Headcanoned with and beta-ed by graceonce
I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn
"No, no I got 'im."
Annoyed, Cordelia tightened her hold on the baby carrier. "Misty, I can hold him just fine."
"No, you're exhausted. Zoe's got the car parked over here somewhere, I'll strap the kid in and have her pull up. Can ya stay by yourself?"
"I can walk by myself, too," the Supreme enunciated. She pushed past the girl, throwing her a light scowl, and headed for the back of the parking lot. Misty began to follow her as she whined lightly, but Cordelia ignored her. "I'm big enough to take care of myself, I told you I feel fine, and," She turned and Misty stood flush to her, surprised, as she brought her free hand up to cup her face. "It's been three days, I had definite time to get my strength back up."
"Please let me hold him," Misty begged quietly. Cordelia softened, watching her, and finally sighed, passing the sleeping child in his carrier to the girl. The wild blonde kissed the palm of her hand quickly before taking her arm in hers and walking, albeit slowly, to the car.
Zoe hugged Cordelia gingerly and took a moment to gush over Janjak as he woke, jostled by the sudden change in light and wind and atmosphere. He gazed up at the three of them from where he lay, eyebrows together and mouth open in question, but nothing came from him, and he turned away to look elsewhere.
The youngest blonde glanced sideways at Cordelia and offered her a light smile. "He's quiet, at least."
"Hopefully he will be at night, too."
Cordelia regretted her words now, hours later, as she stared Janjak down, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked into his crib and chewed on her lower lip. He stared back. She paced around lightly before planting herself in front of him again.
She'd been standing for close to an hour, watching him, waiting for him to finally cry to be changed, or to be fed, but it was as if he were mute. And she knew he wasn't, he'd wailed when he'd left her. Though, if she was being honest with herself, he hadn't cried for long. Surely the doctors would have said if something were wrong with his vocal chords, or his responses. His reflexes.
She turned lightly as Misty wrapped her arms around her waist, propping her chin on her shoulder. The girl's voice was tired, her eyes closed as she mumbled into the Supreme's neck.
"It's three in the mornin', what are ya doin' starin' at Janjak."
"He's not crying, Misty."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"He hasn't cried since he came home, since he's been born." Cordelia glanced at the necromancer. "That's not normal."
"Maybe he's just a real quiet baby?" Misty offered. "Darlin', you're shakin' from exhaustion. I'll stay up and change him if need be, and wake ya if he's hungry, alright?"
"You're not even supposed to be in here, Misty," Cordelia sighed. "I can take care of my own child." She pulled the girl's arms away from her body. "I can."
"I know ya can." The necromancer moved to her side and reached down to pass her hand over Janjak's forehead. He pushed at her hand with a tiny fist and she smiled. "Hey, baby."
"I'm going to feed him," Cordelia decided abruptly.
Misty looked up at her. "Alright." She picked Janjak up, cooing into his ear, and followed Cordelia to the bed. The Supreme sat on the edge and she took him from the girl, pulling her blouse open until Janjak fit easily against her chest and until he'd attached to her breast.
"He's hungry." Cordelia closed her eyes, wincing lightly in confusion. "Why wouldn't he cry?"
The necromancer grimaced. "I don't know, Delia, this is my first kid too, ya know?" She kneeled in front of the Supreme, gazing over Janjak. "I'll stop by the doctor's tomorrow and ask, Queenie's headed that way in the afternoon. If need be I'll take him the day after."
"I don't want anything to be wrong with him."
"I'm sure he's alright. He might just be a quiet kid, it happens, don't it?" Misty tried. "He's fine." She watched the Supreme rub at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'll put him to bed, okay? I'll leave for tonight but I'll be in the next room and ya just call if ya need to."
"Misty, just stay."
"Are ya sure? I don't mind leavin' if ya want me to. It's no biggie."
Cordelia smiled lightly. "Just stay."
OOOoooOOO
"No, no baby please don't cry, it's okay-" Cordelia picked Janjak up from his carrier on her study's couch, forgetting the paperwork on her desk, and she bounced the two month old carefully around the room. She paced around the floor, pressing kisses to the side of his head, though her black gaze was trained on her computer, where she'd opened the Excel document where she kept her finances in order. She stepped over and pressed a few keys, but pulled back once Janjak started his cries up again.
"Sorry, sorry baby I just have to finish this, I'm sorry," she hummed. "I know, I'm stressed too." He paused after a hiccup and nudged farther into her embrace.
At least he was crying.
It'd been a stressful first week with him at the academy, he'd stared and he'd gurgled and he'd guzzled but he'd never said anything. The pediatrician had looked him over and said nothing was wrong, as puzzled as he'd been as well.
It was when Cordelia had broken down that weekend, crying into Misty's shoulder and sobbing uncontrollably, that Janjak had begun his wailing too.
She sat down behind her desk and set him down on the surface, taking a moment to fix his shirt before taking him in her arms again.
Misty was in in a flurry of layers and noisy bangles, and she paused, seeing the Supreme wipe at Janjak's cheeks.
"Tissue?" she offered, finding one inside her pockets.
