'Cause today, I swear, I'm not doing anything, nothing at all

“Hah… fully recharged…” Dawn cuddled her cheek against the cheek of a tabby cat, letting out a long sigh of delight.

“…So this isn’t slacking off because…?” Dani looked down at Dawn from her seat in the cat café with an amused expression on her face. She had no intention of giving the girl a hard time, but she found it rather ironic that for all of Dawn’s claims about refusing to be lazy or take things easy, the cat girl had gone right to the cat café after they finished working out.

And of course, she immediately dove headfirst into the puddle of cats.

“This isn’t being lazy!” Dawn snapped, shooting a fierce glare up to at the tomboy. “This is a vital step in revitalizing myself!”

“And is that your medical diagnosis as a doctor?” Dani mused.

“…Yes.”

Dani just laughed. As long as Dawn was feeling better, that was what mattered. After the intense conversation they just had, the other girl needed something to bring a smile back to her face.

“Dani,” Dawn said, standing up and walking over to the table (while still holding a cat) with a concerned look on her face, “thanks for hanging out with me today.”

“No problem,” Dani said, waving the other girl’s concerns off.

“You sure? You could have hung out with Carly…”

“I’m telling you, it’s fine!” Dani shook her head. “Carly’s sister wanted to hang out with Sylvia today anyway, and this was easier. Apparently something about mini golf? Not really my thing. And I thought you could use a friend today.”

The sides of Dawn’s mouth tugged up slightly and she nodded. “Thanks. That… really means a lot.”

“You should really thank Morgana, too,” Dani continued. “If it wasn’t for her, the four of us probably would have just kept lounging around in the common area.”

“I know, she’s really done a lot for me this round,” Dawn agreed. “Too bad she didn’t want to hang out more.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Morgana would have been thrilled to spend the day hanging out with the two of them, they both knew it.

But then the topic of working out had been raised, and the goth girl disappeared so fast you’d think she had an invisibility transformation or something.

“We could still go invite her,” Dawn said. “Hang out with cats with the two of us?”

“Good thought, but I’m pretty much all cat-ed out,” Dani admitted, shaking her head and smiling sheepishly. “I’ve never been much of a pet person. They’re cute, but the thought of being responsible for a whole other living being…”

She shivered. “I’m glad I’m a lesbian,” she said. “Because I definitely can’t picture myself as a mom, that’s for sure.”

Dawn winced. “You know, just because you like women, that doesn’t mean you can’t have children,” she pointed out. “There’s always adoption, or surrogacy.”

Dani let out a deep belly laugh. “Oh! That would be hilarious, right? Imagine! I could ask Nick to be the sperm donor! I’m sure that Dakota would just love that!”

It was an amusing thought to have, but no way that could happen.

Dawn smiled politely. “Still,” she said, shaking her head, “don’t think you’d be that bad of a parent, Dani. I expect you might do rather well for yourself, in fact.”

Dani looked shocked to hear that.

“…Really?”

“Sure. You’ve got the overbearing ‘I’m always correct’ temperament that all parents are required to have,” Dawn pointed out.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk!” Dani rolled her eyes. “Little miss genius over here? Always walking around with a thesaurus in her back pocket to prove that she’s the smartest woman in the room?”

“Actually I have it memorized,” Dawn replied. “And yes, I am always correct. When I’m talking about something I’m correct about.”

“Yep, this definitely feels like ‘mom’ energy coming from you,” Dani snarked. Then she gasped. “Oh, um… I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Huh? Didn’t mean to what?” Dawn’s ears flattened on her head as she looked at Dani in confusion.

Dani bit her lip. “Talking about you being a mom… after what you said earlier, that… that was insensitive, I’m sorry.”

It took Dawn a second to realize what Dani was apologizing for, but when she figured it out she quickly shook her head.

“No, don’t worry. Dani, I’m able to have children.”

“Oh!” Dani’s eyes widened and she sighed in relief. “Really? Good, I just thought… well, with what you said about your period, I mean…”

“Amenorrhea is a delayed period that occurs in women who have problems meeting the standard milestones of puberty,” Dawn clarified. “But I still got my period, I still went through puberty, it just didn’t happen the way it does for the average woman, that’s all. Don’t worry, if I want to have kids, I absolutely still can.”

