"Oh, this is wonderful, Mary! You've really captured Mister Fwuff's elegance!" a middle-aged blonde praise as her adoration fixates on the commissioned painting. It shows a Norwegian Forest cat looking into the distance with vibrant, smudgy tones.
"Of course, but it can't compare to the real royal himself, right?" Mary questions, grinning.
The blonde giggles. "True, but let's not downplay your art. I knew I chose right after seeing your work!"
"Appreciate it, love," Mary beams. "Since our business is settled, you're free to take the piece home. I hope your cat enjoys it."
"I'm sure he will! Also, um...I wasn't sure when to tell you this, but you seem to be leaking a little."
Mary stiffens, lowering her gaze to confirm her client's observations. Much to her horror, her chest is acting up again, lining the underside of the bra with breastmilk.
"Ah!" Mary squeaks, turning slightly away. "Th-this is...um..."
As the artist struggles to explain herself, her client hums reassuringly. "It's okay! New mother, I'm guessing?"
"Yes, I'm...no wait, that's not...well, I...I guess you can say that."
It's appropriate to say Mary's mind is in a bit of a mess. Unable to explain her predicament, she has no choice but to allow the misunderstanding.
What she thought was a minor side-effect after merging with Anne turned out to be more significant. Despite being separated from Anne, the past experiences of the slime and Amy have become more evident to her as if she were there. It's like everything shared when she was Marianne had to take time to find a permanent spot in her head.
That said, she can deal with new memories and knowledge. What she can't work with is her chest refusing to dry out!
And for this all to happen in front of a client, she can only tremble with shame. Luckily, the client is an actual mother, so she empathizes with the artist.
"Hey, it's alright! Even after pregnancy, it can still be volatile for us. I'd recommend buying nursing pads along with your usual nursing bra if you produce a lot."
Mary cringes internally while forcing a smile. "T-thanks for the advice! Here, let me first get you a bag to protect the painting."
Grabbing a protective film and bag from a drawer, Mary slides the framed painting and hands it off. She hides behind a professional smile, following the client out of the studio; however, as soon as the blonde is gone, the artist quickly locks the front and flips around the business sign to "Closed".
With a heavy breath, she slaps her forehead and groans, "Fuck."
The physical effects from the merge don't appear to be slowing anytime soon. Since Mary can't work leaking like this, she has to cancel her remaining schedule and visit Anne and Daniel to understand together.
On the bright side, she's learning many things about Daniel, especially in his younger days which he would never want her to know.
A mischievous smile grows on Mary's lips for a moment until she snorts, shaking her head.
'*Ah, but I can't tease him too much. I have to be easier on him now that I'm his...girlfriend?*'
That should be correct, but it also feels too early. In some ways, getting back together with Daniel should be considered a trial, especially when she has to share him with Anne.
On the other hand, she can't help but feel close to her artistic half thanks to Amy's perspective of raising him. Not to mention experiencing Anne's love for him, Mary feels overall happier.
'*I mean...this will just end up helping our relationship, right?*' she asks herself in an attempt to remain optimistic. After all, she wants this second chance with her fellow artist to work out more than ever.
The dark artist clings to that hope as she pulls out her phone and dials Daniel, her heart thumping faster than usual.
She clears her throat. "Hey there, love!"
...
"I'm...good. Listen, I've finished some work early, so I'd like to come over."
...
"Ahaha...well, maybe I am a little tired."
...
"Sounds exciting! Haa...Love you, Daniel. I'll be over in a bit, okay?"
...
As the call ends, Mary shivers and slides her hand across her cheek. She squeals. '*Aah! Is this what Anne feels like every day? I want to hold him and nurse-*'
She gasps and grasps her head. "G-get it together, Mary!"
Her shirt grows wetter as her chest dribbles to her heart beating. With a bite of her lips, she tugs her shirt below.
Perhaps the sharing of knowledge and memories is a problem too.
* * * * *
Rachel breathes a sigh of relief as she enters her familiar abode. She wants to do nothing but take a nap, but unfortunately, her phone buzzes. With an annoyed grunt, she pulls it from her bag.
Seeing the caller 'Lecia', she closes her eyes and exhales. She knows precisely what the Stonehenge organization leader is calling for.
