XM: Creed Family Drabble

She stood at the top of the stairs, on her very tippiest of toes so she could peek down over the railing. He was down stairs, stretched out on the worn leather couch, the TV on with some infomercial on as background; he was probably asleep. He slept a lot lately; he said it was because there was nothing better to do, while Ms. Birdy said it was because of the baby. Mr. Creed never talked about the baby, at least around her, and Ms. Birdy never talked to her about it when he was in ear shot either. She said it was because he was embarrassed; Clarice didn't really understand why, but she knew enough not to ask. But it still excited her, the thought of having a little brother or sister. Ms. Birdy had said that they were keeping her, even with a new baby, so she would have to be a helpful big sister. But how could she be helpful if they never talked about it?

"What're you doing up there pup?" came the gruff voice from below.

She squeaked a little, going flat footed do she could duck down, as if that would help her any. Guess he wasn't asleep after all. There was shifting on the leather, and she heard him yawn, no doubt stretching out. Well she had woken the beast, so she couldn't stay up on top of the tower.

She came down the stairs slowly, careful to hold the railing as she'd been taught. The temperature cool quite drastically as she descended; that was one of the main reasons he liked the basement so much. The back of the leather couch loomed like a dark shadow as the light from the TV came from behind it. She came around one end of the couch a little sheepishly, absently fingering the hem of her t-shirt while the other hand ran along the arm rest.

He was lying with his head on the opposite end, an arm resting behind his head after he'd stretched. He cocked an eyebrow at the sight of the pink girl; he'd known she'd been standing at the top of the stairs for a spell now, and admittedly his curiosity had started to prickle.

"What trouble you cause now pup?"

"I didn't."

He nodded a little at the hem fingering, "You only fidget when you're nervous."

That comment earned him a frown, and she consciously made herself stop messing with her shirt. He rolled his eyes, slightly shifting more towards a sitting position, and then patted the cushion spot he'd just freed up.

"Come sit and talk to me pup."

She climbed onto the offered spot as told, but she didn't say anything at first. When no words seemed to be coming, he reached forward tucking some loose bits of her hair behind her ear gently, carefully.

"So what's eating you?"

She shrugged a little, and then slouched a bit, leaning back against him. Her back wasn't much of a weight to be pressed against his lower stomach/waist area. She did this a lot actually, no matter how they were sitting, she would always find someway to lean into him; he always let her though. Birdy said it was to help her feel at ease if she was uncomfortable, because he made her feel safe, and that was plenty fine for him.

"Where Birdy at?" he asked as he lightly ran his fingers over her magenta colored locks again.

"Upstairs," she finally spoke, "Making dinner."

He chuckled at that; if there was something cooking in this house, he'd have smelt it, and there wasn't.

"You mean ordering take out again."

The pink girl giggled a little, putting her finger to her lips, "Shhh I wasn't suppose to tell you. She wanted to see if you could tell."

He chuckled again at that. "Sounds bout right."

He yawned again now, out of reflecting stretching slightly as he did so. Clarice was careful to move with him so she wouldn't get pushed off in the process. As he started to relax again though, a sharp little hiss escaped his lips and a hand went to a specific spot on his midriff. She looked quickly from the covered spot to his face, concerned.

"Are you ok Mr. Creed?"

"Yeah I'm fine pup," his words were still tinged with a hiss. "It'll stop in a second."

She frowned again, looking back to where his hand was. "Does the baby hurt you?"

Surprisingly he didn't tense up, though that could be because he was currently in pain. He didn't like to talk about being pregnant; it was ridiculous and embarrassing even if he had actually agreed to it this time. He hissed and would snap at Birdy any time she mentioned it, despite the fact she'd done this with him before and this time it was a actually her kid even. He hated being weakened and a slave to his own biology, he hated having to hide away like this. He hated being fat; true he wasn't as large as pregnant women got, but he was fatter than he had been the other times this happened (Birdy claimed it was because his mentality about wanting this pregnancy was different; he blamed the fact he was stuck in suburbia bored out of his skull). The only reason he put up with it though was for his girls, for Birdy and Clarice's sakes. So he didn't like to really even think about it, let alone talk about it. And yet, when the girl said it, he didn't react as he normally would.

"No," he finally breathed as it at last ceased to hurt, "He just likes to be a little asshole sometimes and punch my kidneys nonstop."

"He?" her eyes lit up at that, "I'll have a brother?"

He couldn't help a chuckle at that, "Don't sound so excited, little brothers are nightmares, trust me pup."

But she was still excited; he could see it written all over her face.

He shifted again a little bit, and when she tried to move to give him room he pulled her right back close.

"Here," he pressed her to a spot slightly off to the side of his stomach; since the baby was situated higher and more towards his back, it was hard to really feel it from the front, "He's moving quite a bit now, you might get lucky and feel it."