"Thanks," Cordelia sighed. She took it and wiped at the boy's nose. "I think he's as upset as me about these bank accounts. What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothin'. I just wanted to let ya know the daffodils are out." Misty smiled. "It's spring, Delia."
The Supreme nodded, but she didn't grin back like she knew the necromancer expected.
"Hey, what's with the frownin'?"
"I'm just wondering, you know, thinking. Too hard, maybe," Cordelia admitted.
"Anythin' specific?"
"Just about Janjak."
Misty nodded slowly, and the Supreme looked away, immediately feeling horrible. Every time she said the boy's name, the girl bristled lightly.
And she had reason to.
When the birth certificate had been brought to her the second time the next morning, she'd had found a name to sign in black ink. Janjak. The necromancer had watched her sign in swirled loops, leaving the father's line blank, but she hadn't asked the Supreme where or when she'd heard her say the name. Misty was pretty sure she'd never suggested it, Cordelia could hear her thoughts too easily.
She hadn't told Misty of Papa's visit the night before.
"I can take him from ya, if ya want, just for a few hours."
"You already did yesterday, it's fine, Misty." Cordelia shook her head. "He is mine, after all."
"Yeah well, ya know what I think about that," the wild blonde muttered.
"Yes, I do, thank you," the Supreme replied, voice a little more forceful than she'd meant it to be. She reached for Janjak when he began to cry again.
Misty held her hands up and took a step back. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just care."
"I know." Cordelia hung her head in shame. She cocked her head to the side and gave the wild blonde a soft smile, all but grimaced out. "I'm sorry too. I'm just-"
"High strung? I noticed."
The two shared an awkward laugh, Misty still smiling when Cordelia looked down at the child against her chest.
"He looks exactly like him," Cordelia finally said, biting on her lower lip. She fought the tears prickling at the back of her eyes as Janjak began whimpering.
"He does, but for one thing," Misty murmured. "He's got your eyes."
OOOoooOOO
"It's obvious I had a child."
The necromancer looked up from her the book in her lap and raised an eyebrow as she closed the cover over her thumb, and she shifted in the Supreme's bedroom's armchair to tuck her feet beneath her. "And?"
"And look at me."
"I am, what's the problem?"
Cordelia's black eyes met the wild blonde's in the tall mirror and she rested her weight on one leg, pulling her sweater a little farther up her chest to show her stomach a little more. "Are you teasing me?"
"No, I really don't get what ya mean," Misty replied. She propped her elbows onto her thighs and cocked her head to the side as the Supreme sighed lightly and pointed at her stomach. She poked it delicately. The necromancer let out a little grunt. "Well, yeah, your tummy ain't as flat as before but you did have a child, Cordelia. And ya still look real good, so what's the problem?"
"Was that an after-thought?" Cordelia teased. "That compliment there?"
Misty scowled as she stood up, throwing the book where she'd sat, and crossed to the mirror to stand by the Supreme, watching her reflection. "Ya don't need no flat tummy to be beautiful, Delia."
"I'm sure you've said that to all the moms you've met."
"Only the ones with your name."
The older blonde grimaced at her in the reflection but after a moment, broke into a smile, her flush matching Misty's.
She sobered quickly.
"I'm sure if Madison were here she'd say something about a loose puss-."
"Delia-!"
"Alright, sorry," the Supreme grouched back, shrugging her shoulders heavily. "She would have. I just don't feel very sexy," Cordelia sighed. "Not, not even sexy, just-" She took in a light breath. "Desirable. Pretty. I don't know." She pulled her shirt down over her chest.
"You're plenty nice, Miss Delia. Them too."
The Supreme turned, grinning at Misty, and the necromancer looked away, a blush running up her neck. "Sorry." Cordelia leaned over and Misty instinctively did too, taking the cheek kiss the older blonde offered her.
From his play-pen, Janjak, five months old and sitting up in between large dog plushes, let out a happy gurgle.
"I think he finds them nice too." Misty winked easily at Cordelia before going over to see him. Unsettling black eyes watched her and she took a moment before reaching in to pick him up.
"He would, I feed him," Cordelia replied. "He's bound to be biased." Misty hummed back as she twirled carefully around the floor, playing with Janjak. She took a moment to bend down to pick his favorite toy up, and held it to his hands.
"Ya wanna dance with him too? Yeah?"
"My last name has always been ironic," the Supreme suddenly blurted. Misty stopped, her smile still spread on her face, and she looked into the woman's reflection in the mirror.
Breathlessly, she reaffirmed her grip on Janjak. "Delia?"
Cordelia turned to look at Misty properly, her eyes somewhat lost in their own darkness. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking-I don't know. My last name?" She shrugged helplessly.
"Yeah, Cordelia Goode," the necromancer said. She pressed a kiss to Janjak's nose. "And Janjak Goode."
"But are we? Have we ever been?"
