We know what it is for, we who have used it.

sure, according to kelly's backstory, they grew up relatively (for the time period) privileged wrt their queerness, and there's her obvious bewildered distress at the fact that, when she arrives in the US, people actually get to force her to act like something she's not

but she's also clearly not stupid! she clearly knows how unsafe it is to be obviously queer. when they buy boxers, they know to hold on to the excuse that they are for their brothers. she doesn't out carson and greta to anyone, not even to lupe, who's also queer, with whom she's clearly very close, and with whom she clearly spends a lot of time talking about being queer and other queer women - she understands and respects the reasons behind their choice to keep it all absolutely secret. when jo is arrested and traded out, jess (and lupe) look upset in a way that very clearly reads as "this could have been us, if we'd been there is would have been us (bc they, like jo, don't have the femme plausible deniability and would easily be picked out of the crowd by the cops), maybe it should have been been us because without us jo wouldn't have known about the bar". she knows, intimately, which risks she faces.

Eight Days in April

by Jewish Lesbian poet Marilyn Hacker

[Full text under the cut]

Portrait of a Young Woman, Jean-Etienne Liotard 

requested by anon // request here!

//////

you are late to your shift. as you took the elevator, stepped through the bullpen, dumped your bag at your desk, an apology was forming on your lips. however, captain holt was nowhere to be seen. you peered into his office from your desk, looking a little lost as you realised that none of the other detectives were around. jake, amy, charles, even hitchcock and scully were nowhere in sight.

you pull your jacket closer, digging your hands into your pockets, before wandering forward. familiar voices drifted from the briefing room and you turn toward them, catching the question in jake’s tone.

“so, did you get the launderer’s husband?” you can see jake as he leans forward in anticipation, arms folded comfortably on the desk. amy sits beside him, notepad spread in front of her.

from the context of the question, you already know who will be standing at the podium in the briefing room. you move in slow-motion, leaning against the doorway to support yourself, as you watch your girlfriend answer the question. her hair is shorter than you remember but she is standing with the same sharpness, speaking in the same short tone, wearing the same leather jacket.

“the husband was also arrested.” rosa nods, elbows resting against the podium, “we have enough against him to hold…”

she looks at you then, trailing off.

everyone in the room looks to you.

“you’re back.” you say abruptly.

rosa swallows, giving you a slow up-down. “i’m back.”

“a month early.” you push off the door frame, stepping forward.

she nods.

the room is tense.

“and you didn’t tell me – nobody told me that you were going to be back today.”

jake coughs and the tension breaks. the detectives seated at the desks scramble up in a flurry, knocking back chairs and tripping over each other as they flee the room.

amy pauses on her way, smiling awkwardly, “i’m really glad you’re back, rosa.”

you don’t break eye contact with your girlfriend and speak in a short tone. “respectfully, amy.”

she darts from the room.

rosa begins to apologise but the words don’t leave her lips. you step forward, hand curling into the front of her shirt and capturing her in a fierce kiss. she automatically moves her hands to your waist, sliding under your shirt, skin on skin. you press another kiss to the corner of her lips, then let your head fall against her shoulder, cushioned by the leather. rosa wraps her arms around you, resting her chin on the top of your head. it’s a familiar position, one which both of you had been craving for three months. it’s one you can easily fall back into.

“i was so scared that i would never see you again.” you whisper against her shoulder.

she tightens her hug, planting a kiss onto the top of your head. “i’m here now.”

//////

Your mask protects others more than it protects you

You can still spread covid even if you’re vaccinated or not showing any symptoms

The more this spreads around, the more mutated variants of the virus will appear and they WILL be stronger than the original