Taking on a New Life

by AmethystMare

Part Nine

Author's Note:

Adagio and Donnie hunt for a condo while she tries to figure out how her life with the siren is shaping up...

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Story © Amethyst Mare / Arian Mabe
Characters © respective owners

Taking on a New Life
Part Nine

Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)
Commissioned by Kittenrose232


Adagio wandered. She didn’t have anywhere to be, one evening, though she retreated just a little in her mind, allowing the siren to take the wheel. Strangely, it was relaxing to drift in another part of her mind that, to be fair to her, she had not even realised had existed before. How could she have, when there was so much that needed her attention in daily life? Not everything was automated, like breathing, and even sometimes that act itself became something that she had to think about.

But it was good to relax, a passenger in part in her own body. She could see more, experience more, all because she didn’t have to use up solely her own brainpower in the execution of that more. Without having two consciousnesses inside her, she didn’t even think that that would have been possible at all in any other way, but, truly, there was no way for her to tell.

That was just one thing that Adagio would have to trust in. That everything was okay, that things were as they were meant to be, which was, at the very least, something that she could not change.

What is this place?

Adagio glanced up, the siren directing her.

“It’s… Oh.”

Well, that was awkward. Maybe she should have focused on things a little more, where they were going. It would have made things a little easier, at the very least, to explain what they were doing in what could only be described as the red-light district. The theatre was open, advertising a burlesque show for later, and an adult toy shop was on the corner, along with other businesses offering very adult entertainment.

The part of Adagio that was still her “old” self, though she rather liked the new self that she was growing into too, blushed heavily. The heat of it crept across her cheeks and down her neck as she shuffled her feet awkwardly, the new shoes digging into her heels a little too hard to be comfortable.

“Er, well…”

Don’t you know.

“Of course, I know, but it’s not something I’ve really talked about…”

Is it a bad place?

Adagio winced, a nervous giggle breaking her lips. She’d never seen the siren so confused before!

“No… Depends who you ask. It’s the red-light district, where there are more, uh, sex-focused shops, people who work in…adult entertainment…”

Hah! And are you embarrassed by that? I didn’t know your kind were squeamish about that sort of thing!

“I’m not! I just didn’t think you were going to wander in here like it was a totally normal thing!”

Their relationship had developed, words flowing more easily between them, even though they kept some thoughts to themselves. They were almost more like sisters by that point, the siren teasing Adagio too easily for what was a normal, light embarrassment.

It’s strange to see your kind, humans, doing things like this. You’d think that they could find partners for this. And what is this?

She drew Adagio’s attention to the adult toy shop and lingerie store even as Adagio raised her hands and backed away, battling for control.

“Ohhh no, I’m not letting you drag me into there, no way, nuh-uh, not gonna happen.”

Oh, come on! Don’t be like that!

They bantered as Adagio managed to wrestle her back, though it was surely somewhere that, one day, they would return, more for personal reasons than anything else. They had no need of business there, of course, with the bar going as well as it was, Adagio’s interest flighty, searching for something to interest her, to keep her entertained. They’d done that a few times, sewing a seed of mischief here and here, all to draw chaos, though it was mostly all harmless mischief, nothing more than that.

Mostly. Not always. But they didn’t usually stick around for long enough to see what happened, whether it was instigating an argument in a restaurant or riling up the new waitress at the bar. Keeping her regulars happy was one thing but she still wasn’t ready to take any roughness off those that were there to cause trouble, fiercely defending her bar to the exclusion of all else. No one should have dared encroach on her territory, to take away those good tips from her, to mess with “her” staff, even if they were not really her staff.

Adagio sighed. She still didn’t know what to do about that. But there was only so much, to be fair, that she could do. At least, without escalating things further, which was, of course, something that could be considered.

Yet new and interesting things were shinier and more apt to catch her attention…

It was hard to tell who had the “wheel”, so to speak, as control of the outward body to their personality was passed back and forth between them so easily. It was better to play it like that, accepting that the two of them shared one body, rather than fighting back and forth, though there were some friendly battles too when Donnie was around. If someone was going to instigate more playful bickering between them, it really was going to be Donnie.

Donnie took them to see a condo, the two-floor duplex offering great space and management, all so that they would not have to worry about it themselves. It was strange to the siren to consider living with someone, though she mused with Adagio, mentally, that she had lived in close proximity to her siren sisters before too.

Not in the same room or cave, wherever we rested, but we were always near. We were not related.

