A Little Problem

Calla Lily hummed to herself, flipping a pancake as she toasted some bread in a separate pan.

She had not started out as an even remotely good cook. After days and days of burnt pizza and wilted daisy salads, she had finally given in and taken a cooking class. It helped her a little, and she was now good enough to make pizza, pancakes, salad, and toast as she learned how to cook, bit by bit.

She avoided the counter with her swelling belly, which was now definitely showing, as she leaned out the door.

"Anypony want toast?" she asked loudly. She expected Kid to say he wanted some, though whether he thought it was good or he was sticking to that habit of being nice to her about her food, she did not know. All she really cared about at the moment was nursing the colt back to health and keeping her own filly from being miscarried.

Brawny Hooves trotted towards the smell of toast and pancakes. Then he saw his beautiful wife cooking the things I just mentioned. Even with the bloated belly she was still as beautiful as ever.

It felt a little bit of a strain, though. Taking care of two foals at once. One of them was being carried, and the other was picky and stubborn. At least he was cute, and pretty cool. He did help out as much as he could. He was glad to bring him in after getting is flank crushed by that FBI agent.

"Mmm, toast. I sure am hungry. Kid, you hungry?" Brawny grabbed a plate of toast and got another for Kid. The little guy really should eat more. His bones could easily be crushed again, and he wasn't growing at all. At least he could give him shelter. That's always a start

When Kid smelled the usual delicious scent of food, he was nauseated. Not because he didn't like it, but because he was still overly full from the earlier meal. And the meal before that, and the meal before that, and the meal before that, and the meal before that. It took a quick few seconds after hearing "Anypony want toast?" and "Kid, you hungry?" before he realized the intended to feed him...again.

"N-no! I...i'm alright! not hungry, still full!" Kid called out in response to the questions, still feeling nauseated from the earlier idea of eating...again.

It's not that Kid didn't appreciate Lily and Brawny taking care of him, he just wished they would care a little less. Kid couldn't eat more than five times a week without vomiting. He would never admit it, but he would usually pretend to eat. (See? His con-artist skills come in handy for home life too!) Then sneak out and give it to somepony who looked hungry. Though he continued to get frequent looks from passers-by when they saw him handing out food.

Calla gave herself two pancakes and left the rest on the counter. She was eating a lot more these days, and she assumed it was due to the extra stomach inside of her.

"You are one hungry filly, aren't you?" she asked her belly, chuckling a bit. She sat next to Kid, eating quickly, neatly, and meticulously.

"Are you in any pain?" she asked the colt. The doctor had instructed her to ask Kid the question four times a day, and to give him a painkilling spell when he answered yes. "And don't try and hide it this time. At least the spell isn't morphine. There's nothing wrong with accepting help from those who are willing to give it."

Brawny Hooves grabbed his toast and two pancakes. He was feeling rather hungry today. He both was and wasn't surprised that Kid wouldn't eat. On one hoof, he couldn't really stomach much food. On the other hoof, he was very thin. He wondered why he was so malnourished.

Brawny sat at the table and started eating his breakfast, listening to Calla and Kid. Why did he have to be so stubborn sometimes? He looked over and joined the conversation.

"Calla's right, Kid. If you're in pain, you should let us know. Or if you're hungry, just say so. We're more than happy to help you out. You're a really cool colt."

Kid was still fully in pain, and he hated how Brawny and Lily tried to feed him pills. Kid always had troubles with taking them, usually ending in him choking and leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Once again, the amazing benefits of being an actor.

"I'm alright today, really! No pain!" Kid said smiling through the pain and brushing it off, making sure to not give any signs that he was in pain. Though if he were to be honest, he'd state that the pain was so horrid that he doesn't know why he's moving at all right now. "If you don't mind, I think I might go ahead and take a quick nap."

Kid began trotting away to his designated room when he felt the tears coming on from pain. The pain seemed to be getting more and more intense as the seconds passed. He began tearing up, but he refused to let Lily or Brawny see him crying. Speeding up his step, he got to his room quickly and shut the door.

"Kid!" Calla scolded. "The doctor said I can use spells, now. They don't taste bad, or anything. I know when you're lying, Mister! You do it so often I can tell when-"

Slam!

Calla sighed and looked defeated at the closed door.

"I don't know what to do with him, Brawny. I can't stand liars. He's driving me bonkers, but I can't turn an injured orphan out on the street, where he came from. The stress is killing me, though, Brawny, and if we're not careful..."

