“Aria, baby, why are you so nervous?”
Aria looked up from her trembling hands for the first time since they sat down in the waiting room. Nervous was putting it rather mildly, as Aria felt like she might just throw up. It was then that she wished she hadn't declined Sunset’s offer to accompany them.
“I think a better question might be ‘how are you so calm’, babe,” said Aria, burying her face in her palms. “We're gonna be parents soon. I don't know the first thing about raising a kid.”
“You've read the books with me,” said Sonata. “I'm sure we'll be fine. You're smart, I'm sure you can figure anything out if you try.”
“But… But what if our kid is a piece of crap?” asked Aria. “What if our kid grows up to be a bully or a bum or a serial killer?”
“We'll love them through it.” Sonata set down her Motherhood magazine and turned to face her wife, who clearly wasn’t handling things well. Sweaty, shaky, sickly. Sonata hasn't seen Aria look this bad since the wedding.
“Lindsay,” said Sonata. Aria stopped being nervous for a second, instead looking confused. “For the baby. We need to call her something, don’t we?”
“Yeah. Uh… Lindsay, huh?” Aria thought on it for a second. “I dunno. Sounds too privileged. Lindsay is kinda…”
“Bougie?”
“Yeah. What else you got?”
“Hm… How about Alexis?” tried Sonata. Aria didn’t mind Alexis, but something did bother her just a little. She remembered an Alexis that she used to feud with several decades ago, in high school. Their hate for one another was palpable, ultimately reaching an apex when Alexis stole Aria’s girlfriend at the time (Alexis didn’t even like girls, it was purely out of spite) and Aria subsequently beat her senseless.
Suffice it to say, Aria wasn’t fond of the name.
“What’s with the girl names?” asked Aria. “What if we have a boy? I want a son.” Sonata grinned. She had successfully distracted Aria, who was now too into the conversation to be nervous about anything.
“Okay, then. You come up with some boy names, then,” challenged Sonata. Aria hardly had to think.
“Bryce.”
“Quarterback, huh?” Sonata gave a little laugh. “Let’s keep this going. Melina.”
“Brian.”
“Sasha.”
“Barry.”
“Alright, switch it up,” said Sonata. “I’ll give a boy’s name, you give a girl’s. Steven.”
“Bethany.”
“Okay, what’s up with all the ‘b’ names?” asked Sonata. Aria blushed slightly, immediately looking everywhere but at Sonata’s face.
“Do you promise not to laugh?” asked Aria. Sonata nodded. “Okay… I keep picking names that start with ‘b’ because they sound like superhero names.” Sonata tilted her head, profusely confused. “Okay, so Stan Lee had problems coming up with and remembering character names, so he made them alliterative.”
“Oh! That’s why it’s Peter Parker, Doctor Doom, Jessica Jones and stuff,” said Sonata. “That makes sense. Okay, let’s get some more ‘b’ names, then. For a girl, I say we should go with Bellatrix.”
“Bellatrix? Like, Lestrange? From Harry Potter?”
“Aw, crap, I didn’t think you knew…”
“I like it. Bellatrix Blaze,” said Aria with a grin. “Plus, we could shorten it to Trixie, if we really wanted to. That’s nice. I miss that arrogant jerk.”
“Same. So, we need a boy name, huh?” Sonata was at a loss. For some reason, she just knew that her baby was a girl. She blamed it on mother’s intuition. Although she would prefer a girl, she didn’t mind the idea of a son. She just figured she could connect better with a girl than a boy. That seemed like something that Aria would be good at.
“I really like Blake. That sounds so classy,” said Aria. “Sounds like a guy who reads in the back of class while all the girls swoon around him.”
“Blake Blaze,” said Sonata. “I like that. Flows off the tongue really good.”
“Mrs. Blaze, the doctor will see you now!” called the receptionist. Aria stood up and gently grasped Sonata’s hand. She helped her wife to her feet, taking extra care to keep her upright. Sonata waved her away, assuring Aria that she could manage. With one hand on her large, rounded belly and the other wrapped around Aria’s hand, Sonata set off to the examination room.
“Okay, everything’s looking good,” said the doctor, setting the ultrasound from Sonata’s stomach. “Perfectly normal and healthy, though I do recommend you put on a bit of weight. You’re absolutely tiny, Mrs. Blaze.”
“I know, I know,” sighed Sonata. “So… The baby is okay?”
“Just as I said, everything is perfectly typical.” The doctor chuckled nervously, grabbing his clipboard to look it over one last time. “Well, as typical as can be given your… unique situation. Mind you, I don’t judge, it’s just… They don’t teach you this sort of thing in med school.”
“Told you, Ari,” said Sonata. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Aria, a small smile on her face. “I’ll try to worry less when you’re not carrying my child. In the meantime, I’m fussing as much as possible.”
“It’s always better to care too much, rather than not enough,” agreed the doctor. “So, who’s up for knowing?” Sonata and Aria looked to each other, each waiting for the other to speak up first.
“It’s your call, babe,” said Aria. “I think we should know, but I won’t fight you for it.” She rubbed Sonata’s stomach gently. “What do you think?”
Sonata placed her hand on top of Aria’s and smiled warmly. It was moments like this where she found herself looking back over everything that happened over her life. She want from a magical Siren in Equestria to an evil pop singer on Earth to a housewife and now… A mother-to-be.
“Okay, doc,” said Sonata. “Are we having a boy or a girl?”
“Good call, you want to know this,” said the doctor. “You’re having…”
The doctor seemed to be some sort of suspense sadist, because he held the silence for a moment. Aria and Sonata were on the edge of their seats, their hearts pounding in their throats. Sonata silently begged for a daughter, while Aria hoped for the exact opposite.
“A boy,” said the doctor. Aria jumped up, punching the sky.
“Yes!” cheered Aria. “Blake! Oh, we’re having a boy, Sony, do you—”
“And a girl,” finished the doctor, a mischievous grin on his face. His smile grew wider the longer the stunned silence persisted. “That’s right, ladies. You’re having twins.”
Aria and Sonata stared at each other, mouths agape. This was a bit more than either of them had anticipated. Slowly, their shock changed to joy, and their dropped jaws morphed into grins.
“You know what this means, right?” asked Aria.
“Yup,” said Sonata. “Blake Blaze and Bellatrix Blaze, Super Twins!”