Disclaimer: I do not own Martian Manhunter or any DC character. I have not now nor ever will make any money from their use in my fiction.
The two of them had found another use for the construction site they met at. It had a large open area for them to move around in and it would be harder for them to be seen.
M'yri'ah groaned loudly, the sound echoing off the unfinished walls.
"You aren't very strong." J'onn pointed out, his hand in the middle of her back holding her down with just one arm.
"I could have told you that." Her voice was muffled into the floor. Her legs melded together, becoming snake like and wrapped itself around J'onn. She managed to break his hold on her by doing an alligator roll. It didn't take a minute before he had her on her back, pinned once more. "Damn it." Her legs snapped back into place.
"Didn't need to teach you much?" He teased.
"I suppose most of what I learned was how to run, hide and fight from a distance." Unless she knew she could get in close of course, then she just stabbed the hell out of whoever she was fighting.
"Hmm." She writhed underneath him, trying to escape once more. This time he pinned her hands over her head. "With our difference in strength I'd say that was an excellent strategy."
"You haven't taught me much today," She pointed out. "Other than you are very good at holding me down."
"Not for long, you are very slippery." He grunted when she managed to release one of her hands from his grip and knock him across the chin. "Feeling a little feistier I see."
She let out a growl of frustration when she tried to get away only for him to press his hand firmly on her middle, holding her in place. She thought to become intangible, but he only needed to shift his density as well and he could easily capture her again. She also tried morphing into a monster, but he was skilled at becoming something bigger and meaner. Unless she caught him unawares it was difficult to knock him off balance. It was a little frustrating going up against someone with an almost identical skill set that was far stronger than her.
Then again she had this same problem with her own husband long ago.
She went flat and rolled out from under him, this time meaning to run from him rather than confront him directly. She came up to a large metal pipe, when she turned to avoid it she could see he was practically on top of her. She managed to hold in the scream she felt bursting to get out and dodged him. He ran into the pipe, his head making a rather loud clang against the metal. "Oh." She let her concern for him take over and he used it to tackle her to the floor again.
"That was better." He complimented her. "Although you shouldn't worry about me M'yri'ah I can take a few hits to the head." He was really enjoying himself. Despite the fact that she wasn't much of a challenge yet, there was something satisfying about teaching his mate to fight and defend herself. He was surprised he hadn't thought of doing this before. He wouldn't have to worry as much about her while he was away.
"I'll bet you can." M'yri'ah tried getting away again but he held fast. She let out another growl of frustration. "I'm not used to feeling this helpless." She admitted. Now that she thought about it, she never had much of a chance to fight a fellow Martian before. She and her husband had spared but very rarely given their situation.
A sudden mischievous grin spread across his face.
"What are you thinking?" M'yri'ah asked suspiciously, she didn't have long to wait, his fingers skittered across her stomach and rib cage. "Stop!" She let out a peal of laughter. "Wait!"
Maybe it was the way she was squirming under him or the way she laughed but he suddenly wanted to kiss her again. Her laughter quickly turned to hungry mewing in his mouth. He wanted to take her in a visceral way, pressing her into the dirty floor below him.
This time she stopped him. "We probably shouldn't." She said between kisses. "We might be seen."
She was right, he thought as he took in a few calming breaths. This isn't how he wanted to take her for the first time. "Alright, let's get started again then." He lifted himself off of her and pulled her onto her feet.
An insistent knock pounded on the door no matter how many times she told him to hold on. "Wally, for God's sake I am coming!"
"Hurry up!" He shouted playfully, continuing to knock just to irritate her. "What, are you naked in there?"
"God you are so annoying." She swung the door open and he was still shaking his fist back and forth in midair where the door should be. "What is it?"
"You haven't seen me in a whole week and this is how you greet me?" He said in mock disappointment. "Look, I come bearing gifts."
She took a small box he handed her. She glanced up, asking permission to open it. When he nodded she pulled the ribbon back and opened the box. "Hotel shampoo?"
"Surprise!" He said in a sing-song voice.
It was the thought that counted. "Thank you, it was very thoughtful." She said sincerely.
"Oh man, you aren't any fun. I was hoping you would get upset." He huffed, disappointed.
"Well, you thought wrong." She poked his chest. "Let that be a lesson."
He had been holding something else behind his back the whole time. "Here, biscuits." He handed her a little carton of cookies from a shop he had been too while he was away. "I know how you like your sweets. Want to have them with some tea?"
She really didn't want to go back to his dirty apartment. "I'll make some."
He seemed pleased that he wouldn't have to make the tea. He sat down on the couch and watched her work. "So what have you been up to while I was away?"