She looked wistfully down at her swollen tomach.

"...We can't risk her, Brawny. I just don't know what to do."

Brawny Hooves looked at Kid trot away into his room. He didn't look like he was in such tip-top shape as he claimed to be. He really worried for the poor guy. He'll get himself killed one day because he refuses to accept help. Brawny sighed, looked at Calla and kissed her.

"It's okay Calla. We can get through this. I'll see if I can't talk a bit of sense into him. Wish me luck." Brawny looked down to her swollen belly. "And good luck to you too, Nikki." Brawny knocked on Kid's door and slowly opened it.

"Little Man? You feeling alright?" Brawny sat next to Kid on his bed. He was lucky they had a spare room for him to sleep in. "Look Kid, I'm sorry if I said something wrong to you. It could be my fatherly instinct kicking in, or I see you as a friend, but, I hate seeing you beat yourself up like this. You don't have to go through this kind of crap. We can help you. All Calla has to do is cast a spell and boom, you feel better. She's a real genius." Brawny scooted closer and wrapped his arm around Kid's shoulders. "So, whaddya say, son? Er, uh... I-I mean..."

Brawny stuttered and blushed and glanced around at that last sentence. Could Kid really be considered his son? Kid was living in his house, and he loved him like his own flesh and blood.

"And Kid. Just know that you don't have to lie to us. If you need anything, we can help you. You're a good colt, and you could grow up to be a great stallion."

The past few months for Kid had been an emotional hell. Not because Brawny and Calla were rude and mean to him, but because it was exactly the opposite. The couple were too nice to him, and Kid didn't want to get attached. He was too scared that they might leave him alone, like everypony else did.

Looking over towards Brawny, Kid finally couldn't hold it in. He began crying and burrowing his head within his mane and a nearby pillow. He just couldn't look at Brawny as he bawled his eyes out. Unable to comprehend why either ponies of the couple liked him, or even tolerated him.

"I...i'm sorry..." Kid apologized as he continued to cry. Though the apology was muffled from the crying, mane and pillow.

Calla had a tough descision before her. She wasn't sure if she could do it, but there was no way she was going to kick Kid out of the house when Nikki was born. Brawny could barely take the fact that there was one foal on the way, but to abruptly have two might send both of them over the edge...

She was certain she could do it, though. There was no problem in that. She was both mentally and physically capable of taking care of two, but it was emotionally that she was worried...

She'd have to speak to Brawny in private about it. When they reached a descision, it would be time to speak to Kid. She genuinely liked the colt and his attitude.

"Hey, Kid," she said softly, appearing behind Brawny. She gently moved a bit closer and held the sobbing colt in the spots where she new there were no injuries. "It's okay. You have nothing to apologize for. You've done nothing wrong. You just need to relax for a little while. clear your head of foolish thoughts. You'll feel better, and if you need somepony to talk to, you've always got us, okay?"

Brawny Hooves gently brushed Kid's back. He wished he could help the poor guy. Then again, he did spend his life not getting help and living on his own. And from what he saw, he was pretty good at it. Aside from not eating very much. Maybe they should cut him a break from the smothering.

"We are here for you Kid. But, let us know if we're doing too much for you. We wanna help, yes, but we don't wanna put stress on you from it. I understand you've been very independent, and that's a good thing sometimes. But don't be afraid to ask us for something."

Brawny got up and looked at Calla and Kid. It felt like he was a father already. There was himself, his wife, and the foal he brought into his home, and he had another on the way. The idea of two foals seemed like a big deal, but he cared for the two way too much to let them go.

"Maybe we should give Kid a little private time. Let him sort himself out." Brawny opened the door and stopped in the doorway and turned back to them. "Just yell for us if you need something. Okay Little Man?"

"Al...alright..." Kid sniffled through the tears, looking up at the couple. He couldn't but think of what a mess of himself he was making, and how embarrassing that is.

What made things worse was how Lily had been looking at him, as though she was worried about something. Of course he usually got the look from her, but recently he had perceived it as a different than usual. Coming from the orphanage, he was used to that kind of look from adults. The look that stated "Should we get rid of him?" Of course there was the chance he could be wrong, but he had received that look so often before...and he was receiving it again... He should have expected it by now, but he couldn't help but hope that he was wrong...hope that he wouldn't be abandoned again...hope that he wouldn't have to face the world by himself...

"And...Lily...I guess I am a little in pain..." Kid whimpered in between the continued tears, as he looked up at her. "...if it's not any inconvenience...?"

