Tour
By Talitha the Little Girl
Summary: Have you ever wondered how young clones would show their home to visitors? Here is your chance to find out! One-shot.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans universe, nor Deathstroke, but the original characters are mine.
Tour
Jonathon glanced at the clearly nervous Jay and shared an amused grin with Hansika. The man in question was fidgeting and repeatedly clearing his throat. The trio were standing before a brand-new door that was quite out of place in the century-old building.
"So..." Jonathon began, and Jay threw a withering glare in his direction: the speedster knew perfectly well what was coming. "When ya gonna knock? We been standin' here fer five minutes already. Methinks a certain redhead's waitin' fer ya inside."
Jay stopped squirming and allowed himself one final throat-clearing cough before raising his hand and knocking on the mahogany door. Barely a second passed before the door was yanked open by a delighted Mark.
"Hello!" He then tossed his head over his shoulder and hollered, "Lucy! Your boyfriend's heeere - " He was cut off by an annoyed voice that drifted out of the living room.
"He ain't mah boyfriend, Markie, y'know tha' perfectly well!"
Mark sniggered as he moved out of the way to allow the visitors into the humble home. Jonathon was quick to enter, eager to greet his sister, and Hansika muttered something about chivalry before following him. Jay blinked his huge, mousy eyes thrice before gingerly stepping inside.
"Aah, hello y'all!" The warm, earthly voice rang out from the kitchen; Jonathon hurried toward it, but halted abruptly in the doorway leading to the kitchen. Curious, Hansika joined Jonathon. She was soon answered by the sight of two elderly women working on dinner.
"Barbs?" At the woman's carefully neutral nod, Jonathon blinked at the other woman. "What she doin' here, Marcy?"
His sister glanced at him before returning her attention to the large lump of tri-tip sizzling away in the pan. "She yer sister too, Jon. An' she Lucy an' Markie's auntie - no reason ter not invite her." She grinned at him. "Besides, this is long overdue!"
Barbara, after Mama's words, snuck a peek at Jonathon before hurrying to the sink to rinse the broccoli. Jonathon, for once, had no words to say: he had spent far too many years at odds with his younger... no, older, sister.
Hansika, in an attempt to break the silence, cleared her throat. "Where are the children? I have not seen them - oh!" She startled with a small shriek; the clones were unable to resist themselves and had touched her wings... and accidentally yanked out a long feather in the process.
Tears flooded the clones' eyes as they stammered out apologies, meekly holding out the feather to Hansika. "Oh no, I'm so sorry - didn't mean to - so soft! - sorry, sorry, sorry - please forgive me!"
The winged woman shushed them. "Oh, it is okay, it is okay! I was molting already, and that feather was coming out. You may keep it." The teenagers grinned in delight and, content that she had avoided disaster with her small fib, Hansika discreetly rubbed at the sore spot on her wing.
Mama, clearly wishing for space to work her magic on food, spoke up: "Dearies?" Grabbing the clones' attention, she continued, "Willya give 'em a tour? Lemme an' Barbs cook, okay?"
The five teenagers nodded eagerly and, as they led Jonathon and Hansika out of the kitchen, Mama's voice rang out, this time laden with steel authority.
"Where y'think ya be goin', Markie?"
Mark had tried to leave with the group. He opened his mouth, ready with an excuse or a protest, or both, but Mama shot off such a stern glare in his direction, he dropped his face and resumed an expression appropriate for a hospital bedside.
"Yer stayin' here an' helpin' us ter set up the table, sweetie!"
Jonathon didn't even have time to marvel at Mama's ability to toss a genuinely affectionate nickname in middle of a threat before the five clones stopped and faced the duo somberly.
Rich was the first one to pipe up: "Here's the living room! That - " He gestured dramatically toward the slightly battered sofa at their side. " - is the couch, where we sit when we eat, and that is Mama's chair..." He pointed at the cushiony recliner. "And that's the holovision." He stopped, and Will picked up.
"Here's the rug. Be really, really careful. Mama doesn't like it when you eat or drink or throw up on it."
Danielle continued the train of thought; her clear bubbly voice rang out, "There's the extra chairs for visitors, and that's the coffee table - " She nodded at the low-set table that rested in the middle of the group. " - where we put our plates when we eat."
Logan was quick to add information, pointing at the bright mahogany door as he spoke. "The door is new. We got a new one because Deathstroke broke the old one."
Caity blinked her three huge, solemn eyes; she obviously had nothing to add. Rich nodded seriously before speaking, "We have two windows in this room: one opens to the street, and the other to the alley, where we put out our trash. The neighbor cat always tips the trash over. Mama really hates that cat."
Danielle squealed, and skipped over to the staircase. "Come on up! We need to show you the rest of the house!"
Jonathon shared a grin with Hansika before following the girl. However, before he ascended the stairs, he nodded at the small door near it. "What be down there?"
Danielle's eyes widened. "Mama says we're not allowed to open it, because there're so many things in there, if we try to open it, everything would fall out!" The couple nodded, and the teenagers nudged them upstairs. The stairs led to a narrow hallway lined by five doors. Danielle pointed toward the door to their left.
"That's the bathroom," and she opened it.
Logan cut in before his sister could speak. "That's the sink! You use it if you need to wash your hands or brush your teeth or just went to the potty."