"Well, things have gotten better between J'onn and I."
"That's great." His voice was sincere, thank goodness.
"Goodness knows we had enough fights while you were away."
"What about?"
M'yri'ah wondered if she should have said anything at all. It was her and J'onn's private business. She had just been so happy that things were better she thought she would mention it. "Weird things mostly, my daggers, my outfit, mind reading… other stuff. We worked it out though."
"Why was he upset about your outfit? It make you look too cool?" He teased, although he did seem a little disappointed it was gone. She imagined it was because he liked the way she looked in it. He said it enough.
"No, he just didn't like that his brother gave them to me is all."
Wilbur seemed a little taken aback by what she said. When she lifted her brow at him quizzically he seemed to come to his senses. "Well, it's just Dr. Erdel never mentioned J'onn had a brother."
"Oh."
"Maybe if he had I would have suggested we bring his brother here instead." Wilbur went on to say. "He probably would have liked to have someone related to him, don't you think?"
"Ha, that would have been a disaster."
Wilbur seemed a little confused. "Were they not close?"
"No, they weren't and they didn't really make it a secret either." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I never heard the end of it."
"You make it sound like you were caught in the middle." He pressed.
"I was. J'onn's brother visited often. Their mother wanted them to spend more time together. She had hoped J'onn would maybe rub off on him and make him into a nicer person." She almost looked amused. "It was hard to play referee."
Wilbur's continence turned serious. "They both spoke with you about each other?"
"Yes they did. J'onn was upset that I listened to his brother complaining about him. It's not that I agreed with him, mind you, but I understood what it was like to not be the favorite child."
Wilbur's face told her he found that hard to believe. "Oh?"
"My younger sister had been the apple of my father's eye." M'yri'ah sighed. "I did love her but it was sometimes irritating to have my father compare the two of us."
He scoffed. "What did you do that was so terrible?"
"Defy him constantly." M'yri'ah laughed at the incredulous face Wilbur made at her. "I rarely listened to him. He even opposed my marriage to J'onn because he was so much older than I. Not only that, but he had a suitor for me picked out already before I met J'onn and he didn't want to offend his friend's family. He ended up promising my sister to him. It worked out I suppose, she liked him better than I did."
Wilbur shared her laugh at that.
"Well, anyway. I believe Ma'alefa'ak felt he could vent to me without being judged." She explained, "But I did encourage him speak with his brother about his feelings each time he complained to me." She paused before continuing on, "He never did of course." Her lips pressed together in a straight line. "Ah well. They are both gone now. I just wish they had made up."
"I'm sure you did all you could."
"I suppose." She sighed. "I do feel bad sometimes that I let him complain about my own husband to me. I should have discouraged it." She shrugged. "Maybe I hoped if they both felt heard they would magically become friends but it just seemed to drive a bigger wedge between them. J'onn felt like his brother was trying to poison me from him and steal me away."
Wilbur shrugged his shoulders, unconsciously mimicking her. "Maybe he was."
"I don't believe so." M'yri'ah said slowly, not sounding very sure herself. "He never seemed interested in me in that way."
Wilbur wondered if she had ever noticed when people other than J'onn were interested in her.
"Besides, we had nothing in common really. He always seemed so absorbed in his work."
"He gave you a present." Wilbur pointed out. "That sounds like he liked you enough."
"Maybe so. Ma'alefa'ak made them himself and he didn't really part with his projects so easily. Now that I am remembering he did make a big show out of giving them to me." She looked up at Wilbur and rolled her eyes. "I am a fool."
"Don't feel too bad." Dr. Mitchell soothed, patting her knee. He glanced down at his watch and let a whistle blow through his teeth. "I suppose I should get going. It's late."
"Oh." M'yri'ah looked at the time. It was the middle of the night. "Yes, I see. Sorry to keep you."
"No, thank you for keeping me. My life is pretty boring and it is nice to have someone to talk to."
J'onn was having a hard time sorting through the file he brought with him. He had been in such a hurry to get here he had just thrown everything he needed into his briefcase and came over. M'yri'ah was curled up naked on the couch next to him, looking even smaller than normal with her legs tucked underneath her. It had been so long since he had watched her read that he had almost forgotten that she licked her finger as she turned each page.
M'yri'ah let out a small laugh as she read a particularly funny passage. "Hm." She sighed heavily.
He watched her tongue dart across her finger tips for what seemed the hundredth time. Maybe he would have to borrow it from her when she was finished. Considering how close they've gotten it was getting harder to ignore her state of undress.
"Are you alright J'onn?" She asked, not looking up from her book.