"Do ya get existential often when ya talk about your breasts?" Seeing Cordelia's dejected look, Misty sighed. "Ya know ya are, darlin'. How many times will I have to say ya aren't your ma? Or your pa?" The Supreme scrunched her nose at the mention of her father, her missing father, and she turned back to the mirror, eyeing Misty in it. "Honestly, a name is a name is a name." She nudged the boy's nose with her own. "A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet. So Cordelia would, were she not Cordelia called, retain that dear perfection which she owes without that title."
"I don't think Shakespeare is ever a good example for anything." Cordelia looked away, chest flushing in light anger.
"I'm just sayin'."
"He might turn out horrible-"
"And he might not."
"And I still might. It's been a year and a half since I ascended to the Supremacy and what have I done to show it?" Cordelia asked, pulling her heels on angrily. "I let a woman die, I didn't help you, I didn't even try. All I'm doing is growing plants downstairs and cowering still."
"Delia-"
"I can't even take care of my own child, you're always around to take him when he gets to be too much for me to handle, what kind of mother am I? What kind of Supreme? I'm supposed to take care of children!"
Misty shifted her weight, glancing quickly at Janjak as he began to cry. She shushed him as best as she could. "Cordelia, it ain't none of that."
"What the hell do you know?"
The necromancer's brows furrowed and she took a step forward. "Don't ya dare and even try to bring my parents into this."
"Why shouldn't I? What do you know about raising a child?"
"No more than ya, Cordelia, but I know what not to do. As do ya. So don't give me any of that-" She glanced quickly at Janjak, his mouth still open in wails. "Don't give me any of that."
Cordelia sighed, annoyed, and held her arms out. "Give him here."
"Not until you calm down, Delia, you're bein' hysterical." Misty frowned. "Ya know the doctor said ya might experience mild depression after birth-"
"You're saying I'm depressed? Give him to me!"
"No, I'm sayin' you're not completely right, that you're emotional. And that that's normal. Especially in this situation. Sit."
The Supreme whined suddenly, almost close to stomping her foot, and she took a seat on the edge of her bed. And her head fell into her hands and she began to cry. Misty watched her sadly, and went to put Janjak, now in the after stages of his crisis, back in his play pen before she made her way to the Supreme's side.
Cordelia buried into her neck when she turned to face her, warm tears dotting her and the necromancer's shirts.
"Hey, it's okay, it's overwhelmin' and stuff, I got ya," Misty murmured to her. She pulled her hair away from the woman's face. "You're not alone, and ya can bet your ass I, nor the girls, will let ya do anythin' but your most amazin' with him. Ya know how to raise him. You're a Goode and you'll stand up to your name."
OOOoooOOO
Queenie watched Janjak titter around the living room, a large smile on her face as Zoe nudged into her side and pointed at him in both wonder and appreciation. Misty watched from the corner, biting back a grin as the boy made his way to her on two strong legs.
Cordelia had been surprised to find her eight month old standing in his crib the day before. He'd stared back and she'd spent a good minute just looking him over, pleasantly confused, before picking him up and setting him down on the floor. And he'd taken off.
Misty matched his giggles as she picked him up and propped him onto her knee. "Ain't it amazin'? Cordelia was right surprised, he wasn't supposed to be walkin' for another month. Says the average, anyway. Guess he's outta average, huh Janjak?"
Zoe nodded quickly. "I wouldn't expect anything else out of him, honestly."
"He's going to be a handful, walking around like that," Queenie laughed.
"He's a right little rabbit. I want to get him those light up sneakers, it'll be too funny." Misty grinned back.
"The Lighting McQueen ones!" Zoe giggled.
Janjak opened his mouth and let out little noises as he jumped on Misty's lap, pointing at the door, and a moment later Cordelia crossed through. She grinned at him and picked him up.
"Hi, baby! Missed me?"
"You know he did," Zoe replied.
Cordelia smiled at her. "Unfortunately, it is bedtime for him, so I'm going to have to take your little toy away for the night."
The council members both kissed him on the cheek, smiling when he did, and Misty followed Cordelia upstairs, a hand to her lower back. When the Supreme had changed and prepared him for bed, she'd let him into his crib and had let Misty read him a story, something about swamp animals that had him giggling when she imitated them.
He wasn't asleep a half an hour later but he was laid down and quiet, and Cordelia found herself already on her mattress, the necromancer tucked into her side. They ignored that the sun hadn't fallen past the horizon yet.
"I think I'll take him out tomorrow, to the park or somethin'," Misty breathed out, her eyes closing as she pressed back into her pillow. "Try to see if he's any good at kickin' a ball. I think Queenie's got a soccer ball hangin' around somewhere."
The Supreme turned to her. "He's just started walking."
"Don't mean he can't kick. And if he falls, it'll teach him balance," Misty joked.
Cordelia's black eyes suddenly narrowed. "Why?"
"Why what?" The wild blonde frowned. "Why not? He's young, yeah, but he needs to have some fun, ya know?"
"Are you saying I'm not fun?"
"Delia, I ain't." Misty sat up. "Ya know I ain't, come on-"
"You're not his father, Misty!" Cordelia suddenly snapped. Janjak whimpered and began to howl and she stood to fetch him.
Taken aback, the necromancer blinked as she followed her with her gaze, confused. "I know that."
