December Tales

by Jedi-And

Set in the Legendverse: The winter after their fight at La Voix De Mort the Titans' lives are changing; when they weren't paying attention they had grown up. After a rather hectic December, the group decide to take a short break and tell each other stories about what they did over the month. Starfire and Scalpel tell their tale first...

4. Uberton

Chapter 4: Uberton

(Chapter written with great thanks by Sloth and TerRaine)

December 24th

"So I guess that would be us on the 5th," Ryce nodded in agreement with Rob, having interrupted him as she stroked her baby's back. The up and down motion made him coo happily, much to the delight of the adults gathered around him. Sophie couldn't help but blush and wish to hold him tight, but her extended pregnancy lead to her being a bit more broody than usual.

Despite having his parentage, to put it delicately, working against him Zane Morgan Matthews was by far one of the cutest and sweetest babies any of them had ever encountered. Clearly to prove this undeniable cosmic point, the child gave a tiny, toothless yawn, poking his wee, pink tongue out as if he was trying to taste his own lips.

After such a strenuous exercise, he nuzzled into his mother's chest, gumming on his fist peacefully. "Though you lot will be able to guess a big part of it," Ryce finished with a smile.

"…seriously," Tara intoned dryly to the family, "where did you two steal him from? Nothing that adorable came from either of your loins."

Rob gave a laugh as he settled into the floor, glancing at the baby and back to the blonde geo-kenetic.

"Oh, he's theirs. Trust me, I was there." He thumbed to his chest, offering a smirk which was underlined with a genuine happiness for the new parents.

"He's a tiny clone of his dad, too," Jinx chuckled, tipping her beer bottle towards the father-made pillow Met had become, rather willingly.

"Those are Ryce's eyes," Sophie countered, waving her fingers at her little nephew. Genetics didn't connect Miss Mathews and Mr Matthews you would have to use a crowbar to separate her from idea of the awesome, if morbid, aunt.

"Their child would be Harry Potter," Garfield chuckled, getting an elbow from Tara as she rolled her eyes.

Ryce and Met didn't chime in; they were too busy watching the baby's minute movements with a sort of peace that was never really seen in her…nor in Adam, whose perpetual calm lacked something that he now had.

It was a surreally sweet and warm sight. After all the hardships of all the tower's occupants, it was good to see someone had a happy ending, as it were.

There had been doubts when their maid had sprung their "surprise" on the others, especially as the delivery of such news was a photograph of an ultrasound with Ryce's name under it pinned to the fridge. After all, it was Ryce and Metatron; adding a baby to that volatile, often figuratively and literally explosive mix? It seemed like some sort of sick prank. With his random, chaotic nature and her…well…terrible all-around behavior, a train wreck seemed almost like a guarantee.

From her chest, Zane let out a fussy gurgle, only for two sets of hands to begin patting his back in comfort.

It never quite worked out like anyone expected, with these two. Then again that was chaos in a nutshell.

"Well, this should be good…looking forward to hearing the reasoning behind you stealing my baby without asking is," Victor grumbled, casting a very dark look on the three; though it was much like being savaged by a rather mean looking feather pillow.

"Rob was supposed to," Met nodded towards Gauntlet.

"Ryce was supposed to" Rob countered, pointing a finger at the maid.

"I told Adam to." Ryce continued, thumbing towards Metatron.

"The T-Car is not your slave, white devil," Met ended, glaring at Cyborg with a fist raised as if he was some sort of soviet proletariat poster…if he wasn't currently being used as a bed by Zane.

"Alright, alright…no circles. What happened to you guys?" Jinx cut in, forestalling her boyfriend's sputtering before he could explode with the buildup of confusion.

"Well…it started at my parent's house…" Rob said, leaning back against the sofa and held his arms out wide, as if he was inviting the men and women before him in to a secret adventure, which, in a way, he was.

---

December 5th

The T-Car, freshly gassed up and a long way from home, rattled to rest in the driveway of the comfortable house; it was relatively modern in construction but of a moderate scale not found in a lot of building projects with a garage and two stories to its name.

Uberton, South Carolina, was a city widely categorized as "organized chaos", with its overwhelming large population of meta-humans; this ranged from the good, the bad, and the frankly just didn't care one way or the other. It was a familiar place and hometown to one of the Titan's own.

Robert "Gauntlet" Candide slipped out from the driver's side door, stretching his legs and back in only partial exaggeration – eight hours of driving can put a dent in a man. Normally, he might have been able to make the commute from Florida to home in six or seven, give or take an hour for traffic or even try and sneak a plane ticket in to birdarang budget.

Normally, he didn't have a passenger who couldn't fly and needed to stop every hour or so for food and/or bathroom breaks. He made a point to remember to pack a bag of supplies for the trip back…and an empty bottle, or can or something. Not that he was annoyed, or even really minded the breaks; he could understand them considering her condition. In fact, they'd been a lot better behaved than he'd been dreading when he agreed to take them along.

"…I want broiled hamburger meat and sriracha sauce…with cucumber dices…and capers," Ryce announced from the back seat, waiting for Adam to help her out. This had just been one of the various items on the menu that she had demanded on her trip.

"I don't know if my parents have those," Rob admitted, "or if those are all food. What the hell is Sriracha sauce?" His question fell on deaf ears as there was the click of the car's back doors.

From the other side of the back seat, Met made his way out. Coming around, he opened the rear door, and offered the young woman inside his arm. A delicate hand took it with a tired but grateful look as the half-angel attempted to haul herself out of the confined space, to her feet. Assuming they were still there, that is. She hadn't seen proof of them in weeks.

"…m'I allowed to have sushi?" she asked, clinging to Met as she faltered in relocating her center of gravity, there seemed to be no getting used to her body.

Met frowned apologetically, "No," he shrugged, "I'm sorry."

"…I haven't eaten raw meat in seven months and s'bullshit" she sulked, finally out of the vehicle and moving her way along with a humorless look, "…And m'waddlin'…why m'I waddlin'? S'too early to have to waddle."

"Because you're my beautiful pregnant penguin," Met smiled, hugging her from behind, his hands slipping around the all-too-obvious swell of her pregnant stomach. She appeared to be in the late stages of it, amplified by her own diminutive size, making it seem she was a bit bigger and further along than she actually was. At least, that's what Sophie told her when they commiserated over cake, amongst many-a talk about just neutering their children's fathers and save themselves the trouble of this ever happening again. Needless to say, both men lived in constant fear of their soulmates.

The trash tabloids had a field day when two of the tower's occupants, both of whom were civilians as far as the papers were concerned, found themselves to be expecting at the same time. Some of the comments were just brainless information, as the gossip rags had a tendency to do, while others were mindless as they spoke of conspiracy theories and plots. Nigel had a particular dislike of the papers assuming he was some alien monster here to steal the earth's women as if he was some sort of monstrous alien villain from the 1950s.

"I miss my ankles…and high heels…and meat…and booze…cigarettes…coffee…and not worryin' 'bout if my unborn child kickin' me in the bladder can make me wet myself," she grumbled, pausing for a second to purse her lips, "and not being compared to a penguin as a compliment. Are they home, Robbie?"

"They should be…" Gauntlet said, stepping back to look at the house. He couldn't deny that he was grateful to see the old homestead again, with the familiar sights and smells. "Louis definitely is, see?" he nodded to the fumes and random noises coming out from one of the upstairs windows. Of course this was mostly ignored by the couple who seemed to be busy with their own business.

"Your ankles are just as beautiful as you remember them," The Local Boy heard Ryce's husband whisper gently, "and I'll give them a nice massage as soon as we settle down." He was very glad he was not facing their direction. They were diabetic sometimes in how they acted.

Before Ryce could reply in some contented manner that would make Rob feel more uncomfortable, the door to the Candide home swung open to reveal a man even shorter than Ryce herself. Perhaps four feet tall at most, he spent a few moments gracing the trio with the most unimpressed look he could muster from under the wide brim of his hat. A hat, they all noted, that had been converted to store not one, but two beers atop his head from which a straw ran right to his mouth, which was hidden by a tall collar that seemed to hide half his face. Finally, his lazy gaze stopped on Ryce.

"Your father was right; you're the size of a house," he snorted, taking a long, drawn-out sip of his beer.

"…Drivin' back to Florida now, goodbye," Ryce growled, only for Met's hold to tighten gently, dissuading any attempt to actually leave. They had things to do, after all, and they had only just arrived.

"Best of luck fitting behind the steering wheel, Pork Roast," Pangloss shrugged, and then choked, coughing on his drink.

Ryce grinned nastily, her threatening, spiky tail wrapping around her husband instead, while she kissed his neck. "I love you so much."

Adam simply smiled.

"Ack…blargh!" Pangloss continued sputtering, slamming a large gloved hand in to his chest to dislodge the unwanted booze. "Warm beer!"

"…Well, he's not on fire at least," Rob was a glass half-full kind of guy. He had to be, especially given who he was still hanging around with.

"But my beer!" Pangloss wailed, looking at Met in displeasure. "You better be hiding some twenty barrels of booze in that coat, demon, or I'm goin—"

"By God, Rob, help," Adam deadpanned, amused. "Tom Bombadil is going to scold me."

"Bo-Bombadil?! Oh that is it—!"

Ryce cut him off with an annoyed 'shut-the-f-up' hiss, only for her to get cut off by the small thump of an explosion that went muffled somewhere up stairs. Her anger faded instantly, replaced by unease as she retreated into the demon's embrace, glancing up.

"…why do I feel like there should be a 'Do not enter if you have a heart condition or may be pregnant' sign on your door?" She asked, her voice showing harmonics of concern that seemed almost alien to Gauntlet.

"Oh no," another voice chimed in, as a woman in her 40s – attractive, with brown eyes and medium-length, black hair tied in a ponytail, and distinctive Asian features – stepped into sight. "I made Louis install a filtering barrier around his room. None of it makes it into the rest house – though his bedroom door DOES have a sign."

Without another word, the woman shot Pangloss a very direct look, causing the annoyed, mourning, godling to start scuttling off towards the kitchen, much like a dog fleeing. Rolling her eyes, the woman Ryce assumed to be Robert's mother, Miho, turned back towards the trio, smiling at the shorter of the men. "Hun, you look good."

"Hey ma," Rob grinned and hugged her, confirming it, "Happy holidays and what not."

"…M'I really that fat?" Ryce sighed to Met, running a hand over her distended stomach, feeling a fluttering flurry of foot taps drumming back against her palm. It was oddly calming, as if he were reassuring her otherwise. For all her concerns she was happy that she did not share Sophie's plight of a child that had enhanced strength from birth.

Met tilted his head, pulling Ryce a little closer and kissing her lovingly, one of his own hands over hers as they touched her belly. When he pulled away he nuzzled and said, "You're beautiful."

"Pregnant women aren't fat," Miho informed her firmly, drawing their attention from each other. "Everyone else is too skinny. This is a fact." Adam chuckled.

"It's true, you know," he told his wife, nodding towards Miho with a smirk on his lips.

"S'not what dad keeps sayin'…then again, he had been a bit weird…weirdER…lately. I don't think he realizes there's a baby in there," she grumbled, tapping a finger against her stomach.

"Your father sounds a little like a piece of crap, then" Miho replied, confidently. She carried herself with an air of certainty that no one else seemed quite able to manage, even the confidence and self-assured nature of Noel or Tim didn't match the almost wall-like nature of Miho's certainty. She would declare things and there-after they would be true, as if you bent the facts around her to make them the shape that she had decided they should be.

"That's what I keep saying when I'm before General Audiences," Met replied in turn, smiling winningly at the older woman.

Ryce herself chuckled, before surprising both her mate and friend by extending her hand to Miho politely. Ryce didn't do polite. To anyone. Ever.

"S'nice to meet you, Mrs. Candide. M'Alaryce Matthews and this is my fr-boyf-…husband Adam…" Even as she said it, stumbling gracelessly on the title, she could feel her face heating up to a warm glow. Way to draw attention to bein' completely in over your head, she thought.

Months later, and she was still not able to believe those words were leaving her mouth. A few weeks and a year ago, she had been sitting in the snow, smoking like a chimney, with a present for this man clutched in frozen fingertips…unable to blurt out even a hint of the truth. Not knowing she was a meager two months away from all but screaming it at him in grieving desperation and then marrying him in a drunken giggling tryst a month or so after that in the fateful trip to Vegas that no one talked about. Now? She glanced down, catching an eye full of her swollen stomach and smiled softy. It's all been…rather rushed, though not unwanted.

"Hm," Miho said, watching her carefully as she brought her gaze back up to hers. Then she took the younger woman's hand in her own, "Nice to meet you, Alaryce. My son has told me a lot about you on his far-too-few phone calls."

"…Mooom…" Rob grumbled, having heard this particular failing before.

"Well, you could pick up the phone more often," Miho said, miffed, as she offered a shrug. "I mean, technology is a wonderful thing Robert."

"She's right, you don't call home nearly enough," Ryce nodded in agreement, "You only call every other Tuesday."

"…Why…do you know that?" Rob asked, exasperated and not particularly appreciating the feeling of being ganged up upon from both sides of his life. Miho's attention turned from the two blonds as she smiled at Met.

"And you're the husband," Adam only smiled and tipped his head in greeting. He didn't seem to have much to say, busying himself with his wife. Miho chuckled: Most men were like that for a bit after the marriage, and especially during the pregnancy. Roger had been with her, after all. "You kids sure move quick."

("Seriously, it is creepy that you know that." Rob commented, outside the story.)

It was clear that she was talking about the belly, but there was no judgment in her tone as if she was simply saying that they had lovely weather today. Ryce blushed anyway, one hand on the small of her back as if hoping it would somehow relieve some of the pressure the pregnancy was putting on it. God knows when she got home her and Sophie were treating themselves to another spa day, on the Titan's money of course.

