I don't own these Disney characters; they're owned by Disney, obviously. I do, however, own Jayden, Todd, Mayah, Raziya, and Bokuden.
Expression Five: Smell
The knock at the door was not a surprise and somehow the person at the door was not a surprise either. Sighing, Mayah wished that she had just stayed in the kitchen, cooking dinner. For the moment, she just stared out of the peephole and then pressed her forehead to the door. Todd came up behind her, placing gentle hands on her shoulders. He nuzzled her neck briefly and placed a gentle kiss right behind her ear.
"Who is it?" he asked in a low tone, not wanting to alert the person on the other side of the door that someone was home. It was a smart move since she was considering that they just play like they were not there.
"Mommy."
"You gonna let her in?" He rubbed his nose in her neck, knowing it would draw a light laugh from her. She snorted to prevent the laugh from escaping and took a deep breath to compose herself.
Staring at the door, she arched an eyebrow. "Should I?"
"You trying to avoid her the rest of your life?" he countered.
"No," she sighed.
"Well, that answers that."
She sighed again. "I kinda hate that you're so goddamn nice."
He only laughed and stepped away. She wanted to remind him that her mother was the reason why he looked like he just lost a prizefight, but he would not care anyway. She knew that he wanted her to keep her relationship with her mother because that was how he was. She shook her head and opened the door. She locked eyes with her mother and noted for the first time in her life, her mother seemed small. Her dark gaze faltered and she eyed the floor briefly.
"You can come in," Todd offered, making a sweeping gesture with his hand.
"Thank you," Betty said in a soft tone, lifting her head to address him.
She gasped as she caught sight of her handiwork. Beyond the bruised and bandaged nose, Todd had a black eye, bruised cheek, and a couple of stitches in his lip. She reached out, as if she were going to touch his face, but dropped her hand as soon as she realized that she was doing that. Good, Mayah thought. She doesn't have the right to touch him.
"I'm so sorry, Smiley," Betty said in a haunted whisper. She turned pale, almost like she was about to be sick.
"Sorry for what? My face? My feelings? The implied insult that my mothers aren't good parents?" he inquired, crossing his arms over his chest. Of course, this action just made him look bigger than he was and he really did not need to appear any larger as he towered over Betty, who seemed to wither under his intense gaze. Mayah was pleased that her boyfriend had not planned to just let her mother off of the hook.
"All of the above. I was wrong. So very wrong. It's just that…" she trailed off, shaking her head and running a hand through her short, chocolate hair that was sprinkled with grey.
"That I'm so much older than Mayah and suck so much as a human being that the only real way for her to have any affection for me is if I've been abusing her since birth?" he hammered away.
Something there brought life back into Betty's gaze and she locked eyes with him. "You don't suck, Smiles. You're a great young man. You're a doctor at twenty-five for fuck's sake. You've saved the fucking world before. And despite having an unconventional childhood, you've managed to make a pretty normal and responsible adult. Kim and Shego should be proud of the amazing job they did with you."
Both young people were dumbstruck. They had expected a fight. They were not sure what to do with agreement and high praise. They needed to regroup.
"Do you want something to drink?" Mayah offered, planning to retreat to the kitchen and try to process what just happened.
"No, thank you. I want to start over with you two. Can you tell me how this—" Betty motioned between the couple. "How did it start? What happened? I mean, Smiley, you used to hop fences to get away from Mayah."
Todd smiled a bit, but could not do any more than that without paining himself. Mayah wiped the smile away with a hard look. She did not want him to be soft on her mother considering what Betty had done and she also did not want to chance him tearing his stiches. They went to the couch with Betty following. They then shared the story of how they got to where they were. Betty was actually quiet throughout the tale, only nodding in some places.
"I hate that I agree with your mother and you two do make sense," Betty finally commented.
"Hey, my pop is right more often than not," Todd defended Kimmie.
"As annoying as she is, you're right. It's actually one of the things that make her annoying. She's definitely right about you two. Mayah, as I once told Shego, you could do worse," Betty remarked.
They had a feeling that was the closest thing they would get to approval, especially if that was all Shego got. Odd, but it was enough. As long as Betty and Dahntay accepted them, it was enough. Maybe, one day, they would look back on all of this and it will seem like one big comedy. Of course, that day was a long way off.
-8-8-8-8-
"You are too silly for not realizing I had an apartment," Hana chuckled as she and Jayden stood in her small kitchen making sandwiches.
"Excuse me for knowing only one person in their twenties, who only just moved out of the house at twenty-five," Jayden replied with a smile. She had assumed that was the norm until Hana mentioned her own apartment. Once that came up, Jayden wanted to see where her girlfriend lived and now they were there, making lunch together and probably enjoying it more than would be considered sane.
Hana chuckled again and bumped Jayden with her hip. This earned another smile from Jayden. Hana sliced both sandwiches in half and then leaned down to kiss Jayden for no other reason than she was there. This got a giggle out of Jayden and she slapped her hand over her mouth.
"You are so adorable," Hana commented as a blush colored her girlfriend's cheeks.
"You're the only person that can say that. Anybody else gets their fucking ass beat and told off," Jayden replied.
