WHAT: Carol gets her first ~dreamland~ experience and sees her Space Dad; Emme gets drawn in for an introduction and bonding WHERE: Rambeau House in Louisiana WHEN: Tonight WARNINGS: Some mention of war/traumatic stuff STATUS: Complete NOTES: All the love to Lily for writing Talos! ♥
Earth was a wild sort of place, but Talos appreciated its quirks - he sort of wished he and his people could make a home here but then again, what was the point? The planet was gonna be destroyed soon anyway ‘cause no one seemed to want to take care of the environment all up in this joint, but still. He could look and immerse himself in it whenever possible - could go to places like New Orleans, where Maria Rambeau’s house happened to be located. Not anywhere near the French Quarter, no - and not near Bourbon Street, which was basically an outdoor mall of booze and debauchery, literally puddles of urine and vomit in the streets when things got crazy. It wasn’t where the roads were literally rocky, not paved very well, and everything felt too narrow for any vehicle bigger than a clown car - or where trees towered over the sidewalks with hanging Spanish moss, plastic beads still dangling off branches from whatever recent activities had taken place. It was always Mardi Gras, always a party?
No, Maria’s house was further out. Quiet. Calm. Surrounded by greenery, the air was muggy and felt like breathing in gallons of maple syrup. It was still right now, chirp chirps outside and the windows open - inside the house it was warm too, the lighting rich and buttery and the smell of a home-cooked dinner still lingering.
And Talos stood in the front doorway, sucking on a Slurpee straw - these damn things really did happen to be one of the best parts of Earth. He wore clothing suited to this planet, casual pants and a hooded sweatshirt but he wasn’t wearing R. Keller’s face. It was just his own, green skin and his eyes were violet - that brilliant collision of red and blue, electric in their intensity.
“Well, well.” He always oozed charm and confidence - it was just the way he happened to be - and he turned around to see who had wandered into this dreamscape. “Who do we have here?” he grinned, though he knew exactly who it was. He’d been waiting.
Carol dreamed of this place often.
Not New Orleans - she couldn’t give less of a fuck about the City of Debauchery - but here. Maria’s home, her home, their home. Their little slice of paradise, where they could be together away from prying eyes. Not permanently, at the time. Someday, though. It was always someday with the Air Force in the picture, with their duty and dedication to their service, their teams, their country taking precedence.
In the end, she really hadn’t gotten to spend much time in their little home on the bayou. She’d stopped in a bit over the years but not as much as she should - not as much as she wanted to. The Kree had stolen her away, and then her life became Captain Marvel. Her existence became Captain Marvel, really. She’d neglected the two people she had always loved most in the world because she wanted to right the wrongs of the people who had brainwashed her and make the universe safer.
After all, no one else could.
The Louisiana house brought her a sense of peace that was often missing in her real life. Thankfully, it was easier to come by in Vallo - being contained to one planet, one universe, one whatever-the-hell it was where she didn’t have to be the end-all, be-all. There was still plenty to do, to protect and defend, but every one of the Outlanders she’d come to know stepped up to the plate here. She was happy - finding allies and friends, making deeper connections, even falling in love again.
Still, she seemed to find her way here. It reminded her of good times, of the first love of her life now gone, and of what-could-have-been in a nostalgic sort of way. She knew the possibilities that had once been were so far back in the rearview mirror, they’d have been a speck if anything, but warm, fuzzy feelings still washed over her.
Usually, however, it wasn’t quite this vivid. She wasn’t a lucid dreamer when she truly slept, and her subconscious never seemed to follow a particular plot. It was more a series of flashes, some longer than others - more feelings than images, though less concerning feelings than she’d once dreamed on Hala. This, right now, was stable and steady and felt so real, she wondered for a moment if she had come home. Vallo kicked people out at its pleasure on a regular basis, everyone knew that. But she reached for her chest, where the necklace Emme had gifted her this past Valentine’s Day - a small, now-familiar weight - still rested just over her heart.
Nope, still Vallo. And this felt like a decidedly Vallo-y quirk.