"It felt right, even if not entirely intended," Met shrugged cryptically, but happily, rubbing her back to help the seemingly impossible task that Ryce had.

"Hm," Miho paused and gave this some thought, having to translate it in to her native tounge before nodding. Once more there was no judgment in her look or tone, just an acceptance of the facts. "Hungry, anyone?"

"We ate on the way…don't want to be any trouble," Ryce waved her offer off, helplessly ignoring that she was, in fact, starving again. She took a step into the house with Adam hovering close behind, "…S'it dangerous to eat straight wasabi? Gods, now I want wasabi."

Miho remembered how, while carrying Rob, she had also had a craving for Wasabi and had decided, for the betterment of their future, to change the subject.

"…I was making chili," Miho offered, as the three filed one by one into her house, "with breadstic – " she trailed off at the engine rumble that came off of Ryce's stomach. The poor woman's previous flush was nothing compared to the bright, candy-apple red that flared across not only her face, but down her neck and up to the tips of her lightly pointed ears. She swore she could feel the blush on her elbows.

Met maintained a perfectly straight face, wise beyond his years as Miho matched it.

Rob, on the other hand, cracked up.

He instantly regretted it, especially when he saw Ryce's eyes water up, the blush going strong. The teenager had a notorious short fuse and temper; calling her "occasionally pyscho-sensitive" before she had gotten pregnant was putting it delicately. In the hormone-raging months since that fateful Las Vegas trip, the swinging moods had turned their home into a sanatorium, a war zone of tears, laughter, and outright primal rage from one second to the next – and that was before you threw Sophie into the mix. The pair of them seemed to be on some form of war against sanity, occasionally making demands that would have challenged Heracles himself.

This in turn, assuming they weren't the targets of the hormonal bomb, tended to stoke the soon-to-be fathers'…"overprotective" instincts. Rob saw all these moments and more when Ryce's lower lip trembled a bit, and he hastily sputtered out something incoherent that was meant to be comforting, an apology, and probably a complaint or two, all rolled into one multi-syllabic sound of unbridled panic.

"Don't make fun of the short, fat girl," she hiccupped, dabbing her eyes with a sleeve.

And then his hair was on fire.

"…Oh honey, you're all kinds of dumb," Miho sighed quietly, slapping the back of his head with one hand and dumping the contents of a flower vase over him with the other. In the same fluid motion, she finished it all by beaning Met in the forehead with said vase, knocking the young man back unto his rear.

The demon groaned, lying upon the floor with one leg held in the air as if in rigor mortis.

"Don't do that, please," She told him kindly.

"…There is plant life down my shirt," a drenched Rob muttered flatly, trying to ignore the smell of burnt hair; HIS burnt hair.

"There is pain in my pain," a concussed Adam replied. He rubbed his forehead, squinting up at the mother of his child.

Ryce, tears still pooled in her lashes, took one look at her husband and broke into a fit of giggles, and then snorts when she saw Rob wriggling his shirt dry. "You're both twits."

Adam pushed himself to his feet, and brushed away her tears. His smile threatened to split his face in two,

"'Kay."

Miho did not appear altogether too concerned with either of the men, addressing Ryce cordially, as a gentle, motherly, smile crossed her thin lips.

"…So. Chili, dear?"

The girl nodded wordlessly, unable to stop giggling, and followed her into the kitchen. There were the occasional gasps of a quick lungful of air as she tried to regain composure and failed entirely, alongside a snort or two in to the mix.

Her companions were quick to trail after her, one attempting to kiss her despite her mirth, and the other shaking his head like a wet dog. That is, until he paused in the doorway and a memory of break-ins past flashed across his mind.

"…Do you still keep poison ivy inside the vases in case of attack?"

"Don't laugh at pregnant women, hon."

---

"M'too fat for my top," Ryce said later that night, trying to tug her sleep top over her belly. The top seemed to agree with her, staying put for only a moment or two before riding back up to reveal a small strip of pale stomach. With a sigh, Ryce allowed it to stay as is, "…I feel like I shouldn't be this big already…maybe I need to cut down on the late night cake time with Soph."

"That would break her heart, and yours. Don't see how that's good by anyone's count," her husband replied, with a soft tone that indicated he was used to this discussion. After all, it happened each time she found a shirt that no longer conformed to her growing figure. His eyes roamed over the guest room as he climbed onto bed, beside her. "'Sides, you look radiant…and," His hand ran softly across her exposed belly. "I love it…it makes our baby happy."

Ryce felt her face heat and her hormone-drunk brain vault into overdrive when he chuckled and gave her a gentle kiss, whispering, "And it's done wonders for you."

Dear god, if I wasn't so damn tired, I would rip your pants off, climb on top of you and go to TOWN. White on rice? More like Met on Ry-god DAMN it. DOWN pregnancy libido…bad girl. Sit. Stay. You are in someone else's HOUSE. Think unsexy thoughts, and for Alex's sake, STOP with the sex puns! …Baseball…Disease…Outside…your dad…Noel…ah…there we go.

"It was nice of Mrs. Candide to let us stay here." she changed the topic, pretending Met wasn't smirking because he knew exactly what she was thinking. She was also really pretending she didn't notice where his hands were going.

"I guess she's lonely with Roger at Bulwark, and Louis…what IS he doing all the time in his room?" Adam wondered aloud, helping her slide beneath the sheets.

"…I remember Robbie telling me about him…well…the other Robbie…" Ryce chuckled, about to descend into a moment of reminiscence…only to be jolted out of it, doubling over to seize at her swollen belly. "Ow…M'too short to have this much baby inside of me! Li'l bugger kicks in his sleep, too!"

"Don't say that-" Met eased her back down, "-he'll think you don't like him."

"He's kicking me in the ribs..." she smiled weakly and settled into the crook of Met's neck. That's when she allowed herself to frown a little, "…Maybe we should've told the others. Told them why we really came here."

He caressed her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles. "Maybe; but we're not disappearing on them. We'll go back once we've looked around. THEN we can tell them, can't we?"

"…You're right," she yawned, eyes shutting as she curled against him and he turned off the light with a quiet click. "G'night, Adam. Love you."

And with that, the glory of silence and the comforting darkness filled the room.

…

…

"…Wanna screw around?"

"…God damn it, I hate you, Adam."

---

Sophie was blushing again in full force at the level of detail Ryce got into at this point, and seemed to be trying to crawl into her hot cocoa mug. Her own mental mantra of unsexy was rattling off in her head as useless as Ryce's had evidently been. Raven had flat out left the room under the weak guise of needing more tea, despite the full cup she'd splashed over an end table in her haste to duck out. The others all sported looks ranging from amusement to discomfort to, in Noel's case, outright resignation.

"…We don't need the details of what came after that." he attempted to cut the storytellers off, raising a hand almost as if it was in defense.

"Of course you don't. What my wife can do with her tongue, a pair of silk gloves, the whisper-sung lines of Les Misérables and a jar of fluff is for my mind alone. Why would you even say that? Pervert," Met snorted, nuzzling his son's chubby belly.

Whatever Met was remembering behind his way-too-satisfied grin, Noel cringed as it actually made Raven yelp from the kitchen and drop her mug. It made a satisfying crash that just punctuated the situation perfectly.

"This actually IS important to the story!" Ryce chuckled, with the exact same level of satisfaction. At least she had the grace to blush slightly, even if she was smirking.

"I…cannot fathom how," Tim admitted, rubbing his temples with both hands.

"Well…"

---

Early December morning light flooded the Candide kitchen. Already dressed in leggings, flat black boots – Met having set her heels on fire two months prior when she nearly fell down the stairs in them – and a maternity dress, Ryce was standing at the stove, expertly flipping a pair of eggs over in the pan, not bothering to check the yolks for breakage she peppered the other side. It was a common occurrence; the baby usually woke her by five or six by grappling unto the top hem of her pants and kicking about. It was still bizarre to feel and see him moving about that much.

The company was nice, though.

"So that makes you, your husband, Rob's grandmother, Louis, the shitty li'l homunculus in the beer hat and occasionally Rob who live here?" Ryce asked as she helped Miho make breakfast.

"And Lyn, but she's off in Thamascara for the next two weeks still." Miho nodded, pulling a knife from the rack with a ringing sound that would make most warriors thing twice about entering the kitchen of the former Ninja. "She's learning how to use her strength with people that don't break if she has a little grumpy moment."

"I knew I forgot someone!" Ryce snapped her fingers, sliding the eggs unto a plate and starting all over again. From upstairs they could hear more movement, signaling someone else was up – other than Loius, whom from the sounds of it, never slept. "Does your other son well…come out of his room? For things like food and air?"

"Oh, he's not a shut-in," Miho replied, chopping chives for an omelet, then she seemed to think better of it, tapping the tip of the knife against her lips as she amended her words. "…Most of the time. He's usually very social. See, he just gets on these… moods, sometimes. When especially inspired about his science hobby, he locks himself in and doesn't come out for DAYS. Not even his grandma can make him come out then, and that woman's a ballbuster. But when he does come out, with some sort of glowing blue cube of cosmic power, or a pill that makes you god for half an hour, and he seems healthy and well-rested; so I've learned not to worry about it."

She handed Ryce the chopped greenery, "I'm pretty sure he'll get out of it by Christmas, when his father's on leave, his grandma comes back from her trip and Lyn comes home."

"S'he anythin like Robbie?" Ryce asked, adding the chives into the pan with a satisfying sizzle.

"Ah…" Miho tilted her head, as if listening to the clucking and whirring going on above them, which usually meant that something needed to be fabricated. "That's… a hard one. Have you ever seen that Avengers movie? Remember the sexy one? The one whose power is being sexy. He flies around in a mechanical suit and is sexy."

Ryce paused, her mind's eye filling not with the face of the actor, but someone from her past who looked remarkably like him; someone with a thick brogue and the woody smell of good whiskey always hovering around him. Miho's descriptor of Morgan's near doppelganger sent a shudder through her, and it was not something she wanted to remember if she could help it. "…I…don't find Robert Downey Jr. sexy…s'wrong on so many levels for me."

"Oh…" Miho blinked, but shrugged easily enough, pushing a mug of tea towards her. "Well, my Louis is kind of like him, sometimes. Other times, well…" she paused, contemplating for a moment before she offered a gentle shrug and a motherly smile. "…he's a sweet boy."

"Aye—urgh…Stop kicking mummy in the bladder." Ryce's voice carried a small moan as she took the tea, with a nod of thanks, to the table. Her back was killing her. It wasn't a surprise, eight hours in a car followed by a night in a strange bed. Sleep, preceded by…other extracurricular activities. Oh, so what? She wasn't a saint, so what did it matter if she dipped her toes in to the wells of one of the seven sins every so often? At least she's actually married to her kid's father.

"I don't think I remember mornings where I didn't hear that first thing-" Rob chuckled, walking in as she was, much to Ryce's surprise, fully dressed and properly groomed. Usually, at the tower, he'd be somewhat dead to the world like most of the Titans, needing a coffee or three to wake them up. "-Hey Preggo, hey Mom."

"Hi, sweetie. Breakfast?" Miho offered, pushing the finished omelet to him as he sat across from Ryce. Instantly, he was grinning and tucking into it to his mother's cooking with a glee of someone who missed home cooking. Miho turned back to Ryce, resting her slender chin on the back of interlocked fingers. "So. House-hunting today?"

"…y…yup" she sputtered, swallowing a mouthful of tea with an audible click. The question had caught her off guard, but it wasn't wholly unexpected. "We're goin'to start lookin' at houses on the outskirts of Uberton first…"

---

"Wait what!?" Cy's voice cut through the story. In Met's lap, the baby's tiny arms flared out, the sudden sound startling his motor reflex for half a second before they fell to his side again. His small head attempted to crane about towards the source, bright eyes darting from Ryce to Met's faces. He had no way of knowing his mother's was painted with guilt. Sophie couldn't help but almost look mortified, her eyes blinking back tears as Raven wrapped an arm across her shoulders to steady the mother-to-be.

"You're moving?" Tim frowned, sitting up straighter and looking between Met and Ryce and then to Rob. "Did anyone plan on saying anything?"

"Well, we are now," Met smiled, not seeing the issue.

"And it's not for a few months, so that's PLENTY in advance," Rob added, seemingly equally alright with delaying the announcement, though admittedly he knew before anyone else outside of Met and Ryce.

Ryce fiddled with the hem of her shirt, not looking up and making eye contact with any of them. After a few more seconds of fidgeting, she reached over and took her baby back into her arms, "He's right; the trip was just to look at houses."

"…You mean we have to go back to doing our own laundry?" Gar seemed to deflate with the realization before catching the looks he was getting, "And uh…we'd miss you too, of course."

Ryce stared dryly at him, an impressive feat with her baby in her arms if nothing else. The green man's outburst served to quell her guilt quickly enough, though admittedly not entirely; hearing the faint sound of a sniff coming from Sophie did little to assuage the guilt rising from her own stomach. She knew Sophie would be fine, but they had come to rely upon one another during their time in extremity, or rather in pregnancy.

"Alright, back to the story – hold questions till the end." She said, firmly, reinforcing her reserves.

---

"…Rob offered to drive us…I wasn't allowed behind the wheel of a car back when I could fit," Ryce poked at her own omelet, occasionally giving a tense wince as she was needlessly reminded that she had a passenger, and that passenger was hungry.

"HAH! Called it!" a voice barked from the other room, earning a look of pure venom from Ryce. She quickly raised her fork and flicked it in a knife-like slashing motion, left eye aglow. The movement was followed by the simultaneous hiss of pressure escaping six cans of beer at once and then the bubbling gush of them all exploding into someone's face as one. Pangloss' drowning, coughing fits brought a smile to the girl's face.