Why did you call yourselves sisters then?

Are we not sisters too? It is the same thing, the type of relationship that we have now, to what I had then, with them.

But she couldn’t stay locked up in her own mind with the siren for too long, not as Donnie tried to draw her attention back, eyebrows raised at the price.

“Well, it would work, but we were looking for something maybe one-hundred lower a month when you look at the repayments. Do you have anything in that ballpark?”

The market must have been poor as the sales agent showing them around grew flustered, her movements short and jerky. Her black hair was cut too sharply around her cheekbones, though her face was round and cheerful, nothing about her or her estate agent outfit matching up in the right way. Adagio hadn’t even caught her name but, considering how many condos they were heading out to look at, taking their time to buy the perfect one together on a shared contract, it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

“Well, uh, we might be able to work something out there…”

While working out the details of at least one that the two of them would be able to add to the list, Donnie shot Adagio a sidelong look, winking. Her heart turned over in the best of ways, the strangest of ways, though to say that she was not falling would have been a lie, how her skin prickled and tingled, heat coursing through. Was she blushing?

You’re blushing, you’re blushing.

Will you cut that sing-song voice out?

Of course, the siren would not. It was too much fun to her to poke, well, fun, teasing and playing, more comfortable with her life now that the two of them had made their piece with each other. There was not much of a walk to the next block of condos, a maintained set with a garden, though the condo that was up for sale was in a bad location, with little access to the shared public areas that they’d want to make use of.

Adagio pursed her lips, flipping through a brochure, while Donnie backed off with a shake of his head.

“No, not for us, but thank you.”

“But sir! Maybe your girlfriend would like to look around first! You can’t just make the decision without going in!”

Adagio stiffened, but her lips parted for the lash of a whip even as Donnie swept his arm around her, hustling her away. There was heat in his cheeks too, but no time to shoot a sharp quip back at her while Donnie ushered her away.

“Hey, hey, hey, no need to get worked up now, it’s cute that they think we’re together! Isn’t it? Come on, Adagio, is that a smile I see? I think it is!”

His voice grew higher-pitched and her stormy expression softened, although the frantic beating of her heart could not be quelled so easily. Did he mean that? Mean what? Her thoughts pinged back and forth intermixed with the siren’s, though it was confusing and frustrating, two lines of thinking coming awkwardly up against one another in a moment when all the gears needed to be turning far more smoothly than they were.

Yet it was good and they could relax into that good, however it presented itself. It felt good, simply so, to have Donnie’s arm around her as Adagio relaxed a little into it, though she still huffed, puffing out her cheeks filled with air. She grunted and shook her head, arms folded across her chest, yet it was hard to hold the image for long with Donnie teasing her, poking her in the ribs.

That he was acting, to her, like something more than a friend… Adagio swallowed hard, unable to help the blush from rising further, pulling at the tips of her ears. She hadn’t had a blush like that on her since she had been Knight and she wasn’t so sure that she liked that part of the feeling anymore.

The end of summer and warmer weather was nearly all gone as they moved into the later span of Autumn, the colder months rising, bundling them up. It had more people than ever hustling into Adagio’s bar to seek comfort in warming alcohol, though they still had not found a condo that they liked. It was the biggest purchase that either of them would have made, even together, in their lives and needed due consideration, something that was a binding commitment between them.

But what she did not expect was for Thanksgiving to rush up on them so quickly. And, with that, came a whole new set of added complications for someone who was coming up to a whole year (give or take a short few months) of living in one body with two consciousnesses.

“So…” Donnie broke the silence as they sat at Adagio’s kitchen table pouring over condo paperwork, choices for them, prices that would or would not work for them. “I was thinking, I’m not going home for Thanksgiving this year, but I’m going to join a few friends for it. Everyone’s welcome to bring a plus one, so would you like to come with me?”

Adagio pretended to consider the question, pursing her lips and rocking her chair back onto two legs, the old wood creaking. That was one more thing that would need to be replaced when they moved into the condo, eventually. Though they were, most likely, coming up on a good choice, settled with a financial advisor too, though Adagio would not admit that she had scared off the first one with her hard-headed attitude. It was just the way she was.

“Sure, sounds good!”

Her chirpy tone was pushed forward by the siren and she rolled her eyes inwardly.

I had it in hand…

You let it linger too long. You’ve got to jump in while there’s a chance, not leave the opening drag on and on and on and on!