She laughed, a sound that was half-delighted, half-astonished when she wandered through the living room and found a figure leaning in the opened front doorway. She walked right up, shoved the flat of her foot into his shin - not hard, obviously - and grinned right back.
“Like you’d ever forget such a gorgeous face, old man.”
Talos’s smile grew, a proud expression - he was all pointy ears, sharp teeth, and those radioactive eyes. Purple, the common trait shared among Skrulls. Maybe not possessing what you might call conventional standards of beauty, at least not on Earth, but Talos thought he was pretty damn attractive all things considered.
What was the phrase? ‘DILF’? Yeah, he was one of those, thanks.
He formed a fist and gently, barely touching, knocked it under Carol's chin. Then he slurped at the straw some more (his tongue was clearly neon red by now thanks to the cherry flavor) before responding. Casual-like, as if this was just another Tuesday - it seemed very homey here and relaxed anyway; he could even hear the distant echoes of his daughter and Monica giggling and playing someplace as if they were really around. “Was waiting for you to show up,” he said, voice accented and gravelly (it was rough, like a Brillo pad but still contributed to that charm somehow) and no doubt familiar, shutting the door and walking further in. He set the Slurpee cup down and opened his arms. “How about a hug? It's been awhile.”
Carol softened, her grin tempering into something just as fond but smoother. Quieter. There was no need for bravado and snark here - although, that was really one of their favorite activities to partake in together. She had missed him, and maybe this wasn’t really real, but she could pretend it was. So, she stepped forward and closed her arms around him. She held on tight, too, fingers knotting into the fabric of his hoodie.
“Too long,” she said quietly, which was as close as he was going to get to an actual I miss you for the moment. “You wanna explain to me what exactly’s going on here?”
She had an inkling - stupidity wasn’t one of her flaws - but, well, Talos had been waiting for her. That had to mean he could fill in some of the blanks, right?
He squeezed her tightly since it seemed like Carol could use a hug - and Talos knew he didn’t have much time. Wasn’t as if he had any inkling as to how he knew that, he just did. This whole thing was hazy - a dream, but not a dream, puffs of smoke and shadows. Dimmed colors but yet sharp in some places too - but who was to say what the rules were? This was Carol’s dream, not Talos’s.
“Not sure, kid,” he admitted. She wasn’t a kid, but she was also a kid at the same time - his kid. He considered her as much, and the rest of the Skrulls were fond of Carol too - they viewed her as their savior, a Messiah figure, someone who helped them escape the Kree and left with them to ensure their safety in the spinning galaxies; since the mid-nineties, she had been standing up for the Skrulls and other alien species who didn’t have ‘Avengers’ of their own.
It was just that Talos had that little something extra - he’d seen her fight and he’d seen her upset, beaten down by the atrocities of war. Something he related to strongly, and he was strong for her - so she didn’t always have to be the one holding everyone else up.
“I guess you just wanted to see me?” he guessed, patting her shoulder before pulling back a little. “Tell me about your life. What you’ve been up to. Are you happy? Anyone I have to kill who hurt you or gave you the wrong coffee order?” He was teasing. He wouldn’t kill someone for that. Probably.
That was good enough for her, and it made sense. She was happy in Vallo, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss home and think about the people she’d left behind. Talos was definitely up there on the list - one of the people who meant the most to her, who had watched over her and protected her during those times she’d whirred down and just needed a goddamn break.
For the most part, she was truly filled to the brim with energy. It was especially easy to be that way in Vallo, where she wasn’t carrying the weight of galaxies on her shoulders. She stepped in when she was needed, did her part during patrols, and then she got to go home to Emme, or go out to Al’s with Stephen, go bother Sam at his huge house. She had it good in Vallo, easy compared to how nonstop she’d been going for the past few decades.
But she had her downfalls, her struggles. Burnouts, physically and emotionally when she pushed herself too hard for too long. Beneath the power of the Space Stone and the superhero face, she was still only human with very human problems. Sometimes it was the best part of her, and sometimes it was the absolute worst.
