The Immortal War

@ sun spirit

Jonathan chuckled at her teasing, pinching her cheek teasingly as he shook his head. "We do other things than that. And why couldn't they be hobbies? You can't tell me that you don't enjoy them." He teased back, shaking his head when she mentioned remembering her once their child was born. "I'd never forget about you, Cat. And we're having a girl." He reminded her with a smirk, kissing her again before moving to tidy up the counter to give them space to cook, chuckling as she moved over to the fridge. "I think we should have the ingredients, I went to the store the other day. And how could you not include broccoli in vegetable soup?"

---

Once Skylar was seated on the couch next to her Florence scooted over to snuggle into his side, resting her head against his shoulder as she ate. "I'll send a message to them after this asking them what day works best. And we can make a couple different things, or a main dish and a couple different sides, that way we can have healthy options and unhealthy options, and it's not our fault if Cat takes the unhealthy ones." She mumbled around her own mouthful of food, although it was much less full than Skylar's. She took a few more bites, taking a few minutes to eat before speaking again. "So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?"

@ katahdin

Cat wrinkled her nose at her husband as he pinched her cheek, though even that was somewhat playful. “Because hobbies are activities, like painting or baking or sports. If a hobby was just something you enjoy, eating unhealthy things when you aren’t around would be my new hobby,” she said, and in retaliation for pinching her cheek, she stretched up on her toes to ruffle his hair, putting it out of place with a little grin. “Your wishful thinking is cute. It’s definitely a boy,” she countered, kissing his cheek before they parted and she pulled the broccoli out of the fridge. “Because you use other vegetables! Like peas and greenbeans and carrots. I really like celery in mine too. Broccoli just doesn’t belong.” She returned to the counter to pull out a cutting board and a knife, obviously more relaxed than she’d been in awhile.

---

Skylar was happy to have Florence sitting close and as she snuggled into him, he let an arm wrap around her, using his free hand to eat. He liked it when they ate on the couch better than at the table since they got to be close like this. “That’s a good idea,” he agreed, “though I doubt it’ll make Jonathan glare at us less.” And by ‘us’, he actually meant him. Florence wasn’t entirely exempt from glares, but she didn’t get it half as bad as he did. Jonathan just didn’t like him and didn’t like that he and Florence were together and even having Cat around didn’t help that completely. Like Flor, he focused on his food for a little while until she asked about the rest of the day. “Well, we seemed to agree on ice cream and a movie tonight. Is there anything else you want to do?” They had a few things they’d started doing together over the last few months, one of which included him teaching her to play video games. Florence really seemed to enjoy Animal Crossing in particular, and she was picking things up fast.

@ sun spirit

Jonathan laughed, shaking his head. "That is your new hobby, silly. Eating frosting when I'm not around is an activity that you enjoy, so why couldn't napping be a hobby?" He teased, laughing even more as she ruffled his hair, wrapping his arms around her waist. "How can you be so sure? Florence doesn't even know and she's checked hundreds of futures. And I won't let Skylar tell us, but I doubt he'd even know for sure." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead before releasing her so she could go to the fridge to collect the ingredients. He made a face though at the mention of celery, looking at her with a frown. "You know how I feel about celery, Cat."

---

Florence let out a hum as he wrapped his arm around her, snuggling into his side as they ate. She felt comfortable sitting there with him, and shook her head as he mentioned Jonathan glaring at him. "No he won't. We'll even have salad, that way he can't be upset." She assured him, pressing a kiss to his cheek for good measure. Once she'd finished her food she say up enough to set the bowl down on the coffee table before curling back up in his arms, tucking her face into his shirt. "Hm.. Snuggling is a must... And maybe a nap. But other than that I don't know."

@ katahdin

“Because if I admit it’s a hobby, you’ll take even more naps than you do now, and I’ll miss spending time with you,” Cat answered, somehow managing to make herself sound serious even though he was laughing. She grinned over at him as she returned to the counter with the broccoli though upon his asking about the gender of their child. “You’re married to Fate. Knowing things definitively is what I do,” she reminded him, pressing a kiss to his nose. She couldn’t help but giggle when he reminded her about his relationship with celery though—even though they weren’t making vegetable soup. “I do. That’s why I brush before kissing you any time I snack on it. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s good in vegetable soup though.”