She was excited and nervous all at the same time. This was most certainly not like him at all; he didn't even let Birdy do this. But for some reason, at least in this moment, he wanted Clarice to. She was the only good thing he'd ever done in his life, and a part of him wanted to make sure that she would always have a connection with the life in him, even if when the time came, he couldn't. In his mind, she deserved everything, especially a family, and as crazy and out of character as it seemed, he was going to do everything in his power to give her that.

"I don't feel anything."

"Be patient pup," he let go of her hand to instead tuck her loose hair back behind her ear again, "You're getting pretty shaggy. Bout time we shear you, hu?" he chuckled.

She ignored the comment, concentrating on trying to feel for her sibling's presence. Her other hand was set beside her first as she stared intently at the spot, as if trying to will the small being growing on him to show signs of life with her mind. He must have picked up on it though, because not a moment passed before he did just that. Victor bit back a grunt at the discomfort, while Clarice just lit up with the biggest grin.

"I felt it!!"

"That's great pup," he hissed through gritted teeth.

She pulled away quickly now, worried and afraid she'd done something wrong. He shifted his position again, sitting up even more, alleviating some of his discomfort that way. He pulled her onto his lap then, causing her to squeak with a small note of surprise. He grinned down at her, and then absently started to braid her hair; she let him, it was somewhat of a habit by now. After a bit of silence she looked up, jerking the loose braid back from his claws.

"How much longer?"

"Hm?"

"Until the baby comes, how much longer?"

He grumbled a little, but not his usual gruffness that would be a warning to drop the subject. Instead he just combed through her hair, undoing the braid as he mentally did the math out.

"Couple more months, 4 at the max, 2 at the minimum."

"Oh," she sounded a little down at that prospect.

"Why you asking pup?" it was obvious why the question, but not so much the response.

"Just wondering when we were gonna leave."

He thought on that a moment. "You like it here, hu?"

She shrugged slightly, but he knew better. They'd relocated to this mutant town because of the pregnancy and Clarice; his enemies would just love to use his condition and kids against him given the chance.  But no one would ever think to look for them here; this place was one step away from a hippie granola commune at times. But it was a haven for mutants and their families, no one needed to hide theMs.elves...well except for the pair of killers who were in hiding, but that was totally different. The pink skinned girl wasn't out of place here, and wasn't cut off from the rest of the world like she would be at the house; it wasn't surprising she would be reluctant to leave.

He pulled her closer in an embrace, wrapping his arMs. around her, her back pressed against his middle, her head resting close to his chest as he kissed the top of her head.

"Relax baby girl, we ain't blowing this pop stand for at least a year if everything stays quiet. Got plenty of time to be the prom queen or whatever."

She giggled at that, making him grin again

"Well ok."

There came a creak from the stairs then. Without letting go of the girl too much, he turned to look up and found the blonde woman standing up there with a hand on her hip and a smug little smirk on. He wasn't sure how long she had been standing there, but judging by her look, she'd gotten a pretty good earful.

"What you want Birdy, can't you see we're busy."

"Just coming to see if anyone was hungry was all."

He looked back to the little girl on his lap as she looked up to him. He didn't need to be psychic to know what was coming next.

"Last one to the table is a rotten egg!"

And in practically a blink, Clarice was already headed on upstairs. Birdy had come a few steps down, careful to move enough out of the way lest the girl run her over. She chuckled a little, shaking her head as she took a few more steps down.

He on the other hand was taking his time getting up. A few stiff joint cracked as he took a nice low stretch and yawn. He stood then, half mindedly scratching a spot on his back as he turned to look at the blonde woman.

"What you smirking about?"

She shook her head, coming to the last step in the staircase, before pausing and crossing her arMs.. "What were you two up to down here?"

"Nothing interesting," he stepped around the leather couch, coming up to her, nearly looking her in the eye thanks to the added height of the stairs, "Why you asking?"

"Why are you dodging the question?"

He growled a little, yet leaned against the railing comfortably. "Watch yourself woman."

"I'll watch what I say if you watch what you think old man," she teased with another smirk.

He grumbled, looking away. Hazard of living with telepaths after all. She found his pout cute, but decided not to let him wallow in it. So instead she just started back up the stairs.

"Food's getting cold Victor, you hungry or what."

"Well can't have that now."

He started the climb up as well, staying two steps behind her. When they reached the main floor of the house though, he grabbed her about the waist and pulled her back to him close and tight. She was startled for a moment by the action, but she stayed silent about it as she felt him burry his face against the back of her neck, no doubt breathing in her scent; this was another habit he'd picked up since becoming pregnant again. Sometimes he just needed to be close to her for no reason at all, he'd given up questioning why. They stood like that for several moments.

"You alright Victor?"

After another breath he let her go. "Yeah, just peachy. Let's eat, I'm starving."

And that was the end of that. They joined the pink girl for their meal of Chinese take out. Later in the evening the girl would then be put to bed, and later still her pseudo parents would also retire. It was suburban living, and even though it was strange, they were making it work. They were a family now after, a real family.