The siren’s complaints clashed with Adagio, yet it was merely a conflict in personalities, one more thing that they would have to work out. Yet if they were sisters, that sort of thing was only to be expected, forced into closer contact with each other than sisters or anyone else ever should have been. Sometimes, Adagio wondered if she was ever going to get used to it.

Donnie’s smile, however… It was a wonder that she hadn’t officially made a move on him yet, though it was not something that, quite honestly, she had ever had to do as Knight. Sure, there had been a couple of relationships and some flirting, but that was the extent of it. No one had made her tingle inside like Donnie did, her heart fluttering and butterflying, teasing back and forth, all restlessly so.

What about you? She asked the siren, floating in the back of her mind, keeping one ear on proceedings so that nothing slipped by her attention. Have you ever had anything like this?

Like what? A relationship? Nothing like what is in your world, what is here. There were only female sirens, though there were some ponies that wanted our attention in other ways too. Sometimes we stayed with them for a while, but there were no attachments.

And does this feel different to you?

The truth was told in the siren’s hesitation, the silence stretching out.

I… I think so.

Either way, it did not matter with Adagio there to ensure things remained on an even keel, that she did not take advantage of Donnie when he meant so much to her. Their relationship may not have been following a normal path in the usual sense of things, but there was nothing normal about Adagio’s life, not after her transformation. So, it made sense for things to, well, be just a little bit different.

She made sure she dressed nicely for Thanksgiving dinner, though lamented openly to Donnie when he drove her there that she was not able to help with cooking.

“I want to make a good impression with your friends! What if they don’t like me because I didn’t bring a side dish?”

Chuckling, he poked her shoulder, the spot that his finger touched leaving a warm span even after the digit had left her proximity.

“Oh, give it up – no one is going to think that! I didn’t bring anything either, I can’t cook, but I can help with the washing up with you too afterwards, we’ll do our bit. I’m sure you’re going to get on with everyone so well.”

Since when had he been such a cheerleader for her? It seemed that nothing that she did could look wrong in his eyes, though she was careful to keep any manner of the siren’s mischief from leaking through to that side of the relationship. Maybe a few more innocent pranks could slip through the net later on, but, well, it was better if she didn’t allow the siren to tease too much. Who even knew how the siren would behave after even more than a single drink?

Is that why you haven’t let me have anything to drink? I thought you were just a prude.

That’s not how the word is used…

But they were there, the car pulling up, and it was time for Adagio to tease down her impatience, her easily rising frustration, to remember to put on a face. It may have been unfamiliar territory but, damn it, she was going to ace it just like she did for everything else! Besides, if nothing else, it was good to have an entire day off from the bar, not to think, not to do, not even to work out and train at the dojo.

“Hi, everyone!”

The house was a bustle of activity – ten people, including Adagio. Donnie introduced her to everyone, but it was such a whirlwind of activity that she hardly remembered their names, struggling to match everything and everyone up with so much uncharted territory ahead of her. But one stood out to her, one person whose name she could not possibly forget when she was right there in front of her after so much time apart.

“Aria?”

The other woman blinked, her hair purple with blue streaks, tied back in pigtails that pointed back from her head a little more, in a fashion that was more adult than how Adagio had last seen her. She was as slim as Adagio with a violet tint to her skin – variations in skin shade being normal in their world – her eyes bored and cast off to the side as if she was not really all that interested in what was going on.

“Adagio?”

Ah, so she had finally met another of the sirens, the sirens who should not, truly, have existed in a world. Equestrian magic, however, had leaked through and there was no taking that back as the siren took the wheel quite firmly, letting things move on, meeting everyone. It was the siren who took care of the names while Adagio pestered them, both of them Adagio in that moment and no one, all at once.

What’s going on? Who is see?

In answer, the siren showed her a memory of Aria from a school that she had briefly attended, all in an attempt to sow chaos. The sirens singing, howling out their melody – though the memory cut off before it played out in its entirety.

That purple siren was here? Wow… Adagio considered that, half in reality and half in her mind. She’s beautiful, was and still is. What are you going to do now that you guys have found each other again?

She felt rather than heard the siren’s sigh.

I don’t know. This isn’t something that anyone, least of all us, could have planned for.