---

Skylar gave Florence a dubious look as she claimed Jonathan wouldn’t glare at him, humming noncommittally as he continued to eat his macaroni. “He’ll still be mad at me if Cat eats something unhealthy. It’s okay, I can handle his glares, but it’ll be there. Whether it’s because he doesn’t like me or doesn’t know how to be mad at Cat and transfers to me instead or something else, he’ll make me responsible.” He finished shortly after her and ended up setting his bowl on a side table so he wouldn’t have to disturb her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close as she snuggled into him even more. “I think snuggling sounds great too,” he hummed, nestling his nose in her hair. “And that maybe nap. And we can always figure out the rest later based on what we feel like.”

@ sun spirit

"Or I'll have sex with you more, which I would hope you wouldn't complain about since that's spending time with you." Jonathan teased with a little smirk, pressing a kiss to her cheek before moving to pull out the pot they'd need to make the soup. He chuckled as she mentioned knowing things since she was Fate shaking his head a bit as she kissed his nose. "But you haven't had a vision, so you don't know for sure." He pointed out, making a face as she spoke about celery. "It's a bad vegetable in vegetable soup, and I hope our daughter doesn't like celery."

---

Florence let out a pleasant hum as he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close, wrapping her arms around him in return as she snuggled close. "I don't like it when he's mad at you, though. Especially because you never do anything wrong." She pouted up at him, pressing a kiss to his chin as she pressed closer, practically climbing into his lap. "I'm glad that you thing snuggling is a good idea, and napping." She mumbled into his shirt, remaining quiet for a little while before looking up at him. "Skylar? Do you think we'll be like Jonathan and Cat one day?"

@ katahdin

"Empty threats," Pestilence mocked from inside Jonathan's head. "Maybe I can help her out though. I am getting better and better at controlling you, and she's tried so hard to get our attention."

Cat's attempts at solemnity disappeared at that, but even as she started to grin, the expression was replaced with a more contemplative look, as she realized Pestilence was probably the reason why Jonathan had barely looked at her since he started acting weird, much less had sex with her. She'd been worried about that too, probably a little too much, but far from wanting to make him feel as if he had to reassure her anymore, she put a smile back on her face. "I definitely can't think of any reason to complain about that, for more reasons than just you spending time with me," she responded as she started cutting up the broccoli into smaller chunks for the soup. "Or maybe I did have a vision, but I just hid the record for you so you could still be surprised, since you're so convinced we're having a girl," she countered, though she giggled a bit at the face he made. "He might develop a taste, since I've eaten it since I've been pregnant. It's really good with peanut butter, you know."

---

Skylar tightened his hold on Florence a little as she moved even closer, reclining halfway in his lap, and he leaned back into the couch a bit with her, getting comfortable as they snuggled--though he was sure they'd invariably end up laid across the couch at some point. "It's okay, Flor. He just doesn't like me, and plenty of people have not liked me. I'm just glad he doesn't threaten me anymore and that he never made good on any of his past threats. I can handle a little glaring," he reassured her softly, smiling softly down at her as she said she was glad that he thought she had good ideas, humming softly in response. For awhile, they just continued to sit like that with each other, and he was pretty content with that, though he was surprised with Florence's question when it came. "I guess that depends on what you mean. Because I can't see you baking obsessed and me grumpy. And I think we're both a little too self-aware to get carried away in front of others the way they sometimes do. But if you mean something like loving each other or living together, we're already there. I mean, our houses aren't linked or anything like theirs, but that's really for your protection, plus we can teleport to each other's houses just as easy."

@ sun spirit

"Don't you fucking think about touching her." Jonathan snapped, slamming his hands down on the counter, rattling the dishes and utensils he'd pulled out as he glared at the countertop. He'd tried not to engage with Pestilence aloud when here with Cat around, but he couldn't not respond in this situation. There was no way in hell Jonathan would let the scumbag in his head touch Cat. He realized he'd spoke aloud a few moments later, letting his shoulders relaxed a bit as he looked over at Cat with an attempt at a reassuring smile, although he knew by the look on her face it probably wasn't reassuring at all.

