"Not going nowhere, chica," Marcus tossed over his shoulder, distracted by the process of reheating the food and portioning it out. He wasn't being particularly attentive to Kessie, and while he'd said he wouldn't abandon her, he really hadn't promised to keep her within line of sight every second. The hum of her transformation was masked by that of the microwave, and the whimpering... well, he heard it, but chalked it up to her crying. Marcus was in no hurry to deal with someone's tears. There was fresh basil in the fridge, and he'd pulled a few leaves to freshen up the reheated pasta so that it didn't taste quite so much like leftovers.
Even when he was cooking for just himself, he had fucking standards.
Something that was lost on the 'roommate.' Christ, how was he going to explain that to Kessie? He'd hoped the genie would stay with the fucking talisman at the Door, which Marcus had dutifully handed over to Koen. But that hadn't been the case. The talisman's occupant had been harder to shake than that, and had appeared in the apartment shortly after Marcus had got home. The guy was annoying as fuck, expensive (and that shit had to stop, since Marcus couldn't afford takeout to be delivered on a regular basis). Luckily, it had only been going on for two nights... though that left Marcus with a to-do list in regards to his new roommate. He hadn't figured out how to deal with the guy at all, and wasn't prepared for explaining anything to a third person. Angrily trashing out the cardboard food containers in his fridge was on his agenda, but not in front of Kessie.
Marcus would have to come up with some kind of story to justify the genie's presence in his bedroom to his cousin, and his options for that weren't very appealing. Convincing the genie to stay the hell out of sight seemed unlikely while Kessie was there, but he could at least make an attempt. Once he got a chance to speak to the thing alone.
That thought flew out the window as soon as he heard the genie's voice, though. "She's not a fucking pet," he growled, taking both bowls of pasta to the kitchen table on route to the living room. He dropped them off abruptly, ready for a fight. Might as well get it all out of the way with a confrontation. It was like ripping off a bandage. "That's my cousin, you motherfucking--"
The unexpected presence of an actual iguana cut him off before he could finish. His eyes widened as his brain tried to process this. Instinctively, he wanted to blame the genie. Somehow. Wouldn't that make sense? His life had been stressful, but otherwise fine before he'd touched that fucking talisman. Now, all of a sudden, he was dealing with a shitty, unwanted roommate and a shapeshifting cousin. His shoulders hunched and his nostrils flared, giving him the appearance of a bull. A six-and-a-half-foot minotaur with well-conditioned hair and too many tattoos. He rounded on the genie, eager to rush at it, hands already curling into fists in anticipation of the excuse. "What the fuck did you do?!"
And why Kessie? Why pick on her, out of all of his family members? There were plenty to choose from, and Marcus didn't particularly value Kessie over the others that much. Why not Sophia, whose pictures were in the bedroom. Turned over or stacked on the dresser instead of properly displayed, sure, but still in a room of honor. The wedding picture was there, with Marcus looking more like a hired legbreaker than ever in a cheap suit, smirking like he'd won the lottery. Sophie in a tight wedding gown that showed off every asset she'd been blessed with, smile more than making up for her lack of diamonds. Was she also cursed, by association? Turning into some sort of creature every night? She wouldn't call him for help if she were. The thought made him sick to his stomach.
"Change her back, fucker!" He bellowed, uncurling one fist enough to point at the lizard. "Right now!"