They didn’t have much of a chance to talk then, not with everything happening so quickly, and she was someone else’s plus one – a woman with long, blonde hair and a look in her eye that seemed to say something more than her words did. There was too much there for Adagio and the siren to keep track of all at once, trying to help with the food, being a good guest, though working in the bar helped a lot. The others appeared more than a little impressed at her ability to carry three plates at once on each arm, let alone her ability to carry multiple glasses at once without spilling a drop – sans tray!

“Wow, how do you do that?”

Adagio grinned, flicking her hair back over her shoulder, cocky at the best of times.

“It’s a skill. In my bar, things are so hectic that there’s no time to do things one thing at a time. You’ve got to be up to multitask!”

Her words could have been encouraging but they came out in a way that set her apart, the woman – Athina, the siren added in her head – backing off with a small frown.

“Oh… Well, haha, I don’t think I’d be cut out for that kind of work.”

“What do you do?”

“Oh, I’m an office admin. Nothing all that interesting really.”

Not interesting at all, the siren agreed with her, Adagio’s attention flicking away, as wayward as ever. She wanted new, she wanted interesting, and it was just a little bit boring there when there was no chaos to sow. Her fingers itched to be in charge – maybe cooking was something that she could do? Everyone seemed to love the host, praising her, praising her food, conversation flowing more easily for the sake of it being passed over hot, steaming bowls and plates of freshly prepared deliciousness.

Still, Aria was there and she was able to touch base with her, if only a little. They had to be cautious, however, considering that no one else knew who they really were, that they were not the people that they pretended to be. Even if Adagio had thrown herself whole-heartedly into a new life, an existence that had given her so very much to hope for, to cling to, to find a new passion in.

“So, you work in a bar, do you?”

Aria asked the question casually, as if she was interested, a forkful of meat dangling near her mouth.

“Yes, the best in town.” Adagio grinned, commanding everything as both Adagio and the siren, both together. “I’ll give you the address later, you should swing by some time.”

Oh, it’s so difficult giving covert orders… Are you sure we have to be so discreet?

The siren begged her to be a little more lenient but if anyone knew how far or not she could go it was Adagio. She had lived in that life and world for so much longer than the siren, as much as the hippocampus type creature within her chewed and champed at the bit, desperate to take things forward. Yet all good things could come in time, Adagio told her, exchanging contact details with Aria so that the two of them could talk properly at another time.

“Sounds good, boss,” Aria said, using the old term without thinking. “I’ll be sure to swing by.”

At least she understood what the order was.

You order her around?

Well, you’re used to chains of command too from the military. In a way, this is the same. At least in a way that I can liken it to your experiences.

No one, thankfully, batted an eye at Aria saying such a thing – maybe it had slipped into her vernacular a little more even without being around her other siren sisters?

Donnie, however, knew how to command her attention more than she could command others, soft and gentle, lurking a hair’s breadth under the surface. His knee brushed hers under the table and she did not move it away, catching her breath, heart pounding, leaping into her throat. It would have been easier to stop things between them than it ever would have been to continue it – but that was the exciting part, even to the siren.

This tiny touch, this moment… Even the siren was in awe, patient and still, simply waiting. You never know what is going to happen after it.

That’s what makes it the exciting part. I think. I don’t know. You say that like I’ve done this before!

The touch could not be held, however, the alcohol touching them lightly, good food helping conversation flow more easily between them. It was a weird way of looking at things, though Adagio was more than careful to not overindulge. After all, she had the siren to think of too and losing control over her body when her limits were exceeded was not something that she wanted to enjoy too much of, especially when Donnie was around. Considering that they were his friends there, she still wanted to make something of a good impression, doing all she could.

The evening, however, came to a close, softly and awkwardly, as if no one knew how to say goodbye. Although she had the names of Donnie’s friends catalogued in her mind, logged against each of their faces, a connection with them was not something that Adagio felt that she had made, shaking her head in the crisp autumn air, dry, brown leaves clinging to the trees.

“Do you think we’ll find a condo soon?” She asked, though it was a question, truly, that one might have asked a lover or a partner – someone that they were committed to. “It’s taking so long… We’ve got the finances sorted now though, right?”

That it was unconventional, clearly, had not passed Donnie’s notice either, making an odd, gurgling noise in the back of his throat and stirring the toe of his shoe through the dirt. The sidewalk was fresh and clean, the dinner having taken them a little way out of the main body of the city, to the outskirts where the suburbs were vaster and more expansive. No one could really tell whether property was more expensive in the city or out of it, as everyone got something different for the same value when trying to compare the two, but Adagio could not imagine living out there full time. There was too much hustle and bustle in the city to lure her in, to call the edge of chaos to her mind again and again, as much as she tried to tame that instinct.