“Well, that’s good at least,” Dani said, smiling. “I guess that is something you’d be thinking about a lot now, huh? Considering how far things have gotten with Nick, I mean.”

Dawn’s face turned scarlet. “Wh-what?!” She stammered, shaking her head. “What do you mean by that, huh!?”

Dani looked surprised. “Well, I just thought… you and Nick are really serious, right?”

“Yeah, but we aren’t even married yet!” Dawn protested, her tail swinging wildly behind her. “It’s too early to think about something like that!”

Dani frowned. “You’re a doctor, aren’t you? Isn’t it true that the longer you wait to have kids, the more risk you run?”

“Well yes, but I’m a significant ways off from that, thank you!” Dawn huffed. “I’m younger than you, remember?”

“How could I forget? You look like you’re still in high school.”

Dawn huffed again. She wasn’t used to Dani being this playful. Apparently, a nice day of relaxation was doing wonders for her, as well.

“…Sorry, maybe I’m pushing you a little hard on this,” Dani admitted. “I just keep thinking about how the future’s gonna be, you know? I mean, Mary’s already married to Nick. And Kim’s on a date with him right now, right? She was the last one of the original eight of us to lose her virginity, and that’s definitely happening tonight.”

“Yeah…” Dawn blushed, remembering her own first time with Nick in Dream Alley (and yes, that WAS her first time, no matter how difficult things went). “I guess we really have come a long way since we were brought here…”

Dawn could replay the entire season back through her mind like watching a movie on fast forward. And there were definitely a lot of things they’d gone through during it.

Dani wasn’t wrong- they really should be thinking about the future.

So why did the thought of doing so make her feel all murky inside?

“It’s not that I don’t want to get married to Nick,” Dawn assured the other girl, looking down at her cup of tea. It must have been cold by now, certainly. “Of course I do. And the logical next step of that is having children. My parents would certainly be happy about that. Obviously I’ve given it serious thought.”

Dani nodded. She wouldn’t expect anything less from someone like Dawn. The genius had probably calculated plenty of variables.

“So if I know it’s logical, then the reason for my hesitation… it must be my heart,” Dawn finally said, looking up at the tomboy. She had an expression on her face that was hard for Dani to read. It was like a mixture of anger, sadness, hopelessness, and frustration all rolled into one, with a bit of longing on top.

“You’re not sure you want to get married?” Dani asked.

“Do you want to get married to Carly?” Dawn bluntly replied.

Dani gasped and her face flushed. “That… I mean, it’s different,” she stammered, shaking her head. “We-we just started dating, so… and plus, she’s tied to Nick, so I mean…”

“But would you, if you could?” Dawn wasn’t letting Dani squirm her way out of this so easily.

“I think… that if I married Carly… we could be happy together,” Dani said, choosing her words as carefully as possible. “But for obvious reasons, we haven’t talked about anything like that. And for even more obvious reasons… our relationship is fundamentally different from the one you have with Nick. We’re still trying to work out all the dynamics.”

“Well yes, obviously, there are fundamental differences,” Dawn agreed, adjusting her glasses. “After all, I will be tied to Nick forever. Marrying another person is not exactly a realistic outcome at this point. But for you…”

Dani bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah… in theory… I suppose I could… if Carly and I were to break up, and I found someone else, then…”

Dani was tied to Nick the same way Dawn was, but the expectation of that relationship was quite different. Dani’s sexuality meant that she would never be a partner for him the way the other girls in his harem expected to be.

So yes, in theory, Dawn could have broke things off with Nick and remained “bound” to him the way Dani was, maintaining a platonic relationship with no expectations put upon her. Nick would certainly accept that if she told him that’s what she wanted, and he would even probably support her if she found someone else that she wanted to be with.

Dawn was quite a wiz with numbers. And if she bothered to do the math on the likelihood of that happening, the chances were probably astronomical.

“I should marry him, right?” Dawn echoed. “Mary already has. And if I love him as much as I know I do, then there is no logical reason to not marry him.”

And yet, any time when the issue came up, Dawn made it a point to not think about it.

“Maybe the reason the Luxury Suite is making you stay in bed all day is because it’s picking up on your hesitation?” Dani suggested quietly. “It could be that it senses you’re not ready… so it’s making you lazier and holding you back, because that’s what you want.”

