FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Keith led his father to the counselor's office and sat down in the anteroom while his father started asking the secretary any questions he could. The young Vulpix saw his sister and best friend through the blinds of the window that looked into counselor Ferber's personal office. The two of them were sitting very close to each other, heads together with Zane's arm around Kira.

Zane glanced over and saw Mr. Sune just outside at the welcome desk; the Electrike's eyes went wide and he looked like he gasped a little, which got Kira's attention as well. Her reaction was similar to her boyfriend's. Then both of their heads drooped as they returned their attention to the currently-hidden miss Ferber. That's odd, Keith thought, they're scared of dad. Why would they both be scared of him? The Espeon came to sit down next to him at that point; he decided to not relate what he saw.

It was a fairly long time before that door opened and the motherly Golduck led the two young teens back out into the waiting area. They both looked a little shell-shocked, Zane with his arm still around Kira. Keith's father only had one thing on his mind, though, swooping in to hug his daughter, inadvertently removing Zane's arm completely, leaving the Electrike to stand awkwardly to the side.

"You scared me when I got home and you weren't there, Kira..."

"S-sorry daddy..." she apologized so quietly Keith could hardly hear her. "I love you..."

The kid never says that first unless they think they're in deep trouble... Keith thought.

Their father broke the hug and took a good look at his daughter, a bit worried but trying to be as comforting as possible. "I love you too, Kira. What... what's wrong, goldie?"

Kira's face screwed up a bit - probably more from what's wrong than from her old pet nickname. His sister was obviously conflicted thinking of how to answer, but Mr. Sune was patient. Finally, after several tense moments of silence, Miss Ferber finally spoke up for the young Vulpix.

"Kira believes she's pregnant, Howard."

"She - what??" He looked in circuits between her, Kira, and Zane - the Electrike flinching each time the Espeon's gaze fell to him, even though Mr. Sune was just in disbelief at the moment, no accusation in his eyes.

Miss Ferber calmly continued "She hadn't used pills correctly when she had unprotected sex about a month ago. Her period hasn't come, and she came up positive on a test she took earlier today."

All three teens were watching the Espeon to see his reaction, but he was simply stunned into silence as he stared at the counselor.

"I've talked to her about all the possible options," the Golduck continued, "but I advise you get a doctor to confirm first. You may want to leave the issue alone until then, too, but your daughter will need your support either way." With that, she effectively excused herself, walking over to her secretary to deal with paperwork.

The other four just stood in silence, staring at each other for an uncomfortable several moments. Finally Keith cleared his throat and asked "So, um... home?"

Mr. Sune coughed before straightening up and nodding. "Come on, Zane, I'll take you home too." It was said without any discernible inflection.

He strode out of the room, leaving the three young teens to shuffle out after him, Kira quickly finding her way under Zane's arm again. The ride to Zane's house was uncomfortably silent, the three kids leaning against each other in the back row, Kira sniffling in the middle.

They stopped in front of the McKenzie's house and Mr. Sune put the car in 'park' but didn't say anything.

Finally, Zane gulped and unwound his arm from around Kira to open the door. She looked after him with puppy-dog eyes as he slowly slid out of the car, which got his attention as he began closing the door. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned back into the care and embraced her tightly. She hugged back with even more force, not wanting Zane to leave. Finally, Keith patted her on the shoulder, signaling her to let go.

When the car door closed, Keith took over holding his sister. Mr. Sune waited until Marcus, Zane's older Manectric brother, opened the door to let the young Electrike inside. Only once the house's front door closed did he start the car in motion again.

The ride back to the Sunes' house was similarly silent. When the garage door closed behind them, it seemed like Mr. Sune was going to say something, but after a few failed attempts he just sighed and got out of the car. Keith and Kira soon followed.

They got inside to see their father already stewing in a chair at the kitchen table. Keith felt Kira stop and wait for the Espeon to say something - _any_thing, just to give some direction to the situation. Even though he was also feeling a bit 'in the lurch' from their father's silence, Keith finally decided that it was maybe best for them to retreat to their rooms, and he started leading his sister that way. They made it halfway through the den, before -

"Kira, a quick word."

