Chapter Text
It was almost three in the morning. She knew this because of the clock on the bedside table beside her, it was the only thing illuminating the dark room. The high-quality blackout curtains allowed her a peaceful night's sleep, and they always opened slowly from seven in the morning onwards to gently wake the owners, all controlled by a device.
But thinking about this ingenuity didn't ease Kira's mind, not even Yumeko's hands gently stroking her back were helping as she sat on the edge of the bed. It only helped her not feel alone in this.
They were just practice contractions, as she'd been told, just a way to experiment before the real pain hit. This made it even more worrying for her, because if she was holding back tears over this, she didn't want to imagine how terrible it would be when the moment arrived.
Actually, she knew; she'd been through this before. The thing is, she was playing the other role, twice, she was the one stroking Yumeko's back to ease the pain she often felt during rest.
She was always so affectionate, more than usual, with her wife in these moments. She offered sweet words of comfort that put Yumeko at ease, and she always gave her a gentle smile.
It was her turn with Yumeko doing the same, she just gritted her teeth, holding back her anger and the urge to cry at feeling this way. It wasn't as if she hated everything she was doing, far from it, she loved her wife's touch. However, everything was so uncomfortable that the touches seemed to burn her not Yumeko's, never hers, but everything irritated her, causing a terrible hysteria.
“I’m already fine.” She said after a long sigh, making Yumeko stop her movements.
Another yawn escaped Yumeko, another one she'd tried to hold back for the two hours they'd been at it. When she was pregnant with their middle child and they'd been at it until five in the morning, Kira had ended up laying her head on Yumeko's shoulder and falling asleep.
Even though she had witnessed this experience twice, it seemed that the time she decided to experience it firsthand, everything was worse than planned.
“Okay, let’s go to bed, dear.” Yumeko spoke so calmly, helping her back to bed.
So she did, laying down on the only option that still managed to get somewhat comfortable.
In the first trimester, when it was Yumeko's turn, she didn't mind holding her wife's hair every time while she kept her face buried in the toilet due to morning sickness.
When it was her turn, it seemed like she was eliminating every organ in her day after day, the whole situation looked so bad from her point of view that she believed her wife was faking it when she got up from the floor looking good.
In the second trimester, it was so incredible to touch Yumeko's belly and feel the baby kick. Or how incredible it was when they found out about Aiko, their first daughter, and then son Mikhail.
But when it was her turn, the kicks were unbearable, and the sensation of a baby moving inside her was frightening. In fact, they didn't even know what was coming this time, not that it was that important, but the baby seemed to have her personality and tried to defy her, hiding so as not to reveal itself, and there was still no name.
The third trimester was scary both times. Besides taking a course to learn how to care for babies, they also did yoga to make things easier for the arrival. Yumeko was radiant the whole time, but of course, that shattered when the moment arrived. She had also stopped working to be by her wife's side.
Finally, that phase arrived. In their first yoga classes, they were reprimanded for making the other pregnant women uncomfortable with their complaints. Yumeko didn't go with her, as she hated being rude to her wife, nor did Riri, as her sister cared too much. So, it was Mary, with all her bad humor, who sat behind her, helping her with the exercises. They were both kicked out of the class.
She also stopped working earlier than she intended.
It's like she lost a bet.
She was always awakened by the light streaming through her bedroom window, but to her surprise, when she woke up, everything was still dark, as if the time hadn't changed. Looking at the clock next to her, she discovered it was after 10.
I already imagined it was her wife's job to turn off the device so she could get more rest. She never criticizes the things Yumeko does.
Getting up was already a difficult task so when she sat on the bed, it took her a few minutes to stand up.
Her children's laughter delighted her greatly. Kira listened to it as she walked down the hallway downstairs, where she knew exactly where it came from.
Still unseen, Kira was leaning against the doorway of the playroom, watching her children enjoy some game she was trying to understand.
All he could understand was that his wife was lying in a crooked circle made of cards, holding a headless bear. While Mika threw petals at Yumeko, Aiko held a Japanese children's storybook and read in the same language.
“Are you ready?” the girl asked.
“Yeah.” The smaller boy just nodded.
“Ready for what?” Kira asked curiously.
The three of them immediately stared at her, it was as if they were the same gazes.
“Hi love, our children are performing a ritual.”
“Ritual?!” Her eyes widened at this.
“Yes, Mommy, come help.” Sweet Aiko said with a smile.
Little Mikhail had already abandoned his post to run to Kira. He had just turned three and still understood little of what was happening around him, but ever since Kira's belly began to show, he had always held out his arms for her to carry. In recent weeks, she had been having to refuse, but this time, with the look in his eyes, she swallowed her exhaustion and all her pain to help him.
“Hey, don’t do that.”
Yumeko quickly stood up, interrupting the entire ritual so she could take Mika from her wife's arms.
“It’s okay, he’s not even that heavy.” She lied, because even Yumeko was already complaining about the weight.
Mikhail clung to Yumeko and laid his head on her shoulder to simply watch their mothers interact.
“Did you have breakfast? I’m sorry I couldn’t join you, I’m stuck in a ritual.”
If Kira was going to complain about anything, she completely forgot, she just laughed at how Yumeko was so busy participating in every activity her children wanted to do. There was a scar on her arm from an arrow.
Tired of waiting, Aiko appeared among them holding her mothers' hands.
“Come on, come on.”
"We're going." Yumeko approached Kira for a quick peck, as much as Aiko's tugging would allow. "Let's go, beautiful."
She placed Mika on the floor and sat back down in the circle that had been set up again.
Kira was still standing in the same spot, watching the three interact as she always did. She would never allow anything to ruin the perfect image of her family. When they got married, they both wanted a family big enough so no one would have to be alone.