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Saun
Author of 45 Stories |
Her eyes alive with tenderness, Michiru looked across the
room. It was mid-afternoon and Haruka lay on the bed with Kakeru
on her shoulder. She was gently caressing his tiny head. The
baby was curled against his father's shoulder. His tiny rosebud
lips were moving in a soft sucking motion. The new mother moved
closer.
Michiru's heart swelled as she gazed at her beautiful wife
and their tiny son. She was torn between going for her sketch pad
and surrendering to the urge to join them. Just then Haruka's teal
eyes slit open and she reached out her hand. Michiru took it in
her own.
Michiru eased onto the bed and scooted closer to her mate.
Haruka transferred the baby into his mother's arms. She then wrapped
her long body around Michiru and pulled her wife back against her
chest. From her position behind her lover, Haruka undid the buttons
on Michiru's shirt. It was actually her shirt since Haruka's broader
shoulders made her shirts the perfect size for accommodating
Michiru's swollen breasts. Michiru gave a little gasp as one of her
milk heavy mounds was gently lifted free of the fabric. Kakeru was
awake now. His blue-green eyes gazing up into his parents' loving
faces. Michiru maneuvered his tiny head until his small mouth closed
on her nipple. Kakeru began to suckle strongly. She cradled her son's
head and leaned back against Haruka.
"He's so perfect," she whispered. The baby's hands lifted and
pushed against her breast as he nursed. Haruka smiled and leaned
forward breathing deeply of Michiru's hair. She planted a soft kiss
at her wife's temple.
"Yes, he is," she murmured, her mouth still next to Michiru's
ear. Michiru switched breasts, holding the baby closer. Haruka leaned
her cheek against Michiru's shoulder and watched their son eat. Soon
the nursing became a bit stronger and Michiru looked down to find
that he had gone to sleep. She slipped a finger into the corner of
the still sucking mouth and broke the suction. Michiru navigated the
baby so that she could pull her shirt closed.
"Babies need a lot of sleep," she said softly.
Haruka smiled. "So do new mothers." She reached for the spit
up rag on the night stand and lifted the baby over her shoulder, rubbing
his tiny back. A short time later she was rewarded with a small burp.
"I'm not tired," Michiru said and looked into Haruka's eyes.
For a moment they were lost in each other's gaze thinking about how their
lives had changed. Haruka gently returned their son to his mother's arms.
"Haruka," Michiru whispered thickly.
"Yes?" Haruka's hand was lightly rubbing Michiru's side.
"This is all I ever wanted, you, our family, this moment," she
whispered. Haruka had been thinking much the same thing. They lived here
with their best friend and daughter and now they had a son. Michiru's
eyes flitted back to the baby and fussed with the little blue blanket.
"I wonder if we can have another one?"
Haruka's eyes went wide.
"Nani?"
"I mean maybe we can have another one... someday."
"Maybe we can try again in a year or two..." Haruka said from
behind her head as her eyes stared slightly unfocused. "You need to
let your body recover first."
Michiru kept her head down to hide her smile. "Who said it had
to be me."
Haruka sweat-dropped.
They heard the front door open and Haruka, grateful for the
distraction, rose to fix Hotaru her afternoon snack. She met their
daughter half way down the hall.
"Haruka-papa, how's the baby?" Hotaru was careful to keep
her tone low.
Haruka placed a paternal hand on her daughter's head.
"He's sleeping."
"Can I see him?"
Haruka laughed at Hotaru's excitement. "Sure"
Hotaru ran into the bedroom where her Mama lay propped against
the headboard. Michiru's eyes were closed and she cradled the baby to
her chest. Michiru heard her daughter's approach and opened her eyes as
Hotaru climbed in beside her.
"Hi, sweetheart."
"Hi, Michiru-mama"
"Hi, Kakeru," Hotaru whispered as she lightly stroked his
downy hair. She planted a kiss on his wrinkled little brow. She
gently stroked the baby's curled fist and the little fingers opened.
Haruka came to the door of the bedroom. "Hime-chan, your
snack is ready."