Keith felt his sister start shaking against him. They turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

From the look he got, Keith guess that his father was expecting (or at least wanting) it to be a one-on-one talk with Kira, but Keith wordlessly made it clear he was there for support his sister desperately needed. He knew his father wasn't "the bad guy" here, but Kira seemed too fragile right now to take chances. The gold-furred Vulpix just stood next to her brother, hugging his arm while looking straight at her father's face with watering eyes.

Mr. Sune sighed, accepting his son's presence, and started in.

"Kira, I... huh I love you, you know that. But I'm incredibly... disappointed right now. I still think you're too young to have started having sex, but I'm disappointed that you didn't take proper care of yourself and that you lied to me. Disappointed and scared."

Kira gave the slightest of gasps at that last remark, drawing Keith's attention (which had been on their father). She was looking at him now with interest instead of just staring and accepting admonition - but the Espeon didn't elaborate as he looked away.

"I... I know your counselor said she told you all of your options. I know what I think I want for you. But... ultimately, it's your body." He looked back to her. "I definitely want to talk to you about this... situation, but take some time to think about it for yourself. Let all of this absorb." He stood up at that point and took a few steps toward his office. "In the meantime, I'm going to schedule a doctor's appointment for you, probably a week or two from now. So I guess you should decide before then." He crossed over to the door of his office. "I got a few tasks from my meeting earlier today that I'm going to work on; you two should get to homework. Dinner will be normal time."

With that, he dismissed himself, leaving the twins standing in the kitchen. After a moment, Kira finally sighed, flatly saying "Right, then, homework..."

As they walked back to their bedrooms, Keith asked "Are... are you gonna be okay?"

"I... I think so," she answered slowly as they stopped in front of Keith's door. "I just - I need the time to think, I guess."

"Right, right. Maybe you should call Zane now, talk to him. Dunno how much you two talked with Miss Ferber but you were silent since."

"Umm... could you call him maybe?"

"Wait, me? Why? What can I say to him?"

"I - I dunno..." Kira said as she paced forward to her door. "Just talk to him for me, please?"

"Kira -"

And the door to her room shut behind her. Keith gave an exasperated sigh as he walked into his room and flopped onto his lower bunk. Despite being absolutely clueless about what he was supposed to do, he flipped out his cell phone.

---

"Shit, bro; mom's gonna absolutely flip out."

"No, ah - ! Well, not if she doesn't knoooow..."

"You really think you can keep a pregnant girlfriend hidden?"

"Well, there's a possibility that this gets, um... 'solved' before she has to find out."

"'Solv-' You want Kira to get an abortion??"

"I don't know! I just want her to be safe!" Zane barked back, almost angrily. "Her doing that would mean I could get away with basically no consequences, but..." He sighed and shook his head. "I need to talk to her, if her dad lets me once he's done with her, find out what our plan is. I'll tell mom if it's necessary. ...You won't tell, will you?" He look apprehensively across the coffee table at his older brother.

Marcus shifted uncomfortably for a moment from his position sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, then solemnly shook his head. "Of course not, bro, your 'secret' is safe with me. Though I think you're forgetting one thing."

"W-what?"

"What if Mr. Sune tells mom?"

"....OOHH DAM-...."

A guitar riff sounded, muffled by couch cushions; Zane arched over in his seat and fetched his phone as it had apparently slipped out of his pocket. "It's Keith!" he said at first glance, and then the phone was to his ear.

"Keith! Hi!"

"Hi Zane. You doing okay?"

"Eh, still kinda reeling. But what's going on over there?? Why isn't Kira the one calling??"

"Dad hasn't killed her, if that's what you're worried about. She's just... staying in her room at the moment. Taking time to think for herself, I guess. I'm not entirely sure what she wanted me to talk about, but she deflected the phone call to me."

"So, wait... did your dad just not say anything?"

"He didn't say much, but he did have a few words. Kira's got a week or two to decide what she wants to do with "her body" as he said it, and he's getting her a doctor's appointment."

"...So she's off the hook?"

"I wouldn't say she's off the hook; I get the impression dad's still got a lot more to say. He's just letting everything settle first."

"Well, I guess that's good. Oh, Keith, in that case, could I, um, ask a favor?"