"I'm fine, Cat. Really." He murmured anyway, clearing his throat again as he turned back to what he was doing, letting himself smile a bit as she mentioned the possibility of having recorded a vision about their child. "I doubt it. I think that you would have told me." He argued, bringing the pot over to the stove for her before busying himself with tidying up the kitchen and washing the dishes.

---

"But I want him to like you. Jonathan's my best friend... I want him to like you." Florence huffed, irritated that Jonathan wouldn't seem to let go of his stupid aversion to Skylar. If only he could see how wonderful he was, like how she saw him. Then Jonathan wouldn't have any reason to glare. She nodded a little as Skylar answered her question, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks at his answers. "I know all that.. " she'd meant it more as in a 'will we get married and have kids one day' question, but since Skylar hadn't thought that way she took the answer to be no, especially when he mentioned their inability to link houses. Besides, Skylar was her boyfriend, but he didn't live with her, not really, and they'd never even talked about it or anything, even if theoretically they had centuries to be with one another. She just figured that if he wanted to do any of those things with her he'd have realized it already and would have mentioned it. Plus she'd accidentally looked into their futures a few times, and in every one they weren't together like that.

@ katahdin

Things were so peaceful at that moment that a Cat had no idea that was about to change until Jonathan suddenly snapped and slammed his fists against the counter. Dishes rattled, and her knife slipped, cutting her finger, even as she took a quick, wide-eyed step away. It was just unexpected and violent enough to remind her of her father, but knowing that it hadn’t been aimed at her, that it had been to someone she couldn’t see or hear, she tried to force that initial reaction aside as she wrapped her bleeding finger in a rag and hesitantly reached out to her husband. “Jonathan,” she started, but he was already reassuring her that he was fine and turning away from her. She wasn’t sure that he was okay, but she felt at a loss for what to do to help. Except maybe try to give him no reason to worry about her anymore than he was already and make sure he didn’t feel guilty.

She started to reassure him everything would be fine, but he’d already moved on, as if determined not to linger on it, and was moving around the kitchen. “Or maybe I wanted it to be a surprise for you,” she responded with a little smile. “Okay, I’ll be right back. I’ve got to pee again. I think our son’s worse on my bladder every day.” With one more smile, she left, making her way to the bathroom where she first searched for bandages, then unwrapped her finger, which had bled onto the rag a good bit and was still bleeding. She cleaned it up first, but the blood was coming fast enough once it was uncovered that she just quickly put her bandage on as soon as she was able. Once she’d cleaned up and put the rag aside for cleaning, she returned to the kitchen to finish cutting up the broccoli so they could get the soup started.

---

Skylar rubbed Florence’s back soothingly, knowing Jonathan’s dislike of him was a sore spot for her. “I know, Flor. Some people just won’t ever get along though. Jonathan and I might be like that.” That’s what he’d resigned himself to at least. Something about him apparently just rubbed Jonathan the wrong way, and he didn’t think there was anything he could do to change that. As Florence started to speak after he’d answered her question, he glanced down at her, but she only trailed off, blushing. He had the feeling he hadn’t really answered her question right, but he wasn’t really sure what he’d gotten wrong either. She’d asked if they’d be like Cat and Jonathan. He figured that meant it had something to do with their personalities or situation that was unique to them or immortals in general. It didn’t sound like he’d thought right though. “But...?” He trailed off, giving her an encouraging smile. “Are you thinking something you don’t know? Some part of it I’m not seeing? I learned my lesson about hiding things from you, if that’s your worry. Almost losing you because I was afraid to tell you I love you was enough for me, thanks.”

@ sun spirit

Jonathan just wanted to pretend it hadn't happened, pretend that there wasn't a monster in his head, but it was hard, especially now that Cat knew. He hadn't wanted to tell her, he'd wanted to not tell her until after Pestilence was already gone from his head, but things hadn't worked out that way, and he'd spent much too long with someone else in his body. He glanced over at Cat as she mentioned leaving to go to the restroom he glanced up at her, frowning a bit as he noticed the rag she was holding to her finger. Realizing she'd cut her finger he left the kitchen to move to the bathroom, waiting in the hall outside before frowning as he looked at her when she came out. "Cat? Are you alright?" He frowned, taking her hand gently and giving it a squeeze. "I didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you." He frowned worriedly, looking down at the bloody bandages on her hand.

