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 Posted: Mon May 12, 2025 7:42 pm
   Fiorella could only make a Face at Hasan's suggestion. While she wasn't exactly opposed to the idea that fists could solve problems, it certainly shouldn't be the only way Aithne ever tried to solve them either. Yet it was hard to find the will to oppose the man before her. Not when he was actively engaging in this conversation in a way she never thought he would before. What a waste it would be to push him away now when he was toeing the line of embracing his fatherhood.
The idea warmed her. It had always been a daydream in the back of her mind that Hasan would learn of Aithne and want to become a part of their lives. To live together as a family and watch both father and grandfather teaching her daughter lessons that Fio didn't disagree with but probably should to keep up with the appearances of having the more delicate sensibilities of a proper woman. But it was just that, a daydream. One that seemed closer than ever while still being little more than a glimmer on the horizon.
It was just a glimmer though.
Pushing further would have been foolish at best. This journey likely wouldn't be linear for Hasan. Weaving back and forth from acceptance and revulsion was what she was expecting. Well. Sort of. Actually she'd been mostly expecting a flat out refusal to accept that Aithne was his and a door in her face if Fio was being completely honest.
This was a lot better.
Her eyes followed the lazy sweep of his hand, looking over to the desk before rolling her eyes. "Oh yeah, because you slacking on training to expand your powers makes you the absolute worst." The laugh she wasn't letting out hung heavy in her voice as she spoke, her tone teasing. The the snicker let more loose than she would have liked. A little snort pushed out and Fio shifted so that she could bring her hand up to cover her face before breaking out into a laugh.
"No matter what," It took a moment to sober before she could speak. Her red eyes met Hasan's as her brows scrunched together. "You have to admit you would be a better teacher than me. I don't think running around naked in a deerskin is going to help her figure out how to manipulate crystals." Her eyes narrowed, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Unless you have a new, secret training regiment I don't know about."
Watching him piece together crystal meanings to their daughter's birthday wiped the mischief off of Fio's face. Instead it melted into a smile of genuine affection. One that was interrupted with a sharp bark of laughter at his question. "I'd like to watch them try to keep me here." Her nose scrunched in a self assured expression. "I don't think they would be prepared for a momma bear to tear down this school brick by brick."
She watched him looking around for something before completely freezing. With a small wince, Fio could only watch him. Then came the worrying. The fussing with her lip.
It was too much wasn't it?
It clearly was. Regret surged through her for even asking. If she was smarter, she would have let him set the date. Let him figure out when he was ready to meet their daughter. But she wasn't smart. She was headstrong and pushy and -
The sudden relaxing of Hasan's posture and the positive response shut down her mental spiral. Then she carefully licked her lips, averting her eyes as she admitted the next part. The truth of it all that had swirled around in her mind for years now.
"I don't know about my mother, but..." Fio couldn't look him in the eyes. Would this be another push too far? "I have a feeling my father already knows. He's never told me to my face that he does, but..." She paused to worry her lip. "I mean, think about it. I was fifteen and clearly infatuated with you. We spent a ton of time just the two of us. My father didn't get where he is being stupid." Finally she let out a small breath, taking a chance to look up to his face for any sign that Hasan hated what she was saying. "When I wouldn't give him a name, I think he accepted that as what I needed in the moment. Being a father won out over being a general or something sentimental like that."
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Hasan's Room ✿ Hasan ✿ Fit
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2025 9:30 pm
  ♦ 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙃 ♦· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·location DORM ROOM xxxxx company FIO xxxxx outfit LOUNGEWEAR For all his faults and mistakes and bad decisions, at least Hasan could pride himself on still being able to make Fio laugh. The more she did, the lighter he felt – as if the sound was chasing away the dark cloud looming at his back. He was all grins waiting for her to collect her composure, and when her expression turned mischievous, so did his. He cocked his head to the side. “Hmmm, maybe you runnin’ around naked won’t help Aithne,” he answered airily, “but it sure helped me back then. Made me wanna work reeaal hard to impress you.”
Which was not a particularly helpful thing to say in this conversation, but he was, and always would be, a slave to his whims – and right now he was still riding the high of that nostalgia. Boy, he wished he could feel that way again, that youthful, foolhardy determination to move mountains just to earn a bit of praise from a pretty girl.
