WSJ: v_v; Some people have muses that adore giving them fic ideas. I have to bribe mine...
Chibi-Malik: :p
WSJ: Ah yes, on to the various questions I've been receiving. The most often asked one is kind-of obvious. Will the yamis be in this? ^~ Yes they will *gets nudged by Indigo-san* all of them except for Ishtar.
Chibi-Malik: Oo;
WSJ: ^^ And when I say all, I mean all. But that's not for a few years yet. Let's try and get Angeline's kid born before we go giving it a yami, okay?
Angeline: ;_; You called her it...
WSJ: v_v; Ahhh... Okay, next question. For those of you that have read the latest chapter of Home Sweet Home, it got revealed that Angeline was actually the goddess Fate in disguise. That is not true in this fic. Angeline is just Angeline, although I may bring the Elementals in later. As for Shaadi, he is obviously not the guardian of the Sennen Items. No one has received their Item yet, not even Isis or Shaadi.
And for all of you that said Isis needs anger management... yes, yes she does. @_@;;
Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own, don't claim to own. I do own Karim and Najib, but you can have them if you really want. :p
Vocab:
onee-san - Japanese - big sister (formal)
neesan - Japanese - big sister (informal)
jii-san - Japanese - grandfather (informal)
ojii-san - Japanese - grandfather (formal)
tenshi - Japanese - angel
()()()()()
Hot Sands, Warm Arms
Chapter 5 -- Carrots in the Sand
"Carrots huh? Eat enough of those and someday you'll grow up to be a spaceship."
~(Tenchi - Tenchi Muyo)
Dedication:
For Ebony-san.
*twitches* I shall never look at Jonathon the same way again...
Malik's head popped up from the fountain and he tossed his wet hair out of his eyes, grinning widely at all who were staring at him. Angeline and Cynthia were outright laughing, and Shen and Pegasus and Arthur were chuckling. Karim and Najib, both used to the little boy's antics, had amused smiles on their faces. Sugoroku, Rashiid, and Shaadi were all nervously backing away from Isis, who was, once again, absolutely livid.
Seeing the look on his onee-san's face, Malik's smile faded as he registered her anger (for once). "'Sissy?" he asked timidly, shrinking down into the fountain as if he could hide under the water. "I do somet'ing bad?"
"Of course you did!" Isis shouted, blowing up at the little boy as she stomped over to glare down at him. "You're always so... so... you're such a little boy! Can't you stay still five minutes without getting into some mischeif or finding some new way to disgrace the family name? God Malik, sometimes I don't know why I didn't just leave you underground with mom and dad!" Spinning on her heel she stormed off into the house. Staring after her with wide lavendar eyes, Malik suddenly sat down in the fountain, heedless that the water was now up around his shoulders, and began to cry.
The rest of the archaeologists exchanged started glances. "I've never seen her yell at him like that before..." Rashiid ventured after a moment. "He's always annoyed her, I know, but never to the point of losing control like that..."
"I'll go talk to her." Cynthia volenteered. "Shaadi? Do you have any idea where she went?"
"To her room, most probably." Shaadi said. "Come, I'll show you the way." Before leaving he turned toward Karim and Najib, who looked a little confused since the entire exchange had taken place in Japanese, but who were also obviously concerned that Malik was sobbing his eyes out in the fountain. "Will you two please show Pegasus-san the way to the stables and then begin to unload? I'm sure Malik will be fine." He nodded toward Angeline, who was obviously getting ready to scoop the little boy up out of the water. Najib and Karim followed his gaze, then nodded in serene understanding. Surely the blond-haired sitt could take care of their little friend.
Shaadi and Cynthia left the courtyard by the door that led to the kitchens. Karim and Najib led the camels through the archway that led out to the stables, Pegasus, Arthur, and Sugoroku trailing behind them. That left Angeline and Shen in the garden courtyard with Malik.
Leaning over the edge of the fountain, Angeline tucked her hands under Malik's arms and lifted him out of the water as easily as if he weighed nothing. She set him down on her lap as Shen sat down beside her on the bench. Both their clothes were soaked in an instant, but neither really cared. Malik leaned against Angeline and cried into her shoulder while both adults whispered to him quietly and stroked his hair. At first the little Egyptian was just babbling incoherantly, but soon he calmed down enough to form actual sentences. As upset as he was though, he couldn't seem to remember his broken Japanese, and after a few false starts that just made him even more upset he gave up and spoke in Arabic, which both Shen and Angeline understood (although Malik had forgotten this fact as well). "Isis hates me!"
