Guardian: Fujin and Child Reader (Mortal Kombat)

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Dinner

(Image: marble busts of Octavian and Antony.)

You had forgotten that the fighters trying to cook is easier said than done. Fujin figured making something easy like spaghetti would be quick. Yeah, about that....
Much like your birthday, the kitchen quickly becomes a mess. Fujin is the one mainly in charge, while Kuai and Bi-Han figure out what you all should drink.

"Maybe wine for the adults, grape juice for (Y/n)?" Raiden offers. "Do we even have wine?" Hanzo asks.
"I don't think we do," Liu sighs.
"Oh, for the love of..." Fujin pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "I'll go get the wine. All of you, stay here." Then your father leaves, looking like he wants to buy an extra bottle for himself.

While Raiden takes control in the kitchen, you go back outside to see how the Romans are doing.
Julius is watching Topaz play with mild amusement while Augustus and Antony are tossing a ball back and forth. You've never seen Augustus act this child-like before, actually laughing and smiling. That's when you know you made the right choice.

"What is this creature? It isn't like anything I've seen," Julius murmurs as you sit next to him on a fallen log.
"It's a dragon. Dad gave it to me for my birthday."
"I see. Quite the curious creature."

You watch Antony and Augustus pause the game, the shorter man out of breath. Worried, Antony walks over and places a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" He asks in a surprisingly gentle tone.
"I'll be fine," Augustus coughs, his frail body shivering as he catches a cold. "I just...need to lay down..."

Antony, startled, holds the man up as his knees give out from under him. "Is Augustus okay?" You ask Julius.
"I think he is getting sick. Take him inside, Antony," Julius orders, worried as well.
Augustus' breathing is shallow as Antony picks him up bridal style quite easily. Face flushed with fever, he looks up at Antony in surprise.
"W-what are you..?" He gasps.
"Save your strength, Thurnius," Antony murmurs.

You, Julius, and Topaz follow them into the temple.
"Where is your room?" He asks.
"Down the hall, then right..." Augustus wheezes.
Julius rushes to the kitchen to get water while you find more blankets in one of the closets.
Gently, he lays Augustus down in bed.
"Just lay here, alright? I think Julius is getting you water."
"Why—are you doing this?" He asks weakly.
"Because," Antony gets flustered as well, but not from fever. "I just..." he sighs and blurts out, "I like you, and figured this would be a way of apologizing."

Huh, looks like Kuai was right about Antony crushing on Augustus. "And yet you started a rebellion."
"Because I was jealous of you. You had it all. You were Julius' heir. People saw you as weak, but you still persisted. You wanted vengeance, I did too."
"Antony," Augustus cuts in firmly, despite his voice being frail.

He props himself up a little more in bed and looks Antony in the eyes. "Looking back, I can see all the signs I missed. The teasing, calling me Thurnius, playfully accusing me of cheating while we played cards," he laughs weakly, then coughs and grimaces.
"I return your feelings, Marcus Antonius."
"Oh," Antony says simply, not expecting that response at all.

"Ah...ah-choo!" Augustus sneezes, and Antony snorts. "You sneeze like a kitten."
"You heard nothing, Antony," Augustus sniffs, blushing from either embarrassment or fever.
Julius walks in with the water, and you with the blankets.
"Did I hear someone sneeze?" Julius asks.
Augustus opens his mouth to respond when you cut in. "I did! It was me," You smile nervously at Augustus.
Then you try to replicate the sneeze. "Allergies," you shrug.
"Right," Julius says slowly, setting the glass of water down on the table. You can see Antony trying to hold back his laughter. "Get some rest, Octavian. The others are almost done cooking. Fujin should be back soon as well."
****
Dinner goes surprisingly well.
"What is this called again?" Antony asks between bites.
"Spaghetti and garlic bread," Fujin answers.
"It's great," Julius nods.
"Thank you, we tried our best," Liu smiles.

Despite still looking sick, Augustus eats as well, having a smaller portion since he isn't very hungry.
Kuai, Bi-Han, and Hanzo ended up taking dinner to go, deciding to eat at Bi-Han and Hanzo's cabin so the Romans wouldn't feel overwhelmed with so many people.

"(Y/n), please stop taking all the garlic bread," Fujin jokes, watching you grab another slice. You laugh nervously and continue eating your spaghetti.
"More wine?" Raiden asks, already finished eating.
"No, thank you. I'm not much of a drinker," Augustus admits.
Raiden refills Julius and Antony's glasses when motioned to.
"Antony, please don't overdue the alcohol," Augustus reminds him. "You can get rather...flirty, when under the effects."

Antony rolls his eyes. "Oh, hush. I'll be fine."
"Mhm," Augustus hums, an eyebrow raised as he sips his water. He can tell Antony is already acting loopy.
"Did I ever tell you about the time Octavian cheated on a card game?"
"Oh, here we go," Augustus sighs, looking like he wants to sink into his chair.
You make the mistake of asking what happened, and Antony goes on a five minute drunken rant about how Octavian cheated and how it was unfair.

"Is that true, Octavian?" Julius asks, handling the alcohol better than Antony.
"No," Augustus groans, putting pepper on his food and accidentally takes a deep breath.
"Oh no—ah...ah-choo!" He sneezes, and you know you can't cover for him again.

"Octavian!" Julius gapes at his son.
Antony bursts out laughing, nearly falling out of his chair. "See? I told you he sneezes like a kitten!"
Liu tries to keep a straight face.
Raiden and Fujin look amused while you want to go comfort Augustus.
Augustus groans, nearly pulling the pallium of his toga over his face. "Can we please just end dinner now?"