Blindsided

Two months went by at the slowest pace Lazuli could imagine. She wasn’t used to being home for so long and doing virtually nothing but sitting around the house and taking small walks with Cirrus to help her grow more confident and self-sufficient was something quite new to her.

Cirrus had been getting better, which she couldn’t have been happier about. For the first month or so, Cirrus often woke up and had an immediate panic attack because she had completely forgotten she was blind, and Lazuli always had to be ready to console her. Eating had become easier, mainly thanks to Lazuli letting her do things on her own when she insisted on it. Her instinct was to do everything for her, but she knew Cirrus needed to be more independent eventually.

Over time, Cirrus grew to know the house well enough that she didn’t need to use the cane or Lazuli’s help. Her tail was usually enough, and since the furniture didn’t move she eventually managed to feel her way around with no issues at all. As she got better at handling herself, it helped with her self-esteem, and while she never seemed quite as happy as she used to be, her mood lifted with each passing day.

It was a sunny day outside, and Lazuli was sitting in the living room of their house with Cirrus. The TV was on, turned to the news, which Cirrus could still listen to even without the visuals.

“Laz?” Cirrus piped up, having not spoken much during the time they were sitting there.

“Mmm?” Lazuli turned her head to Cirrus, who kept her head staring firmly at the couch.

“Uh…I want to ask you something. And uh…promise you won’t get mad at what I say?”

“…Yes…?” Lazuli raised an eyebrow, though her body language was of course lost on Cirrus.

Cirrus cleared her throat gently, and while her face was turned down, Laz could tell she was nervous. “So…um…have you ever thought of…adopting?”

Lazuli blinked, taking a moment to realize what she meant. “Adopting…? You mean like…a foal?”

Cirrus just nodded slowly. “Mhm.”

“Well…yeah, I thought about it, but…it’s not a good idea now, right?”

“On the contrary,” Cirrus swallowed. “I think it’s a great idea now.”

“But- you’re blind, and you’re only just now getting used to it, and…I’ll need to go back to work soon, how is this a good idea?”

“Laz,” Cirrus sat up a bit. “If you go away for missions, I’ll be alone. Completely alone. Sure you can have someone come and check in on me, but I’m not going to have anyone around. And yeah, I know the adoption process is…long…and we probably wouldn’t actually get to adopt until a few months from now, but…don’t you think it would be good if we had a little one around here?”

“I…but…how would you take care of them?”

“Well we wouldn’t adopt a newborn…” Cirrus frowned a bit. “I was thinking a Dracony filly, actually.”

“Well…yeah but- why a filly, specifically?”

Cirrus’ cheeks went slightly red, bashfully looking away.

“…You were already looking at one, weren’t you?”

“I…” Cirrus’ ears pinned back against her head. “Well…it was when you were out in Zebrica a few months ago…um…I was gonna mention it to you on the Manehatten trip, but then all that stuff happened, and uh…well…I never found the chance…”

“Have you…seen her?” Lazuli winced, realizing that might not have been the best choice of words, but Cirrus didn’t seem to mind too much.

“Yes.” Cirrus said with a slow nod. “Her name’s Pearl. Pearl Blossom.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Lazuli tilted her head.

“Well…I wanted it to kind of…be at the right time, you know? And…the Manehatten trip was gonna be the perfect time, I was gonna invite you along normally, but then you had a mission to do and it just would’ve been weird…”

“How much of the…paperwork is already done?”

“About half.” Cirrus mumbled. “You need to do the rest…and…we could…conceivably have her here in two weeks…”

“…Does she know you’re blind?”

Cirrus frowned, her lip quivering a bit. “I…don’t think she does…”

“Alright.” Lazuli slid up close to Cirrus, wrapping a wing around her. “How about this. We’re gonna go and see her today.”

“What?” Cirrus perked up, her head raising with a bit of a smile. “Really?”

“You think I’m not gonna meet her first, Cirrus? We’re gonna go see her, and we’ll…” Lazuli paused. “I was gonna ask if she’s an orphan, how stupid am I?” She almost giggled. “We’ll give her a home. And you’ll have a little tyke to keep you company while I’m away, when it happens. Okay?”

“…Ithoughtyouweregonnabemad…” Cirrus mumbled quickly.

“Mad?” Lazuli pulled Cirrus against her, into a tight hug. “Cirrus, I’m gonna be honest, I was going to ask you about adopting too…I just…thought it wouldn’t really be the best thing when I’m always away.”

“Well…” Cirrus snickered slightly. “Draconies mature slower than ponies, so…not like you won’t have plenty of time to enjoy her being a filly.”

“How old is she?”

“Only seven, now.” Cirrus nodded slowly. “Her birthday is in two months, that’s…kinda why I wanted to make it soon.”

“Cirrus,” Lazuli nuzzled up against her wife’s cheek. “You’re actually the sweetest mare in existence.”