"Yes, why?"
"You keep looking at me and making noises." She put her book down and faced him. "Am I doing something to bother you?"
"It's nothing."
"No, it's okay. You can tell me." She put her feet down on the floor and turned to him fully.
He wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about this. "I'm flattered that you would feel comfortable around me enough to show me your body, but why are you nude?"
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"When you shift to your true self, you never wear any clothes."
"Well, it's pretty redundant to put on clothes made of my own skin don't you think?" She hadn't thought about it until now but he did create at least a small cloth, or clothes to cover up his private areas. She thought he did it for aesthetic purposes and not because he was shy. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"
"I'm not sure." He lied. It sure did but he didn't want her to tease him about it.
"I just never did wear anything, and neither did anyone else when we are our true selves." M'yri'ah smiled at him. "What did you wear?"
"Clothes." He said simply.
He was so uncomfortable she decided to not press him further on that matter. "I wonder, do you even find this body attractive? I know you think I look like a human. I never stopped to ask you what you thought of me or what Martian women looked like in this world."
"I find your body beautiful." He said honestly. "As for what the women looked like let me think on it for a moment."
She saw an image flash in her mind. She could tell he was showing her his M'yri'ah. She looked similar to J'onn but with a slender body and face. She didn't quite look as warlike as J'onn either, lacking the barbs on her hips and arms. The only thing that disturbed her was how flat chested she was and how slender her hips were. Her own body was also slender around the middle, but she definitely had a bust and large hips. She wondered if she looked fat in comparison.
"You don't look fat. You just look like a human." J'onn chided.
"Why do you always read my immediate thoughts?" She asked. "Why don't you ever ask me what I'm thinking of instead?"
"I suppose because I don't see the point if I can hear your thoughts." He knew she wasn't going to be happy about this. "Since we are so close emotionally, I can hear when you are thinking quite loudly. It's not something I'm doing on purpose, it happens passively"
"Oh." The thought of him listening in on her thoughts at all times was still upsetting, but if he wasn't doing it on purpose she supposed she couldn't be too mad at him.
"Why does it upset you?" He asked. "When I know what you are thinking?"
"Well," She crossed her leg, trying to think of the best way to explain it. "In my culture we did read others, but we it mostly between people we really don't know well or distant friends. We didn't really speak to each other with our minds like you do unless we were being secretive or didn't trust someone around us." She thought about it. "My husband and I used it mostly after the war started, when it wasn't safe to speak out loud."
"So it was used sort of like a weapon."
"Yes." She nodded, glad he finally understood. "Married couples or partners just don't do that sort of thing unless you have permission or you want to share something intimate and want to be discrete. When you do it without asking all the time it's like saying you don't trust me or you are fact checking me."
"Oh." That would explain her irritability.
"But I do understand now." She thought of a question she wanted to ask earlier. "Did you read each other's thoughts all the time?"
"Yes." He said. "But I suppose it went deeper than mind reading. We were connected together, our thoughts and feelings." It was hard to describe.
She wondered what that felt like.
"Bliss." He answered her unasked question.
That didn't sound too bad. "I wonder if I could do it." She thought out loud. "I mean if I even have the ability. We are so different."
"We might be able to." He wasn't sure at first, but now that she seemed interested he was jumping at the chance to see if it would work. "Would you like to try?"
"I suppose it couldn't hurt." She laughed nervously when he took her into his lap and placed her hands on his temples and then positioned his fingers on her head as well.
"I could usually do this across from a chair but your arms are short." He explained. True she could probably stretch her arms up but this was a good excuse to be closer to her.
J'onn's eyes began to glow and she felt the familiar touch of his mind, edging its way along her consciousness. M'yri'ah gasped when she felt it piercing through gently, merging with hers. She quickly realized this wasn't a simple mind reading or sharing. She was half terrified she was going to become lost.
"Relax." J'onn soothed out loud. "I won't do anything to hurt you."
M'yri'ah let her shoulders drop and took a calming breath. "Okay."
J'onn gave her a reassuring smile before continuing. He went slower and after a few moments he could feel her reluctance begin to give way. He let out a shuddering sigh when he felt her let go and allow herself to be taken by him. It felt the same when he and his wife came together for the first time so long ago.
After he made the connection, he allowed his hands to move down her body and rest around her hip and waist. She hadn't let go of his head, looking like she was positively gripped in a pleasant yet unfamiliar sensation. "Are you alright M'yri'ah?" He asked, groaning when she shifted around to straddle his lap.
"Yes." She said tightly, her head felt like it was swimming in pleasure. "I don't know what to do."
