"Mmmh..." Nowi groaned in her bed. Her body hadn't been feeling quite right for a long time. Many places ached and she often found herself too tired to do anything other than stay in bed.
"Oww..." She moaned again as she shifted position and her pelvis ached in response. It was still early morning, she concluded, from the calls of morning songbirds that nested around her home. She remembered she had to wake up several times in the middle of the night despite her condition and that only helped to intensify her suffering.
"Hnnng...Oww!" She tried stretching but found more pain shooting up her limbs.
Nowi's discomfort stirred another person beside her. Without even brushing the sleep from his eyes, he immediately got up and started rubbing Nowi's legs and waist. One would not have been able to discern whether he was sleepwalking or awake, as his eyes were barely open and his expression rather blank. His head also drooped in the tremendous effort needed to sit upright just after coming to consciousness. The half circles under his eyes suggested that he also woke up several times during the night.
"Thank you, honey..." Nowi sighed in relief. As the word 'honey' suggested, the person massaging her was her husband, Robin.
"...Huh? Naw, it's nothin'...Are you okay?" He murmured in response. Nowi could not hold back a smile and replied.
"I wasn't...but I am, now!"
Nowi felt her heartbeats becoming more and more elated from being so tenderly cared for despite her condition. She also felt her grin becoming wider and wider and her gaze turning warmer and warmer until she could not hold herself back and found herself reaching out for Robin's head. "Huh?" Robin exclaimed as he was pulled in towards Nowi's embrace. Nowi fell back into her pillow pulling Robin with her, showering her husband's forehead and brows with loving pecks that produced gleeful chuckles from Robin whose face was buried in Nowi's soft breasts.
"Aw that tickles...heheh..." He happily protested.
"Aren't you the bestest husband a woman could ask for, hmm? Hmmm?" Nowi teased, brushing Robin's hair and stroking his back vigorously.
"Awhaha...I'm just doing what I want to...Caring for you like this makes me so happy..." Robin answered sleepily, making Nowi squeeze his head as hard as she could in her arms in appreciation. Incomprehensible squeals of joy escaped her mouth as she ravished her husband and her husband kept muttering sweet words of protest that didn't mean what it said at all.
"stop that...that tickles..." He squirmed deeper and deeper into Nowi's embrace producing the sweetest and warmest sensation that Nowi loved so much.
"...Alright...I'm awake now." He said after a few minutes of squirming and wriggling. He looked up from her chest and drove his lips unto Nowi's.
"I think I missed the proper moment, but good morning honey," he said as he separated. Nowi, still entranced from the gentlelt firm kiss, smiled sheepishly.
"Eheheh," a giggle escaped instead of an answer. Robin then sat upright and gently gripped her shoulder with one hand and the underside of her waist with the other.
"C'mon, I'll massage you properly," Nowi happily complied and let Robin help her lie flat on her stomach. Her position set, Robin slowly started working her waist. Nowi closed her eyes and let the pleasant sensation of his warm, tender grips softening up her tightened muscles sink in. She occasionally let out content sighs as her husband's hands so lovingly worked to ease her pain.
"You've become so good at this, honey!" Nowi complimented.
"Haha," Robin laughed, "It's already been a few months so anyone would be."
"No, it's so good only because you're doing it!" Nowi insisted. Robin, as thanks, kissed the back of Nowi's neck making her shudder in pleasure. This time, a moan of a different tone escaped from Nowi's lips. Robin then moved on to her legs.
"Right there...that place always gets so tight after a night..." Nowi said as his hands moved.
"It must be because you put so much strength into it." He stopped where Nowi designated, making an observation.
"Yeah...Hah!...that's so good...!" Nowi sighed again, unintentionally making Robin flustered.
"Ehem...anyways, this has already lasted quite a bit, right? I thought we were prepared for everything...but who would have known this afterbirth recovery part would be the hardest?" He chuckled.
"I know! Nah cried so many times overnight...At least we could get a good night's sleep before this when she was sleeping most of the time! And my body's been in a wreck to make it worse!...I would have broken down and cried so many times if you didn't care for ME like a baby."
"Haha, at least we're in this together, like we've always been." Robin chuckled and shifted his gaze to the cradle next to their bed holding their precious one in it.