Shen blinked. He'd only known the Ishtars for a day, but he recognised this as the anomalty that it was. Malik almost never called his sister by her given name, it was always 'Sis this' or 'Sissy that'. Never 'Isis'. Malik must be really upset. Shen almost rolled his eyes at that. No duh he was upset.
"Oh Malik..." Angeline said sympatheticly, hugging the boy and brushing away the wet hair that was plastered against his forehead. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you. She just got mad, that's all. It happens to everyone."
Shen nodded his agreement. "My little brother and little sister and I fought all the time." He looked thoughtful. "In fact, we still do. It's just a part of nature for sisters and brothers to fight Malik, but she still loves you, I'm sure of it."
Malik seemed to think of something else and hiccuped, another tear sliding down his cheek. "Sh-she said she'd l-leave me under gr-ground. Rashiid says that i-it's really sc-scary down there."
"We won't let her leave you underground." Shen soothed, glancing up at his wife and winking at her. "And if she does, we'll come rescue you."
"Promise?" Malik asked hopefully, turning around in Angeline's lap to look up at Shen too.
Shen and Angeline grinned and said in unison "We promise!"
"Goodie." Malik seemed to be cheering up a little, but made no move to get up. That was fine with the Bakuras, who were enjoying getting to cuddle the adorable, if wet, little chibi. But that was okay too, since it was warm out and the sun was quickly drying them off. After a few minutes Malik sat up suddenly and patted Shen's cheek to get his attention. "Shen-san?"
"Hm?" Shen asked.
"Will you be my daddy?" Before either Bakura had a chance to recover from the question, Malik craned his neck to look up at Angeline, whose lap he was still sitting on. "And will you be my mommy?" He saw their surprised looks, so he hurried to explain, his eyes widening in agitation. "'Cause I have a sister, an' I have a bwother, an' Uncle Shaadi, and Uncle Karim, and Uncle Najib, but I dun' have a mommy or a daddy. 'Sissy and Rashiid say I had them a wong time ago, but I don't anymore." he sounded sad, but then perked up again and laid a hand on Angeline's stomach. "An' when you have the baby, I won't be the littlestest anymore, 'cause I'll have an even littler little bwother or sister!"
Angeline smiled warmly at her husband, who grinned back at her. "Who can refuse a face like that?"
"Yay!" Malik whooped, throwing one arm around Angeline's neck and the other around Shen's to give them both a hug. Then he leaned over so his face was about an inch away from Angeline's belly. "Hear that baby?" he asked, gingerly reaching out to rub the bulge the baby made. "I'm Mawik, your big bwother!"
Shen and Angeline chuckled and glanced at each other before looking down at Malik again, who was now carrying on an animated conversation with Angeline's belly or more logicly, the baby inside. "I guess you get to be a mother sooner then expected." Shen noted quietly, squeezing his wife's shoulder.
Angeline nodded and smiled, leaning back against her husband's shoulder, rubbing Malik's hair with one hand and holding one of Shen's hands with the other. "I think I'm going to like parenthood." she said pleasently.
"Me too Angel," Shen assured her, grinning cutely as his eyes briefly formed a chibi-esque "^-^" shape behind his glasses. "Me too."
(WSJ: Ahhhh! The WAFF! Cannot switch gears fast enough! @_@ Warning, system overload... Choking on fluff... *falls over and starts twitching as the assorted muses sweatdrop*)
"Isis-san?" Cynthia knocked gently on the door, then proceeded to push it open just wide enough to stick her head in. "Isis?"
"Go away." came a sulky voice by the window. Isis was sitting on the window seat of her room on the second story of the house, her chin in her hands. Her window faced the inner courtyard, and she was watching as Angeline and Shen cuddled and cooed over her little brother outside.
