Rules of Hospitality

The car engine rumbled pleasantly in my driveway as I stared at my family home with a sense of trepidation.

This was something I’d never really mentally prepared for, mostly because it wasn’t something I’d ever thought I would have to prepare for. My entire life had been about pursuing my academic career until I met my friends, and even by then I’d pretty much come to terms with the fact that I had no real interest in romantic involvement.

So the idea of introducing my parents to my girlfriend had come as a shock to my system that I had only just begun to realise was something I had to process as we were pulling into the drive.

“You okay?” Sonata asked with a small, nervous smile as she reached out to take my hand.

I squeezed it and felt a touch of reassurance penetrate through the thick malaise of nervous energy that had settled over me.

“Is it weird that I’m not really sure?” I replied uneasily. “Because I’m not… sure, that is… at all.”

“Nervous?” Sonata asked.

“Insanely nervous,” I said, a small quaver in my voice. “Which is absurd since there’s absolutely no logical reason for me to be this nervous! My parents love me! They’ll adore you, especially since my mother had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that I’d be a spinster for my entire life.” I gave an oddly high pitched laugh. “She used to ask me if I was planning for kids! Then she was asking when I’d get a boyfriend, then a girlfriend, and I felt like she was just constantly lowering her standards hoping I’d eventually meet them!”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Sonata said quietly, sidling over in the passenger seat until she was right next to me. “I’ll bet she was just trying to understand you.”

“It didn’t feel like it,” I muttered sullenly. “My brother got married right out of graduation to his high school sweetheart, and they already have a daughter…” I curled up in the driver’s seat, hugging my legs to my chest. “I always felt like the second-best child, because no matter how well I did in school I’d never be what my parents wanted.”

“I don’t think I can help you there,” Sonata replied in quiet tone. “I’m the baby of the family, so I never really had the chance to meet my moms before they died.”

“Moms?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, and Sonata nodded.

“All Sirens are biologically female,” Sonata said with a vague nod, “they reproduce by melding their magical essences and triggering conception.”

“That sounds very… clean,” I said with a small laugh. “No swapping bodily fluids needed.”

“No, but… growing up a Siren you probably would’ve understood why logic isn’t always the best policy,” Sonata’s voice was distant, and there was a strain around her eyes. “A-anyways, let’s go in!” her voice brightened considerably. “I wanna meet your parents!”

“I… okay,” I started to try and interrupt her, but even I could tell whatever topic had been broached was a painful one. “Just, uh… be warned, my dad is kind of weird and gets really into Christmas.”

“That’s okay, my sisters barely even understand the concept,” Sonata laughed as she got out of the car. “Seriously, Aria still doesn’t get how the holiday works.”

“Technically our version of Christmas is a weird mish-mash of like, four different pagan holidays with some old Roaman court customs thrown in,” I replied with a smirk. “So I’m not really surprised… it makes only slightly more sense than Easter.”

“Easter creeps me out,” Sonata shivered as she stepped up beside me and looped her arm around mine. “All those weird bunny mascots give me the heebs.”

“Not a fan of mascot suits?” I asked with a small laugh.

“They so creepy!” she whined as she hugged close to me.

“They’re not that bad,” I nudged her a little as I leaned against her.

As we went up the steps onto the stone landing of the porch, I found myself hoping against hope that nothing would go wrong. I’d told Sonata that my parents would adore her and… they probably would.

But try and tell my anxiety that and see how far you get.

My parents are amazing people and I loved them dearly, but they are also very… normal, as such things went, especially my mom, and I was always very ‘not normal’. One of the reasons I feel so comfortable with Sonata is that I know she’s kind of not-normal in the same ways that I am, and that feeling of being understood is like an emotional analgesic.

I’m not really afraid Sonata will embarrass me, I mean honestly I can do that just fine on my own, even with my family. I’m more afraid that this will just be one more thing my mom wishes I’d done better.

I glanced over at Sonata, trying to reassure myself. There was no way my mom wouldn’t love her, she was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. Plus, her sense of style was significantly better than mine too, which I’m sure mom will appreciate, although I'll be the first to admit that’s a subterranean bar.

“I hope I didn’t overdress,” Sonata said shyly as we stopped at the door. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Me neither,” I laughed, “but I think… I think you look really good.”

Pretty? I mean, of course, but tonight Sonata didn’t just look pretty.

She looked… handsome.