"And you're not his mother either, I am. So stop acting like you are or like you know how to take care of his growth."
"I mean, I've been to the doctor's appointments and stuff, I know how it works, I read the pamphlets too. I know how to use Google," Misty said softly. She offered the Supreme a light smile, trying to diffuse her sudden anger, but the woman ignored her.
"You didn't give birth to him, Misty. You were merely there, merely listening when you didn't have to. What if you didn't? What if you missed something important?"
"Did they say anythin' about not lettin' him out to play ball?" Misty asked.
"You don't know anything."
With a snarl, Misty suddenly stood. "Well that's fine then," she snapped. "Put him to sleep yourself, your fuckin' child is cryin', not mine." She grabbed her pillow.
"Where are you going?" Cordelia demanded, her grip tightening on Janjak.
"Back to my room, where I'm supposed to be," Misty replied harshly. "I'm not his father, I can't exactly take the place in the bed either, can I? And shut that kid up, honestly, he's gonna wake everyone up if he keeps goin' like that."
"Fine!"
The necromancer threw her a glare before slamming the door behind her.
OOOoooOOO
Cordelia had wanted to beg Misty for help when Janjak found out how to escape his wooden prison at night, but it was a month later and the dark clouds that had come over the academy hadn't left.
The Supreme and the necromancer talked, but it was in quick bursts, minutes at most. Misty could barely stand being around her for too long, and Cordelia had no want to be anywhere near her, not when they started bickering and when they started yelling at each other from across a room.
No, Cordelia only saw her twice, or three, times a day, to hand over Janjak when she needed to, or to take him back before the sun fell.
But now the toddler was nine months old and tittering around at midnight, sometimes so silent that she didn't hear him leave the room, no matter how lightly she slept, and she half wondered if his father had anything to do with it. Half wondered if asking the wild blonde for anything close to help would be fruitous.
She stared him down, black eyes against black eyes, in the permeable darkness. Waiting for him to try and leave again, waiting to see him climb the bars of his playpen.
There was no reason to put him in his crib anymore, not when it was feet above the floor. The playpen was safer.
Anger flared through her as she thought of what Misty would say if she sat by her, watching him with her. She pushed the thought away as she closed her eyes to breathe deeply, willing her heart to calm. And something shifted in the night.
She gazed curiously to her side and there was Janjak, slipped out of his pen and walking from her dresser to her bed and back, as if searching for something, and she sighed. But she didn't go to pick him up. He always slept better when he'd had his midnight walk.
"Baby, what are you doing?" She asked softly. "What are you looking for?" He glanced sideways at her, black gaze momentarily red in the streetlights' soft glow, and he wobbled past her, pulling the cracked door open with his little hands. Cordelia passed her fingers through her hair shakily and stood to follow him, folding her arms over her chest.
She figured she wasn't the model of parenting perfection.
His steps were slow, small, almost calculated, and she hovered above him, though she didn't reach for him, didn't offer a helping hand as he placed his own against the wall to brace himself. He walked the length of the hallway, pausing at every door almost as if to listen inside the closed sections as he scowled. It was as if he were annoyed that he had no access to the rooms.
He glanced back at her as she followed, almost challenging her to pick him up, but she just raised her eyebrows and seemingly satisfied (or as satisfed as a nine month old could be, she figured), he continued his walk.
She wondered how intelligent he was in that head of his, but she was too scared to answer herself.
"No, not in there."
Janjak looked to her, his fingers resting against the door to Queenie's and Misty's room. "M-mmmmi-"
"Yes, but no."
He grimaced and she could feel the onslaught of tears suddenly coming, so she nudged him with her knee lightly.
"There's lots to keep exploring, Janjak," she said softly. He let out another whimper but continued his walk after a moment, headed down the white wooden floors. She ignored the sound of a door closing behind her and Janjak, feeling a blue-green gaze finally leaving her back.
It was when he reached the attic's trapdoor, looking up at it with wide eyes, that she finally picked him up. He wriggled awkwardly in her arms, but she kept her grip tight on him. "No, Janjak, not up there. No one goes up there."
She had, a long time ago, and found bodies she had not wanted to find.
She felt a wave of goosebumps run down her spine and she began to walk away, ignoring the boy's soft cries as he grappled with closed fists to go back.
"I can't wait until you're tall enough to open things," she mumbled into his ear. "That'll be a fun time, yeah?" She set him down in the side hallway, her back to the stairs, and he began to amble to yet another room. She wondered briefly where Kyle was, if he too walked the academy late at night, but she heard nothing but small steps with her ears perked. She didn't exactly want to have to explain anything.
She leaned heavily on the wall, closing her eyes for but a moment as she passed the heel of her hand against her forehead, but when she opened them, Janjak was gone. And she began to panic.
She glanced around quickly, doing a circle on herself as she called out his name, voice hoarse. She walked past the bannister, gaze jumping from bar to bar and hoping she wouldn't see him hanging there, and she finally breathed out tightly, rushing to pick him up from where he sat on the stair's landing.
