New York Crew Ch. 09
"Oof!" Audrey lets out as Nick assists her out of the car. "I feel like a blimp," she rubs her noticeably pregnant belly.
"It's not that bad," her husband insists.
"You try carrying this extra weight," the former reporter then looks up at the building before them. "I've somehow imagined it being even more rundown."
"Audrey, be nice," he leads her towards the building. "They went out of their way to invite us for this dinner. We're guests. Besides! I've been here a few times myself. It's homier than you'd expect."
"If you say so, Nick," the expecting woman shakes her head.
.oOo.
It only took a single knock on the apartment door before it was thrown open. Standing there was an overly enthusiastic Komi.
"You're here!" she practically pushes Nick out of the way and grabs ahold of Audrey's hand. "It's so nice to see you're doing so well. Is there anything I can get you?"
The blonde blinks a couple times before responding. "No. I'm good."
"Great! Come on in," the former Komodo then shoves them into the apartment.
The apartment looks slightly better than the rest of the building. The two were led into a dining room where the rest of H.E.A.T. were already sitting around a large table along with Zilla, Slick, and Gizmo.
"Sorry we're late," Nick says as he went to pull out a chair for his wife, but Komi pushed him out of the way to do the job for him. At which, Audrey awkwardly looks at the Kaiju woman before sitting down.
"Hey, Jefe!" Randy raises glass. "About time you showed up. Komi wouldn't let us start without you. Ouch!" he is elbowed in the side by his fiancé, Monique. "What!? I'm hungry."
With everyone now sitting at the table, Nick takes notice of something.
"This dinning room is bigger than when I was last here."
Zilla nods. "Yeah. When Komi heard that everyone was coming, she was worried about not having enough space. She insisted on a quick remodel."
Audrey then wearily looks at the room around her and then briefly glances at the former Komodo. "How quick?"
"Don't worry!" Slick waves her off. "We hired people who knew exactly what they were doing. Though, the broad still insisted on doing the heavy work herself." he flinches at a low growl and turns to Komodithrax with a bead of sweat dropping down his head. "Sorry!"
Gizmo rolls her eyes. "I really don't know why you keep calling her that or even toots. You know she doesn't like that," the tech girl picks at her plate. "Of course, she listens to you on other things. You're the reason she's obsessed with those shows and trying to be a stereotyped tv housewife."
Elsie then asks, "What kind of stereotypes?"
"Always remain home either cleaning, cooking, or watching tv while drinking wine, going out shopping for the necessities. Though," Gizmo points at the paleontologist. "It took me awhile to teach her exactly what those necessities are and how it can be different between the boys and us girls."
Slick then comments, "Even longer for her to learn how to cook proper food. Ow!" he is kicked in the shin from under the table while Gizmo glares at him.
After taking a bite of the meal, Mendal turns to Komi. "Did you cook this? It's amazing."
Taking in the compliment, the Komodo beams. "Sure did! At first I wasn't very good at it as Z was willing to eat it."
"No offense, too—" Slick catches himself and clears his throat. "…Komi. But not many of us humans eat raw fish."
At that, the Kaiju woman crosses her arms with a pout. "That's why I took cooking classes."
Audrey then tells her. "You know that you actually don't have to do those things."
Komi shrugs. "Maybe. But back when I was a full Kaiju my instincts told me not to leave the nest so often. And since I came here, they scream at me to not repeat my mistake. Especially since…" her eyes then wonder to the expecting woman's belly briefly before turning away.
Everyone glances at one another and the table fell into silence.
After a while, Zilla looks up at his old man and asks. "So, how'd your meeting with representatives of K.A.N.E. go?"
Nick shrugs. "Okay I guess. But I'm not sure it's the right place for me. Yeah I get to continue researching and studying kaiju. What concerns me is that they were more interested in knowing how we handled kaiju. Few of them weren't so understanding that most of those kaiju we wouldn't have been able to handle without you."
Elsie nods. "Yeah. They were pressuring me to tell them your guys' weaknesses,"
Zilla then tells them, "A good deal of those kaiju I couldn't have defeated without you guys either."
All but one member of H.E.A.T. smiles at the praise.
Monique then comments. "They had even done the same with me. I cannot say that I blame them. As a soldier myself, I was never fond of relying on a giant mutation of handling things for us," she turns to the mutant iguana. "That's why I was ordered to supervise you and terminate if I ever declared you a threat."
There was silence at the table before Zilla spoke up. "You were supposed to kill me?"
"A couple times, yes. Luckily, I was able to convince my superiors of the misconception. But if I there was ever a time I was not able to sway them in your favor then I would have no choice to go through with it."
