If there was one word to describe Adagio Dazzle in this moment, it would undoubtedly be "tired". Walking down the hallway of her apartment block, the eldest Siren was clad not in her usual attire, but rather her work clothes from the spa, that of a pristine white uniform, currently covered by a brown trench-coat. As she walked, she couldn't help but let out a brief yawn, a clear sign of fatigue, before, at last, reaching her desired door. Reaching into her coat pocket, she rummaged around for a bit to find her key, only to stop when she started hearing voices on the other side. Recognition crossed her face, followed shortly by a sly smile, before she simply reached forward and opened her door. Sure enough, it was unlocked, and as she entered her apartment, she spoke up to the ones she knew already were in there.
"Good evening, girls."
Sonata and Aria were, of course, doing their own thing at this time. Sonata was in the kitchen, looking at their oven, which, from the looks of things, was already on. As for Aria, she had been lounging on the nearby sofa, reading a magazine. As soon as the two of them had heard her voice, they turned, with Aria cracking a small smile before giving a nod in greeting. Sonata, by contrast, was, as usual, far more enthusiastic, with a wide smile breaking out across her face.
"Dagi! Welcome home! How was your day?"
A chuckle escaped the eldest sister at that.
"Busy, as usual."
For the moment, Sonata gave her some space to get relaxed around their home for a bit, and so chose to stare at their oven again. Adagio, in this moment of peace, slipped off her coat before hanging it off a nearby hook on the wall. Afterwards, she sat down upon a chair beside their door, slipping off her shoes and setting them aside before standing tall again. For a few seconds, she allowed herself an opportunity to stretch, letting out a contented sigh from doing so, before finally starting to walk into the apartment in earnest.
"Dare I ask what's cooking?"
Sonata looked back to her and smiled again.
"Meatloaf!"
Seeing the enthusiasm upon her sister's face, Adagio rolled her eyes slightly.
"Well, try not to burn it this time, Nata."
The youngest Siren gave a quick salute to that, before once more returning to her vigil. Adagio, meanwhile, walked past her and the kitchen completely. For a moment, the elder Siren simply stood beside one particular section of the wall, staring at the shelf there, and upon the one item resting upon it. A sword, held aloft by a small pedestal. She stared at it for a few moments before letting out a sigh, now bearing a small smile. Raising her hand to her lips, she kissed the tips of her fingers, before then gently placing said tips upon the ancient weapon. Now turning away from it, she moved over to a chair opposite where Aria was sitting, and took a moment to enjoy the soft feel of the cushions as she sat down herself.
"Ah! Much better!"
Smirking, Aria looked up from her magazine again.
"That bad, was it?"
A dry laugh was Adagio's first response, followed shortly by a proper answer.
"I'll say! Aloe was off sick today, so I had to cover some of her usual clients."
For a short while, Aria looked rather sympathetic to that, letting out a sigh before setting her magazine aside.
"I know the feeling. My boss had to do some stuff out back most of the day, so I was running the store pretty much solo."
Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Really? She trusts you that much with looking after her business?"
Aria looked to her sister with a somewhat indignant look.
"Hey! I've been working there long enough! Way past having paid off our debt to her! I'd say I've earned a little trust at this point!"
Adagio raised her hands in a defensive posture, and Aria, seconds later, relaxed a great deal, leaning back into her chair and rubbing her temples a bit.
"Anyways...we had a lot of business today, even more than usual, so I was pretty occupied. Only got back here a few minutes ago."
Crossing her legs, Adagio reclined back into her own chair, giving her sister a somewhat inquisitive look.
"So what was this important business your boss had to do?"
Aria shrugged her shoulders.
"Dunno. Apparently there's this new line of outfits, and she was talking to the daughter of some designer."
The middle Siren looked away for a moment, a ponderous look upon her face.
"What was it again? Coconut? Coffee?"
Before she had a chance to say anything else, Sonata called out from the kitchen.
"Coco?"
Snapping her fingers, Aria looked to her sister with a smile.
"That's the one! Coco!"
Then, her expression became one of confusion.
"Hey...how do you know her name?"
Here, Sonata turned to face her fully, resting her hands upon the counter that separated the kitchen from their living room.
"I met her once. She's this old friend of Rarity's. We got to talking, about my sewing and stuff. She's really nice, so maybe you'll meet her with this deal your boss has?"
Aria shrugged again.
"Maybe. I'd just be happy with things being less busy than today was."
Adagio shook her head to that, before looking over to Sonata.
"How's dinner coming?"
Sonata, hearing that, gained a look that made it clear that she'd just remembered something important. She spun around, dashed straight for the oven and yanked it open. A great deal of steam emerged from the thing, which the youngest Siren blew away with her hand a few times. Afterwards, she grabbed onto a pair of nearby oven gloves, before pulling out the loaf in question. Setting it to one side, she then closed the oven again, making sure it was switched off, before turning her attention yet again to her now-cooked dinner.