Rob winced: His friends may not care and his mother may be immune to the godling's indignity, but that just meant he'd been the one that would be whined to when all this was over. Whined to, and possibly tormented; Pangloss the Mighty was technically his patron, his benefactor, and as such Rob might suffer the indignities of giving the godling reparations instead of the angel child.

Miho completely ignored the commotion n her living room, nodding encouragingly. It was as if she knew exactly what's going through her head – and if what she remembered from Rob was right, she probably did.

"It's a nice neighborhood." She said, shifting herself to be resting on one hand while the other grabbed for a mug. "It does get a little lonely, just by myself; I'd be glad to have you around."

Ryce smiled, blushing a little at the backhanded compliment, but didn't get to reply when a drenched, sticky, Pangloss stumbled into the doorway, glaring murder at the pregnant angel-spawn. The effect was lost due to his appearance making him look like a pouty 12-year-old, but the effort was there.

"I demand-" He started, raising a hand encased in a glowing power. "- reparations from the house of Azrael for this offense. GOOD beer, too. Not that shite wine your father drinks. That stuff isn't fit to wash the walls with!" There was a pause…Then the girl helped herself to a piece of toast, which wasn't quite the effect Pangloss was going for, if he had to admit it. Then again most people thought he was small and useless…until he turned them in to a pocket dimension from which he could draw beer.

"M'sorry, don't you have a dragon to burgle? Neither Whom God Helps nor heiress Lie Weaver recognizes the authority of hobbits. Please, try again next year."

Sure, it probably wasn't wise to bait an Omega-class being like she was. But there were reasons why she allowed herself to. For one, he called her fat. Second, she doubted even Pangloss the Mighty would risk attacking the pregnant heir of the House of Azrael. Third, he called her fat. Fourth, her husband usually took precautions to such things for her. Fifth, she suspected her father had had a talk with the being, and it had been basically to bribe him into leaving her alone in exchange for the very booze he was now demanding, so it was just as well to make him work for it.

And he had called her fat. F-word that guy.

For his part, Pangloss was staring at her with a level of astonishment one reserves to discovering their broom had gained sentient life and started casual conversation with them.

Rob seized the opportunity to avoid more conflict, and swallowed the last of his breakfast slowly, "S-So, yeah…" he glanced around the mostly-empty house for ideas, "…um, mom. Would you…like to come with us? House-watching, that is."

It worked – or maybe the baby was on his side – because Ryce jerked a bit and turned to Miho, looking pleased. This also derailed Pangloss, who looked had been brought out of whatever plan he was thinking of enacting as the power faded from his hand as he listened to the discussion.

"The more the merrier." Ryce admitted, offering a shrug.

"…Are they leaving soon?" Pangloss asked with a petulant huff, moving towards the fridge. But not before willing himself dry and clean (something he really should have done from the start), as Miho did not approve of anyone messing her kitchen and that included Omega class beings from another dimension.

"Actually they might be moving in nearby soon," Miho said with a smile, causing the godling to freeze, and then just poof back into the living room with a brand new six-pack. It was almost like having a puppy that wasn't endearing in the least, Miho thought with a chuckle. She then turned to Ryce, "Sure. Why not? I do need to take care of some things here first though."

"That's not a problem, we still have a little tim-"

"Who the hell are you?!"

Ryce jumped about a foot in the air, an impressive feat given her current state, as the explosive voice reverberated through the house. Sadly, all eyes had turned up to the muffled voice over in the ceiling, and missed such an acrobatic act from the gravid mother.

"Oh. Hi. Name's Met, sorry, I seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere."

"…did anyone mention my husband to your brother?" Ryce asked, realization and worry crossing in to her voice as she joined their amassed look in the general direction of up.

"…he hadn't come out long enough for me to," Miho muttered defensively.

"Wh – my securit – how – "

"Flashing lights and sounds distracted me." Met's voice was as salubrious and flippant as it always was, which seemed to just confuse Louis further.

"What?"

"Well, isn't that interesting?" Miho asked uncertainly, frowning up as she waited for the other boot to drop on this situation.

"…damn it," Ryce growled and hoisted herself to her feet, muttering under her breath, "Adam, you leave him alone! M'the only Matthews who can annoy a Candide!" Her efforts stopped when she caught sight of what lay before her path if she fetched him, a nemesis that had plagued her, Sophie, and any woman who was the last few months of their particular condition. "…ugh stairs…too many stairs…too fat…" she changed her mind and plopped back down into her chair, which was thankfully easier than getting up from it. A cup of tea was placed in to her hands, lovingly, by Miho who understood completely.

"…Am I being punk'd by Doctor Insano?"

"Hey, what's this do?"

"DON'T TOUCH T – "

When the alarm went off, the only surprising factor was that it was at a politely soft volume.

There was a sudden rush of steps, and a man appeared at the bottom of the landing. He resembled a taller, skinnier Rob with brown, flat hair. Dashing past the kitchen, his lab coat flowing in his wake.

"Mom?! MOM! Not to alarm you, but I think we should evacuate the house…in alarm!" He yelled, his hands waving in many directions at once as he tried to explain with his hands rather than his words.

"…well-" Miho sighed calmly, swiftly helping Ryce up to her feet with a strange grace. If the girls of the Tower longed for Kory's looks, they would have wanted the poise that Miho showed. "-Looks like my schedule's been cleared."

"Where's my husband!?" Ryce yelled, trying to waddle to the stairs with considerably less calm than the rest of the Candide household had. To them, for the most part, this was old hat.

Her panic was quickly replaced by relief, however, when a wave of warm air and a pair of arms scooped her up and instantly she found herself out the door, followed by others. Once Miho was out – she refused to go before Rob – Louis pressed what appeared to be a hidden button beneath the door's ringing bell.

A soft hum went off as the transparent field crawled up the house's walls, sealing shut with a hiss.

"…well, that'll contain the plutonium." Louis Candide let out a slow breath, relaxing.

Ryce blinked and turned to Met, mouthing 'Plutonium?'

"…I really shouldn't touch anything," Adam whispered, setting her down, very gently, and hugging her close, completely ignoring what he had just said in favor of showing affection to his significant other. Ryce rolled her eyes in mild-exasperation, before addressing the Candide she had yet to meet,

"'Lo. M'Ryce, and…you've met my husband," she muttered dryly. "…you're taller than your brother."

"Hi," Louis muttered distractedly, glancing at the readings scrolling along the containment field akin to a holographic display, and then looking her way. "Your husband's a goddamn MORO – oh, you're pregnant," he noticed, before hesitating. His brain switched in to a new gear as he took this information, mixed it with what he was going to say, sieved it for potholes and issues, then introduced the results of that test in to a sentence that would allow him to walk straight in five minuets time. "…erm…your husband lacks…certain qualities I would find preferable in a person."

"I do lack qualities," Met acknowledged, checking Ryce for any problems, and finally locking eyes, allowing her to see the worried anxiety slowly bleed out of his expression, replaced by the happy relief she herself was feeling.

"None of the important ones," she assured him with a kiss, returning the smile. "What, exactly, did he do?" she added, to Louis.

"He pressed a button activated the countdown to plutonium release," Louis says flatly. "I don't even know how, since you need three buttons and a password to do so, but my alarms don't lie. I'm pretty sure that's important."

"…really, Louis, radiation?" Rob sighed, causing his older brother to notice him for the first time. There was even a pause as the rather chaotic internals of Louis' brain fired and reminded him that he should recognize the shorter, blonde haired, clone.

"Oh, hey! …When did you come back from camp?" Louis blinked.

"…it wasn – for the love of GOD, you do this EVERY time. It is NOT camp. I'm part of a superhero team! We save the world! In a fic-to-fic basis!" Rob snapped, annoyed as he shook his fist at his brother.

"Yeah, canoeing's fun," Louis replied agreeably, clearly not listening as he studied the house.

It was actually Ryce who reacted most, narrowing his eyes and fixing him a dirty sort of look. Rob could see the barest hint of her fangs as she spoke next.

"Camp? He helped save the bloody world last February, nearly losing his arm, twice, thank you very much…and he's in his twenties! …patronizin' git." Her voice was edged in a new contempt, one that seemed to be reserved for siblings of every ilk. Her best friend put a calming hand on her shoulders, shrugging helplessly…Though he didn't let up on his glare as he spoke.

"Don't let it get to you. He doesn't mean anything by it. His head's just a cluttered place, so he tends to ignore things he doesn't care about. He once mentioned that if this world is destroyed, he'll just go to another one and take all humans with him, using organic-targeted teleporters situated in key satellites around the planet's orbit."

Ryce blinked at that.

Rob shrugged, offering a half smile. "He thinks superheroes are kind of severely inefficient and silly…"

"…I don't like it when people who aren't me pick on you," she grumbled, granting the scientist one last look before making her awkward way towards the T-car.

"He's my brother," Rob grinned, following, "I'm pretty sure he can pull a rank on you."

"M'a tiny, pregnant, abused, quasi-orphan with one arm…I pull rank over all," Ryce dismissed loftily. Met laughed and hugged her close, opening the door and easing her into the car. As much as he would never say as much, it did remind him of trying to move a sofa through a narrow door. Of course if he was suicidal then he might have brought it up…

"Eh, not sure I trust him not to ignore most of that, too," Rob admitted, moving to the driver's seat. He paused, a thought striking him as he looked over to Louis and Miho, who were still watching the house. "Wait, where's Pangloss?"

"There was only time to warn you lot," Louis explained with a heavy heart, also apparently listening again. It was as if listening came in stops and starts, like a buffering online video or an intermittent set of headphones. "In these situations, sacrifices had to be made. I didn't enjoy it, but my family…they had to come first."

"…Louis, he was right next to us in the living room. In fact, he's RIGHT THERE," Rob pointed to the house, where Pangloss was staring at them from a window, beer in hand, with a 'What the HELL' expression on what parts of his face you could see.

"You're in our hearts!" Louis waved at him. Pangloss responded with a rude gesture that was universal in its discourtesy. "…prick."

"I actually could have warned him, but dad recommended b'fore we left that I let him die given the chance. It was a real bondin' moment for us." Ryce grinned serenely into Met's arms. "Also that li'l shit called me fat yesterday. I'm not fat."

This proved, once and for all, the strength of a woman's grudge.

"…So, honey, radiation?" Miho sighed, ignoring the irate godling as he continued to glare. Louis started a little as he looked to his mother, blinking a few times as if he was resetting his brain.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. I'll take care of that."

"When?" Miho pressed.

"Er…couple of hours? Six tops. It'll get neutralized," Louis promised in a way only a son could to his beloved mother. Said mother stared at him and sighed once more, turning to join the others in the car.

"Well, sooner than expected, but I'm ready."

The change over Ryce was instant as her ill-humored jabbing at Pangloss faded. Her face slacked into a careful blank, and she looked very small to Miho as the older woman got into the car.

"O…Oh. That…'s great. Fantastic. Sooner's fantastic. Uh…Le's go then."

---

That had been the better part of two hours ago. The drive itself had only taken about thirty minutes, including a stop for coffee. The rest of the time, well…

"Ryce? Baby…sweetie…light of my life…Mother of my unborn kitten?"

The mismatched eyes peeked out at him from behind the tinted window. "Get out of the car…?" Adam sighed.

"…No, thank you."

"Please get out of the car."

"No, thank you."

"What if I told you there was candy outside the car?"

"…depends on the kind…"

"Why are we doing this again?" Rob groaned, dragging his hand across his own face in the traditional pose of annoyance.

"Again?" Miho questioned, glancing into the car beside Met, spotting the young woman hiding inside. Ryce avoided her stare; in fact, she avoided everyone's stares by staring contentedly at what part of her shoes she could actually see.

"She had a bit of a panic attack on the way here," Met explained, tapping the glass with his finger, hoping to get her attention, "but since this time she locked me out too, I can't distract her by fooling around while Rob drives awkwardly."

"That last part can't possibly be relevant to the explanation," Rob grumbled in dry irritation as he flushed subtly. He didn't want to have conversations about fooling around with his mother stood, literally, two feet away.

Ryce didn't look up, but she did raise her own hand against the window, over Adam's. The demon smiled softly.

"This is a pickle, isn't it?" he mused, though he looked content. "There's only a little bit to go, honey…and you've made it this far. Come on out, you can do this."

Ryce nursed her lower lip, looking at him with doe eyes.

Rob sighed, knowing how cheesy they could get, lost in their own worlds, so instead he addressed his mother.

"You really wouldn't believe this whole trip what's her idea in the first place. It's ridiculous." He sighed, though more gently and with less indignation than before.

"…Son, she's pregnant," Miho sighed flatly, as if speaking to a 5-year-old about the obvious facts of life. Like Adam, she didn't seem very worried. "Give it five more minutes, at most."

"…what s'that supposed to mean," Ryce's eyes narrowed on Miho. Color was building in her cheeks, and her politeness evaporated, clearly offended by being left out of the older woman's apparent knowledge. Miho smiled at her, holding up a basket.

"It means the food's out here."

After months of conditioning, the sight made the pregnant woman's stomach give a rumble that traveled even through the closed window. She would have to blame someone for this at some point, possibly Sophie or Met…

"…I'll melt the chocolate," Met offered.

"You suck, Adam." The dull click of the door opening filled the driveway as the group visibly relaxed.

"Let's just remember this for next time. It's much better than the other solution." Rob sighed.

---

The resentment was short lived. It was only a matter of minutes before the four found themselves making their ways up the stately porch stairs. It spanned the whole front of the house and wrapped around the sides towards the backyard, one that Adam bragged dropped back a great distance, offering plenty of room. Then they were through the front door of the handsome Tudor home. Met continued snuggling his wife lovingly all the while, showering with the affection he knew she needed so that she didn't bolt back to the car, back to square one. For her part, Ryce continued to eat grumpily, taking childish delight on trying not to show just how much she was enjoying the breakfast sandwich they had bought her.