“I’m happy,” she assured him, giving him a shove out onto the porch. They settled onto the porch swing, and she breathed in, enjoying that muggy air and the smell of the freshly cut lawn stretched out before them. “This place I’m in, it’s called Vallo. I love it, honestly. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to relax in - fuck, I don’t even know how long anymore.”
The weather in New Orleans was weird, the air was like walking into a steamy oven - but Talos liked it, and he could hang out here for awhile. He sat on the swing and got comfortable, taking a breath - it smelled good out here too, like hay and summertime and baseball fields. Yeah, baseball - that was a pretty great American pastime. One he could get behind.
“You deserve a rest. To not have to save everyone all the time,” he pointed out. Talos wasn’t human but he had a very human pulse - in the sense that he had empathy, and compassion, and brought that humanity to most everything he did; it was why he’d taken over for Nick Fury, swapping places with him to handle Earth shit while his brother-in-arms took up a post in space. He’d do just about anything for those he considered family. Not just the Skrulls, his people, but the ramshackle family unit he dealt with along the way - Carol, Fury, Maria, even that godsdamn Flerken.
If he saw that thing he’d have to resist the urge to punt it into the stratosphere like a football. If only because Carol wouldn’t like him doing that.
“What else have you been up to?” he wanted to know. “Seems like kind of a wild ride where you are. All the time, from what I can sense - in a different way than space.”
Carol rolled her eyes, but it was all good-natured. She knew he was right. She did deserve a break, but she’d rarely given herself an opportunity to take one. The people - entire species, entire worlds - that she wanted to help didn’t stop hurting or needing because she wanted to pump the brakes. So, she simply didn’t allow herself a break.
She was glad Emme didn’t have to see that here. She was glad she had the time to dedicate to a relationship in Vallo, that she got a chance to be Carol for more than a few minutes at a time. It was nice not to feel that aching guilt for having feelings - not that Talos would ever allow such a thing in his presence, but others had no such compunctions. At home, she was a hero first and foremost, and very few wanted to see the vulnerability underneath.
“Oh yeah, it’s a roller coaster,” she affirmed, letting her hand move up and down a few times to demonstrate the motions. Mostly, it was just a habit - she talked with her hands quite a bit - but it was also a nice shorthand to explain roller coasters to her Skrull pal. “Very up and down, random. It’s like someone reaches into a hat every month and is like, ‘what kind of fuckery can we inflict on these people now?’”
She laughed, but she wasn’t kidding. As far as she could tell, there was no rhyme or reason behind anything in Vallo, no strategy. All they could do was fend off the threat-of-the-month to the best of their abilities and move forward, even if it wasn’t always pretty.
“Sounds like fun,” Talos rumbled a laugh, and it was just as gravelly too - claws dragging over stone; he had a distinct way about him, especially when he didn’t bother to disguise his appearance or his voice - the Skrulls had been doing that for awhile, constantly on the move and on the run to blend in on other planets and survive being hunted down by the Kree. Survival wasn’t really living, but right now, he felt comfortable. No need to put on airs, or wear someone else’s face. “Kind of wish I was there to see it.”
No doubt he’d go insane not being able to travel very far - then again, who knew. His whole life had been spent on the run (he’d missed the birth of his daughter because of it, for example) so maybe the idea of settling for a time wasn’t so awful after all.
He tossed an arm around Carol and hugged her to him, resting his cheek in her hair - Skrulls showed affection in a few different ways, their main one being the forehead touch. It was equated with love, all kinds of love - his people were very loving too, despite what they’d been through. And Talos couldn’t always be some hard-ass general either. “But since I’m not, I’ll just say that I’m proud of you - you don’t have to soar through space to do good for people, and you’re always doing good with what you have.”
