“Sonata, what the hell are you doing?” Aria asked as she saw Sonata vanish behind the hallway.

“Nothing!” Sonata called back to her, “I’m just… I’m just doing something, okay?”

“What are you doing?” Aria asked as she stood up and closed her book, approaching the hallway bend.

“Nothing! Really, nothing! Just… go back to what you’re doing!” Sonata said hurriedly, reaching the door leading to Adagio’s private room.

“Whoa whoa!” Aria exclaimed, grabbing her wrist, “What are you doing? You know you’re not allowed in there!”

“Mommy told me all about it,” Sonata pouted, pulling her wrist away, “And I just… I want to see my brother. I want to talk to him.”

“Talk to him? It’s an urn filled with ashes!” Aria scoffed, “Don’t go touching anything in there, that shit means a lot to her!”

“I know it does! And I know he’s ashes, but… I don’t know, it just makes me feel better,” Sonata sighed, looking away, “It’ll be fine.”

“Sonata, you really shouldn’t do this!” Aria said firmly.

“I’m not going to break anything,” Sonata pouted.

Aria groaned as Sonata pushed open the door and strolled inside. She felt like a little kid being told not to go into her mother’s bedroom again as she watching Sonata poking around Adagio’s den.

Eventually, she came over to the urn, and stared at it. Gingerly, she reached up and touched it, as if stroking a head.

“Hey, buddy…” She said softly, giving a sad smile, “It’s me, Sonata… Your sister. Or… stepmother, whatever… It’s too bad you’re not here. I’d have loved to meet you, hold you, play with you… If you were that small, I guess. Hmm… I bet you would’ve been gorgeous, just like Mommy. You’d probably be really sweet and fun, all full of life… She’d have been a great Mommy to you… You would’ve been so lucky to have her as your Mommy.”

Hesitating, she then carefully picked up the urn, finding it a little less heavy than expected. Sonata sighed, then cradled it against her chest, like holding an actual baby.

“Sonata! Put that down!” Aria hissed from the doorway, “If you break anything in here, both our asses are gonna be burned for this!”

“Relax, Aria!” Sonata said crossly, breaking out of her reverie, “Mommy’s not here! She’s not even going to be home for a few hours! She won’t know I was in here, okay?”

“She will if you break her son!” Aria hissed.

“I’m not going to break anything!” Sonata cried.

“Girls? Girls, what’s going on?” Sunset’s voice filtered through the doorway as she came up beside Aria. Her eyes went wide upon seeing Sonata holding the urn, “Sonata, what are you doing?”

“Nothing! I’m just… holding him, okay?” Sonata said defensively, taking a step back.

“Sonata watch out!” Aria exclaimed as Sonata back against the coffee table.

“Watch out for wha-AIE!”

Sonata tripped, falling back against the coffee table and losing her balance. Almost immediately, the urn was dropped from her hands, to which she attempted to catch it. Unfortunately, her fingers barely brushed its surface before it went crashing to the floor. A loud noise erupted as the urn smashed into pieces, spreading ashes all over the floor, and right into a heat vent near the corner. Letting out a squealed cry, Sonata dove to the floor, trying to gather the urn pieces, and what miniscule ashes didn’t end up in the vent.

“N-No… No… NO!” Sonata wailed, trembling as tears gathered in her eyes, “Timbre… I’m sorry… I’m sorry! No! No! Quick! Open the vent! We have to save him! We have to get them out! Now! Hurry! Open it!”

Aria and Sunset both rushed in and tried to pry the vent off the heat duct, but by the time they’d gotten it open, Timbre’s ashes had already been blown through the ventilation system and out the air duct outside. The two of them looked wide-eyed at each other for a moment.

And then Aria burst.

“Goddammit Sonata!” she yelled, “I told you not to go in here! I told you not to touch that damn urn!”

Sunset looked from Sonata to Aria, then back again, and sighed, “She’s right, Sonata. You really shouldn’t have been tampering with it. I know you didn’t mean to break it, but you shouldn’t have touched it.”

Sonata knelt on the floor, not even looking at them, just holding two pieces of the urn in her hands. Trembling, she stared dazedly at the floor, tears falling from her eyes and onto the pieces of the urn and floor. At this moment, all she felt was numb, and terrified. Her heart went shattering along with the urn, dropping into her stomach. How could she have not listened to Aria? How could she have violated Adagio’s personal memories? The only piece of her son that she had?

