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R A I S I N G ◦ A N ◦ N P C !

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▶ BOOK 1: M A K I N G ◦ A N ◦ N P C !
▶ CHAPTERS: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |

⊹˚₊·‧Chapter 19: Pajama Party

Just a short time later, they were all gathered in Gangle’s room, with Gangle, Pomni and Pierrosie sitting on the bed, and with Ragatha on the floor, leaning against it for her daughter.

When Ragatha felt her daughter's little hands running through her locks and learning how to braid them, she was filled with true bliss.

Usually, Ragatha didn't realize how emotionally invested she had been until later in life or when these feelings were more on the transient side of things.

But not right at this moment.

She felt every ounce of this peace running through her avatar; hugging her, seeping into scars and fears, leaving nothing but warmth.

She was holding the plush unicorn that Pierrosie had brought back from her adventure and had formed a tight bond with, sewing on a little black heart button she had lying around where its second eye used to be.

Next to Pierrosie was Pomni, showing her the intricate movements of braiding; Still a little awkwardly as always, but with child-friendly care and enthusiasm.

Behind them was Gangle, drawing different versions of the plush toy for Pierrosie.

Ragatha had even managed to wheedle three more nightgowns out of Caine on this occasion. He had been difficult to talk with, but with some charming words, he begrudgingly agreed; Even though the new skins were three relatively plain copy-paste longshirts, all in different colors: Pomni’s was of simple white, Gangle’s in black with a print that looked like a metal band logo that she couldn’t decipher, and Pierrosie’s had gotten a blue one with a yellow crescent moon as a print - while still wearing her ruffled collar.

They all looked adorable in their new fits.

“Very good, Pi! You’re learning so quickly,” Ragatha heard Pomni praise her baby.

Pierrosie didn’t answer, and Ragatha knew her expression probably didn’t change in any way, but that it would still fill her with pride.
She couldn’t help but smile.

“Okay, I have a question for Pomni,” Gangle continued with their game of ‘Truth or Truth' — Gangle's more relaxed version of ‘Truth or Dare’, but without a bottle nor a specific chronology; Everyone was allowed to ask whenever, whatever.

How this differed from a normal conversation, Ragatha wasn’t sure — but it did its job in bringing back this pajama party-feel well, so she had nothing to complain about.

“Ok, as long as you don’t use otaku terms. If I hear the word ‘uke’ again I’m quitting.”

Gangle gave the faintest click of a tongue sound, hesitating with asking her question.
Ragatha had to chuckle. Pomni had been right to be skeptical.

“Fine,” Gangle gave back, “then how about this: How long have you guys been secretly together?”

Pomni cleared her throat, and it made Ragatha chuckle again. She really wasn’t good with those personal questions regarding her lovelife. Or personal questions overall. Even though her partner was open and curious, she, in fact, rarely shared bits of her personal life.

“Ehm, like… eh… maybe… Wow that’s hard to tell, eh…”

“I was halfway through with the pregnancy.” Ragatha chimed in to help.

Gangle gasped, almost overdramatically.

“W-what?” Ragatha asked, surprised.

“NO WAY!” She exclaimed, putting down her utensils and leaning forward, “Only since, what, half a year now??”

Ragatha turned her head to look at her. Pierrosie also stopped braiding, looking at Gangle curiously — probably trying to understand why she was suddenly this animated.

“Give or take, time is a bit tricky to track in here…?” Pomni replied hesitantly. 

“You’re kidding! You can’t be right!” Gangle continued, even more lively than before.

Pomni took a quick glance over to Ragatha, confused, then back at Gangle.

“W-well… what did you think…?” She dared to ask.

“When did you arrive in the circus again?” Gangle replied.

Pomni stared at her.

“You can’t be serious.”

Gangle put her little ribbon hands on her cheek. “But I was so sure… like… I mean… from the way you behave with each other since I know you… there’s not much difference from now to shortly after you joined, Pomni…”

Pomni shifted her weight, a little nervously. “Well. Eh… we’re just… I don’t know, we’re… eh, not the type for these kinds of things, I guess?”

Ragatha leaned her head on the bed, trying hard not to smirk. Pomni was too adorable when she was nervous like that; more so when Ragatha was the reason for it. She still wasn’t used to their relationship yet and was still exploring this new version of Pomni as a girlfriend and parent, not just a friend — and she greatly enjoyed every aspect of it.

"Well — since when are Zooble and you together?” Pomni quickly added, steering the topic away from herself.

Gangle looked at Pomni, surprised.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“W… w-what…” Gangle began, stuttering nervously, “W-whatever would… m-make you think that…”

Now it was on Ragatha, Pomni and even Pierrosie to stare at Gangle with faces that reflected nothing but shocked disbelief.

“D-dude,” Pomni gave back, “Is water wet?”

Gangle whimpered, her mask now tinted light pink. It sounded downright pitiful.

“W-w-was it… really… t-that obvious?”

Pomni was about to say something, when Ragatha quickly tuned in, “Don’t worry about that, we must’ve heard Zooble say something that hinted at it.”

She saw how Pi looked at her; Squinting her eye a little if she were judging Ragatha for this white lie. She couldn’t help but to feel a little guilty.

“T-they really… did that? Oh…” Gangle gave back, blushing even more and giggling in the cutest way.

Good lord, she was crushing hard. 

“Well… o-okay, t-then I guess it’s okay to say that… that we’re together…!”

Just when Gangle said it, she squirmed and grabbed a cushion to hide her face inside.

Adorable.
Not surprising in the least, but adorable.

“We’re, like… even sleeping in the same room, sometimes. Since a year, maybe. But I wanted to keep it a secret so I wouldn’t make anyone uncomfortable. It also didn’t feel like it was important. B-but… saying it out loud makes me so giddy, I can’t stop smiling, hahaha…”

Ragatha saw how Pomni gave her a warm, empathetic smile. “I get the appeal of secrets. But I also understand how good it feels when you can stand by your partner. To openly commit.”
Pomni gave Ragatha a short, warm gaze when talking. It felt like a kiss and made Ragatha’s heart flutter.

Gangle smiled brightly; She looked so balanced and joyful, even though her happy mask had broken earlier this morning.

“Then I think I have a truth or truth for you, Gangle,” Ragatha addressed her. Gangle nodded — even eagerly so. “Would you also ever want to have a child with them…?”

Only when Ragatha had already spoke those words it did she notice that the question might be a bit insensitive — after all, Pierrosie’s existence was neither planned nor of any autonomic achievable nature. It was also a very intimate thing to ask overall, probably. But that was what pajama parties were for, right?

“I told you, Ragatha, I… like… I feel like I kinda do, already.” She responded with a gentle smile, looking at Pierrosie.

Ragatha could barely take the punch of warm feelings Gangle’s words caused. She had to clutch her chest.

Right… Gangle had said that. Ragatha had already forgotten about it, stored away with the stressful feelings from that time. Unrightfully so. Because it was of such loving nature that it immediately made the circus feel like a home.

It was one of the sweetest things Gangle could’ve ever said about Pierrosie.

And seeing how that porcelain doll tumbled over to Gangle, to huddle close to her and look at the drawings she made, Ragatha was sure the feeling of connection was mutual.
Only now did she notice that Pierrosie’s head, hands and feet were made from the same material as Gangle — with her face also being painted on, a tear always on display.

Regardless of whether this contributed to Gangle’s feelings for the little clown doll or not, or if some non-biological, digital factors might even have played into Pierrosie sharing resemblance to Gangle; Ragatha couldn’t help but feel nothing but pride and affection.

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