remember this moment

He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"

Everything about this moment was easy, made all the better by the way Flora accepted Soh's happiness for what it was, while still holding space for her to feel any other feelings she might have aside from joy. And, honestly, perhaps a wiser woman would have had some misgivings, but this was Sohalia, and she could find happiness in even the darkest of moments, could find meaning in even the simplest of signs. Her near-endless optimism drew others to her, endearing her to her friends, and in this, it helped to stave off the worst of any panic or second-guessing she might have harbored otherwise.

Flora scooted closer on the couch, and Soh leaned in, glowing in a way that signaled she was indeed quite content with the way her life was going. "Thank you," she said, warmth radiating from every word, all former disagreements forgotten in the rush of affection she felt for her best friend.

A giddiness had overtaken her now, an eagerness to share everything that had transpired in recent weeks. "Honestly, it's hit or miss on how I'm feeling," she said, scrunching her nose almost apologetically. "Today's a good day, but the morning sickness has been brutal. It's more an aversion to food than cravings at this point. The clinic said it's pretty normal and should pass soon, though." Laughing softly, affection evident in her gaze as it flickered once more towards her abdomen, she continued, "Other than that, I was super tired for a couple weeks, but that seems to have gotten better since I found out - or maybe I'm just so excited that I don't feel it. I'm not sure."

Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me

with each love i cut loose i was never the same

Flora wrinkles her nose immediately, sympathy flashing across her face. Pregnancy, apparently, has the audacity to be magical and miraculous and blessed by Safrin, while also making her best friend miserable enough that grapes and water count as strategy, which feels deeply unfair in a way Flora is not prepared to forgive on principle. "Ugh, babe," she murmurs, wincing as she reaches for her wine and then pauses with the glass halfway to her mouth, suddenly aware of the contrast between her chosen drink and Soh’s fruit water in a way that makes her expression turn apologetic for half a second before she lowers it again. "I guess healing water doesn’t help since it’s not, like...an injury or anything, huh?" Her lips twist into a soft, sympathetic smile, and though she doesn’t crowd Soh, her attention stays fixed on her with a bright, protective intensity that has always made Flora’s affection feel a little like sunlight through glass, warm and beautiful but ready to burn if anyone gets too careless with the people she loves.

"You know," Flora says, turning a touch apologetic as her fingers toy with one of her rings, "I always kinda thought we’d get pregnant at the same time, but..." She laughs, and her mouth pulls into a wry little shape as she glances down at the pale sweep of her sundress before looking back to Soh. "Kai and I only just talked about having kids, and we kinda left it as something we’d think about more way in the future, so..." Her smile brightens again, the giddy warmth returning as she leans back into the moment rather than lingering over the tiny ache of what won’t be shared in quite the way she’d once imagined. "Sorry, you’re on your own with this one."

Flora reaches for Soh’s hand again because there’s no universe in which she can sit this close to news this enormous and not keep touching her best friend like the joy might otherwise float up to the ceiling. "But if there’s anything I can do, please just say the word," she adds, the playful shape of her expression easing into something more earnest without losing its brightness.

Gif snipped by Sky <3

He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"

Perhaps it was the pregnancy brain (which had also been very present in ways that Soh had yet to realize), but the thought of attempting to use healing water to cure her morning sickness hadn't occurred to the Luminary. "Honestly, I hadn't thought to try it," she admitted sheepishly. "But I suspect you're probably right - it's not an injury or an illness, not really, so I would think I'm on my own." Still, she wouldn't trade any of it, not for the little life growing within.

Flora turned almost apologetic, and Soh blinked owlishly in surprise. Sure, there was perhaps a world in which this could have been something they shared, but given that this had been such a surprise, Soh could hardly blame Flora for not being pregnant at the same time as her. A soft, affectionate laugh fell from her lips. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll still be plenty involved," she said, reaching to squeeze Flora's hand. "I'm never on my own, not when I have you."

As for what Flora could do, Soh shook her head, the tendrils of hair that had escaped her messy updo swaying with the motion. Then she paused, tilting her head thoughtfully. She should probably talk about this with Zavien first, but there was no world in which she wouldn't ask this of Flora, so... "You'll be their godmother, won't you?" she asked hopefully, clasping Flora's hands in both of hers. She couldn't think of anyone else she'd want to trust with her child if something were to happen to both she and Zavien.

Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me

with each love i cut loose i was never the same

Flora’s smile turns positively adoring as she leans gently against Soh, squeezing her hand in return. For all that the word alone has chased Flora through too many rooms in too many shapes, it feels almost impossible to let it touch Soh now, not with this small new life already changing the air between them and not with Soh looking at her like there was ever any version of the future where Flora wouldn’t be right there, overdressed and overcommitted and ready to threaten anyone necessary. "Never ever," she says emphatically, her aqua eyes lifting back to Soh’s face with absolute certainty. "Not with this. Not with any of it."

When the question comes, Flora gasps as if Soh has just offered her a crown made of diamonds and tiny baby shoes, her eyes widening in theatrical delight before her expression breaks into a giant smile. Her lashes flutter shamelessly, one hand pressing briefly against her own chest as though she needs a moment to survive the honour of it, but the exaggeration barely hides the genuine rush of emotion beneath, the way her heart seems to tumble over itself at being asked to stand that close to Soh’s future. "Oh my gods, of course, babe," she says, her voice bright with immediate certainty as her fingers wrap more securely around Soh’s, gathering their hands together between them with affectionate urgency. 