Miho smiled at the pair, fond familiar memories in her mind. God knew how many "please don't freak out" sandwiches Roger had gone through when they had Louis. Robbie had been sundaes and watermelon. It was oddly fitting for her son's respective personalities.

Speaking of, Rob seemed to be the one in the group that was solely interested in actually inspecting the house, rather that doing so grudgingly while eating, or doing so while comforting his crazy wife.

"Shouldn't the showing lady done more than tossed us the keys and left?" Rob asked as he looked out the window with a smile, "I'm pretty sure there's more to selling a house than that."

The hallway they entered, though blank, was frankly beautiful. Hardwoods spanned everywhere in sight, recently installed and shined to the point that they could nearly see their reflections blinking up at them. A set of stairs and a dark wood banister led the way up to the second floor. To the right, Ryce could see a living room, a bay window streaming winter sunlight in from the porch. To the left, a kitchen – a HUGE kitchen, her mind noted. It was the type of home many would have worked themselves to the bone to earn, after years of such work.

Ryce finished her sandwich in a few quick bites, her eyes cautious and carefully unimpressed, even as she began to make her way around, taking note of all the tiny details, moldings and floors and space. This gorgeous place would one day be someone's hallway. This one, someone's living room. Anyone, really.

Anyone whose name wasn't Alaryce Fionnabhair McBride Gallagher…Matthews. Or maybe the Matthews is supposed to go first? Who even knew, she needed to shorten her bloody name.

"Look," Met smiled, taking her hand, breaking her out of her musings. They were standing before a nice, rustic-looking fireplace. "We could sit here together, at nights, and relax."

"…S'beautiful" the half-angel nodded coolly. Part of her, a part she had used for years, was trying to hold back any foolish, romantic notions or big emotional displays. This was a hard job indeed.

"Sitting here," he continued, gently, "by the fire. Holding each other…with a little bundle in our arms. Maybe even doze off together."

"Aye…" Ryce grumbled again, though her features were beginning to soften at the picture he was painting. A bundle. Their bundle. Their son, according Nigel's ultrasounds. Ryce cringed at that, she and Adam still needed to figure out what they were going when the baby came, within a month or so. Not that both of them didn't love the Blacktrinian doctor, but there would be something decidedly awkward about him being the one to deliver the baby. Something about having a close friend spend hours staring at your bits wasn't working for her. Or Met. He was the jealous kind. Who knew?

Even still. That image of sitting before the crackling flames curled up in his arms, their baby curled up in hers. It almost was enough to melt the weary ache of her swollen ankles, or quell the pangs racking her back. Her and her Adam, and their baby. Nestled against one another in this big beautiful house…

Alone, with no one else. No one else at all.

No Titans.

"I don't like it," she lied. Miho, sensing the encroaching tension, nudged her son from the room without warning.

"Let's go look at the kitchen, Robert." She said, in a tone that mother had, inadvertently, programmed in to their sons from an early age, thus he complied without really knowing why.

"…Hm," Met said, barely acknowledging when the pair left. His hands trailed along the mantle of the fireplace, which lit up with a gentle woosh of dancing orange flames that spread warmth along the room. "Shall we try it?"

Several moments passed as she settled into the familiar spot, a bit more snugly since she started showing. It felt very right as usual, but different. The difference made her tense, further aggravating her back, so she locked eyes with him, "It s'not the same as home – Why do we have to move, again?"

Met consider this and her for a moment, before he reached out and simply laid a hand on her belly, brimming with significance.

"Because…" He trailed off; having said all that was needed. Silently, her hand covered his and her eyes dropped down to the flames,

"…We'll be all alone Adam…I jus' found them." Ryce's words were soft, but filled the gaps of silence left by the roaring fire. He nodded, listening, before nuzzling his face into her neck in a loving, and familiar, way.

"That place…I don't dislike it. It's loud, warm, comfortable…plenty of space. The people there are nice, and you can trust them. But it's not the best place to raise a child. We need our own home for him. Together. To keep him safe and not worry about a random attack that might get him hurt. How many times has the Tower been compromised, Ryce? How many? I know you haven't forgotten February." As he said it, he placed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head, the exact spot that the Abhorred had smashed into the kitchen table. She frowned, resting a hand on her belly and feeling her son shift. "Let alone what happened to the city itself."

Met continued, holding her close. "-And, because it's time for us to live together, making our life. Not alone. With each other. And, yes, without our friends here – they aren't dying, though. We'll visit them. All the time; I told you I would find a way to set up a Gate to Jump before we settled. Living together doesn't mean we lose everyone else."

Even as he was speaking, Ryce had begun to shake her head. Panic? No, that wasn't panic in her voice. The Heir to Death did NOT panic about stupid stuff like this, it was…a healthy measure of concern and foresight that lead to a somewhat, hormonally charged, minor hysteria.

"…I MADE a life…I…M'not…not ready for that to change, Adam…s'too much," Ryce sputtered, her hand twining with his. "Lookin' at houses…bein' married…havin' a baby. Adam m'scared as hell…" she whispered, watching the flames somberly, wrapping her arm around her swollen stomach. It depressed her that she found it hard to wrap her arms around her swelling middle. "…everythin' changed so fast."

"Do you…regret it?" Met asked, gently.

"Never," Ryce didn't hesitate. It was a ridiculous question, one that coming from anyone else would have earned wrath. For Met though, all there was was certainty and fear. "I love you. I love him. M'scared. This house s'everythin' I could ever want Adam…S'beautiful. M'jsut scared…I was alone for so long. I was alone and they found me."

She sighed, shutting her eyes and melting against him. A weight shifted and fell from her chest, almost hitting against the floor with a very real thump. How long had that been weighing on her, she wondered. The fear of change had been nibbling, rat-like, at the back of her head for a while. She knew this, just not to this extent.

"…change is scary…I know that intimately," Met whispered, "But…we do it for what's worthwhile," he raised her chin. "For those that make it worth it. So, is this worth it?"

Her eyes met his, gold and mismatched sapphire.

"…Always," she murmured and kissed him softly.

When they broke away, she smiled and rested her forehead gently against his "…this really s'a beautiful place, Adam. I can't imagine what the others will be like. Thank you, love."

"Only a few more after this one," Met smiled, looking around. Something in what he saw made him hesitate slightly, "but…forget the others. How do you feel about this one?"

Ryce stifled a laugh at his uncertainty. When she rested her head against his chest, she could hear the steady thumping of his heart. "Big back yard…I can see how huge the kitchen is from here…guest rooms and bathrooms to spare…that gorgeous porch up front. It reminds me of this house from back when…" she smiled sadly, "back before you…with Morgan and Eddie. We were only there for a week but…it was a house like this. It was the most normal we ever got to feel…like a real family."

"…Yeah," he murmured, hugging tighter, "I saw this place, and thought…this can be my children's home. This can be our family's home. I'm so glad you liked it too. It would have been hard to get the deposit back."

"Yea M'su – you just totally said deposit, didn't you?"

---

Every eye in the living room had found Adam, with the exception of Rob, who just chuckled. The Tower's female population seemed especially interested in him, in an eerie display with no blinking whatsoever. Even Ryce was giving him a weary look at that point.

"…You didn't," Robin declared in a sort of horrified fascination. He seemed one of the few that was capable of actually speaking. He winced at Rob's 'HA!'

The Morning Child sank into his chair with a sigh, and continued the tale.

---

Dead silence.

Adam paused, frowning at the shift, "Um…"

"…Robbie, why don't we go check out the closet space upstairs?" Miho could be heard from the kitchen, and then dragging her son off once more. Given how Rob sputtered out complaints and resistances, it seemed that only those lacking a y chromosome within these walls had any common sense today.

"Did you say DEPOSIT, Adam?" Ryce demanded, her voice dropping into a hiss.

"…Yes," Met admitted uncertainly, trying to wrap his arms back around her, "…I'm not sure this was the reaction I expected, though."

"You bought this house…" it wasn't a question, as she detangled herself and made to stand up.

Several times.

Honestly, if it weren't for the gleam in her eyes, the attempts would have been hilarious. Eventually she settled for a several stage standup, which would need a preverbal run-up to get her standing.

"It's technically more a down payment, really," Adam offered, helping her.

"You…bought a HOUSE AND DIDNT TELL ME!?" Ryce slapped his hand away, and her voice seemed to reach decibels Met didn't realize possible. In fact, he was relatively sure he heard the panel in the bay window cracking. It probably wouldn't shock him at all if NIGEL heard her from the reaches of space.

"I…told you twenty seconds ago," Met pointed out blankly, unaware of how much further he was burying himself, but smart enough to be more than a little apprehensive. "…I thought…it'd be a nice surprise – if you liked it. It would have been perfect, then…so, I wanted to see what you honestly thought, before you felt pressured – and you DID love it. Remember? How much you loved it?" His voice trailed off as she turned to him.

"THAT s'NOT the point Adam!" she snarled, pushing away from him to brace herself against the nearest wall, "You KNEW how freaked out I was and you BOUGHT A GOD DAMNED HOUSE!"

The wall proved treacherous. She almost toppled right back on the floor, eyes bright and angry as anything behind her glasses, before he caught her and helped her to her feet. Her rush of gratitude was short-lived, as she remembered why she slipped in the first place.

"I know it was big," Met tried to explain, "but, I just wanted to help you…I thought it'd make the transitio – "

"Adam, I am your WIFE-" she all but roared, "-You can't DO shit like this anymore!"

Her husband swallowed his thoughts, trying to hear her out. It actually infuriated her all the more that now he was trying to be understanding. "It doesn't matter if I like the house, Adam. It doesn't matter if I LOVE the house. I could find bloody Mecca in this house and it wouldn't MATTER!" she growled, with a face so red and eyes so furious that he almost feared for her blood pressure. "M'your wife and you didn't even ASK me!?"

"…I was just trying to make you happy," Met whispered quietly, simply explaining his flawed reasoning, rather than defending it. This did not help the situation.

"How could you THINK I would want this, Adam, when I didn't even want to move in the first place…when all I wanted s'to stay home and not have everythin' else change, too?" she countered, clearly trying to force calm back over herself, with only a tiny margin of success. "You can't just make this decision for me! A surprise s'lettin' me nap and doin' the dishes…S'sittin' me down on the couch and lettin' me tuck into a pint of ice cream when m'supposed to be doin' laundry. S'not deciding where we are going to raise our child without CONSULTIN' ME!"

"I didn't," Met closed his eyes, deflating completely as it all seemed to click. You had to know him, to fully appreciate how extraordinary it was the find the Morning Child at a loss for words, "I-I won't. It wasn't about that…or meant to come out that way. If you didn't like it, I was just going to return it, and there'd be no harm done. I'd never force you to anything, Ryce, M'sorry. You're right…m'sorry."

His wife was shaking her head angrily, hugging herself, and turning away.

"…I thought that if I bought it, this house that I thought could be ours, and you liked it…it could be a-a, convenient surprise. I thought – "

"You didn't THINK at all, Met." she spat, stepping back away from his hands and waddling with what she would tell all to be GREAT and mighty fury into the kitchen.

Ryce leaned her weight forward, bracing herself against the kitchen counter. Marble counter tops, she noted. Beautiful ones; freshly refinished. Dear Lord, if she wasn't so angry at Adam right now she would almost be able to appreciate this kitchen and the things that could be done with it. It was a dream kitchen in a dream home. Recalling the man who should have been her father, the one who taught her near everything she knew in the kitchen, she could only imagine his reaction to being in such a gorgeous space.

But an idiot husband who did things without thinking put far too much of a damper on all of these things for her. The sharp, complaining spasm running up and down her back was not helping, either. Remember what Raven taught you, Als, she thought, surprising herself by using her old nickname, Nice and calm. Breath in…Breath out. Find your center. The meditation she had learned a short year or so ago really did wonders for more than her sleep patterns. So, she stood, barely aware of the time that was flowing past. Ten…fifteen minutes? All quiet. All calm.

Which was why she heard him come in, easily.

"…Ryce?" Met asked, quiet and soft, from the doorway.

Her right hand tensed slightly over the counter. Her left didn't, just barely, because there was no point in ruining the wonderful marble finish. When she finally spoke, her voice was tired, but even, "Aye?"

"I asked Rob, and he left to bring the car around," he informed her gently, and she'd be damned if it didn't make her feel awful, "We can leave now, whenever you're ready."

She was silent for a moment, no longer out of anger, simply to relive some pressure off her back.

"…I don't know what I want," she sighed. But then she gave pause, turning about on her heels to look at him. "No…no, that s'a lie. I want you to treat me like your wife…your partner. Your EQUAL."

"…I…" Met trailed off when she lifted her hand; a soft gesture to allow her to finish what was on her mind.

"Adam…I said this before, but…this s'a house…you don't surprise your wife with a house. M'sorry I lost my shit. You shouldn't have just taken me out of the decision. S'not fair and it isn't RIGHT – we're part of each other's lives…were going to be PARENTS," she pointed out to him as if he had somehow missed the huge stomach. "It can't be this way."

"I know – " Met insisted, sounding earnest. "…I never meant for it to feel like I didn't care. You…" He sighed, running a hand along his hair in an odd display of anxiety, "Ryce, you're the only one who makes things…alive."

He paused, his hand having run through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck. "You're the one that gives life taste, color, makes it vibrant. You're the only one that…smiles when I smile –cries when I cry. To me, you're the one who is real," the Morning Child poured everything into the words, and it exhausted him, dragged upon him as he tried to make his thoughts somehow solid and tangible. "Everyone else…" here, he hesitated, closing his eyes as he tried to martial his thoughts carefully. "…they…they are good people. I am no better or no less than them…but you are my only equal."

His hands twitched, like he wanted to hold her, but his shoulders slacked, stopping himself short – and it clearly made him miserable to do so. "…Please, believe me," he said, finally, his voice loosing what little strength it had left.

