A New Hope Recovery Center
10 Moreland Road 620 West

Suki liked the new roommate well enough, even though they weren't exactly friends. She was a doe-eyed teenage cheerleader from the suburbs who seemed unsure if her feet were in the right place. She was quiet but made friends, including Tai. Suki was glad, and was even more glad that the new girl gave her her space.

Suki had gained a reputation as having a temper, and as such had been left alone by most people. She didn't mind it, it gave her time to focus on the future. She was taking classes online, and when she moved back to the city she would be taking them in person. She'd decided that she wanted to be a personal trainer.

She'd been helping with the yoga class and she loved it. She wanted to learn more. Some of the women she had met were scared of working out, or nervous about getting started with fitness. She wanted to help these kind of women and thought this was a good way to do so.

There was one woman who she helped more than others, and Suki thought of her as her only friend left.

She was a mother of two in her 40s, and was more roundness than anything else. She wanted to get in shape, but was intimidated by the thought of working out with all the other, younger women. So Suki offered to give her one on one instruction.

"Like this, Noh." Suki said over her shoulder, the balls of her feet and palms digging into yoga mat. "Try and tuck your tailbone in."

The older women obeyed, holding the pose like Suki did the best she could. "L-like this?"

"Yep." Suki looked back down to the mat, trying to focus on her breathing and muscles.

She wanted to do this for herself. So that she would have a skill, a job, a passion in life. She would also be making her own money, and would be able to maintain her own lifestyle. She knew that she would eventually move back in with Zuko, and that he would be the primary bread winner. He always would be. But she still wanted to bring something more substantial than a part time job waiting tables to the household. And she would.

Noh flopped to the mat with a sigh. arms out on either side of her. "No more." She panted. "You're killing me."

Suki lowered herself to the mat with a giggle. "You're doing good!"

"Yeah." She laughed, "In the way a beached whale does good."

"Oh hush. You don't look like that. In fact I think you're losing weight from all the work we've been doing."

Noh seemed to beam, "Well, thank you, dear. I'm going to miss you when you're gone."

Suki looked at her friend with a soft little frown, "You know you're the first person who's told me that."

"Well, more people should. Believe it or not, people like you."

"I think I'll go with the not." She sighed.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Noh insisted. "You're liked and people will miss you."

Suki didn't believe her, but just smiled and thanked her to change the subject. They wrapped up, Suki saying goodbye to Noh and going back to her dorm. She could hear laughing from the other room, knowing that it was multiple people. Suki started to undress, glancing over at the pictures on the wall.

She'd been thinking about Zuko a lot since the other night. Well she always thought about him, but now that they'd decided to be exclusive again it was a different kind of thinking. It was a conversation they'd had that morning after breakfast, before taking a ride around the country side in her Mustang. They stopped at a park out in the middle of nowhere and had a picnic, then he ate her out right on the blanket in the middle of the day.

She laughed thinking about it now, laying on her bed as she hugged her pillow. Every day that she was in the center she hated it more and more. It wasn't just about Zuko, but everything. She had a life now, and she felt that each day she stayed here she was wasting it.

"Soon." She mumbled to herself, making a promise to herself that she would be out of here before she knew it.

Lu Ten Kasai and Kenton LaMarche

268 South Haverhill

"Marie Marche, born Darla Amli LaMarche, is an actress of french heritage. She won an Academy Award, golden globe and BAFTA for her role playing the French Queen Marie Antoinette, who she took her name from. Marche has appeared in several movies, mostly drama roles. She he is also known for her activism, and various marriages, including one to Tom Cruise. She has three children."

"I wanna shove that Oscar down her throat." Kenton barked from next to Zuko, who was reading from the computer. "She had one great role and then she rides that for the next 20 years."

"Well, she was really good in it." Lu Ten mumbled.

"I still can't believe I didn't know this." Zuko said, stunned. "She was mom's favorite actress and we used to watch her stuff all the time." He thought about it for a moment. "You know the first time I ever popped a chub was to that one movie where she was in the bikini the entire time."