"But when I see her face I can forget about all that...How could something be so precious?" He said, recalling the time he first held her in his arms; His memory of the time was still vivid, as the event took place only a little more less than two moons ago. His tear ducts immediately let loose at the time as a myriad of emotions cascaded his heart, and seeing Nowi all beat and out of breath but still wearing a proud smile that only a mother could produce was a memory he would never forget for the thousands of years to come. He sniffed briefly and shifted his grip.
Nowi's gaze also shifted to the cradle.
"That's true...do you remember how much I cried and smiled at the same time? I thought my tear ducts would dry up! And I still tear up every time I'm holding her and just staring at her...Ohh I want to see my baby right now!" She excalimed, hoisting herself up with renewed strength and crawling towards the crib. And there she was, their first mutual creation and the joy of their lives, wrapped in the softest cloth and sound asleep. Nowi gently picked her up and held her against her bosom.
"Just look at her...! I...I'm about to cry again..." Nowi whispered, looking down at the infant with the softest expression that mothers produce for their babies. Robin knew he was witnessing one of the most beautiful moments in his life and wrapped his arms around her, also gazing into the baby's sleeping face.
"She really has your cheeks, I just love how soft they are." Robin commented, gently poking his newborn daughter's tender cheek.
"I think she has your brows though, it's so delicate!" Nowi said, also brushing the baby's soft brows. Nah's eyelids fluttered as she let out a soft giggle.
Nowi let out a gasp.
"She likes it! Ohhh I think my heart's about to explode with love!" Nowi exclaimed as she leaned into Robin's chest. Robin could well understand what she was saying as well.
'She's a real mother now, huh...I think might have fallen even more deeply in love with her,' He thought. His wife's soft, motherly expression and the serenity that her motherhood lent her seemed to send pleasant jolts through his heart, reminiscent of the time he first realized his affection towards Nowi.
'A mother, eh? It sure is amazing...Wait, speaking of mother, today is...' He remembered as his drowsiness completely subsided. He kissed Nowi's cheek and asked. "Hey honey...Do you know what day it is today?" Nowi looked up with a puzzled expression.
"Heh?"
Robin smiled and began to answer.
"It's-"
"Happy Mother's Day!" Rang two cheerful voices as the door to their bedroom opened. "Wow!" Nowi exclaimed as Nah and Morgan, their elder daughters from the future, burst in and dove into their mother's sides carrying trays of food. "Yup, it's mother's day." Robin said, laughing heartily and ruffling up his elder daughters' hairs. He then took the trays from them and set them down on their table so that his daughters could have a good look at their youngest sibling.
"It...It feels really strange," said Nowi, surrounded by her daughters.
"I never thought I'd be the one celebrated for a Mother's day; It's so strange!...but...it makes me so happy and proud!" She said, grinning widely.
"You should be; You deserve it all!" Robin replied with a grin, hugging his family.
"Are you okay, mother? Are you still hurting from the birthing pains?" Nah, concerned for her mother's condition, furrowed her delicate brows. Nowi pecked her cheek and answered,
"I'm all fine now! And I'll be even more fine once I eat the breakfast you made for us! Thank you so, so, much Nah, Morgan! I love you girls SO much!" Morgan also gave her mother a peck on her cheek.
"We love you so much too, mother! I'm so happy I met you and that I could see this day..." she said, letting out her emotions without restraint. She then turned her gaze towards the newborn Nah.
"It's hard to believe I'm looking at my big sister and little sister at the same time!"
"If it's strange for you, just imagine how it is for me! I'm basically looking at myself!" Nah replied. Her eyes were full of fond fascination for her identical little sister. Nowi carefully passed the baby over to Nah, who took her in her arms with the greatest care.
"Hey Nah...I'm your eldest sister," the elder Nah cooed. The baby Nah burst out in joyful giggles and reached her small hands out towards her sister. Nah held her closer in response and let the baby touch her cheeks. After watching the baby gazing back at her in equally fascinated fondness for a while, she opened her mouth again.
"I'm going to make sure you have the happiest childhood ever...something that I never had. I promise you, Nah, my dear little sister." She said, brushing her little sister's cheeks.