Even so, the fact remained he was far from a master at the craft. No doubt he’d learn something just from teaching. And – it did sound fun, to be able to share his crystallokinesis with someone. What he’d once viewed as a casual, unimportant part of himself suddenly seemed… significant. Worthwhile.
And that was odd. That feeling of optimism, when his knee-jerk reaction was to catastrophize everything in his life. It felt precious. And fragile. So Hasan set it to the side, not wanting to ruin the tender emotion with his typical overthinking.
Fio had never been the type to roll over and take any s**t, but clearly motherhood had turned her into an even more veritable powerhouse. He could perfectly picture her as a bear, mowing down the sorry saps who ran this place. And Hasan, well – he could literally tear the school down brick-by-brick, though he hoped things would never come to that. He really couldn’t imagine the staff believing they had genuine authority over an entire generation of nobility, here at this fake school.
But he supposed they would be testing it come June, wouldn’t they?
Fio not knowing whether her mother knew he was Aithne’s father wasn’t a shock. The more important question there was how she would feel about it, if she did come to know. At least there was some security with her father… Hasan nodded slowly, brows drawn in deep thought. “He’s a good man,” he stated, still fiddling with the chunks of malachite. “And a smart one, for sure. There’s no better family than yours to keep Aithne safe.”
He met Fio’s gaze, and found her expression wary. Somehow he doubted she was sharing the same worries as him. Hasan relaxed his brow and gave her a small smile.
“As long as me showing up isn’t going to jeopardize anything…” He paused briefly, only to make certain with himself that the decision felt right.
It did. He nodded. “I’ll be there.”
Any potential family drama, he wasn’t worried about. He could handle being looked down upon or despised. He could handle indifference. A warm welcome was maybe pushing it – but Hasan genuinely had no idea how his presence would be received, if at all. He’d only be coming for Aithne, and for Fio.
“I want to ask,” Hasan continued thoughtfully. “Do you…” He scratched his head, trying to think of how to put his thoughts into words. “Do you want her bloodline kept secret?” That didn’t feel like the best way to word it, but he was doing his best. “Not that I’m gonna go out and tell everyone Thah has a new princess, I just… want to know whatever boundaries are in place. So I don’t cross ‘em.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 3:47 pm
The light in Hasan's eye made her feel like they were kids again. Like they were spending time under the night sky seeking solace from the war together. Memories of what it was like to feel butterflies deep in her belly at the idea of threading their fingers together hummed under her skin. The humid nights a stolen breath away from the war they were born into on the forefront of her mind as she watched him find confidence in their conversation. Hasan had always been so handsome, and that had not changed. If anything age had done him favors. But seeing him tease her so confidently? In a way, it was breathtaking.
The corners of Fiorella's mouth curved upwards, her eyes narrowing. ”I’m starting to think you just liked seeing me naked.” On some level, she also knew we was right. But it still made her lean back and consider his words. "It's funny, you know. I remember it the other way around." She let out a breezy laugh, one that showed on her face. Every fond memory showing in the look in her eyes. "I always thought you were so cool. I wanted you to like me so badly. I was so shocked that you would notice me and I wanted to live up to everything you expected." It hadn't even been ten years but the tone in Fio's voice made it sound like it was a lifetime ago.
The mention of her family made Fio go stiff. On the one hand, Hasan was entirely right. The Affini clan was a veritable powerhouse. Duilio was just as strong as her father, if not more so now that Ampelio was out of his prime. Gaspare, Vasco, and Raoul could all hold their own in a fight, even if their chosen professions had little to do with fighting in the first place. The only two who really weren't fighters were Luca and Felice. But on the other... A fist of panic gripped her belly as Fiorella couldn't help but wonder if Hasan would have agreed with her mother. It had been a completely different kind of war to keep the baby.
The small smile he gave her knocked her out of her head. It didn't matter if the Hasan seven years ago would have agreed. Right now she had Aithne and that was all that mattered.
For a second, she thought he would refuse. That Hasan would change his mind in the middle of his sentence. The suspense was killing her. When he didn't change course, she couldn't help her beaming smile. Leaning forward, she placed a hand on top of his, giving a small squeeze of reassurance. "You being there wouldn't do anything other than make it a party Hasan. Something I have a feeling we will need after all of this."
At his next question, her hand slowly dropped from his. A new wave of seriousness washed over her. One that had Fio licking her lips as if she could prepare herself for the answers she was about to give him. It wasn't some foreign thought. This had been itching at the back of her mind since she got pregnant. The implications of Hasan having a second b*****d child. Of Aithne's bloodline. The answer seemed so muddy, just like it always had.
