Hangetsu felt the coffee maker and a larger mass of metal through the break room wall he assumed was the refrigerator. When he found that the metal was from a fellow officer's uniform the Internal Affairs officer froze and made mental note that he needed to get better at metal detection if he was going to avoid awkward situations.
Before his transfer to I.A. Hangetsu had no friends in the department but no enemies either. Now most everyone knew who he was and openly glared at the man whose job it was to investigate his fellow cops.

Freezing in place was pointless since graduating the police academy didn't mean one could only sense movement. Deep down Hangetsu knew that but secretly hoped the man sitting at the table would be one of those afflicted.
After a moment it became obvious he was not. Hangetsu swore under his breath and faked a smile.
"I'll be out of your way in a second. Don't mind me."

Every step of his metal boots was like a hammer striking an anvil to the young mentalbender's ears. The refrigerator might as well have been across the city. He wished he could afford to keep one in his office. There wasn't a God for avoiding awkward situations so Hangetsu prayed to his grandparents.
Han...Suigetsu...get me out of this.
He dropped one of the canned sodas he meant to retrieve. A loud pop and a fizzing mess was an answer to his prayer. He assumed Suigetsu answered that one and was laughing at him from the deepest, darkest pits of the spirit world.
It didn't always pay to be religious.

While on his knees mopping up his spilled soda Hangetsu noticed the scuffs on Jin Ho's boots which marked him at someone who walked frequently in them.
"So...foot patrol, huh?" He tried to think of something to let his fellow officer know that this wasn't the world's most asinine Internal Affairs investigation.
"I'm Hangetsu Tsukishima. Rat Viper Squad," he said, trying to inject some self-deprecation but not self-pity into his voice.
Most others sneered when he bowed of tried to shake someone's hand so Hangetsu did neither. He merely rinsed out his drenched towel and claimed his remaining two sodas and hoped for a swift and hassle-free exit.

Jin Ho raised an eyebrow. Was someone trying to move his armour? A prank perhaps? But whoever did it stopped instantly, so he assumed it was instead, a mistake. An IA officer (the only?) wearing glasses had come through and was now smiling as though he'd rather be anywhere but in the room with Jin Ho.

"I'll be out of your way in a second. Don't mind me."

"It's fine," said Jin Ho, voice tinted with a little tiredness. The can of soda hitting the floor seemed impossibly loud and he jumped a little, immediately getting up to help clean the mess. When it seemed the other man had it under control, Jin Ho opted for getting him a replacement soda from the refrigerator.

"So...foot patrol, huh?"

Jin Ho looked at the other officer. "Yeah," he said. He was a bit surprised. How did he know?

"I'm Hangetsu Tsukishima. Rat Viper Squad."

Smiling a truly genuine smile, Jin Ho held out his hand. "Park Jin Ho," he said, "but you already know where I'm assigned." Realizing he was still holding the replacement soda, he handed it over. "Here. Sorry." He looked around the breakroom, surprised no one else was back yet. "I guess you and I are the only ones here so early, huh?" As Hangetsu took the soda, the young officer went back to idly fiddling with the end of his braid.

Even through Hangetsu's own timidity Jin Ho's stood out. It was odd. That wasn't typical cop behavior.
He shook Jin Ho's hand and took the soda. It took him a few moments to decide to sit down at the table.

Work conversations among cops tended toward the grisly. Asking how life was treating someone whose partner was killed or is investigating a homicide came across as cruel.
That was where observation and analysis came in. He was sure that his grandmother wouldn't see the point of using the skills she taught him to make awkward small talk, but felt he could rationalize it as practice.

The scars on Jin Ho's neck were interesting but carried the same risk as asking how work was going. He couldn't help but wonder if people noticed the thin scar across the top of his head but assumed that scar tissue wasn't something two people could immediately bond over. Then again Hangetsu never had any male friends and it could have been a typical male bonding experience.
Hangetsu was filled with silent gratitude when Jin Ho broke the silence.
"I guess you and I are the only ones here so early, huh?"
Bless this man for making the first move.[/b][/color]

Hangetsu shrugged. "Old habit. I had to get up early to make breakfast and coffee for my family before I joined the police academy. I enjoy the peace before everything gets hectic. I don't get much quiet at my place. I live right above Lemurland so there's lots of noise. You a jazz fan?"

With closed eyes Hangetsu opened his can of soda. That meant that he had a commitment to stay for the next few minutes.

Jin Ho was surprised when Hangetsu sat down. He hadn’t through the other man seemed interested in talking to him, not really.