"No, honey, no, you don't leave without me, remember?"
He shifted against her, and she sighed. She sat down on the stairs, holding him in her lap and with her feet on a lower step. He began to fall asleep a moment later, breathing evening out, but she didn't move, letting him doze off against her and not in his bed, her gaze on the windows.
OOOoooOOO
"Janjak's been very upset lately," Zoe tried. "Is he alright?"
"He's fine. Just teething," Cordelia lied. She turned away to hide her scowl from the girl, instead busying herself with her file cabinet.
The younger blonde grimaced lightly behind her, crossing her arms over her chest as she shifted her weight. "He walks around, still."
The Supreme looked up at that. "Still?"
"Kyle had to bring him back to your room last night. He said you were out like a light," Zoe said quietly.
"I guess I didn't hear him. He's silent, you know?"
"Not when he's upset."
Cordelia slammed the cabinet shut and turned to her desk, taking a moment to sit behind it. "I know, thank you. He's a baby. He cries."
Zoe shook her head and took a deep breath before continuing, her gaze on the floor. "Cordelia, I'm worried. You could barely sleep properly a few months ago and now you just let it go. What if he falls? Hurts himself?"
"Kyle had to fetch him once, it's not an issue. And if it is, tell him I'll stay up. I don't want to have to lock my door at night," the Supreme said. She reached for her cup of tea.
"Where is he now, Cordelia?" Zoe asked curiously.
"With Misty."
"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about," the girl admitted softly. "What's wrong? You've been so uncomfortable around each other lately, it's been noticed. By everyone."
Cordelia glanced sharply at her. "Does anybody have any privacy anymore?"
"When you're yelling across the house, it's hard to ignore."
The older blonde looked away and suddenly her black eyes were filling with tears. She hastily wiped at them and her voice shook as she spoke. "I don't know what happened, Zoe. One minute everything was fine, and then I lost my temper and then she lost hers. And we'll be fine for about ten minutes and then everything goes wrong again. I'll say something I shouldn't or she will and it turns to shit. I just want it back to like it was before," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry about my attitude these last weeks, today. I'm at the end of my rope. I just don't know what to do."
"You just have to ask for some slack, and you'll get that rope," Zoe reminded her. She reached forward and took the Supreme's hand in hers. "You have tried to talk to her, right?"
"I tried, but then it just-" Cordelia waved vaguely, movements stiff. "And she tries too. And it's just bad. So bad."
"And you have no idea why?"
"Nothing set it off!" the Supreme cried. "It just started one day! I told her she-" She brought her hand to her mouth and stifled a sob. "I was horrible, Zoe. I was horrible."
"You know, and I've said this before so I'm probably boring you," Zoe said, giving her a small smile. "It's stress, Cordelia."
Cordelia nodded quickly, fingers shaking in the girl's grip. "I know. I know, I know."
The hazel eyed blonde watched her carefully for a moment before speaking again. "You know, Queenie and I are taking the girls out to that art museum that's opened downtown, sometime this weekend. We'll take Janjak with us and you just take a day off with Misty. How does that sound?"
Cordelia pulled away to wipe at her nose with the end of her sleeve. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do this."
"It'd be my pleasure, and Queenie's too, you know that. And you know how Kyle loves Janjak."
The Supreme nodded, gaze in her lap as she played with the edges of her skirt. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"Rent a movie, get some popcorn. Just sit and spend some time together. You need it."
OOOoooOOO
Cordelia'd fallen asleep against Misty's shoulder, lips parted and so close to snoring, and when she'd woken she'd pulled away quickly, eyes blurry as she'd glanced sideways at the necromancer, blushing madly. But the wild blonde was sleeping too, tucked into the couch's armrest and with her arm now limp at her side, previously around the Supreme.
They'd been watching random television, background noise as they'd talked like they used to. Cordelia hadn't tried to bring up the past months, and Misty had been content with just grinning at her and sharing the moments the older blonde hadn't seen, or heard about. It had been hard for Cordelia to fight her oncoming tears, her throat felt as if it had been closing, and Misty had understood quickly enough, too shy herself to bring up their attitudes either.
After Cordelia had lightly reprimanded her for her choice of food and the necromancer had missed the goldfish crackers she'd thrown into the air and tried to catch, she'd been pulled to Misty's side, the two of them giggling against each other as Misty begged her to catch some herself, pelting her with the cheesy snacks.
Misty'd breathed out, huffing out as she smiled widely, and pressed a kiss to Cordelia's temple before laying back against the side of the couch. And the Supreme had followed her down, curling up against her, her chest. She'd blinked and the television had turned off.
But now she was awake and the necromancer was waking too, and she passed her hand through her hair quickly, trying to tame it. But seeing Misty's own wild hair, she gave up with a sheepish smile that the girl gave back easily as she yawned.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Misty replied, testing her jaw. "Neck's sore but that's normal. Ya okay?" She asked, frowning lightly. She sat up, one thigh over Cordelia's and the other behind her back, and took her in her arms. "Ya were comfortable, right?"