"Too bad." Cynthia said decisively, stepping inside the room. She took a moment to look it over. It was simple in its furnishings, but very neat and tidy, just like its mistress. The bed was neatly made with a gold and black quilt patterned in hieroglyphics. Sitting next to the bed was a small dresser with a mirror anchored to the wall above it. A closet was present in the wall opposite the bed, and a white-washed bookcase stood next to it, holding quite a few books and a few small trinkets. Other then that, the only other furniture, if it could be called that, was a painting hanging next to the window where Isis now sat.
The Egyptian woman gave no notice of Cynthia, although she obviously was aware that the blond was in the room, so Cynthia took her time and looked over the room in detail. The bedspread grabbed her attention first. Pegasus was in the midst of teaching her to read hieroglyphs, and she could make out the main jist of what had been stitched into the blanket. "'At my death let the bubbles of blood on my lips taste as sweet as berries. Give me not words of consolation. Give me magic, the fire of one beyond the borders of enchantment. Give me the spell of living well.'" she read out loud. She furrowed her brow in thought, wondering where she had heard that passage before.
"From the ancient Egyptian Book of Coming Forth By Day." Isis said, never turning away from the window. Her voice sounded flat, emotionless. "You would know it as the Book of the Dead. It's a spell of protection. Rashiid and Malik have blankets like that too, although in different colors. Mother made them for us."
Cynthia waited for Isis to go on, and when she didn't the American shrugged and moved to glance over a few of the books on Isis's shelf. A few were books on ancient Egyptian society and religion, a few romance novels. Cynthia was rather amused to see a dog-eared book on child rearing, as well as a tattered copy of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings written in what she assumed to be Arabic. Cynthia knew from the quick tour of the house Shaadi had given her on the way to Isis's room that there was a library downstairs. Apparently these were more personal books, and so Isis prefered to keep them in her room.
Cynthia's next examination fell to the painting hanging by Isis, and when she got a closer look at it it stole her breath away. The picture, which she had assumed was a painting, was actually done in colored pencils. It showed a young Egyptian man in his early or mid teens with huge angel wings made of what appeared to be fire sweeping back from his shoulders. He was holding some sort of a staff, and Cynthia noted that although the hair was much too long, the winged youth bore an uncanny resemblence to an older Malik. "Isis, what's this?" She blinked at the small "II" signature in the corner. "Did you do this?"
(WSJ: For those of you that want to see this drawing, go to www.angelfire. com[slash]realm3[slash]wsjsfics[slash]malikfire.jpg (add slashes as needed, ff.n wouldn't let me put them in.) I drew it, heaven knows why.)
Isis nodded, finally turning away from the window to look up at Cynthia. "Yes, I did. I saw him in a dream once, and was inspired to draw him. I really don't know just why."
"It looks like Malik."
Isis nodded. "I've noticed that too. In the dream, he was standing with two other men about his age. One of them had spiked black and gold hair, and the other had long white hair. The white-haired one had wings that were the purest silver-white, and the one with the spiked hair and blue and green wings. I never have been able to figure out what the dream meant." she shrugged. "It was probably just a dream." She turned back to the window, and after a moment Cynthia sat down beside her.
After a few minutes of silence, Isis sighed. "I really didn't mean to make him cry." she said out of the blue as she watched Malik carry on his conversation with Angeline's stomach. "It's just that sometimes he's so... so... exasperating!"
Cynthia giggled. "Well, I wouldn't know about that, me being an only child and all, but I don't think he'll hold it against you. You're siblings, siblings fight. It's a fact of life."
"I suppose." Isis sighed again. "But between having Malik to watch and my job as an archaeologist, it seems like my life has never been normal and never will be." Though she was still looking out the window, she was no longer watching Malik. Her eyes seemed focused on a point far distant. "While I was growing up, forced to stay underground, all I wanted was to see the sun, to laugh and play like anyone else. The few times Rashiid and I managed to sneak outside I watched the other little girls running and laughing, and I wished I could be like that. Then I grew up, and those desires faded. But when mama told me and Rashiid to take Malik and run, I thought... maybe I could be normal, maybe I could have normal friends... But all the women my age, and most of the women around here period, are all Muslims and kept under a tight leash. And even if they weren't, I have Malik to look after, and that ruins almost any chance I could ever have of making any friends."
"You have made friends." Cynthia pointed out. "Rashiid, and Shaadi, and Karim and Najib."
"I mean female friends." Isis snapped, then she softened. "I'm sorry Cynthia, but sometimes its so hard being surrounded by men."
