A/N: Hello fans of Boy and Beast! I'm sorry that I haven't uploaded any chapters for a while, stuff happens with school and all my other stories. In order to make up for it, I present you a one-shot dedicated to our favorite duo!
Happy Mother's Day, everyone!
Happy Mother's Day, Wendy
Jo never celebrated Mother's Day. It wasn't because he didn't like the holiday nor did he love it either, he just never saw the point in celebrating it. All around him in the village that he grew up in Glikkus he sees children going into shops with their fathers or their friends so they could buy something for their mothers. Mother's Day was only two days away and the shopping center was already crowded, Jo even had to maneuver his way through a few times because the people around him were coming in close.
As he watched a couple of children walk into a store with their father Jo took note of the looks of boredom on their faces. Jo never understood why some children didn't even want to buy gifts for their mothers. If he had a mother he would put in a lot of thought and effort in her gift just to show her he appreciated everything she's done for him.
But he didn't have a mother; he was found in a lake, barely six hours old and he could have died from drowning if Colpin and his brother Dracul hadn't found him. It was pretty clear that his birth mother didn't want him and he didn't want to get to know her either. He pretty much had moved on from wondering why his parents gave him up since it was clear that they never wanted a child.
He was completely fine with it.
So, why did he felt the need to do something on Mother's Day? It wasn't like he had a mother.
His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar gloved hand was busy pouring some strange sauce over his salad.
He sighs and looks at the person responsible for it with tired eyes. "Seriously, Wendy? You know I need to eat less and yet you're giving me something that's going to raise the calories on my meal?"
Wendy gave him an indifferent huff and continued to pour the stuff all over his salad. Once she was done, Wendy happily returned to her raw chicken on her plate full of raw meat.
Jo and Wendy were on a day outing - they managed to take a break from performing and would either spend their day at the Tavern where Jo would work on his novel and Wendy would keep weaving or they would go out into town. They had decided to take a look around and now they're having their lunch at a restaurant they're really familiar with.
Although it was weird for the chiefs the first time they came to the restaurant, they have eventually grown used to Wendy's strange request of having all of her meat cooked raw and will prepare it for her straight away if they see her. At least they stopped wondering why Wendy's diet was like this because Jo did not want to explain to complete strangers that Wendy's a former human cannibal.
Right now Jo was a little peeved that Wendy had put more calories on his food - even though he couldn't blame her because she knows what it's like to be hungry - and try to think of a way to get back at the Wendigo. His eyes drifted towards the hot sauce on the table - it was this strange policy that hot sauce will be the standard dressing for the restaurant - and a thought popped into his mind.
Wendy was going to hate him for this.
He waited for her to accidentally drop a piece of meat so when she bent down to retrieve it he quickly flipped the top open, poured some of the sauce over her food, and put it back like nothing ever happened.
Wendy was back up - her face underneath her hood showed that she must have heard something but she thought against it since her hunger had taken control - and picked up a piece of chicken that was covered in hot sauce. Jo did his best to hold back his chuckle as he watches his cannibal friend bite into the tainted chicken.
The reaction was immediate; Wendy hacked out the chicken like she was just choking on it before she took the jug of water on the table and down it all in one go. It was then Jo released his laughter.
"Not fun having someone else decide what you should and shouldn't eat, right?" He asked her, his expression innocent but he knew that Wendy couldn't see it even if she had perfect vision.
She gave him a look. If I didn't love you I would have killed you by now.
He was still laughing, it was fun to mess with Wendy.
They came back to the Tavern after they finished up their meals; the sun sets very early in Glikkus so they had to get back soon, Jo didn't have sharp vision like Wendy in the dark. When they got there they saw the Puppies running around, supposedly playing tag. They all stopped when they took notice of Wendy, their dark eyes wide with fear.
Jo didn't felt the need to reassure them, he's being doing that for a few years so now he's at the point they need to reassure themselves at this point. It wasn't like Wendy would go after Animals when she's hunting since she knew they're counted as citizens, anyway.
Once they were inside, Jo was quickly called over by Colpin.
"Come over, boy," the ringmaster yells from the other said of the Tavern in one of the seats. "I want to talk to you about something."
Jo looks over to Wendy. "I'll meet you upstairs," he tells the Wendigo before making his way over to the ringmaster. "Do you need anything, Col?"
"My boy, I have known you since that day I picked you up from the lake," Colpin begins, although Jo wasn't sure where he's going with this. "I have seen you hide things that made it difficult for strangers to figure you out, sometimes even those who are close to you. Which I found interesting since you're now using that talent of yours to hide your surprise for Wendy."
Jo blinks. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Well, your gift for Wendy," when Jo didn't respond Colpin continued. "For Mother's Day? I just thought that after everything you two have been through you would have gotten something for her."
