Author's Corner

I am digging my own grave.

Blame my little sister. She asked me "what if you were Sam's cousin?" and I answered with "why would I be Sam's cousin?" and then she very helpfully pointed out that we have an aunt named Judy in the States. Then we just stared at each other in realization.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the original characters.

Warning: This will not be the typical "Sam has a cousin!" fanfic. I am a sucker for family and character development. I often have writer's block. I do not update often. I do not apologize for all of this except the last two. Read at your own risk.

How Do You Do?

By Freydris

Enter, The Cousin

"Sam, darling." Judy starts carefully, tearing Sam's attention away from his comic book. The book, in particular, is worn out and several years old, but he will never get sick of reading and rereading it. Captain America has that charm, yes, and it has saved him from countless awkward conversations. It is his trusty friend.

With a long-suffering, but mental sigh, he looks up and forces a smile into his face. "Hey Mom." He greets, giving her a pathetic wave from his spot on the bed. His gaze slips onwards to the tan female standing behind his mother, and as if feeling his stare, she stops examining his (shamefully) messy room and meets his eyes. To his surprise, she breaks out into a pretty smile and waves at him.

Jolting at the unfamiliar presence, he straightens and tries his best to appear more accommodating. "Hello." He says uncomfortably, cursing himself for his lack of eloquence. The woman's smile widens, and she nudges his mother's back, her dark eyes glittering with amusement.

Judy mirrors the other woman's smile and steps aside to give him a full view. "Sam, this is your cousin, Lita." She says, and Sam's hopes come crashing down on him. The only other beautiful woman in his life besides his mother (he is a secret momma's boy) and his high school crush, Mikaela, and it turns out she is his cousin. Figures. "She's from Asia, and she's staying with us until she finishes university." His mother explains slowly, apparently recognizing the disappointment in his face.

The dark-haired woman steps forward and gives him a half-bow. "How do you do? I am Carlita D. Rodriguez. Please call me Ate Lita or Lita." She introduces, inclining her head, and if he is a lesser man, Sam will be intimidated. "I'm related to you through Aunt Judy's side; her older sister married my father, who is a Filipino citizen." She says patiently, her enunciation flawless, "I am also twenty-two years old."

His mother cuts in swiftly, almost cruelly, like a hawk, "She is five years older than you, Sam. Don't even think of incest." She warns teasingly, and Lita laughs, laughs in this weird way he's only heard from anime shows. The subtle shiver that he gives hopefully goes by unnoticed. "I'm a responsible girl, tita." She chuckles, giving him an amused look from the corner of her doe-eyes, "Sam's an adorable son, by the way."

At the comment, Sam's face burns a bright pink, and his fingers unconsciously twitch for his comic book, lying at his side.

His mother, not noticing his discomfort, beams at Lita, clasping her manicured hands together, "Thank you! I tried to raise him to the best of my abilities! He's a darling, a sweetheart, honestly, the girls can't get enough of him at school." Can't get enough of bullying him, that is, but his mother throws half-lies around every time. Sam, however, does not appreciate her lying to Lita.

He gives in to his urges and picks up the book, raising it slowly until it covers half of his face.

"I'm sure he is." Lita says kindly, nicely, and she turns back to him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Thank you for your hospitality. I hope we get along, Sam."

Sam nods stiffly, almost hurriedly. Judy gives him a loving smile before the older woman whisks his cousin out of the room excitedly, chattering all the while. He commends Lita's daring; standing his mother's presence with that polite smile is a feat to behold, and she seems nice enough.

After some long seconds, he lowers his arms and stares at the book's cover, and it stares back at him with a glossy glint. "You're a true friend, that you are." He says to the item, before flipping it open and resuming where he stopped.

Author's Corner

This is ridiculously short, but I am keeping the number of words to a minimum because I won't be able to handle updating three multi-chaptered stories, wherein all three of them squeeze very long chapters out of me. I'm even thinking of throwing out another fanfic.

I am a buttwipe, ugh, forgive me guys.

But I tried my hand on present-tense and third person, with the point of view being a canon character's. This is one step closer to me writing non-OC fanfictions! Mwahahaha! Only a hundred more EXP until the next level!

Constructive criticism is appreciated—please, do not hesitate to point out my mistakes. I am not going to lie to you guys, reading about them hurts, but I'm a (wo)man and I can handle it! Tell me what you think of Sam, and Carlita! I know she seems a bit too perfect at first, but we're going to tear those layers of her defenses one by one until she's stripped bare with all her faults! Again, I shall point out that I am a complete sucker for character development.

Oh, and yes. I dug my grave even further. Because I decided on a split-second that I wanted her to be Asian, I randomly searched and found the Philippines! Now I have to do extra research on their culture! I am a very stupid person but I do so love the challenge! Hints and suggestions are welcomed!

Tita – a term used by youngsters to refer to older women with respect; Aunt; roughly, ma'am.

Ate – a term used to refer to a woman not much older than the speaker, with as much respect; roughly translates to "big sister", also can be used as "miss".

Now I must go. This is not a Sam/OC fanfic. There won't be any romance until the end, I guess.