Michiru settled back in the pillows. Her neck was aching and
she couldn't get comfortable. Haruka came in and took Kakeru. "I'll
put him in his crib, so you can get some sleep."
Michiru smiled, relieved. She kissed the baby and then Haruka.
The blonde disappeared from view and Michiru rolled on her side to
get some much-needed sleep.
A few hours later she awoke. She knew it was evening. Haruka
must have let her sleep. Fatigue had hit Michiru hard. It was
disconcerting for someone with as much to do as she had to be this
worn out. She rolled out of bed, her aching body protesting, and
headed for the bathroom. Michiru threw off her shirt, turned on the
shower, and stepped under the warm stream. She took her time,
enjoying shampooing her hair and using her scented body wash. When
she finished she stepped out, wrapped in a towel, and cleaned off a
section of the foggy mirror.
She examined herself critically. Her stomach was going
down in size, but she still looked six months pregnant. She
groaned to herself and headed for the bedroom. She stole another
of Haruka's shirts and a pair of adjustable black maternity
slacks. Michiru still couldn't fit into any of her old clothes.
Very soon she would find a baby-sitter and take up running with
her wife. It would give them time alone together to bond
and also help her get some of this weight off. She headed
downstairs.
"Shimatta!" Haruka's irritated tone echoed throughout
the living room.
"Haruka! Don't swear in front of the children," Michiru
scolded as she headed toward the kitchen.
"Michiru." Haruka looked up surprised. The blonde sat
in the middle of the floor surrounded by pieces of playpen. Kakeru
was asleep in his baby swing. Hotaru was crawling on the floor,
looking for something. Setsuna looked up from the paper work she
was busy with on the couch.
"Your dinner is in the fridge." She stood up and
followed Michiru into the kitchen. "Sit down, I'll get it for you."
The violinist smiled. "It's all right; I can do it myself."
Setsuna ignored her protests and quickly set a spot for
her at the table. "Here's water. You're supposed to keep your
fluids up. And here is your vitamin."
Michiru laughed and took her pill, drinking deeply of
the water and feeling it refresh her. She picked up her chopsticks
and started eating. Before she had gotten two bites, a thin
cry came from the living room; Michiru's breasts instantly
filled with milk. She set her utensils down and headed for
the baby.
He stopped crying the minute he saw his mother,
knowing that dinner was soon to follow. She scooped him up and
opened her shirt, placing a nipple in her son's mouth.
Haruka was crawling on the floor with Hotaru. They
seemed to still be searching for something
"Haruka, what are you doing?" Michiru asked,
curiosity getting the better of her.
"Trying to find this piece," Haruka sighed, holding
up instructions for the baby furniture she was trying to put
together. "And if I can't find it soon, I swear I'm going
to use duct tape." She ran a hand through her short hair and
blew at her bangs.
"Haruka-papa! I found it!" Hotaru appeared from
underneath a chair.
Michiru smiled and shook her head. She sat down
on the couch, with the baby in her arms, using her finger
to hold her breast away from the baby's face, so he could
nurse freely and still breathe. There was a wonderful
contentment at being able to watch her lover's strong hands,
working on the furniture. Haruka's back muscles flexed under
the white T-shirt she wore.
Setsuna brought Michiru's dinner from the
kitchen and offered the elegant aqua haired woman a glass
of water with a straw in it. Michiru gratefully drank
while still nursing Kakeru.
Haruka started getting ready for bed at ten.
Michiru was already resting. She wore a clean, loose
fitting white sleeveless gown. The bodice had a row of
buttons down the front so she could breast feed with ease.
Haruka came out of the bathroom after her shower and pulled
on a pair of royal blue pajamas. She picked up her book and
read a couple of pages, before checking the baby monitor and
switching off the light.
Around midnight, a soft cry came over the
monitor. Michiru rolled to face Haruka.
"Who's turn is it?" she asked sleepily
"I think it's yours," Haruka mumbled around
the pillow.
"Are you sure you don't want to field this
one?" Michiru cajoled, fighting the insistent pull of
sleepiness.