"It's okay." He felt it too. "Although you should probably try to breath."
"Okay." M'yri'ah took a breath, and then another far too quickly. She let her hands fall to his shoulders, kneading them mindlessly. "Oh God."
J'onn breathed deeply and she could feel the wind rushing in her mind. He was trying to help her calm down.
When she finally could control her breathing she opened up her eyes. She could feel how much he loved her when he looked at her. She imagined he could probably better understand how she felt now too, under her sometimes prickly exterior. It gave her such hope. "It feels nice." She murmured, feeling warm and liquid.
J'onn looked into her eyes, glowing amber just like his. He could see her devotion to him radiating over and over and it took his breath away. "It does." It had been so long since he had connected anyone on this level.
M'yri'ah blinked, severing the connection between them. He seemed pained when she did so. "What is it?"
Their time together had been so disappointingly brief. "I just can't believe how easily you shut it off. It was the hardest thing I had to do with M'yri'ah and our daughter." To save his life, he severed his connection to them.
It was so strange when he mentioned his wife by name. "I'm sorry, I didn't do it to be mean." She said. "It's just intense. I've never done that before."
"Don't be sorry, you are just not used to it." He blinked, letting the fog in his mind clear.
"I'm glad to know that I can do it." M'yri'ah said more to herself. She couldn't help but wish that she and her husband could have shared such a connection long ago.
"Me too." He was pleased that she had been so happy and seemed willing to try again.
She slid off his lap. "It's getting late." The days seemed to be flying by.
"I probably should go." He looked out the window. It was dark already. "I need to be somewhere in the morning and I still need to organize my things."
"The briefcase you brought over?"
"Yes." He rubbed his face sleepily. "I brought it with me from work." He hadn't wanted to stop by his apartment before visiting with M'yri'ah. He imagined it looked silly to carry such a thing while flying, but it took so long to get here he hadn't wanted to wait. "I haven't had a chance to go through it yet and it's a mess."
That didn't sound like him, sure he was a slob in his own home but at work he was immaculate. "I thought you had packed an overnight bag." She sounded disappointed.
"I don't think you have room for me on your bed." He joked, looking at her twin mattress.
"Maybe if you slept on your side..." She let her voice trail off.
It was tempting to spend the night. He supposed if he went to bed soon he could get an earlier start. He rubbed his eyes again. Maybe connecting with her had taken more out of him than he thought. "Since I'm staying, I wanted to ask you something."
"What's that?"" M'yri'ah pushed him towards her bed and he didn't fight her even a little.
"The other day when we were at the construction site," He began.
She wanted to say when they were training, but she believed they had mostly played around the entire time they had been there. "Yes?"
"You aren't very strong, at least not as strong as I remembered. Why is that?" He felt her bed sag under his weight as he sat down on the edge.
"Well, not everyone had all the abilities you have, you know. At least where I come from, one of our sons could not fly and the other could not pass through objects. You were exceptionally talented." M'yri'ah explained. "You seemed to have every ability under the sun so to speak."
"Is there an ability that you don't have?" J'onn asked.
"I'm not as strong as you are obviously. I am strong for a human of course, but I can't lift up a car over my head like it's nothing." She joked. "Mostly I cheat. I use my telekinesis to move heavier objects or like when I punched a hole in your friend Saul's roof."
"I see." He rubbed his face again.
"I also can't shoot lasers from my eyes," M'yri'ah went on. "And my eyes are rather bad in general. I cannot look ahead like you can either." She pushed him back onto the bed.
"Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to share that with me." He was suddenly so tired sounding.
She shrugged. "You would have figured it out sometime."
"Maybe."
A few moments later she heard his even breathing and gentle snoring. "Goodnight J'onn." She sat on the bed next to him for a few moments and learned down to hold him for just a little while. She heard him mumble something unintelligible before pressing a kiss to her temple.
Author's notes: I know what you are thinking, J'onn? A slob? I based J'onn being messy at home by watching the movies and cartoons. In some of the films he has an apartment or place that seems to be jacked up with folders or bottles all over the place. Pick up after yourself man, damn.
I remember reading somewhere (if you know tell me) that someone wanted to see a story with the Martians where they all had different abilities or were better at some things than others. It would make sense to me that maybe some were faster than others or some were stronger etc.
There is going to be pretty graphic things happening in the next chapter or two. At first I thought to just slap it on here but them's the rules. If you would like to read an unedited version of Chapters 7 and 8 you will need to go to my DeviantArt account. It will be under Restrictor without the S like on my fanfiction account. I'll be editing those chapters in the next few days and posting so look out for them to appear here when I can shave them down.
