The minor fall, the major lift

“Rose!”

Rose practically jumped when she heard Nick call out to her. Her bushy tail stood on end and her ears leapt up.

"N-Nick!?" She whirled around, eyes wide with surprise and face red with embarrassment. She quickly began waving her arms. “Wh-what is it? Did you need something!?”

Nick took a second to appreciate the sight before his eyes. Seeing Rose flustered, embarrassed, and at a loss for words was such an infrequent occurrence that the rare occasions when it did happened needed to be treasured like the gems they were.

…But there would be time for that later. Right now, Nick had something serious he needed to talk to her about, and he didn’t want her flustered. Well, not flustered because she was ashamed, anyway.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he apologized. “I just wanted to see how you were doing, Rose.”

“Embarrassed? Who’s embarrassed?” The embarrassed woman demanded, puffing out her chest. She tried to look confident and secure like she always did, but the way Nick was staring at her left her feeling more insecure than ever.

She hated that feeling. It wasn’t like her at all.

“I’m doing just fine!” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. It didn’t matter that she obviously wasn’t, or that deep down, she really wanted Nick to pamper her and tell her that everything would be okay. After a rough day like this, getting pity from the man she loved would just make her feel miserable.

“Well… I’m glad to hear that,” Nick said, telling her what she wanted to hear even though it was obvious to both of them what was really going on. “I just wanted to ask you something, since it seems like you’ve had a really tough day so far.”

Rose flinched. “…Maybe I have, but so what? I can adapt to this transformation, no problem!” She proclaimed, puffing out her chest with pride. “And last place? That’s just fine with me!”

She was putting on a strong front, but Nick knew there was more than a little truth behind her words. Rose was one of the most resilient women he knew. If she said she would get through this, then she would.

…But that didn’t mean he couldn’t help her out a little.

“After the challenge, I had plans to spend the day with Mary,” Nick explained. “But… I was wondering… would you like to come along?”

“Huh!?” Rose did a doubletake. “Wait, seriously? Come along, as in… you want me to be the third wheel on your date?!”

Nick shook his head. “No, that’s not it at all, I want to have fun with the both of you! I really want to show you both how much I appreciate you! …But, I mean… if you don’t want to come, then that’s fine too.”

Another thing Nick liked about Rose? She was predictable. He knew exactly how she would react if he dangled an offer like that in front of her nose.

Rose looked closely at Nick. Did he really think she was that gullible? Did he think she didn’t see what he was trying to do here? Obviously he felt bad for her, so he was giving her a pity date, and using the excuse of his planned date with Mary to do it.

…But so what? Rose didn’t want to be pitied. But she DID want to show Mary up. So her answer was obvious.

“Well, if you simply can’t resist spoiling me, who am I to say no?” Rose beamed from ear to ear. Her transformation was the last thing on her mind right now, and she’d totally forgotten her miserable time in the maze. “I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time, much better than if it was just the two of you!” She boasted.

“Oh? Is that right?”

Nick jumped, turning around to see Mary walk up to him, a smile frozen to her face.

“So you invited Rose to tag along on our date, is that right?” She asked.

Nick knew he’d done something bad. He really did want to give his wife the evening she deserved. But… part of being the master of a harem, as he was coming to realize, meant giving attention to people who really needed it. And as much as Mary needed to be treasured, Rose needed a little pampering right now herself.

“Mary…”

“That’s right!” Rose butted in, smiling in smug triumph. “Your husband would rather I come along, then having a nice date between the two of you! What’s that tell you, huh, Mary? Hmmmmmmmm?” She leaned forward, practically pressing her boobs up against the other woman’s, asserting her dominance as best she could.

Sometimes, Nick really wished that Rose would stop being so Rose about everything. But this was the best play he had. Rose tended to have a one-track mind about things. She would spend the rest of the afternoon sulking miserably about how bad her day had gone unless she gave him something else to capture her attention. And playing to her rivalry with Mary was the perfect distraction. He just wished he’d been able to run this by Mary herself first, before-

“I think that’s just wonderful!” Mary’s eyes sparkled with delight. She grabbed Rose by the hands, smiling from ear to ear. “Oh, Rose! I was so concerned about how hard that challenge was for you and how badly you seemed to be affected by that transformation…”

“Uh… say what?” Rose stared blankly at her rival, struggling to process the sweet words coming out of Mary’s mouth.