Carol curled right into his arm around her, melting into him like a little girl with her dad. She felt like that around him - when they weren’t in the midst of battles or negotiations or whatever political bullshit came their way. He was leagues better of a father than Joseph Danvers ever had been, even if he’d come into her life in the later years, in an unconventional sort of way. In their travels, he was the one person she knew she could always count on. It was because of him that the trust issues Yon-Rogg had caused in her had fallen away. She was still cautious - had to be with what she did, had to be discerning - but she truly believed people as a whole were more good than bad.
“Thanks, Dad,” she teased, the back of her hand flipping against his chest. She made no effort to move just yet, though. She was comfortable, at ease. She was both of those more often than not these days. “Wish you were there, too. There’s…this girl. Emmeline. You’d love her.”
Talos hummed thoughtfully, a contemplative raspy sound when Carol mentioned ‘this girl’. Emmeline. He didn’t let go, just continued to hold her to him in the way he sensed she might need - she didn’t have a positive father figure, no, just a dick who didn’t support her and then a bunch of other man-dicks who tried to knock her down and ensure she stayed there. But she never did, and he admired that about her - they’d come to blows a few times due to the Kree’s manipulations; when they first met, it hadn’t been pretty. But they’d worked out the knots and knew where the blame should lie, and she was family now - his people wouldn’t be the same without her. He wouldn’t be the same. And if he could do this for her, appear in one of her woven dreamscapes to offer solace and comfort (and look fabulous doing it - seriously, this green face was perfection), then he wasn’t going to question it.
“Tell me about her, then,” he encouraged. “Do you have heart eyes for her? At first sight, or did it take awhile? How’d you court her?” All those fun details.
Good god. Heart eyes and court her guy over here with his weird mix of super modern and super old-fashioned vernacular. She raised her head up and wrinkled her nose at him playfully, knocking her shoulder against his. But she didn’t go far, letting his arm remain around her while she put a foot down to get the swing rocking just a bit, making a tired crrreak as it got going.
“I’m gonna marry her,” she declared. And, well, whoops, she hadn’t really intended for that to be the first thing that came out of her mouth. They had never explicitly discussed it, and they’d really just passed the seven-month mark in their relationship, but she’d be lying if she claimed never to have thought about it. They knew barely two months in that they’d have a daughter, and Carol had a smidge of that old-fashionedness inside her. She’d like to be married when Marley came along, and now that she had the opportunity? She’d be fucking stupid not to take it.
Not now, not even necessarily soon - someday, though. If they stayed together and made it work, which she had complete faith they would, that was one of her goals for them. She had communicated that in a small way with the Claddagh ring, she’d like to think.
“Instant heart eyes, though. They have this dating app in Vallo, I joined up and she was on there, and - not to be shallow here, but she’s gorgeous. One of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. And she loves karaoke, so y’know, that was a lot of big points in her favor. That was our first date, drinks and 80’s hits, and that was it for me. I was all-in, right there.”
She really hadn’t expected to fall in love. It hadn’t been in her plans, and for a while, she’d been content with casual sex - it was what she’d become accustomed to over the years. That had all changed the second she saw Emme at Al’s, and eventually, they hadn’t been able to hold back anymore. It wasn’t the same kind of slow-burn she’d shared with Maria - it was much more rapid-fire. But just as intense, just as right.
It really didn’t surprise Talos that Carol would go for a hot karaoke woman - well, good for her. Whatever made her happy, right? He just grinned - and yeah, his terminology was a mix of modern and way behind the times because everything just changed so much on Earth and the pace was astounding. He hadn’t spent a ton of time on the planet, just kind of in and out, you know? No wonder he hadn’t known what the crap Maria was talking about when she made a reference about sticking her foot up his ass and - what, really, was he supposed to guess where that place would be?
Again, Earthlings were weird.
“Well, if you’re gonna marry her I better make sure she’s okay,” Talos pointed out. “You saved the Skrulls and other spacelings in need of help but I also sort of think there are some things you don’t know your arse from your elbow about.” See? He was all up on some phrases. And got them right. “So when can I meet her?”
