One-shots

what now [Rat}

yaayyyyy double update :D

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Cross pinched his nasal ridge, heaving a long sigh. "What about Ani? Aren't they meant to do things like this?" Dust's friend, Doranielle, who'd been working as a teacher for all their life, had been Cross's first option. Doranielle had the qualifications to teach as a professor, they were the smartest and most reliable person that Cross could think of to teach Killer.

"I called them, just as you requested. Ani told me that they couldn't."

"Why not??"

"Ani's in Russia, Cross, they always go at this time every year. It'll be another month before they get back."

Swearing softly, Cross paused a moment, taking another drag from his cigarette and blowing the smoke out slowly. His brow creased with thought, his mind racing. "What about Tori?" Tori was the head of a rehab organization, some underground thing that was done out of the public eye where the clients could recover in piece. Dust was currently one of those clients. The Dreemurrs, the business was called. It had several different departments, one of which was dedicated to tutoring and teaching, things along those lines. It was meant for those with memory issues, for them to go and relearn things after an injury or a born-illness.

Perhaps it was unethical to ask for such doctors and caregivers to homeschool Killer, who was simply expelled from school, but Cross, admittedly, didn't care. Call him cruel, but he would do whatever he could to guarantee Killer's future.

"Cross, they don't have any teaching-"

"Yes they do."

"Not for what you're asking! They have doctors there to help people relearn how to function in society, not to teach a highschool drop out how to do algebra. They won't have what you're looking for. Why can't you hire a tutor from elsewhere?"

"First of all, he was expelled. Second of all, do you know how many people are after me?"

"And you think this is the better option?"

"I'm not bringing a stranger here and leaving them alone with Killer. I'd rather it be someone you know, or someone I know."

"For fucks sake, Cross, I can't handle every little problem you have! Why can't you just teach himself?!" There was a clamor on the other side of the phone, someone had fallen or something had been thrown. Cross bristled. "Don't you dare bring that up. I'm not fit to teach-"

"Yes you are, you've already taken several courses-"

"I'm not fit to teach."

"And I'm not fit to raise your child, you have to do that!"

Cross grimaced, cringing into himself hard. Dust sighed into the receiver, "Cross, listen to me. I'm powerful. I have the ability to get you a stars-damned mansion if you asked, but not this." Cross shook his head, "No, I- I get it. I'm not asking you to, to raise him, Dust. I just." He flicked the cigarette, throwing ashes to the dew-covered grass below. "...I have another idea." He slotted the yellowed end between his teeth, getting one last puff. The white paper lit up red, the already stubby thing shrinking further, and Cross blew out the mouthful of thick smoke, watching it sluggishly fade away. "Do you still have contact with Ani?"

Without a second though, he jammed the lit end of the cigarette against the inside of his wrist, putting it out against his own bones. "Didn't I tell you that they were out of the country?" The sting made him shudder, ripping him out of the sleepiness that had been creeping up on him without his knowledge. Shaking off the lingering feeling of the burn, he threw the butt into the shadows below. "Yes, but I wanted to ask something else."