"No the fun is...mmm... all yours," Haruka
said dismissively.
"Haruka?" Michiru sighed when she got no answer
and rolled out of bed, padding down the hall to the
nursery.
When she returned a half-hour later, her lover
was curled up, snuggled in the covers. She grabbed her
pillow and playfully bopped her mate. "My knight in
shining armor."
Haruka rolled over. "No... your knight in
shining bed clothes," she corrected. "Besides, I
was keeping your spot warm.
Michiru smiled and crawled into bed. Haruka
scooted over to her and wrapped the blanket around
her cool shoulders, warming her. Michiru snuggled
in her lover's arms and gave a contented sigh. At
two forty-five a.m. when Kakeru cried again, Haruka
kissed her wife's temple and rolled out of bed without
saying a word to attend to her offspring.
At about three thirty a.m. the quiet of the
Outer Senshi household was shattered by a ear splitting
wail, which Haruka got right in her ear because
the monitor was lying on her pillow. She jerked
awake with an unhappy grunt. Beside her Michiru
rolled to the edge of the bed, checking the clock.
"So soon? Didn't you just feed him at three?"
"Hai," her wife affirmed rubbing a hand
over her face.
"Maybe there's something wrong!" Michiru
jumped up and raced into the baby's room.
Haruka spurred on by her mate's worry,
followed her wife.
The two senshi hovered over their son's
crib. Was he wet? Did he have a fever? Michiru
caressed his little head as his tiny face contorted
with fury and he wailed.
She reached in and scooped her child into
her arms. "Haruka get the book!"
As most new parents do, Haruka and Michiru
had invested in a book of compiled wisdom for
parents. Michiru tried to settle Kakeru by walking
him back and forth. When that didn't calm him at
all, she went into their bedroom. Haruka followed.
The crying was still quite loud. Worried about their
daughter and housemate, they went downstairs to the
living room.
Haruka was studying the baby manual. "Ok
there's no sign of colic."
Michiru held her fretting son, looking
unconvinced. "Let me see that book. Here you take
the baby."
Haruka swapped charges with Michiru. Taking
her son in her arms, she started jostling him gently.
"Oy, don't cry."
The sobbing increased. Michiru came out of
the downstairs bathroom with a hair clip. She sat on
the couch with the book in her lap, pulling her long
aqua locks back into a more manageable style. Haruka
was wandering around the room trying to find things
that might calm her son or distract him. She picked
up a crystal violin one of Michiru's students had
given her and waved it before Kakeru's blue-green
eyes. The baby arched in the crook of her arm and
howled again.
"Ok, you didn't like that...what about one
of Papa's trophy's? No?" Haruka was at a loss; she
turned to her wife. "Michiru?" Her wife was an
intelligent person. They were both intelligent people.
Surely together they could figure out one baby.
"I don't know. I can't find anything in this
book!" The aqua-haired woman's slender fingers were
running through the index.
"Maybe he's hungry again?" Haruka offered.
Michiru glared pointedly at her lover, and
Haruka cringed. The violinist unbuttoned her
nightgown. Her nipples were already sore from the
frequent nursings and the times she had pumped breast
milk so she could rest while Haruka fed Kakeru.
Michiru held the sobbing baby in her arms. Haruka used
one slender finger to try to guide his little open
mouth to Michiru's breast. The baby refused to nurse
and instead squalled again, drawing his little legs up
in fury.
Haruka got up and grabbed Kakeru's carrier
off the floor. They eased him into it. Michiru reached
out and caressed his little stomach through his red cow
print jammies "Hush, Love. Mama and Papa don't know
what else to do," the new mother pleaded.
Haruka stood behind her lover with her hands
on her hips. Her eyes lit with inspiration and she
tossed Michiru a stuffed Chihuahua that they had
lovingly dubbed "Andele".
"Here try this. I'll be right back" The blonde
vanished into the kitchen.
Michiru waved the toy before her son's eyes,
but the sobs continued. Haruka reappeared with a
jar of peanut butter. Michiru's eyes widened.