Whimpering, Sonata let the pieces fall, crying harder. It felt as if it were only yesterday that Adagio finally entrusted her with this secret. With this big piece of her. Now she had gone and destroyed it. Like a child. A careless child.

Getting up, Sonata sobbed as she ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and locking it.

Aria and Sunset ignored her for a moment as they both turned to the broken pieces of Timbre’s urn.

“Oh no no no no no no no,” Aria muttered as she picked up each piece, “Adagio’s gonna kill all three of us when she finds out about this!”

“I know… but what are we going to do?!” Sunset uttered in panic, looking all around the room, “We’d have to glue it back together but what do we fill it with?!”

“Oh that won’t work,” Aria grimaced, “She’ll know it’s been broken. Nothing slips by that woman… go make sure Sonata isn’t slicing her arms open while I think about what the hell I’m gonna tell her…”

“Don’t worry, I took any and all sharp objects out of the bathroom after what happened with Twilight…” Sunset assured, standing up, “I’ll go make sure she’s okay.”

Leaving the room, Sunset went to the bathroom, knocking on the door, “Sonata? Sonata, it’s me. Are you okay?”

“Go away!” Sonata yelled, sobbing, “Just… Just go away!”

“C’mon Sona, open the door,” Sunset sighed, “You can’t stay in there forever.”

“Leave me alone!” Sonata wailed, “I’ll come out when I’m ready! Just leave me alone!”

Sunset back away and retreated back to Adagio’s den, “She’s not coming out anytime soon. I think she really-”

“Mommy’s home!” came the last voice either of them wanted to hear from the apartment door, “Where’s my girls? I brought pizza!”

Both Aria and Sunset froze, staring at either with wide, frightened eyes. Under different circumstances, this would have been considered comedic.

“Oh, crap…” Sunset whispered, “What are we going to do? How do we tell her?”

“I don’t know…” Aria whispered, glancing back to the bathroom door, “One of us has to, and whoever that is probably isn’t going to live to see the end of the day…”

“...I’ll tell her,” Sunset volunteered, whispering lower, “Let’s leave Sonata alone for a while. We may have to calm Adagio down, first.”

Aria winced as she gave Sunset a gently push toward the doorway, following her outside as she closed the door behind her.

“There you two are,” Adagio grinned before her smile fell, “...Wait, what were you two doing in my den?”

“Uh…” Sunset gave a sheepish smile, “Well, uh… you see… there was… well, there was an accident…”

“What kind of accident?” Adagio asked, looking worried, “Is everyone alright?”

“We’re fine! We’re fine… It’s just… can you… we need you to sit down,” Sunset gently ushered Adagio toward the kitchen table.

“We may as well tell you,” Aria groaned, shaking her head, “Sonata did it! I tried to tell her not to go into your den, but she didn’t listen! Oh, no! Can’t listen to big sister Aria, because I’m a nagging bitch, apparently! But no, she went in there, tampered with Timbre’s urn, and it fell to the floor!”

Adagio’s heart nearly stopped cold as she fell back into the chair, “...W-What?”

“It’s true…” Sunset said sadly, “Like I said, it was an accident. The urn broke all over the floor, and… and most of the ashes ended up in the vent. We tried opening it up to salvage them, but it was too late. We’re so sorry about what happened, Adagio…”

Aria let out a frustrated groan, then sighed sadly, “I’m so sorry, Ma… I tried to stop her, I tried so hard to warn her… she didn’t listen to me.”

Adagio was silent for a moment, before she jumped up and tore down the hall into her den. She stopped cold when she saw the fragments of her son’s urn on the floor, empty. She clapped a hand to her mouth and slowly lowered to the floor, picking up one of the shards as she stifled a whimper behind her hands. Aria and Sunset stood in the doorway, watching her hunched over her son’s broken urn. Adagio lowered her hand from her mouth, a tiny cry escaping from her mouth as she picked up another shard, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes followed the dustings of ashes to the open vent, which was active and blowing air through the ducts outside.

Quiet, and barely giving off whimpering sobs for a moment, she finally put the pieces together in her mind and gathered up the rest of the shards, her whimpers turning into a chilling scream as she broke down and held the pieces to her chest.

Sunset began to cry as well, silently, while Aria brought an arm around her for comfort. They both looked on helplessly, feeling their hearts breaking. Adagio had always been the rock, the caregiver, and the one holding the family together. Seeing her breaking down like this was beyond devastating. Something they’d hoped never to witness, given how she held herself together even in tougher moments. It was true what they said, how much it was a shock and heartbreak when the mother would be the one breaking down in tears for whatever reason.