Her dark, bespoke dress shoes were polished to a shine and her black dress slacks were starched and pressed. She wore a dress coat that had a thin mantle of soft pale-white fur, while the coat itself was a dark forest-green so deep it was almost black, with black accents, complementing her shirt which was fine black silk.

I narrowed my eyes at the shirt for a moment and then bent to examine the buttons.

“Hey, ‘Nata?” I asked, nodding towards the buttons and she glanced down. “Are those buttons real gold?”

“Uhm, yeah?” Sonata replied nervously. “It was a present… is that… bad?”

“Oh, n-no,” I answered quickly, straightening out as I did. “Just… you don’t see solid gold buttons very often, that’s all.”

“Really?” Sonata looked genuinely surprised. “It used to be pretty common.”

“Y~eah… that might’ve been a while ago, ‘Nata,” I said sheepishly, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

That was when the door swung open and Sonata froze like a cornered mouse as a full-blown Santa was revealed, complete with what even I was willing to admit was a creepily realistic mask of a smiling Santa face with rosy dimpled cheeks and expressive eyes that were on the unfortunate side of the uncanny valley and were less endearing and more ‘soul-searing’. I have no phobias whatsoever of mascots, but I’ll be the first to admit the the ghoulish rendition of the holiday spirit in front of me was probably the embodiment of that fear.

Oh dear.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” the Santa-ghoul bellowed in a voice that was unfortunately heavy with my father’s Germane accent.

My father is absolutely one of the gentlest, kindest men in the world with a heart as big as the sky and a brilliant mind. With that being said, hearing anyone bellow anything in a thick Germane accent automatically makes whatever you’re saying at least ten times more terrifying.

Sonata crumpled like a paper doll as her eyes rolled back into her head.

I staggered under Sonata’s dead weight as she’d managed to employ a deathgrip on my arm just before passing out. Unfortunately I have the arm muscles of a programming major, that is to say: none, and as dashing as it may have been to save my swooning girlfriend, what actually happened was that I squawked in alarm and fell over with her on top of me.

“Oh dear,” my father’s muffled voice emerged from the mask, neatly mirroring my thought from earlier.

Mittened hands reached up and pulled the mask off and my father was staring down at me in surprise with a guilty look on his face. He had an azure complexion with dark, midnight blue hair, and warm, amber eyes, and I thought I saw a hint of one of his awful holiday sweaters under the layers of Santa he was clad in.

“Uhm, is she alright?” He asked worriedly.

“NIGHT LIGHT WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

My father winced as my mother came storming out of the house like an oncoming thunderhead.

“Dad killed my girlfriend,” I grunted as I tried to shift out from under her.

Sonata was a lot heavier than I expected her to be, but I suppose she had a little more muscle on her than I did.

Yet another subterranean bar.

“Night Light…”

My mother’s name is Twilight Velvet, and if one were to look at my parents standing together they would assume that the small, matronly, kind-faced woman, with her short, tumbling fall of purple of cloudy gray hair, had a soft heart and a kind word for all, while her stern-seeming Germane husband would possess both the emotional range and conversational skills of a particularly obdurate slab of granite.

That impression would last all of a moment before interacting with them.

The glare my mother was leveling on my father was legendary in scale, and if looks could kill my mother would be both a widow and an arsonist.

“Y-Yes, meine Engel?” My dad said in a slightly nervous voice.

“That looks suspiciously like the existentially terrifying Santa costume I told you to throw away last year,” my mother said tersely as she eyed her husband up and down. “Which I seem to recall having been checked off of the honey-do list I left you…”

“Well, t-technically you only told me to ‘dispose of it’ and so I put it into storage,” Night Light replied with a shaky laugh.

My mother reached out, calmly put her hand on my father’s lapels that were sticking out of the neck of the decapitated Santa costume, and then jerked him forward until they were brow-to-brow.

“We will talk about this later,” she hissed, before turning back to me and smiling beatifically. “Welcome home, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”

“Please just lever my girlfriend off of me,” I rasped. “She’s headbutting my diaphragm.”

My mom took a few dainty steps forward then leaned down and got an arm around Sonata’s middle while draping the unconscious ex-Siren’s arm over her shoulder and heaved her off of me with impressive ease. Although I suppose after years of toting around my brother, who was notoriously rambunctious, that’s not terribly surprising.

I got up and brushed myself off as mom slipped inside with Sonata in tow who was slowly coming to from the sounds of it, and I shot a glare at my dad.