“Oh,” he said, when Hangetsu asked him about jazz, “actually yes, I am.” He loved jazz. He liked the blues and swing more, but jazz was always appreciated. “Mostly polyphonic stuff with good improv…” He looked down at his water glass. Jin Ho hadn’t ever been to Lemurland, though he’d heard of it. It might be a nice time, really. “Do you?” he asked, looking up, “Like jazz, I mean.” It seemed like living above a place like that might get old after a while.

Rubbing at the silvery scar tissue on his neck, Jin Ho sighed. Long day. Well, long night. He’d taken a night patrol from a co-worker in exchange for a day off for his date… so he was a little off when it came to time. Sometimes foot beats could really wear a guy out. Although, since he’d volunteered for the job and went out of his way to avoid being promoted, Jin Ho couldn’t really complain.

Or at least he shouldn’t.

“How long have you been in your division?” he asked. He didn’t remember seeing Hangetsu around before, but when someone was a desk jockey, maybe that wasn’t surprising. Feeling guilty about having thought of Hangetsu as a desk jockey, Jin Ho reminded himself that someone had to do that job and it was every bit as important as any other.

There was something about Jin Ho that Hangetsu felt at ease with. He wondered what it might be for a second until he realized it was the the patrolman's tame reaction to Hangetsu's job. No immediate scorn was a good thing.

The subject of music was brought up and Hangestu felt he'd ascended a level socially.
"Yeah, I like jazz. BeBop most of all. It bleeds through my floor most nights but it's more like white noise now. My mom used to play the shamisen, sometimes my father would sing and my grandfather would play the water harp." He ran his fingers around his soda can to demonstrate silently.
Hangetsu couldn't help but snort at the memory. "They were a better band than family." He groaned at his excessive generosity with information.

“How long have you been in your division?”
Any time Hangetsu had to recall information he rolled his eyes up and to the left. He did the same thing while lying he was told. He had first met Tae after two weeks on the job and worked for her for three...
"Five weeks. Mostly just copying and condensing old files. I was told that I would be rotated out in a month until the next crop of rookies came in."
He didn't want to mention that would only happen if he kept his head down and made sure no charges were pressed. If they were Hangetsu was sure he'd be as permanent a fixture down there as the rat viper that slithers between the walls and the ugly yellow tile floor.
"It wasn't quite what I had in mind when I was a kid. I was going to fight crime during the day and romance the Chief of Police at night. Pulp novel stuff. All this time here and I haven't been asked to go undercover to seduce a beautiful revolutionary or anything like that. What about you? Family obligation?"

“Oh, that’s great,” said Jin Ho. No one in his family played an instrument. “I don’t play anything and neither does anyone in my family. I always thought it would be fun to learn to play an instrument.”

"Five weeks. Mostly just copying and condensing old files. I was told that I would be rotated out in a month until the next crop of rookies came in."

It had to be hard to be an internal affairs guy. Jin Ho knew how little respect they got, and he also knew how much of a pain that job had to be. He nodded, and laughed at Hangetsu’s talking about Chief Bei Fong and how romantic he’d thought it would be to be a policeman. Thanks to his father, Jin Ho hadn’t expected quite such a rowdy time of his occupation. But it was cute that Hangetsu had.

”What about you?”

Family obligation? While it was true that Jin Ho’s father had been a captain and very well-respected, the young man didn’t feel like he was obligated to do anything. Well, not involving his job, anyway. “No,” said Jin Ho, smiling in a sweet way, “I actually like being a policeman. I know you're going to think this is stupid and naive, but I actually really love what I do. I really believe in keeping the people of this city safe." He paused, glancing away for a moment. "I... want to help people. To do my best for them." He rested his chin in his hand, looking off into space a little. “I know that’s considered a really laughable thing to say around here, so if you’d like to laugh, it’s okay. I understand.”

Most of his co-workers found Jin Ho’s idealism hilarious. Smiling again, the young man toyed with the end of his braid and drank some more of his water. He was a bit tired, but it felt so good to sit down that he hadn’t yet thought of moving.

“I know that’s considered a really laughable thing to say around here, so if you’d like to laugh, it’s okay. I understand.”
Hangetsu leveled a crooked grin at Jin Ho.
"No, I have enough grace to wait until someone leaves the room before I laugh at them." He rolled his eyes to express his sarcasm.
In truth Hangetsu found Jin Ho's idealism somewhat charming as he himself considered himself a battleground in the war between idealism and cynicism.

