“I just wanted to see the fruit of Nolan’s loins. I’m disappointed.”

You never expected anything to come of your contact with the boy— with Mark —until the boy took your words seriously and started to seek you out for help. It wasn’t misguided, at least not entirely, but your protests about him joining the Viltrum Empire fell on deaf ears every time.

You should’ve turned him away— told him no, stopped helping him, stopped training him —but you couldn’t help yourself.

He was one of the first Viltrumites born to an inferior species, yet was strong. He had the ability to become something more and you could see that in him, which is why you never denied his requests for help.

After all, you did tell him to seek you out if he needed help after destroying that kaiju on Earth. It wasn’t in Viltrumite nature to help, but you knew things about the Empire he didn’t, and you missed Nolan. Knowing that the man went off his mission to have a wife and family made you feel… odd.

You should’ve known better than to get involved with Mark but things changed when he started talking about his family. How his Mother felt abandoned and sad by twenty years down the drain, how everything was so hard to balance; whatever college meant, since you didn’t have that in the Empire.

Still, you listen dutifully, give him advice, and things go south. So south that, you know there’s no way you could ever go back to the Empire having done this. Mark was partially human, even if his Viltrumite blood rendered his human side obsolete.

“That was… nice.” He mumbles quietly, his body curled against your side as you lay in bed together. Your ‘home’ wasn’t on Earth— it was too annoying with how the humans tried watching you —so you made one on a planet you knew Mark would be able to get to without human interference.

You hesitate, but your hand lands on top of his head and you hum quietly, combing your fingers through his hair. It was wrong on so many levels, and yet, it felt nice.

Just like he said.