Half an hour after Dani passed out the suite was quiet, save for the soft humming of Vanilla as she finished treating Rouge’s hands for frost-damage. You really should see a doctor about this,” she gently slapped Rouge’s left hand, barely more than a pat, to prove her point.
Sucking air in sharply through her teeth, Rouge yanked her now-bandaged hands away in reflex. She lowered her gaze to the table, “I can’t.”
“Oh?”
Turning to stare at the bedroom, Rouge said nothing.
Vanilla gives an ‘i thought so’ sounding, “Mhmm… you’re trying to protect her?”
“Yes. Master Ace would be furious that this happened, even knowing it was his fault.
“You meant,” Pausing meaningfully, Vanilla gently corrected, “he’ll be mad BECAUSE it was his fault that his number one slut might be permanently damaged.”
Rouge rose silently and went to her kitchenette. She grabbed a glass with fingers that barely cooperated. Opening the liquor cabinet, she pulled out the Grand Marnier.
Vanilla softly tugged the bottle from her hands with an admonishing look. The maternal rabbit redirected, “Tellie, please place a room-service order for: herbal tea blend with tea biscuits, a bottle of vegetable-juice blend, and some tropical fruit salad.”
“Confirmed,” the AI responded in its uncanny, yet sultry voice, “will that be all you desire, Miss Vanilla?”
Rouge sighed and added, “and an espresso.“ She thought about her evening so far, “a double… with a twist of orange… and request that some himbo deliver it, I could use some eye-candy right now. Send order.”
“Yes, Miss Rouge. Expect delivery in under ten minutes.”
With the order place, and the booze put away, Vanilla watched as Rouge returned to the table. Regret filled the bat’s eyes as she stared at a small cake with 10 candles upon a plate. Tears threatened to trickle from her gorgeous blue eyes, tonight was going to be perfect…” she sniffled. Idly spinning the plate as best she could manage with her injured hand, Rouge felt her cheeks dampening. “It’s Dani’s first birthday since I took her in. It was gonna be special for us…”
“Honey…” Vanilla moved closer, ready to comfort Rouge. She hovered a step away though as she sensed an incoming outburst.
“But then the Master FUCKED IT UP!” Rouge’s wings flew open again, “And then I almost snapped my baby-girl’s arms!” She slammed her hands on the table in rage, causing searing pain to overwhelm her. “FUCKIN- RAAAAHHH!!!!” Lashing out, the bat thoughtlessly swept everything off the table; a glass of juice and the first aid kit scattered and flew… but Rouge shrieked as the cake did as well.
Thankfully, Vanilla’s years of experience ‘mothering’ many of the prominent members of Ace’s ranks had prepared her for exactly such behavior and she managed to save the dessert… aside from the part where Rouge’s hand had struck it. She set the cake back exactly where it had been, then suddenly yanks the younger woman into a tight embrace. “You did wonderfully tonight,” the rabbit cooed, “You stopped yourself AND made your point without raising your voice.”
Rouge stiffened at the gentle assurance, so used to most physical contact having at least a slight degree of sexual nature to it; even with Dani, there was usually a slight grope or a teasing pinch. She had no defenses against a wholesome embrace. An emotional-whirlwind whipped about in her heart as she clung as best as she could to the best example of Motherhood in the Mobius Strip.
After the hug softened, Vanilla stepped back while sliding her hands down Rouge’s arms. Gently she lifted the bandaged appendages to the younger woman’s vision, “and you PROVED you are a great mother.”
Rouge was left with her thoughts as Vanilla stepped away to answer the knock that sounded at the door. “A… great mother?” she asked herself silently. As she stared at her bandages, the incident replayed in her head…
“M-Mama…” Danielle choked on the word, begging for help as she lost consciousness.
A flip had switched inside Rouge’s mind at that moment and she raced forward. Her little girl needed her and nothing would stop her, not even Vanilla screaming a warning about the danger she already knew about. She had been in and around The Pits since she was little, and while she herself was no mage, she’d witnessed the peril of one losing control mid-spell.
Catching Dani before she hit the ground, Rouge felt it as all of the loose frost-magic was drawn to her hands and arms. Every nerve in her body screamed to drop the girl, but she scooped up her daughter and through sheer force of will managed to get the wolf to a proper bed despite the progressing damage. Vanilla had to physically pull her out of the room and force the bat to sit into the chair to treat her wounds before they worsened. They had left Cream to watch over the wolfette and comfort her
… As Rouge returned to reality, Vanilla had already put the juice and fruit in the fridge for the girls. She was sitting patiently, allowing the bat as much time as she needed to process just how major tonight’s incident was for her. Joining the rabbit at the table, Rouge quietly struggled to get her fingers to work properly for a second before finally being able to sip her drink. “... you might be right…” she thoughtfully admitted, “...I guess I was a good mom in that moment.”
“No,” smiling proudly, the lapine woman countered, “you ARE a good mother.”
“Yeah right!” She fluttered her soft leathery wings defensively, “I drink, I smoke, pop pills, I am a literal showgirl-prostitue!” Rouge lowered her head as she continued, “we fight all the time, I scream at Dani, I’ve beaten her, we fuck… and I barely try to do anything to make it better.”
Vanilla reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of cigarettes. She lit them both and passed one across the table, “here, we both need one right now.” After they both took a strong drag she continued, “you just described pretty much every mother in this building, myself included at least on most of those points. But you left out all the good stuff: you took her in with no expectation of reward, you take care of her as best you know how, you teach her things you had to learn the hard way, you make sure she gets better than you had…” Sipping her tea for a moment, letting her eyes show she wasn't finished. “And, most importantly: you LOVE that girl. More than I’ve seen you love anything, ever.”
Rouge blushed, something she’d nearly forgotten she was even capable of doing anymore. She brought her espresso up for another sip.
“Good Girl, drink up. Afterall, whether she wakes up soon, or sleeps through most of the night; remembers what happened or blacked it all out; is angry, happy, depressed, or mellowed… your daughter will need a mother… and you're gonna be there for her, right?”
“Yeah,” Rouge smiled gently, “I guess I should sober up a bit for that, huh?” It hadn't actually been a question, she downed her drink and grinned slyly at Vanilla, “Shower?”
A thirsty chuckle came from the rabbit, “if you beg a little~”