Cynthia rolled her eyes and put her chin in her hands. "Oh believe me, I know how that goes." she said. "Almost all the servents in our home are men. Not that I have anything against Croquet and Kemo, and certainly nothing against Pegasus, but why in the world would he think I need a manservant, not a maid? (Not that I've ever needed a maid anyway.) Even our cook is a man, for crying out loud!"
Isis couldn't help it, she started laughing. The idea of Croquet or Kemo attempting to help Cynthia with her hair or make-up was just to much. Cynthia grinned at her in return. "And hey, you do have some good lady friends on your hands. You can't get rid of me and Angeline that easily!"
Isis calmed down from her laughing fit and then smiled at the blond in genuine gratitude. "Thanks a lot Cynthia, I appreciate it."
Cynthia's grin widened a trifle as she stood up. "Call me Cynnie, all my friends do."
Isis nodded and stood up as well. "All right then... Cynnie. Let's go down and see if we can get supper started. It's almost six, and our men-folk are going to be wanting their food." The two headed downstairs for the kitchen, chatting as they went. They'd just stepped off the last stair when Angeline and Shen entered from outside, Malik riding happily on Shen's shoulders and chattering about three miles a minute. As soon as he saw his sister, he went silent and shrunk down as if trying to hide behind Shen's hair.
Angeline and Shen stopped upon seeing them as well, but when Cynthia caught Angeline's eye and smiled, the two blond women relaxed slightly. Reaching up Angeline extracted Malik from her husband's head and set him on the ground, nudging him forward a little. "Go on Malik."
Malik gave her a long glance from under his bangs, then shuffled forward until he was standing in front of the surprised Isis. He looked down at his feet, his hands clasped in front of him as he fidgeted from foot to foot. "S-sissy?"
Isis's heart gave out and she kneeled down in front of her brother, a smile on her face. "Yes Malik?"
"I'm sowwey." Malik said sincerely, still looking at his feet.
"Awww..." Isis gathered her brother up into a hug, one which Malik enthusiasticly returned. "I forgive you Malik, and I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"I fo'give you too." Malik said, smiling as he pulled back out of her arms. "Mommy said she thought you would."
Isis looked startled. "Mommy?"
Malik nodded and pointed back at Angeline. "Mommy, and daddy." he shifted his finger to Shen, who was trying to contain laughter.
Isis was still mystified. "Mommy and daddy?"
"I'll explain it to you." Angeline promised. "As we make dinner. I assume that's where you're headed?" When Isis and Cynthia nodded, she spoke again. "Good, I'll help. Just give me a moment to change out of my wet clothes. Any idea where Shaadi went? He's got our bags on those camels."
"Out back, in the stables." Isis said. "Take that corridor there and then turn left, right out the back door. You can't miss it. I think all you guys are staying up on the second floor with me and Malik. There's only two bedrooms on the ground floor, and they're already Rashiid and Shaadi's."
"I'll go get our bags." Shen promised, giving Angeline a peck on the cheek. He then headed off in the direction Isis had indicated, whistling merrily as he went. Angeline laughed and took Malik by the hand. "Come on Malik, let's go follow 'daddy'. What do you keep in the stables?"
"Horses!" Malik said cheerfully as the two of them followed after Shen. "And a cranky ol' donkey named Nanet."
Isis laughed out loud at that and shook her head ruefully. "Nanet's the sweetest thing on four legs you'll ever meet." she explained to Cynthia as the two women entered the kitchens. "She just doesn't like Malik very much."
Angeline and Malik found Shen, Shaadi, Pegasus, Sugoroku, Arthur, Karim, and Najib unloading bags from the camels and making piles out of them according to which people they belonged to.
"Shen and Angeline will have a room to share," Shaadi was explaining. "And so will Cynthia and Pegasus, obviously. Arthur and Sugoroku will have rooms to themselves. Almost any room on the second floor is fine." he added as she spied Angeline gathering up her bags in preparation to go change out of her wet sundress. "Just pick one."
"I'd better take our things upstars as well." Pegasus decided, gathering up his and Cynthia's bags. Of course, there were quite a few more then he could carry, so he'd have to make another trip. As for Angeline, she'd just picked up her own two suitcases, assuming Shen would bring his own things once he was finished helping unload. Malik had helpfully picked up Angeline's duffle bag and purse, and now cheerfully led the way as she and Pegasus entered the house again.