Ryce's eyes had begun to to shine and shimmer at one point, and now she nursed her lip, to keep from speaking. It was one of many 'Ryceisms' Met knew she only did when she felt overwhelmed,

"…Adam…I love you…M'just really mad you did this." She finally admitted, allowing words to slip past her fingers.

"I know. It really didn't work the way I wanted," Met acknowledged, trying a small smile for her despite how unholy wretched he felt in her presence for upsetting her so violently. "…I'm…kinda learning too, you know?"

"…I know, love," she sniffed, running her sleeve over her eyes to rid them of their sheen. "G-God, M'sorry Adam. I…I need five minutes, okay? I jus' gotta get it together."

Adam nodded, edging again towards her. The knocking interrupted them before he could reach.

"Kids?" Miho said from doorframe, having moved across the hardwood floor without a hint of a footfall. Even her words were quiet as if she was loathed to interrupt them. "Robbie says there's a problem with the car."

There came a sigh from Met and a bark of humorless, miserable laughter from Ryce as they glanced at the ninja woman, who could but stand there and looked unconcerned.

"Of course there is. What ELSE could go wrong?"

"Ryce…" Adam breathed, reaching for her hand.

Irritation bubbled back to the surface, heating her face with a flush. With her aching back and her frayed nerves, and the added guilt of seeing the lost look in his eyes, she grasped the emotion with expertise, and strode out into the living room, not quite pulling away, but not reaching for him either. "I just need a minute…"

Adam paused, giving her the space she once again craved. Miho tried to speak, but Ryce ignored her too, glaring at Rob, "What?" Her friend looked chagrinned, as he turned to her and placed his hands in to his pockets.

"Still testy, I see. About the car," Rob began hastily when the glare intensified, "were you awar – actually, let's be direct: When you and Adam insidiously and with great malice aforethought took the T-Car without Vic's permission, did you also have the precaution of getting its passwords? Because it just went on lockdown and I can't open it without them."

"…No. Damn it, Rob, can't you jus' figure it out on you ow – FUCK!" Ryce swore when she took another step, only for her feet to slide about. She'd have fallen if not for her hand clutching Rob's arm, and she glare, more anger mounting into a hiss, "I told you to leave the top on your coffee so you wouldn't spill! Can nobody listen to me? Don't take the lid off your coffee…start the car…DON'T buy god damned houses without talking to me first! These aren't outlandish requests!"

But her venting dummy was not looking at her – how dare he – but instead stared dumbly at her feet, "…uh…"

What…?

"Alaryce!" Met called, rushing towards her with Miho fast behind him, carefully avoiding stepping on what seemed to be a wet trail. It originated from the kitchen, and ended in a small puddle under her feet.

It…wasn't coffee. And her back throbbed again.

"…Please tell me that's pee," she dimly heard Rob groan, before he caught his mother's stare. "It'd be gross, yeah, but it's better than the alternative!" He said, jumping a few thoughts ahead of everyone else.

"…O…Oh…that's," Ryce sputtered, "…Are you kidding m – argh, FUCK!" her angry demand was cut off by another spasm that shot up her back and down the backs of her legs.

Contraction, her inner dialogue corrected.

"Ryce!" he sounded panicked, she realized. It was the loudest she had ever heard his voice. Met had crossed the room in the blink of an eye to her side.

"O-oh god. This…this s'not good…911…" she shook her head, leaning against him. Her voice was quickly reaching a shrill edge, spurred by her climbing panic. A hand floundered into Met's weakly…trying to lace into his fingers. She squeezed it desperately as pain began to course through her again; her voice came out in a weaker croak, "Adam?"

"I'm here," Met promised quietly, squeezing her hand back a great deal more gently, looking into her eyes. He was just as worried, just as panicked. But he still held her strong, "We'll get you to the hospital – Rob, get the car."

"Um, still on lockdown," Rob piped in, wracking his hair.

---

Now all the eyes found Cyborg.

"…How was I supposed to know?!"

---

"ROB," Met growled, his calm gone completely and his eyes flashing with furious impatience. Rob was taken aback by it, having never seen this side of the occasional Titan either, "You have a WEAPON OF THE OLD GODS on your left arm. RIP THE DOOR OFF."

"Oh – right, I'll – come on!" Rob rushed for the door.

"S'too early, Adam…" she choked out, refusing to let herself tear up, "He's not ready…"

"He will be…" Met whispered, picking her up. "Focus on that, ok? I know I will."

"Hospital's down."

The trio froze. In the panic, they had almost forgotten about Miho, but now all eyes turned to her as her own scanned the news feed on her smart phone with a calmness that seemed to almost belittle the gravity of the situation.

"…I'm sorry, what?" Rob asked, his voice trailing as he darted a glance to the couple. Adam was actually standing in a stunned silence, which was only broken by Ryce's weak whimper.

"D…down? Adam, what does she mean down? It can't be down…"

Wincing, Miho turned the mobile around. The surreal sight in the screen was…what seemed to be a fight between a giant beetle monster and an equally giant robot made up of smaller, animal-based robots. This was happening right In the middle of downtown, Uberton.

The half angel's hand ground tighter on to her husband's fingers. "Adam, it CAN'T be down," Ryce implored, staring incomprehensively at the screen, "Nigel's in space…and we're not at the Tower…and I'm in freakin' labor. And we need a hospital because he's too early!"

"The buildings go underground and seal themselves when something like this happens. The hospital's unreachable," Miho explained softly, her voice calm and soothing as she put the phone away. She did not have much experience in it, but even Ryce knew the tone of a mother trying to calm those around her. One of the woman's hands rested softly on her shoulder, "Honey – calm down. I'm going to help you."

Ryce shook her head at her numbly, she didn't want to listen to her. She wanted…She wanted… "…Ada…Adam? Scared…m'scared. S'too early."

All the while, Adam was watching her, holding her hand and stroking locks of sweat-matted hair back away from her eyes. Now, she could definitely see he was scared, even as he raised a hand to his lips, kissing each of her knuckles,

"It'll be all right. I'll have a plan in no time. I-I swear." He said, his voice crackling with uncertainty. This is probably why Rob didn't find comfort in the words.

"Oh God, this is NOT how I thought I'd be spending the day!"

"THIS S'NOT ABOUT YOU!" Ryce SCREAMED at him, something in the tone becoming guttural and inhuman on the last word, her eyes contracting into slits. Soon, her snarl ended with a howling scream as another contraction hit. Had she been more aware, she'd have heard the crunching sound of Adam's hand.

He was too busy growling under his breath to notice either, hugging her close, and closing his eyes, as if trying to absorb her pain, but not all demons could be gifted Raven's empathetic power.

"ROB, STOP PANICKING!" he hissed, his mind reeling for solutions.

"Panicking? Who's panicking!? Not like she's giving birth a month EARLY or anything," Rob countered, turning to his mother, "WHY is she having a baby, now!?"

"I don't know, Robbie," Miho sighed even as she seized her son's shoulder and began steering him out of the room, "Your friend is right. Panicking isn't helping. Go find some clean towels and sheets. Any linens at all."

Once the young blond man was shoved unceremoniously from the room, Miho was finally able to turn her attention back to the couple seated on the floor. Met had taken to sitting behind his wife, propping her up against him as she struggled to let out rhythmic breaths. Raw panic and fear was radiating off Ryce by then, her eyes darting about the room as if desperately seeking some answer from the walls or ceiling.

Snapping into action, the woman kneeled beside them both. "Alright; I need you to keep her calm, Mr. Matthews."

"A-Adam is fine," he waved her off, eyes boring into his wife.

"Why?" Ryce cut into the conversation, eyes finally focusing on the two for a moment, "Why, NOW? I have a month. Why is he coming, now!?"

Miho shook her head, a calming hand on the girl's shoulder as the other attempted to take her pulse, "He seems to disagree on you having that month, dear. It could be many things. Look, they don't have to be BAD reasons; things like this happen…fairly often…more or less. There are some things that can just induce labor," Miho explained, trying to calm her down as she spoke in a clear voice, "Spicy food, long walks…sex." There was no missing the look she cast them both on the utterance of the last word

Met felt Ryce's hand turn into a vice around his as her eyes trailed from Miho to him.

The screaming that followed cause Rob to smash his head off a closet shelf in the hallway.

"YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU ARE NEVER GETTING' NEAR THERE AGAIN, ADAM MATTHEWS! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I SHOULD CASTRATE YOU WHERE YOU STAND YOU F'GHAN T'CKEX-" No one quite understood the words that followed but they DID make Met's ears bleed as he nodded mutely.

---

"Told you that part was relevant," Ryce chuckled at Noel's dry stare.

"Hold on," Sophie raised her hand up in interruption.

"We are never finishing this story," Gar groaned slumping back on the couch. He was remarkably uncomfortable with this whole story and wanted it over and done with as soon as possible. He seemed to be in the minority who found it almost too uncomfortable to bear, as he looked around the room, though. Vic seemed a little uneasy, though he said nothing, Tim was too. Nigel, who was about to be a father and of a medical mindset found it less unnerving, while Noel basically seemed to mentally file the situation in his brain for a later date. Rob and Met were not too concerned as they'd been through it all once already.

The girls, on the other hand, at other things on their minds…

"Is that true? That induces labor?" Sophie carried on, ignoring the side complaints.

Shifting Zane about in her laps so he could look at his "aunts" and "uncles," Ryce nodded before casting a dark look at Met.

"Apparently. M'still mad at you, by the way."

"T'was still one of the freakiest nights of my life. No complaints," Met smiled, picking up a touch of her accent as he said it and enjoying every rolling syllable.

Sophie did not appear to be listening. In fact, her eyes had tracked unto the father of her unborn child thoughtfully. There was a small smile growing on her face as the wheels in her head started to turn.

"…I didn't realize that." Sophie murmured, grabbing Nigel by the shoulder. "We'll be right back."

It might have been a moment of utter awkwardness, if not the look on Nigel's face. No one bothered to hide their amusement as Nigel began to sputter at her forwardness. It wasn't until she had already dragged him up and off the couch that he could find his voice at all. Worming his way around her with a turn, he led her back to her seat. For a moment, she looked confused as to how she had gotten back to square one.

"No, we won't." He said, flatly, as he sat next to her.

"…you're possibly the only male I've ever met who would rather sit and listen to a story of giving birth than bang his sorta-wife," Ryce chuckled dryly to Nigel. He simply returned to her a serious look.

"There are FAR too many factors in this. I'm not risking anything so she might give birth quicker tha-ow!" Nigel yelped. Black and blue eyes traced downwards to find the source of his sudden pain. Sophie blinked back up from where she had bitten in to his shoulder.

"Mill met mo mif mou mome mif me." She mumbled, her teeth not letting go of her lover's shoulder.

"…It seems I have no choice. We'll be back…"

"I REALLY didn't need to know that," Tara said, looking a little green as she wished, oh how she wished, that one of the bottle shaped presents under the tree were for her and were either vodka or mind bleach.

"…Hm…with the bombs he's dropped on her tonight, she might neuter him when she's done." Met considered out loud, offering his son his finger to grip.

"…Shag her good old bean, lest she goes praying mantis on you!" Ryce nodded in tandem with Met and returned to coddling her baby.

"Please…stop…" Jinx begged, rubbing a hand across her face. She'd even put her beer down by this point as she felt a little…ill. Again it wasn't for the fact that she didn't care for them; she just didn't need to know that.

"For the love of god; can't we have SOME boundaries in this place," Noel could be heard griping, as he placed his face in his hands. There was a delicate paff noise as Raven patted his back reassuringly.

"Bunch of prudes," Ryce sighed, nuzzling the baby and cooing to him. "Yes they are…yes they are…" Kory nodded strongly, her arms wrapped around Tim in a loving way. She had been the only one that had been on the edge of her seat throughout the whole story, insanely happy for the couple and finding the stories about sex and relationships fascinating rather than alienating.

"My agreement is with friend Ryce. This is a beautiful moment that we should rejoice in! May Nigel and Sophie's glorious…uh…"shagging" bring forth our new niece!"

Tim only choked on his drink for thirty seconds. It was a Christmas record and was thus noted down for posterity.

"…When we move, you realize we will be MISSIN' moments like this all the time…"

"Ryce…" Met said, looking at her with an expression that implored not to go to that mindset.

"Jus' sayin'! 'Nother break then? Grand. Gonna go feed the baby." She said with a smile, standing up with young Zane and, for Noel's boundaries, moved to the kitchen.

Drinks were once more filled…snacks replenished…a newborn burped…Noel had been spat up on and promptly changed his shirt…

"…That you seem annoyed with and/or avoiding gettin' laid s'jus' really bizarre…gonna pretend s'alien thing," Ryce nodded to Nigel as he returned, taking his place on the couch, having also changed in to a pair of black slacks and a black shirt. A blackish blush formed at the knowing look she and many of the rest of his family were giving him.

"I don't want to induce labor on an alien hybrid that we know next to nothing about. I've been wanting to for MONTHS, but I'd rather forgo my own pleasure for the health of the child," He replied, matter-of-factly as he folded his arms as some form of defense against their looks.

That was enough to give the young mother pause as she returned to playing with her son and giving a quiet mumble in his direction.

"…Well yea, you COULD say it like that and make me feel like a terrible person."

"You ARE a terrible person," Tara reminded her, sitting down opposite the mother on the U shaped sofa. "You BRAG about it!" Ryce shot her a small glare as the others returned to their own spots. It was short-lived before a smirking Nigel leant across and added in a whisper,

"I could also point out that you were actually quite right."

"M'always right," her mouth quirked into a grin as Zane tried to bat his wee fist up at his pointy-eared "uncle."

Sophie walked back in, beaming a smile as she hugged Ryce somewhat awkwardly before settling back down, cuddling up to the alien.

"All's good." She muttered, rather informally as she seemed less charged, less energetic.