Mary turned her adoring gaze to Nick. “I think that’s so sweet of you to offer something like that, Nick. You’re just… it’s so thoughtful!”

Nick blushed a little under her praise. “W-well… I just… thank you, Mary,” he said sincerely, beaming at her. “You’re not upset I proposed this without asking?”

Mary shook her head adamantly. “If you hadn’t, I would have,” she said.

“What’s with you?!” Rose yanked her hands back, shivering. “You’re behaving all weird! You’re not supposed to be nice to me right now! This is my triumph over you!”

Nick sighed. Rose’s negative image of Mary was really causing him headaches sometimes. “Rose…”

“I’m married to him, though,” Mary bluntly pointed out. “So doesn’t that mean I’ve already won? What triumph are you talking about?”

“…Guh.” Rose doubled over like Mary had jabbed a spear in her belly.

Nick just shook his head. This was why he wished they didn’t play these games. And yet… Sorry, Rose. This is my fault for instigating this whole thing. But I love both of you, it’s not a competition!

Try convincing her of that, though.

“And just for the record,” Mary said, her smile disappearing, “this only extends to the day, you got that? You can spend the afternoon with us, but after that, we go our separate ways. I don’t want you tagging along to the Master’s Suite with us.”

She turned to Nick and flashed a coquettish smile. “That part of the evening will be just the two of us, right?”

That look in her eye told Nick just how much Mary had been looking forward to this day with him. Which only made him feel that much worse for bringing Rose along on it, even though Mary stated that she wanted it that way.

I promise, I’ll make it up to you! He silently swore to his wife.

Meanwhile, Rose just stared at Mary, baffled by how generous she was being. What’s with her?

---

“Eh? You’re taking us to get lunch first?” Mary asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I figured, with how rough today has been, you guys could really use a nice meal as a treat,” Nick said as he led the two women through the Shopping District, to check out the restaurants that they had available. “Especially you, Rose. How long did you spend in that maze? You must be starving!”

Mary looked at Rose and nodded. “Oh yeah, I didn’t even think about that,” she agreed.

Rose shook her head. “It’s weird, it doesn’t actually feel that way,” she said, placing her hand over her stomach. “I mean, looking back at it, it really kinda feels like we spent hours and hours down there, maybe even a whole day, but like… it doesn’t feel like anything changed? I don’t remember ever being hungry or anything.”

“Seemed pretty thirsty, though,” Mary commented freshly.

Rose looked at her. “Seriously?”

Mary gave her an innocent smile. Rose just kept staring at her.

“Maybe the way Dakota set the maze up, you guys didn’t feel hungry or sleepy or anything?” Nick hypothesized. “I wouldn’t put it past Dakota to arrange it so you guys didn’t need to do any natural bodily functions or anything.” Unfortunately, the host was missing, so he couldn’t ask her. He tried not to think about that.

“Yeah, like the bathroom,” Mary pointed out. “Wish I could say the same…” She let out a sigh. “I don’t even know how long I missed… being pregnant is wonderful, but the chronic bathroom trips I have to take really aren’t.”

Rose glanced at Mary’s exposed belly. She couldn’t see any signs of the baby yet, but she knew Mary would start showing any day now.

“Is ‘using the bathroom’ a nice euphemism for morning sickness?” Rose teased her. “What’s wrong, you know Nick would love you even if you were throwing up all the time.”

“That’s right, I would,” Nick said immediately, cutting off that line of attack from Rose. The mental damage she took from that was rather amusing, but she recovered quickly.

“I didn’t have to do that,” Mary insisted. “I can keep my food down!”

She turned to Nick. “Which reminds me, you don’t have to go to all this trouble!” She said. “I would love to cook us all some lunch if you would like!”

Nick shook his head. “Mary, you know I love your cooking, but this isn’t just about eating delicious food.” He took her by the hand. “You’re always doing so much for me. Is it so wrong to want you to be pampered for once, instead of constantly working to be an amazing wife?”

Mary’s face turned bright red. “We-well… when you put it like that…” she giggled, cradling her cheeks with her hands.

Now Rose felt like she was going to puke.

“We should get something with French cuisine!” She declared. “None of this ‘Texas Barbecue’ or whatever it is a hayseed like you would prefer, Mary!”

She didn’t mean what she was saying. But she wanted to goad Mary into another argument, so she went a little overboard. But it was either that, or sit back and watch them flirt with each other the whole time, and Rose didn’t come here to be the third wheel! (Of course, there was the third option of “interjecting yourself into the conversation without being a confrontational bitch about it” but that wasn’t Rose’s style.)