"Hmmm...smells pretty good."
Adagio nodded in agreement, having apparently smelt it even from her distance.
"Well, leave it to rest for a few minutes. We're in no hurry."
Sonata nodded back. looking around herself for a few seconds before, at last, spotting a small towel on the counter. Carefully, she placed it upon the meatloaf to help keep some of the heat in, before looking to it with a proud smile on her face. With that done, she walked over to the fridge, opening it and grabbing a small can of soda. Closing the fridge behind her, she then opened her can before, at last, walking around the counter to join up with her sisters.
"You know, I saw Derpy in Sugar Cube Corner today."
Looking to her, Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed? How is the dear?"
Sonata paused for a while, considering her response.
"Well...she's kinda...getting really big."
Adagio nodded.
"I thought as much. It won't be long now. Boy or girl, it's coming soon."
Taking a seat next to Aria on the sofa, Sonata took a deep slurp of her soda, during which time, Adagio regarded her carefully with a small smile.
"Tell me, Nata. How goes your new job?"
Putting her can down on the table between the sofa and Adagio's chair, Sonata cracked a wide smile as before.
"It's going great! I get to meet all kinds of people down at the Corner, and with Pinkie and AJ helping me to learn how to bake, well, I think Mr and Mrs Cakes really enjoy having me around."
Looking to her sister, Aria raised an eyebrow, smirking somewhat as she gave a response to that.
"Makes sense. They already have one Pinkie working there, what's one more?"
Naturally, Sonata afforded her sister an angry frown to that comment, earning merely a chuckle on Aria's part. Adagio smiled at this display, but, soon afterwards, leaned back into her chair. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to simply relax after her busy day at work. Every once in a while, she would hear Sonata loudly slurping her soda, which, admittedly, was a bit of a nuisance. But, after a while, it stopped, replaced instead by a long silence. It ended soon, however, when Sonata spoke up once more, her voice, for lack of a better work, uncertain.
"Um...Dagi?"
Cracking open one eye, Adagio looked to her sister.
"Yes, Sonata?"
The youngest Siren poked both of her index fingers together, something that Adagio knew from experience was a sign of her being nervous about something. Knowing this, the eldest Siren opened both eyes, staring at Sonata intently. After a while, the latter finally spoke up.
"Do...do we have a normal life now?"
As before, a silence now fell upon the three of them, and Adagio and Aria stared at Sonata with confusion plastered all of their faces.
"What are you talking about?" Aria asked.
Looking to her, Sonata seemed slightly hesitant.
"Well...I was just thinking. I mean...we've all got jobs now. We all go to school. We've got a whole bunch of new friends for ourselves and...well..."
Raising one hand, Sonata gestured to the nearby counter.
"...we're having meatloaf for dinner."
Looking back to her sisters, Sonata's face was neutral in its expression.
"We're not wandering around, taking magic and doing any of that old Siren stuff anymore. And when we sing..."
She hesitated, but only for a moment.
"...it's because we want to...not because we need to."
Slowly, she looked to Aria, and then back to Adagio.
"So...you know...do we have a normal life now?"
Aria opened her mouth, perhaps to give some kind of snarky comeback to those words, only to find herself at a loss. Turning, she looked to Adagio, and together, the two older Siren sisters simply stared at one another. Sonata looked from one to the other, looking somewhat nervous, and perhaps worried she might have said something wrong. But, in the end, the silence ended when Adagio turned to her yet again.
"I don't say this often, Sonata...but sometimes...you really do hit the nail on the head."
Sonata seemed to relax at that, but didn't say anything, as Aria then added her voice to things, relaxing back into the sofa as she did so.
"Yeah...things are pretty normal for us now, aren't they?"
Looking to the both of them again, Sonata looked deep in thought before, at last, turning to Adagio and speaking.
"But...that's not bad, is it? I mean, I don't know about you two, but...I...kinda...like it."
As before, Aria and Adagio looked to one another, and, again as before, they said nothing. It was hard sometimes, even for sisters, to know what they were both thinking. But, in this moment, it was as if they understood one another completely, and, after a long while, they broke into smiles, albeit small ones. Giving each other a nod, they then looked over to Sonata, with Aria placing a hand upon her shoulder before speaking up.
"Yeah...I kinda like it too."
Sonata smiled, then looked over to Adagio, who likewise nodded.
"It may have taken a while...but yes...I think I've grown rather fond of it also."
From the looks of things, it was taking the youngest Siren all of her willpower not to let out the highest-pitched happy squeal she was capable of. Needless to say, it was a display Adagio couldn't help but give a brief laugh over, as too did Aria. When it all died down though, they all let out a sigh of contentment together, before, in the end, having Adagio be the first to speak.
"So...if it's all the same to you girls...I think I'd like my meatloaf now. My nice...normal meatloaf."