"You'd never make it as a pulp novel anti-hero, Jin Ho." He studied the other policeman for a moment.
"Okay, I have to ask. Feel free to punch me in the face but I have to know...why are you on foot patrol? You're obviously a competent bender so you could be driving around town or flying in an airship." Process of elimination told Hangetsu of Jin Ho's metal bending prowess. The only incompetent bender in the police department was the only person in the room that wasn't Jin Ho. Jin Ho was not Hangetsu, therefore he was a competent bender.

Hangetsu could have sworn something about Jin Ho changed when he mentioned driving but couldn't put his finger on it. He cursed his lack of observation prowess.
Han would have figured it out. Miss Choi too.

The way Jin Ho fondled his braid told Hangetsu that he'd somehow managed to thicken the ice rather than break it.

Jin Ho smiled a little at Hangetsu’s remark, but didn’t say anything.

"Okay, I have to ask.”

And there it was, the inevitable question people always had…

“Feel free to punch me in the face but I have to know...why are you on foot patrol? You're obviously a competent bender so you could be driving around town or flying in an airship."

The metalbender flinched, just a little, when Hangetsu mentioned driving. “I volunteered for foot patrol,” he relied, keeping his voice even. “I like it. I like getting to know everyday people that way. It’s nice to have a beat and check in on things.” He was, in fact, a very talented bender – how had Hangetsu known? Was someone messing with him? Jin Ho frowned.

If someone was pushing to get him promoted, he’d have to work harder to avoid it. That wasn’t a fun prospect. He knew that he excelled in physical tests, but that wasn’t a reason to – was it because Hangetsu was with Internal Affairs? Green eyes widened at that thought, a little horrified. Was he in trouble? Was he going to lose his job?

“I, um – I like foot patrol,” Jin Ho repeated. “I feel useful there.”

Jin Ho's look of terror was one Hangetsu had gotten used to. It was one of the two looks he received from his fellow officers along with contempt.
Hangetsu tried to smile and jokingly punched Jin Ho in the arm.
"So I can't convince you to come over the dark side, eh? I wouldn't mind having a partner to talk to but if keeping people safe is more important to than shooting the breeze I'll accept that. Grudgingly."

It's not easy starting a conversation with another cop when you're a two-faced rat viper, Hangetsu silently mused.
Music was a box he could check off on his mental list of subjects while the boxes beside work and family were left blank until Hangetsu could divine anything further. He almost wished he could fall asleep then. More than a few of his investigative breakthroughs came while dreaming.
Hangetsu almost felt like apologizing for being such a terrible conversationalist.
It was a cruel joke that the one fellow officer Hangetsu met that didn't hold his job against him was as timid as he himself was. He wanted to tell Jin Ho to relax but was afraid it would come across as a threat from someone with the power to investigate him. It was no wonder his predecessor drank so much.

Unconsciously Hangetsu soon found himself succumbing to what he assumed was one of his more annoying habits. Tapping his cigarette lighter on a hard surface. This time in a particular tune. He had to smile at his own odd habit.
I didn't inherit any musical talent," he said after tapping. "That was supposed to be Moanin' by the Jazz Messengers. Now I know why the cigarette lighter isn't a respected instrument."
He slid his lighter across the table at Jin Ho.
"Let's hear your rendition."
It wasn't a surefire way to bond but when talk failed to break the ice there was always random silliness to fall back upon.
It wasn't until the challenge was posed that Hangetsu thought that such actions must have been one of the reasons he never had any friends growing up.

Jin Ho smiled, looking relieved. Maybe Hangetsu was just innocently asking questions. He shouldn't be so quick to judge the man! Jin Ho's look of terror was one Hangetsu had gotten used to. It was one of the two looks he received from his fellow officers along with contempt.

"So I can't convince you to come over the dark side, eh? I wouldn't mind having a partner to talk to but if keeping people safe is more important to than shooting the breeze I'll accept that. Grudgingly."

Toying with the end of his braid again, Jin Ho finished his glass of water. "I think it's

"That was supposed to be Moanin' by the Jazz Messengers. Now I know why the cigarette lighter isn't a respected instrument."

Taking the lighter, Jin Ho laughed. "I won't be very good at this," he warned. "I don't have any musical talent, either." Not strictly true — the man had a nice voice and often hummed or sang at home, but he had never been trained and didn't consider it a talent. He couldn't compose, after all, nor read music. He never sang in public! It was more like shower singing.