"Turns out you make a great pillow." Cordelia smiled. Misty nudged her forehead with her chin and the Supreme tucked into her neck, sighing. "They'll be home soon."
"I'm thinkin' sleepin' our time away wasn't a good idea."
"I missed it." The Supreme pulled away to look into blue-green eyes. "I miss you."
The necromancer smiled sadly and leaned forward to run her nose against the woman's. "Me too."
The front door opened and they pulled apart, each letting out a sigh, Misty's harsher than Cordelia's, and she watched the Supreme make her way to the front hallway before following a moment later.
"Hey!" Queenie called. She pushed past the girls standing near the door as they pulled off their shoes.
"Hi, how was it?"
"Great, really informative. Though Lisa tried to touch the balloon exhibit." The voodoo doll threw a wry grin at one of the brunettes, who turned away quickly.
Kyle walked inside, Janjak gleefully sucking on his thumb as he played with the young man's hair, and Cordelia reached for him, already calling his name.
Misty reached for him too.
Cordelia gave her a questioning look, a painful look, and she pushed away the necromancer's hands. "I got him."
The wild blonde frowned. "I can do it, though."
"Misty!"
The necromancer looked her over, hurt and anger rising in her eyes. She opened her mouth to snap back but suddenly Zoe herself was taking Janjak from Kyle's arms, his dark eyes glancing quickly between both older blondes as he relinquished the child over to his girlfriend.
"It's okay, I'll put him to bed," she said quickly.
Cordelia forced a smile. "You had him all day already, just pass him here."
"He's tired, he doesn't need you squabbling over him, I got it, see? He's already falling asleep. I'll be quick." And with that, she was climbing the stairs. She paused on the landing to give Queenie a quick look before continuing on to the first floor.
"Delia, I-"
The Supreme threw the necromancer a well placed glare as Janjak's cries began from upstairs, and she followed the black widow.
OOOoooOOO
"We've had enough of this."
Cordelia looked up, eyes bleary as she shifted her gaze from the coffee in between her fingers to the two girls standing before her. Her council. She glanced quickly at Janjak, the boy whimpering, and she moved to lay back in her chair, a frown finding its way onto her face, and she waited.
"You're sitting in here crying," Queenie began again. "And she's sitting up there crying, and Janjak is howling and he's been inconsolable and Kyle can't deal with him anymore." She reached for the woman's laptop, pulling it away from her as she grasped for it, and stared at a blank screen. "You call this work?"
"I just-"
"No, Cordelia," the young woman replied forcefully. "You sit back and you listen."
Cordelia glanced between the two of them, desperation in her eyes. "Listen to what?"
"Don't you get it?" Zoe blurted suddenly, exasperated. "It's so obvious! And it took us so long to figure it out and it's horrible but it works out-!"
"Take a breath, Zoe-"
"No, Miss Cordelia." She planted herself in front of the woman, leaning forward to stare her down. "Every time you get angry, or upset, Janjak cries. Every time anybody does! He's been in a colic since your fight with Misty, you have to make up with her if you want it to stop."
"That's ridiculous," Cordelia snapped back. "He's an infant, he has no way of controlling anything, much less emotions and-" She tried to keep talking, but an ear piercing wail had her turning her head to look at Janjak, surprised.
"Miss Cordelia, think this through," Queenie snapped. "There's a very high chance he's causing all the anger, he's a demon's child. It's in his aura, his destiny. He's a child of chaos. He pushes anger into you, and you throw it back out."
"You have to tone yourself down, control your sentiments down around him," Zoe added.
"Why doesn't this happen to you then?" Cordelia demanded.
"He's your child," Queenie replied. "Papa's pretty twisted, remember? It's his way of fucking with you, and Misty, who he let go. He wouldn't leave you alone so easily."
The Supreme scowled. "I don't think either of you have any right to say anything about-"
"Cordelia!"
The oldest blonde glanced at Zoe, suddenly blushing.
"He's basically screaming his lungs out, why is it so hard for you to understand? He angers you, that's his powers, he angers you and you get angry and then it hurts him, all that emotion. He can't control his outbursts or his intake. He's hurting himself because you're letting him."
"I don't see how any of this could be true," Cordelia pleaded.
"It's too obvious, you've just been so busy with everything else, your emotions and the girls and Janjak."
The Supreme bit her lip, and she stood to fetch her child, hugging him to her chest tightly. "What do I do?"
"You learn to control yourself. And he'll learn to control himself," Queenie said.
OOOoooOOO
Misty looked Cordelia up and down as she passed her hand through her unruly curls, words dying at her lips, and the Supreme stared back, somewhat lost. She was bent slightly over, arms stretched out as she held Janjak's fists in hers, the boy looking up at the necromancer with wide eyes as he stood shakily.
"Hi," the necromancer murmured. Cordelia nodded and looked away, blushing in the midnight darkness. "I was just, uh, headin' to the bathroom."
"Okay, sorry." The Supreme moved sideways to let her pass, tugging Janjak along with her, but Misty didn't move past her, watching her instead with an inquisitive blue-green gaze.
"Don't be."