“Get. Out. Of. That.”

“Y-yes, dear,” my father looked suitably chastised as he trundled back into the house and up to their room.

I rubbed at my face with both hands as I tried not to scream in frustration while I walked into the living room where my mother was setting Sonata down on the couch.

“She’s beautiful,” Mom said with a smile, “and quite a snappy dresser at that… how’d you nab this one? I love you, sweetie, but you’re not exactly Casanova.”

“Yeah, Mom, I know,” I grunted, before muttering under breath, “after all, you remind me of that pretty much every day.”

Either she didn’t hear me or was pretending not to, either was possible with her, so I slipped by her and sat down next to Sonata as she slowly blinked herself back to consciousness.

“Hey babe,” I said quietly, “you okay?”

“U~h… yup,” Sonata nodded in a slightly drunken manner before looking around nervously. “Just… w-was there… a huge nightmare Santa Claus here a minute ago?”

“I’m afraid that was just my husband’s idea of holiday cheer,” Mom said with an apologetic smile. “My name is Twilight-”

“-Velvet, personal editor for A.K. Yearling, you’ve worked on her entire Daring Do series,” Sonata finished brightly, suddenly sitting up straight and looking perfectly alert with her hands folded neatly in her lap. “You also sit on the Whitewood Committee as a judge for the Whitewood Award for Literary Excellence, one of the highest literary honors in the nation.”

“I… y-yes, I am,” my mother looked lost for words which, if you knew her, you would understand was a rarity. “How did you know?”

“Well, I’ve read all the books, for one,” Sonata said with a small laugh, rubbing the back her head with a slight blush as she did. “And your name is right there on the inside cover of all of them, y’know? That and… when I got together with Twilight I was curious if you two were related so I looked it up…”

“You could’ve just asked,” I gave her a friendly nudge, and Sonata laughed weakly.

“I know,” she grumbled, “but it was kind of a weird question and I figured if I was wrong then no harm, right?”

“Twilight, I love her, we’re keeping her,” Mom said firmly, and I hung my head.

“Do I get a say in this?” I asked sullenly.

“Please,” my mother waved her hand dismissively, “you lucked out with this one, look at her! She’s smart, witty, pretty, and has a sense of fashion, so she’s clearly out of your strike zone-”

“-thank’s mom, love you too,” I muttered under my breath.

Sonata was shifting uncomfortably as my mom sang her praises and she reached out to take my hand, giving it an encouraging little squeeze.

“-but that’s the family habit, I think,” mother continued thoughtfully. “I mean, look at your brother, I love my son dearly, but Cadence is obviously out of his league.”

“Shiny is one of the youngest officers of the CPD to ever make detective, Mom,” I said a little defensively. “He had some of the highest scores in the academy and already has four commendations under his belt!”

“He also still plays that silly game of his with his friends every week,” she replied sternly, “and you’re speaking to the woman who once saw him try to chug two two-liters of cola back to back on a dare.”

“I… a-alright, that wasn’t his finest moment,” I allowed, and Sonata giggled as she scooted closer and leaned her head on mine.

As she did, I saw my mother’s face soften and her shoulders relax.

“I’m sorry dear, I’ve gotten so caught up in this, you’ll have to forgive me,” she said to Sonata, before holding out a hand. “My name is Twilight Velvet, and I’m so pleased to meet you officially.”

Sonata stood, straightened her slacks, and reached out to take my mother’s hand and give it a firm shake.

“Sonata Leviathus Dusk,” Sonata said formally, her smile calm and even. “Thank you so much for having me.”

I let out a slow breath as some of the tension left the room. So far so good, my father’s incredibly poor sense of greetings and holiday stylings notwithstanding.

“Very polite,” Mom said approvingly before shooting me a glance, “I’m liking her more and more.”

“She certainly sounds pleasant,” my father said brightly as he stepped into the room, now dressed like a normal human being instead of the ghastly Santa-creature he’d been moments prior. “My deepest apologies for earlier…” he said sheepishly he held a hand out to Sonata. “I get a bit overenthusiastic about Christmas, my name is Night Light, Twilight’s father, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“And a tenured Professor of Astrophysics at Canterlot University,” Sonata added, taking his hand. “You also were awarded the Heinespferd Prize last year, too, congratulations.”

“I was, and thank you!” His smile became more excited. “I wasn’t aware you followed astrophysics news!”