Lu Ten just smiled, but Kenton looked at him horrified. "How is that supposed to make me feel?!"

"I don't know, I was just thinking!"

"Well, don't." Kenton shook his head, taking his hands into his face.

Zuko mimicked Kenton, "She always seemed like she's be pretty cool though. I mean she's really involved in LGBT rights, right?"

Kenton snapped his hands away from his face, looking at Zuko red faced. "That stupid bitch doesn't know the first fucking thing about LGBT rights! She sits up on her high horse and talks about gays and how they are loved. Has the ball to cite me, ME, as a reference to her tolerance to make herself look good."

"I didn't think you guys had a good relationship."

"We don't. We have no relationship. So when she does this it's beyond annoying. She uses me as a rallying point, like she loves her brother and supports him. Then can't even be bothered to come to his wedding or meet his child." Kenton laid his head back, looking annoyed and exhausted.

"Wow." Zuko choked.

"So yeah, excuse me if I don't wanna go vacationing with her. I hate my sister."

"I can see that."

Kenton shrugged. "I'm fine with leaving things how they are, but going on this trip is just not an option."

"Why does your mom wanna go anyways?"

"That's the worst part."

"Worst?"

"Yeah. She wants to have their vows renewed in the church they were both christened in."

Lu Ten looked down at his husband, a hand going to his own chest. "That's so romantic!" Kenton just groaned in response. "I can't believe you're going to deny her that!" Lu Ten smacked him on the back of the head. "You should be ashamed."

Zuko frowned, looking away from a Google Image search of Marie Marche, "I thought your dad was from here."

"He moved here when he was a baby. But him and my mom were born in the same village, they were christened in the same church, just two years apart."

"Amli's mother was a nurse in the hospital that Nauren's father worked at." Lu Ten added.

"Doctor too?"

Kenton nodded. "Gynocologist."

"Ohhh." Zuko smiled, "So the lady doctor thing was his idea."

"Something like that." Kenton grunted. "Anyways my father and his family came over when he was less than a year old. Then my mother when she was 16. They meet and cause my father knew French he was my mom's only friend. They started dating at 17, went to med school together, both became gynecologists, popped out kids and well… you know the rest."

Zuko nodded, "When is the last time they were in france together?"

"Never." Kenton said, "This is the first time that they were going back, and they were doing the vow thing. They wanted all the kids to come with them."

"And you're gonna fuck that up." Zuko said with a disappointing shake on his head.

"Damn right I am." Kenton snapped.

Lu ten looked at his husband with a heavy frown. "Who else is going?"

"Well, mom, dad, Darla, her new husband Max, the three kids, her nanny, Mary and her boyfriend Ishai."

Lu Ten went to strain the pasta for dinner, "So thirteen."

"No… ten."

"No." Lu Ten corrected. "Thirteen. You forgot us."

"I told you we're not going."

"Well we are."

Lu Ten and Kenton were looking at one another with tight looks on their faces, glaring daggers at one another. Zuko shifted in his seat, feeling like he was in the crossfires of what what about to be a horrific argument. "Well then." He croaked.

They looked away from one another, but there was something about it that made Zuko think this wasn't the last they'd speak about the entire ordeal.

"So Zuko has some good news." Kenton added, changing the subject finally.

Zuko perked up. "I do?"

Kenton stood up, going to help Lu Ten with dinner. "Suki?"

"Oh yeah!" He smiled, "Suki and I are back together. I mean we're not gonna move in or anything right now but were officially a couple again." He seemed to beam, giving a big grin.

"Way to go!" Lu Ten smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. How is Suki?"

"She hates being at the center. She's leaving here in a week or so and she'll be moving back in with her parents."

"And not into your place, right?" Kenton clarified.

"Right."

"Good."

Lu Ten looked up from the food he was plateing, "Everything looks like it's going back to normal."