Will nodded as he added his two cents: "There's the toilet! It's really important that you have the lid up and your pants and underwear down before you use it. And don't forget to use the toilet paper, and always flush! Jon, you need to move the seat up, too." The three male clones nodded seriously at Jonathon, who resolutely ignored Hansika's sniggering.
Rich had this to say: "Don't forget to put the seat down! Mama doesn't like it if you don't put the seat back down."
Caity apparently had gathered her courage because her quiet, hoarse voice floated out. "That's the bathtub. It's a shower, too. There are towels on the towel metal thing that we use for showering, bathing, and washing things."
Danielle's eyes widened. "Oh! Don't forget to lock the door and take off all of your clothes before going in there!" Her golden hand pointed at the bathtub. Logan perked his pointed ears as he pulled aside a sliding door that they hadn't noticed before.
"Here's the washing and drying machines! Mama says you need to use different clothes every day, and wash them every week! Remember, this is the washer and this is the dryer. Mama says you can't take a bath or dry off in them."
Rich glanced at Jonathon and Hansika. "There's a small window over the bathtub that you should open or the hot air from shower will make the house cry. Mama says it's called a fire alarm."
Satisfied with showing Jonathon and Hansika the bathroom, the clones ushered them back into the hallway. Danielle pointed at the door across the hallway from the bathroom. "That's my and Caity's room! But Mama says we can't show it to people if it's not clean."
Caity nodded. "We're not finished cleaning it because Star Wars Twenty-First was on."
Hansika grinned at the girls. "Are there any rules about your room?"
The twins glanced at each other before Danielle piped up, "Mama says Caity can take off her clothes in our room, but not anywhere else in the house." The couple blinked, and Caity prodded Danielle in her ribs.
"That's not true! Mama says I can take off my clothes in the bathroom, too."
"Caity doesn't like wearing clothes," Logan whispered to Hansika.
So Marcy got a little nudist on her hands, eh? Jonathon sent a private telepathic message to Hansika, who gave a very slight nod.
So it appears.
Jonathon didn't trust himself to glance at Hansika and not burst out laughing; this was far too entertaining. Meanwhile, Logan had bounded toward the door next to the girls' room.
"This is my and Will's room! Mama says we can't let people in it until the bad egg smell goes away." His eyes widened. "I tried to hatch baby birds from some eggs, but they didn't hatch, and so I put them in clothes to make a nest for them. Then Will broke them when he walked on the clothes."
The boy in question wrinkled his nose. "It smelled really bad! Really, really, really bad. Don't break old eggs!" He then glanced at Rich. "We're sleeping in Rich's room until the smell goes away."
At the mention of his room, Rich ran over to the door next to the bathroom. "Mama says I can't let people in it until we pick up all our underwear and dirty socks. We didn't finish because..." He gazed at them innocently. "...Lucy said it was time to go downstairs."
Jonathon blinked upon hearing Lucy's name. Hey, cutie. He whispered in Hansika's mind. She responded swiftly.
Yes?
I ain't seen Lucy... have ya? There was silence for a moment as Hansika rummaged through her memories.
No, and I have not seen Jay either.
Jonathon grinned, unable to stop himself. Ooh, I see! If those two aren't up ta somethin', I'll... I'll...
Take me out to dinner? Hansika suggested.
Great idea! Jonathon agreed. An' if they are up ter somethin', ya owe me a dinner!
Deal. With this, Hansika closed her mind to Jonathon, but not before smug amusement bubbled up from her. Jonathon threw a suspicious glance in her direction - was she up to something?
During their telepathic conversation, the clones had moved to the fifth and last door at the end of the hallway. "This is Mama's room," Rich was informing them. "And she says nobody is ever allowed in it without her sayin' so!'"
Danielle beamed at the couple. "That's the tour! Let's go wait in the living room!" As they guided their guests downstairs, Hansika whispered to Jonathon,
"What a wonderful tour that was."
He chuckled as they descended the last stair and made their way toward the couch and seats. "Marcy?" As Mama poked her head out of the kitchen, Jonathon continued, "Where be the lovebirds?"
"Ah beg yer pardon?" One of the lovebirds in question called out as she emerged from the kitchen behind Mama. Jonathon's eyes widened as he immediately feigned innocence. Lucy wasn't fooled; she glared at him as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her right leg.
Mama chuckled, "Actually, jest after the dearies took y'all outta here, I had Lucy go an' pick up soda while Markie an' Jay got the bread."
"What?" Jonathon mock-gasped as he threw a suspicious glare at Hansika, who smiled sweetly at him. "Nothing happened?"
As if on cue, Jay entered through the brand-new front door with Mark, carrying a large bag of bread. Lucy's face lit up upon sighting Jay, though she didn't move, most likely as to not provide Mark any more ammo to toy with.
Hansika's mind brushed against Jonathon's, and he opened the link between them only to feel her barely suppressed delight.
Oooh, you owe me a dinner! Perhaps Phyllis' Fine Italian Food? Or the California Seafood? Of course, I would not say no to my homeland cuisine. Oh, you simply must try some punjabi - there are gobi aloo, seekh kehbab, and beef karahi! Of course with a healthy helping of proper curry!
Jonathon had only one thing to say to her.
Oh, shut up.
I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot!
