He parked and made his way inside. “Sorry I’m late - I got waylaid on my way out.” He called into the house, wanting to know he was home.
“Then I had to take Delilah to the hospital, and myself-“
—
Imara didn’t even bat an eye as she heard the door close. She was standing in the kitchen gazing out the back window at the yard where Fergus was running after a squirrel. It was clear she had heard her husband’s voice but ignored him completely as she opened the back door and whistled twice. As if a switch had been thrown, the dog quickly turned and came inside.
Shutting the door behind her, Imara finally turned around to gaze at the man who had just walked in. “So when are you going to get to the point?” Imara finally said dryly as she clearly was looking over him. Those eyes stopped at every cut, every stitch and every bruise. “Well I’m going to rule out bar fight.” She sighed, leaning against the island with her hip. “Because otherwise that would be more black eye than full body. Which means this was business related…”
And she didn’t mean gym business.
“Fill me in general.”
---
“You remember our dark moon friends?” He asked, moving to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water - as much as he wanted the beer that was sitting there, his liver would not thank him with the drugs in his system, and the last thing he wanted to do was to end up back in the ER because he decided to be a dumbass and poison himself. He did a pull a beer out though, and placed it on the island next to Imara.
“How they’ve been very, very quiet and sparse lately? I think we found out why - the hard way.” He took a long sip of water. “I got sucked through a mirror - ended up in a room with Delilah… And then we got dropped into… I don’t know what - but it was crazy s**t. Wraiths attacked - and then mirror shards fell and cut us both up but good… Delilah got a shard in her side - she’s still in the ER.”
He’d tell her about the dinner date later. “But I figured I’d bring the new home, and we can decide if we want to take this to the Queen and start drawing up war plans. Because, this smells like an act of war to me.”
---
Imara ignored the beer for a moment, listening to everything he was saying. Then, without a word and very fluid motion, she picked up the bottle, used the marble on the island to pop the cap off and chugged.
30 seconds later she put the empty bottle down and just stared at him.
“Alright. Let’s start over now. So the Dark Mirror Senshi captured you and stuck you in a room?”
---
“So I’m finishing up after my last class for the day, getting ready to pack everything up, and then I see a glimmer in the mirror,” Mathias said as he leaned very carefully on the island with his hip as well. “Then I’m in a room - four walls, a floor - nothing else, well except for Delilah - who I presume came from another mirror elsewhere.”
He hadn’t really bothered to ask. “She saw the ring though - so once she’s better she’d like to do a dinner date - she’ll bring the wine - but anyway, we talked a bit - and then the floor opened up beneath us and we fell through… smoke or something… space. A Void.”
“We landed on a pathway - we ran, I ran up some stairs to try and find Delilah - and that’s when the Mirror Wraiths attacked. I fended them off pretty well for not being powered up… and then suddenly debris and glass were falling down and - well - as you can see I didn’t have much cover…”
He grunted a bit and took a sip of water. “Then the floor went out from under us again - and then we managed to get onto something stable again - through another mirror - and I took Delilah to the hospital because she still had a fairly sizeable shard of glass in her side.”
“But I saw Negaverse officers, Knights, Senshi… Civilians - everything but a Dark Moon Senshi - so…” He motioned upward. “Came to the conclusion they were responsible.”
---
Imara stood there listening to everything her ‘commanding’ husband had to say. Silence rang between them as he finished before she spoke, calm, cool, and seemly trying to wrap her head around this. “So let me get this straight. You haven’t been home for two days because you have been trapped in an amusement park that appears to have been created by the Dark Mirror Senshi who have basically been no shows and nearly everything for the past how many years?”
Arms crossing under her chest, Imara locked her fiery eyes on her husband. “Before you go making a declaration of war, General, I suggest you do your homework. What you are insinuating would result in basically the annihilation of an entire faction that throughout history, since the loss of their leader, has been harmless. In fact they have been losing ranks.”
“So before your imagination runs wild with you and you go out and mass murder everyone, why don’t you see if you can find out more. If they are declaring war, then we will take action and respond as we need. But have you even considered that MAYBE the reason you didn’t see any is because they are so few in number?”
--
There was a small moment where Mathias felt his stomach drop - he’d been gone for two days? It sure didn’t feel like it! That sinking continued when Imara seemed to side with the Dark Mirror… Why would she not believe him? Granted - the Dark Mirror had been… well less numerous than they were - and he’d never really studied their command structure - but if they were disjointed and broken - it was entirely possible that this was just a rogue element. Much like when Obsidian had attacked them all in the Hospital. He frowned, his forehead creasing, before he moved a bit closer to Imara, his fingers moving to brush lightly against her cheek.
“This is why I need you,” He said softly, looking down at her fiery eyes and meeting her gaze. “Always the voice of reason to my knee jerk reactions.”
He leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling back and sighing. “Though, I didn’t realize it’d been two days - to me it was only a few hours - if that. Time was hard to judge in there.” He added darkly.
“Alright, so we need to gather information then - at least determine if this was an actual act of war after all.”
---
Imara did not return that kiss but she did not move back from him. Her eyes were locked on his face even as he seemed to come to reasoning. It wasn’t that she thought he was lying. No, everything about this seemed believable. The Dark Mirror Court was an unknown factor. That was something that needed to be rectified. The focus for too long had been on the front runners of the White Moon Senshi and Knights. That mean that the Dark Mirror had been all but forgotten.
