I'm thankful I can always find, relief in my refrain

Nick was justifiably apprehensive after leaving the Master’s Suite that morning ahead of Sylvia, even though he looked his best. (He’d left early to get an early start on his day, knowing that it would be pretty packed.)

The reason for his apprehension wasn’t due to his planned date with Gina (though his heart was pounding about that) but rather because of who he was going to see before he went to meet with his date for that morning.

…He was going to see his date for that afternoon.

With that being said, Nick wasn’t nervous for any of the ordinary reasons a man with two dates with two different women in one way would be nervous. He was nervous because the last time he had spoken privately with his stepmother, things had gotten… uncomfortable.

And now he was going to be spending the whole afternoon with her, too! He tried to put that awkward morning behind him, he really did, but it kept playing over in his head and making his face heat up with shame. And even though he understood with additional context from Sylvia that Amelia’s reaction had been due to a temporary upgrade to her transformation, he feared it would be pretty difficult for him to forget about what had transpired between the two of them on their date.

It wasn’t like he could put it out his mind right now, after all.

But he pushed forward and tried to purge those thoughts from his brain all the same, reminding himself that this was still Amelia, his stepmother. Any ideas like the ones that were occurring to him at this moment were completely out of the question! As much of a precocious attraction as he may have had on her growing up, they were family.

Sylvia’s talk about “Daddy” had already unnerved him enough.

As much as Nick appreciated having Amelia here on the island to consult (he really had missed her) he really wished it was in a non-harem capacity, given the complication of their relationship.

But none of that was what brought him to her door this early in the morning. No, he was here for two reasons. The first was business, and he wanted to focus on that. The second…

…

Well, he’d get to the second when he could. Depending on how the first order of business went.

Sucking in a breath, he knocked hard on the door, and waited with apprehension in his chest as it swung open…

…And Morgana was standing there?

“Oh!” Her face brightened when she saw him. “Nick! Good morning! Wow, you’re up early!” She held back her question about how his date last night had gone, though she was certainly curious given that it was with Sylvia. Was Nick’s presence out of the Master’s Suite this early in the morning a good sign, or a bad one?

“Um, hey,” Nick said, not expecting Morgana to be here. He’d assumed that she’d still be in bed, given how late of a riser she was. “Same goes for you?”

Morgana chuckled, a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. She really seemed brighter to him now, and it wasn’t just because her transformations had returned. She seemed less burdened, which was a good sign.

“I’m trying to wake up earlier,” she explained. “You know, for my diary?” Morgana reminded him gently, and he nodded, understanding what she was getting at.

“Yeah,” he echoed. “Well, uh… I’m here to talk to Amelia, is… is she here?” He hadn’t seen her in the lounge, so she wasn’t making coffee, and he didn’t think she’d go to breakfast this early, so that meant she had to be…

Then Nick realized that he could hear the shower running.

“She’s just taking a shower now,” Morgana informed him with a cheery smile, blissfully unaware of just how significant of a statement that was. Nick tried to give her a smile to pretend that didn’t bother him, but…

Now his mind was picturing his stepmother naked in the shower. And that brought… other thoughts to his mind.

Memories of his childhood, to be precise.

While Nick was pretty sure that he’d never seen Amelia completely naked, he remembered when he was a little kid that he’d accidentally run into her coming out of the shower one time. It had been a mistake; it was right after she’d moved in, and they were all still getting used to each other. The thought that his stepmother could be using the shower right then didn’t even occur to him until he plowed right into her, her towel had slipped, and…

“Nick? Are… are you okay?” Morgana’s face turned red and her eyes drifted downwards. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked up at him sheepishly. “Sorry, my Sotto Voce is-”

“No, it’s not you!” Nick hastily assured her, adjusting his pants to cover himself. “Believe me, it’s not. This is just… because of something else.”

He hoped Morgana was innocent enough to not put the pieces together and realize that he had gotten an erection due to picturing his stepmother naked in the shower.

…Unfortunately, he couldn’t be that lucky.

Morgana’s eyes widened as she realized what she meant, and her gaze flickered over to the bathroom door for a second before landing on him. She quickly adjusted her own clothes, suddenly feeling like they were stifling her.

“W-well, that’s… I see…” she stammered awkwardly. “Th-thank you for bringing this to my attention, Nick.” A robotic response that he couldn’t begin to unpack escaped her lips. “I understand, Amelia, she’s rather lovely, but…”

Nick understood Morgana well enough to see what she was trying to do here. She was trying to discourage him from seeing his stepmother in that capacity while also grappling with the fact that she herself was not exactly sexually innocent when it came to her fantasies.

“Morgana, I’m not… it’s not like that…” Nick tried to assure her that she was wrong, but he didn’t exactly sound convincing. Morgana bit her lip and looked up at him with those wide red eyes of hers, and slowly nodded.

“…Did something happen between you two?”

Morgana may have been quite lacking in social grace, but she could be surprisingly perceptive sometimes.

Nick blushed and nodded.