---

Florence continued to frown as Skylar insisted that he and Jonathan might never be able to get along, relaxing further in his arms as he rubbed her back. She didn't want to think that. She wanted them to be friends, and Cat did too, but Jonathan was just stubborn, so she couldn't give up hope. Her blush only brightened as he asked her to clarify her question, tucking her face into his chest as she shrugged a little. "I-I don't know.. I guess more like... Cat and Jonathan are married, and they're having a baby, so I guess I was asking something like that.." She murmured, frowning a bit. "We've never talked about it, so I guess I was just curious... I mean, I guess we sort of talked about a baby when you helped me get birth control, but only in a 'use this until we're ready to talk about maybe having a baby', so it wasn't a real conversation, and you said before that we can't connect our houses because of my allergies, which is fine, but married people live in the same house all the time, so I guess that part of my question has already been answered... I dunno, Cat's asked about it sometimes, but I never know what to tell her."

@ katahdin

Cat was surprised to find Jonathan waiting for her when she left the bathroom, and as he frowned at her hand, she realized he must have noticed belatedly what had happened. As soon as he began apologizing though, she quickly shook her head and kissed him. "You didn't hurt me. I'm fine," she reassured him, gently squeezing his hand. "I slipped right before you shouted, actually. I just didn't want to worry you, with the way you already looked. I was already moving to get a rag and trying to wrap my finger when it happened. Which means: at least my reactions have gotten better, right? Just half a year ago, I was shaking and trying to hide when a cup broke on the ground." She was lying, but Jonathan was too conscious of his actions to have done anything of this sort intentionally. This was the first time she'd ever heard him raise his voice like this, the first time he'd ever lashed out at anything, and it had just been the counter. And she didn't know what had prompted it--other than the immortal in his head. To have made him act like this, it must've been bad. She just hoped her attempt to get his focus off how she'd hurt herself and why wasn't too obvious.

---

Feeling Florence tense and snuggle more into his chest, Skylar looked down at her, half-afraid from her reaction that it was going to be something bad somehow or that she'd clam up and refuse to tell him, and he wasn't sure whether to relax or stare at her in complete shock as she mentioned marriage and children. Marriage, sure; they'd kind of talked around it when they first said they loved each other, but that she might want a child was something he definitely hadn't expected, and he had to take a moment before he could speak, which Florence helped with by continuing, explaining how she'd gotten to thinking about it all. "Hey, I said we haven't because of your allergies, not that I don't want to marry you," he defended, squeezing her gently and taking a fortifying breath. They'd had to learn to take things and talk them out rather than jump to conclusions and panic talk at each other, and he was using everything he'd practiced now. "Okay, so, I'm assuming you're bringing both of those things up because you're at least mildly interested in both, even if you talked about the marriage thing more than the baby thing. So, let's start with the marriage thing. Umm, so first, I thought you were okay with our houses not being linked like Cat and Jonathan's, since we can just teleport to each other's places whenever we want. If you really want to though, I mean, I guess we could. If we figured out a way to keep the animals from getting into the bedroom and disinfected all my stuff before it got permanently moved into the bedroom. And I'd keep your survival kit handy in case you ever wanted to visit the animals. But I don't want you sick all the time just to be with me, and I don't think I can do the linking thing if that means the cats and Sprite are going to permanently make you sick. And just in case you forgot, I pretty much proposed to you, drunk, the night I told you I loved you, so you don't have to worry about whether or not I want to marry you. But I also thought we were taking things slow and all that. Or trying to." He didn't go any further, wanting to give her a chance to speak.

@ sun spirit

Jonathan was a bit reassured by her kiss, frowning though as she explained that she'd cut her hand before his outburst. "You should have said something. Do you want me to call Flor and have her come fix it? Or should we bring you to a doctor?" He asked as he looked at her worriedly, clearly upset that she was injured at all, and not 100 percent convinced that it hadn't been his fault. He had to take her word for it though, and he nodded when she mentioned how much better her reactions had gotten. "I'm still sorry about it, though. I never meant to scare you." He murmured, tugging her close to rest his forehead against hers while he inspected her hand.