Imara doubted that they were forgotten now.
“Do you have any idea why I’m livid at you?” Imara said staring towards the man. Oh he was her commander. Oh he was larger than her. But heaven help him when she got angry.
---
He had expected her to be angry. Mathias wasn’t stupid - she had every right to be angry with him having vanished without word for two days, but he had a feeling it was more than just that. He would venture a guess, though odds were 50/50 whether her anger would lead to him sleeping on the couch, or the two of them tangled up in bed - though in all honesty the later would hurt.
“I could venture a guess. As usual it probably falls into one of three categories…” He said leaning back a bit so that if she did want to have space she could have it. “One - I got injured enough that I needed to go to the ER, and that’s gonna cut down on my fight time. Two - I forgot to do something important and either you had to do it or the deadline is passed. Or, three - I forgot an important date because I didn’t have my phone on me to remind me and I did poorly as your new husband. There is also four - all of the above. Or, five - none of the above and I’m still as dumb as when I started.”
He had ticked all the options off on his hand and had watched her for any sign he’d been anywhere near the mark on any of them. “Regardless, If you want to tell me so I can properly apologize and better, I’m all for it.”
He didn’t mind her being mad at him when he was at fault - but he had made it his goal to try an make up and make things right as soon as possible. He would not be his father’s son.
—
Imara didn’t move as she listened to him. It was clear with each one he ticked off, she seemed slightly more crossed. So the last three were not the problem. The second one she was used to because he ALWAYS forgot something unless she stapled it to his head.
“One out of five. Not that it is the major one.” Imara hissed, rising up and walking towards the back door. “One that can't be helped sadly. But no.”
“I'm livid at you because I'm angry at myself.” she stopped, a long sigh came out of her mouth as she looked outside. Night was setting in. “Mathias, part of why we have always been a good team is because we can trust each other to pick up the pieces if anything ever happened to the other. And today, for the first time...I realized I was damn near worried sick about you.”
“It makes no logical sense but two days of nothing? Hell it wasn't even as bad as you disappearing into the rift for a week. Mathias, I'm supposed to be a killer but...how do a take a shot when worry sinks in.”
---
Mathias was confused at first, not that it showed. Imara, worried about him? He felt the small flutter of his heart skipping a bit at the words, and had he been younger, he probably would have been grinning like a lovestruck fool - but as it was, he was older now, and he could temper his emotions a bit.
He did not, however, let her stand there on her own. Instead he wrapped his arms around her, and rested his head in the top of her hair for a long moment, just breathing her in.
“We weren’t - married - before.” He said, “I know it almost seems like a small change - but to me it was a big one. While we had our honeymoon, I swore to myself that I would do whatever it took to make you happy, to keep you safe, and to love you with everything I have.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you - and for that, I am sorry. I know I had no control over it - but I’m still sorry I didn’t get home to you sooner. I would have - had I known.” He kissed the top of her head, and pulled his head back slowly.
“Is it bad, that I like knowing you were worried for me?” He asked, his voice wasn’t teasing but earnest. “You know I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve most of the time - but for you… it’s like trying to solve a puzzle box. Not that I mind. But it’s nice to know sometimes…”
---
Imara didn't move for a long moment. She stood there, eyes gazing at the world as she felt the heat of his body against her own. He was alive, even if he had lost a good deal of blood and had a few things sewn together.
But his teasing brought a warmth to her face.
Spinning in his hold, Imara made one hell of a point to slug him straight in the bicep. “One of us has to act mature. Otherwise we would be no better than the other fools, Mr. Declare War.”
---
He cussed, loudly, but not in anger. “Ow, s**t, Imara - stitches!” But he laughed as he spoke, letting out a small grunt as he looked down at his wife. He was smiling all the same, and he leaned down again and kissed her forehead.
“Yes - but it doesn’t always have to be you, you know. I can, be a serious adult when I have to be. This is a partnership after all. We’re a team. Here - out there. I’m always going to listen to your thoughts.” He said, reaching up to gently brush his thumb across her cheek.
“And, you know - I think sometimes we can both give into a bit of foolishness from time to time - at home. We don’t have to be soldiers all the time,” Mathias was finding - especially now - that they really couldn’t be.
---
“Did you think I aimed their on accident?” Imara sighed, well, more huffed as he cursed. There was a sense of satisfaction to it but she still couldn't bring herself to smile.
“Besides, foolishness doesn't get the dishes clean or the yard cut.” Now she smirked. “I think that is sufficient remorse and not too hard on your poor old beat up body.”
----
“Fair, fair - but it’s okay to have feelings, think we can agree on that much?” He asked, giving her another kiss - just off her temple this time. “And thank you for not popping them back open - the docs took their sweet time with the stitches.”
He looked around the kitchen at the dishes comment, and then out at the back yard. “Hmm… Okay - yeah, back yard could use a trim I’ll do it tomorrow.” He said with a soft chuckle.
---
“Good to here.” Now she slipped out from under his arms and began walking towards their bedroom.
“Oh. And on more thing. You get the couch tonight. I hear that is proper punishment for a bad husband.” she smirked over her shoulder. “Or so said your mother.”
“Good night, playboy.”
---
As she walked away, he was about to mouth protest, but simply had to laugh instead. “Fair… Fair.” He said, making his way to the couch to at least get it somewhat set up so that he could maybe get some sleep on it tonight.
After all - he had to take his licks and this was one of them,
Torvil