“I studied astronomy, cosmology, and astrophysics for a long time, actually,” Sonata replied with a grin.

“You did?” My father said with even more enthusiasm, at the same time that I said the exact same thing in a tone of disbelief, drawing an odd look from both my mother and father.

“I… I didn’t know that,” I said quietly, feeling a little wrong-footed. “You never said anything about that.”

“I’m sorry,” Sonata’s voice became small and apologetic. “I… it’s been a while, I didn’t really think about it until now.”

“Where did you graduate from?” Mom asked, trying to diffuse the tension, “or are you still taking classes?”

Sonata froze like a rabbit and I watched her gaze turn slightly glassy. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she jerked back to life and staggered to her feet.

“Bathroom!” She said nervously. “M-May I use your bathroom?”

“Sure, it’s-” Mom started but Sonata grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet before she got any further.

“Twilight can just show me,” Sonata said with a weak laugh. “I get lost easy, it’s okay!”

I nodded carefully, playing along as I guided her out of the living room and up the stairs to the further bathroom so we could have a chance to talk.

“Uhm, ‘Nata?” I began slowly. “A-are you okay?”

“I have seven Masters degrees and four doctorates, Twi’.” Sonata’s reply didn’t answer my question but it did knock the wind out of out of me, metaphorically speaking, and I stared at her in disbelief.

“W-w… huh?” My jaw was hanging open as we stood at the top of the stairs landing. “H-How?”

“I was around when Cambridge was founded, Twi’,” Sonata said, lowering her gaze and shifting nervously from foot to foot. “I’m old, remember? And… and I love learning! I love learning so much, so… every so often I’d take a year or two off and go back to school! It was usually a good way to feed, too… there’s always lots of stress and high emotions in a university.”

“Right… I… I don’t know why I keep forgetting that,” I replied in a small voice.

“But I haven’t gotten a degree in a few decades, Twi’!” Sonata moaned. “I… I can’t just tell your dad I got my Dual Principle in Chymic Alchemy and Astrophysics from Vienna! That was five hundred years ago!” She clapped her hands over her face. “I’m a dropout! I haven’t even finished a high school degree in the past couple of decades!”

“It’s okay,” I said calmly, probably a lot more so than I was feeling, “we can figure this out, alright? Here’s what we’ll do…”

After a little conversing, I went back down to rejoin my family, while Sonata waiting a few minutes longer before coming down herself. I had gone back to the couch to wait for her while my father had taken a seat in his customary recliner. My mom has vanished into the kitchen at some point to retrieve snacks and cane back right about as Sonata slipped sheepishly back into the living room.

“I’m sorry about that,” Sonata said with a small laugh as she sat back down beside me. “So, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that… I’m kind of homeschooled.”

“Really?” My father looked intrigued as he leaned forward. “Your parents taught you?”

“N-Not exactly,” Sonata replied. “My sisters hired a lot of tutors… I wasn’t really a good fit in most regular schools.”

“We happen to know something about that, actually,” my mom said with a knowing smile as she glanced at me. I happened to have been in the same situation growing up. “But your sisters? What about your mother and father, dear?”

“Mothers,” Sonata quietly clarified to the tune of a pair of raised eyebrows, before adding, “and they both died.” I saw my mom and dad grow tense. “It was a long time ago… I never knew them. My oldest sister is probably the only one of us who has any really clear memories of them.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mom said quietly, stepping close to set a cup of tea in front of Sonata before kneeling next to her. “That was thoughtless of me.”

“It’s okay,” Sonata replied with a wan smile. “Like I said, I never knew them… I wish I had but you can’t really miss someone you never met, y’know?”

“I suppose that’s true,” my father said softly, “still, you’re remarkably well-informed for someone who never attended school.”

“She probably loves learning more than I do,” I put in, sidling closer and wrapping an arm around Sonata’s waist. “And she learns crazy-fast.”

“Ah! An auto-didactic learner, then,” my father grinned, as my mom returned to his side. “My grandfather was very much the same.”

“I always learned best on my own,” Sonata agreed. “Classrooms and stuff… they’re so stodgy and slow, I can’t pay attention.”

“Twilight was precisely the same way,” Mom said with a small laugh. “It’s why she mostly did self-directed study.”

“Ah! But enough chit-chat,” my father proclaimed, waving his hands dramatically. “There is food to be had, yes? Food and drink and good company! The finest pleasures in the world, in my opinion!”

