Our Nest Egg

Chapter 4

XoxoxoxoxoX

Author's Note: This one focuses on my favorite shipping in the series, Sunil/Pepper (Peppunil)! Thank you all for the reviews, it's really appreciated.

XoxoxoxoxoX

Sunil stared at the tempting white exterior of their egg, watching as it bounced slightly on his partner's fluffy, striped tail. He licked his lip longingly.

"Um, you know... we can maybe be dropping this project? I am getting quite hungry, and eggs are such a rare delicacy for the mongoose species," Sunil said casually, reaching for the round morsel. Pepper quickly snatched it away.

"Sunil! Are you saying you want to eat our kid? That's cannibalism!" Pepper gasped in horror, clutching her "baby" to her cheek. Sunil flinched.

"But we're not eggs! We're a mongoose and a skunk! We can't even lay eggs! That's just a chicken egg," Sunil reasoned. His stomach grumbled at the thought of gorging himself on the yolk inside. Pepper wagged her finger at him.

"Listen, I know it's just an egg. But for the sake of this game, this is our child. Our little rugrat," Pepper said affectionately, flicking a bit of dust off of its shell. "You're just thinking with your stomach right now. You don't really want to do that, do you?"

"I am supposing you are right," Sunil admitted, feeling a little guilty now that she put it that way. "I am not being a very good sport about this. What do we call it?"

"That's a very good question," Pepper replied, rubbing her chin as she pondered. "Is this a girl or a boy?"

"I don't think I'd really mind, actually," Sunil mused, thinking back to his younger days with his own family. "I actually had two older sisters, and I was fine with that. My mother and father didn't mind either. So either is fine as far as I am concerned."

Pepper looked up at him with piqued interest. He had never shared that bit of information before. "Really? I never knew that... I grew up with a bunch of rowdy brothers," she laughed, fondly remembering her older and younger siblings. "I guess that explains why I'm not very ladylike, huh?"

Sunil gave her a bright smile. "That is all in the eyes of the beholder, as they say. I couldn't imagine you being like Zoe, or Miss Madame Pom."

Pepper smiled back, slightly touched. "Yeah? Thanks Sunil!"

The way she was smiling at him started to make him feel a little embarrassed, so he quickly turned his attention back to the egg resting on her tail. "So, er, what should we name him?"

"Him? Okay, let's see..." Pepper wracked her brain for a moment before deciding on a great one. "Rikki-Tiki-Tavi!"

…

"You're not serious?" Sunil said flatly. Pepper struggled to keep a straight face. "From that one movie?"

"Yeah! You don't like it?" Pepper replied innocently.

"It's from a movie! You are just saying that because he was from India and he was a mongoose!" Sunil shot back.

Pepper grinned. "Just like you! You should be honored!"

Sunil pouted, not quite sure if he should be flattered that she wanted to make an indirect reference to him or insulted that she compared him to a silly cartoon character. Pepper burst out laughing and placed an arm around his shoulder.

"I'm just yankin' your tail, Houdini," she said, snickering. "I say we give him a nice Indian name. Why don't you pick one?"

"Really? I am honored," Sunil blushed. "Um... how about Aatmaj? He is our first 'son', in a way."

"Aatmaj, huh? I like that!" Pepper approved.

"Then it's decided," Sunil nodded, looking at little Aatmaj. "Now, it's time to start teaching our little one. I want him to be a great magician someday, just like his father," he said pridefully.

Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Woah, hold the phone. Who said anything about him being a magician?"

"What do you mean?" Sunil asked, confused. "It stands to reason, no? Children should consider their parents' dreams, at least a little! And I can definitely see my son following in my footsteps."

"But what makes you think he'd want to grow up to pull some rabbit out of a hat?" Pepper asked. She looked over at her impressive collection of comedy props. "It's more likely he'd like to be like his Mom! A great comedian who can make anyone laugh. That's a real dream job!"

"Oh please, Pepper. Anyone can make someone laugh," he dismissed, agitated. "Magic takes real skill!"

"You couldn't even make a hyena laugh!" Pepper snapped. "Comedy take a lot of talent and work, buddy. I don't see the appeal of having Aatmaj blow himself up all the time trying to make stuff disappear! That might be fun for you, but not for my kin!"

Sunil gasped dramatically. "I don't make things blow up all the time! Sometimes – but that's not the point!" He looked her over, smirking. "And are you saying that your comedy acts always leave the crowd speechless. Or, at least, in a good way? Hm?"

Pepper faltered, her cheeks turning pink. "Well – uh... that's..."

"Whether you want to admit it, you're not perfect at your 'dream job' either. So you can't just criticize me all the time," Sunil continued.

"Hey, things cool over here?" Blythe strategically intervened, holding a tray of treats intended for the pets. Pepper looked to her for back-up.

"Well, they were. Sunil here thinks that our Aatmaj should be a magician! But I say he'd be better off following me and going into the comedy business," Pepper explained, glancing at the blue mongoose as if he were being unreasonable. "What do you think, Blythe?"

Blythe looked at the pair, who in turn looked back expectantly. Honestly, she really loved how passionate both of them were when it came to their hobbies, so she understood how much they wanted their little egg to follow in their footsteps. She first handed each other them their appropriate treat before sitting down in front of them.

"Guys, that's great that you want, uh, Aatmaj, to do what you do. I think that's completely natural," Blythe said. "But you need to keep in mind that he might want to do something different. Pepper, if he wanted to follow Sunil and become a magician, you'd be okay with it, wouldn't you? I mean, you don't really mind Sunil when he wants to share his magic tricks, right?"

Pepper blushed slightly and glanced at her blue companion. "Well... I don't think so. I mean, Sunil does pretty good, honestly. If my boy wanted to go into magic, I-I guess he'd have someone pretty good to look up to."

Sunil looked at her in surprise and admiration. "Wow, I... thank you, Pepper. And, really, I think Aatmaj would learn from the best if he wanted to be a comedian. You truly have a gift."

A sweet-smelling scent filled the air and it was clear that Pepper was happy with his words. Blythe smiled brightly at them.

"See? It's not such a big deal! Parents want their kids to follow in their footsteps, but there's always that chance the kid will find something different to take an interest in. My dad's a pilot, but I'm not even remotely interested. And it's no problem for him," Blythe went on. Sunil and Pepper nodded. "Besides, he might not want to be a magician or a comedian. As long as he's got a good, healthy interest and it's having a positive effect on him and others, I think it's all fine in the end."

"You are right, Blythe," Sunil agreed.

"I think so too," Pepper said with a grin. She coiled her tail around the small egg. "Little Aatmaj's pretty darn lucky to have her as an aunty and us as parents."

XoxoxoxoxoX

Author's Note: It's so fun writing Peppunil! I adore it.

Thanks for reading! Only two more chapters left.