“....Would you like to be left alone for a bit?” Sunset asked, her voice cracked.

Adagio didn’t respond. She couldn’t through her sobbing as she scooted back against the wall, cradling what was left of her son’s remains as her crying only got louder. Looking at one another, Sunset and Aria left the room to let her cry and grieve in peace. Not speaking, they went to the living room, sitting down and trying to absorb all of this.

“...That’s gonna be in my freaking nightmares…” Aria whispered as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

“Me too…” Sunset agreed, wiping her eyes and sniffling.

“Can you go check on Sonata? She’s right across from Ma, and that can’t be good…” Aria whispered.

How long had it even been? Sunset wasn’t even sure. Nonetheless, she nodded, “Yeah… I’ll go make sure she’s okay.”

Going to the bathroom door, Sunset knocked. No response. She sighed, knocking once again. Still no response. Pressing her ear to the door, she listened hard, but could hear no sound. No whimpers, no sobs, no signs of movement. That was odd. Yet, at the same time, panic rose within her.

“Sonata?” Sunset whispered, “Sonata, it’s me. Are you okay in there?”

Still no answer. Not even a sign of movement or anything. Sunset frowned, a stab of dread rising. Reaching into her hair, she took out a bobby pin, and proceeded to pick the lock. It took a few tries, but she managed to succeed in unlocking the door. In doing so, she opened it fast.

To her horror, Sonata was gone. There was no sign of her anywhere, let alone having even been in there. Sunset looked to see that the window was wide open, obviously enough for her to have slipped through.

Sunset let out a pained grunt, but then closed the door, and hurried back to the couch. She grabbed Aria, whispering to her, “Sonata’s gone!”

“WHAT?!” Aria jumped up before clapping a hand over her mouth, “...what?”

“She’s gone!” Sunset whispered, trembling, “I-I opened the door and she was gone… The window was open… I think she climbed out onto the fire escape!”

“Oh noooooo…” Aria groaned, “I’m going to go look for her, you stay here with Ma!”

Sunset nodded, “Got it! Hopefully she didn’t get too far…”

Aria pulled her boots on and took off out the front door to the car, leaving Sunset alone in the apartment.

Gathering herself, Sunset returned to the den, finding Adagio still in the same spot, crying softly.

“Mommy…?” She said softly, taking a step into the room, “Are… Are you going to be okay? ...Is there anything I can do?”

Adagio let out a shivering whimper as she reached an arm out to Sunset. Going over to her, Sunset knelt down in front of her and gave her a hug, nuzzling her hair. Adagio cried softly into Sunset’s shoulder as she continued to clutch her son’s urn fragments to her chest. Holding her closely, Sunset sniffled and held back her own tears, if for nothing else than to keep herself strong for Adagio’s sake. She stroked her hair, rubbed her back, anything she could to calm Adagio down further. Adagio whimpered softly as she clung to Sunset.

“Why…” she whispered as she buried her face into Sunset’s neck.

“W-Why what?” Sunset asked.

“Why?” Adagio whispered, “...Why did I have to lose all I had left of my baby?”

Sunset sniffled, holding her closer, “I’m so sorry…”

Adagio broke down into louder sobs as she clung tightly to Sunset, so hard that Sunset could feel a small ache in her shoulder.

“Sonata!” Aria yelled as she wheeled the car around and got out, running up to Sonata on the side of the highway, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

Sonata didn’t answer her. She kept walking, staring dazedly at the ground as she did, sniffling.

“Sonata!” Aria grabbed her by the arm, “I’m talking to you!”

“Let go of me!” Sonata attempted pulling her arm away, “Why are you even out here?! I’m leaving!”

“Leaving? And where the fuck are you gonna go?” Aria growled.

“I don’t know! Anywhere!” Sonata whimpered, pulling her arm away, “I can’t face Adagio like this! Not after what I did! This wasn’t just breaking her favourite vase! It was her son! She must hate me, now! I should’ve listened to you, and I’m sorry! I… I can’t do this to her! It would be better if I just left.”

“Sonata, you haven’t go anywhere to go!” Aria scolded, seizing her by the arm, “And besides, even if Adagio wanted you to leave, which I doubt, are you really gonna deprive her the pleasure of throwing you out?”

“The pleasure?! She’s probably glad she doesn’t have to do it!” Sonata tried to pull away, “Just let me go. I can’t do this to her!”