I rolled my eyes as my father stood and stretched before making his way out of the living room with my mother in tow. Sonata doffed her coat and pulled me up with her as she stood up. I barely got to my feet before Sonata gave me a small tug and I stumbled into her arms.

“Hey-!” I barely got the word out before her lips pressed softly against mine.

Whatever protest I had died quietly as I pressed myself against Sonata, my hands coming to rest gently on her shoulders as her hands settled onto my hips.

“You’re so smart,” Sonata said shyly. “You were right, that worked perfectly.”

“Mmm…” Usually I was all for hearing about how I was smart, but now… “Shush, just kiss me.”

Sonata obliged, and I shivered a little as her hand traced across my cheek and down my neck. She was so gentle and although I’ve never been particularly touchy-feely, I was getting more and more addicted to Sonata’s touches. I’ve never felt so safe around anyone else, it always felt like if I was around someone else like this there would be some unspoken expectation that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill, but with Sonata… I knew that all she wanted was this.

Was me.

A small squee broke the silence behind me, and pulled back from my girlfriend to look over my shoulder and felt my cheeks color in embarrassment.

My sister-in-law, Cadence, was trying her absolute best to keep all of the noise in her to herself as she stood in the archway to the living room, eyes wide and face painted with glee. Behind her was her husband, and my brother, Shining Armor.

If there was such a thing as a paragon of beauty, that would be Cadence. Or more properly: Mi Amore Cadenza, last of the line of Cadenza, an ancient noble line from old Roam apparently. She was tall, with model proportions, perfect posture, and fine patrician features. Her skin was flawless, and her almost-gem tone hair had a natural bounce and curl to it that was enviable even for me. My brother cut a similar figure on the masculine spectrum; with broad shoulders, a square-cut jaw, an easy smile, and guileless eyes, he was charming in that boyish, endearing kind of way.

“Sorry!” Cadence kept her voice to a stage whisper. “I was trying not to interrupt!”

“Cady…” Shining’s tone was long-suffering as he set a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, Twily, we should’ve said something when we got in.”

“It’s okay,” Sonata replied, covering my sudden non-verbal spell by stepping forward and extending her hand. “My name is Sonata Dusk, pleased to meet you.”

“Cadence Amore-Armor,” Cadence said genially, taking her hand and I saw my former baby-sitters eyes widen at the strength in Sonata’s grip. “You have no idea how happy I am to meet you, seriously. I was starting to think I’d never get to see Twilight kiss anyone like that!”

“CADY!” I cried out in annoyance from behind Sonata. “Really!?”

“Sorry!” Cadence said with a small laugh.

“My wife’s been pretty much over the moon since we heard the plan for tonight,” Shining said with a calmer smile, stepping forward to share a handshake with Sonata. “Please to meet you Miss Dusk.”

“You too, Officer Armor,” Sonata replied formally.

“Please, just Shining,” he said with a laugh. “And so long as you make my sister happy, I’m happy.”

“I hope I do,” Sonata said shyly.

I moved up to her side before she could say any more and slipped a hand around her cheek to pull her down into a soft kiss.

“You do,” I said, pointedly looking her in the eyes. “You make me very happy.”

“I. Am. Vibrating.” Cadence hissed under her breath to her husband, and I sighed, but I smiled a little as I did.

“The food is getting cold!” My father called from the kitchen, and Shining rolled his eyes.

“We’d better go, or dad’ll have a conniption,” he said with a laugh.

We walked into the kitchen, Cadence arm-in-arm with Shining, and me doing the same with Sonata. Charmingly, Sonata pulled a chair out for me before seating herself, and I could see a small nod of approval from my brother who had always had an old-fashioned sense of chivalry. Sonata hung her coat from the back of her chair before taking her own seat, just as mom served out the casserole she’d been working on.

Dinner was nice, and at least it was far more tolerable than most of my family dinners are since they always inevitably stray onto the topic of when I would get into a relationship. Hilariously, my Mom was a lot less talkative than normal, to the point that part way through I started to suspect she didn’t have a lot of things to ask other than when I was going to start dating which felt a little shallow.

“So I don’t think I heard, by the way,” Shining began as the plates were cleared. “What do you do for a living, Miss Dusk?”

“You can call me, Sonata, or ‘Nata,” she said shyly. “And I’m a bartender, actually.”

