A/N Harlan!!!
Missy's POV
I sashayed my way to the kitchen, humming softly and kicking off my shoes along the way.
"Mimi, you better have put your shoes away," Maria called, chuckling softly from the kitchen.
Huffing, I pick up my shoes and walk back to the front room. Lula was still standing by the front door, seemingly lost in thought as she gazed at the pictures that lined nearly every wall in the room.
They were mainly of me and Maria and all our adventures across the country. The one closet to me was when we went Ice fishing. Maria was angrily beating the ice with a pole while two other fishermen looked on, they seemed rather alarmed.
The one Lula was looking at was one of us with our faces squished together. It was blurred around the edges and there was dirt smeared across our faces from the epic dirt fight we'd just had.
"Why are you both covered in dirt?" Lula inquired, tilting her head in a birdlike fashion. As she did so I noticed a pale scar , half hidden by her hair, that curled along the left side of her jaw.
That's a weird place to have a scar, I wonder where she got it.
"She started it," I said in way of expalanation. I reached for her hand, to lead her to the kitchen, and saw her slightly flinch.
Oh, sweet gods, who hurt you?
I smiled reassuringly and held my hand out between us, letting her decide if she wanted physical contact. She hesitated for a moment before placing her hand softly on mine.
I kept my hand open so she could pull hers away at any if she felt uncomfortable. I slowly led her to the kitchen so she could look around and get her bearings.
As we neared the kitchen the smell of baking chipá wafted through the air, making my mouth water with their cheesy fragrance.
"Mmmm, looks like she made a snack before dinner." I sighed happily.
As we entered the kitchen Maria was placing the chipás in a basket to cool. She was as beautiful as ever, even covered in flour and sweating.
"Just on time for a snack. Why is it you always turn up when the food is ready, yet never when I'm actually cooking?" She swirled the spoon she was holding in the air and smiled softly.
"Cause last time I tried to sneak from the pan you smacked my hand with a wooden spoon. I'm not really eager to do that again." I joked, dropping Lula's hand. I plopped into a chair and grabbed up a still steaming chipá.
"Don't be rude Mimi, introduce me to your friend here. Poor thing looks awkward." She dusted her hands off on her apron and strode towards a nervous Lula.
"Alrighty then, Lula this is my mate Maria. Maria, this is my friend Lula, she's really shy." Maria nodded understandingly and slowly brought her hand into the space between them the same way I had.
Lula smiled hesitantly and shook her hand. "It's lovely to meet you Maria, Missy LOVES to talk about you." Maria nodded again and swiftly returned to the stove.
She lifted the lid of a bubbling pot and peered inside, stirring it lightly before replacing the lid. "Good thing I thought to make an extra large batch of Feijoada. You'll be staying for supper Lula?" Maria turned to look at Lula. who nodded hesitantly and took a seat across from me.
She grabbed a chipá and nibbled at it, looking around at the kitchen and taking everything in. I leaned forward to study her closely. the lighting was better here than at the school, so I could just now make out the faint scars that crisscrossed over her knuckles and along the side of her neck.
I'd never really noticed them before because she'd always wore long sleeve shirts that covered her hands and kept her hair down and around her shoulders. Now the sleeves were around her wrist and she'd swept her hair into a low ponytail.
"Did you used to fight a lot?" I blurted, almost instantly regretting asking.
She withdrew her hands into her sleeves and hastily undid her hair so it could hide her face. "I don't know what you mean." She whispered, staring intently at the floor tiles.
Before I could try and apologize, Maria came to the rescue.
Maria knelt before Lula and placed her palms facing upwards on Lula's thighs. "This is a safe place. We would never think to hurt you. You are safe here, and we will protect you. But you must trust us to do so." Her voice was warm and soft, trying to calm the suddenly terrified girl.
"I am not worthy of protecting," Lula mumbled, pulling her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her head on them.
"And why is that dear girl?" Maria asked, gesturing me to turn off the stove so the food wouldn't burn.
"Because I'm broken, everybody has made it very clear that I don't deserve to be protected, even my family. They're supposed to protect you, so why didn't they? Because I am broken." Her voice was quiet and slightly muffled by her arms.
Maria looked at me, eyes filled with pain for the young girl, and burning hatred for the people who should've shown her love.
"I know how you must feel Lula, I was betrayed by my own family as well." She waited until Lula raised her head before untying her apron and lifting the front of her shirt.
On Her stomach was a raised, twisted scar, that stretched from one hip to another.
"When my father learned I heard a woman, and not a man, he decided I should never have the choice to bear children. Unfortunately, he was successful in destroying my uterus and nearly killed me. I thought as you do, that I was broken, unworthy of love and protection. Then Missy showed up one day and took me away from there." She touched my shoulder lovingly before returning her attention back to the wide-eyed Lula.
"They tell a story, and I think your soulmates will love you. We are made for each other, after all."
The doorbell chimed and Maria excused herself from the kitchen to answer the door.
I sidled up next to the still silent Lula. "I never asked who those two fucktards were that were chasing you." I reached over and grabbed another chipá to stuff in my mouth.
A ghost of a smile crossed over her face. "My friend thought that finding my soulmates and bringing them here would make me happy, I think."
I choked on the chipá. I coughed and sucked in a lungful of air. "I KICKED YOUR SOULMATE IN THE BALLS???" I screeched, finding the thought both hilarious and mortifying.
A voice answered my shout from the doorway. "Yes you did, and I would be mighty happy, miss, if you could refrain from doing so again." I whirled and placed myself in front of Lula. Mari stood in the doorway with the two guys we were running from and a fidgety Izaak.
"Izaak, lovely to see you again, but dafuq dude?" I crossed my arms over my chest and felt Lula grab the back of my shirt.
"Mimi, watch your language, and why don't we discuss this over dinner." Maria started pulling bowls from the cupboards and dishing the stew into them.
"Thank you kindly, but I think..." The taller of the two, who I hadn't had the privilege of injuring, was cut off by Maria's glare.
"It was not a request. We will sit and eat and discuss this issue. Poor Lula looks like a brisk wind could carry her off." Maria patted Lula on the head and handed her a heaping bowl. Lula smiled warmly and dug into the hot food.
"Now sit, and explain yourselves." With that, Maria handed them their bowls, and a long evening began.
YOU ARE READING
Soulmate AU
Short StoryThis is a compilation of soulmate au's. This is basically dedicated to my soul sister who wanted me to write these for her. So yeah, hope you like 'em, Enjoy! I also wanted to add that I found most of these on Tumblr, I don't own anything but my ch...