Calla smiled, happy to help Kid in any way.

"Alright," she said, letting the spell wave over the colt. "It'll make you a little sleepy for about an hour, but it looks like you need the sleep. You probably haven't been getting enough shut-eye these days."

Calla followed Brawny out. Gently leading him to their bedroom, she shut and locked the door.

"Brawny, I wanted to talk to you about Kid. I was wondering..."

She lowered her voice to almost a whisper.

"...do you want to see if we can adopt him? Now, I know it's going to be difficult if we do, but... I can't just turn him out on the streets again. I like him. He's very intelligent for a colt, and she needs some guidence when we're not home."

She gently patted her belly.

"I want to ask what he wants to do, but I wanted to clear the desicion with you, first. The fact that he's not making any progress growth-wise is bothering me, and I do want to make sure he's okay, but... I do love him, like he's our son. I've grown attatched to him in these months."

((Do what you want, Kid, but this was where the thread was going, anyways))

Brawny Hooves looked at his wife. She wanted to keep him too? It would be a bit of extra pressure, but there are quite a few benefits, as Calla said.

"I'd like to have him in our family too. You sure we can take care of him and her, though? It would be great because she'd have an older brother to look up to. Or down, in this case. I guess we're agreed then. We'd both like him to officially be in our family. When he wakes up, we'll see what he thinks. Or do you want to surprise him?"

Brawny thought about having Kid into their family. He certainly would be doing a good deed doing this, and he kind of wanted a son. May not be his blood, but he considered him family. He was also curious why he wasn't growing, though.

"I'll ask him if he knows why he's not growing. I doubt he does, but it's worth a shot. Who would know Kid better than himself?"

Kid yawned a bit, stretching out his limbs as he grew more and more weary. He was about to take a nap when his eyes quickly shot open. He washed yet today! He already felt mucky and grimey from not showering. Getting off the bed and jumping up and down to reach the door handle, he found that he was locked in.

"...Lily...Brawny...am I in trouble...?" Kid asked wearily as he continued to jump for the handle of the door, missing a couple of times and turning it a few others. As well as have his mind rush through how they must be discussing how they were to abandon him..."I...i'm sorry if I angered you..."

"I think we should ask him," Calla responded, nodding. "I don't want to make it feel like we're forcing him to do anything. It really is his decision as to whether or not he wants to stay."

She got up and walked next to Brawny as the two went upstairs. She frowned at the shaking door and looked at the handle.

"Oops," she murmured, twisting the lock and opening the door to see Kid leaping up and down, trying to turn the handle.

"Sorry, Kid," she said. "I may have accidentally turned the lock when we left the room. What are you doing, jumping around like that?"

She stepped into the room, sitting on Kid's bed and beckoning for the two ponies to come sit with her.

"Kid, we need to talk to you."

Brawny Hooves sat next to Calla and motioned for Kid to sit next to them. This would be tough to discuss with him. But he might enjoy it. He seemed freaked out about it, though. Brawny knew he was whenever his parents said they needed to talk.

"Kid, we want to ask you something very important right now. We've been taking care of you for a while now. You've really grown on us. We're starting to love you as if you were our own son. So, we wanted to ask you if you would like to officially be a part of our family. I know it feels a little sudden, but we've really taken a liking to you. You're helpful, intelligent, amusing sometimes, cute, and I see you becoming a great pony someday. So, what do you say?"

Brawny opened his arms, as if he was waiting to receive a hug from Kid. He would have to eb very careful if he did. He might crush him. He wasn't called Brawny Hooves for nothing.

"Kid, we need to talk to you."

Hearing this, Kid's ears flattened immediately. He was terrified of what they were going to say next, and he didn't want to hear it. He (thought) he already knew what they were going to say.

"I...don't bother...I will pack up my things" Kid sighed, disappointed in himself for being able to con families...but being unable to actually join one."...I...I won't be gone any later than noon today..."

Kid had almost had everything packed up (although this wasn't that much of a feat as he pretty much already had everything in his knapsack.) When he heard:

"Kid, we want to ask you something very important right now. We've been taking care of you for a while now. You've really grown on us. We're starting to love you as if you were our own son. So, we wanted to ask you if you would like to officially be a part of our family. I know it feels a little sudden, but we've really taken a liking to you. You're helpful, intelligent, amusing sometimes, cute, and I see you becoming a great pony someday. So, what do you say?"

