Moonrise - 3 - A Secret

Mary Cavaliere had a secret.

Actually, she had a lot of secrets, not the least of which was that her name wasn't Mary. Her name was Mariah and she was living in Evergreen Harbor, in hiding, because she'd testified against crime boss Nick Alto.

On the whole, she was finding that life in hiding wasn't all that bad. Sure, she had to work a boring sales clerk job at S-Mart, but she'd done far worse things to earn money in her young life. They weren't rich, but they had enough to pay rent and get by on. Above all, they were a 'they.' She was getting to live a fairly quiet life with the woman she loved. Really, it had actually let her set aside so many of the secrets she carried.

Unfortunately, it had led to the embarrassing secret she was currently hiding. 

It had started weeks ago, when she'd gotten off an early shift. Home alone, and unsure what to do with herself, she'd found herself poking at the TV. She had no idea what had possessed her. Curiosity? Perversity? Insanity? Whatever it had been, she was totally hooked now. 

Not for the first time since that fateful day, her shift had ended early enough for to race home and indulge in her secret vice. 

If anyone ever found out that 'Riah B - all around tough girl, ex-gangster and sometime spy -  was a total KPop Demon Hunters fan, she'd never live it down.

But no one knew. No one knew that she watched the movie every chance she got. No one knew that she knew the words to every single song (even the ones in Korean). Absolutely no one knew she always... always... cried during the final, climactic musical battle.

Or that she couldn't help but sing along. 

[Golden - Huntrix, music video]

"I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin'," she sang, and if she was off key, there was no one there to care. "Like I'm born to be."

"We're dreaming hard, we came so far," a beautiful, perfectly pitched voice joined in.

"GAH!" Mariah gasped, leaping to her feet, mortified.

"Sorry," Miranda laughed. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I didn't... I wasn't... I was just..." Mariah stammered. "Porco cane! I thought you were at yoga class."

"I was," Miranda said. "We finished early. I really am sorry."

"OK... it's OK," Mariah said, taking a deep breath. "It's nothing. I was just... someone at work suggested this silly movie and I was just..."

"Singing along," Miranda finished.

"I... ummm," Mariah stammered.

"Well, I... ow," Miranda flinched, her hand jumping to her side.

"What? What's wrong?" Mariah's hands practically flew to her wife's side. "Are you alright? Is it hot? Swollen?"

The Alto Family hadn't taken Mariah testifying lightly. She'd broken the Code of Silence and, within the criminal Families, there was no higher offense. When their killers had caught her, it had been Miranda who'd taken a knife. Mariah could still feel her wife's bright red blood, hot and sticky, flowing between her fingers as she'd desperately tried to save her.

"I'm fine," Miranda said, reassuringly. "It's healed. The muscles are still a little weak and I overdid it at yoga. That's why I came home early."

"OK... OK, I just..." Mariah took a deep breath.  "I mean, you could have died!"

"Hey, immortal witch here," Miranda smiled fiercely. "It takes more that some bitch gangster with a knife to kill me."

"Liar," Mariah countered. "Gwen told me... you don't get old, and you hardly get sick, but she was very clear. Accident or injury, or some putana with a knife, can still kill you."

"Well, she didn't," Miranda said soothingly. "I'm fine. Just a little sore." 

"I can't lose you," Mariah breathed. 

"Immortal witch. You will never lose me," Miranda said, a hint of sadness hiding deep in her eyes. 

"OK, good," Mariah sighed.

It was something they had both quietly agreed not to talk about. Miranda would never grow old. Mariah would. Someday, hopefully years from now but someday, it would be Miranda who lost the woman she loved. They both knew it. They both put it aside.

"Now, let's talk about this movie," Miranda said lightly, pulling her wife back down onto the couch. 

"Oh God, I just..." Mariah said.

"I like it," Miranda said.

"You've seen it?" Mariah blinked.

"A movie about a trio of KPop singers, with magical powers, who fight demons," Miranda laughed. "Of course I've seen it. It's great." 

"Yeah, it is." Mariah felt her enthusiasm threatening to break through. "I mean, it's OK."

"Oh come on," Miranda laughed. "You love it... and you're allowed to like it."

"I mean, it's..." Mariah stammered. 

"Not exactly on brand?" Miranda teased. "Sure, for tough girl Mariah... but maybe it is for Mary Cavaliere. Maybe Mary Cavaliere loves KPop and musicals. Maybe she even sings!"

"OK, maybe she does," Mariah laughed. "What would her wife Mandy think of that?"

"Oh, I think Mandy thinks Mary is a total nerd," Miranda grinned. 

Without warning, Miranda leaning in and starting tickling her. Mariah squealed, amazed as she always was, at how this strange, beautiful woman completely disarmed her. 

"Stop, stop," she laughed.

"It's one of the many things Mandy loves about Mary," Miranda, or Mandy Cavaliere as she was now, smiled.

"So, how was Mandy's day otherwise?" Mariah, or Mary, asked as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Fine," Mandy smiled, "Except I think someone stole my spare towel out of my locker at the community center."

"Really?" Mary chuckled. "Lame."

"So, wanna watch this movie again?" Mandy grinned.

-----------------------

Author's Note

Yes, like Mariah, I am a KPop Demon Hunters fan. I do sing along and I do cry during the final song. The first time I saw that movie, like Mariah, I was just looking for something watch, decided "what the heck?" and I fell in love with it. More, I knew Mariah would be a fan of it despite it being "not on brand" for her. So, it had to exist in the Wyrd'verse. :)

If you haven't seen it, KPop Demon Hunters is on Netflix and a soundtrack playlist is on YouTube. 

Anyway, I had wanted to include elements of this story as a chapter in In Shadow, to show what M&M were up to, but I just couldn't find a way to make it fit. This short story actually takes place sometime before the events of In Shadow - Ch 32 - The War Goes On. The missing towel Mandy mentions was taken by Jake Volkov, for use in Etta's folk charm that misdirected Max V's occult henchmen (which can be seen in one of the flashbacks in that chapter).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed checking in with M&M as much as I did.

Mary and Mandy Cavaliere will return.