Her grin glitters as she holds onto Soh’s hands, the delight still spilling over so freely that even the soft hush of the spa room can’t quite contain it. "How long until you can find out what you’re having?" she asks, already leaning into the details with the full force of her attention, as if the answer is something she can start planning around immediately. "Or even how many?? Do twins run in your family?? Or are you gonna wait and be surprised?"

Gif snipped by Sky <3

He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"

Just as there was never a moment of uncertainty about what Flora's role would be in her - and her child's - future, there wasn't a moment of hesitation before the queen was accepting it. Beneath Flora's fluttering lashes and exaggerated enthusiasm lay genuine adoration, and Soh laughed giddily at all of the emotion shared between them, silver tears gathering once more in the corners of her eyes as she squeezed Flora's fingers between her own.

The soft, quiet spa room seemed all the brighter now for the news that it had been asked to contain, and as talk shifted to the details surrounding Soh's impending child, she reached her free hand to sip cautiously at her fruit water. When it didn't turn her stomach, she smiled, relieved, and replaced the glass on the small side table nearby. "I don't think twins run in my family, though I don't really have anyone to ask," she mused, tilting her head to one side. She didn't have any family left to confer with on the matter, and her memories of her parents were few and far between since they'd died when she was so young. It made Flora all the more important in her life - the only family, aside from Zavien and the baby, that she had to speak of.

"I think we'll find out soon," she continued, reaching to twist the ring on her right hand around and around on her finger. "Neither of us have a preference, but I think I want to know anyway, so I can wrap my head around it either way."

Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me

with each love i cut loose i was never the same

Flora only smiles and nods at that, though there’s a knowing little brightness in her eyes that she doesn’t bother hiding, because twins run through her family like someone spilled them into the bloodline and never cleaned it up properly. She loves Enzo with every broken, golden thread of herself, still, always, but gods, if Soh can begin motherhood with one baby instead of two tiny conspirators arriving at once, Flora is perfectly happy to consider that a mercy from the universe and keep her mouth shut about tempting fate.

"Oh, for sure," she says, nodding more decisively as Soh twists the ring around her finger. "It’ll make all the prep so much easier too." Wrinkling her nose, Flora tilts her head as if already picturing nurseries and clothing and the kind of tiny, absurdly expensive things that probably have no practical purpose but will still end up being purchased anyways. "Not that everything has to be colour coordinated or whatever, but...I dunno, I guess in my mind knowing more about the baby would just make it feel easier?"

Her thumb brushes lightly over Soh’s hand where their fingers are still tangled, her expression softening as she looks from the ring back to her best friend’s face. "Like, not less huge, obviously, because this is still very much an entire person currently being assembled inside of you." Flora’s grin flashes, quick and fond, before gentling again. "But I think I’d want every little detail I could get too."

Gif snipped by Sky <3

He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"

In truth, Soh hadn't even considered the possibility of two babies; some instinctive part of her insisted that she shouldn't worry about it, that doing so would just be borrowing trouble. Despite the abundance of twins in Flora's family, they were quite rare in the grand scheme of things. Besides, if she did end up with twins, what would there be to do aside from adjust her plans and handle it? So until she heard otherwise, she was perfectly content to assume there was only one baby, thank you very much.

"Right, exactly!" Soh laughed. "I know gender isn't necessarily color coordinated and whatever, but I still have this... vision in my head of what I might do differently with a nursery, for example."

As for wanting more information, Soh slumped into the comfortable couch, leaning her head back against the cushions. "Every little detail would be nice," she agreed, sobering slightly. "I know Safrin told me that I'd be a good mother, but I have, like, no frame of reference for what that means. It's all been a little overwhelming." Exciting and joyful, of course, but that didn't negate the little sliver of self-doubt that continued to fester in the back of her mind. She had no reservations about Zavien's ability to be a good father, but herself? She didn't even know how to hold a baby, much less raise one.

Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me

with each love i cut loose i was never the same

Flora nods sagely, as if nursery visions are a serious and sacred category of strategic planning. "Totallllly," she says, drawing the word out with immediate understanding, because gendered colour rules may be boring and fake, but aesthetic impulses are not, and if Soh already has some sweet little dream taking shape in her head, then Flora is absolutely prepared to defend it against anyone dreary enough to start lecturing about practicality.

When Soh mentions Safrin saying she’ll be a good mother, Flora’s brows shoot up at once, her grin brightening with such effortless certainty that it makes the idea of doubt seem almost absurd. "Of course you’re going to be?" she says, the question mark landing only because the answer feels too obvious to need proving, and then she laughs, soft and fond rather than dismissive. "Babe, there’s literally no one I can think of who is better for it than you."

Her smile gentles as Soh sinks back into the couch, the excitement between them making room for something quieter without losing its warmth. Flora shifts a little closer, her gold-ringed fingers resting lightly near Soh’s as she considers the shape of what her friend has admitted. "Obviously there’s probably going to be a crazy learning curve," she says, wrinkling her nose in sympathy, because pretending otherwise feels insulting when babies are tiny, loud, mysterious creatures who somehow require both impossible delicacy and an alarming amount of laundry. "But, like...the fact that you’re a good person and you’ll love the baby and do what’s best for it, that’s kind of the most important thing. Everything else you can learn."

With a little shrug, her grin flickers back into place, brighter now and threaded with mischief as she tips her head toward Soh. "You could always borrow my baby brothers if you want to practice," Flora adds, as if Remi and Ronin’s newborns are library books.

Gif snipped by Sky <3