Baby Steps

"Kaaaaaay..." Taylor let her smile linger after Johnny until he was out of sight, and then she was left with an unavoidably awkward situation with Aurora. If it weren't for the baby, she might've just told her what she thought straight out, but... Telling Megumi's mom to fuck off would sort of be like telling Megumi to fuck off.

She stumbled over herself trying to answer too quickly before words came out. "Uh huh, I just gotta, like, I'm... I mean the, it's, when..." Rgh. "Yeah. Yes. I'm totally ready, I'm just enjoying the moments until the match. The work is already done, so when it actually comes, it's just like..."

She was interrupted by a cheerful series of chimey sounds from her phone, set on the end table next to her. She looked at the phone, and then at Aurora, and offered an uncomfortable smile.

"Eheh..."

The awkwardness in the room was biblical. Aurora took Megumi's little bib off and placed her back in her lap. There were plenty of things to say. None of which were appropriate.

"Do you ever plan to have a kid?"

Taylor only shrugged. The weight of the question helped focus her, and alleviated some of the tension.

"Dunno. I'm not really making those plans right now. Like I could get killed in the ring at Madison Square Garden, or be paralyzed from the waist down or whatever. My life is just so chaotic and stuff..."

She absently picked up her phone to check the message, and broke into a broad grin when she saw that it was from Cassie. She opened it up and found a picture of a smiling, sweaty Cassiebear, hair all mussed up, wearing a white jiu jitsu gi with the biggest smile, holding up her index finger and a great big trophy. Women's flyweight division, first place.

"Fuck yeah, Cassiebear!" Taylor marveled under her breath. She glanced up at Aurora and wondered if she should show her, but things were weird...

"It's from Cassie..." She explained.

"Oh..." Aurora said quietly. Of course she would text Taylor now of all times. It left an even more bitter taste in her mouth. Apart from Talia, it was the worst topic that could have been brought up. Nevertheless, the mother managed to keep calm and nodded. "Is she doing well?" After all, she had heard from Mamouru that the little Canadian had left. She honestly wished someone else had told her. Anyone else. Even Taylor.

"Yeah," Taylor said with a lopsided grin and a little laugh. She showed Aurora the picture, though she didn't know if she could see it from there. "I'd say so..."

She started to type out a response, but her phone chimed and vibrated again with another picture. She opened it up and her face lit up.

"HAH! Ohmigod, Bear..."

The second picture was taken right after the first, Cassie in her gi at the same tournament, and she held the flyweight trophy in one hand, and a second trophy in the other. First place, absolute division. Cassie's big, adorable smile was seasoned with just a bit of bravado. At the bottom of the picture were the words "YOUR TURN".

"Wow, man..." Taylor said, finding that the corners of her eyes were misting up. "She's too good for this place, dude..."

Aurora looked up when Taylor showed her the picture of Cassie.  "Cool."  She forced a smile, all she could really make out was a trophy but that was the whole point of it anyways.  "Yea she's too good..." For Mamouru...for her...for the psycho.  Everyone always said that about Cassie.  That she's so much better than everyone else.  The mother looked down at Megumi who was squirming again, probably for attention.  The smile on her face helped cheer Aurora up but it was hard not to think about Cassie.

...and Mamouru.

She bounced Megumi on her knee, the little baby giggling as she tickled her sides.  The same, forced smile was on her face as she played with her daughter.  The specter of what could have been haunted over her thoughts.  Had everything gone the way Mamouru originally wanted, she imagined Cassie would be the one playing with Megumi...and she'd be the one back in America.  She didn't doubt his commitment to her now, but it was hard to forget the words he said long ago.  Aurora audibly sighed heavily.

"How well do you know Mamouru and Cassie's history?" Aurora asked, her eyes still on the bouncing, laughing Megumi.  It was a question she'd been wanting to ask for so long but never could.  She wasn't sure if Mamouru would even be honest with her, and she didn't have the courage to ask anyways.  "Like...whats the deal between them?"

Taylor smiled down at the picture and then closed her eyes, with a warm feeling in her chest, almost like Cassie was there with her. Her pride swelled so much that it choked her up, until Aurora spoke.

She slipped the phone into her pocket and looked up at Aurora. Of course she would ask those questions, and why not? She could only imagine how it must have eaten at her, wondering if she was the second choice. But then, they knew they were only together because she let Mamouru fuck her and got lazy with the protection. What started as vengeful hate-fucking turned into a beautiful baby girl and Mamouru Higurashi finally settling down.

What a fucking crazy world.

"I know that they never dated, and Cassie lives in Canada, and she has a boyfriend." She shrugged, and held up a hand and let it drop back in her lap. "I mean, fuck, maybe the dude loved her. He probably did, man, everyone loves Bear, but that's a done deal. She picked someone else, he picked you. He could've ditched, but here he is, man, and like... That's some real shit right there, ya know? Like, you've got to give the guy some credit."

That...was kind of what she expected Taylor to say. It was a diplomatic, cautious way of saying what she feared might be the case. At the very least, though, Taylor was right. He was still here. She made it clear back then that she didn't expect him do anything, that it was her choice and life decision. But he insisted on being there for her and Megumi. And in the end, he did choose her.

Sort of.

Aurora's eyes were staring at the ground. Her phone vibrated in her bag but she didn't even look in its direction. She knew who it was. This day of the week was usually when she went somewhere with the unmentioned Wilson. She'd given him a heads up that she wouldn't make it but she imagined somehow he knew she was at Taylor's. The guy was kinda smart in a creepy kinda way. She wondered just how much Taylor knew about the...situation with her brother being who he was. Almost nothing, she imagined, but only because of how civil the other blonde was to her. She doubted she'd be treated this politely otherwise.

Megumi stared at her contemplative mom, not necessarily doing anything. Aurora returned the look, a small smile creeping on her face. "You hear that? Daddy's a stand up guy." She picked up the unsmiling baby and immediately recoiled. "Ugh...when did you do that?" she asked while making a face. Megumi squirmed uncomfortably. "Do you guys have somewhere I can change her?"

Taylor was suddenly farther away, on her feet, clutching her fists together against her chest.

"Um, I dunno! The bathroom? Like, wherever you, like... Do you need, like, I dunno, like..."

Where the hell was Johnny? And Mamouru?

"Okay," she said, gesturing at Aurora. "I don't know anything about anything, so like my place is your place, okay? This is your house too."

Aurora slung her bag across her shoulder and picked up Megumi.  "Let's get you cleaned up, sweetie.  And I just need a flat surface."  She hadn't seen the bathroom but she imagined it didn't have a table or anything that could work as one.  "What about this?" she asked while gesturing to the nearby coffee table.  "Don't worry, I've got disinfectants and cleaners.  Afterward, the table will be cleaner then it's ever been before."

She placed her bag on the table, followed by Megumi.   "So...I imagine you've never changed a baby before, have you?" Aurora asked while unpacking all the supplies. "This can be the first," she tried to add with a little smile. "Maybe it'll prepare you for the future."