"Sex fixes and creates all of life's problems" Met agreed.

"Amen to that."

"All I want for Christmas is a set of friends with boundaries," Noel hummed to the tune of a classic Christmas song. This actually drove a laugh from Victor and Llareness and a smile from Raven.

"Hush up, Scrooge. We wanna hear the end of this," Cyborg teased. Well, some of them didn't, but they wouldn't let Nigel and Kory have all their time and not give the same thought and considerations to Met, Ryce and Rob.

---

"I…I can't have a baby without a doctor," Ryce moaned, having raged herself out. Met nodded, sharing her worry, kissing her temple and whispering her comfort.

"That's ok," Miho said, running in. Even at a run Miho didn't seem worried, or even to have a hair out of place. "You have a field medic on hand," she looked to Met. "Carry her. I've set everything up."

Met nodded, picked up his wife, and followed the older woman. Ryce was letting out a pained moan and leaning her weight into Met, teeth gritted against another contraction,

"Field medi-ARGH!"

"I got you," Met whispered, kissing her again and promising, "I got you – field medics are AWESOME…RIGHT?"

"…Well, I haven't done this in a few years, and the pregnancy thing is pretty new– " Miho responded honestly.

"Oh God…" Ryce sobbed clutching her stomach with another yell.

"Okay, yeah NOT HELPING," Met growled, trying to keep his balance with his wife howling in his arms.

"Where are we going?" Ryce hiccupped as Rob came stumbling up behind them.

"Ugh…what did I just slip in? You know what, never mind. What should I do?" the young blond man asked.

"Did you get all the towels?" Miho asked.

"Uh…towels…yea," Rob nodded, holding up his arms which were over loaded with what little linens he could find in the mostly empty house.

"Hurry, I'm going to need your doohickey since I have no tools," Miho informed him, walking past and disappearing through one of the doors in the hall.

"…The Weapon of the Elder Gods is not a "doohickey" mother," Rob grumbled a bit mutely.

He barely finished before Met was all but shoving his way past, knocking the Titan out of his way to follow after Miho. The room she had ducked into they found to be the main floor's full bathroom. Their attention was immediately drawn to the tub, where a few inches of warm water were waiting. Towels lined the edges, one or two lying against the floor under the water to prevent an occupant from slipping. Miho had taken to the sink, scouring her hands with soap and warm water.

"Robert, get over here and do the same I'll need your help. Adam…going to need you to help her with her leggings and shoes."

"Help? Uh…what am I doing that requires my hands sterilized? Also, tub?" Rob said blankly, doing as he was told as Met did the same behind him. He made a point not to glance back as the chaosling balanced his wife and helped her undress, "We're doing this in a tub?"

Ryce's body wracked with a frightened sob as she did her best not to double over in pain.

"…Rob, if you have another critique, I will melt your tongue. Do I look like I'm joking? STOP TRIGGERING MY WIFE'S PANIC BUTTONS." Met snarled, easing her down.

"…Do not melt my son's tongue," Miho sighed, carefully. There was just calm enough that it wouldn't trigger any violence out of panic, but also gave off the reassurance that if such an act would be done to her son then it would be the second dumbest thing he could have done. The first would have been staying in the same room with her after he had done so.

"Tell him to stop scaring my wife!" Met demanded; though it almost sounded as if he were pleading with her, knowing they couldn't do this without her.

"Robbie, stop scaring the pregnant woman," Miho reluctantly agreed, calm still radiating from her like a beacon. "I shouldn't HAVE to tell you this, son."

"What the hell did I do?" Rob kneeled by the tub, casting a dark look on Met, "All I did was as – argh!"

Rob sputtered off suddenly, caught in a fit of coughs as grayish smoke spilled out his mouth. It was WILDLY reminiscent of that one and only time he tried a cigarette as a kid to be cool. He tended to not remember the time Ryce shoved one into his mouth. It also WILDLY reassured why he'd never understand why Ryce and Met used to smoke themselves.

"You ASS," he choked, gagging on the sudden mouthful of smoke.

"What part of 'I have my scared birth-giving wife in my arms and I'm stressed' didn't you get?!" Met called back with a…surprising, mildly hysteric chuckle. It seemed picking on Rob was helping him find his center…Shame being, Rob didn't seem to be quite okay with being the punching bag.

Gauntlet's eyes had only enough time to narrow slightly, before a clawed hand had seized the front of his shirt and dragged him down to the edge of the tub. It took him all of a second to see another metal hand gripping Met by the shirt just as closely. With a gulp, he glanced up to meet Ryce's none-too-pleased stare.

"…Thank you for using the less painful metal, sweetie," Met managed to get out in a quick yelp.

"I…am…havin'…a…BABY," Ryce growled at them both, "I don't CARE if you two are panicked. Pull it together, or god so help me," her eyes locked on her husband, "I will rip the cause of this off with my BARE HANDS," and then they switched to Rob's, "and make YOU eat it. UNDERSTAND!?"

"…Yess'um," Both Rob and Adam gulped, nodding their heads vigorously.

"On relevant news, you're…really dilated down here," Miho interrupted the tense silence that followed. There was a note of surprise in her voice.

"What the hell does that even me-aaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Ryce's rage bled out of her with the strain of another contraction.

"W-what should I do?" Rob asked, managing to pull the tattered remnants of his shirt out of her gripping hand.

"…Not as much as I expected," Miho replied, "I thought we'd need a C-section for such an early baby…but she's fully dilated. It's like she's fully developed and ready. Stand by!"

"Developed?" Met whispered, reaching for her hand, giving her something to grip.

"Keep her calm!" Miho snaped, shooting Met a quick glance before attending to the more important issue at hand. "BREATHING."

"C-section?" Rob hissed, keeping his voice low, "You were going to have me cut her op-"

His outrage halted. He was kneeling beside his mother, to help. Rob stared calmly at the sight for all of three seconds, before his eyes rolled back in his head. Eyes disappearing in to his own sockets he toppled backwards and landed with a heavy thud, out for the count.

---

"You fainted?" Noel asked blandly as Garfield and Victor began to laugh hysterically.

"…You…said you wouldn't TELL them that part," Rob growled at Met from the living room floor.

"…Really? That doesn't sound like me," Met mused, intrigued as he rubbed his own chin in ponderous thought.

"…You fainted." Noel repeated, enjoying the taste a second time around.

The Morning Child passed along a bowl of spaghetti to the Titans, all of whom curiously had their eyes closed. "And this – THIS is the sight that befell Rob the Pansy. Behold, FEEL my wife's…PLACENTA. Wooooooo~!"

"Most curious in texture!" Starfire said with a shudder.

"…This better not be dinner," Robin grumbled when it was his turn.

"Why did we agree to do this?" Raven sighed, passing the chance to stick her hand in the bowl.

"Better question…why does everyone have their eyes closed," Ryce asked, reentering the room with a freshly changed Zane against her shoulder, "…and why are Kory's hands in the pasta salad for tonight?"

"Well…" Met began, his mind already working on an interesting excuse that could also be true.

"Wait-" she turned to the heavily pregnant woman on the couch. They had become fast allies against everyone else when they both realized their timely conditions, and thus she knew she'd get a straight to the meat of the issue. "-Sophie, m'I gonna be annoyed with Adam's answer?"

"Yup." She replied, almost jovially.

"I was using them as a narrative prop," Met reassured her.

"…Right. I love my husband, so m'not askin'," the angel sighed, sitting next to him and repeating the last part of that as a quiet mantra. "So…judgin' by the disgruntled and embarrassed look on Rob's face, we've reached…?"

"The part where Rob's first sight of woman bits made him drop into a dead faint like a dainty lady?" Jinx snorted, again sipping her beer as she leant back on the sofa

"…I hate…all of you."

"You're touching that bowl and still drinking?" Terra asked incredulously.

"Can we open our eyes NOW?" Cyborg groaned in agreement.

The Titans didn't wait, opening them in relief.

"I'm surprised you all listened in the first place. I never closed then," Noel raised a brow. The unease on their faces told him this was just dawning on most of them, too.

"You have no magic," Met accused, flatly.

"…Ryce, I don't think I'll be eating this," Raven sighed, eyeing the bowl and going a little green at the edges. It was somewhat unusual for the mystic to be squeamish.

"…Kory's hand is in it up to the wrist…I don't think ANYONE will be eatin' I-Sophie for Christ's sake I will make a new bowl, don't eat that!" Ryce snatched it away. Dealing with the Titans, sometimes, was an education in and of itself for dealing with children.

"I was kidding!" Sophie said, defensively, though an all too familiar rumble echoed from her. "For the most part…"

"Just finish the story guys," Tim sighed.

"So yes…after we managed to wake Rob up…" Ryce continued.

---

Ryce was screaming. Not quite on par with the pained shrieks she emitted the morning of the White Call as Ricky seeped into her mind. But it was a close second. One hand gripped desperately down on Met's hand and wrist. With a growling groan, she pressed the shelf of her chin down against her chest struggling with the pain and pressure that seemed to be tearing her apart.

"…A…Adam?" she managed, sweat pouring off her forehead.

"You…you're doing great Ryce…I think…" Rob reassured her from the other end of the tub as he looked up at the ceiling and handed his mother another towel.

"Honey, stop talking. Need to concentrate," Miho whispered, sweating herself in strain. It was the first time they had seen her slightly disheveled and it did nothing for Met's panic. "…Okay…Ryce? Another one's coming. Get ready to push…you're doing great…just keep breathing. He's crowning…"

"I can't…Adam I can't," Ryce sobbed tiredly, she was having trouble breathing, she was exhausted and when not in contraction her body was limp and almost lifeless. "Too soon… too much…"

"You can." Met whispered, his body was shaking and his own forehead had beads of nervous sweat that pinpricked his skin. "You can, because I know you…you're strong. You'll give it your all. I know you will. I KNOW it's enough," he kissed her hand. "Please, believe it too."

"…Hur's…" Ryce moaned, her eyes locking with his, shining feverishly with the tears of pain and terror.

"…I love you," he replied, "I'd do this for you if I could."

"…Ryce, I'm sorry, but we're almost done. He's coming, so get ready to PUSH." Miho chimed in again, cutting through the quiet moment.

Exhaustion rimmed, bloodshot eyes peered down at the woman. Ryce had nothing in her to give…it felt like it had leaked out of her and down the drain never to come back. She braced a foot against the end of the basin anyway and nodded, "…o…okay"

"I love you," Met repeated, hugging her tightly.

She buried her face into Met's neck…squeezed his hand…and SCREAMED. It tore up and out of her mouth from deep within her chest, something cracking and inhuman in it. Rob thought for sure something in her throat would have to tear with the force of it. And then it tapered off into nothing.

…Silence…

Soft silence…broken only by soft gasping breaths.

…And then…a reedy, little whine…

"…w…wow," Rob murmured from beside his mother, looking into her hands with eyes in wide amazement.

Met stilled, looking down at the pair crouched beyond the towel covering his wife's lap, as if he had been frozen in time.

"…Adam?" Ryce murmured into his neck, her voice so drained and tired. Even in her exhaustion, though, she was struggling to sit up. A low sound grated from his chest along with a deep inhale, and he tried to steady her, "…is it…?"

Rob handed his mother a clean towel, wrapping it around something in her hands as it continued to whimper and then wail. Both seemed preoccupied with this task. So much so, they had yet to even answer the two watching them.

"He's pissed." Rob laughed, his voice a strange relieved pitch; too high and breathy but…positive.

"…He's…a fully grown, baby boy." Miho said quietly, taking the towel and turning on the faucet for fresh water to resurface. It was amazing how easily they could hear her even despite the wails, the unhappy wails raking at Ryce and Met, who trembled just as much as his wife, "…Kids…he's healthy. He…he's a perfectly healthy newborn."

"…M…my baby?" Ryce rasped, trying to get a better view.

"He's okay Ryce…geez, he's a little butter ball," Rob reassured. He'd have made a joke about the cakes and the feasts throughout the last eight months, but thought better of it. Why spoil what could be described as a perfect moment. Ryce laughed tiredly, giving it a bit of a hysterically edge.

"I wan…I wanna see him…" She spoke; her voice was so soft and drained only really heard Adam. Miho and Rob both seemed rather distracted.

"…I…" Met started, looking torn between two halves: the one that wanted to stay by her side, and the one that desperately wanted to hold on to that baby in Miho's arms. His free hand gripped the tub so hard that cracks began to form.

"…10 fingers…10 toes…no tail…just wings" Rob counted off for their benefit.

"…p-please," Met finally managed, earnestly.

"…Lemme see?" Ryce joined in weakly.

Miho blinked up at them, "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to clean him. He's ok now, aren't you?" The baby kept crying and she winced. "I can see he doesn't like me much, but that's okay." she moved out of the tub and gently, VERY gently, placed him down onto Ryce's chest, soaking the remains of her dress through.

The tiny baby blinked up at her, a mess of dark hair on his little pink head…two tiny black downy wings curled up tight to his body, not yet strong enough to unfold. Brighter blue eyes than a newborn would typically have rolled about fearfully. So many new things…sights…smells…tastes…sounds…feelings. Overwhelming and terrifying. They finally came to still on her.

…and Ryce…could not breathe.

"…Zane…"

Silence.

And then the baby started whimpering in need. Not for the need of anything in particular, just in need.

For some reason, it made Met chuckled a laugh that was three-parts sob, and he hugged them both close.

"Our Zane."

"…don-don't cry," Ryce whispered, and it could not have been more apparent that Miho and Rob no longer existed for them. "We're here. Mommy and…and D-Daddy are here."

Zaney, the naked, fragile baby, could not have possibly understood them. But as the golden warm mists seeped into his little body, and as his mother shushed him gently, with kisses, he stopped crying, curling up against them, awake, but with everything he needed.