"Have you seen Cynnie?" Pegasus asked as the two of them began to climb the stairs to the second floor.
Angeline nodded. "She and Isis are in the kitchen starting supper. I'm going to go help them as soon as I change clothes." she said. The trio reached the second floor and Malik led them to the right (although it didn't really matter, since the house was arranged in a square).
"Which room do you want mommy?" Malik asked, surprising Pegasus as much as he had Isis and Cynthia.
Angeline smiled as Malik put her stuff down in the room she'd indicated. "Malik has decided that Shen and I are his 'mommy' and 'daddy' since he doesn't have any." she explained.
Malik tugging on Pegasus's pant leg made both adults look down. "Peg'sus?" Malik asked, looking slightly bewildered. "Is it okay to have two mommies and two daddies?"
Thinking that Malik meant his real parents and his "new" parents, Pegasus was quick to nod. "Of course it is." he assured Malik.
The little Egyptian's face broke into a wide grin. "Goodie! You sav-ed my life on da twain, so you'e my daddy too! And Cyn'ya is my mommy too!" He wrapped one arm around Pegasus's leg and his other around Angeline's, then giggled slightly. Angeline and Pegasus looked at each other a moment, then burst out laughing, thouroughly charmed by the little boy.
"Come see my room Papa!" Malik said, detaching himself from his papa and mommy and grabbing ahold of Pegasus's hand. Chuckling, Pegasus waved good-bye to Angeline and allowed himself to be led. Angeline watched them go with an amused smile on her face, then went into her room to change clothes.
Peeling off her wet sundress she hung it over the shower rod in the bathroom to dry. She rummaged through her bag and found a pair of black stretch shorts and a light pink t-shirt with the words "Drama Queen" on the front. Shen had gotten it for her last Christmas, insisting that it just fit her personality so well. Angeline brushed her hair back and secured it in a low pony-tail, then slipped on some sandels and headed for the kitchens.
"Knock knock." she said, sticking her head around the door frame. "What can I do to help?"
Cynthia was over near the large island counter in the center of the kitchen peeling potatos, while Isis was rummaging through the many cabinets, looking for a certain pan. "Grab the chicken out of the refridgerator." Isis said over her shoulder. "Just set it on the counter so it'll start to thaw. Then you can help Cynnie with the vegetables."
Angeline did as she was bid, then glanced over at Cynthia and chuckled. "You're a mother Cynthia."
"What?" Cynthia nearly dropped the potato she'd been working on.
Angeline laughed. "According to Malik, I'm mommy, and you're mama."
"Intresting." Cynthia admitted, sweatdropping a bit. "I wonder where he came up with that?"
Angeline shrugged. "He said because Pegasus "sav-ed his life on da twain" you were his parents too."
"Aww..." Isis said, grinning. "That's cute."
"Yup." Angeline said cheerfully. She blinked suddenly, then giggled and put her hand over her stomach. "Stop it! That tickles!" She was apparently talking to her baby.
"So do you really think it's a girl?" Cynthia asked.
"Actually, no." Angeline admitted. "I'm pretty sure it's a boy. But Shen wants a son, so I just pretend I think he's a girl to tease him."
"How long have you and Shen been married?" Cynthia asked, obviously intrested. "Pegasus and I both want children, but neither of us are ready yet."
Angeline nodded thoughtfully. "Twenty is a bit young to be a mother, especially when you both have busy jobs."
"What, like you don't?" Isis asked. Although unmarried, she was intrested in the subject of mothering and babies as well.
"Okay, you got me." Angeline admitted. "Let's see... Shen and I met my junior year of college. He'd already graduated, and was serving as a teachers' aide in my ancient Greecian history class. It wasn't exactly love at first sight, but obviously we did fall in love. It was actually through some mutual friends of ours that we got together. We got engaged about a year and a half later, and then got married just after I graduated college five years ago. Like you," she nodded at Cynthia. "We both wanted children, but we knew we didn't want them right away. We were both archaeologists, and we always went out on our digs together. It was two years ago, when I was 25 and Shen 27 that we decided we were finally ready for kids. I was actually pregnant once before, but we lost the baby when I got sick due to food poisoning. This time though, we're going to make it. Somehow I can just know."