“I’m from Tennessee, Rose, not Texas,” Mary said dryly. “Do you even know all the states in the U.S. yet?”

Rose’s ears jerked stiff and she scowled. “W-well… is it really that important, anyway? What kind of food is Tennessee known for, then? Corn and… steak? And potatoes?”

Nick watched Rose flounder for a while with her poor grasp of fourth-grade geography, trying not to be too amused by her antics.

Mary just laughed.

“Rose… no,” she said, shaking her head. “Tennessee is famous for its hot chicken! And my mom makes the absolute best biscuits, they’re both fluffy and crunchy at the same time, with just the right amount of flakiness… haaah…”

She lost herself for a second there, and then shook her head. “Oh, but I can’t have anything too spicy,” she said. “Because of the baby.”

“Is that a thing?” Nick asked.

Mary shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances. Anyway! French cuisine would be just great, Rose!” She pressed her hands together and smiled. “I’d love it!”

Rose stared at her with her mouth hanging open. What the heck!? Why is she being so considerate of me!?

Every time Rose tried to one-up Mary, her rival countered by being just her loving, gentle self. Nick had to admit, it was fun to watch.

That’s sweet of you, Mary. Rose is having a really tough time of things, and you’re being nice to her, I get it. But… I don’t think that’s what she needs right now.

Soon enough, Rose would probably start to realize that Mary was being even more sweet to her than usual out of pity, and when that happened, things wouldn’t go well. Nick was confident that the last thing Rose wanted was pity from her rival.

But even knowing that… seeing how considerate and loving his wife could be to her rival reminded Nick of all the reasons he loved her. Even if he was worried about what was going on with Dakota, having Mary with him was definitely reassuring.

Fortunately, they were able to find a French restaurant that met Rose’s high expectations. But she didn’t have much of an appetite.

“You’re not eating?” Mary asked her. “Isn’t it good?”

“No, it’s fine,” Rose said, frowning. “It’s just… I’m really uncomfortable right now, that’s all.”

She looked behind her at her tail, which was squished up against her seat. “Getting used to this stupid thing.”

Nick winced. That would be pretty difficult to adapt to, he had to agree.

“Oh… I’m sorry you’re stuck with that,” Mary apologized.

Rose shot her a look. “You’re sorry? Why?” She demanded.

“Well, because… it must be pretty hard for you, right? Being an actress, and looking like a fox… wouldn’t that be tough?” Mary backtracked, trying not to upset Rose.

Rose stared at her for a while, and then sighed. “…Yeah, you’re right, it’s tough,” she conceded. “But I’m not going to let this dumb transformation get the better of me!”

She began to eat, her appetite returning. “Besides! That producer guy said that I’ll unlock transformation powers with this! And once that happens, I’ll be a better actress than ever before!” She said with a sly smirk, glancing over at Nick coyly.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said sincerely. “Don’t get me wrong, I think you look adorable like this, though.”

“Eh!?” Rose turned bright red. She almost choked on her food, but quickly washed it down with a glass of water. “W-well…”

“Nick’s right, you do look really cute,” Mary agreed, nodding. She smiled sweetly at Rose. “I think a fox really suits you!”

“And what’s that mean?” Rose asked, looking at her.

“Well, ask anyone on a farm, foxes are pretty sneaky and are always constantly breaking into henhouses and trying to eat chickens!” Mary pointed out. “Soooo…”

“Ah! So you think I’m a dirty thief, huh?” Rose twisted her mouth into an accusatory sneer. “Finally the real claws come out!”

Mary blinked. “…No?” She tilted her head to the side. “I just meant that they’re very clever and smart, Rose!”

She looked at the other girl with big, green eyes devoid of guile. “I would never insult you like that!” She insisted.

Rose felt goosebumps on her skin. “Seriously, you’re really starting to creep me out being nice like this,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s not like you at all!”

Mary’s smile immediately disappeared. “What, you don’t think I’m nice? I’m nicer than you are!”

Nick winced. This was getting bad. “Guys, wait-”

“Oh, I know what I’ll do!” Rose was all smiles again now that she’d managed to drag Mary down to her level. “Maybe when I learn my transformation power, I’ll use it to impersonate you! Wouldn’t that be a riot, seducing Nick while pretending to be you? And I’m such a great actress, he probably wouldn’t even notice the difference!” She crowed.