---

The silence that filled the room in between them speaking felt like it went on for an eternity, and she was tempted to just apologize and ask him to forget she'd said anything. She remained silent though as he spoke, blushing a bit and nodded along with him, though she was quick to shake her head as he spoke about linking their houses. "No, no it's ok, we don't have to. I don't want to. I mean, I don't not want to, but it'd be too much to ask of you because of your animals, since I know they like sleeping with you, and I already feel bad that they can't whenever I'm there or you're here, so it's probably for the best that we don't. And we don't have to get married either. It's just that Cat asked about it at some point, and I didn't know how to answer her because we'd never talked about it for real, and she told me to be brave and ask you. But I don't like being brave since it always goes so poorly." She frowned, remaining in his arms for a few more minutes before pulling away to sit up and collect the dirty dishes. "I'm going to go wash these and put the leftovers away and then go lay down. I'm sorry I made things awkward, we don't have to keep talking about it anymore, since the consensus is no marriage and no babies, so now I'll be able to tell Cat that the next time I see her." She explained, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before heading off to the kitchen to do as she'd said, hoping the awkwardness would go away and they'd forget about this conversation ever happening.

@ katahdin

“I didn’t want to give you anything else to worry about,” Cat said, squeezing his hand gently and shaking her head as he started talking about Florence or a doctor. “I’m fine, Jonathan. I promise. It’s just a little cut.” She realized the fact that the outside of the bandage was already turning red probably didn’t inspire confidence and was probably why he looked so worried, though she was relieved he seemed to believe her and wasn’t blaming himself. “When something with a smooth edge like my knife cuts you, it always seems worse than it is because it bleeds a lot at first, even if it’s shallow. It stings, but it didn’t seem too deep,” she explained, trying not to think about how she knew so much about these kinds of wounds and shaking her head softly as he rested her forehead against his and continued to inspect her hand. “Stop. You didn’t mean to. And it was so sudden, anyone would’ve been startled. You wouldn’t apologize to Florence like this if you’d made her jump.”

---

Skylar knew he still talked a lot, but he thought he’d gotten better about not just blurting things out and thinking through what he said, but Florence’s answer made him question that. “I-I mean, it isn’t as if we’re really panicking like we used to, so it isn’t going that bad, and I think us moving in together for real could be nice as long we make sure it won’t be a problem for your allergies. Sprite and Bob and Spit are starting to get used to me not always being there and could get used to spending the night on their own. It doesn’t have to be off the table,” he started, frowning when she pulled back and got up, talking about doing dishes and then laying down. Even though they’d just decided on cuddling and maybe a nap. And he knew it was because of the conversation and because they were bad at anything they didn’t completely agree on and didn’t know how the other felt. He didn’t want to let her go and the night be ruined with the awkwardness though, so he stopped her before she could leave and pulled her back in, wrapping his arms and legs around her as he pulled her in close. “Please don’t leave,” he pouted, nuzzling in close. “I was enjoying the snuggling. I’m sorry. I won’t talk about any of that stuff if you don’t want.”

@ sun spirit

Jonathan was still clearly upset about her getting hurt, but he didn't want to pressure her if she was sure that she was fine. He still didn't like that she was injured and he couldn't do anything about it, but at least he could distract her a bit. "I still don't like that you're hurt.. And of course I wouldn't apologize to Florence like this, she's not my pregnant wife." He said with a little smile, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek as he led her back to the kitchen. "I can finish chopping the vegetables for you, if you want, so you can let it stop bleeding." He offered, pulling a chair out from the kitchen for her.

---

Florence squeaked a little in surprise as he suddenly wrapped his arms and legs around her and pulled her back down onto the couch. She blinked a little in surprise, frowning as he asked her not to leave and that he wouldn't talk about their conversation anymore, tucking her head back into his neck as she snuggled close. "I'm sorry for upsetting you.. I didn't mean to. And I don't want Sprite and Spit and Bob to have to get used to not sleeping with you at night, they love you and it'd be mean of me to take you from them like that. And you're right, it doesn't make sense because we can just teleport to each other's houses, so it doesn't matter." She mumbled into his chest, snuggling closer.

@ katahdin

"I know. You never like it when I'm hurt," Cat said, giving him a little smile and kissing the tip of his nose, still hoping to convince him everything was fine and to not be so worried. And it felt like a little bit of a win when he joked about apologizing to Florence. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." She squeezed his hand gently as they made their way back to the kitchen, but she shook her head as he offered to finish cutting up the broccoli. "I can finish. It's all wrapped up tight now. I promise I won't bleed on our food," she said, even as he was in the process of pulling a chair out for her.