*Click!*
"Hi Lecia."
...
"Yes, I talked with Daniel. He was...unconvinced. I don't blame him though."
...
Rachel frowns. "I'm sorry, but again, there was nothing...strange."
The astronomer hesitates, her mind clearer now that she's alone to think.
If she remembered correctly, didn't Amy say she would've had a sister called Anne at birth?
That can easily be a coincidence, so she doesn't think much of it; however, Anne did mention something notable in their back-and-forth discussion over the concept of reduced galaxies:
> "I might be mistaken, but wasn't NMT-5101 modeled similarly?"
> "NMT-what?"
> "Ah...I misspoke. Anyways..."
With so much to discuss, Rachel didn't think much of it then. Plus, she can't remember every designation. That said...
'*Strange, was that ever published?*' Rachel wonders, furrowing her brows. Surely she'd remember related galaxies that satisfy the hypothesis and mention them in her paper.
Lecia's voice returns her to the present, so the astronomer clears her throat. "No, like I said, there's nothing strange. He has a brilliant girlfriend, which was a surprise, but that's it."
...
"I understand why you're pressing, but please refrain from diving deep, okay? This is a personal matter."
...
"Thank you. I really hope something can be explained. Alright, bye."
As Rachel pulls down her phone, she stares at the living room in front of her and reminisces of the times she and Amy would talk similarly to tea.
She sighs, rubbing her temples. '*I feel like I'm going crazy.*'
* * * * *
"Mary, I missed you!"
Arriving at Daniel's studio, Anne glomps said female artist with glee. Mary takes it with ease, giggling with one eye shut as the slime rubs her cheek against her.
"Hehe! Calm down, love. It's only been a day!"
"It feels longer though since we shared so much together. Let me have this, damn it!"
Mary resigns and allows the slime mother to nuzzle against her shoulder. Her eyes lift to Daniel, and once more, her heart beats.
She shuffles a bit, meekly smiling. "Hey there, love. How are you?"
The care in her voice with her smooth British accent causes Daniel to blush. Quickly, he recovers and hides behind a grin. "G-good. It looks like you'll be stealing my mother away from me soon."
"Jealous, are we?" Mary forces a smile. She can feel Anne's hug causing her chest to leak a little, slowly dampening the pads she bought before coming.
'*Shit, I just tried to drain them earlier too!*'
She has to disclose her problem at some point, but she's too embarrassed to do so immediately, especially in front of Daniel.
Luckily, Anne lets go and huffs. "Speaking of, he cheated on us, Mary!"
Daniel sputters. "Hey, d-don't bring it up like that! I thought you understood!"
Anne harrumphs, feigning upset, but she can't hide some slight smirk. "Just because mama understands doesn't mean mama likes! You can explain it to Mary during our date tonight!"
Daniel and Mary go silent for a bit before their eyes widen. For the female artist, a million questions race in her mind.
First, she figures there's more to the situation as she knows Daniel isn't like that.
Second, date?! They're going out?
She stares at Daniel, but based on his expression, he isn't aware of such plans either. This is all decided by his slime mother just now!
"You heard me!" Anne reaffirms as she grins at their shock. "Since Mary has finished early, it's important that you two take the opportunity to rekindle your relationship on a high note."
Daniel swallows slowly and rubs his neck. "Mom, not that I disagree, but I don't think it's appropriate to go on a date out of the blue. Besides, you two merging was a pretty high note."
"E-exactly!" Mary nods, smiling crookedly. "I'm also not dressed for such an occasion!"
That's actually not Mary's real reason...
'*I can't go out a date when I'm leaking like this!*' Mary screams internally.
"Who says you have to dress up?" Anne frowns. "I'm not saying to go on some fine dining location. Besides..."
She turns to her son and narrows her eyes. "You haven't taken your dear mother on a date!"
'*Oh, um...*'
With no excuse other than too much happening with work, not to mention Anne herself, Daniel relents with raised hands. "Alright, I got it! Let's go on a date then. How's this going to work though?"
Mary widens her eyes incredulously. "Love, you can't be serious? Didn't you say there was important stuff to talk about?"