Nick flinched. He didn’t like that idea in the slightest. He quickly glanced over at Mary and saw… that she was smiling?

It was a strange kind of smile, too.

“Oh, really?” Mary leaned forward. “You think you could impersonate me, hmm? I’ll have you know, it’s not that easy. Nick would figure you out in a heartbeat. He knows my birthday, my favorite book, he even knows the name of my favorite cow on the farm growing up!” She turned and winked at him. “Right?”

Mary had told him about that once, way back when they were in school. The calf had been born when Mary was just a kid, and it was the first time she saw a newborn calf. What was her name, again?

“Let me guess, Bessie?” Rose interjected.

Oh, right, that was it.

Mary’s jaw dropped. “H-how did you-!?”

“You’re predictable, Mary,” Rose laughed. “Come on. Anyone could see you’re such a ‘Bessie’ kind of girl.”

“Rose, that’s a little…” Nick didn’t like that insinuation. She was being a lot meaner than he expected, and he didn’t think it was just because she’d had a bad day.

He was starting to regret this idea.

“Well… even if you DID use those illusion powers to copy my looks, what do you think that would say about you?” Mary challenged.

“Huh?!” Rose didn’t even get what she was saying.

“Wouldn’t that basically be like admitting that Nick would be more likely to sleep with you if you looked like me?” She pointed out.

Rose blinked. “…No, it would just be for fun. As a goof. We all know that Nick likes my body a lot more than he likes yours, right, Nick? I mean, sure, your boobs are pretty big now, but I’m the whole package, don’t you know?”

She stood up from her seat and struck a pose.

Nick sank into his seat in response. He just prayed that Mary wouldn’t take the bait. Remember why we’re here, Mary! This is about helping Rose feel better! Getting into a fight wouldn’t be…! But then he remembered what had slipped his mind. This wasn’t just about Rose. It was about Mary, too. And it wasn’t fair to Mary if Rose just kept sniping at her like this. So he opened his mouth to put a stop to it.

“Rose-”

“I think you’re quite a beautiful woman, Rose,” Mary said, standing up from her seat. “But I don’t see why we have to compete over who he likes more.”

“…Come again?” Rose looked like a computer that had just crashed.

“Nick loves us both for who we are, not just what we look like,” Mary pointed out, placing her hand over her sizable chest. “And that’s part of what I love about him! So… I don’t see a need to compete over something as silly as that. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh…”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom again.”

Before either of them could respond, Mary turned and headed for the restaurant bathroom. Which gave Nick some time to talk some sense into Rose.

“Rose, you’ve gotta stop picking fights with Mary,” Nick insisted. “This is supposed to be fun for all three of us!”

Rose barely even heard him. “Nick, are you seriously blind or something?”

“Huh?” Nick looked at her in confusion.

Rose turned back to look at him. “That’s not Mary!” She exclaimed. “That’s an imposter!”

“Huh!? An imposter?! Are you nuts?” Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Think about it! She’s been super nice to me all afternoon! Do you really think the real Mary would do something like that?” Rose demanded.

Nick stared at her. “…Yes.”

“She even was fine with letting me pick the restaurant!”

Nick nodded. “Because she wanted you to have your favorite food after such a long day.”

“I know! That’s weird! It’s like she’s taking pity on me or something!” Rose shivered. “She’s gotta be a fake!”

Nick realized the problem here. Rose was so convinced that she was above Mary that she couldn’t conceive of Mary actually pitying her. Geez. So much for his worries from earlier.

“Rose, Mary isn’t an imposter. She knew about the cow, remember? Believe me, I know my wife when I see her.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Anybody could know about some dumb cow! Even I guessed the cow’s name!” But she was a little more convinced that Nick was right, now. ...If she were the kind of woman who would admit she was wrong, anyway.

Nick thought that was kind of stretching it. “Trust me, I know Mary better than anyone. That’s her. I think you’re just talking crazy because you’ve had a long day.”

But Rose wasn’t going to give up so easily. She was going to prove to Nick that his real wife would never be so kind and generous to her rival like this! That was why she’d been going so hard on her today. To prove her suspicions were correct!

“Just you watch,” she said adamantly. “I’ll devise the perfect test! If Mary really is an imposter, I’ll prove it to you!”

…Well, Rose didn’t really think Mary was a fake. But she was too stubborn to back down now that she’d put the idea out there!