When Love Lasts: A Sapphic Short Story Collection

⚡️ Here for a good time (Irene X Reader)

April 29, 2021

(Non-Canon) Fanfiction Short of my book, The Lightning Mage, dedicated to NiaDninja

Word Count: 929

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September was the start of the best season —the season of falling red leaves, of sweater weather, and most importantly, of fresh blood.

I licked my lips and leaned my head on my hand. Dozens of new guild members waltzed into the cafeteria, their faces bright, expectant, and fresh. It was only their first day of orientation, but it was apparent that cliques were already forming within them.

My eyes glanced around curiously. I recognized a few of the high-profile new members. There was Ivan Lin, a young prodigy healer that was transferred from the guild branch in China; Emily Enric, daughter of the number one fighter in the world, and also, damn, really, really pretty; lastly, Lyn Bronte, the famous lightning mage with such phenomenal powers people had been talking about her even before she got into college. Lyn was walking next to Emily, their shoulders only a hair apart. So the rumors of their relationship were true, it seemed.

"Wow, the new start class is really promising," Lachelle said. She was lounging on my side, her hand hovering suspiciously close to my bag of chips.

I rolled my eyes while carefully moving the chips away from Lachelle. "Lame. Every year's start class is promising. This is Dawn Avengers after all, the number one guild in the world. There's nothing special about them compared to the rest of us."

Lachelle snorted. "Well, just don't be bullying the newbies, Ninja."

"Why'd you think I'd do that?" I scoffed as I continued to devour my snacks under her envious gaze. Suddenly, my eyes perked up. "Oh, who is that?"

At the very end of the train of newcomers was a gorgeous dark-skinned woman. Her rope-like hair was pulled into a high bun, revealing her golden helix earrings, while her casual maroon sweatshirt was a stark contrast to everyone else's overly formal, let's-put-on-a-good-impression-on-my-first-day-of-work outfit. Despite being among a group of men who were all at least a head taller than her, she still stood out with her sheer confidence and boisterous attitude.

I let out a soft whistle. Why hadn't I heard of someone like her getting into the guild?

"She's pretty, do you know her name?" I asked again.

"That girl at the end?" Lachelle shrugged. "I don't think I do. She must be one of the elemental mages, which I don't care about."

"An elemental mage? That's too bad," I said as I wiped my mouth, "but I guess I have no choice but to ask her."

"What are you-"

Before Lachelle could even finish her question, I hopped off the seat and approached the woman. As I neared her and her group of friends, they ceded their conversation and, warily, turned to look at me.

Sensing their distress, I broke into the widest smile I could manage. "Hello there, newbies, how was your first day at Dawn Avengers?"

They mumbled a few vague responses, but my eyes were fixated on the casually-clad woman. "My name is Nia, but you can call me Ninja. I'm a fighter here and a senior team leader. What about you, pretty?"

Immediately, the group fell into an awkward silence, while the woman's brown eyes darted around uncomfortably. "I- Irene," she muttered.

"Irene, I see, what a beautiful name." I lifted my hand. A tiny piece of paper appeared from thin air and in between my fingers. Then, I handed the paper to Irene. "Anyway, feel free to message me anytime. I'm always available to answer any questions you may have about the guild, or even to meet up for coffee," I said with a cheeky wink. "Anything you want, really, anything for you."

Irene was visibly flustered by now, so I flashed her one last encouraging grin before trotting away hurriedly.

That did not go as well as I expected, but I hoped I would get a message from her. Otherwise, I could probably find her during training and try again.

Just then, an auburn-haired girl stepped in front of me, stopping me dead in my tracks. It was Lyn Bronte, the lightning mage.

"Hey," she said. She was smiling, but her smile did not seem amicable at all. "I don't know who you are, but I just wanna warn you, don't flirt with Irene unless you want to die."

I raised my eyebrows. Was that a threat? That was certainly a daring thing for a new guild member to say to an established, senior one. Also, didn't she have her own girlfriend? So what was her issue?
"Well, that's okay," I said, "I'm here for a good time, not a long time."

"She won't ever be into you." Lyn was persistent despite my glares. "She's straight."

"So is spaghetti until it gets wet." I shrugged and then walked away, purposely pushing past her. "Stay in your lane, newbie."

I plopped back down next to Lachelle and snatched up my bag of chips.

"I can't believe you did that. First day of work for that poor girl and she already got harassed by you," she teased with a chuckle. "I feel for her."

"As they say, you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take," I said as I threw more chips into my mouth. The packet definitely felt a lot lighter than before, but I didn't care. My mind, and my eyes, were focused on Irene, who was back to being her loud, excited self.

This new season of fresh blood was looking good.

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"I'm here for a good time, not a long time." - Nia
image made using piccrew (@ハイコ)

quote image done by NelleIvy