He tapped out the rhythm of a song and waited, glancing at Hangetsu. Surely the man wouldn't recognize, right? Jin Ho laughed. "It's harder than you think without tones, isn't it? That was supposed to be 'Without a Word of Warnin' by the Quilong Handies." Maybe Hangetsu didn't like their stuff. They were pretty bluesy, really...

"Um — so you don't like being in Internal Affairs, I'm guessing," said Jin Ho. "Why don't you ask for foot patrol? It's really not that bad. I know most guys are more interested in airships, but..." Well, airships couldn't be used for everything.

If Jin Ho hadn't told him the song Hangetsu never would have guessed it even though he was familiar with the song.
The fact that Jin Ho was willing to play along revealed enough about him to make Hangetsu like him a little.

"Um — so you don't like being in Internal Affairs, I'm guessing. Why don't you ask for foot patrol? It's really not that bad. I know most guys are more interested in airships, but..."
Hangetu ended up finishing his can of soda and felt he crossed a point where he could end the conversation. It felt so much like his first date with Ren it was scary. It lacked any sexual tension, though, for which Hangetsu was deeply grateful.
"What's to like about being the guy everyone hates? Civilians are uncomfortable around us because we can arrest them, right? That's how cops feel about me...only they tend to be more vocal about it. I'd love to transfer but no one else wants the job and I'm afraid to ask for anything. Just after joining I had to take a sabbatical to mourn the death of my grandfather. I was useless for a long time. I couldn't bend at all."
Hangetsu practically spoke those words into his chest and wished he'd never brought it up.

Thinking of how his bending went downhill after the death of Suigetsu made Hangetsu think of how his deductive reasoning declined after Han's passing. It did nothing to improve the young metal bender's mood.
"I feel like I've taken too much advantage of the department's goodwill so I'm just going to wait until I'm rotated out of I.A."
Before he knew it Hangetsu found himself asking something he started to regret before the sentence even passed his lips.
"Have you ever gotten any emotional bending blocks?"

Hangetsu's wincing face might as well have been due to a physical punch. He wouldn't have blamed Jin Ho of he had.
"Sorry. Never mind. Too personal a question."

Jin Ho smiled a little. He knew it hadn't sounded anything like the song he'd been thinking of.

"What's to like about being the guy everyone hates? Civilians are uncomfortable around us because we can arrest them, right? That's how cops feel about me...only they tend to be more vocal about it.

Thinking about this, Jin Ho's eyes flicked away from Hangetsu's face for a moment. "It is a little off-putting," he said, "thinking that you might be waiting to catch me doing something wrong. But... I'm not doing anything wrong." The following smile was bright, spreading over his face like sunrise. Yes, Jin Ho had made up his mind about Hangetsu. "I'm sure you're only doing your job, like anyone else. And someone has to keep the police in line, for the safety of the public. I don't think there's anything shameful about that at all."

Just after joining I had to take a sabbatical to mourn the death of my grandfather. I was useless for a long time. I couldn't bend at all.

"Oh," said Jin Ho, "I'm so sorry." How awful, to lose someone you loved. He had yet to experience that kind of pain. He knew some kinds of pain, including the pain of being attracted to people his parents could never approve of, and the thought of ruining their lives just because of who he might fall in love with... and, of course, the accident. The IA officer's next question took him by surprise.

"Have you ever gotten any emotional bending blocks? ... Sorry. Never mind. Too personal a question."

What an interesting question! While Jin Ho certainly did have an 'emotional block', it had nothing to do with his bending. His Earthbending — and Metalbending — had remained a constant in his life, something he could always do and knew he was good at. "No," he said, after considering it for a moment, "I don't think I have. But I've never lost any one close to me. I'm sure it would be devastating." He smiled a little. "Nobody's perfect. I think we all have things that are hard for us, don't you? And working through that stuff is painful, but... we come out better for it in the end, don't we?"

The young officer laughed, then. "See? I'm too idealistic. That's what the other guys say." He twisted the end of his braid around his index finger in a spiral.

Hangetsu bit back a remark about Jin Ho having a charming smile. That in turn caused other thoughts that were uncomfortable. A completely platonic thought regarding upturned lips and the showing of teeth soon turned into a meditation of other aspects of his colleague.
Those thoughts did not last long as Hangetsu reminded himself that he was in a relationship and didn't like the idea of dating a fellow officer. The realization that Jin Ho was a man came in a distant third.
It was no small source of relief when Jin Ho's eyes no longer met his after Hangetsu had complained about his job.