“Really?” My father leaned in with a look of surprise on his face. “Why? You seem exceptionally well-educated, after all, so I’m curious why you would settle on a job like that.”

Sonata frowned. “Because I love bartending,” she said a little tersely, and I remembered how defensive she got over my remarks about her bar the night we met, “I learn because I love to learn, and I bartend because I love to bartend.”

“S-She and her sisters own their own business, actually,” I joined in, trying to leap her defense with what I hoped was a good angle. “They hold equal shares in it, right?”

“We wouldn’t be able to keep ourselves stocked at all if they didn’t have my shares,” Sonata said proudly.

“That’s quite an achievement for being so young,” My mother put in as she sat down beside my father. “What business is it?”

Oh… crap.

“The Last Note Lounge,” Sonata said with a smile, and I saw my mother and father look thoughtful, clearly not recognizing the name.

Cadence and Shining Armor, on the other, stared agog at my girlfriend.

They obviously did.

Which meant I knew exactly the question that was about to come out of my brother’s mouth. He’s a wonderful guy, really, but he’s both predictable and a little tactless.

He is also, unfortunately, unobservant at times, as he didn’t see me making ‘shut up’ gestures at him from out of Sonata’s periphery.

“Uhm, n-not to be crude but… isn’t that a strip club?” Shining said uneasily, and I saw my parents suddenly looking concerned.

Sonata’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“It’s a Lounge,” she replied tonelessly. “And I’m a bartender.”

“Oh my god, Twilight, did you meet your girlfriend at a strip club?” Cadence asked with wide eyes, and I felt my heart plummet. “That’s… I mean, I’m not judging-”

Liar, I thought bitterly.

“-but that… just seems really out of character for you,” she finished.

“Surely you’re exaggerating,” My mother said with a slightly forced laugh, “I’m sure it’s not-”

“No, they’re right,” Sonata broke in, her voice still cold and toneless, and I could hear that odd granite timbre to it like when she’d been threatening Aria. “We employ exactly one hundred and twenty-nine different exotic dancers of all genders, and before you ask, no, I’m not one of them.” She surveyed the table with a look I’d almost call imperious. “I’m just a bartender.”

With that said, Sonata stood up, gathered up her coat, gave a small nod of thanks to her hosts, and left the room with the heels of her dress shoes clicking loudly in the silence against the tiled floor.

Tension and silence was thick in the air for several seconds before I glanced up and leveled a furious glare at my family.

“Thanks for dinner,” I said in a heated tone before standing up and storming out of the dining room.

“Wait!”

“NO!” I shouted, whirling on my mom with so much fury that she stopped in her tracks and stumbled backwards. “No! I’m not waiting! I’m not going to listen to you judge my girlfriend or tell me anything anymore! I’m DONE!”

“Twily that’s-!” Shining started, but he clammed up as I spun on him too.

“You just couldn’t keep your mouth shut, huh?” I snapped. “Who cares if Sonata is a bartender?! Who cares if she works in a place with strippers!? I don’t give a sh-shit!” I swore, and I saw four pairs of eyebrows go up. I never swore around my family. “Sonata is one of the smartest, most beautiful, most incredible people I’ve ever met and you all made her feel like trash because she’s working a job that she loves with her family, that she loves, who are also doing what they love?!”

“L-Ladybug, I didn’t mean to-” Cadence reached a hand out, but before it got to me a slapped it away, putting a stricken look on her face.

“Go to Hell, Cadence,” I hissed, before turning on my heel and storming out of the house.

I barreled out of the front door and down to my car where I saw Sonata sitting in the passenger side of the seat with her face in her hands. I pulled the door open and I felt my heart crack as I heard quiet, muffled sobs coming from inside, and I immediately dove in and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head, her forehead, and anywhere else I could reach as she slipped her own arms around me and hugged onto me tightly.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry!” Sonata sobbed. “I m-messed up everything!”

“You didn’t mess up anything,” I said in a choked voice. “They’re idiots who can’t look past a job and see an amazing person, okay? I’ll take you over them any day, alright?”

“B-but they’re you’re family!” Sonata cried.

“Family understands you and supports you,” I said quietly. “My friends are my family… you’re my family… and them? I… I’m just related to them.”

Sonata stared at me in shock, sniffling as she did.

“O-On a related note…” I started sheepishly as I slammed the door shut to my car. “I might need a place to stay for a while… I think I’m technically homeless now.”