“Shush…” Cirrus’ cheeks went even redder as she returned the hug, a low purring noise coming from deep in her throat.

Just then, as if intentionally disrupting their moment, the doorbell rang. Laz rolled her eyes, gently letting go of Cirrus. “I’ll get it.” She stood up from the couch, leaving Cirrus to listen to the news while she walked over to the door and opened it with her tail.

To her surprise, the pony standing in the doorway was not a salespony or some other sort of intruding solicitor. Instead it was Steel Resolve, the massive draft horse Pegasus barely fitting within the area of the door to begin with. “Hi, Laz.” He said with a smile.

“Oh, uh, hey Steel.” Lazuli blinked, then stepped aside. “Er…come on in.”

Steel looked hesitant for a moment, then moved in through the doorway, ducking his head as he did. “How’ve you been?” He asked. “Is uh…Cirrus alright?”

“I’m fine.” Lazuli said with a slow nod. “And Cirrus…she’s a lot better now. You wanna say hi?”

“Is that Steel?” Cirrus’ voice called from the living room. “Bring him in here, I want to say hi!”

“…Well there you go.” Steel chuckled, trying to keep his steps gentle so he didn’t break anything. The house wasn’t set up for a stallion of his size, but he was surprisingly delicate with the furniture. As they re-entered the living room, Cirrus sat up.

“I could hear your steps as soon as Laz opened the door.” Cirrus quipped with a slight giggle. “Er, not in a bad way, sorry.”

“’S fine.” Steel reassured her, sitting down on the living room floor – since their furniture likely wouldn’t hold him – with a smile. “Glad to see you’re in better spirits.”

“Well, what can you do?” Cirrus shrugged. “Gotta make the best of it…”

“Mmhm.” Lazuli hopped up on the couch beside Cirrus. “So…what brings you here, Steel?”

“Just checking in on you two, haven’t heard from you. Not that you were supposed to contact or anything, just, you know.”

“Oh, well…yeah, we’re fine.” Lazuli nodded. “Cirrus the super-mare is getting used to this quicker than I’d have ever thought.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Cirrus gently punched at Lazuli’s shoulder. Laz shifted purposefully so the nudge would hit her.

“C’mon, you know you’ve been great.” Laz said, then looked back at Steel. “But that can’t be the only reason you’re here, right?”

“Weeelll…” Steel tapped his front hoof against the carpet. “Uh…I’ll be honest, I…kind of wanted to ask you if you wanted to take on a job.” He said directly to Lazuli. “But…I also know about the…adoption.”

“What? How’d you know about that?” Lazuli glanced between Cirrus and Steel.

“Well, I mean, it’s kind of important we know what one of our covert operatives is doing, especially when it involves a foal.” Steel said bluntly. “…And Cirrus told me a few months ago.” He added.

Lazuli gave Cirrus a fake-angry nudge. Cirrus just blushed.

“Now, I will say that the mission wouldn’t start for about five days.” Steel said. “And I know you’re probably out of practice…but it’s on the table. I also know your paid leave still lasts for another month, so don’t worry, I’m not gonna stop that if you say no. But…” He shrugged. “Just figured I would come and ask…”

Cirrus cleared her throat. “Laz, can I talk to you in the kitchen?”

“Um…” Lazuli looked at Cirrus, then back at Steel. “Could you excuse us a moment?”

“Right.” Steel nodded.

Lazuli stood up, and Cirrus walked with her to the kitchen, where she turned in Lazuli’s general direction and said simply, “I think you should.”

“I should…what?”

“I think you should go on whatever thing he wants you to.”

“Wh- wait, why?” Lazuli frowned.

“Well, think of it this way. If we go through the adoption process right from now, Pearl would get here in two weeks. If you take a mission in five days, and your missions never take longer than two days anyway, that means we can still go and visit her today, get you familiar with her, and when she arrives this guarantees you can have some time off to be around her, even once that paid leave period is over, since you’ve just been on a mission.”

“…If I didn’t know any better I’d say you two are setting this up together.”

“Just seems logical to me…” Cirrus shrugged. “But, I dunno. It’s up to you.”

“What do you think I should do?” Lazuli asked.

“I just told you, nerd.” Cirrus jabbed her in the shoulder with a fake annoyed face.

“Right…well…” Lazuli snorted heavily through her nostrils. “…Alright, fine. It’ll get us some extra cash, too…but, are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

“There, see? All about the money, you.” Cirrus smiled widely. “And I’ll be fine. I’ll go and stay with Kiama, actually.”

Lazuli grumbled at the idea.

“Oh, come on. She wants to help, you know that.”

She grumbled again.

“Okay, fine, I’ll have her check on me sometimes. Okay?” Cirrus sighed. “Now let’s get out there and tell Steel you wanna be cool again, before he falls through the floor.”

“You’re a real jerk about his weight sometimes.” Lazuli rolled her eyes, turning back around and leading Cirrus into the living room again.