"...Really?" The question was matched by Marcus in a similar flat tone.

"Aaahhh... Well, if he wants to kill me , then I guess it's pointless asking..."

He heard Keith sigh from the other end. "Well, I wouldn't say he wants to kill you, either. Or, I'm not sure. He hasn't really acknowledged that you exist since dropping you off. I guess then that there's no harm in asking what you were thinking. No promises, though."

"Gotcha. Well, um... since he's given Kira time to think about it, can you ask him to not mention anything about it to my mom? I want to tell her myself, but only if I need to..."

Oh, for cryi-! How have I suddenly become the emissary for everyone?? Alright, fine, whatever, I'll ask him if a good opportunity arises when he seems like he *might* listen."

"Thanks, Keith, I appreciate it, I really do. Sorry to be dragging you into this; I promise that if your dad gets on speaking terms with me then I won't bother you anymore."

"...Well, thanks, but I won't hold you to it. I bet it'd be a weird nine months if it comes to actually being nine months."

"Yeah, I guess... Well, I should probably let you go. Give Kira a hug for me, will you?"

"Thank you so much for asking for a hug and not a kiss."

That got a low guffaw from the Electrike. "Yeah, I'd prefer to deliver that in person."

"Deliver whatnow?" Marcus interjected with a smirk, but Zane ignored him.

"Right, right. Well, talk to ya later."

"Okay, bye." He closed his phone, then stood up and stretched. "So you said mom's out grocery shopping?"

"Yup," Marcus answered, also standing up. "She decided she wanted to try making 'beef and broccoli casserole'."

"She... ...what."

"My thoughts exactly. She also wanted me to make sure you got started on your homework, so get your virile little ass on it already, mkay?"

Zane rolled his eyes and gave his older brother a silly shove as he headed back to his room. He spent more time staring at his phone than filling out his lab report, though.

---

"Hey, Zane?"

"Hi Kira! What's up?" the Electrike asked as fished a few books out of his locker.

She was holding her books in front of her timidly as she leaned against the lockers adjacent to Zane's. "...I was just in the counselor's office. They called me in to answer a few questions. About... you know."

Zane shut his locker slowly. "Oh... They didn't badger you, did they?"

"No, no," she said, shaking her head, "they just wanted to know if I'd made any decisions yet. I... I think I have, but I told them I hadn't, because I have to talk about this with daddy and go see the doctor. ...And I kinda wanted to talk to you before I talked to him."

"Me? Really?"

"Well, it's your potential kid, too," she answered meekly, adding "and I honestly really want to go through this with you, since... since you mean a lot to me..."

Zane smiled meekly, touched, and made an uncertain step toward the golden Vulpix - uncertain because, while the two had been inseparable that hour or two after she had come to him with the news, there had been an odd distance between them in the week or two since then. She read his movement, though, and closed the distance. The two of them embraced, giving Zane a feeling of warmth more than just the natural heat of his fire-type girlfriend. He had missed this.

The sound of students walking past brought him back, though, and with a surprised 'oh!' he broke the hug, instead putting his hands on Kira's shoulders. "I - I'd love to talk, but we don't have the time now... I gotta catch my bus!"

"...Actually, daddy's at an all-day conference, so I was wondering if you could ride home on the bus with me... (and Keith...) We could talk on the ride back or just at my house, and... I'd really like it if you were there when I talked to daddy."

Zane balked a little bit, imagining what the Mr. Sune's reaction might be if the Espeon came home to see Zane waiting for him - but the look on Kira's face as she hung on waiting for his answer won out. He wrapped one arm around the Vulpix's shoulders, turning her around as they started walking toward the busses. "Sure thing."

As they walked out of the school, with other students still around them, Kira just started talking about her Home Ec. class, making Zane smile at just having another piece of normalcy return. They climbed onto the bug and didn't see Keith already on board, so they slipped into one of the front row seats together. Keith got on the bus while the other two were having a good laugh about some of the things said in the money management discussion Kira's class had. The other Vulpix gave the two of them a funny look and teased them about sitting in the front section of the bus, but slipped into the seat just behind them and joined their conversation as the bus started driving.

