yinseal.
she’s always worked better with a plan / hates having to improvise ( an irony, since medical work is almost all improvisation. ) everything and anything get put down on a list, crossed off with a neat little line upon completion; she can find everything exactly so, handle it as she goes. that’s the good thing about greed, really he throws a little chaos in the mix, reminds her that it’s not a bad thing to be without a plan. he challenges her, keeps her guessing / solid when she needs him, but otherwise open to interpretation. not a bad thing, when everything suddenly seems so up in the air.
it’s not the baby that worries her: she’s got no doubts that she wants to expand her family, and she knows greed wants to be here. perhaps ava might take it rough when the attention isn’t solely on her, but she’s prepared for that; the star of the show can’t exactly live without a few curtain calls. she can even handle the morning sickness again, even if ava did knock her flat out those first few months. it’s the guilt that seems to gnaw at her the most, and the change: sooner or later, one or the other is going to come spilling out.
❝ oh no, bunny, that’s alright. ❞ broken from her thoughts, she flashes ava that wide, reassuring smile that promises sharing is not required. ❝ the baby won’t be able to have french fries for a long time, so i think you’re safe. ❞
the baby. god, there’s a baby, isn’t there? just like last time, and even after all these years, she still can’t quite wrap her head around it. they made a baby; she’s growing a baby. and this time, she won’t have to do it alone ( please god, don’t let them kick like ava did. )
she chews on the end of her straw, watching without really seeing as ava plays an intricate game of her own design with the chicken nuggets. this time they’re dinosaur ( last time they were sharks ) fighting for control of the kingdom; after a prolonged battle, the loser is dipped in ketchup and devoured, and the battle begins anew. ava’s making low roars and screeches to the accompaniment of her gladiator sport, pausing occasionally to take quick sips of her drink; as she does, her mother is thinking of those lonely nights where she couldn’t lie down for want of comfort / mornings in class where she had to sit right by the door so she could run out to throw up. memories greed was spared / things he might resent her for ( god, what is wrong with her? )
❝ ava, ❞ she says, inadvertently breaking into the death howl of a triumphant triceratops. ❝ i know you’re excited, and i am too, but it’s okay if you feel a little overwhelmed, too. lots of changes are happening, but papa and i love you, no matter what. ❞
little hands still, ava’s brow furrowing as she forgoes her ‘dinosaur’ companion and takes a hearty bite from the nugget. greed’s eyes flicker between her and sakura, wondering what’s turning the gears in both their lovely heads.
❝ i’ll still be your baby, too, ❞ she says, the same way someone might say ‘the sky is blue’ or ‘the grass is green.’ ❝ and it means we can trade toys if i get a bad one. ❞ her little mouth curls into an impish grin, and greed shakes his head.
maybe the shock of it all will hit her later, when sakura’s belly has ballooned and the baby starts to kick, and reality can’t be denied. maybe, though, she really will adjust to having a younger sibling to love and annoy, to follow her around as she cooks up new ways to cause mischief each day.
❝ and, ❞ he adds, with a pointed look at sakura. ❝ it’s a change we’ll all be going through together, which means we might feel a lot of the same things. ❞ another glance at sakura. ❝ like worry. or excitement. or even jealousy. ❞ this time, he turns back to ava, who gazes back innocently, her fingers fighting for purchase on the plastic wrapping of her new toy.
ava nods in that way that tells him she hears them, but probably isn’t absorbing much, and he frowns.
at least, he thinks so, until she opens the toy with enough force the cheap piece of plastic goes flying across the table, landing in the middle of the tray.
unphased, she asks, mouth still half-full of food, ❝ where do you get a new baby? ❞