---

Skylar relaxed a bit as Florence snuggled in again, stretching out along the couch with her as he loosened his hold on her--though he still her close. "You didn't upset me. I just... We just planned on snuggles and a nap and all that, and I didn't want things to be awkward and tense," he attempted to explain, quieting as she returned to the conversation that had started all of this. "You seem like you want it though," he said softly when she finished. "What you want matters, Flor."

@ sun spirit

"Of course I don't like it when you're hurt. Why would I ever like that?" Jonathan asked, smiling a bit as she kissed the tip of his nose. He could tell that she was trying to distract him, but at this moment he didn't really mind being distracted. "But it's the truth. You're my wife and you're pregnant, of course I'm going to spend extra time fussing over you." He explained as he kissed her, shaking his head a little when she said that she could finish cutting the broccoli. "It may be wrapped up, but it's still bleeding. Please just sit while it stops, Cat. I don't want you to make it worse, or injure yourself again." Part of him was worried that Pestilence would pop back into his head and he'd have another outburst that would actually lead her to hurting herself, and he was hoping that he could prevent it.

---

Florence shifted along with him as he stretched them both out on the couch, letting out a little sigh as he held her close. "I'm still sorry I made things awkward, though.. It hasn't been awkward in a while, but I suppose that means we were due for something like this to happen." She mumbled into his shirt, falling silent again as he said that it seemed like she wanted what they'd been talking about, and after a moment she shook her head. "I... I don't know what I want." She confessed softly, her grip on his shirt tightening a bit. "I know that I love you, and that I want to be with you, but other than that I just don't really know... I've never thought about those things, and it wasn't until Cat brought it up that I started thinking about it, and maybe I don't know how I feel about it because I'm scared because I've never thought about it before, and because I don't know how you feel about it and we've never talked about it before."

@ katahdin

“Oh, I know. Your new favorite pastime is fussing over me,” Cat teased, returning his kiss. She’d wanted to distract him and make him feel better, but it was working on herself too, and she felt her tenseness relaxing a bit. “I just didn’t want you had to fuss extra because you thought my… my thing had kicked in,” she explained when she pulled back from the kiss, though she didn’t have a name to put to the reactions she sometimes had to things because she’d never really had to put a name to it before, having never talked about it. She frowned as he asked her to sit again, pulling the ‘please’ card and giving her that face that she was sure he knew made her soft. “Okay, I’ll sit. But only if I wash the dishes later. Alone. Unless I need to put up a plate or a bowl, but that’s only because I’m starting to have trouble getting on the counter.”

---

Skylar smiled a bit, rubbing her back and nodded a bit before nuzzling his nose into her hair. “I’m surprised I wasn’t the one who started it actually. Usually I’m the one who starts it when we have awkward moments,” he pointed out softly, listening as she explained that she didn’t know what she wanted and that she was scared, frowning a bit. “Cat probably meant it teasingly or just curiously. I mean, she teases a lot, and she’s helped us a lot, so both are equally likely. I don’t think she was trying to pressure you.” Maybe he should ask Cat not to ask stuff like that though, just let them come to her with information like that. Even if she didn’t mean harm, those were some pretty big questions. “We can still talk about it too, if you want. We don’t really have to talk about it in the sense of if we want any of it now either. We could talk about it like ‘do we eventually want this?’. Or imagining what it would be like. And maybe talking about it like that will help if we ever want to have the conversation for real,” he suggested, still rubbing her back.

@ sun spirit

"You're pregnant and can't go to the doctor if anything goes wrong, of course I'm going to fuss over you constantly. I don't know what I would do with myself if anything happened to you." He did have some idea, but it wasn't something he'd tell her about. Jonathan nuzzled his nose against her cheek as he smiled at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he helped her into her chair, although he gave her a look when she mentioned climbing up onto the counter. "I thought we agreed no more.of that after you slipped that one time? I even bought you a little step stool to use, have you really been not?" He was clearly unimpressed with this news, moving over to the counter to finish prepping the ingredients, occasionally turning to ask Cat how much of something she wanted for the soup.