"Nah..." Robin and Nowi, who now knew of Nah's sufferings in the future without her parents to raise her, felt their hearts ache and held Nah's shoulders firmly.
"And I'll make sure you girls are the happiest daughters in the world...This I promise you with everything I am." "Your mother too, Nah, Morgan. With everything your mother is." To this, Nah giggled and gave her father and mother a kiss on their cheeks in appreciation.
"Thanks mother, father...but I already am! I'm so happy just being part of this family...so much that every day feels like a miracle."
"Same here!" Morgan chirped, lying down and resting her head on her mother's laps. Nowi started playing around with Morgan's fluffy hair, producing occasional giggles from her adorable daughter who sometimes playfully bat her mother's hand away if she tried to stick the strands of hair into her ear.
"Hmm..." Robin sat thinking while his family enjoyed each other's presence. He soon opened his mouth.
"Well, since it's mother's day, I have a plan." The family's curious and expectant gazes met his.
"If father has a plan, it's going to be something amazing!" Morgan said.
"Well...it's not one of those complicated tactical maneuver type of things I used to pull up...I was just suggesting we go for a picnic for lunch and afternoon," Robin said, brushing Nah's side hair away from her eye.
"Really?" Nah exclaimed in excitement, her eyes brightening up.
"Sure, why not? The long winter is finally over and just look how warm and bright things are right now! It would be a waste to miss it, especially with our new girl all strengthening up here." Robin replied; he was quickly set upon by an elated Nowi.
"YAY! A PICNIC!" She exclaimed as she jumped up and down holding Robin's head in her arms. Even Nowi had been extremely careful with herself during pregnancy, and happily so thanks to her family. But that did not mean that she did not miss her outdoor frolics with her family.
"Haha, I guess it's been a while since we had a proper family outing, given baby Nah's birth was so close. Alright, let's make this a great picnic then!"
"Alright!" Cheerful voices rang out. It was newborn Nah's first time going outside; no doubt it would be another day to remember for all of them.
"Are we really going to be this happy for the rest of our lives?" Nowi asked plainly, pouring a sumptuous amount of berry syrup they had procured last year on her pancake. Robin kissed her lightly.
"What do you mean, honey? We're going become even happier and happier with every passing day!" Nowi perked her pointed ears up and grinned.
"Oh goody! That's amazing! And you know what? I can totally believe it from how things are right now!"
"Right? Haha, my heart dances every time I think of the things to come now...Something that never happened during the war." Robin reminisced with a look of amused disbelief.
"Me too, father! Those days were just so tiring and unnerving...But now it just feels like a bad dream." The family agreed and appreciated their peaceful present in unison. After a while munching and chomping on their breakfast, Morgan, who had been in charge of baby Nah, also perked her ears up just like her mother.
"I can't wait for a baby me!"
"Oh! That's right Morgan! That's going to be SO exciting! We'll each have a younger version of ourselves as our little sisters!" Nah chimed in with eyes sparkling like the jewel on her mother's wedding ring.
"Yeah! So mother, father, when will you be having a baby me? Next year? Or even...this year?" Morgan leaned into her mother and gazed up with a pleading eye that reminded one of a puppy. Nowi looked to Robin for help with a flushed expression, as she found it extremely difficult to give a negative answer to such a lovable display.
"Haha! You have to let mother rest or she'll tire herself out and fall ill!" Robin snickered.
"Aw, I guess that's true..." Her father's answer had sound logic, and Morgan had no choice but to leave it at that. But she couldn't hide her disappointment as her ears drooped several angles. There was absolutely no way Nowi would let this be.
"Though, if you really can't wait, I can try!" She suggested with a gamesome smile, making Morgan's ears perk right back up and in turn drooping Robin's albeit not in disappointment but a much more profound form of ticklish embarrassment.
"Really?! You're the best, mother!"
"I-I'm not sure that's a good idea honey...T-There's a lot of implications in that answer and w-we need to plan ahead for-" Robin stammered.
"Oh father, you're so adorable at times!" A merry conversation continued to flow throughout their breakfast.
As if to celebrate their family picnic, the spring sun shone unusually brighter, driving away what remained of the winter's cold.
Needless to say, the family's picnic that day was a sublimely happy one that they often recounted throughout their long years together.