“No.”

I blinked in shock. “W-what?”

“Not… not the place-to-stay thing,” Sonata said quietly, taking my hands she did. “You can always stay with me, Twi’, b-but, no… your family… they care about you, I can tell they love you, and I won’t let you throw that away.” She lifted my hands to her lips and kissed them gently. “I know not all families are good, but yours… they’re alright… they’re good people… and they’re trying.”

“Sonata they hurt you!” I all but shouted.

“People hurt people when they get close,” Sonata said in a soft voice. “But it’s just because they don’t understand each other… they just have to understand each other, okay?”

With that, Sonata got out of the car and started walking back up towards the house as she wiped at her cheeks. I saw my Mom and Dad come out a moment later with Cadence and Shining on their heels, and I scrambled out of the car, desperate to stop another argument. I just wanted to go… to leave and get out of this situation.

I didn’t want to argue with my parents. I didn’t want to fight with my brother and my babysitter who was like my sister. I didn’t want to hear them fight with my girlfriend who I was finding myself more and more frighteningly emotionally attached to.

I just wanted it all to stop.

“It’s okay, Twi’,” Sonata said with a sad smile as she turned to face me. “They just need to understand you.”

Then she took my hand, pulled me close, slipped a hand around the small of my back, and held me against her as she kissed me long and soft. In that moment I felt as if she was inhaling… like a deep breath was being taken by the world around me and suddenly I had the strangest sensation of floating in a vast ocean that was filled with life. All around me there were voices, thoughts, and tremors of emotion that rippled through everything, and I think, in that moment, I understood very briefly what life was like for Sonata.

Then we parted, Sonata turned, opened her mouth, and she sang.

It… wasn’t a tune exactly. It was nothing like what my friends had described the Battle of the Bands as, with its flashing, brilliant displays of light and magic. This was far more subtle, and it was all carried on a single, clear, clarion note that bled into the air around all of us.

And suddenly I could feel everything.

I could feel my mom’s pain and fear, not for herself but for me. She was terrified for me, that I might not be taken care of after she was gone, and that I might never know what it was like to be in love. She was terrified that I would never have someone who would love me the way she thought, no, the way she knew that I deserved to be loved. She was so scared for me, and so ashamed that she could never keep up with me or understand me the right way. She loved me so, so much… and all she wanted was for me to be happy.

It was all she had ever wanted.

And Cadence. I could feel the bubbling black tar of shame that was filling her throat at how she had treated Sonata out of surprise and pure reaction. I could feel the stark, suffocating terror that she had done something unforgivable, that she had lost me forever, and it was like a shard of frosted steel lodged in her heart. Beneath that I could also feel the absolute joy and love she had for me, and how ecstatic she was that I had found someone who cared so deeply for me.

God, she cared about me so much, and I’d hit her!

Slowly, I turned to Sonata, and for a moment I thought I couldn’t feel her. Only for a moment, though, because as she met my eyes I realised I could feel her, in the same way you can feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. She was warmth in my heart and the soft touch of fingers wiping tears from my eyes, and the sound of laughter in my chest.

Sonata was everywhere. She surrounded me, and all around me I could feel one thing.

Oh god… she loved me. It was a small, newborn, fledgling thing, but she loved me.

Tears fell hard down my cheeks as the sensation faded, and I saw my mom and Cadence all but collapse backwards into their husbands. Somehow, Sonata had taken what the three of us were feeling into herself in one great breath and then sang it back out as a single, complete note of emotion.

“I… I think I love you, too,” I said unprompted, and Sonata’s face split into a bright smile.

“I’m so glad,” Sonata said weakly. “I just… I couldn’t let you lose your family, Twi’... not with how much they love you… I just couldn’t.”

“What did you do?” I asked in disbelief.

“Something stupid,” she replied with a small laugh.

That was when I saw the faint hint of scarlet leak out from the corner of her mouth. A moment later another trickle came from her nose, and she coughed, splattering a small glob of thick, nearly black blood onto the ground in front of her.

“O-oops,” Sonata chuckled weakly as I stared in horror. “That’s… probably b-bad…” she looked up at me plaintively.

“S-Sonata?” I said in a weak, hollow voice as I took a step closer.

“Don’t tell ‘Dagi,” she said in a tiny, plaintive voice.

It was the last thing she said before her face went blank and she crumpled to the ground for the second time that day.