---

"I make things awkward all the time, I don't think you're the one who starts it." Florence murmured as she gave him a little squeeze. "I know she meant well, they're just big questions that I've never thought about before." She explained softly, letting out a sigh as she tucked her face into his chest. "But talking about it like that might be awkward, especially if we both don't want the same thing. Besides, I could always just look ahead in time a bunch of times to try to see what happens, if we really wanted to try to know. I haven't looked yet because I haven't wanted to, but if you wanted me to I could."

@ katahdin

"Good thing you don't have to find out because I'm not going anywhere," Cat said, giving Jonathan a smile as he kissed her cheek and making sure to give him one more kiss as she sat in the chair like he wanted before letting him go. He hadn't quite agreed to her terms, but she'd take his silence as agreement. She played with the end of her bandage as she watched him, going still at the look he gave her as he asked about the counter, realizing she'd accidentally outed herself. He'd gotten the step stool before they'd even found out she was pregnant, even though she'd just slipped the one time--that he'd known of at the time--but they kept it put away most of the time, and she was used to doing things her way and he always stepped in to help when he was there, so other than for a handful of times, she just didn't remember to use it. And apparently she'd gone so long since using it that she'd forgotten it existed this time. "Well, it was more like you decided I shouldn't be doing it anymore, and I still think you were overreacting. My ankle just hurt for a couple of days. It hurt worse slipping in that puddle last week and falling down the stairs last month."

---

"I know I do. A lot," Skylar murmured into her hair, then kissed her head. "How about we share the blame? Since we both think we deserve it." He went quiet, listening as as she expressed her worries, and pulled back just a bit to look down at her. "Well, how are we ever supposed to talk about anything important if we're afraid the other one's going to disagree? People don't always agree, Flor, and that's okay. Relationships aren't about always agreeing. It's about how you handle things when you don't agree. Do you act unreasonable and expect the other person to just give you your way and get mad if they don't or do you talk it out with them and come to an understanding and try to compromise? And I'd like to think I'd listen with open ears and talk to you about anything I don't necessarily agree with and try to compromise."

@ sun spirit

Jonathan returned his wife's smile, even leaning down to give her another kiss once she'd sat down before moving over to the kitchen to finished chopping up the vegetables, even chopping up a bit of celery to put in along with the onion and carrots, but only because he knew it would be hard to taste it with all the other ingredients mixed in. "I didn't want you to slip and fall, isn't that reasonable? And I was upset when you fell those other times too, if you recall. Especially since you are very pregnant, and our baby likes to give you health problems." He said, setting the pot on the stove to begin cooking everything.

---

Florence shook her head a bit as he spoke, giving him a little squeeze. "I know we won't always agree, and that's fine and ok. And I don't expect one of us to just give in and agree with the other person. I just.. I don't like it when I ruin our days by bringing stuff like this up. We were having a nice day and if I hadn't said anything then we still would be." She sighed, tucking her face into his chest. "It's easier to just not talk about thing sometimes..."

@ katahdin

Cat smiled a bit as she noticed Jonathan pull out some celery and start to chop it up too--despite hating it himself--and had to restrain herself from reaching out to grab a little to snack on, knowing if she did, she'd forget not to kiss him afterwards. "You make it sound like I'm about to pop. We still have three and a half months to go," she reminded him, though she understood why he was so paranoid. She was scared too, even now. There had been a couple of scares. Only the one big one, where she'd woken up in the middle of the night bleeding and cramping, but there'd been a handful of other worrying moments too. If not for Florence and Skylar, they'd have lost the baby for sure. And Jonathan could say the baby gave her health problems all he wanted; it didn't change her conviction that it was the other way around. "I know I'm clumsy and have a tendency to get hurt and you're just worried, but slipping off the counter that one time really was a fluke, and I have been trying to be more careful than usual since we found out about the baby. And I'm sorry this whole pregnancy's been so crazy and stressful."

---

Skylar hugged Florence tight, shaking his head a bit as she started talking about how she'd ruined their day. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I mean, things got a little awkward, probably mostly because of the way I answered you earlier, but we're snuggling now, and it's very nice, and after we both get nice and calm, I bet we get sleepy and take a nap. Just like we planned. Unless snuggles were going to ruin our day to begin with, I don't see any problems," he said as he held her close.