Dawn snorted. She could see the sense in Dani’s thought, but to seriously consider it…

“So what, if I want to stop sleeping in all day, I should just get married, is that it? Because I thought the opposite was what usually happened.”

That got a laugh from Dani, in spite of the sensitive topic. But Dawn wasn’t laughing herself. She was giving serious consideration to what the other girl was saying, and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about it.

“I guess it all comes down to what you want,” Dani said, shrugging. “You know who I think you should talk to about this? Gina.”

Silence fell over the café, save the mewling of the kittens.

“…Don’t look at me like that!” Dani scowled at the expression Dawn made at that suggestion. “I’m serious, I think talking to Gina might help.”

“Gina? Seriously? Argh…” Dawn’s relationship with Gina wasn’t exactly a simple one.

“Gina’s trying hard to become a better person, right?” Dani pointed out. “Remember what she was like when she first got here? She was a lazy slacker who didn’t take anything seriously.”

“You don’t have to remind me, I lived it,” Dawn said testily. Those first weeks with Gina weren’t exactly what she would consider “fond memories” to say the least.

“Right, but look at her now. She’s taking steps to improve, right?” Dani pointed out.

Dawn begrudgingly nodded. Gina had come a long way since the beginning of the show herself.

“So if you’re afraid of turning into a lazy slacker yourself, maybe Gina could have some tips for you,” Dani pointed out. She shrugged. “It’s just a suggestion.”

“No… you’re right,” Dawn admitted. “Talking to Gina could probably help. Lord knows that girl has experience going after what she wants, damn the consequences…”

She took a long sip of her cold tea and mulled it over.

“…No.”

“See? Stubborn and sure that you’re correct. I told you you’d be a good mom,” Dani pointed out with a smirk.

Dawn gave her a cross look.

“That’s not it at all,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “While you might be right that Gina might have some advice that could help, I don’t want to ask her. And it’s not because I have a problem with her, just the opposite.”

“Oh?” Dani perked up.

“Gina’s made a lot of progress herself,” Dawn replied. “If I just foist more problems onto her, she might get caught up in it. If she’s on the path to recovery, I don’t want to burden her with my own issues, especially when we don’t even have a hint at the cause.”

“Oh but it’s okay to burden me?” Dani scowled.

“You I trust can handle it. Gina’s still… Gina.”

Dawn feared that if she brought her problems to Gina, the punk girl would get sucked up into them, and that could harm her own growth in turn.

The last thing she ever wanted was to be a burden on someone.

Dani considered what Dawn had to say carefully, and decided that maybe she had a point. “So what, you want me to be your personal therapist, then? Because I’m gonna bleed your veterinarian salary for every penny I can get and blow it on anime merch, I hope you realize that.”

“This isn’t therapy,” Dawn replied, rolling her eyes. “It’s just two friends chatting in a café.”

“Oh! Good. So you’re fine with me talking about my relationship issues, then?” Dani’s eyes twinkled playfully. “You know, since we’re mutual friends chatting?”

Dawn eyed her warily.

“…I’m kidding, my relationship is going better than ever,” Dani clarified. “But if we were having issues…”

“Talk about it with all parties involved,” Dawn automatically replied. “You, Nick, Carly, the three of you care enough about each other that any issues you have can be settled with a simple conversation, and you should know that.”

“Oh! What a coincidence!” Dani’s eyes widened. “That was exactly the advice I was going to give to you, talk about your issues with Nick!”

Dawn gave her a dirty look. “…Fair enough,” she replied, taking a long sip of her tea. “Fair enough…”

Dani changed the topic to something more lighthearted, as Dawn considered the advice she’d been given.

“You could not live with your own failure…” Rose mused, resting on a chair in the common area. “Where did that bring you? Back to me…”

“Very funny,” Dawn scowled, her eye twitching. “Are you free right now or not?”

“Well, Mary did invite everyone to another cooking lesson…” Rose mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully like she was facing a serious dilemma. “…But I suppose, since my old roommate is begging for my help, I could skip just this once.”

Yeah, Dawn wasn’t playing these games.

“I’m leaving,” the cat girl sighed, turning and heading for the elevator.

“Wait! Hey, come on, wait!” Rose wailed, chasing after her. “Okay! I’ll help, I’ll help! Geez! You don’t have to be so cold!”