"…Yeah…" Met said, his voice hoarse and tired. "I love you both, so much."

Ryce smiled, sagging against him.

"…Ok," Miho's voice shook them from their bliss. "Let's get you cleaned up, hun."

---

They…just watched each other .

"…Look at him. He looks like you."

"Has your eyes, though."

The new family was clean, in fresh clothes, and, as always, comfortably warm. The master bedroom had the perfect bed for resting, and after the mess left in the living room, there seemed to be little point in not using it. Ryce's aching body was already knitting back together, and the parts that weren't yet, were deliciously numb; even so, she liked the bed. It made this whole bizarre scenario somehow more…normal.

The newly-dubbed Zane was curled in her arms – she wasn't letting anyone else hold him just yet – with big, blue eyes that strived to take in everything, regardless of how it made his tiny head spin. His father simply planted the occasional kiss on him, perhaps believing that it would make his small task easier.

"…he's…ok…" Met murmured. His voice still quivered a little. "…no problems?"

"No problems." Miho replied. She was standing by the bed with her son, and while happy, she did seem confused, "…for all intents and purposes, he's an average 9-month-developed baby. With a powerful set of lungs to add to the bargain."

"How…how can that be?" Ryce asked, her own voce husky. In her case, it was due to all her screaming. Rob smiled, noticing she made no effort to hide the tears glistening on her cheeks, not when they were for Zaney. "He doesn't need a doctor?"

"You should have one make sure as soon as you can," Miho frowned. "He looks perfectly ok to me, but better safe than sorry. You should be sure to get checked out, too."

"All in all, he's a scamper," Rob gave his own professional opinion, gently caressing the baby's cheek with a finger. "I'm sure he's fine."

The baby was fine, but didn't seem to appreciate the prodding, curling quietly against his mother's chest. His tiny back rose and fell in time with her breathing, goggling up at his parents in eternal askance.

Ryce let out a mildly irritated 'tch!' and waved the intruding hand away. Adam leaned closer to him, nuzzling his belly with a soft purr.

Miho obviously fawned at the scene, "…hehe…congratulations, kids. Really," she smiled widely, before poking her son with her elbow. "Hey. See how happy they are? When are you going to get me grandchildren?"

"Well, I am seeing a green girl…" Rob chuckled, skirting around actually answering. He had no intention of even thinking about children for at least another decade. They couldn't all be incredibly fertile bunnies in heat like Ryce and, disturbingly, Met. Besides, his money was on Llareness as the next one of the Titan affiliates to become a parent, for exactly the same reason that Ryce found herself in such a state.

Las Vegas and an unlimited bar tab.

"I'm sure she doesn't have another side to herself she keeps secret, so the relationship doesn't crash and burn," Pangloss said conversationally from the door.

Only Rob jumped. Miho didn't react at all, beyond covering her son's mouth to muffle his yelp. And while Zaney continued relaxing quietly, Met and Ryce tensed imperceptibly, with Ryce clutching her baby closer.

"…For your information, I know about her White Martian thing," Rob replied, once he recovered. "Doesn't bother me."

"…Oh," Pangloss blinked. "…Really? Damn. My gossip network used to be so reliable."

"Yes, Pangloss?" Miho cut in, ignoring the topic. She did remind herself later to talk to someone about Martians, however. The godling frowned, but cleared his throat and continued.

"Nothing, your insaner, older, progeny finally removed the quarantine in the house – thanks for that, by the way, very nice – and asked me to let you know. I figured I might as well, since I'm already on a beer run."

"Thank you, Pangloss, that was very nice of you." Miho smiled, genuinely, as she nodded to him.

"Yeah, yeah," Pangloss rolled his eyes…Which was how he spotted the Matthews, much to their chagrin. "Oh hey. Squeezed that one out, did ya? Thought you looked about ready to pop. Mazel tov."

Miho blinked.

Rob blinked.

Met blinked.

Ryce narrowed her eyes.

(Zane drooled.)

"…What…exactly do you mean by that?" The new mother asked, disbelieving that even Pangloss would call her fat at a time like this. Pangloss raised his brows in mild perplexity but continued regardless.

"It's…a Jewish thing. Means congratulations. It's actually most often used for weddings, but I'm not ruled by tradition!" He declared boldly. "I do what I want."

"No – No, you idj – " Ryce started, before cutting herself off, probably because of her baby. "You said I looked ready to pop, what do you know, why did you say that?"

"…Duh, you were the size of a blimp." He shrugged, as if he was saying that air helped you breath to a simpleton.

"…Oh."

"And the gestation period for a Morning Bun in the Oven is 8 months."

"What?"

Even Met started at that.

"…Huh," Miho said thoughtfully, "…yeah, that'd explain a lot."

"Did you know about this?" Ryce hissed, turning to her husband. It was taking all her effort not to yell, and she was willing to do such a thing as her baby curled a little more in her arms.

"No," Adam promised, looking as surprised as she did. "Mom died when I was a kid, remember? And I'm not exactly in contact with the Morning House. No one explained to me the finer details of their birds and bees."

Ryce sighed, accepting that easily enough, and melting against him. For a second, before she straightened again, and turned towards the godling at the door.

"Wait. You knew about this."

"…I thought that was already established," Pangloss said.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ryce growled.

"How was I supposed to know you didn't know your basic biology?" The godling demanded. He paused before continued. It had been a fair answer and if he had left it at that then all would have been fine, but he had been insulted, assaulted and spurned, so he was going to add a little more alt to the wound. "Plus someone locked me in a beerless house for six hours."

Silence.

Ryce was twitching. Her teeth were grinding. But she just held her baby, and her vile.

Until her husband's hand touched her shoulder gently.

Adam Matthews stared at Pangloss with flat, endless eyes.

And then, he spoke. "This December 24th."

Pangloss stared into the intense nothingness in those eyes with confusion.

Adam's eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. "…You."

And then the boy sighed, nuzzling his wife. Ryce seemed to relax too, content. And, again, nothing could disrupt the family's peace.

"…huh," Pangloss blinked. "Wonder what that's about. Anyway, off I go!"

And with a wave, the godling was gone…thankfully.

"Well," Miho smiled, "that'll be something to look forward too."

"Oh God, I hope not," Rob muttered, watching the family get lost into their new member. Something odd passed through his eyes at the sight, and he smiled mutedly. "…I'm gonna go check up on the status of the hospital, okay?"

His mother blinked at him, probably picking up something there, but nodded.

The parents didn't really hear, and Met busied himself purring into his baby's scalp.

The last thing Rob heard as he left was the beginnings of a very clumsy, very squeaky, purr.

---

The group of men and women were a few short seconds away from another group "aw" as they looked to their newest and youngest number. Sensing the story winding down, Rob inched his way away from the others heading over to the fridge to grab himself a soda as they asked trivial questions of the new parents. Weight, length of foot, length of wing, yadda, yadda, yadda. He never quite understood why those things were important; after all they wanted to keep the child, not sell it.

He was just shutting the icebox and turning back, when he found Kory standing a few inches away, head tilted to the side in askance.

"Did you not have your own tale to tell as well, friend Robert?" she asked, quietly as she leant against the counter.

Rob paused, thinking back to the day after Zane's birth. Where he went…what he did…Only two people knew what happened the day after but…no, this was the family's day. He shrugged and thought back.

---

The sun was setting as Rob walked from the car and up to the large iron gates of Valhalla Cemetery. He pulled his coat a little closer around him as the winter chill gathered and attempted to break its way to his skin. Despite what he had intended to do, he wasn't dead to the world; the cold still got to him on a physical and metaphorical sense. It was bizarre being here after yesterday. They had gotten Ryce into the hospital finally, both mother and son checked out fine. One extreme to the other, he realized looking up at the gate.

"Some things never change." He said under his breath as he walked forward and wrapped gloved fingers around the cold iron rods and pushed. The gateway swung a little and clanged, meeting resistance…fighting against something metallic. "I stand corrected..." He said, looking at the chain.

The Gauntlet made quick work of that, the powerful artefact always seemed strongest when he was in the same state as Pangloss the Mighty. It was purely psychosomatic, he knew that. The Gauntlet had been explained to him several times and by several different people that always understood the facts of the mystical device a little differently. In short, it was driven by his confidence in the weapon. If his belief said that the energy was stronger than an iron chain, it was stronger than an iron chain.

And today, he decided it was, the chain falling away as he opened the tall gate wide and stepped inside of the cemetery. The sun was just dipping past the horizon now, but the light of day was still more than visible as he wandered through the white marble plaques, the statues and the tombstones. Off to one side, on a plot that was set apart from the big names of heroing in Uberton – away from Captain Foundation, or Kurg the Unbeatable – was a statue. It wasn't of a well known hero with a double barrelled chest, and a catchy, witty name. The statue was of a slim man, wearing a rather cheeky grin, the kind that warned you he was going to pick your pockets and manage it without you noticing. A cape blew in the wind to show a t-shirt and jeans, and a pair of fingerless gloves. A main of spiked hair roared behind him. The plinth bellow the caped man read simply;

Johnathan "Evil John" Arcwrite
Born December 13th – 1987.

Died March 15th – 2008.

"Don't let this all fool you; I'm really a bastard on the inside!"

Survived by his Mother, Britannia, his Father, Energy Baron, and his Sister, Abigail

He will be missed.

Rob couldn't help but smile as his lips mouthed the words on the plinth. The others had wanted to put other things he had said, such as how he liked to keep things simple or how he would be back to his old self soon, but Rob had always liked that turn of phrase. It described him, in his entirety; sardonic, sarcastic, acidic, cynical, lovable. He was everything to all men, for better or worse.

Rob pulled a brown bag from the inside of his coat, as well as two metal goblets and sat down next to the ridge which covered his friend's plot. The metal covered hand withdrew from the bag a bottle that read Major Medical's Black Label, finest highland Whisky. He…knew nothing about drinking. It had been nothing short of bizarre asking Ryce what was good whiskey as she lay on her hospital cot nursing her son. Nurses stared.

"Sorry I'm late, John. Things have been kind of busy this last year." He said, in a voice that was slightly broken at the edges as he sat down on the grass, snapping the lid from the bottle and pouring out a healthy measure for himself and a healthy measure into the other.

And as the darkness of night filled the Graveyard, a pale white light reached forward and came to rest on the plinth.

"I was afraid you'd forgotten me." Evil John said, his voice sounding distant and weak, but his smile having lost none of its radiance in death. Rob, instinctively, felt for his wallet.

"Was delivering a baby."

"…seriously?"

"It's good to see you again." Rob said, as John scooped the spectral form of his cape under him and sat down, his strange, translucent, body not disturbing the grass one iota except for an alarming chill that seemed to come to the air.

"It's good to be seen. It...takes so much to be seen these days." He said, sounding tired just trying to describe how exhausted he was.

"How've you been?" Rob picked up the goblet before him and took a sip from it. He wasn't a hard spirits man; hell he didn't often drink at all. At a time like this, though, in a place like this, he couldn't have resisted the pun even if he'd tried.

Evil John reached down to the second goblet, and grabbed at it. At first his fingers looked as if they had passed through the little chalice, pulling back and leaving the metal goblet in its place. In his hand sat a spectral replica of the cup and its contents. He took a sip and nodded, contentedly.

"I'm dead, so I can only really go up from this point." He said, sarcastically, as he offered a roll of the eyes. There was no colour in them; their usual dark shades and red flecks were replaced with a washed out grey as if he were blind. "What about you? What's the news about town?"

"Well...met a girl." Rob started. He raised a hand and brushed down the back of his hair, allowing John to stare at him as if he'd just said the moon was crashing in to Wisconsin.

"…It's not that bitchy death chick you struck out with last Christmas right?"

"…No…but thank you for reminding me of that cheerful moment. Actually, she was the one whose baby I helped deliver. I'm talking about someone else…"

"Well don't leave me in suspense!" His British accent reverberated from the other side, almost echoing with itself when he spoke louder than a whisper. A smile had broke out over his face again Wind seemed to rock the trees for extra-added effect. "Who is she?"

"Her name's Megan. She's, well..." He paused, a small smile on his face as he attempted to put in to words what was on his mind.

"Man, you don't have to be serious around me." John cut in, raising a hand. This caused ghostly wisps of smoke to roll from his form, creating little clouds of steam before becoming one with him again.

"That's just it-" Rob started, glad for the change of subject, even to this one. "I don't...I don't feel the need for funny, anymore. I'll still laugh and joke and tell funny stories, and fight off grandmothers with stolen dogs, but I...I just..." He floundered. He wasn't one for verbose.

"Alas, poor Yorik. You knew him and his jests can no longer wage war against the savage breast?" John asked, mangling together several Shakespearian quotes into one. Gauntlet visibly winced, his mouth pulling at the edges in slight pain.

"Is this a badly misused Shakespeare reference I see before me?" He asked, paraphrasing.

"No; it's a bloody dagger, and you know it is." John finished as they laughed together. It seemed so strange, and not just because one laugh seemed to echo and reverberate through history as if it was pulling on laughs of the past to make up some strange facsimile. Rob hadn't remembered the last time he laughed and smiled, not genuinely. He'd put on a face, so many faces, to try and mask his own insecurities to the point that there was nothing to him but laughs and jokes.

But that wasn't true, and sitting in a graveyard while talking to a dead friend proved to him that there were parts he hadn't wanted to acknowledge, that there were parts that dragged him down and brought him low. He'd been brave enough to let it slide, the jokes, the walls, but it was seven years of being the punch line. Seven years of letting others have their way because you had to try and bring a bit of levity to the world.

Heroing should be more than just how many bad guys you put away; it should be about what good you can do on many levels; and he tried so hard. But now...now he was tired.

"I don't have to play the fool with you; you were my straight man. But, when I needed to, you allowed me to play at that role myself from time to time." He spoke, softly, into his glass. John nodded; his hair was somewhat unmoving in the other world except for the occasional twitches or nods of the head he offered.

