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(Y/n) and Coal exited the house and Mrs. Ripple followed them, standing in the doorway and holding the new pitcher Coal had made.
"Thank you Mrs. Ripple. This was...this was really great." Coal told her.
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was. And I mean what I said about your talent. I have a friend who runs the best glassmaking firm in the world. During dinner, I slipped out and made a call and I told her about you. They're looking for an intern. It could be an amazing opportunity."
Coal's eyes widened. "For real?"
"It's a long way from the city but it would be an incredible start. You have a bright future." She held up the pitcher. "Look at me. I have an original Coal."
Coal chuckled nervously and turned to walk out of the building.
"Hold up. I'll walk you out." (Y/n) offered.
...
At the entrance to the building, Cinder was still fighting with the doorman, and they were both wiped out.
"I'm afraid...you're still going to have to wait out here...ma'am." The doorman wheezed.
"And I'm afraid...I will throw up..."
Cinder turned and wobbled away from the building to go rest.
...
(Y/n) and Coal exited a few seconds later, with Coal practically running to his bike.
"Hey, Coal. Hold up! What's going on?" She asked.
"I can't believe she basically offered me a job." Coal said in disbelief.
(Y/n) nodded in excitement. "I know! It could be cool."
"Yeah, super cool, (Y/n)." Coal exclaimed sarcastically. "I could move out and make glass in a faraway city. Do whatever I want."
(Y/n) furrowed her brows. "I don't understand."
Coal shook his head and started up the bike. "I'm going home."
"Well then I'm going with you." (Y/n) declared, hopping onto the back of the bike.
Coal groaned and sped off, passing by his mother who stared after them in shock.
"A Water Girl?" She whispered.
...
Coal drove his bike over a large bridge, swerving past all the other vehicles around him.
"Look, I'm sorry if my mom upset you...woah!...she was just trying to be helpful. She doesn't know how excited you are about running the shop."
Coal grunted and his fire flared up, glowing slightly purple.
"What is the matter?!"
"Nothing!"
"Yeah? Cause we're going like, a thousand...bus!" (Y/n) shouted.
Coal was about to speed into a bus, but he swerved away last second.
"You don't know me, (Y/n). Okay? So stop pretending like you do." He snapped at her.
"What is this about?"
"Nothing...everything...I don't know!"
Coal squeezed the brake handle on his bike, coming to a screeching stop outside the shop.
"I don't think I actually do want to run the shop. Okay? That's what my temper has been trying to tell me. I'm trapped..."
He hopped off the bike and walked over to the window and peered inside, staring at the blue flame.
"You know what's crazy? Even as a kid, I would pray to the blue flame to be good enough to fill my father's shoes someday because this place is his dream. But I never once asked what I wanted to do. I think that's because deep down, I knew it didn't matter. Because the only way to repay a sacrifice so big is by sacrificing your life too..."
(Y/n) hesitantly walked up behind him, her reflection slowly filling in beside Coal's.
"Coal, do you really think that's what your father expects of you? That he would want you to sacrifice your life? Your happiness?" She asked him.
Coal opened his mouth to reply...
"Coal!" Someone yelled.
He gasped and turned around, looking up at the platform to the train station, seeing his mother standing there.
"Don't move!" She ordered.
"Oh blaze! It's my mother." He muttered.
Cinder ran down the stairs and rushed across the street towards them.
Coal put his hands up to defend his actions. "Mom, it's okay. She's just a friend."
"Silence!" His mother snapped. "I could smell you from over there. Oh, you stink."
Coal furrowed his brows. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about." She accused.
Coal's eyes softened when it clicked. "You're smelling love on me?" He realized, glancing towards (Y/n).
"If your father find out...Fire and Water cannot be together. I prove it. Come with me." She demanded.
...
Coal and (Y/n) sat next to each other in Cinder's small reading room, watching her as she stirred a substance in a small bowl.
"First, I splash this on your heart to bring love to the surface." She splashed some of the substance on Coal and (Y/n). "And then you must light these with your fire, and I read the smoke." She said, gesturing to two vertical wooden sticks that were sticking up out of the table.
Coal easily reached forward and lit his up, light blue smoke coming out of it. (Y/n) looked down at her hand and back at the stick, knowing she wouldn't be able to do that.
Cinder smirked. "See Coal? It cannot be."
(Y/n) glanced over to Coal and saw his disappointed expression. She thought for a moment before an idea came into her head.
"Actually..."
She slid in front of Coal, standing on her toes so his light would reflect through her face. She wobbled and maneuvered her body, gathering the light into smaller rays until two were coming through her eyes. She focused her gaze on the top of the stick and crossed her eyes so the two beams connected to one point at the top. The heat from the light lit it up, and the smoke rose from the stick intertwining with the smoke from Coal's.
Cinder looked up in shock and inhaled deeply to read the smoke. Coal stepped out from behind (Y/n) to watch his mom, hoping that she would give him the results he was hoping for.
"Cinder?" Bernie called from upstairs.
The three of them flinched and stared at the beaded door.
"It's my dad. You have to go." Coal insisted.
(Y/n) snuck out the front door, but before she left completely, she turned back to Cinder.
"Wait, are we a match?" She asked.
She didn't get to receive and answer because Coal quickly shoved the door closed, pushing her out as his dad came downstairs.
"What's going on? I wake up and nobody upstairs." Bernie said.
Coal chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I was uh...double-checking the locks. And then mom came down..."
"Yes." Cinder agreed. "And we, uh, began looking at this door. We don't talk about this door enough."
"Pull it together." Coal hissed.
Bernie didn't seem to suspect anything. "Well, since you're both here, I was going to tell you tomorrow, but I'm too excited to sleep. In two days, I retire!" He announced.
This news provoked two reactions. Cinder, of course, was very happy. Coal on the other hand, didn't look too happy.
"Two days?" He repeated with a strained smile.
"Yes. We're going to throw big party. A grand reopening. That way I can tell whole world my son take over. And I have gift for you." Bernie walked away for a moment, but came back pushing a large crate. "I've had this for a while, but after our talk, I know now is the time. Before I give it to you, I need you to understand what it means to me."
Coal furrows his brows, waiting for his dad to explain.
"When I left Fire Land, I gave my father the Bà Ksô. The Big Bow. It is the highest form of respect. But my father did not return the bow. Did not give me his blessing. He say if we leave Fire Land, we will lose who we are. They didn't get to see all of this. They didn't get to see that I never forgot we are Fire. This is burden I still carry. Coal, it is important that you know you have my blessing every day you come in here. So I have this made for you."
Bernie removed the side of the crate, revealing a large sign that read, 'Coal's Fireplace'.
Coal gasped. "Wow, Àshfá."
"It's gonna be big, bright. Everyone's gonna see this. 'Coal's Fireplace'. We unveil it at grand reopening." He announced.
Cinder stepped forward and grabbed onto Bernie's arm. "Come Bernie, you need your rest."
She started leading him towards the stairs, casting one last look at Coal over her shoulder.
Once they had gone, Coal sat in front of the sign, grabbing the switch and flicking it on and off. Of course he appreciated the gesture, but now that he knew he didn't want to run the shop, a horrible feeling of guilt filled him up.
Tears began to well in his eyes as he flicked the sign on and off. This was going to be his life now. No internship, no moving away, no glass making...no (Y/n).
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