Zane called his mom as they got off the bus on the Sunes' block, letting her know he was at Kira and Keith's place, and probably would be for a while. He hung up as the three of them got inside the house and followed as Kira sat down somewhat heavily on the couch - they were no longer out in public, so it was time to start talking. The Electrike slid onto the couch next to her and put an arm over her shoulders again. She let herself lean against him as her brother hovered along the border between the living room and the kitchen, sensing something was up.

After a few moment of silence, Zane finally asked "So... what were you thinking?"

Kira sighed deeply before fishing for her words. "I... Well, I can't... I can't be a mom, Zane. And I'm guessing you don't want to be a dad. Not yet; we're way too young. It'd be more likely that my dad ends up taking care of the kid more than I do, anyway. Or maybe your mom helps, I don't know... Either way, it just doesn't feel right - and the alternative is me spending less time in school, which..."

"...isn't really an option."

"I wasn't going to say it that way, but... yes. I can't keep this kid."

They were silent for a moment, only interrupted when they heard the microwave in the kitchen start up as Keith made himself a snack.

Finally, Zane spoke up again. "So, okay, no going through with it. Have you... thought about the 'easy' way out? Or has 'this kid' -"

"That was the first thing I had considered, when we came home after the first time in Ms. Ferber's office," she said, cutting him off. "But -" she paused, hands crossing over her navel - "th-the more I thought about it, the more I realized - I c-can't..." She looked up to his face, her eyes scared and pleading. "I can't abort this baby...!"

Zane just gave a comforting smile and nodded. "Of course..."

Kira couldn't keep eye contact after that and looked down, starting to sniffle. "M-maybe if I had found out s-sooner... But I'm already over six weeks in! I mean, isn't it halfway through the first trimester that they stop calling it an embryo and start calling it a foetus?"

"Oh, I have no idea..."

"I just - ! ...I just can't help but already picturing that it already has a noticeable foxish muzzle, small paws, and a tail already..." She stopped there, the sides of her mouth scrumpling up and her eyes starting to water.

The picture of a tiny, half-formed Vulpix flashed in Zane's mind as well. "Shhh, it's okay..." he cooed, wrapping an arm around his golden Vulpix, her head resting against his neck. She took in, then let out, a shuddering breath as some tears fell, but that was all, She then wrapped both arms around him and gave a little squeeze, letting her head droop down against his chest. He squeezed back, in the meantime noticing a tantalizing smell coming from the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keith come into view in the kitchen/living-room door. The smell was coming from the not one, but three bowls the red Vulpix was balancing, each with a freshly warmed brownie topped with a scoop of ice cream.

Zane was sure Kira could smell the brownies, too, but decided to continue with the conversation as Keith slowly walked to the coffee table with the treats. "So, abortion's out of the question. By far. But keeping it still is, too, right?"

She nodded against his chest. "I think... I think going to the adoption agency down at the Family Services Center on Kendall Boulevard would be best. Someone else will see this as a gift..." At that point she straightened back up and looked to the two bowls now sitting on the table.

"Rocky Road, your favorite," Keith said, explaining the scoop on her brownie from his awkward position halfway retreated to the kitchen again (he was unsure whether to sit with his sister and friend or leave them be). The other bowl on the table had a scoop of vanilla for Zane, while the bowl in Keith's hands had strawberry-peach.

Kira gave an appreciative sigh and smile, saying "Thank you, Keith" as she reached to pick up her bowl. Before starting into it, though, she bumped her hips into Zane's, signaling for him to scoot over and bit so they could make room on the couch for her brother.

Kira ate her snack slowly, so she was only half-done when both Keith and Zane set their empty bowls back on the table, with Zane speaking up after a moment.

"So, there are a lot of different types of adoption, right? Have you thought about how you want to go about it?"

Kira gave a contemplative "Mmm..." as she worked on the bit of brownie in her mouth, then nodded and swallowed. "I have, a little bit. I don't want to just... leave the kid to the agency. I hope that they'll help us find a good couple and then leave most of the arrangements up to us. I think I'm okay with not knowing anything about the kid - not being told the gender, not getting updates from the adoptive parents - but I want to know that the kid is going to a good family."