Carol snorted and thwapped him in the chest - harder this time. “Rude and unnecessary, thanks. I can handle my own romantic life.” She hadn’t had much of one in a long time: space and Earth were too far a distance. Her encounters out there in other worlds were flings at best, there just to satisfy her more carnal needs. But she knew love when she felt it, and that was what this was, no doubt in her mind. She appreciated Talos being protective, though, and she did wish they could meet. She wished Emme could come home with her and meet all the people she loved.
“Guess you better get your ass to Vallo if you wanna scope her out,” she replied with a shrug. She didn’t know how this dream thing worked, but she doubted she could summon Emme in here on a lark. It may be her dream and a super vivid one at that, but she was just as in the dark on the ‘how’ as Talos. “Meanwhile, you’ll just have to take my word that she’s awesome. She’s a witch, by the way, the wand-waving type. Smart as hell, too. I know you’d approve.”
She’d been staring out at the yard and the dirt road in front of them, listening to the faint chirping of the birds this entire time, and nothing had changed. Everything had been still. Then, a figure appeared at the end of the driveway and she stood, grinning when she realized who was approaching. She still didn’t get how this dreamscape thing was happening, but she wasn’t complaining.
“And now I’ll get to prove it.” She shot Talos a grin over her shoulder, then stepped up to lean against the porch rail while the girl she loved approached. “Hey, hot stuff. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
As the shifting colors, sounds, and smells of the dream sharpened around her, the first thing Emmeline noted was the humidity. Having lived the majority of her life in England, she was more than used to the wetness, but she was not prepared for this level of warmth. It felt heavy, and she wasn’t entirely sure that she liked it. She pulled her long, dark hair over her shoulder to get it off her neck.
A quick glance around told her exactly where she was. She and Carol had talked about this place so many times, she was certain of it. If that wasn’t enough of a clue, her beaming girlfriend on the porch certainly was. Emme started toward her, giving a small wave as she approached. “Had a few minutes free,” she quipped. “Thought I’d drop by.” As she reached the porch, Emme leaned in to greet Carol with a kiss.
“And you,” she turned her attention to the second figure on the porch, “must be Talos?”
Talos stood from the swing, wanting to see the girl Carol intended to marry all up close and personal. He debated for a moment whether or not he should change his face and wear Keller for the time being - because sometimes the special beauty of a Skrull could be a little bit off putting to those who were more accustomed to the aesthetics of Earth. But he didn’t, he simply remained himself - wore a big grin though. Dreams were great.
“That’s me,” he drawled, and his voice was rough yet soft and smooth - he’d changed his vocal cords to mimic others so many times, but this was the real deal. “We go back a long way, me and Carol. And you’re Emmeline - ” He turned toward Carol, with a knowing little wink. “I can see why you had heart eyes pretty quick for her.”
She was quite the lovely young lady - though he didn’t reveal the marriage thing. That seemed like a conversation for the two of them to have without him sticking his green nose into it. He just wished he could be there to see the proposal - it would be adorable.
Carol Danvers did not blush. She wasn’t the blushing type. She was all confidence - overly so, sometimes borderline arrogance - and had no reason to blush. But that didn’t stop her cheeks from warming up when Talos teased her about her heart eyes. Not that it wasn’t true and something Emme was very aware of, but still. He had that embarrassing Dad thing down to a science, and despite the glare she shot him, she liked it. She knew her own asshole father would have disowned her on the spot if she’d ever shown up at home with a girl. This was better.
“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” she grumbled. “Babe, come sit.” She slipped her hand on the small of Emme’s back and guided her to the porch swing, leaving her with another kiss before she straightened up again. “I’m gonna go whip up some iced tea.” She turned to Talos, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. “No ‘don’t hurt her or I’ll kill you’ talks. I’ll be right back.”
Emmeline was aware that Talos could shift his form, and was actually quite pleased when he chose not to do so upon meeting her. She’d much rather meet the real him. Her smile only widened as he began teasing Carol about her heart-eyes. “It’s an absolute pleasure to get to meet you at last. I’ve heard all about you.”