"That's sweet..." starry-eyed Cynthia said, sighing happily. She leaned against the counter, her chin propped up in her hands. "I can't wait until you have your baby Angel. I just love little kids!"
Angeline chuckled and patted her stomach. "Well let me tell you, I'm quite ready for the baby to be born. It's starting to get annoying having to eat and sleep enough for two."
"How far along are you?" Isis asked.
"About 5 months." Angeline said. "I'm due in October, but my family has a history of premature births, so I'm going to have to be careful."
Isis was nodding. "In about a month or so you're going to have to start taking it extremely easy Angel. We want both you and that baby to be healthy. But just in case, I'll start brushing up on techniques for delivering premies."
"Oh!" Cynthia exclaimed, slightly surprised. "You're going to deliver the baby Isis?"
"Yup. Angeline and I have been discussing it for several months. I am a registered nurse, you know."
"No, I didn't." Cynthia said, smiling. "That's a big accomplishment for someone your age."
Isis blushed a little and looked down. "When we came to live with Shaadi when I was twenty I started going to school almost immediately. Archaeology and nursing may seem like strange professions to mix together but they've always been dreams of mine."
"And now you're living both." said a voice from the doorway. The women turned to see Shaadi, his hair down out of his turban and pulled back instead into a long ponytail. "Do you ladies need any help?"
Isis nodded briskly to cover the slight blush on her cheeks and tossed Shaadi an apron. Both Angeline and Cynthia caught the coloring on her cheeks, however, and exchanged amused glances. "You know where the dishes are." Isis instructed him as he tied the light pink apron around himself. "Could you set the big table in the dining room? Oh, and make sure someone invites Karim and Najib to join us."
"Yes of course..." Shaadi murmered, frowning down at Isis's choice of apron. "But is this really necessary?"
"Of course." Isis said, smiling a bit devilishly. "Pink looks very good on you Shaadi."
"If you say so..." the man muttered, pulling a stack of plates out of a cabinet by the door. The moment he left the room all three women burst into giggles.
"Isis, that was possitively evil!" Angeline giggled, leaning up against the counter for support.
"But no camera..." Cynthia lamented, and the others agreed, still giggling.
Supper was served at seven, and everyone had a wonderful time just talking and getting to know each other. Angeline (with Malik's help) began teaching Karim and Najib basic Japanese, while at the other end of the table Pegasus and Isis coached Cynthia in Arabic. In between the two language lessons, Sugoroku and Rashiid got into a fierce argument over an obscure hieroglyph and its exact meaning. Arthur, Shaadi, and Shen joked about the argument and started up a running comentary on it as if it were a football game.
All in all, the evening passed quickly, and soon enough Najib and Karim excused themselves, insisting that their wives would be worried if they were home too late. Everyone bid them good night, and the archaeologists continued to talk, although the discussion slowly turned to their plans for the dig. Only Pegasus, Rashiid, and Shaadi had been out to see it, and they were very mysterious about the whole thing.
At about nine-thirty Malik began to yawn, and Isis told him it was time for bed. Of course, he had to say good-night to everyone first. ^~ He turned to Angeline first of all, since she was the one he'd been sitting closest to. "'Night Mommy." he said, standing on tip-toe to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Good night baby." he patted her stomach, then ran around the table to Shen. "Good night Daddy!"
"Good night Malik." Shen said, giving him a hug.
Malik went next to stand between Pegasus and Cynthia, and gave them both their hugs in turn. "G'night Papa, g'night Mama."
"Good night Malik." they said in chorus, sharing smiles with the rest of the table.
To the surprise of the old men, Malik came to them too with "Night jii-san" for Sugoroku and "G'night ojii-san" for Arthur. They both chuckled and wished him good night, and then Malik turned to Shaadi. "Good night Uncle Shaadi." And to Rashiid. "Night big bwother." Only after that did he let Isis pick him up and carry him toward the stairs. Peeping over his sister's shoulder as she carried him away, he waved sleepily to those still sitting at the table and then yawned widely.
After tucking Malik in Isis headed back down stairs and the adults continued to talk, even though their numbers began to dwindle. Cynthia and Angeline were the first to bow out, followed in short order by their husbands and Isis. Sugoroku, Arthur, Shaadi, and Rashiid talked for several hours more before they too bid each other good night and went to bed.
