I shut the door behind Candy and put my keys in our miscellaneous bowl, "I can't believe him, Mana! A child in the house and all he can think about is satisfying his primal needs! Ooh, I really hate him, Mana!", I placed my hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, my love. We're taking Rose into our own hands today so she won't be subject to that... guy. I hate him too, only Crimson should've been the one to raise her, not him". I shut my eyes, the pain of Crimson leaving was still present. Candy placed her hand ontop of mine, her eyes sympathetic, "I miss him too. We never really spoke, but when we did have a real conversation he showed to me that we was a reliable father. Maybe we could save up some money to go visit him or something", I smiled gratefully, "That would be a good idea, but train tickets are expensive and if I just went, Rose would be devastated. Rose can't go alone either". Candy nodded slowly, "True. We'll find a way, love. I'll make sure of that, you and Rose deserve it", I gazed into her beautiful eyes, they never were just one colour, they always shifted from a moderate emerald to an aqua blue dependant on her mood. Right now they were a ocean light blue. Candy gazed back at me, smiling lightly, "I love your eyes, Mana", I sighed happily, "I love yours". Candy brought herself towards me, pressing her chest against mine, "I love you", I wrapped my arms around her and embraced her lovingly, "I love you more, Candy". Candy rested her head on my shoulder, her grip loosening as she became relaxed. I rested my head on hers, her soft, clean hair was so comforting. We held each other in the hallway for about five minutes, "Lets eat, shower and get changed, Mana. Our little Rosie is waiting for us".

I sat down on the bed, pulling up my favourite blue jeans and putting on a simple purple t-shirt. Candy was busy putting on her skinny jeans and her favourite black t-shirt that was fairly tight on her, it put a noticable amount of emphasis on her, um, breasts. I stole a quick glance, then returned to my own procedures as nonchalant as I could, "What do you want for breakfast, Candy?". Candy combed her hair gently, making it bouncy and lush, "Maybe just some toast or something, I just want something to put some energy in me", I admired her figure again, even though I had already done so in the past two or three years multiple times. Even though I had done it so much it never went stale. Her beautifully long legs, her curved hips that gave her a petite hourglass figure. Not to mention her beautiful hair, face and eyes. Candy looked up, looking a bit humoured by her expression in the mirror's reflection, "Enjoying the view?", I continued my admiration, "Who wouldn't?". Candy giggled and turned around, putting her hands on her hips, "I know I've got it going on but you could at least ask before you gawp at me", I gripped one of the belt slots on her waistband and tugged at it, pulling her towards me, "Why do I have to ask? I thought our exclusive relationship meant we were each others?". Candy held my face in her hands, "It does, I suppose. But I'd prefer to be seen as your girlfriend, not your pin-up girl", I chuckled lightly, "My pin-ups don't look half as good as you, hon". Candy went on one knee, "Was that some kind of guy compliment that

I as a woman should be offended at?", I shrugged passively, "Comparing me to a pin-up isn't really complimentary, more of a confirmation that you're a sexual deviant". I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down on top of me, "Sexual deviant? I don't hear you complaining when I am being a sexual deviant. In fact it's more of a 'Oh Celestia! Oh! Ah!'", Candy giggled and folded her arms on my chest, resting on top of them, "I guess you're a little bit right there, hon". She rested her head on one hand and sighed, "It'd be even better if it even counted for something", I reached a hand up and placed it on her back, "We can always keep trying, Candy. The success rate is low, not zero. Everyone goes through hardships, but if we persevere, we could have our own baby! We could have our own little family unit. You, me and the baby". Candy smiled lightly, "What would I do without you, Mana? My little glimmer of hope", she pressed her lips to mine lovingly, I did the same. I moved my arms further up and pulled her into a hug, still kissing her tenderly. Candy opened her legs, letting her thighs lock around mine, before opening her mouth and pushing her tongue into mine. I clamped mine around hers, inhaling her slow and relaxed exhalations as she was inhaling mine. I lowered my hands down to the hem of her t-shirt, about to take things further when Candy's phone rang. Candy heard it and broke away reluctantly, "Sorry, love. We'll have to pick this up later", I groaned in exasperation, "I'm ready now". Candy laughed lightly, as irritated as I was, "I am too, but we have to take Rose out, remember? I promise I'll make it up to you... later", she picked her phone up and held it to her ear, "Hello? Oh, hey, Parasol. Uh, no you weren't... interrupting anything, what's up? Sure, Mana and I are taking Rose to the park, you're free to come if you want. Okay, we'll see you in twenty minutes. Okay, bye". Candy put the phone down and sighed, "If we skip foreplay, we could-", Candy shot around, her expression was as if saying "Seriously?". I relented, "Okay, but twenty minutes is just enough time. Just sayin'".