She allowed herself to be guided over to the swing where she settled in and crossed her legs. Iced tea would always be an utterly bizarre concept to Emmeline. It just wasn’t done back home. You had a nice hot cuppa, or you had nothing. Still, she smiled, kissed Carol, and gave her a little wave. “I was actually quite looking forward to that talk. Now shoo.”
Talos settled back on the swing casually and laughed a little - ah, young love. It was such a delight, yeah? Skrulls mated for life but many of them were also very open about things when it came to relationships - pansexual, polyamorous, all of that; space was just that way, with everything being so vast and endless you didn’t notice any boundaries, really. You weren’t held back by them, and those who traversed the galaxies were free to love whomever they chose to - he didn’t understand why anyone would get mad about it, depending on gender. That didn’t matter to him.
So basically, Carol’s father could go on and stuff it - Talos was Carol’s dad now, thank you. And he was pleased to have a chance to talk to the girl she was involved with.
“Was Carol modest about everything she’s done for my people?” he wanted to know. “I thought she might be. But - she saved us from Kree persecution, and more specifically, saved my family.” He didn’t need to describe it as some she delivered them unto their salvation sort of thing (that sounded kooky) but it sort of was that way - to the Skrulls, you didn’t invoke her name on a whim.
Talos had kind of earned the right to tease her in a familial way, however, so he would - even if he also held great respect for her. “I just want her to be happy - looked after. I think she deserves a break.”
Once Carol had disappeared inside, Emme turned her full focus back to Talos. He was Carol’s family, full stop, and she didn’t want to waste any of this opportunity to get to know him or to let him know just how much Carol had changed her life.
She smiled. Modest was not a word often associated with Carol Danvers. However, in this instance, Emme knew it to be the truth. Carol had simply painted it as something that had to be done. Clearly it was much more to Talos and his people. “She was. I believe her exact words were ‘It’s what anyone would have done.’” She shook her head affectionately; clearly, everyone sitting on that porch knew that was not actually the case.
“I love her more than anything. She brought me back to life in ways I didn’t think were even possible. I want those same things for her, and I’ll always do everything in my power to provide them.”
What anyone would have done. Yeah, right - Talos snorted, fondly. “Well, I think we both know that’s bullshit - but I can understand why she was so modest about it,” he said. A lot of Carol’s story was about identity and empowerment - she had to remember she was Carol Danvers, not Vers of the elite strike team called Starforce; she embraced the revelation that her life had been taken from her and then had to be strong enough to reclaim it.
Which she was. She did. That wasn’t something just anyone could do either.
He was happy to hear that Emmeline loved her - of course, given the nature of their relationship that was probably an easily-drawn conclusion, but Talos preferred the in-person reassurance. “I’m glad you have her, then,” he added. “And that she has you. I wish I was there - but I guess when she looks at the weird stars where you are, she can think of me.”
It was extremely bittersweet. The look on his face genuinely made a lump of emotion form in her throat. She was British, though, so of course she swallowed it down quickly. “We wish you were there too. And I can promise that she thinks of you far more often than just when looking at the stars.”
“Maybe when she sees something green too,” Talos quipped. Or when that Flerken was particularly troublesome - Talos was not Goose’s number one fan, and he’d tried to warn Fury about how volatile that fucker was but of course the guy didn’t listen and lost an eye for his trouble. Terrans, honestly. “So tell me more about you,” he encouraged. Because he could talk about how great Carol was for awhile - but he wouldn’t get to hear directly from her lover just any ol’ day of the week.
He grinned, sharp teeth on display for a second there. “All she mentioned was that you liked karaoke.” Which wasn’t exactly a juicy detail, though it was good to know. A person’s go-to karaoke song said a lot about them.
Emme chuckled. “I do have a great love of karaoke, yes. It’s one of our favourite things to do together. And before you ask, my go-to is We Are The Champions by Queen.” Best done in a group, but she could rock it solo if need be. “Aside from that, I’m a witch. The wand-waving sort. 70’s and 80’s rock is the best music, in my opinion. I’m a terrible cook, but have an excellent sense of humor. And I’m the type who likes to always look after others. Carol and I have that in common.”