"I expect as much. Grab the drinks. I've got the sandwiches."
Jayden nodded, taking control of their glasses as well as a plate of potato chips. They sat on the sofa, which was cozy because it was small. They could not help touching. Hana's apartment reminded her of some the college dorms that she had hung out in. It was larger obviously, but not by much and the décor was simple. It was comfortable, though, and she liked it.
"I liked making sandwiches with you," Hana said as they set themselves up, putting their food on trays that were in front of the couch. She had learned it was best to tell Jayden things that she enjoyed with her to make it clear that she liked Jayden.
"It was fun," Jayden grinned. "We're going to do it again, right?"
"Of course. I mean, you're going to be over a lot more now, right?"
"Hell, fucking yeah!" Jayden grinned even wider.
Hana smiled a bit and then they turned their attention to their food. Before they took a bite, there was a knock at the door. They glanced at each other and shrugged. Hana sighed and put her food down to go answer the door. She rolled her eyes as she let her brother in.
"Hello, Ron," Hana said dryly.
"Hey, can we—" Ron cut himself short when he noticed she was not alone.
"Talk? I dunno. Are you going to make my girlfriend feel bad about herself again and then take everyone that she might want to talk to for a 'spiritual retreat' in the woods? I don't know where you might provide her with a plane ticket to this time, though," she remarked.
Ron blinked and rubbed the back of his neck. "She told you about that?"
Folding her arms across her chest, Hana nodded. "Yeah. Imagine that, I talk to my girlfriend. Crazy, right?"
"Can you be a little less sarcastic?"
"Not really, unless you're going to be less of a douche, which I can't see. You tried to ruin my relationship with someone I really like and who really likes me under the guise of helping me. Or helping Bo or whoever the hell you thought you were helping."
"Jade, could you give us a minute?" Ron requested.
Hana quickly replied, "No, she can't. I'm spending time with her and I'm having lunch with her. I don't want to deal with you or your opinion right now. I just went to relax with her, especially since you won't even own up to what you did and you don't even want to talk about it like a civilized person."
"And what about what you did?" he countered, glaring at her.
"Excuse the hell out of me for liking Bo's best friend, but that's between us and him. It's none of your business. It wasn't your place to talk to Jade, especially not the way you did. You hurt her and I don't want to be bothered with you if you're going to do that again. You didn't have any right to say anything to her," Hana stated, moving over to Jayden. Jayden stood by her and they held hands, waiting to see how he reacted.
Ron was quiet for a long moment and just stared at their joined hands. Suddenly, he sighed and his shoulders slumped. "You're right. It wasn't my place. Jade, I'm sorry.
Jayden opened her mouth, but nothing really came out beyond, "Uh…"
"You don't have to accept. Just hear him out," Hana said, patting Jayden's hand to be supportive. Jayden nodded because she did not want to accept the apology just yet, but she really could not stay upset with her uncle, no matter how much he had hurt her at the time.
"She's right, Jade. You don't have to accept, but I need to get it out. You just let it sit in your brain and you can come talk to me whenever you want. For now, I just want you to know I just lost sight of what was going on. Besides, Bo is my son. I don't like seeing him hurt, but, Hana, I don't like you being pissed with me. I want you to be happy."
"I am happy," Hana proclaimed and she let go of Jayden's hand to put her arm around Jayden's waist. Jayden let out a light, squeak of a noise that everyone thankfully ignored. She returned the gesture, putting her arms around Hana's waist.
A sorrowful smile settled on the blond's face. "Jade, you too?"
"Definitely," Jayden grinned and she gave her girlfriend a squeeze. It was Hana's turn to make a noise and then she laughed, not expecting Jayden to hold her so tightly.
He gave them a slow nod. "That's good. Again, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have meddled in this."
"No, you shouldn't have and you shouldn't have made Jade feel so bad about liking me. We'll work this out with Bo," Hana promised.
"I know you will and you're right. I shouldn't have done anything. Like I said, I lost sight of things. This wasn't my place to get involved. I hope you guys are happy and, please, do talk to Bo. He'd like that," Ron said.
"We know," Jayden stated.
Ron gave them another nod and turned, leaving with a weak wave goodbye. The couple returned to the couch and kept their arm around each other. Hana moved her embrace around Jayden's shoulders. Jayden embraced her around her waist and Hana curled into the smaller warrior, resting her cheek in Jayden's soft, inky mane.
"Let's watch some movies," Hana declared.
Jayden nodded and they carried out their afternoon as planned. They cleaned together when they finished lunch, fell back on the sofa, and watched more movies. Eventually, they ended up lying down with Jayden on top of Hana, tucking her head just under Hana's chin, and Hana played with the ends of Jayden's thick mane. They were still watching movies, but their attention was not focused there.
Hana's hands wandered, caressing Jayden's back and sides. Jayden's hands were not idle, drawing circles and long lines on Hana's sides and abdomen. Kisses followed and the television was forgotten. Things heated up as Hana's kisses grew bolder and Jayden followed her lead. A moan escaped Jayden's lips as Hana's tongue caressed her own. The noise surprised Jayden to the point where she pulled away.