“Well… that explains it, I guess,” Morgana murmured, scratching her cheek. Her eyes flicked over to the bathroom door again. “Amelia… she’s been acting really strange around me lately… so I suppose that’s… the reason why.” She knew that objectively Amelia was a beautiful person. And even though she was Nick’s stepmother, there was a reason she’d been brought onto the show.

Morgana knew better than to pry into the specifics, but it made a lot of sense.

She wondered briefly if this could be the result of the Luxury Suite. After all, it’s meant to amplify something that you desperately want, right? She considered thoughtfully. First it had made her seek out more confidence, but then it had backfired on her.

So what was it amplifying in Amelia? What was it that Amelia wanted in her heart, that the Luxury Suite was giving her more of than she could maybe handle?

It was a question maybe saved for Dawn. But seeing Nick look so flustered and worried, she had half a mind to share her thinking with him directly.

…Then again, the more she spoke, the more her Sotto Voce might affect him, and if THAT happened…

Morgana’s fidgeting and flustered expression made it difficult for her to express herself.

But before she even came to a decision, they both heard the shower switch off, making them jump.

Nick and Morgana shared a look, their eyes meeting immediately as they realized what was happening here. But before either of them could say anything, they both realized they didn’t know what to say.

Then the muffled sound of a hair dryer came from the next room, and they lost their chance to speak completely. Nick wasn’t exactly willing to shout over the whirr, and inform Amelia of his presence.

Morgana gave him a sheepish smile. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him. Nodding, she let him know that she was here for him, and that she wanted to support him however she could.

“Thanks,” Nick mouthed.

About a minute later, the hair dryer stopped. The door opened and Amelia stepped out, while Nick shut his eyes so he wouldn’t get a repeat of what happened before.

Morgana held her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Nick’s eyes were scrunched tightly shut, but there was no point. After all, Amelia was fully-clothed!

What, did he think she was going to come strolling out in the buff, or with a towel wrapped around her? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. Obviously, Amelia had brought a change of clothes into the bathroom, it was more than big enough for it. And when she walked in wearing them, she was very much confused why her stepson was here with his eyes shut tight.

She looked at Morgana for a second before her eyes returned to Nick, and she let out a sigh and adjusted her glasses.

“Nicholas, good morning,” she brusquely greeted him.

He flinched.

“Why are your eyes shut?” Amelia asked next, slightly confused.

“Um… because…”

“He thinks you’re naked,” Morgana couldn’t help but giggle out. “Sorry, I didn’t know how to tell him, so…”

“I am decent,” Amelia assured him with the barest hint of a sigh on her lips.

Nick’s eyes snapped open and he sighed in relief as he saw Amelia, beautiful as always, but very much dressed.

And hopefully with Morgana’s presence, she wouldn’t start posing herself seductively for him, either. No, right now she was standing with her hip cocked and her arms crossed over her chest, giving him a look of frosty concern.

“Well?” Her expression seemed to be asking.

“Hey, uh, good morning,” he said, scratching his head.

“Good morning,” Amelia repeated. Normally she wouldn’t bother, but she’d been working on her communication skills as much as she could. “Why are you here?”

…Still, sometimes, she could be more confrontational than was warranted…

Nick winced. “Well, uh… I-I wanted to talk to you about, um, today. And where you wanted to meet up for our date? After I’m done with Gina, I mean.”

He immediately slapped himself for phrasing it that way. “Done with Gina” as if Gina was some obligation he was trying to get out of the way? What a horrible thing to say about another person! No, Nick needed to do better.

Amelia nodded slowly, and adjusted her glasses. She didn’t comment on his questionable phrasing. “I see. Thank you. You may come pick me up at 12 o’clock. Promptly. Lunch will not be necessary. I assume you will be spending as much time with her as possible, yes?”

Nick could always count on his stepmother to get right to the point. It was comforting, in a way, while also being a little unnerving.

He was relieved by her eccentricities, though.

“So you want me to come back here? You don’t want to meet me somewhere closer?” Nick asked.

“Closer to what?” Amelia asked bluntly. “I do not know what you have planned for our day together,” she reminded him.

…Right.

The plan.

Dates tended to require plans, didn’t they?

Nick could hear Amelia reminding him of that from his memories, and he didn’t like the sound of it. It brought a grim feeling to his chest because he knew that he was already coming up short for her expectations, which wasn’t a pleasant thought.

Amelia, in turn, could see the panic in Nick’s eyes even though he was trying to hide it. It was plain to see that Nick did not, in fact, have any plan whatsoever.

If I was actually dating him I would likely be offended. But that isn’t the nature of our relationship, obviously, she thought. Rather, their relationship was marked by a distinct lack of closeness that sometimes tugged at her heart.

But Amelia had to put those thoughts and considerations aside.

“It seems you do not have anything planned, then?” She asked him, already sensing the answer. The wince he gave her just confirmed it.

“W-well…”

“Nicholas, it is alright,” she gently assured him. “I understand you have been planning for two dates today, after all.”