Maybe it was as much a part of her to simply thrive in madness as the siren was. And Adagio was not inclined to change that, of course. It was the way of things and, really, what did she think could have ever come of her old life? No, that time was long gone, her time serving behind her, the man that she had been a fond but distant memory.

Time to live in the present.

Adagio smiled.

She would not dare, however, looking at his hand, their attention turning to condos again as they eased back into the car. She did not yet drive, which the siren thought was strange, and was already nagging her to get her license, all so that she could have a vehicle in a city with excellent public transport links.

It’s a symbol of freedom. I should know what that is.

But Adagio wasn’t listening to her, drawing them both back gently to reality, to what was there before their eyes. The white lines on the road blinked by, Adagio tucked in on the passenger side, a blanket thrown over her.

“I’m sorry the heating isn’t working in here anymore,” he lamented, fiddling with the dials again as if that alone would get things working. “I keep meaning to get time to fix it but, well… You know how things are.”

“Do you do much work with cars?”

Donnie grinned, the white flash of his smile brightening his face.

“Not much, but my brother did. He taught me a bit, heh… Anything I can’t do I can ask him about. I really should get it fixed, I don’t want you to be cold.”

Adagio chuckled, brushing a curl of russet hair back from her face. It was particularly springy and lively that day, just the way she liked it.

“You don’t have to worry about that, I doubt I’ll be in the car that much. But the condos… What about the one on Southside Avenue?”

Donnie’s brow furrowed.

“The one that was near the top floor? I thought you wanted somewhere with a garden.”

“Yeah…”

But not really. What she’d wanted was a tiny connection to the outside, to a more natural world that better suited the siren, even if the business of the city was perfect for her. The condo had been high up, giving them a viewpoint that made them feel as if they were looking out over their own personal domain.

“Let’s go back and see that one tomorrow. Do you think we can get in after you finish work?”

Of course, she knew that that was ever so slightly manipulative, but in a way that made her giggle and her toes curl more than anything truly wicked. He warmed to her, words gushing forth, yes, oh, yes – he would find a way to make it work. It was the first condo that she had shown any true interest in afterwards, even though it did not have that shared link to that natural world, a small smile pulling at her lips.

“Close to your work, close to mine… And other places too if we move on. It’s worth checking out again, though the interior needed some work.”

I have some ideas for that.

Chuckling quietly to herself, Adagio shushed her. It was still difficult to keep up two conversations at once, one inside her head and one outside.

Yeah, I’m sure. But if that’s the one we’ll see once we’re in there, hey?

For there was something stronger between her and Donnie than Adagio could have ever realised, blossoming and growing sweetly with the tender touch of Equestrian magic. Not in a bad way, of course, but sometimes fate itself required a little push, beyond what they were able to do for themselves.

The quiet of the road rolled by under them, Donnie’s older car rattling a little, humming a little, but not making too much noise. The peace of it all sank into Adagio, feeling safer than she ever had before, even the siren quietly present, as if the world around them had suddenly ceased to exist.

That’s a dark thought.

Adagio’s eyelids drooped.

Not in a bad way. Just in a way…that this moment is enough.

And sometimes that was all that a moment needed to be, sleepy warmth sinking into her limbs, dragging her down. With Donnie, she didn’t need to put on a mask, even though she still wanted to be her best self, yawning softly, safe and sound. Was there anything more that anyone in the world could have asked for?

Down and down and down, streetlights flickering by, heading back to the city. Neither of them had drunk much and yet it was him who kept her safe, eyes on the road, though his gaze flicked to her occasionally, caught by the siren.

He likes you.

Adagio murmured softly.

You think?

It may have been a given, though she was going to have to say something at some point, when things could not remaining quietly as they were forever. The hunt for a condo was, perhaps, ending after their time finding out what they liked – and what the siren liked was the expansive park nearby that particular condo, the one with a lake.

Perhaps there, she could feel a little like her old self again, just the same as Adagio allowed parted of the man, Knight, to linger, to meld and weave with her new personality. In a way, it was personal growth. But it was a kind of growth that the two of them, irrevocably, would have to undertake together.

Donnie’s fingers brushed the back of her hand, only vaguely noted in the arms of sleep.

Yet the drive rolled on, taking them back to the city, their new lives together stretching out ahead.