"So-" John took another sip from his glass and pointed a finger at Gauntlet. "-This girl; is she blind or just gullible?" He asked, the broad and slightly malicious smirk appearing on his lips as he leaned back, lounging on the grass as if it was some great roman lounge chair.

"She's neither!" Rob said, standing up to defend the absent Miss Martian. They laughed again; it was good to laugh.

And it continued for hours. The pair talked about everything they could think of; they reminisced over the old times.

Rob retold the story about how they met, John adding in key details about the scenario. How John was on a city wide, low end, crime spree and he got tricked into signing the hero club charter which forced him to fight on the side of truth and justice! Because, seriously, who wants to try and fight lawyers?

They told of their various adventures together, meeting Wendy and her bee suit that she'd stolen from Buzz Bomb and then modified in high-school shop class to become Craze-Bee. How Bulwark had cloned a woman from another dimension and she ended up being in a teenager's body with the mind of a child, and how she became the Candide's adopted little sister. About Viridian and how she'd joined the Super Hero Club and they all worked together with Rob's long time friend Amy.

The sky changed, from the pitch of a midnight sky it slowly became lighter; the black of night becoming a deep navy blue, moon falling as the night seemed to roll and retreat from the presence of the day.

"And then, I'm standing there with my cape being the only thing to protect my dignity-" John mimicked the motion with his cape, trying to cover as much as he possibly could, his eyes darting from one side to the other. "And this cop looks me straight in the eye and asks; you sure you're not supposed to be somewhere, and then you said-"

"-I knew we should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque!" They both finished together, relaxing as the laugh faded from the air. Gauntlet's eyes were cast down at the grave for a moment, watching the grass flutter and move around the corpse light that was pouring from his formerly living friend.

"I miss you, buddy." Rob said reaching a hand up and wiping his eye as his voice cracked at the edges. He couldn't help it, he'd been wearing another mask. Seeing John, joking with John, it had all come to the surface. The ghost reached out a hand and placed his spectral fingers on Rob's arm, where the Titan swore he could almost feel them.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, man." He smiled, though it was as hollow as the gallows. "I miss me, too."

Rob laughed, but as soon as he had done so, he broke, his body rocking forward and sobs coming cleanly now. His body shuddered as he drew in deep, haggard, breaths. His mind flung himself back to the day he'd called in the Super Hero Club to fight the world altering forces of Superboy Prime and how, in a moment no one could foresee, he'd killed two of his closest friends in one blast with zero remorse.

"It's not fair, man; you wouldn't have gone if I…if it wasn't for-"

"Now stop that, right fucking now." John said, his voice becoming louder and more powerful as the wind blew through the trees. "You did nothing wrong! You hear me? Don't you fucking blame yourself!" He placed the spectral goblet back on top of the real one, the insides becoming dark and grey as if someone had managed to kill whisky.

"But-"

"But, but, but, now look and mark me well, Candide. You didn't kill me, you didn't drag me anywhere I wasn't prepared to go!" He pointed a translucent finger at Rob, who looked up and stared in to the dead eyes of his friend. He could have almost seen the red flaring there, like he used to. "I went to that thing, I fought that cheep ass Superman knockoff, not because the Titans gave the call or it was for the betterment of humanity!" He snapped, saying the word Titan as if it was some form of disgusting title, akin to a leper, or a human resources manager.

He leant forward and smiled again, the scar on his cheek twisting once more. "I went there, because you needed help. I didn't give a flying damn about Robin, or Starfire, or any of 'em. You were there, and you needed help" He held a fist up, profiting it to Rob. "We're bros, man, always will be."

Rob wiped away his eyes and laughed again, just about keeping it from becoming another fit of tears, as he met John's fist with his own. Both fists exploded back, opening their palms wide before swooping in and slamming in to a friendly bro-shake. The sound of Candide's live hand hitting Arcwrite's dead one echoed like a funeral bell, but it didn't matter.

"I love you, man. And I still miss you." Rob said, nodding to him. John smiled, offering a wink.

"I can't blame you; I'm the complete package." The smile faded as he looked past Rob for a moment and breathed a heavy sigh. Rob turned he saw why as the blackening sky had turned purple with the early morning sun. Soon streaks of red would fill the horizon and the graveyard fog would disappear for one more night.

John's hands grabbed a hold of Rob's shoulders, turning him back. "Now I want you to listen to me, Robbie, no matter what the stakes, you have to keep going. You deserve happiness, you deserve the sunshine and the rainbows and five bratty kids and a mortgage; all that crap."

"What are-"

"I don't have a lot of time, so don't interrupt!" He yelled as a new urgency crept in to his voice. "I'll be back one day, I'm doing what I can about it, but you have to keep going. I'll be here, if you need me; I may not be able to talk but I'll listen. We care, man, all of us do. You're our boy!" John's own voice cracked at that line as he took another deep breath he didn't need. "You're our star! We live on in your smile and your words, and your deeds. I know it's hard, you got people riding you every which way from Sunday, but you can't give in or give up."

Spectral tears fell from the face of John, dissolving shortly after they rolled from his cheeks in to the free air. "I miss you, too, but I hear what you do and I am so PROUD to have called you my friend. My best friend, but you have to move, and don't look back for me. I'll be here with you so don't you fucking look back!" His voice echoed and wailed, the trees of the graveyard shaking and rattling with whistling wind as he squeezed Rob's shoulders tighter. "We talked mostly about what we did! That was grand, but you've got to keep looking forward!"

"When are you coming back?" Rob asked, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. John shook his head sombrely, blinking the tears from his dead eyes.

"It's harder for villains." He said, taking another breath and sobering himself up. "Heroes come back. Heroes walk from their graves and are reborn in to a world that needs them. Villains...get replaced." He sighed, nodding. He looked to the grave of Wendy; rumour was she had already returned from the dead and was once again out in the world doing well, but he couldn't be certain, as things never are.

"You may not have liked it, but you were a hero in the end, Johnny." Rob said, leaning forward and embracing his friend in a hug. Already, he could feel the spectral form fading and slipping from his grasp.

"Yeah, but I'm a real bastard on the inside." He joked, pulling back, fighting against the day and the tears. "Keep going Candide; make the world proud. Let them see you as we all do, here in Uberton."

"I will, John, I promise." Rob cracked a weak smile.

The sun crested over the horizon, burning away the morning fog, and with that Jonathan Arcwrite was gone.

It took him a little while to compose himself, the burning of fresh tears in already sodden eyes stung him once more, but eventually he stood up and collected the goblets from where they were. He poured the desiccated remains of John's drink on the ground, which blew away as if it were ash in the wind and placed them back in his pocket. He stopped the drink, the cork sinking easily in to the bottle as he placed it back in to the inside of his jacket. He'd save the rest for when John made it back to the world.

He stood for a moment longer, thinking, contemplating about what to do. John had practically begged him to move forward, to move onward, but he didn't want to leave them behind. To move on, to leave his life behind him, could he do that?

Could the Gauntlet retire? Become Robert Candide of Bulwark? Or perhaps just the Gauntlet, solo Vigilante? Or remain Rob "Gauntlet" Candide; Titan and proud? There were so many ways to move forward.

But he'd find his way, the way that was right for him.

He took something from inside his coat and leant down, placing it against the stonework with an audible click of synthetic plastic against natural marble. He drew himself up to his full height, and nodded down at the gravestone. It took a little bit more resolve to set his features but, when he had least expected it, he had managed to release a smile. A weight had been taken from him, it would seem.

The communicator glinted in the morning sun as Rob nodded once more, the white T emblazoned on the front almost lighting with the red of the morning. "You were a hero in the end, John, if you liked it or not. See you soon, pal."

He turned, then, and strode off. He didn't look back; he knew that John was with him in spirit if not in body. He knew he had to keep going, he had the strength of character, he had the strength of purposes and he knew that there were those still on his side.

He saw Megan standing by the entrance to the cemetery, her arms folded as she leant against the car. She wasn't watching him, per say, she was just aware he had arrived as she pulled her hair behind her human-styled ear. The dark freckles on her face could be seen now, in the glowing morning light.

"How was it?" She asked, reaching a hand up and touching his cheek. Her thumb dragged across his skin as she looked in to slightly puffy eyes. "You've been crying..."

"Yeah; I never did when he died. I guess talking with him..." He started, taking a deep breath. She pulled him close and held him for a moment as he regained his composure. He didn't have to wear the mask with her either, she liked his jokes but she liked him as him and not as some prankster or some tool that's used to improve others.

Megan, as Miss Martian, heard his mind. She hated doing so with him, but she could feel there was a lot of guilt and bad energy being dragged around from that day; and now it was gone. Rob had let go. He wasn't crying just because he was sad, but as a relief that it was over. A few sniffs later and he pulled away. "I needed this." A sleeve ran across his eyes, offering a small laugh.

"What do we do now?" Megan asked, resting his hand in her own. He looked down in to her eyes, beautiful red eyes that seemed to carry the sun with them.

"...Breakfast. Emotions always make me hungry for breakfast." He joked. It wasn't a false joke, though, one that was designed to hide or obscure, but a genuine laugh. Something he had not done in so long.

"After all that, you want breakfast?" She asked, not hiding the astonishment in her voice. He shook his head.

"No, there's something else first." He said, with his voice low. "This is stupid, I know, but some things can't be said with words..." He took her chin in hand, and leant forward. The kiss was impassioned and seemed to be alive almost of its own accord; bring forth the new freedom and allowing him a greater vigour and warmth than he had for months.

Megan didn't pull away. More importantly she didn't slap him or hurt him, or kick or anything. She seemed a little shocked but her resolve promptly melted as she leant in to the kiss, running a hand across his back and holding him closer to her as the car supported him trying the same.

And as cautiously as it had begun, he pulled back and looked her in the eye again. "We've hung out, we've joked around and played around a bit but...I like you, more than I can really describe. I want to be more serious with this." He rolled his fingers in front of his face, gesturing to his features. "I have no masks around you, no need to feel I should perform or be something else. I want to see where this goes, if you'll let me."

She paused, and pulled him close again, holding him tight.

"We'll see where this goes."

---

Taking a sip of his Cola with one hand and balancing a caffeine-free one in the other, Robert gave a shrug and lopsided grin to the tall woman before him, more relaxed than he had been in years.

"Just went and saw an old friend; caught up a bit. I may tell you later, but for now I'm fine. It was nothing as exciting, or as magical, as poofing a new person into existence."

"There was nothing magical about you staring up my dress!" Ryce called from the couch as he laughed genuinely and made his way back over.

"The feeling is mutual" he nodded, handing her the other can. "In the end, all that matters with our story is Ryce and Met had a healthy, beautiful baby boy." He raised his soda and clinked it against Ryce's drink in cheer.

"Thanks to you and your mother, Robbie" Ryce said kindly, her hand cupping Met's and giving it a squeeze, before she leaned over and kissed the other blond on the cheek. There was a…knowing sort of look to her eyes. Rob chose to disregard it.

"So is that all?" Raven asked with a small smile.

"…Well…" Adam and Ryce looked at each other. The baby in their lap, not one to be left out, looked up at them, "one last thing."

---

"…Hon?"

"Hm…?" Ryce smiled, watching their baby sleep.

"I hate to say it, but," Met sighed, and smiled at her as she fussed with the baby in his hospital cot, "after everything that happened, I don't think we're getting our deposit back for the house."

His wife shifted towards him, with big, pensive eyes. "…Adam, our child was born in that house," she smiled. "I'll be damned if I let someone else have it now."

Met stared into those eyes…The words sunk in, and he wondered if he should apologize. But those eyes told him everything. He didn't need to.

Instead, he kissed her back when she leaned in.

---

Ryce pulled away from the chaste kiss, now taking place on the couch, her thumb gently stroking her baby's cheek. Met leaned away as well, resting back against his seat and wrapping an always warming arm around her.

"It all ended up working out for the best." Ryce explained, "Apparently the previous owners weren't particularly that excited or amused by my water breaking in their living room. Even if we tried, they weren't handing the deposit back over so…it was a good thing we loved it so much."

"Those insensitive…" Llareness started, before a gentle nudge from Savior persuaded her that she shouldn't go off on a tirade; probably for the best, all in all...

"Have you both set a move-in date?" Sophie asked kindly.

"Well we need a bit of time to get furniture…fix a few things up," Met replied, "It'll be a few months before everything is totally set up and read to live in. We're thinking spring some time."

Those assembled nodded quietly, still absorbing that the newest to their ranks was not only the first married with a child, but also leaving. The youngest family members evolving before anyone had been given notice. The interdimensional wayward travelers settled. The Fool questioning his jest. Growing up…

"Who's next?" Ryce asked cheerfully, cutting off the path to where those thoughts led.

It wasn't the end, it was just the next step.

Speaking of next steps…

"I think that's us." Victor said with a smile.

---

To be continued…

Thanks for reading our last fanfiction. It's been fun. Book time now.

-Sloth and TerRaine

...

Also…

"By the way, Met," Noel said. "It's the 24th. What was that Pangloss thing about?"

Met tilted his head.

Meanwhile, in Uberton…

"Welcome, Warriors of Will," the man with the tucked-in shirt and socks with sandals said grandly to the gathered crowd, "to our week-long AA Annual Holiday retreat!"

"One day at a time!" The crowd cheered.

"Well said! You will not find a single drop of alcohol within miles of our camp," the man's pride was palpable. "Of course, other minor vices like TV and cigarettes won't be found here, so let's all have good, clean, FUN!"

"YEAH!" said the crowd.

"No…noooooo…" Pangloss said instead, pounding his fists against the forcefield surrounding the entire camp, which did not bend even to his powers, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….!"

And back.

"…Your brother does magnificent work, Rob," Met smiled. "For the highest bidder too."

"…I don't want to know."