He was surprised by the tenderness in her voice. And even the way she was looking at him right now… it was softer than he was used to.

He actually felt relieved.

“Amelia…”

She shook her head slightly. “Don’t worry,” she assured him, stepping closer and placing her hand on his. It was an unusual amount of contact for the two of them. “This could be a good lesson in its own right.”

Nick blinked. Her tender tone didn’t fit the almost academic nature of her words. “…Huh?”

“Improvisation,” Amelia explained simply. “Planning a date is important, but it is also necessary to develop the skill to adjust your plan as needed.”

So wait… she was telling him that she wanted a date with no concrete plan behind it now? Was that what Nick was hearing?

A look at the serious expression on Amelia’s face told Nick that was exactly the case. It sent a shiver down his spine.

“We-well…”

“Do your best,” Amelia said, in that tone of voice she used when it meant the conversation had come to an end.

There wasn’t much more he could say after that, so he just nodded slowly and tried not to look like he was freaking out.

Amelia stepped back and cleared her throat, then she adjusted her glasses. “Now, if there is nothing else you would like to discuss, I would very much like a cup of coffee. I have to go find Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin for class quite soon, and will need to get breakfast before that.”

“Oh! Breakfast!” Morgana gasped, having totally forgotten. Nick had thrown her whole morning off!

“Err…” Nick watched her scurry away, and suddenly, he and Amelia were alone again. He glanced back at his stepmother and felt relieved when he saw she wasn’t trying to pose to seduce him.

Not yet, anyway.

“Yes?” Amelia asked, wondering why her stepson was still standing here if he didn’t have anything else to say.

When she saw the look on his face, it became immediately obvious that he did.

Nick’s cheeks reddened. “I… I just… I have some news.” Now that Morgana wasn’t here, he knew it was the right time to share his news with Amelia. But… he couldn’t help feel embarrassed by it, and rightly so.

Amelia stared at him with a look of understanding on her face (at least, he hoped that’s what her blank expression meant) and gave him a slow nod.

Nick took a deep breath and shared his feelings with her. Because his date this afternoon wasn’t the only thing that had him feeling giddy and nervous all morning.

“Last night… Holly and I… we had sex,” he stammered out. “Without protection, we… we had sex. Without protection.”

He was repeating himself, which wasn’t a great sign. Babbling would be imminent.

Amelia slowly nodded her head, his words sinking in. “I see,” she said brusquely. “So you two had sex without protection.”

That was a pretty subdued reaction, he figured.

“…That’s it?” Nick found himself asking in spite of knowing that he should just keep his mouth shut.

She looked at him.

“…I assumed that was standard with all the women in your harem,” she pointed out.

Nick winced. Yeah… he should have expected that.

“W-well… not… not ALL of them,” he mumbled. “…Wait, no, that… that’s not what I was trying to say!” He gasped, realizing that he hadn’t fully explained himself. “Holly and I, the reason we weren’t using protection was because… we were trying to…”

Nick couldn’t be blamed for finding this hard to get out. After all, how did you tell your stepmother that you had raw creampie sex with someone you loved the night before, for the purpose of knocking her up?!

…Well, you didn’t word it like that, obviously. But Nick’s brain was so frazzled he was having a difficult time properly expressing himself.

“Look, the thing I’m trying to say, is that… my relationship with Holly… …We were trying to make a baby!” He finally managed to blurt it out.

He hoped that Amelia would appreciate the blunt honesty of his statement, because really that was the only silver lining he could see from just shouting something out blatantly like that.

Amelia gave him a long, hard look, a contemplative expression on her face. It was another one of those expressions that Nick found almost impossible to read, which made him start to feel anxious and uncertain.

“…I see.” She adjusted her glasses and looked him deeply in the eyes. “So… you are trying to get another woman pregnant.”

Nick winced. What a way to put it! And seeing him wince like that made Amelia wince right back.

That… had not been how she’d meant her words to be taken. She’d tried to sound more congratulatory, but it had ended up coming out almost reproachful.

Not knowing what else to do, she felt her body moving for her, and she wrapped up Nick in a sudden hug, holding him close while resting her chin on his shoulder.

Nick’s eyes bulged out of their sockets in surprise.

“Am-Amelia?!” He stammered, almost pushing her away. But she kept holding him tightly.

“I take it this is something to be happy about?” She murmured into his ear, tightening her tender hold on him.

Nick relaxed into her embrace. “Ye-yeah,” he managed to say, nodding as best he could. It still felt weird, feeling her holding him like this. It wasn’t the response he’d expected.

“In that case, congratulations.”

It was so easy for her to say it now. Congratulations. How had it been so difficult for her in the past, then? Amelia didn’t really know. But she was happy for her stepson, she really was. He had done a wonderful thing here.

Nick couldn’t see it, but as Amelia held him in her tender embrace, she wore a smile on her lips. The kind of smile that would have melted his heart if he’d seen it.

This was a very good morning indeed.