Talos actually heard of that song. It was a good choice, he heartily approved. “A witch,” he hummed thoughtfully - never really met any of those before, but he knew they existed. Covens or lone wolves, that sort of thing. There were all types - it took all types, to make a universe. “That’s neat. I’m a terrible cook too, kiddo, it’s alright - just means we have other talents.”
It was annoying when he had to impersonate Fury, during that stretch of time - the guy was a damn near professional chef, it was one of his hidden talents, and Talos didn’t know shit about how to make sure a soufflé didn’t fall. But luckily not many people were aware of that about him, so Talos had gotten away with takeout in most cases. Phew.
“Look after other people and look after each other,” he added. “I think you two have got this.”
Carol had lingered inside a few minutes longer than was strictly necessary to put together a few drinks. She wanted to give Emme and Talos a chance to chat - they were two of the most important people in any universe to her, and unless Talos got yanked to Vallo himself, there wasn’t going to be a chance for this to happen again. Whatever crazy dream magic Vallo was pulling now, she’d consider it a gift and take advantage of it for as long as she could.
She had regaled Emme with stories of their adventures, and she knew her girlfriend, good as she was, was well aware of exactly what Talos meant to Carol. Of course she would be eager to assure him she was in safe hands, and she knew Talos would appreciate hearing it. He’d always been protective of her, even knowing full well how capable she was of protecting herself.
She may have eavesdropped. A bit. She just wanted to make sure it was going well, and when it seemed like they’d found a good rhythm, she finally emerged - two glasses of iced tea in one hand, a mug of hot tea for Emme in the other. This was the absolute worst weather for hot tea, but she knew better than to serve her girl that abomination (a direct quote she’d never forgotten).
“I totally wasn’t eavesdropping,” she began, passing the glass off to Talos and the mug to Emme, “but yeah. I think we’ve got this, too.” She smirked playfully, slipping into the space beside Emmeline and leaning in to kiss her temple, one arm looping around her shoulders.
It was an automatic movement on Emme’s part, to slip into the crook of Carol’s arm as she sat beside her. She wrapped her hands around the mug of tea and took a small sip. It was exactly as she liked it, of course. It was extremely comfortable sitting there on the porch with both of them. Emme was grateful for whatever was allowing this to take place, even if she knew it wouldn’t last as long as any of them really wanted. They would just have to make the most of whatever time they had.
“Any sage advice or words of wisdom for us?” She grinned at Talos over the top of her mug before taking another sip of her tea.
Iced tea was just fine with him - Talos liked fizzy soda or Slurpees best, of course, and there was something about the neon electric colors that changed his tongue. But he’d do with tea and on this muggy New Orleans night the coldness of it felt perfect - it was not as hot as when the sun blazed in the sky, the darkness providing somewhat of a relief even it could still be considered sweltering, and he tried to think of some good words of wisdom for the happy couple.
“Just remember that a successful relationship is like farming - you gotta start over again every morning,” he chuckled. It was true though - always building, always growing, and sometimes there were setbacks. There were fights. One person got mad, or the other one did - or then they did something stupid and had to apologize and so forth and so on. But you got through it - you accepted the other person’s flaws and decided that what you had was worth more than all of that, and still worth working on.
He took a swig from the glass. “Oh, and always have separate bathrooms too - if you don’t already.”
“Welp, there’s strike one,” Carol replied with an exaggerated grimace. “One bedroom, one bathroom. But we don’t really get into it over bathroom time. Shared showers help. No ice-cold water here.”
She knew fights, growing pains, difficulties were all inevitable. But there were very few people she’d met in her life who she’d put up with at times like those, and Emme was at the very top of that list. No matter what happened, she knew they would work through it. They had been well-matched from the start, fitting together in a way she’d never anticipated finding after Maria, and she didn’t see that changing.
“But I’ll go out and buy us some overalls tomorrow,” she quipped, stroking the curve of Emme’s shoulder down the top of her arm. “Might as well be prepared.”