After hearing that, Kid's ears perked up, his eyes shone with life that was previously non-existent as he smiled in both surprise and excitement. Quickly dropping the knapsack down and running over to Brawny (despite the slight pain) He gave him a large hug.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! a thousand times yes!" Kid squeed as he hugged Brawny and Lily tightly, his eyes beginning to tear up with tears of happiness. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!"

Kid hadn't thought of what he was doing, he just...did it, and it felt...right. As though he was actually acting like a child. Though he tried his best to knock it off as quick as possible. Letting go of Brawny and Lily, backing up a tad, sitting down and looking up at Brawny and Lily with bright eyes. (And a flushed, blushing face) He tried to hide his excitement.

"I...er...mean...yes, I would very much like that idea..." Kid said as he blushed more and more intensely from his little outburst. "Th-that is, if you're sure you want to bother with having me around any longer..."

"please want to bother with me here, please want to bother with me here, please want to bother with me here." Kid repeated in his head as he awaited Brawny and Lily's response.

Calla smiled, actually feeling tears in her eyes at the colt's happy reaction.

"Well, we did just ask you the question, didn't we?" she said, rolling her eyes, but unable to keep an unhappy face. "Why would we ask if we didn't want to bother keeping you around?"

She loved the look on his face. She had never seen Kid so happy, and it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see him like this. she could almost feel her filly dancing for joy inside of her, as if she knew what had happened and who she would be seeing soon.

Brawny Hooves was hugged by a super excited Kid too quickly for him to hug back. Then he went back into his usual mode with independence and second thoughts. He still knew he would love to be a part of their family.

"Well, I guess the decision is final. We're all agreed." Brawny looked at Calla and kissed her, than gave Kid a little kiss on the forehead for a little comedic relief. Then he got up and looked at them. "What say we do something together? As a family?"

Brawny would admit, he was weary about the family idea at first. But, like when Calla announced she was pregnant, he freaked out, then he warmed up to it when Calla said he'd make a great father. The same was happening here with Kid.

"Love ya, Little Man. I mean, son."

"Sounds like a grand idea, father!" Kid smiled up to Brawny and Lily as he spoke in a posh voice. He then quickly realized something. "Though, you must pardon me for a fraction of time as I unpack my possessions and acquire a form of personal hygienics."

Kid then unpacked his old ratty knapsack, placing all his belongings where they belong. Including his toothbrush with the Brawny and Lily's, rather than having it on it's own. He then stepped into the shower and washed himself off, making sure he was squeaky clean, getting all the "grime" from his last shower off and out of his mane and tail. Once he was done that, he dried off and brushed his mane and tail. Ensuring both of them were long and straight with no dirt within them.

Trotting out of the washroom, he began looking for where Lily and Brawny went off to while he was gone.

"We do have to make it official," Calla reminded Brawny as they stood in the living room. "We'll have to head to City Hall and fill out a few forms, which shouldn't be hard, especially since there's nopony to contact in regards to his custody."

Calla frowned at Kid's mane as she found him. Now that it was official, it was time to ask what he wanted to do with it.

"You have incredibly long mane, Kid," she said. "Do you want to cut it, or do you want to keep it the way it is?"

She ran a hoof through her own mane, pulling out tangles and tying it at the bottom. I like his sense of personal hygeine, she noted as she looked over the small, clean colt. It made life so much easier.

Brawny Hooves felt derpy when he forgot that they would have to go through all of the legal stuff first. He was just so excited to have a foal that he forgot. Brawny trotted over to the two and looked at Kid's mane.

"I like the long mane thing. Pretty obvious that I do, hehe. It looks good on him. Might get in the way sometimes, but if it bothers him, we could have it cut. Otherwise, I think he can pull it off. Just like his old man."

Brawny trotted downstairs and waited outside for the two. He wanted to get this done ASAP, so he could have a son. He had no idea he would be this excited to have a foal. Maybe it was because he knew Kid fairly well already and already took a liking to him. Makes sense, right?

Kid instantly grabbed his Mane and tail and hugged it defensively. He wouldn't want to cut his hair off, not for anypony or anything in the world. It's what defined him and it's what comforted on his many lonely nights by himself. His hair to him was like his best friend, losing it would most likely send him into a depression. Kid didn't respond to the question, now paranoid for the safety of his hair.

"...wait...how will you two go about the documents any how...?" Kid asked his parents, tilting his head in confusion. "I mean...i'm not at an orphanage...so it's not like there are any documents of me..."