could heat up for him.

A gourmet chef I was not.

But I was going to try my best. At the last second, I bought some food that was already ready, just in case I didn't have time to cook before I picked him up. I could start cooking tomorrow. Loaded up with two bags, I headed home to drop everything off. By the time I had it put away, I was already late for pick up.

"Shit!"

I booked it out of my apartment and ran over to the school. Note to self—set an alarm for pick up tomorrow. With every step, my knee felt like someone was jabbing it with a meat fork.

"Watch it!"

"Hey!"

I ignored the disgruntled shouts as I wove in and out of the stream of people, trying to get to the school as quickly as I could. I could have driven my car, though that hunk of junk was being held together with floss and prayers. With as crowded as the streets were, running was probably faster anyway, even with my jobbed-up knee.

When I got to the designated pickup area, it didn't take long for me to find Omari. Only a few people from his class were still left waiting. His face brightened as he saw me, and one of the people watching the kids turned to me with a judgmental look.

"You are late," the middle-aged man said, peering at me through glasses so thick his eyes looked twice the size they actually were.

I tried a smile. "Sorry. Got caught up with work," I lied, wrapping an arm around Omari's shoulders. "Won't happen again!"

He opened his mouth, probably to give me a lecture, but I tugged Omari back onto the sidewalk and we were lost in the stream of traffic, gone before he could get another word out.

Phew.

"How was school, Omari?" I asked as we walked at a much more sedate pace. "Was it good?"

He shrugged. "It was okay. I got extra homework because I need to catch up."

"Well, I can help you with that," I said, trying to cheer him up. "Make any friends?"

He perked up a little at that question. "Yeah. Abby and Moon. They were really nice. Abby shared her crayons with me and..."

I listened to his happy chatter and relaxed a little. It sounded like everything might actually be all right. I was keeping my fingers crossed. He'd never been to school in a city dome, with only human classmates. He'd grown up in phoenix territory, where he was still different because he was half-human, but at least he didn't have to hide who he was there. I really hoped things would continue this smoothly.

When we reached our apartment building, Omari ran up the stairs in front of me, and I followed at my slowed pace. When he beat me to the landing with time to spare, even more time than usual, he finally realized something was wrong.

Frowning at me, he watched me take the last step up. "What's wrong with your leg?" he demanded.

"I fell," I lied.

I wasn't getting into the actual story. He had enough to deal with.

"Oh. Well, maybe you should put ice on it," he said matter-of-factly, his face clearing.

"Not a bad idea, Omari. Not bad at all."

I opened the apartment door and he walked in, throwing his backpack onto the ground right in front of the door.

"Omari—hook please."

"Oh, yeah." He ran back and carefully hooked the strap onto one of the little hooks already screwed in near the door.

"Hungry?" I asked, moving into the kitchen and opening the bag of sandwiches.

"Yes!"

"All right, sit down."

He took a seat at one of the stools in front of the counter, and I slid a plate of food and a cup of water over to him. He took a big bite, chewing quickly. He was an eater, which I appreciated. I didn't know what I would do if he suddenly became picky.

I remembered my promise from earlier. Reaching into the cabinet, I pulled out the last of the brownies Jacob had given me. Only two were left.

Omari's eyes lit up as I gave him the bigger one. "Yay!"

I grinned. "Finish the rest of your food first," I warned.

He nodded, shoving the rest of the bite into his mouth, his cheeks so stuffed he looked like a chipmunk.

I was laughing too hard to admonish him right away.

"Slow down—it's not going anywhere," I finally got out.

He nodded, chewing with a little more restraint.

I eyed the smaller one still in the container. I deserved a brownie after today. I picked it up and bit into it. Mmmm. Chocolate-y goodness. I savored each bite of my reward. Jacob sure baked a mean dessert.

Omari finished before I did. "Can I watch cartoons?" he asked. "Please?"

"Okay. But only for an hour, then you have to do some of that homework, all right?"

He nodded before running over to the couch and picking up the streaming pad. He already knew how to work it better than I did. In less than a minute, a brightly colored kids’ show was projected onto the blank wall.

I cleaned up and changed out of my jeans while he watched the show, taking our dirty clothes over to the compact washer-and-dryer unit tucked away next to the pantry in the kitchen. I held my breath as I dumped in the garbage-clothes on their own and started the cycle. Those would probably take two washes.

After that I went out to the kitchen and made a quick sauce for the pasta I was going to boil when it got closer to dinner time. I didn't bother making it from scratch, just doctored up a jar of sauce and put it on the stove to simmer. It always came out better when I used the jar stuff as a base anyway.

Then I lay down for twenty minutes. Before I knew it, it was time to do Omari's homework with him. Joy. Luckily, he knew the basic math and English that he was supposed to catch up on, but I made him do some of the exercises anyway.

Just as we were finishing up, there was a knock at the door. Omari sat up straight.

"Jacob?" he asked.