"And there is, but...well, if you're free, then we might as well take this chance to enjoy. I want to take my relationship with you and mom seriously, Mary."
Mary wriggles her lips, happy and yet worried. Shutting her eyes tightly for a bit, she grabs Anne's hand. "Um, Anne? Can we talk privately?"
The slime mother blinks before smiling warmly. "Of course!"
She turns to Daniel. "Give me and Mary a few minutes, sweetie. In the meantime, plan our date, okay? Mama will be judging you hard!"
Daniel already feels the pressure but remains confident. "Don't worry; it's not like I haven't done this before. I still need to know, are we going out as three...or two?"
"Hehe, I have some *different* ideas on that as far as me and Mary goes," Anne teases with a wink.
The female artist shivers as Anne squeezes her hand. Although she should be a little more reserved, Anne's words naturally pique her interest.
'*N-no, don't get distracted!*' she reminds herself.
Lest she allows her mind to wander into the gutter, Mary hurriedly pulls Anne into the bedroom. Once the door is shut, she turns to face the slime mother.
"Listen Anne, there's some issues!"
The slime girl cocks her head, humming. "Are you talking about your attire? Don't worry! If we merge, it won't matter anyways since we're about the same size. I can just wear something nice from my closet if you're concerned about-"
"I-I'm not talking about any sort of dress. I figure we'll combine again, which I'm excited to do, but...I should mention there have been some complications since last time."
Anne's eyes soften with concern. "How so?"
The female artist's gaze lowers as she reddens. "I'm...lactating."
The slime mother blinks a few times before her eyes widen. "Oh!"
The artist continues, keeping her voice low. "I can't be sure, but I think it might be my body reacting to the memories of pregnant Amy and nursing Daniel as a baby. Speaking of, the rest of your knowledge and memories have become clearer in my head. In the beginning, they were fuzzy after we separated, so I thought they'd just go away, but it doesn't seem that's the case."
Anne gasps and clasps her hands with the artist. "It's the same for me as well! It's like the memories takes time to settle, right?"
The artist hums. "It seems that way, but now I'm having weirder thoughts than I would normally have...not that I dislike it."
Anne remains silent before smiling sadly. "Do you regret us merging?"
"No, not at all, love!" Mary hurriedly replies, returning to stare Anne in the eyes. "I'm in awe of the beauty of the stars and galaxies Amy got to see! I want to paint them now! I also feel so much love for your son with the joy Amy had raising him; not to mention your own care for him."
Anne would be beating to hear such validation of her feelings if she had a heart. She has to hold back from wanting to hug the female artist like a sister.
So instead, she clears her throat. "Then, your only issue is just your chest, right?"
"Y-yes."
"Well...for now, there's no problem!" Anne chirps. "I'll wrap around you like before and keep you dry!"
"T-that's...I guess, but it won't solve-"
"Then maybe later, you can nurse Daniel! I won't mind if it's you."
Mary inhales sharply, her eyes swirling. With a slow swallow, her lips curl with temptation. "I...I don't think..."
"Hehe! You want to, don't you?"
Mary shuts her eyes. "H-how could I not? Y-you know me, don't you?"
"I *do* know you! You're usually more confident and daring. There's no reason to temper yourself for Daniel."
"I just...I want this to work out, that's all."
"From your memories of Daniel before you broke up compared to now, you should see from me that your boyfriend has changed a lot. He's a lot more open now."
"I think that's mostly because he has to deal with you."
Anne tilts her chin. "No need to thank me! But really, time away from you has also changed him. You both are more mature than before, so you can act your usual self!"
Mary slowly breathes out, then she closes her eyes and snorts. "Seriously, what have I gotten myself into?"
"Me."
"Yeah, that's my fault."
Anne's eyes narrow slyly. "Then with that said, let's not keep *our* boyfriend and son waiting, hm?"
*Splish!*
Mary gasps as she feels Anne's hand on one side, sliding around the top of her hand and sinking in. A rush fills her as she feels the slime mother's tiny envelopment once more.
"W-wait Anne, we should exit our clothes first. Also, we're not aligned at all."
The slime mother blinks before disconnecting with an embarrassed smile. "How silly of me! Alright, how do you want to do this?"