"What are you doing! He's too young for
solid food!"
"Relax, I'm not going to feed it to him." The
blonde reached inside and took a small swipe and
tapped it onto the end of the baby's little nose.
Michiru stared at her as if she'd lost her
mind. It did indeed seem that she had because the
baby ignored her efforts and continued to wail. Haruka
flushed under her mate's gaze. "It used to work for
me when I was little," she mumbled.
Michiru suddenly had a vision of a tiny
Haruka trying with all her might to gaze at something
perched on the tip of her nose, lovely little teal
eyes crossed with the effort. She giggled at the
thought, reaching up a slender hand to stroke Haruka's
neck. The blonde followed her lover's touch and
smiled in response. They broke contact and returned
their attention to their upset child. Haruka wiped the
peanut butter off of her squirming son with a wet cloth
she'd brought with her. Kakeru didn't appreciate the
effort.
"Maybe music?" Michiru hazarded a guess
with a sigh.
"Let's try it," Haruka answered grimly,
scooping the baby up again. They wandered into the
music room. Michiru flipped on the lights. Haruka
set the carrier on the piano bench next to her. Michiru
was already unpacking her violin. After a quick tuning,
Michiru launched into a soft melody. Haruka joined in a
moment later, accompanying her mate. Together they
tried to soothe their fretful son into sleep. Every note
was perfect and people the world over would have paid a
small fortune just to hear them...but their child remained
unimpressed with his parents' talents. In fact he
screeched his displeasure at being subjected to this
kind of torture.
Haruka finally stopped and turned to look at the
infant. Michiru continued to play for a moment longer
before dropping her bow to her side, in exhaustion and defeat.
"Ok," Haruka said taking a deep, calming breath.
"What do babies like? What did Hotaru like?"
Michiru shrugged her shoulders. "Eating...
playing...SLEEPING." She set her violin back in its case and
closed it with a definitive snap.
Haruka chuckled in spite of her frustration. "Hmm,
well not this one. He sounds as if he inherited his lungs
from Odango."
Michiru stood with her hands massaging her back
as she stretched her sore muscles. "Wait a minute, Haruka,
Hotaru always loved to ride with you in the car. Maybe
the motion will make him go to sleep."
"It's worth a try. At this point, anything that
might work is an option. I'll meet you at the door." Haruka
slid off the bench and raced upstairs.
Michiru tiredly shut off the light and picked up
the squawking Kakeru. She tried to comfort him in soft
tones as she carried him back into the living room to wait
for Haruka's return.
"Shh, Tenshi. You don't want to wake One-chan or
Oba-san do you? Poor Baby, what's wrong?"
Her wife didn't make them wait long as she ran back
down the stairs dressed in her robe with keys in hand,
deftly jumping the squeaky stair.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Michiru asked as
she handed Kakeru to the blonde.
Haruka gave her a quick kiss. "No, we'll be fine.
Won't we little guy." Fat little tears spilled down his
red cheeks as he struggled to catch his breath. Haruka put
on her slippers and went outside to her car with Kakeru in
his baby seat tucked in her arms. Since Hotaru had been a
baby, more modern safety practices had become popular and
Haruka strapped her son into the car seat, in the back. The
blonde hopped into the driver's seat and made a highly
unusual slow exit from their driveway as Michiru stood at
the door watching as her mate. The car drove slowly to the
corner and turned, disappearing from sight. The first time
Haruka passed back by the house everything seemed to be
relatively quiet and Michiru gave a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, by the second time Haruka made it around, it
seemed as though she had acquired a siren. The convertible
pulled into the drive. Michiru met her lover at the car.
Haruka ruefully unstrapped their son who was emitting
hiccuping sobs. They carried the baby and baby seat into
the living room and set him on the floor between them.
"Do you think we should call a doctor?" Michiru
leaned her head against Haruka's shoulder with fatigue.
"Oy, Michiru, I think he's just too tired to
be able to fall asleep. He's been through a lot the past
few days," Haruka reasoned as the baby launched into a
new set of wails.