"It's about time." Kenton mumbled, going to round up Lily for dinner.

Club Silk

3512 Madison Ave

Miki was up next, rather Misty was. That was her name while she was on stage. She wasn't the top billed dancer in the club, but she was nonetheless very popular with the patrons at the club. Men were moving towards the stage to be able to see her dance. Ozai was sitting towards the back of the room, his hat pulled down to cover most of this face. He had pounded back two shots already. He needed the courage to go and do what he needed to.

"Up next, a Club Silk Favorite, Misty!"

She walked out on stage, wearing the shoes and clothing that she'd packed at home. Clear blue heels, a short black and blue skirt and a matching bra. She started to dance on the stage, most of her attention on the silver pole that was on the stage with her.

It was strange to watch her like this, like she was someone else altogether. When she was on the webcam she was still his, in a way. He was involved or he was in the room watching her. But now, she wasn't his at all. She belonged to the men ogling at her. To the man who'd just slipped a twenty into her little skirt.

She took her bra off, the men yelling for her nudity. Ozai felt his cheeks turning pink with rage as they were yelling at her to perform. Miki seemed to actually enjoy the attention. She was smiling wide, shrugging her shoulder quickly to make her breasts jiggle as she danced.

She squated down in front of him, a sultry look on her face as she rubbed herself between her legs for him.

Ozai had seen enough. He stood up, exiting the club while leaving a twenty on the table for his drinks. He left the club quickly, stopping at the first payphone he saw.

At the end of her shift Miki loaded up her bag, slipping on her flip flops before heading for the door.

"Miki!" Her boss yelled from his office. "Get in here!"

She went into his office. Her boss was a fair guy, for someone who ran a strip club anyways.

"What's up?" She asked, lingering in the doorway.

He waved her in, prompting her to sit in the free chair, "I got a call from a man who said that he was a client of yours last week, that you're hooking again."

He jaw dropped, "No!"

"This is the second time this has happened Miki."

"But I didn't! I stopped when I started talking with my boyfriend!"

He held up his hand, "I don't care. I'm sorry but I have to let you go."

Miki argued, defended herself, but nothing was going to work. He didn't want the girls who worked with him to hook, it was bad for business. Plain and simple. So Miki packed up her locker in tears, wondering how the hell she was going to support herself and Ozai now.

Lu Ten Kasai and Kenton LaMarche

268 South Haverhill

Lily had been put to bed. She was cuddled up around a stuffed dog. a green blanket draped over her. Kenton closed the door behind him, going down to the kitchen. Lu Ten had already broken out the wine, a glass waiting for his husband as Lu Ten started on his own.

"So I guess we have to talk about this now." Kenton sighed, sitting down at the island and taking his glass of wine into his hands.

"Well, I'm gonna drink a bit." Lu Ten shrugged, taking a drink.

"I'm sure you are." He smiled. "I know that you wanna go, but I really don't."

Lu Ten shrugged, taking another drink. "Yeah…"

"And I know it's important to my mom, and dad too, but It's just something I'd rather avoid. I feel like we have to. I feel like this just isn't our thing."

"You mean it's not your thing."

"No, it's not my thing. So it's not our thing. I mean it might be fun, and it would mean alot to my mom and to everyone else. but we're not going to go."

"It's you're call, babe."

"Even though we can eat and drink to our fill, and have a babysitter to watch Lily."

"Not a bad deal at all."

"And even though Darla is there, so will Mary be, and will Darla's kids, who are pretty cool."

"I'd like to meet them for sure. And I'm sure they'd like Lily."

"I'm sure they would." Kenton smiled. "And… I mean if Darla gets on my nerves I can wonder off, I mean it's a big country. And we never get to take vacations anymore."

"That we don't."

"So…" Kenton looked down into his glass of wine, lips pressing into a line. "It might be fun. We should go."

Lu Ten grinned, taking another drink of his wine. "Glad we're settled then."