“Oh you can and you fucking well will,” Aria pulled her back toward the car, “You’re gonna go back there and you’re going to apologize to her! You’re not running away from your problems again.”

“I did not run away from my problems! I ran to a solution!” Sonata yelled indignantly, “Fine! I’ll go home, apologize, let her throw me out, and then I’m gone!”

“Get in the car,” Aria growled.

“I can get in myself!” Sonata pulled her arm away, pulling open the passenger door and getting into the the seat.

“Sunset! I found her!” Aria exclaimed as she came back into the apartment with Sonata, “Where’s Adagio?”

Sunset got up from the couch, “She’s in her den, resting. Oh, Sonata! Don’t you dare scare us like that again!” She threw her arms around the smaller girl, shaking, “Are you okay?”

“I… I...I’m fine… I just…” Sonata clung to her, weeping, “I’m sorry! I was scared Adagio would be so mad and I felt horrible for what I did! This is all my fault! I’m sorry! I didn’t know what to do and just… I tried to go!”

“She’s in her den,” Sunset said, pointing toward the hall, “And don’t you dare use her first name while she’s like this…”

Sonata shook, shivering, “I… I can’t face her now… She doesn’t want to see me…”

“Sonata, you go in there and apologize to her, now,” Sunset said sternly.

Whimpering, Sonata obliged. She went to the den, seeing that the door was open. Letting out a sniffle, she went to the doorway, peeking in cautiously. Adagio was laying on the sofa, her eyes red and bloodshot as she stared at the shards of the urn laying on the coffee table.

“...M-....Mo….Mommy…?” Sonata whimpered in a tiny voice.

Adagio briefly glanced up at her, before turning her eyes back to the broken urn.

Sonata sniffled, not moving from her spot, “...Mommy… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… b-break the urn… I… I just… wanted to talk to him. I backed up, and I tripped… it all fell… I… I’m so sorry… I’m an idiot and a klutz. Aria tried to stop me… I didn’t listen. She didn’t have anything to do with it, or Sunny. It’s all my fault. Me. And I’m sorry, Mommy… I’ll… I’ll leave if you want me to…”

Adagio’s ears twitched at Sonata’s last few words as she gingerly sat up, turning her bloodshot eyes to her, “...Don’t go…”

“...W-What…?” Sonata blinked.

“...Don’t leave me, Sona…” she said quietly.

Sonata sniffled, entering the room gingerly, “But… But I broke him…”

Adagio sniffled as her eyes welled up in tears, reaching out toward her. Although surprised at this, and even slightly scared, Sonata approached. When upon reaching the couch, she gingerly brought her arms around Adagio in a small hug. Adagio wrapped her arms tightly around Sonata’s waist and cried into her shoulder, clinging tightly as she shivered against her.

“I’m sorry, Mommy! I’m sorry! I’m an idiot and I’m bad… bad...I’m sorry!” Sonata wailed, holding her tightly. Along with the guilt, it was destroying to see Adagio this broken down. How could she have even tried to run away when Adagio needed her the most? She made a mental note to thank Aria for bringing her back when things settled. Sniffling, Sonata held her closer and whimpered, “I’m sorry, Mommy… I won’t run away again, I promise…”

Adagio cried into Sonata’s shoulder, squeezing her tightly as the two of them laid down on the sofa. Sonata snuggled her close, stroking her hair and nuzzling her. It felt surreal, to be a mother for her girlfriend/mother figure, and yet, an honour. Even if she had been the cause of her sadness.

Adagio’s crying could be heard out in the living room, where Sunset and Aria were cuddled up on the sofa.

“How long do you think she’s gonna be like this?” Sunset asked quietly.

“It’s hard to say,” Aria sighed, shaking her head, “Ma’s always one to bounce back, but damn… This is serious. It’s gonna probably be a while. I mean, it’s like she lost her kid all over again.”

Sunset shuddered, “I can’t even imagine what it must have been like all those years ago…”

“Me neither. I’ve heard a lot about it, read it in stories, even seen it in movies. But damn, I can’t even imagine,” Aria absently stroked her hair, “Worst part is, even though she can get pregnant, it’s like her body says ‘Fuck you’ just before it ends.”

Sunset cuddled closer to Aria and sighed, “And Ada wanted to be a mother so badly…”

“It’s not fair!” Aria groaned, snuggling her, “It should be outlawed! No woman should have to go through this!”