"That's fair."

"You don't want to know anything about your kid?" Keith asked, slightly baffled.

Kira shook her head. "I'm not supposed to have gotten pregnant, and if this kid makes some family happy... It's just simpler that way. So yeah, I'm okay with being kept in the dark, having the official birth records sealed away, keeping communications as closed as possible once it all goes through... ...Of course, that's if you're okay with not knowing or connecting, Zane."

"Oh, wait, me??" Zane asked, honestly taken off-guard at having part of the decision process tossed back to him. "Well, I, uh - I'd have to think about it. I... honestly have chosen to not think about this past week or two, since I was thinking the choice was yours to make. I didn't want to get an interfering opinion of my own. ...How long until we need to make a solid decision?"

"Oh, I don't know," Kira said, scooping some more ice cream from her bowl. "Not until the adoption agency finds us some adoptive parents at the earliest, I would think. And if we want to be hopeful, it could be the couple we talk to is willing to be flexible, to deal with some teenage indecision."

She chuckled weakly at her own use of the stereotype, which Zane found himself doing as well - if only because he was realizing how appropriate it was, what with how he was feeling at the whole prospect. Not quite scared, but definitely confused and feeling like there was some massive abyss he and Kira were entering. That considered...

"Kira?" he probed.

"Yeah?"

"...It's okay if I tell my mom all about this, right?"

The look that first flashed across the Vulpix's face showed she definitely wasn't 'okay' with the idea, though she gathered herself up quickly and considered her answer. "I... I'm not sure if that's... a good idea..."

"Oh, come on, Kira," Keith interjected. "You know how much Ms. McKenzie likes you, you're almost the daughter she never had. Some other couple might be able to pull secrecy off, but do you really think Zane'll be able to keep a pregnant girlfriend hidden?"

"That's exactly what Marcus said," Zane said as Kira was forced to reconsider. The Electrike then added "And, I was thinking... Well, if you're going through with this pregnancy, it might -" he gulped, "it might be nice to have someone who's been pregnant before to help lead you through it..." He finished with an apologetic look on his face; like he was with his own father, he knew the Sune twins had a fairly healthy relationship with the fact of growing up without a mother - but it wasn't fun to be reminded.

He could tell it was affecting both of them - not much, but a little bit, enough to be read on their faces. Keith spoke up next.

"That... sounds like a really good idea, Zane. Right, Kira?"

She sighed, and took another moment before answering "...yeah. You're right, it would be really nice to have her on board." She looked up and actually smiled then. "I'd definitely like to be able to talk with someone about what all's going on with my body now. I mean, I love you guys, but while I can talk to you about girl stuff, I can't really talk with you about it."

"Can - can I try?" Zane asked, trying to be as helpful a boyfriend as he could be.

Kira became animated at the opportunity, waving her hands as she rapidly said "Okay, something like, ah - oh I know, like how these past three of four days, my boobs have been really sensitive for whatever reason! I mean, I'm sure that whenever daddy gets me that doctor's appointment I can ask the doctor, but it'd be so much better to talk in a friendly environment than in a chilly examination room, right?"

Zane's ears reddened immediately at the mention of 'boobs', while Keith started snickering.

"What boobs?" the red Vulpix teased.

Kira spun in her seat and punched her brother in the shoulder. "See? That's exactly what I was talking about earlier!" But she was laughing all the while, which caught on to the other two. It was nice to just poke fun at something a little bit.

After their chuckling died down a bit, Zane asked "Wait, your dad hasn't scheduled a checkup yet?"

Kira shrugged. "If he has, he hasn't told me when it is. I know he wanted for me to come talk to him about what I wanted to do, so maybe he'll look into it later tonight?"

The conversation fell flat immediately after that, as they had seemingly covered all they wanted to talk about. Kira finished her snack before finally asking "homework?"

The two boys shrugged, then went to go grab their backpacks.

They studied for an hour or two before turning on the TV and flipping to an early Wildfire game. Around the fourth inning or so, Keith was up getting drinks when he announced "Dad's home."

Kira's hand found Zane's quickly as she took a deep, steadying breath. He gave her paw a comforting squeeze and readied himself for helping her have the talk with her father.