Stargazing With Beilah

Mother's Day

Although Parker hadn't lived with Madame White for a very long time, it felt as though he had been separated from his biological family for years. Maybe it was the proximity to one another, or the fact that she accepted him unconditionally and immediately, or the fact that they faced nearly life-threatening situations daily as part of their job, but Parker felt an incredibly closeness to her. Only about a year had passed with him living under her roof, but it seemed as though that was all the time they needed to bond. As strange as it was, Parker found himself attached to White, looking at her the same way he had his own biological mom. 

Anne had been a fantastic mom. Parker's parents, in general, had been absolutely amazing, loving, and accepting parents. They had loved him unconditionally ever since they had first had him. They didn't care what it was that he pursued or was interested in, they would always support him completely. Parker had never had deep-rooted Mommy or Daddy issues like most kids who ended up running away from their homes. In fact, if circumstances hadn't forced him to leave, he would probably still be with his parents. 

So why did he look to White like she was his parental figure all of a sudden? It wasn't like he had been suffering while with his biological parents or as though he had been actively searching for someone to fill the missing piece of his heart where his birth parents had been. Parker didn't need a mom-friend or an adoptive mom when he had his own perfectly amazing parents, already, so why was Madame White so much like a mom to him? Why did she so easily fill the part of his life where his parents would have been were he still with them?

He couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, he had ruined his parents' lives before running away from them, taking solace in the arms of a total strange who was part of a fairly elite crime ring as a side job. As far as Parker was concerned, he had completely betrayed them every step of the way on his journey to join Carmen and her people. Accepting White as a parental unit was, essentially, the final nail in the coffin- the last thing that determined that his previously healthy relationship with his parents was not only over but completely demolished. He couldn't go back to him after everything.

As awful as he felt about it, though, that didn't change a thing for him.  Madame White had still been the person to give Parker a room in her home- a safe place for him to live when he had none. During the entire time she had known him, she had done everything she could to protect him, despite the fact that what they did for a living was less than legal. She didn't have any obligation to treat Parker well, to accept him into her life the way that she had. Nonetheless, she had and Parker had done the same to her. 

There wasn't much one could do for someone who had the money and power to buy whatever they desired. You had to do something really special for someone who had pretty much everything they could ever want in their lives. 

That's why Parker decided to bake her something. It was elementary and simple, but it was something and, more importantly, it was from the heart. 

Parker set his alarm to wake him up before White and, once safely down to the kitchen without waking anyone, he baked her muffins. He made a variety since he didn't know what she favoured and because there were several other people living in the house who would appreciate freshly-baked muffins first thing in the morning. To add some flair to them, he wedged glass marbles between the outside of the filled tins and the inside of the pan, hoping that it would have the desired effect of making the muffins vaguely heart-shaped like the internet told him.

As he waited for them to bake, he sat on the ground in front of the oven, letting the warmth of the large machine waft over him comfortably as he tiredly watched the muffins slowly bake, rising as they cooked. Parker struggled to keep his eyes open, still tired from the very few hours of sleep he had actually allowed himself the night before. He was definitely going back to sleep once he was done. 

The ding of the oven alerting him that the muffins were done cooking made him jump and he realized that he had practically fallen asleep on the floor while waiting. He would have worried about the oven waking everyone up, but no one had rooms on the main floor- well, aside from the animals, but Parker knew personally that they wouldn't mind being woken up at ungodly hours.  

Quickly, he grabbed the oven mitts and carefully took the pans of the muffins out, setting them aside as he turned the oven off. Holding his breath, he took the marbles out, burning his fingers occasionally as he did so. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face when he saw that the ridiculous marble "life hack" had actually succeeded in making the muffins look like tiny hearts. 

He filled a plate with one of each kind of muffin and brought them upstairs, setting the plate on the table beside the door to White's room before heading back to his own room to collapse back into slumber. 

~~~

When White woke up that morning, she didn't really have any expectations for the day. She definitely didn't expect to find a platter full of muffins outside her door first thing in the morning. 

She blinked, looking from side to side to see who had made them. But, of course, she saw no one. 

White turned back to the muffins, hesitating for a moment before picking them up. They were still warm. 

When she moved the plate, a small paper fell from it, fluttering down to the ground. 

She stooped down to pick it up and read it. 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

There was no signature, but White had a feeling who had written it and she couldn't help but smile. 

I know that this was poorly written, but I wanted to just do a small thing for these icons since we haven't drawn or written them in a while. 

Also, I've done the muffin thing and I can confirm: It works.