"Why would I do that? I mean, not that I don't appreciate everything she's done for me," the nine-year-old quickly corrected once he realized how that sounded. "But why on Mother's Day? Isn't that kind of weird?"
Colpin shrugs. "I just thought that since Wendy has been taking care of you better than I ever could, I just thought Mother's Day would be a good enough excuse to show her that you appreciate everything she's done for you."
Honestly, Colpin was secretly surprised that Jo hasn't even figured it out yet after all these years. He, himself, had figured it the moment Wendy escaped from her cage to rescue Jo. In fact, everyone in Glikkun's Palooza knows how Wendy treats the young boy. Everyone but Jo. Not that Colpin could blame him once he thought about it; the poor kid never had a mother.
"You should consider making a gift for her," he tells the young boy as he begins to get up. "I know for the fact that she will love anything you give her anyway."
After the ringmaster was out of his sight, Jo took a moment to think about what he said; there was no doubt that he loves Wendy to death and he will always appreciate everything she's done for him. But to give her a gift on Mother's Day? That was weird for him because he always thought Wendy viewed him as her annoying little brother that she tolerates him but absolutely loves him unconditionally. Would she mind him giving her a gift on a day that's supposed to be in honor of Mothers?
She'll probably make fun of him for weeks if he actually does it. But he already has to deal with every day so it wasn't going to be so bad.
It was Mother's Day by the time Jo got his gift done for Wendy. He had decided to spent the last two days at the Tavern, that way Wendy would go off hunting and he have time to work on his gift without Wendy being suspicious of anything. Sometimes he would get second thoughts about all this because it could make things awkward between but he decided to get it over just because he's already close to getting it done.
There was also the fact he would have to explain to Wendy about the changes while giving away about what he was planning to do.
So once he was done with his gift he hid it behind him and waited for the Wendigo to return from her daily hunts.
She finally arrived by going through the open that Jo leaves out for her so she can get in without any strangers noticing a humanoid creature going into the Tavern and cause a panic throughout the town. It was then Jo noticed how bloody she looked, making her look like a deranged killer hungry for blood - which she technically was, now that he thought about it.
"You know Wendy you really need to take a bath before you come home," Jo tells her once the smell of blood reaches his nose. "Because I don't know how much I can take the smell of blood in this room.
Are you complaining now after all these years? Wendy snorted before she went over to the bed, her hands guiding over it to find something but her eyes furrowed when she couldn't find it since she remembered that it was the last place she put it.
"You looking for your cloak?" Jo asks her and she nods. "Well, I have it."
This made her freeze and slowly turned around to look at him with a face. He reaches behind him and sticks the cloak out to her. "You can have back now,"
Wendy gave him a suspicious look before she slowly took it from him. I know you did something, her look told him.
A sly smile reached his face. "Notice anything different?"
The Wendigo began to inspect her cloak with her hands for a moment. When she felt an extra deep pocket within it along with multiple ones, she looks towards Jo for an explanation.
"Yeah, I kind of put pockets in it while you were away," Jo begins with a shrug. "I know how much you care about me having my medication if I ever get an episode out of the blue, so I put the pockets in so you don't have to carry that box around all the time without it looking suspicious."
Wendy gives him a confused look. But why would you do this now?
Jo sighs, knowing he's going to have to say it because Wendy won't figure it out anytime soon now. "Happy Mother's Day, Wendy."
He took Wendy's emotionless face that she couldn't believe he actually gave her a gift on Mother's Day and laughed a little. "Okay, fine. You can laugh at me now. I got you a gift on a day that's supposed be a day for mothers even though I already knew that you love like a sister loves her-"
Feeling Wendy's rubbery skin against his face and having her bony arms wrapped around managed to get Jo to stop talking. Why was she hugging him? Did she really view him as her son and was she happy that he finally viewed her as a mother? She's probably just happy that he's now considering his health. Yeah, that's it. This is Wendy after all.
Jo had no idea how much his one single gift-giving meant to the Wendigo. It wasn't just the gift itself but it was the day he decided to give it to her. Nothing in the world would make her happier than having her boy call her the one thing she always wanted to be called since she began to love him. It did sadden her that Jo doesn't view her the way she wanted to be viewed as and how he didn't think her love for him didn't run that deep.
She couldn't blame him, though; that wretched excuse for a woman left him to drown and he was brought into a fate that was worse than death. He's never experienced a parent's love before so there was no possible way for him to recognize what it's like to be loved by a parent. It's the most horrible thing to ever happen to a child.
But she knew that Jo wasn't ready to call her the thing she wanted to her most and she could accept that. His own happiness will always be her top priority and she won't ever let her own desires get in the way of that. Even if he's old and gray at the time, Wendy's willing to wait for Jo to call her his mother.
That's what a real mother would do after all.