Jin Ho's eyes shone with sympathy when Hangetsu saw them again after mentioning losing his bending temporarily. Hangetsu felt like an ass asking Jin Ho if he ever had any similar emotional blocks. The long-haired bender's mouth said "No," but Hangetsu found something false about it. He felt like something was holding Jin Ho back.

When the man across the table told him his philosophy of everyone having troubles and working through them Hangetsu decided that Jin Ho was a man worth liking. When he mentioned being too idealistic Hangetsu barked out a laugh. Once that sounded like something he needed to apologize for. Immediately.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just..." Hangetsu chuckled again. "If you're too idealistic then I'm totally disconnected from reality. Remember, I wanted to become a cop in order to become Mister Bei Fong. If I wasn't currently dating someone I'd probably still be entertaining notions of her sweeping me off my feet and carrying me off to adventure."

The fact that he felt the need to shoehorn in the fact that he was seeing someone made Hangetsu remember his lack of friends...friends that weren't his sister. A male friend to brag about his girlfriend to sounded nice until he remembered the situation with his girlfriend was hardly something a macho cop would brag about.

"You seeing anyone, Jin Ho?"
Hangestu groaned audibly. Sometimes it was all too obvious he was raised by a woman who didn't observe social norms and a man who believed they were to be rebelled against. As such, indelicate questions found their way out of Hangetsu Tsukishima's mouth far too often.

Jin Ho laughed when Hangetsu reminded him that he'd become an officer so that he could have a chance of being Mister Bei Fong. "Chief Bei Fong," he said, "is quite a woman." If he were into women, he'd probably like a woman like her. Strong. Hangetsu seemed like such a nice person! He was pleased to see how comfortable he felt talking to him, even knowing he was an IA officer. Surely he wouldn't be knowing about Jin Ho not being able to take vehicle duties. Right? His reverie was interrupted by a personal, but not unusual, question.

"You seeing anyone, Jin Ho?"

He got this one all the time. His fellow officers usually assumed that Jin Ho was married and just went straight for asking how many kids there were. At least Hangetsu had done him the favour of just asking if he was seeing anyone first. "Oh," said Jin Ho, blushing slightly, "I don't know." Was he really seeing anyone? Not likely. Having tea and a drink on a day that had gone horribly wrong didn't really count as 'seeing' someone, did it? Anyway, Jin Ho wasn't even sure Mizu liked him. He was frankly shocked the other man wanted to try a date. And he certainly wasn't 'out' to any of his co-workers. Chewing his lower lip, he shrugged. "I, um. I have a date this week with someone, but they... well, I'm not sure how it will all turn out." He was careful to use gender-neutral words. They. Someone.

Rubbing the scar tissue again, he sighed. "Romance is kind of hard. I'm not very good at it." Giving a good-natured laugh, he got up to refill his water glass. He certainly was thirsty! Doing foot patrol in metal uniforms in summer was a perfect recipe for dehydration, so Jin Ho tried to stay on top of his water intake. It tasted so good to him that he was sure he needed it.

"So tell me about the person you're seeing," he said, sitting down again.

Jin Ho's use of pronouns stirred something in Hangetsu. It reminded him of his Air Acolyte girlfriend's reluctance to admit her sexual identity on their first date.
Sexual politics was something he'd never thought of before. As a heterosexual male he considered himself the default setting of the Gods. Falling for someone who was, in a physical sense, a man, had Hangetsu forming opinions on things he had never considered before.

The sexuality of the man across the table wasn't even something Hangetsu considered worth dedicating any thought to, but people who were evasive concerning the subject grated against his nerves. The fact that society in general coerced people like Jin ho and Ren to be ashamed made Hangetsu realize why his grandfather had such a distaste for so-called civilized society.
Suigetsu scores another point from beyond the grave.
Hangetsu's smile and soft chuckle at this thought continued when Jin Ho remarked on how difficult romance could be.
"No kidding. Anybody not intimidated by the uniform doesn't want anything that lasts more than a night."

Hangetsu liked that Jin Ho asked about his girlfriend without rolling his eyes or putting any exasperation in his voice even though an obvious word trap had been set.
"She's an Air Acolyte. I saw her walking around and something struck me. I had to ask her out. For some reason she said yes." For a moment the lovestruck officer of Internal Affairs was lost in thought. "She's shy and sweet. Awkward and sexy. Tragic and naive. For a spiritual person she gives me decidedly nonspiritual thoughts."