"We should talk to Bo," she blurted out. Way to kill the fucking mood!
Black eyes blinked in shock. "Whoa, talk abut passion whiplash. Could we talk about this later? I got this other thing I wanna do now," she joked, fingers drumming against the small of Jayden's back.
"Uh … But, we should."
Hana smiled. "We will, and you don't have to be nervous. This only has to go as far as you're comfortable. I'm not going to push you. I just want to be around you."
A smile crawled onto Jayden's face as she tucked her head under Hana's chin once more. "That's good. I don't mind this stuff, but I'm not ready for more."
"This is fine for me as well. We can go slowly. If you want, we can stop right now, hit an arcade."
Jayden considered it. "Maybe later." Pushing herself up, she planted a fresh kiss to Hana's waiting lips. Kissing she could handle. Plus, kissing Hana was fucking awesome.
-8-8-8-8-
Bo agreed to speak to Jayden and Hana when he had sorted through all of his emotions. They were surprised that it took almost a month. Jayden considered that he might just be angry with them, but he dispelled that almost immediately.
"Sorry it took me so long, but I wanted to be sure I wouldn't cry when I saw you two together," he stated, sitting down in a café with them.
"Bo, I'm sorry," Jayden immediately apologized. She reached out and took his hand. She was happy that he did not pull back.
He held up his free hand. "You don't need to apologize, Jade. I'm glad you're happy. I know you can't change your feelings. It just took me a while to accept it. I want you both to be happy."
"I want you to be happy, too," she insisted.
He actually smiled. "Then, I need my friends back. Being in a funk sucks, especially alone."
They laughed. Bo was all right in more ways than one. He had just needed time to sort through everything, especially his emotions. They ordered pizza to celebrate his recovery and their relationship.
When word got around that everything was on the mend for everyone, Shego allowed Kim to talk her into a barbeque, despite the fact that it was too cold now. Of course, Shego could not feel the chill, so she worked the grill outside while all of their friends hung out in the house.
Jayden had to give Hana a tour and was pleased when Hana raved about the reptile room. It was her favorite room in the house. After that, they split up to mingle. Jayden moved over to her usual crew, arguing over some device that Raziya was holding. Hana ended up face to face with Kim and Shego. Understandingly, she gulped and said a silent prayer.
"Hi, Jayden's moms," Hana said, even though she was very familiar with Kim. She just knew they were standing before her now as her girlfriend's parents, not her friend Kim or her boss Shego.
"Hana, I'm just here to make sure Shego doesn't go overboard," Kim assured her with a smile.
"You're lucky Kim and Yori already vouched for you. You treat our mini-monster right or I'll make sure you get the shittiest assignments in the Bureau while randomly kicking your ass while you continue to work for us," Shego growled.
Hana nodded. "Totally understand. I plan to treat her perfectly."
"You'd better." Shego jabbed her in the chest with her finger and then returned to the grill.
Kim smiled. "She means well, but she's also very serious."
"And intense."
"Oh, you haven't seen intense from her."
Hana gulped as Kim walked away. The ninja was tempted to fall to Jayden's side, but saw her girlfriend was in a heated debate with Raziya. She was learning to not come between the two scientists and she was also beginning to suspect there was something between the pair, not romantic, but something that she could not put her finger on. It did not bother her, but helped her understand that there were times when she needed to just leave Jayden to her own devices. She decided to try to find someone that she could talk to.
Also watching Jayden and Raziya were Mayah and her brother, Aztek. She patted him on the back, trying to get him to move. He remained firmly planned in place.
"Dude, just talk to her like a regular person. Don't show her your spit, or your chewed food, and damn sure don't ask her if your feet smell while sticking them in her face," Mayah commanded.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" he balked. It was not like he knew any other ways to open a conversation.
She slapped him in the back of the head. "Act fucking not disgusting for the first time in your life." He pouted and she just slapped again. "Stop. Now, I'll get Jade away from her and you just be fucking normal."
She did not stick around from him to nod. It was easy to get Jayden away, telling her to show the younger lot her new reptiles. Jayden jumped at the chance, especially when Chyna asked about her snakes. Aztek took a deep breath and made his way to Raziya.
Kim watched the gathering, seeing everyone get along. She eased out of the house and pressed herself against Shego. Shego wrapped one hand around Kim's waist, pulling her close.
"I think things will be all right now," Kim commented.
"All right? Our kids have girlfriends. This is just the beginning of the madness," Shego remarked with a happy smile.
Kim smiled, too. "Well, as always, it's something to look forward to. Besides, it'll be funny, too. Think about how much your mom is going to tease them." That got a merry guffaw out of Shego. That was something to look forward to, like watching their kids grow up, mature, and make decisions that they felt were best for them.
-8-8-8-8-
The end.
Thank you all for reading the story. I hope you enjoyed it. I don't know if we'll see more of these characters or this universe, but I hold out hope that one day something else will come to me about these guys. For right now, I'm going to retreat back into my padded cell. Take care everybody!
Commercial break: this Lunatic has been published if anyone cares. My book is called Scarred for Life under the name SL Kassidy and can be found on Amazon, iBooks, and other ereaders. Now, onto the story!