"Well," the iguana blinks. "Here I thought you were my favorite aunt."
The former French spy blinks a couple times just before an arm then wraps over her shoulders.
Randy then tells them. "If she's your favorite aunt then I guess that means I'm uncle numero uno."
"Actually," Zilla points at Mendal. "That would be him."
That surprised everyone, including Dr. Craven. "Me? Why?"
"Because of the toy." Everyone blinks at him. "You know? The one that goes Ahhh every time I mess with it. I loved that sound."
Mendal stands up from the table. "You did that on purpose!? N.I.G.E.L. was not a toy!" he is pulled back down by Elsie. "Once I get proper funding to rebuild N.I.G.E.L. I can promise you that I'll never bring him anywhere near you."
Zilla blinks at that as everyone finally starts eating while catching up.
.oOo.
"So…" Elsie speaks up. "The one thing that you like that wasn't influenced by this guy…" she points at the trench coat wearing man. "telling to watch tv are strawberries and chocolate?"
"Oh, yes!" Komi tells them. "It was the wedding cake that Gizmo bought for us. The chocolate. I never had such flavors in my mouth before. And the strawberries! I just love how juicy they are whenever I take a bite. I tried other fruits but it's not the same."
Zilla chuckles at his mate's enthusiasm. "You should have seen her after discovering chocolate covered strawberries." At the sound of that, the former Komodo moans.
"Seriously," Slick looks at them with wide eyes. "That little allowance thing she gets from being one of them Fighters. She used every check to buy them. And I don't mean one or two. All that dough was for chocolate strawberries."
Gizmo nods. "Yeah, we eventually held an intervention once they were rotting in every room. And I mean every room."
Komi now has her head in her hands, trying to hide her blush. "It wasn't that bad."
"Komi…" Zilla places a hand on her shoulders. "You had a problem. You still have a problem. I found one of the other apartments filled with boxes of chocolate strawberries."
The Kaiju woman's eyes shot towards her husband and then lets out a groan as her head meets the table getting a laugh out of everyone.
Slick then nudges Mendal. "That explains her extra pudge. Ow!" he is then kicked by Gizmo once again.
A certain spy sends him a glare while Komi growls.
"Woah!" Elsie shouts. "You do not comment on a girl's weight! Human or kaiju!"
"Sorry," Gizmo turns to them. "I've been trying to train him, but nothing seems to get through his thick skull."
Audrey then mindlessly says. "At least I'm not alone in feeling bloated."
"At least yours is for a reason," Komi smiles at the blond. "What your body's going through is something truly magical."
"Doesn't feel magical," the in-law lets out a chuckle. "If you think highly of carrying kids maybe you should have one."
There were small laughs and chuckles going around the table. Only ones silent after the comment are Zilla, Slick, and Gizmo who are watching Komi. Trying to gauge her reaction.
While sneering the former Komodo's grip tightens on the table. Then in one swift movement, Komi lifts the entire table and throws it through the wall where it lands on the pavement below.
The kaiju woman's breathing increases as she glares at the blond. "I'm going to bed," she stomps out of the dining room and rounds the corner. After a moment, a door is seen being thrown across the hall. Still stomping, Komi passes by the doorway. "Actually, I need some air!"
There was silence as H.E.A.T. are trying to figure out what just happened.
After a few moments, Nick turns to his surrogate son. "What was…" Zilla simply raises hand, telling his father that he needs a moment and then lets out a sigh of relief.
"She's made it to the roof."
Slick and Gizmo glanced at one another before the tech girl asks. "Should we be worried?"
"No. She's not anywhere near the edge."
The other humans gave one another uncomfortable glances.
Nick finally speaks up. "What's going on exactly?"
The iguana looks away. Hesitant to tell his family about this. However, he knows this wasn't something he should keep hidden. Not from the people he cares for and that cares for him.
.oOo.
Komi finds herself on the roof, laying down in a fetal position, crying.
The door to the roof can be heard opening and closing and footsteps can be heard approaching the woman. She's familiar enough with the scent to know who it is.
"Hey…" Audrey softly speaks up. "Want to talk about it?"
"No," Komi lets out a sob before waving off. "Now go away."
Instead of footsteps moving away, grunting and groaning can be heard. Looking up, the Komodo finds that the blonde is trying to lower herself.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to sit down," she lets out a grunt. "Which is far easier said than done."
Komi pushes herself off the ground and takes the human by the arm. "Here!" then leads her to where a piece of ventilation shaft was sticking out and with ease, proceeded to lift the reporter up to rest her on top.
"Right…" Audrey spoke up. "Kaiju strength. Must come in handy?"