Cordelia shrugged lightly and she bent down to pick Janjak up. He buried into her neck but kept his eyes trained on the wild blonde.
"How, how is he?"
"Good. A little tempestuous. But he takes that from Fiona, I think."
Misty smiled. "He would." She turned away, her grin turning into a scowl, and suddenly Cordelia was taking her hand in hers, pulling on her until Misty could do nothing but look back at her.
"Don't frown, okay? I was just joking, I-" The Supreme shook her head. "Don't get upset."
"I ain't."
"Not now, anyway." Seeing the girl's dejected look, Cordelia smiled sheepishly. Misty softened lightly and she stepped closer until she could help her hold Janjak, fingers passing through his hair. "Would you, Misty would you like to stay with me tonight?"
"Queenie snores like a fuckin' truck," the necromancer said in guise of answer, and Cordelia smiled.
When she put Janjak back in his crib, he was sleeping already, his little heart beating against Cordelia's grip, and she watched him doze for a moment before crossing to her bed. She watched Misty flounder for a second, their eyes meeting over the duvet, and the necromancer finally slid under the covers.
Cordelia's shirt ran up as she got in too, but she reached for the hem self-consciously, pulling it back down. She looked up and Misty looked away, a flush running up her chest.
Cordelia suddenly sighed, a flash of anger coursing through her. She pushed it back down as she reached for the girl's fingers. "You should sleep."
"So should ya."
The Supreme nodded and the necromancer opened her arms, smiling softly when the older blonde turned into her side.
They awoke at dawn with Janjak screaming. Cordelia was out of bed like lightning and running for the crib as Misty fell to her side, alarmed.
"Delia?"
"Oh god oh god-"
"Delia!"
"He caught himself between the bars Misty-!"
The necromancer's eyes were wide as Cordelia turned, the front of her nightgown dotted with blood. Janjak had somehow undone a screw, gotten his forearm stuck between two pieces of wood and tried to tug himself out if its grip.
He'd scratched himself the entire way through, had soaked his own pajamas and his blankets.
"Misty, fill the si-"
The wild blonde hadn't waited for her to ask, and was already in her bathroom and running the tap, filling the sink to the brim and reaching for the soap, the rubbing alcohol. She wanted to put it back inside the medicine cabinet and she hesitated, unsure as to whether the boy would handle it. "Delia, maybe we should take him to the hospital," she tried as Cordelia pushed into her side, placing Janjak on the sink's edge.
"I can take care of it," Cordelia replied shakily. She reached for the bandages and Misty caught the roll before it fell, handing it to her and holding the boy for her as he squirmed and howled.
It took a good amount of time before she'd cleaned the scratches and gauzed his arm and hand. She bounced around with him, begging him to be alright as Misty watched, unable to do much.
"Cordelia we really should take him to the doctor's, he might need stitches or-"
"Misty, he's fine right here."
"What if he ain't? Ya can't douze him in alcohol, it'll hurt too much but he's gotta be cleaned properly. What if he hit a screw? He might need a shot-"
"Shut up!" Cordelia cried back.
"De-"
"I didn't ask for this child! Or the responsibility! I didn't want it!"
Misty gaped, her knuckles turning white as she balled her hands into fists. "What, ya think I wanted ya to have it? Ya think I wanted to come back to-to this? Everyone dead and ya and I fightin' and cryin' all the time? Do ya think I orchestrated this with Papa or somethin'?" she asked, voice rising. "I wanted life!"
"I didn't ask you to stay!"
"No, ya freakin' didn't, and I also didn't ask ya to get me outta there but here I am, and I'm just tryin' to help and you're pushin' me away and why do I stay? Why do I stay!"
Cordelia opened her mouth to snap back but Misty cut her off. Janjak's sudden cries, his sudden howls, had the Supreme looking down at him but she quickly turned her attention back to the necromancer.
"I stay because I care, dammit! You're a fuckin' idiot, Delia Goode, it's not because ya never found love between your mother and your husband that ya can't at all. It's not because ya never had help that ya can't now! Ya have me and the girls and Janjak and you're blind if ya can't see that!"
"Don't you dare-"
"You're fuckin' blind, Delia! Willfully blind!" the necromancer yelled. "Again!"
Her head snapped back with the blow of Cordelia's backhand, and she tested her jaw carefully before looking up into the Supreme's black eyes, fingers to her mouth. The woman grasped at her with her free hand, her shawl, choking out 'I'm so sorry's between sobs, remorse in her shaking fingers and her watery gaze and Misty wrapped her arms around her neck, letting the Supreme cry into her shoulder as she spoke low into her ear, Janjak between them and pushing away her apologies.
She pulled her off, holding her jaw in her hands. "Don't be blind," she begged. "Don't be blind, Delia, please."
The older blonde nodded avidly before burying back in her neck, back heaving with sobs.
And Janjak quieted down.
OOOoooOOO
Misty walked with Janjak to her chest, his head in the crook of her neck as she spoke to him and bounced him lightly. She'd wiped the bright blue birthday cake from his face, but not well, and he was smearing the icing onto the necromancer's cheek. She brought the leftover to her mouth and smiled at the taste, blushing when she saw Cordelia watching her from a corner of the living room.
