Chapter 7

After some time, Mr. Shark was ready to come out of his room. There was no one except Mr. Snake in the living room. Had everyone else gone on a mission except for the two of them? He wasn't going to sit next to Mr. Grumpypants that's for sure!

"Hey, you're finally out," Mr. Snake remarked, turning his attention toward the great white shark. Mr. Shark inwardly cursed himself, since there was no way he could be stealthy or silent with someone of his size. He decided to suck it up and sat next to the Eastern brown snake on the sofa. Apparently, he was watching some kind of crime drama on Netflix.

The both of them said nothing until Mr. Snake cleared his throat. "I'm sorry."

Mr. Shark blink. "Wait, wha..."

"About what I said earlier during your dilemma with Mira," said Mr. Snake rather quickly, eyes glued to the show on screen. Mr. Shark smiled, knowing that the old snake was not used to apologising but it's an improvement than before. Before turning good, Mr. Snake would've denied it and said that Mr. Shark had it coming.

"Apology accepted, Grumpypants," Mr. Shark chuckled, nudging him with his elbow playfully. Mr. Snake rolled his eyes, leaning into the sofa to get himself more comfortable. Decided to watch the show with him, the great white shark tilted his head at the show before him.

Just how much can one smoke, drink and snort those powders all day?

"What kind of show is this? British Roaring 20s?"

"Peaky Blinders," Mr. Snake corrected him. "It's a show based on an actual gang in Birmingham, England. What do you expect? The 1920's full of people coked up and choked up most of the time. Wolf should be back soon so you're not missing out much."

Mr. Shark let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he would want was to missed out a mission just because he was being a big baby. Then again, Mr. Snake had done the same thing before he and Rani got together.

Another thing that peaked his interest was how Mr. Snake was less snappy and more apologetic. He wondered what kind of spell has Rani put onto the old snake. Just then, the doors of their hide out elevator opened, revealing Mr. Wolf with Rani and Ms. Tarantula.

"We're back!" Mr. Wolf announced, flashing his signature grin. Mr. Snake rolled his eyes but then softened when Rani approached him with a familiar face. "Aww, is that lil' Sol?" Mr. Shark cooed at the baby albino corn snake, who flickered her tongue out as a response.

"Yep and she's staying over our place for this week," said Rani with a pride.

Both Rani and Mr. Snake exchanged looks. "She's growing and learning how to camouflage herself despite her scales. Wolf, don't tell me your kitty has been using her as a tassel toy?"

Mr. Wolf lowered his ears, giving him a nervous smile. "Yeah...well, sort of but Sol kinda made her point. We met Rani on our way back and got ourselves some Chinese takeout. Anyways, you doing good, Shark?"

Mr. Shark gave him a thumbs-up. Ms. Tarantula was busy with something on her laptop, probably something to do with the mission or playing an online game. He watched as Mr. Snake nuzzled both his wife and daughter with such affection he had never seen before. Last time he ever had an emotional moment was when the five of them almost died from a fall after rescuing Mr. Snake from Professor Marmalade.

"Piranha's not with you?" he questioned, noticing his freshwater friend was not with them. This made Mr. Wolf droop his tail. "Well, he said he wanted to be alone for a while. Poor guy's still shaken up from that raid at the karaoke bar. He's taking this really hard and-"

"What do you mean 'I'm taking this hard'?" a familiar voice asked. As much as Mr. Shark was relief that his friend was okay, he wasn't expecting her to be with him. Meeting her eyes, Mira gave him a shy smile while Mr. Shark gave her a heartfelt wave.

Immediately, it was Rani who approached them. She was excited yet confused just as he was. "Mira! Piranha, don't tell me that you charmed her into coming here?"

"Nah, I asked if she wanted to come and she nodded," said Mr. Piranha, who was red in the face. Mr. Shark arched a brow, wondering what's up with his friend. Glancing between him and Mira, a dreaded idea dawned upon the great white shark. 'Does he like her?'

However, Mr. Wolf had a disapproving look. "Piranha, I hate to break your little bubble but don't you think you're being a little bit pushy? I don't know but Mira looks nervous. You need anything by the way, Mira?"

The young woman shook her head, holding out both of her hands up as assurance. She gestured to Mr. Piranha, indicating that she accepted the invitation. 'Must be painful not to talk for a long time. Then again, I know the quietest people in the world have the deepest thoughts,' Mr. Shark thought to himself. Imagined being trapped in your own mind and none of your words ever come out no matter how much you've tried.

"Mira, look who's here," Rani held up little Sol, who flickered her tongue. This made Mira smile, earning something deep within Mr. Shark's chest. He loved that smile. While the sisters were interacting, he caught Mr. Piranha also giving her the same look.

This was starting to get weird!

...

Mira never knew her sister was a social butterfly around these group of former Bad Guys. The last time she had seen her older sister before she moved out, Rani was more or less co-parenting their younger siblings or serving guests whenever their mother would invite anyone over for one of her high tea parties.

Her grandparents mostly saw Rani as someone who could get the job done but at least she doesn't have to hang around to entertain them or people they don't know. She thought back on how she would rather wander about outside or in her room, jokingly compare her with a hermit crab.

However now, she wished she had taken those words back as she watched her sister smiling and joking with Mr. Wolf and Ms. Tarantula. Not to mentioned, finding love despite her flaws and imperfections. Mira was sitting on the sofa, playing with Sol and the ginger kitty that belonged to the wolf.

"They like you already," a familiar voice almost made her squeak. It was none other than Mr. Shark, who kneeled down to tickle the kitten's tummy. Mira smiled and pointed out on the kitten using him like a scratching post. Mr. Shark lets out a dramatic gasp, causing the young woman to cover her mouth to stifle her laughter. She began to pat the scratched parts of his sandpaper skin, her way of asking if he was okay.

"Don't worry Mira," he assured her with a sharp-tooth grin. "I'll live. Say, do you wanna join us for dinner? Unless you're allergic to anything or..."

Mira gave him a nod. She had never seen a shark this excited before but before she could join them, she wondered where was Mr. Piranha?

The whole evening was just them watching Hellboy on Netflix while eating Chinese takeout.

It was the first time she was hanging out outside of her academic and family life. Maybe she could do something like this throughout her semester break if they would have her...

More importantly, she would love to get to know more about Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha. Sure, she was shy around both of them but she would like to interact with them and leading them for a change.

Just then, her phone rang.

Sorry I haven't been updating. I have been struggling with my depression and work burnout throughout 3 months