"It has its uses," the kaiju woman merely shrugs before lifting herself up to sit next to her in-law.
The two remained there in silence for what seemed like hours. Then, Komi finally speaks up.
"They tell you what my fit was about?"
"No! Your husband wanted to, but I think I'd rather hear it from you."
Silence again.
"I can't have kids."
"What!?"
Komi starts tearing up again. "I can't have kids! I lost my first child before they hatched. When I woke up here as this, I remembered everything. And being in this form," she gestures to herself. "Being more vulnerable to human emotions didn't help. It sent me to a very dark place. One of those doctors came to do a full physical on us. The things I did to myself. The stress I put my body through," the komodo is crying once again. "It's made it impossible for me to have children," an arm is then wrapped around her shoulders as she's pulled into a hug.
Audrey leans in. "I can't even begin imagining what you're going through," she then strokes her own belly. "As much as I complain about carrying being pregnant, I'm not sure what my reaction would be if something were to happen to them. Who knows? I may have ended up down a similar path as you," something then occurs to her. "Is this why you were seemingly mother hening me? Because you were worried about my baby."
Komi lifts her head up. "I'll be honest. I get upset when I think about others having what I can never have. But your family and that baby will be family as well. I wanted everything to be perfect. I learned how to properly cook for Terra's sake!" she then glances out of the way. "I also wanted to avoid the standard in-law relationship."
"Standard? What do you…" Audrey suddenly deadpans. "Are you talking about tv in-laws again?" the kaiju refuses to look the woman in the eyes. "Look, Komi," the human sighs. "We don't have to have that kind of relationship. That stuff is done on tv for entertainment purposes. We can easily be friends. That is, if you're willing to try."
Komi looks at the woman, blinks, and then smiles. "I'd love to." she then finds herself eyes the woman's stomach.
Noticing this, Audrey smiles. "Would you like to feel?"
The kaiju reaches for a moment but stops. "Would that be alright?" then she receives a nod before hesitantly placing her claws on the belly. She lets out a gasp. "Was that a kick?"
"Yeah!" Audrey seems uncomfortable. "They do that a lot. Oof! Okay. I'm thinking the little one is exciting at the idea of meeting their big sister."
Komi looks up at the human to see her smiling and returns the smile herself.
.oOo.
Later that night, Audrey was having a hard time sleeping and this time it had nothing to do with the uncomfortable mound weighing down on her midsection. It's everything she witnessed at the family dinner. No matter what she cannot get any of that out of her mind.
She looks over at her husband to see that he's sound asleep. The woman then quietly gets out of bed, grabs her laptop, and exits the room.
Audrey sets herself up at the dining room table and begins typing.
After a while, the woman is then startled by her husband's voice.
"Audrey?" he walks up to her. "What are you doing up so late?" and then stares at the computer screen.
"I'm…" she turns back to the computer. "Starting a blog."
"A blog?"
"Yeah. I still want to report the news but let's face it, it was hard back in our old lives before I got my big chance. With everything that's been going on in our lives," she then reaches for her belly. "and not just with the baby on the way. Maybe with a personal blog I could get a start on getting my name out here. And at least this way I can report on the stories I want."
Nick smiles at his wife. "So, what's your first story," and starts reading what the reporter already has.
.oOo.
The next day, Gizmo was typing away on her computer keeping an eye out for anything irregular involving kaiju. She stops for a moment. "Hey, guys!" she calls out. "You may want to check this out."
Zilla, Komi, and Slick gather behind the woman and sees a blog post talking about kaiju. Not some random rumors or what's been shared on other media. It's not even about the Legion's invasion.
The Humanity of Kaiju
My name is Audrey Tatopoulos, and I have something to share with everyone.
I've seen how many people talk about the Kaiju. Even after they saved us. Not many have high opinions on them. I'm afraid to admit that I was one of them.
I did not have the best exposure to kaiju. I was terrified of them. A part of me still is. But then I saw something that not many of use humans do. Their humanity.
From spending one evening with kaiju, who will remain unnamed for privacy reasons, I saw everything. They talk about everyday mundane things over dinner, they joke and laugh and tease one another. They also have their own fears, insecurities, and pain that they carry.
From this one evening, I have no doubt that even though they are not human themselves, the one thing they don't lack is humanity.
True, there are kaiju that are twisted and cruel. But it's not like there are not any humans the same way.
What I'm saying is that, before you judge a kaiju for not being human, you should try and get to know them first. You just might be surprised at what you could learn from them.
The kaiju smile as they finish reading the blog. Komi then leans into her husband, for some reason feeling touched by this little article. Is it because of who wrote it, of the fact that it was written for them. Who knows? But it made the woman feel good.
End