She walked over and nudged the woman's cheek with her forehead. "This was real nice, Delia."
The Supreme shook her head, hiding her smile as she reached for Janjak. The wild blonde relinquished him over easily and took the gift wrapping from Cordelia's free hand.
She looked over the wrap's pattern, frowning lightly at the grinning frogs staring back, but finally shrugged and balled it up before throwing it in a trash bag.
Janjak's first birthday had housed all the children in the neighborhood, the friends he'd made at the park, and to Misty's insistence, their pets. And the living room was a rather big mess. She moved past the Supreme and reached for an empty paper plate, giving Janjak a little smile.
He'd begged, without words of course, for a reptile themed party, bouncing in his cart seat as they passed the party aisle and when Cordelia pointed it out. The necromancer had harped that frogs weren't reptiles, had even grouched that she'd call the company to complain, but she'd just ended in the passenger seat with her arms crossed over her chest as Cordelia giggled and pulled out of the parking lot.
Misty paused, bent over to pick up another gift wrapping, and looked over the Supreme standing at the window and waving with Janjak at the last of the leaving guests in the street. She came up behind her and placed her chin on her shoulder, hugging her.
"Real nice," she hummed.
"You said so." Cordelia turned lightly to smile at her. "You liked, Janjak?" He gurgled and grinned and she kissed his cheek. Misty fought off the need to do the same and finally pulled away. The Supreme glanced sideways at her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, why?"
Cordelia shrugged. "I'm just checking." She nodded at the boy. "You know."
Misty smiled. "I'm great." She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "And thankful that we worked it out," she added softly.
"Me too."
The necromancer turned away and reached for one of the toddler's new toys, jiggling it and smiling when the bell inside it rung. "Who'd have thought a child would teach communication?"
"Communication?" Cordelia laughed. "I don't exactly think that's what he was teaching. What he is teaching."
Misty's eyebrows raised, and a long moment passed with the two of them grimacing before she finally giggled and pulled the Supreme to her. Janjak grasped for her and she took him, blowing a raspberry to the top of his chest as he laughed.
"Don't get spit all over him," the Supreme whined mockingly.
"I'll do what I want." The necromancer winked back.
"I know."
Blue-green eyes met a black gaze and Misty's smile slowly came in, and it took no time for Cordelia to mirror it.
OOOoooOOO
Cordelia looked up as her office door opened, but a bouquet of carefully picked pansies were suddenly in her field of vision. Purple and white and smelling sweet. She took a moment to admire them before overlooking them to train her black eyes on Misty, the girl shyly offering the bouquet to her over her desk.
The Supreme took the flowers, giving the girl a pleasantly puzzled look, and she cocked her head to the side in question.
"Happy Mother's Day, Delia," Misty mumbled, blushing as she relinquished her hold on the pansies, picked from where her ashes lay, her body of a life prior, and nurtured until they sparked with their brightest potential colors.
The Supreme herself had forgotten the holiday that morning, too busy with running after a joyous Janjak and scolding her girls for catching their homework on fire. In any case, it hadn't quite occurred to her yet that the holiday was meant for her now, too. But Misty had fetched her breakfast before she'd woken, and had somehow managed to borrow Janjak long enough to have him decorate a mug that she'd then fixed the colors on properly. And then she'd disappeared.
And now she knew why.
Misty watched her carefully, biting the inside of her cheek. "Are ya, ya know, are ya happy?"
The older blonde looked up, surprised. "Happy?"
"Are ya?" Misty pressed. "I just want ya to be, after all the shit that's happened."
The Supreme softened and sighed. "Of course, Misty." She took a light breath."Life's been...insane these last few months, this last year. But even though I lost a lot, I gained just as much. You're here and I've got Janjak, as weirdly attached as I might be with him now. I've got my school. I've got you," she echoed. She scowled, suddenly self-conscious. "Are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Happy."
"Immensely."
"Oh, you scared me. I thought you were asking because-" Cordelia cut off abruptly and she blushed. "Nevermind."
"Nevermind what?" Misty asked, stepping to be flush with the desk.
"I'm just afraid you'll want to go, one day. I was afraid you would, after all that happened," the Supreme admitted shamefully.
"I don't want to go," Misty whispered. "I don't think I will."
Cordelia flushed and grinned, accepting the promise along with the stiff kiss to her cheek, the wild blonde bending down to her level. She went to straighten her back but the Supreme held her where she was by the tip of her chin and turned her head slightly until she could press her own light kiss to the girl's lips.
"Thank you," she murmured.
Misty's blush grew quickly, one hand's fingers grasping at thin air as the other tightened its hold on the desk, and she nodded violently as she floundered. She turned abruptly and marched to the door, and in after-thought, she turned to give Cordelia a dazzling grin, finding the Supreme already sporting one, fingers tight around her gift.
Cordelia hummed the song the girl had sung as she'd walked into her study, as she was walking out, inhaling the sweet smell that enveloped her. The pansies and the girl.
-I might write an epilogue-