“Rose, I appreciate your friendship, but you can be a real handful, you know that?” Dawn rolled her eyes and rejoined her friend. “Look, it’s not anything serious, okay?”

“It sure sounded serious,” Rose replied. And given how playful she usually was, the serious expression on her face showed just how much she believed those words.

Dani had wanted to keep spending time with Dawn, she really did. She even pleaded with Dawn to come join her for a cooking lesson with Mary, pointing out that even Morgana and Gina would be there. But Dawn had refused.

“Thanks Dani. You’re a really good friend. But I think you need a break from me for a little while. I’m going to talk to Rose, actually. See if she wants to hang out.”

After finding the actress, she’d explained what had been going on for the last few weeks, and asked for her advice.

Because if anyone knew what it was like to chase after what you want without hesitation, it was Rose Beausoleil.

“I’m surprised the Luxury Suite has that ability,” Rose said, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

“That’s your takeaway from this?” Dawn sighed. If Rose was her last resort, then she really must be **** for companionship right now. “I was right the first time, this was a mistake…”

“This is serious!” Rose exclaimed. “Don’t you see? That room was already the perfect fit for someone of my prestige! Now I have to get that room! I’m sure it will make me even more lovely and desirable in Nick’s eyes!” She swooned.

Dawn rolled her eyes. If the Luxury Suite was going to amplify anything about Rose, it would probably be her ego. Assuming that could actually get any bigger, of course.

“Look, I don’t need some therapy session,” Dawn said. “I just came to you because… well, you’re my friend. And I really don’t know what to do about this.”

“Have you considered sleeping on the floor?” Rose suggested. “I mean, if the crux of the problem if that you’re so lazy in the mornings you can’t even get out of bed, I can’t imagine you’d be so unmotivated that you wouldn’t get up off the ground.”

“Yes, but then I’d have to be sleeping on the floor.”

“I had to sleep on the pull-out sofa in my one-bedroom apartment back home,” Rose replied. “And that one bedroom wasn’t even a room, it was an adjoining alcove with no door.”

Dawn couldn’t say much to that. She had a nice house in a good neighborhood waiting for her when she got back to earth.

“Or, if you’re not up for that, you could always try and sleep in Nick’s room every night,” Rose pointed out.

“Huh!?” Dawn’s jaw dropped.

“Well, think about it, if the room is making you feel lazy and unmotivated, then spending every night in the Master’s Suite instead should fix the problem, right?” Rose shrugged. “I doubt Nick would say no. And Dakota would love that idea! Plus, even if you still didn’t want to get out of bed in the mornings, well… there are other things you could do,” she pointed out with a sly smirk.

Dawn was quickly remembering why she never went to Rose for advice.

“Rose…”

“Frankly, the only issue with this perfect plan is that it would take time away from the other girls on their nights,” Rose pointed out. “And that…”

Her voice trailed off.

“No, wait, I’ve changed my mind! I refuse to support this idea!” Rose asserted firmly. “I’m not about to give up my private time with Nick, Dawn, you hear me?! I won’t do it!”

“I didn’t even want to do that in the first place!” Dawn groaned.

“Well, good. Because you can’t.”

Dawn wanted to strangle the Frenchwoman. But she refrained.

“Thanks, Rose.”

“Hmm?” Rose looked confused. After all, she hadn’t helped much. Then again, was it really that unusual for her to be thanked just for being present? Of course not!

“I was really getting worked up about this whole thing,” Dawn said, scratching her head sheepishly. “But I’m not going to let myself worry about it anymore.”

Normally, Dawn would be wracking her brain trying to come up with solutions. Everything inside her was screaming at her to do that. But Dani and Rose had both showed her a different way of thinking about the problem. Both women were blatant and transparent individuals who wore their hearts on their sleeves. And they were both happier for it, while Dawn just kept feeling frustrated.

It’s natural for me to work hard and do my best. And I can still do that. Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought it was.

Dawn was, at her heart, a rational person. And a big part of being rational was to observe things in order to understand them, rather than jump to conclusions.

I should be thinking about this like a science experiment, with myself as the test subject. I should focus my energy on observing the changes in my behavior and drawing conclusions from the data, rather than start with a conclusion and try to **** reality to fit.

Trying to **** reality to fit your own delusions- err, conclusions, was how you turned into someone like Rose.