Like many men, Hangetsu Tsukishima had an appreciation for physical comedy. Therefore he waited until Jin Ho was drinking before he added the last part of Ren's description.
"She's also a man."

Jin Ho shrugged.

"No kidding. Anybody not intimidated by the uniform doesn't want anything that lasts more than a night."

"Well, I don't really know anything about that," said Jin Ho, a flush colouring his pale face. He had the Fire Nation blood to have a very light, clear complexion. "I haven't really dated much... at all." Ever. Not that Hangetsu needed to know that. His fellow officers usually rolled their eyes, talking about how it was odd to see a man his age spouting romantic crap, and would he mind keeping it to himself?

It was only a matter of time before the bespectacled man implied he needed a 'roll in the hay', no doubt... but he paused at Hangetsu's description of the woman. Obviously he thought very highly of her. It was so nice to hear a man talking about a woman without going directly into breast size or buttock shape. It was refreshing. Jin Ho smiled and put his glass to his lips.

"She's also a man."

Unfortunately for Hangetsu's mirth, Jin Ho didn't choke. He was surprised — quite — but he didn't choke. The emotion did register on his face as he set the glass down. "Really?" he asked. "I've never met anyone like her before, then. She sounds like an amazing person." It probably took a lot of courage to live a life that way. Jin Ho had never met anyone who was called a woman by a romantic partner but was a man. How did that work?

He considered it rude to ask, however, and declined to pursue the topic unless Hangetsu took it further. This woman must really be something special. Pleased, Jin Ho's joyous smile overtook his face again. "I bet she has such an interesting perspective on life. That's wonderful."

Jin Ho's reaction surprised Hangetsu even without a hilarious spit take. He had to take a moment to see if Jin Ho didn't just have an extremely dry sense of humor.
Detecting a lie was much easier than verifying sincerity. Once authenticated Hangetsu grinned at his fellow officer's sincere words.

The other metalbender's view brought no small amount of shame to Hangetsu that he tried to hide behind a smile and a joke.
"Careful. I may have to rethink my view of other cops as this monolith of aggressive ignorance."
Where Hangetsu saw a source of sadness Jin Ho saw a unique and exciting perspective. Along with feeling generally unworthy of Ren now Hangetsu felt as if his attitude might be stifling a woman he had feelings for.

The two smiles from the two officers could not have been more different. One was infinitely more sad than the other.
"It's only been a couple of dates so I don't feel right asking her about it. She was so scared to admit it to me that I decided I wouldn't mention it unless she did first. All of a sudden I find myself thinking about gender and sexuality and all these things I never considered before. A month ago I would have just said I was a regular guy who had a thing for tough women. Now...I'm
not quite sure how to classify myself."
He let a slightly disgusted sigh.
"This got really personal really fast. Sorry." It wasn't a truly authentic apology. Hangetsu wasn't sorry because Jin Ho didn't seem like the type to hold it against him.
"Your turn. This...person you are seeing...what are they like? Tell you what, I'll top any embarrassing moment you may have. You're the smoothest man in the room right now."

"It's only been a couple of dates so I don't feel right asking her about it. She was so scared to admit it to me that I decided I wouldn't mention it unless she did first.

Nodding, Jin Ho toyed with the end of his braid again. "I think it's important to let people tell you things in their own time," he said. "That's how we establish trust. I'm sure she's thankful that you're understanding." He would hate to be pressured to talk about something like that... which, granted, was sort of what was happening since he was being asked about Mizu, but it wasn't like Hangetsu had come out and asked him if he liked women or not.

All of a sudden I find myself thinking about gender and sexuality and all these things I never considered before. A month ago I would have just said I was a regular guy who had a thing for tough women. Now...I'm not quite sure how to classify myself. This got really personal really fast. Sorry."

At that, Jin Ho had to laugh. Finally, he wasn't the first person to get personal! "It's okay," he said, "I have a bad habit of saying things that make people uncomfortable or getting too personal really fast myself, so I'm used to it." He shifted. "Anyway, isn't classifying yourself a little over-rated? I think it's better if we just find people we love, no matter who they are." Or what gender, he thought, silently. If only his parents felt the same way!

When Hangetsu asked about who he was seeing, Jin Ho fidgeted in his chair, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "They, um... are a Waterbender. And a bartender. I actually haven't been on a real date, yet. The last time we met up ended kind of... badly, and I don't know how it's going to go." He was at least ninety-nine percent sure Mizu would end up saying something along the lines of 'I just don't like you'. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not very good at dating, I guess. I just don't know how to be casual."