"While we are here," she began carefully, her red eyes locking on Hasan's. "I don't want anyone knowing I am a mother." There were so many thoughts swirling around in her mind. So many explanations she could give him. Every single one another string in the bundle of anxiety this school rooted into her soul. Which did she start with? How did she explain properly? Finally, after a moment, she continued. "Having a young child back at home in a vulnerability, something another could use against me to damage Thah. I love Thah, I love Chu'sinoma rainforest with everything I am, but if someone managed to get Aithne and use her against me? I don't -" She hesitated, finally letting some of the fear that clawed at the back of her mind everyday seep through.
Shaking her head, she attempted to refocus. "At home... I also don't really know what the right answer is. Even if she was announced as your daughter I don't know if the king or queen would accept her. If it would just put a target on her back." Raising her hand to her face, she scrubbed it downwards. Then, peeking up at him through her fingers Fio let out a harsh laugh. "That probably isn't helpful, is it?"
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Hasan's Room ✿ Hasan ✿ Fit
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2025 6:02 pm
♦ 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙃 ♦· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·location DORM ROOM xxxxx company FIO xxxxx outfit LOUNGEWEAR At Fio's retort, Hasan let out a bark of laughter. She definitely wasn't wrong, but could anyone have blamed him? For a jackass of a fifteen year old prince, who had brought about the downfall of his future by his own hand, and who had charged headfirst into the infantry out of some bullheaded notion of purpose... Someone like Fio -- a proper spy, who had something to believe in -- it was a genuine wonder he'd earned her affection at all. Even though Hasan had ran himself ragged trying to make her think he was cool, the fact that she had was still hard to believe. It was a good thing he hadn't known that back then, or he might have been flattened by the size of his ego.
And it... was a good thing to know that now. In his desperation to not drown under the weight of her sudden and unexplained disappearance, Hasan had spent years trying to downplay the significance of their time together. Trying to downplay what he'd felt. A few moments of shameful weakness aside, he hadn't ever been mad at her. He hadn't blamed her back then -- and had nothing to blame her for now. Knowing she still treasured those memories too just... took away the hurt of remembering them. And they deserved to be remembered.
Hasan shook his head with a fond chuckle, smiling down at the floor. "Crazy to think we were in the same boat, without ever realizing it. But I'm glad we found each other back then."
He hadn't expected his comment about her family to earn such a reaction, but luckily her apprehension didn't last long. He was only glad she waited until he said his piece before smiling like that. As much as he was trying to take this as seriously as possible -- to not commit to anything that he couldn't put his entire weight behind -- he had the sneaking suspicion that even now, years later, Fio still held the power to make him fold. She squeezed his hand, and his smile only broadened. "Then a party it'll be."
There was no better thing than that for a birthday, right?
But that was months away. And they still had the right now to contend with. Above all else, he needed to know what he could do for her. If that was keeping her motherhood a secret here at Utopia -- he'd take it to the grave. And judging by her anxious countenance, that gravity was warranted. He held her gaze with sincerity, flipping his hand to squeeze hers, as she had done to him.
"It is," he urged. "I get it. It's... a tough situation. A complicated situation." Pausing, Hasan looked away, brows furrowed. If only he could know for sure what his parents would do. They'd been humiliated by the first child, partially because of Hasan's age, and partially because it was conceived out of wedlock with a commoner. But Fio held a legitimate title, and was from a well-respected, noble family. Surely that had to count for something? "I wish I knew how my parents would react. But we aren't even really on speaking terms..." He frowned, returning his focus to Fio. "You should take all the time you need to decide. I know whatever you choose will be what's best for you and her. And I can't offer much, but you have me. And my word. I won't tell a soul."
Nox would also have his word -- a lot of them.
The hardest part was how little Hasan could do. Disowned and cast out and cut off from any amount of power or wealth that could be used to help protect Fio and Aithne... The only thing he was certain of was that his parents would keep the secret, just as they'd kept the first one. But would they help, if he asked? Would they even give him the time of day? The last time Hasan had spoken to them had been when he announced he was following Dia to the academy. And before that? It had been years...
Hasan held back a sigh, settling back into his seat.
"I won't do anything without your permission. But if the time comes and you want to meet with my parents -- or you want me to try and talk to them -- I'll make it happen."
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