Prompt #3 - "She's so mean" (June '18)

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

June's 3rd prompt is
"She's so mean"

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[Skeletor]

Replied

[ArtisticVicu]

His breath escaped him far too easily and he despaired when it abandoned him. His entire body fought the air he tried to suck in to replace it. He choked on it, coughing so hard that any air he took in didn't last long.

"Get back up," a sharp voice demanded. He wondered if the sneer he heard was his imagination as he pushed himself up onto shaking arms. "All the way."

"She's so mean," someone whispered from the edge of the boundaries and he somehow found the breath to chuckle at that. If they thought this was mean, they clearly didn't know his father.

He staggered to his feet and nearly ate dirt when he pitched too far to the left. Her strong hand was tight around his arm in an instant. He went with her guidance, stabilizing on his own two feet under her watchful gaze. "Thanks," he muttered, turning to face her again.

She dipped her chin as she turned. Even if they had heard his word, no one would have seen her acknowledge it. "Again," she barked as she walked away. "And this time," she turned and faced him, "try to actually do harm."

He kicked off the ground before his lungs even felt full enough to act. She met him as she always did, countering his attacks without moving. Chunks of earth, gusts of wind, even a bolt of electricity neutralized every attack as she retaliated. Water sent his way would suddenly turn to ice and he would be forced to counter. He could even feel her force in the air around him and it took all that was left of his attention to focus on keeping himself in control airborne.

Her will won out in the end and she slammed him back into the ground, back first into the same crater he had created the first time.

The impact stole his breath but nothing felt broken. Bruises were a different matter.

He winced as he drew himself upright, coughing again. Most on the edge of the boundaries were white as sheets. Those that weren't had a range of expressions; the one that mattered to him most was disappointed and almost scowling. He looked away, not caring for the mix of emotions now churning within him as he shoved himself back to his feet.

His legs gave out and his knees hit the dirt before he pitched forward. The ground didn't come up to meet his face, though, and it took a moment before he realized a strong arm was pressed against his chest, keeping him upright.

No words came from the other but she approached, speaking to the one that had caught him. "I'm impressed. It took you a full month before you would actually have at me."

The one holding him huffed before growling out, "Lay off me. I was still wary of your condition."

She chuckled, her hands taking over. "I know. And I love you for it."

He found himself on his back, blinking against the clear sky beyond her head. Her hair had pulled free of its tie still just a touch too short to stay put. She offered him a soft smile when he focused on her. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I got my ass handed to me," he replied readily, a dopey grin making its way onto his face. "I'm glad Dad's got someone to go up against that can keep him on his toes."

"Of course," the aforementioned man spoke from his side, still looking like he was almost scowling. "Why would I choose to marry someone that could not keep up with me?"

As rhetorical as it probably was, he actually opened his mouth to answer the man but was cut off when she spoke up. "Last time I checked, you married me before I had my powers back."

The man sputtered. "Wha-That has nothing to do with this!"

Even from his awkward angle, he could see the smile creeping onto his dad's face. Despite the rough exterior the man maintained once more, there was no way those seven years of her influence on him would ever wear off. He tried so hard to fake it now and he just didn't understand why.

"If you say so," she returned, and he found himself wondering if she had a death wish. As changed as his dad was, he never tolerated that kind of sass well.

The grin that spread across the man's face spoke differently and he was once again left reeling from the fact that his dad was nothing like he remembered as the man's arms wrapped around her. "Of course I say so. I am a Prince, after all."

She went with his pull easily, leaning into the smaller man as if the mock fight had worn her out more than she was letting on. "Is it sad I'm mildly disappointed you're not a King?"

The man huffed, his face against her neck. He could see his dad's body shift and flex, supporting her fully even with the display of flirting. He was starting to get the impression they were doing that for a reason. "Not a King yet. I'm still working out the details but I keep getting distracted by this beautiful woman I know."

"Get a room," he groaned, loud and whiny.

His dad kicked dirt at him but it had been the right call. For one, it had been dirt and not an actual kick, let alone one his dad's attacks, and for another, the way she gave in during the moment those on the edge of boundary were distracted spoke of a pride similar to his dad's, if that was what kept her from just simply sagging against the man and never leaving.

"Go to your own room, brat," his dad barked without missing a beat. "You no longer have to be a waste of space in my presence."

His mom called his dad out from the boundary line, chastising the man for treating him as such. He didn't really mind as he stood. She looked better, standing on her own as they all got to their feet. He didn't miss how his dad's arm was still tight around her waist.