It was along about 2:30 a.m. when Shen was woken up by someone pacing up and down at the foot of the king sized bed in his and Angeline's room. Rolling over sleepily, he felt beside him and then became much more awake when he realized his wife was not in bed with him. Sitting bolt upright he was relieved to realize that Angeline was the one pacing. "What's wrong Tenshi?" he asked, using his nick name for her. In the dim light he could see her constantly rubbing her belly, and he couldn't help the panic that gripped his heart. "Has something happened?"
Angeline cried out in delight in seeing that her lover was awake. In two steps she was beside him and had wrapped her hands around the collar of his shirt, pulling her close until his face was bare inches from his. For a moment Shen thought she was going to kiss him, but she opened her mouth to speak instead. "Pickles, soy sause, and carrots."
Shen blinked, now thouroughly confused. He had to be dreaming. "Wha?"
Angeline tightened her grip on his collar. "Pickles, soy sause, and carrots. I must have them Shen!"
Shen sighed. This was no dream, just another weird food craving. "Tenshi," he said patiently. "We are in Luxor, Egypt. Nothing grows here except papyrus, lotus, and palm trees. Where am I going to find pickles, soy sause, and carrots, especially at 2 a.m?"
Angeline's face crumpled and big, fat tears began to roll down her cheeks. Letting go of Shen's collar she turned her back on him and began to sob. "You don't love me Shen! If you really loved me you wouldn't care what I wanted or how late it was! I should have married Pegasus! He'd get me what I want! All it is is just some measely carrots and pickles with some soy sause! Is that to much to ask of the man whose child I'm carrying?!"
Shen's eye twitched a little at the mention of Pegasus, and he sighed deeply. He'd learned that the fastest way to deal with these mood swings of Angeline's was to get her what she wanted. But the problem still stood. How in hell was he going to find those things at 2 a.m. in Egypt?
He sighed again and stood up to get dressed. He may as well try. And even if he didn't find her pickles, carrots, and soy sause, well, she'd understand.
Or at least, he hoped so.
()()()()()
WSJ: *snickers* And yet another chapter where they don't get to the dig. *sigh* Ah well. We'll get there eventually. Hey, anyone wasnt to see Shaadi in his apron? For some reason this chapter just kept inspiring me to draw things... I am currently working on the floor plans of Shaadi's house, although there's no telling when those will be done... Anyway, here's my pic of Shaadi. www. angelfire.com[slash]realm3[slash]wsjsfics[slash]shaadiapron.jpg (again, add the slashes)
Alright, survey time! I have some questions for you guys...
1) Should Pegasus and Cynthia have children?
1b) How many?
1c) Genders? Names? Any suggestions at all? ^^
2) What about Shaadi and Isis? Any kiddos for them?
3) Should Rashiid get a nice, OC girlfriend? Rashiid romances are practically non-existant...
And now that you guys have answered some of my questions, I'll answer some of yours. ^~
Will the yamis be in this? I answered this one earlier. All of them will be eventually, except for Ishtar. Interpret that as you want. ^~
Will anyone else (ex: Jou, Honda, Kaiba, ect.) be in this? Ehhh... I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that eventually they do all end up going back to Japan, so it is a possibility. ^~
Is Angeline's kid Ryou or Amane? I'll go ahead and say it. It's Ryou. He is older, that is canon, so the kid Angeline's carrying right now is Ryou. In the future however...
This isn't really a question, but a lot of people have commented on it. Yes, Malik is very cute. I'm basing him part way off of Ramses, from the Elizabeth Peters novels I keep mentioning, and part way off of Gher, a really adorable character in The Redemption of Althalus by Leigh and David Eddings. He's also a little bit of my best friend's baby brother (*huggles baby Kai*) and a bit of the kid I always end up watching when I'm in the church nursery. *snick* Fishes... *blinks* Never mind. Anyway, I'm babbling, so I'm going to go to bed. Not that I can sleep, my head is so stuffed up. *sighs and puts on her headphones, which start blasting Savage Garden* Let me be the one you call, if you jump I'll break your fall... *yawns* G'night minna-san!
God bless minna-san!