He'd only just met him, but Jacob had quickly taken up a spot next to Ashur on Omari's hero list. And I could totally see why. Jacob had the confidence of someone who knew how to think and how to use his body, a holdover from his past as a mercenary outside the city domes.

"Probably," I said, standing and going over to the door.

I didn't know anyone else, a state of affairs I deliberately encouraged. Dragons and phoenixes weren't allowed in the human-built and populated domes. Not after a war between the two resulted in a lot of human collateral damage. It was easier to keep my secret a secret with fewer people in my life that I had to keep it from. Jacob didn't even know, and he was the only close friend I had.

I looked through the peep-hole and exhaled in relief as I opened the door. Jacob stood there, smiling at me, his handsome face an ambiguous mix of multiple races. He was dressed in his usual t-shirt and worn-in jeans, his hair neat.

"I smelled pasta sauce," he explained as I stepped back to let him in. "Have enough for a third?"

"Sure," I said, smiling back. "I can whip up some pasta right now to go with it."

"Hi Jacob!" Omari called out, hopping down from the stool and running over. "Today was my first day of school!"

"Oh, wow," Jacob exclaimed, ruffling Omari's hair. "How did it go? Meet any cool people?"

"Yes!" Omari said, taking Jacob's hand and pulling him over to the couch. "Abby can bend her thumb all the way back. Isn't that gross?"

Jacob chuckled and I smiled as I threw some pasta into a pot to cook.

"That is pretty cool," Jacob agreed. "She's just double jointed though, not gross."

"Oh," Omari said thoughtfully. "Mo picks his nose. That's gross, right?"

I choked back a laugh at that.

Jacob glanced over at me, eyes full of laughter. "That is gross," he agreed.

I came back around the counter, moving towards the couch to sit down. Jacob's eyes narrowed as he watched me. Oops. I forgot not to limp.

"What happened to your leg?" Jacob asked right on cue.

I gave him a look as I carefully sat down, trying not to wince as my stiff knee bent. Omari chose that moment to turn the cartoons on again.

"This part is really good!" he exclaimed, sitting down on the floor and picking up a toy car as he watched. "You have to watch, Jacob!"

"Sure thing," Jacob said absently, giving me a hard stare.

"There was an issue with a job I went on," I finally said, keeping my voice down while Omari watched the projection. "Someone tried to run me over."

"What?" Jacob barked, and then immediately lowered his voice when I shushed him. "What happened?"

"It was just a dim, narrow street," I said, trying to play it down. "It's possible the driver just didn't see me."

I mean, it was possible. Maybe. Omari chose that moment to pop back up between us, climbing onto the couch. Saved by the cartoons. The characters were eating exaggerated ice cream cones. Omari stared at them longingly.

"I want ice cream," he announced.

"You just had a brownie, mister," I pointed out.

"I'll bring you something tomorrow night," Jacob offered. "Cupcake or brownie?"

"Cupcake!" His face fell. "But Ashur is coming tomorrow. Can you come the day after?"

"Ashur?" Jacob repeated, frowning. "Ashur..." His face cleared up. And then his eyes widened as they shot over to me.

"Why is the Dragon Lord of the nearby territory coming over tomorrow?" he asked after Omari seemed to be distracted by something else in the cartoon again. "What could he want?"

I couldn't blame him for that kind of reaction. Just a few weeks ago, I was worried about even going through dragon territory, let alone dating the Dragon Lord.

"Um...we're kind of seeing each other," I said in a rush, looking away to the projection.

Shocked silence.

"You're...what?" he hissed, reaching out to put his hand over mine. "What are you thinking?" he demanded.

All right, now my embarrassment was turning into irritation.

"It's fine. He's actually really nice." And he could turn into a giant golden dragon, which definitely had a cool factor.

"Bull-- " he cut himself off, looking at Omari. He continued in a lower voice. "He's a dragon, Mia. They aren't like us."

I didn't know about that. I thought the same thing before I left the city dome and met Ashur. Now I knew it wasn't the case, despite being taught that my whole life, both by my part-dragon mother and in school. Which was ridiculous, considering the smallest part of me was the human part. Would Jacob think of me differently if he found out? That was a sobering thought. One I didn't want to dwell on.

"I appreciate your input," I finally said. "But you'll see when you meet him. He's...different than you would think."

Jacob made a skeptical sound. "We'll see," he said in a low voice.

That didn't sound good. Maybe introducing him and Ashur wasn't going to go the smoothest. I sighed, tucking my feet up under myself.

I'd deal with it when it came. I felt like I’d been saying that to myself all day but I had enough on my plate right now and Jacob was wrong. In all the ways that really counted, dragons were just like humans. I refused to let his bias ruin how much I was looking forward to seeing Ashur the next day.

So I did what my mother had taught me. I changed the subject.

"Did you hear about that fire over in..." I started, describing what I'd heard about the damage that had been done.

Problem solved.

At least for now.