I put the cereal bowl on the table, before pouring in a generous amount of my favourite cereal, (Oats 'n' Honey). Luckily for me it was healthy and delicious. I stood on my tiptoes and picked up the kettle, and holding it with two hands, poured yesterday's water out and filling it with fresh, cleaner water. Even though it became ridiculously heavier I managed to put it back on the holster that heated it up. I sat down at the table, or barside, on my favourite red leather barstool and was about to pour some milk in. Just as the cap came off, I heard a knock on the door. I let out an audible groan and went to go open the door, leaving the kettle to boil and spit loudly. I pressed down on the handle and opened the door... Parasol! "Hey, Parasol!", I hugged her at the waist, to which she giggled warmly and ruffled my hair, "Morning, Rosie. Is your Mom awake?". I broke away and shrugged, "I don't know, last time I heard them was about twenty minutes ago, when they were-", (Wait, everyone always feels embarassed when I mentioned the bouncing), "When they were what, hon? Oh, actually, I think I know. Nevermind, (man, what a

freak)", Parasol whispered a bit irritably under her breath as she stepped inside. "I'm making myself some tea, would you like anything?", Parasol nodded, "Honeymint please, Rosie". She followed me into the kitchen as I went to make the drinks, Parasol stopped in the doorway, "Uh, maybe I should handle the kettle, Rosie. It looks quite heavy, you don't want to burn yourself", I shrugged, picking the kettle up by the handle, "I'll be fine, I've done this before". I filled the first mug three quarters of the way, then moved onto the second mug. I slipped a bit, pouring in a vast amount of water that splashed and sent a scalding wave of water flying from the mug. A splash hit my left arm, it burnt like fire! "Ow!", I dropped the kettle, the lid opened quickly and spilt boiling hot water all over the kitchen floor, burning my legs and feet. Parasol gasped and quickly snatched me up, (accidentally burning her arms and hands in the proccess) before hovering a bit to make sure the water didn't do anymore damage. The kettle clanged and made a large amount of noise before rolling a bit, the lid open and leaking. Parasol sat me down on the living room floor, "Rose, are you okay? Where did it burn you?", my arms and legs were burning and raw, it hurt so much I couldn't even cry, "M-M-My... m-m-my... arms... legs... aaooww...". Parasol was in complete panic, "Oh damn, I-I'll get some ice for it", she bolted up and headed for the freezer, taking a few frozen vegetable packets and bringing them into the living room, "Here, put these on were it hurts!". I placed two packets on my legs and held one on my left arm, Parasol was breathing quickly in panic, "Oh Lord, Rose! Please tell me you're okay, are you okay?". I nodded weakly, "It burns... but the ice is stopping the burning... your arms...", Parasol's arms were red raw, but she didn't seem to care, "I don't matter right now, I need to make sure you're okay". The burning gradually went down to a stinging sensation, "Parasol... I'm sorry", Parasol sighed in relief and hugged me, "It's alright, honey, just don't do that again. You scared the heck out of me", I rested my head on her shoulder, a few late reaction tears trickled down. I heard quick footsteps come from the stairs and in came Frost and Mom, "What the hell is going on down here!?", Frost stormed into the kitchen, "Rose! What the hell did you do!?". Parasol glared at him, "Forget the bloody kitchen! Rose burnt herself, you bastard!", Frost exhaled deliberately and left the room, muttering obscenities while Mom stood silently. I buried my head into Parasol's shoulder shamefully, I hated confrontation. Parasol stroked my hair soothingly, "Ignore him, Rose. I'll get it cleaned up, make sure to keep ice on the scalds", Parasol turned around and looked at Mom, "Well? Aren't you gonna stand up for your daughter?". Mom opened her mouth to speak, but just looked down shamefully, "For goodness sake, Snow. Your daughter comes first", Parasol stood up and entered the kitchen to clean up the water. Mom knelt beside me, "Are you alright?", I nodded, "How badly are you burnt?", I took the packets off my burns to show her, she sighed as she looked them over, "You'll have to be more careful next time, Rose. You could've put yourself in hospital". I looked down silently, why didn't she stand up for me?