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Jade: how have you been feeling?
Asks your old acquaintance Jade Harley, all while she starts the ultrasound with the scanner she built herself. The cold gel on your abdomen sends a shiver through you.
Rose: Pregnant.
Rose: To be more precise, I’ve experienced several symptoms, among others: lower back pain, vomiting, appetite distortion, and the gradual realization that I’ve made several irresponsible decisions, to say the least.
Jade: wow, living the dream, huh? :p
Harley jokes as she studies the ultrasound in great detail, her dog ears completely perked up and alert. You decide to relax on the couch in her home, staring at the ceiling in utter boredom. You wonder if this is how pregnancy is supposed to feel, or if you’re simply the one who’s wrong.
A lie. You know you’re the problem.
Jade: so… does kanaya suspect anything?
You squeeze your eyes shut. Of course Jade had to mention her good friend Kanaya. You feel the sting of a migraine you hadn’t had in months—since before you adopted your first daughter, Vrissy.
Rose: No.
Jade: i see…
The dog girl goes back to her work, kindly allowing you to sink back into your self-loathing in peace. How considerate of her. You feel tempted to use your powers to look into the future—or maybe the past, just for entertainment. You know it’s a bad habit, but at the same time… what does it matter? In this world devoid of narrative importance, you’re free.
You take a second to analyze the fact that you used that freedom to cheat on your beautiful wife and cheerfully receive a bullet between the eyes in about ten years…
Jade: oh god!!!!!
Jade’s scream yanks you out of your self-hating diatribe. Again, how kind of her.
Rose: What happened?!
Rose: What did you see?!
She turns the monitor so you can see it too.
Jade: it’s a girl! a sweet, precious little girl!
Jade: my girl!
She says this as her tail slams rapidly against her chair.
Jade: she even looks like me :D
To prove her point, she stands beside the monitor. You look at Jade’s smiling face, her bunny-like teeth standing out over her fangs, yet completely eclipsed by the hopeful shine in her beautiful green eyes. On the other side, there’s a blotch of gray tones.
Rose: I see the resemblance.
Jade laughs, kicking her legs like a little kid sitting on a chair that’s far too tall. She turns the monitor back toward herself and gazes at it dreamily.
Jade: she’s so perfect…
You let her have her moment of… proud motherhood? You assume that’s what this is. You certainly hope you didn’t look like this at little Vrissy while she ate her first piece of meat—you’d look ridiculous.
As Jade remains transfixed by the screen, your gaze slowly drifts down to your belly.
You don’t need to be a seer to know this girl won’t have an easy life. And you don’t need to be one to know that it’s partly your fault. You don’t think Jade is ready to be a mother—not when she came to you crying for help the way your own mother did; not when she tries to ease her loneliness through motherhood the way your mother did; not when she places so many expectations on a daughter she doesn’t even have yet.
Just like your mother did!
You feel nausea rising up your throat again. This time, it isn’t the pregnancy.
Rose: If you’re done already, then it would be best for me to go.
You say this while keeping your voice as neutral as possible. Judging by Jade’s expression, you didn’t do a particularly good job.
Jade: oh—yeah, sure.
Jade: wait, i… umm—
You notice Jade’s nervousness—the same one she had before asking you for your last favor, the one that involved her pressing you against your living room couch and nibbling at your neck so gently that the marks looked more like mosquito bites than anything else.
Well, that last part wasn’t exactly necessary, but you’re getting off track.
Jade: i wanted to ask if—
Jade: you know :/
Jade: can i put my ear there to listen to her heart?
You blink once.
Rose: That’s all?
Jade: yes! i mean, i think it’s still a little early for that.
Jade: but i’m very well equipped for the mission :B
She says this while twitching her dog ears—without a doubt one of the most defining traits of her mixed physiology, along with her tail and her stupid dog penis.
Rose:
Rose: Of course. She’s yours, after all, isn’t she?
Jade opens her mouth to say something, but quickly closes it again. She approaches slowly, as if afraid she might scare you if she moves too fast. You hate that this is probably true.
Her dog ear presses against your belly, gel and all. There isn’t much to say about it. Even so, you speak.
Rose: Do you hear anything?
Rose: Can you hear her?
Jade: yeah… it’s faint, but i can hear her.
Jade: …
Jade: it’s beautiful.
Jade: she’s beautiful.
She says this in a tone you can’t quite identify, but you believe her anyway—or at least you believe that what she’s feeling is real. Your hand lowers to her head almost instinctively, and you stroke behind her ear. It takes you a second to realize what you’re doing. Jade makes no effort to stop you, so you continue.
Jade: thank you…
She says it like she’s on the verge of tears.
Rose: You’re welcome.
You realize your tone isn’t all that different from hers.