Desperate Measures

There was very little teasing after the bit of cheeky fun at Kurt's expense. After that, the conversation turned to the weather, weekend plans, and a few other topics of polite discourse. Seascape's whole purpose in coming was to check in with Guin, but she had some other goals, as well.

When she invited Kurt on a date, Guin was quick to be in support. She wanted them to be happy spending time together, because she liked Seascape. Plus, if she could find a way to send Jenny off to do something, she and Jack could have the house to themselves, and do some more experimenting.

After dinner, they started their shower rotation. When Kurt went in for his, Seascape asked Guin secretly about the box, only to find out that Jack had confiscated it and was keeping it in his bedroom, but that she was still allowed to access it with permission. With that confirmed, Seascape gave her a small, unmarked box, telling her to put it with the rest. Then, she left. She wasn't staying the night, after all.

When Guin's shower was over, she started toward Jack's room, but Kurt stopped her in the hallway, waving her into his bedroom. "Look, I've been thinking, and... I'm sorry. It's not a personal attack."

Guin cocked her head to the side. "What are you talking about?"

"What I said at dinner," he clarified. He sat down on the corner of his bed and gestured to his desk to let her know that she could sit down.

"Oh, I forgive you," smiled Guin, taking a seat. "And hey, I was just teasing. I wasn't trying to make you upset, I was just poking fun."

Kurt shook his head. "It's not just dinner. I've been angry with you this whole time, and I think you deserve to know why." He opened a drawer and pulled out a photograph, giving it to Guin. "This was us."

Guin took the photograph from Kurt's hoof. She saw Jack looking a bit worried, Kurt looking genuinely happy, and Jenny asleep in the hooves of a sickly-looking donkey mare.

"You and Jenny were already friends at this point. Jenny can't remember her. You probably don't, either. But I do."

Guin shook her head. "Your mom, I take it?"

Kurt nodded. "This was shortly before the end. A little more than ten years ago."

Guin gave the picture back. "She seems like she was a nice enough mare."

"She was wonderful." Kurt turned to Guin. "I know what it's like to lose somepony close to you. I feel it in a way that Jenny can't understand. In a way that you'd have been unable to comprehend a month ago. My dad feels it, too, but there's something else. If it were just this, I'd probably be a lot nicer to you. My problem is something my dad can't feel the way I do."

Guin nodded, but said nothing. She wanted to know why Kurt had been so cold.

"Everyone is trying to erase this photograph."

Guin raised her eyebrow, clearly confused. "Don't you keep it locked in a drawer?"

"Not literally," he growled, "figuratively. Most of them don't even know they're doing it, but every time somepony refers to you as "my mom..."" He trembled, as if even explaining it hurt him somehow. "I thought referring to you as my stepmom might help, so I've been trying to usher that forward, but it doesn't do much. Seascape actually came up with a good idea, to just call you "Guin." Change nothing, just... know you as I have always known you; my sister's best friend that lives with us."

"I don't want to replace your mom," assured Guin. "I certainly don't want to damage your memories, either. I'm still Guin, just, now I'm married to yo--"

"Nono, no... Don't say it," he waved. "I know how it is, and why it has to be that way. But please, don't say it. The more I can ignore this problem, the better."

"Ignoring the problem doesn't change it," breathed Guin. "It's still there."

Kurt shook his head. "This is a "wait out the clock" situation for me. In six years, none of this will matter. You and my dad can divorce, nopony will be hurt by that, and then you can be an adult that lives in your own house, because you'll still have your gran's place. In order to fix this problem, all I have to do is wait. When you're eighteen and can be released into your own custody, instead of the state's custody, I won't have to deal with this problem anymore."

Guin swallowed. "Unless we stay married."

The room fell silent as Kurt scowled. "Excuse me?"

Guin puffed out her chest. "A lot can change in six years. Maybe your dad and I will be happy together. He certainly doesn't deserve to be alone."

"He has children," Kurt seethed. "He'll have grandchildren."

"And that's fine," nodded Guin. "Two visits a month. What about the day-to-day?"

Seeing Kurt stewing, she decided that was enough for now. She hopped down and made her way to the door.

"None of this is decided, yet. But your dad's been very good to me. And I want to make sure that he's taken care of."

"And I don't?"

"I'm sure you do. I'm sure you want what's best for him. If I'm not what's best for him, I will abdicate, and your worry will be gone when I come of age. But if he would be better off with me sticking around, then that's what I'm going to do. I just hope that, if that day comes, you can see me as I'm trying to be, not the accident that I started as."

As she closed the door behind her, she lowered her face into her claws. She meant most of that. Counter to what she'd felt at the beginning, which was just confusion, she now knew that she was happy being married to Jack, not just because it was better than the alternative, but because he had made every effort to make her feel as if she belonged in his home. She loved him, and she was no longer unsure of that fact.