Ephemeral Affairs [MXM]

General Hospital

"W—why are you here?" Nien acts more surprised than I am.

I explain with short breaths, "Grandmama is not feeling well and I couldn't find you or Fiona or Claire."

The doctor and nurses come to my aid and take Grandmama for attentive care.

Nien takes off hers and Fiona's coats to cover Arabret and I.

"Claire, look after them while Fiona and I will go back to check on the rest," Nien says sternly.

"Take my coat, Prince Nien," Claire blushes and offers her coat.

Nien smiles and leaves with Fiona.

Claire takes us to a room with clean towels and a water pipe.

"Clean yourself up, Queen," Claire snorts and then leaves.

I dry, wash, and then dry Arabret and Asahi again to make sure they're clean. Arabret especially hates my tedious process.

They fall right back to sleep when I deem them clean.

It has been a while since I wash myself and I realize how small my balls have become. My breast are large, my waist is narrow, and my hips are wide.

My body has become womanly.

I remember my younger days with a decent sex drive and now it's almost nonexistent. My hormones must be going crazy.

For the boys, I cover them with towels, but what can I do for myself?

My clothes are wet even before I wash them, so I use Fiona's coat. It is more of my current build than Nien's. I place our wet clothes in Nien's coat.

I relax after something so dutiful, so early in the morning. I couldn't allow myself to sleep, but I would like to pretend I am.

When the door cracks a little, I stand up immediately.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," the head doctor smiles. "The elder you brought in is resting in the other room. Would you like to meet her?"

"Yes, please," I pick Asahi with my left and Arabret with my right.

"Let me help you," the doctor takes Arabret. "Are they both your children? They look nothing like you."

I pick out Nien's coat with my now free hand, and he giggles as we leave the laundry room.

"This little one is mine, that one is the child of my husband's friend," I answer.

"Oh." Then he changes the subject, "When I saw you this morning, I thought to myself: How can this skinny woman carry a chubby elder and two kids?"

I don't know how to reply to his comment so I leave him hanging.

We walk in silence the rest of the way.

Grandmama lies on a bed among others in the big room divided only by white curtains. I sit on a chair beside Grandmama and pull a chair next to me for Arabret.

The doctor sits the asleep toddler next to me before informing me of Grandmama's condition.

"It's just the common cold," he begins. "She should be fine with a lot of rest in a warm place and fresh food."

"Thank you," I say even though I know it's going to be hard to get a lot of rest in a warm place and fresh food when Nien is building her fortress with a fixed budget.

"So what's your name?" He asks casually.

"Pardon?"

"Your name—Oh," he catches himself. "I wasn't being creepy, I needed to know your name to put who to bill the cost to."