"I wish we knew what to do for him. He's too
tiny to be so miserable..."
"Are you guys all right?" Setsuna called from
the staircase.
The couple looked up guiltily, feeling a bit
embarrassed that they couldn't calm their own child.
"We're sorry, Setsuna," Michiru began. "He's
just fretting tonight. Haruka and I have been trying
to get him back to sleep. We didn't mean to wake you."
"Oh it's all right," Setsuna said with a
chuckle, she softly cleared her throat and came into
the living room. "It's just been a while since
we've had a baby in the house."
Haruka smiled at her housemate and then
realized that she was hearing something different. It
was a sound that tugged at the back of her mind and
suddenly it struck her, it was the blessed sound
of ...silence.
She took a quick glance at Kakeru; the baby
was staring at Setsuna. Haruka nudged Michiru and the
aqua haired woman glanced at her now quiet son.
Setsuna had been saying something to Michiru, but
she stopped when she saw the couple's intent
expressions. Almost immediately the baby's face
screwed into a grimace as he prepared to start crying
again.
"No no no!" Haruka and Michiru both exclaimed
at the same time.
"Don't stop talking," Haruka yelled excitedly,
surging to her feet.
"W-what?" Setsuna faltered. Michiru went to her
knees and grabbed Setsuna's hand, pulling her in front
of the baby.
"Say something quick!" Michiru demanded.
"I don't know what to say... Hello Kakeru. How
are you this morning?" Setsuna felt self-conscious
as she spoke to her nephew. "Have you been keeping your
Mama and Papa up?"
She smiled uncertainly at Haruka and Michiru,
but they nodded encouragingly.
"Sing to him," Michiru suggested.
Setsuna's hand flew to her throat. 'Sing?'
Setsuna disliked music, although it was difficult living
in a house with Haruka and Michiru. Even Hotaru played
the violin. Setsuna looked down into expectant blue green
eyes and started to sing. Kakeru watched her with wide
eyes, before his little blue green orbs began to drift
closed. Haruka and Michiru watched with relief as
Setsuna sang softly to the newborn.
As she finished, Haruka and Michiru tiptoed around
the room, straightening up the clutter from their earlier
efforts to calm the baby. Setsuna was warming to her
task; she lifted the groggy little one into the cradle of
her arms and rocked him.
Haruka returned to take her son. She was
holding him when his tiny face scrunched and turned
scarlet. Haruka took a panicked intake of breath. 'What
was wrong?' Her son's tiny fist balled up and his legs
gave a little jerk. As she watched him, nervous and
worried, the little boy relaxed and gave a satisfied
sigh. Haruka let out the breath she'd been holding...which
was a mistake. She took another sniff of the air and
wrinkled her nose. 'Gas. He had gas.' She looked around
and found Michiru.
"Here," she said trying to hand Kakeru
over. "I think he wants you."
Michiru smiled and kissed her son, playing with
his tiny hands. "Let Setsuna hold him, Love."
"Sure," Haruka said with an angelic smile, offering
the Trojan infant to her best friend.
Carefully and quietly, the three adults crept
upstairs and into the nursery where Setsuna eased the baby
onto his side. Michiru straightened the baby blankets. Haruka
stroked his fuzzy little head. The three crept from the
bedroom as stealthily as they could.
Back in their room, Michiru collapsed on the bed
exhausted. Her breasts were hard and leaking milk, because
the five o'clock feeding had been rescheduled until Kakeru
decided he was hungry. Haruka sat down beside her.
"Are you all right?" the blonde asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm just tired," Michiru assured her
mate. "It's almost time for Hotaru to get up for school."
"Don't worry Setsuna and I will take care of
Hime-chan. You get some sleep." Haruka reset her alarm on
her night stand.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Michiru asked
drowsily.
She dimly heard Haruka moving round the room. "Until
the end of time, Koi."
Finis
notes: Thank you to Haruka Spork Tennou for the cute
peanut butter idea! And as always to my editor Kate
Domo Arrigatou.