“I agree,” Sunset nodded, squeezing tighter, “To think, she not only lost her son’s ashes, she almost lost Sonata too…”

Aria nuzzled her cheek, “I sure was angry, but damn, I was worried she’d get herself in trouble. But you’re right, I can’t even imagine. Sonata’s the closest thing she has to a baby and the first of her little harem. I’ve lived through losing Sonata before, and it’s painful. I didn’t want Ma to go through that. Especially not after this.”

Sunset kissed Aria’s cheek and nuzzled her, “You know, she used to tell me about all the horrible things you used to say about her. It’s nice to know how much you care about the both of them, Aria…”

Aria gave a little smile, “Yeah, I know, right? I can’t believe how crazy I was at the time. I could not have been more wrong, and I’m sure glad I was. There I was, worried as hell, having thought I lost Sonata forever, only to find that she’s here, since fifteen… with an older woman, and had been alive all this time. Plus she was acting a little crazy with the whole ‘Don’t take her away from me!’ thing. It was hard not to see it as a cautionary tale, y’know?”

“Oh yeah, I know,” Sunset nodded, “If I’d had known how they got together when I first met them, I’d have thought the same thing too…”

Aria nodded too, leaning back a bit as she rubbed her shoulder, “Yep, then I… well, Sonata kinda gave me an ultimatum. I had a feeling she was bluffing, but at the same time, some part of me thought that she could be telling the truth. It also helps that Ma stripped right in front of me, all but distracting me, and getting me to go down on her. I felt creeped out, but boy it was awesome. After that, my grades slipped, my mind was elsewhere, and I ran away, too. Best decision I ever made. I could see why Sonata did it, and I could see Ma truly did love Sonata so much. Been here ever since.”

“Wow!” Sunset giggled, “You hated her guts, thought she was the creepiest fucker on the planet. and you still went down on her?”

“It was hard to resist a gorgeous woman like her,” Aria snickered at the memory, “Plus some part of me was just pretty much trying to push my denial aside and face reality.”

“Still sounds funny when you think about it,” Sunset chuckled, “I hate you! You’re a creep! Eat me out. Okay!”

This made Aria laugh, covering her mouth, “Yeah, when you put it like that, it’s pretty hilarious.”

Sunset sat up on Aria’s lap and smiled down at her, “Those two needed you, you know.”

“Guess they really did… I needed them, too,” Aria gave more of a smile, “It’s been a roller coaster and I don’t say it as much as I should, but I love them. They mean the world to me. I wouldn’t be who I am today without ‘em.”

Sunset smiled and kissed Aria’s cheek, “I love you too, Aria…”

“I love you too, Sunny,” Aria nuzzled her cheek and kissed her nose.

Sunset leaned in and brought Aria into a tender kiss as she laid back down against her, wrapping her arms underneath her waist. Kissing her back, Aria held her closer as she leaned back, partly laying down as she stroked her back. Sunset moaned softly, arching her back against her as she stretched out, the feeling of Aria holding her making her feel very comfortable.

It wasn’t often the two indulged like this, but anytime they did so was very nice. Aria toyed with Sunset’s hair, running her other hand along her jacket. She held Sunset closer, bringing her hands down to gently explore her body. Sunset cooed softly into the kiss as she squeezed Aria’s waist, cuddling closer as she felt Aria’s fingers glide over her back.

“You smell nice,” Aria remarked with a chuckle as she reached Sunset’s rear and squeezed.

Sunset whimpered quietly and kissed Aria’s neck, arching her back further, “Thanks… it’s that cinnamon perfume you guys love so much…”

“Mm, you’re right about that,” Aria nuzzled her head, “Makes me think of cinnamon buns. Now there’s a dessert I never refuse.”

Sunset smiled and nuzzled Aria’s neck, kissing just under her chin, “Me neither… Mom makes the best cinnamon buns ever…”

“And now I want some,” Aria laughed, kissing her hair, “Maybe I’ll go get some later.”

“Why don’t we make some for the two of them?” Sunset suggested, nuzzling her cheek.

“That’s a great idea,” Aria smiled, “I’m sure they’d love that. Heck, let’s warm up that pizza while we’re at it.”

“Sure, Pizza and Cinnamon Buns,” Sunset smiled, sitting up.

“I’d like to get your Cinnamon Buns while we’re at it,” Aria chuckled.

“After supper,” Sunset winked.

Aria chuckled and kissed her cheek, “Well, let’s get baking, shall we?”

“Absolutely!” Next Chapter: No Names, Just Moaning Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 19 Minutes