I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember

Watching the light catch on the diamond engagement ring on Masika’s finger, Michael had to give her her credit as he felt his muscles loosen up in her bubble bath. Grinning, he subsided. “I’ll give you that.”

Masika’s victory was fleeting when the smile on her fiance’s face abated, his eyes shifting elsewhere in the gargantuan bathroom of one of their victims. Brows furrowing at her, she inquired tenderly. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Delaying on answering, Michael mumbled to himself as he rubbed his hands over his face. “I…I don’t think I can do this anymore.” The look of fright on his baby mama’s face made him jerk forward in the tub to reach out with both hands to comfort her. “No no no, I don’t mean us, baby! I mean…the whole Killjoy lifestyle. I don’t think I can keep doing it anymore.”

Once persuaded he wasn’t talking about their relationship, a calmer Masika got to thinking about their ongoing lifestyle too and what was to come with their second chance at being parents again. Lifting her brown orbs to Michael who was staring down into the bubbly water between them, she confided. “To be honest, I don’t think this is the kind of life I want to have forever either. Not when I’m going to have a baby in the near future. This child can’t be raised in this kind of life, constantly surrounded by torture, bloodshed and death. It’s no way for one so young and innocent to live.”

Michael nodded, his eyes still averted. “My thoughts exactly.”

“In that case, can’t we just quit like Poison did and live a normal life?” Masika asked him, sitting herself up so she could be closer to him. “Our baby deserves a chance at a good life.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Michael internally winced at the doubt eating at his soul. He wanted to be optimistic about this, but he couldn't. The Killjoy family would never demobilize peacefully to start their own lives too. No, they’d devote every breath to hunting him and Masika down to make them pay. Pregnancy or not. They wouldn’t stop. “I don’t think so. They’ll want revenge for me ruining their good time.”

“All good times come to an end though.” Masika reminded him.

“They do.” Michael agreed with her, lifting his light brown eyes to hers. “I’ll have to find a way out for the both of us to be able to get out of their clutches alive. For the baby.”

“They left Poison alone just fine though!” Masika brought up to counter his statement.

“I ordered them not to approach him despite the rules I spelled out that any Killjoy that quits must be exterminated. It’s strange how I meant it back then even if it involved my own brother being the target. Now look at me.” Michael laughed in amusement before blaming the naked pregnant woman before him, fishing one of her small feet from underneath the water to massage it. “And it's all thanks to you for making me all soft!”

Forced to recline back down into the tub again, Masika let out a pleasurable moan and smiled to herself. “Mmmm, and I’m such a horrible person for that. I know.”

Neither spoke for a while as Michael massaged her feet for her, and savored the pleasure and relaxation softening the worry from her face. He thought of their baby and the life it deserved, and the mother that merited everything beautiful from the world. He thought of his brother who he’d have to tell the happy news to. “I’m gonna have to get in contact with Gerard soon and let him know he’s gonna be an Uncle.”

In her languid state, Masika snorted with a lethargic smile on her face, her eyes shut. “That makes two of you.”

Taken aback, Michael stilled, his hands coming to a dead stop on her foot. He stared down at her, completely lost by her remark. “What is that supposed to mean?”

In a flash, Masika’s honey brown eyes shot open to gape at her fiance's suspicious features. My god, she just blurted out Gerard’s secret in her state of relaxation! Not knowing what to do, Masika tried to buy herself some time by playing dumb until she thought of something. “W-What?”

“What did you mean by that?” Michael repeated himself as he lowered her foot in the water, his voice becoming stern, his stare piercing and unrelenting like a knife.

“N-Nothing! It was just a joke, that’s all!” Masika tried to move on but ended up sounding too defensive.

As she straightened up in the tub to put some space between them, Michael detected the deception. Narrowing his eyes on her, he called her out. “You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying!” Masika refuted, detering her face from his as she tried to frantically think of a way to deflect him. “We haven’t talked much about our wedding, you know? Did you wanna set the date before or after our baby is born?”

“Don’t try to change the subject, Masika.” Michael forewarned her, his eyes never leaving her.

God, he wasn’t gonna let this go. Shoulder slumping, Masika closed her eyes and pleaded for mercy from her fiance. “Michael, please. Just let it go. It’s nothing, like I said.”

Positioning both hands on the rim of the tub, Michael braced himself as he rose from the water to lean over her side, forcing her face to tilt upwards to gape up at him, trapped. Back to his Kobra persona, he tightly revisited the constructive development in their relationship since reuniting. “We agreed to be open and transparent from now on in this relationship, Masika. Do you remember that?” When she nodded meekly and lowered her eyes dishonorably, he went on. “So then talk.”

Awashed with bitter guilt, Masika lifted her sad eyes to his face and surrendered. “Okay. I’ll talk…Gerard, he…” Squeezing her eyes shut, she whimpered out. “He has children of his own. A boy and a girl.”

Flabbergasted, Michael gaped down at her. He almost didn’t believe her but the anguish on her face was testimony that her claim shouldn’t be taken lightly in the least bit. Then the storm came. Fury that the idea of Gerard having children wasn’t as far fetched as he originally thought. The man withheld a whole marriage from him! Stashing two little ones next wouldn’t be that hard for Gerard, the Mastermind of Secrecy! Engulfed with emotions other than fury, Michael blinked back tears as his eyes flitted everywhere in the room. “M-My brother…has children of his own a-and…and didn’t even tell me!?”

Flying forward, Masika slapped both hands over his mouth to quell his outburst. Her brown eyes were frantic as she shushed her deeply hurted husband up. “Shh, Mikey! Lower your voice! The others might be listening! We can’t let anyone know of them but the three of us!”

Snatching her hands off of his mouth, Michael growled with rage. “Why should that matter?!”

“Cause someone is still pissed at Gerard for leaving the Killjoys unscathed!” Masika pointed out. “If they knew about his kids, they might decide to go after them next. YOUR niece and nephew! Do you seriously not care if harm comes to them?”

“I don’t even know them! I’ve never even seen their faces!” Michael reminded her. “How the fuck did you know about them and for how long have you been keeping it from me?”

Placing both hands on his chest, Masika tried to cool him down by caressing him. She could tell it was working when she felt his erection get even harder than before when he stepped into the tub. “A few weeks ago. But Gerard promised he’d let you know about them as soon as he could. I figured I’d give him the chance to tell you considering that they’re his kids. But even then I still didn’t feel like I had a right to tell you, and I’m so sorry if you feel like I should have.”

Michael’s fire was reduced with every touch, and replaced by another spark. Reaching up to caress her cheek with one hand, he gazed up into her beautiful face before asking. “How long would you have waited if he never told me?”

Masika opened her mouth to speak only to let out a gasp when his hand slid down to her breast and worked her nipple into a fevered pucker. Beginning to melt under his spell, she closed her eyes and whispered. “A-At the end of the week if he didn’t. I figured it would have been sufficient.”

Still troubled, Michael voiced. “Can’t believe my own brother didn’t tell me…”

“He’s just trying to protect his family.” Masika told him, quivering under his hand.

Michael frowned. “Protect them from what?”