Sleep refused to claim her, despite the overall fatigue she felt.
It was too hot with the covers on, but it was too cold with them off. Soft snores from the bed's other occupant pierced the air, and she shot a look of envy at her slumbering wife. She slept like the dead. She sighed heavily, running a hand through her messy golden locks a few times before growing annoyed with the tangles and reaching for the comb on her night-stand.
She was halfway finished when she heard a soft cry reverberate throughout the quiet hallway.
She's hungry, she thought to herself as she set the comb back on the stand and rose from the bed. She brushed her lips over her wife's forehead lovingly before exiting the warmth of the bedroom. The hallway was cool, cold air nipped at her exposed arms, and the marble floor was cold under her barefeet.
She peeked inside the room adjacent to theirs. The girls, much like their mother, were dead to the world, blankets strewn all over the place, and pale limbs hanging over the edge of the bed. Despite the penthouse having a plethora of rooms, they preferred to share one. They had been inseparable since birth, and it was nice to see their closeness hadn't withered over the years.
She closed the door before making her way to the one on the opposite end of the hallway. Namiko's face was flushed red, tears streaming from her pale eyes. Her mother carefully leaned over the wooden railing of the crib and scooped her up. She ran her fingers through her curly black locks soothingly with one hand while using the other to pull down her tank-top to release her breast.
She smiled slightly as the child immediately latched onto her nipple and began to suckle eagerly. This was Namiko's first breast-feeding. Shizuru had been too weak a few days earlier to properly do so, and she had been living off of formula during the time of her recovery. Shizuru was ecstatic to finally be able to do so, she much preferred breastfeeding over formula. It made her feel inexplicably closer to her children.
There, there, do not fret, my beloved, she thought as the child began to fidget in her arms.
She wandered around the room, gazing lovingly at the tiny being in her embrace. She traced the contours on Namiko's face with a delicate finger, marvelling at the beauty the child possessed.
Such a pretty face you have. Someone will surely be a heartbreaker in a decade or so. I see myself in you, little warrior. I see Regan in your smile, and it excites me because I know how much of an effect it has on Natsuki.
Shizuru giggled as the child sneezed softly, her dimples flashing as her face twisted with the motion.
I'm sorry for neglecting you in the beginning, my sweet girl. It was hard for me, knowing you could've taken your last breath before you even took your first. You came into this world under less than ideal circumstances, but you came out unscathed, little warrior.
After eating her fill, Namiko turned her head away from her breast, and gazed sleepily up at her mother with enormous grey orbs. Shizuru kissed her on the tip of her nose as she hefted her over her shoulder and patting her back.
Your sisters love you so very dearly, as do your parents. From now until forever ends, we will be here to help you grow and succeed into the strong woman I can already envision. Not to mention keep the Kruger bloodline going. You have been blessed with a special gift, just like my Natsuki, and her father, and her father before her.
Namiko burped softly, and fell asleep almost immediately after. Her mother, reluctant to let her go just yet, sat on the couch near the crib. And under the iridescent glow of the full moon, she sang to her last child.
SMOKE/MIRRORS
"Who's the prettiest baby in the world?"
A blink.
"You are. Who's the most dashing mother in the world?"
Another slow blink.
"That's right." Natsuki chuckled as she kissed her baby's cheek. She learned only a few hours ago that Namiko wasn't easily impressed, and baby talk and squeaky toys weren't even remotely interesting to her. So far, she only found amusement with Shizuru's voice. "I don't think she likes me." She pouted cutely.
Shizuru rolled her eyes as she indulged herself in very light stretching excercises in the very center of the living room. "I highly doubt that."
"No seriously, look." Natsuki said, pulling a sour face, and deflating when the child simply stared at her, unamused. "Goo-goo-gagga?"
Still nothing.
"Yep, it's official. We've created an android." She announced, hugging the child closely to her chest.
"Or you're just not funny." Kaiya teased from her mom's left side, tugging on the ends of her raven hair much like Shizuru did when she wanted her attention.
"Nonsense, I'm hilarious. Isn't that right, baby?" She said, flashing a dashing smile at her wife.
Shizuru pursed her lips. "You have your moments."
Natsuki laughed, using her foot to push her middle-child off of the couch and sprawling out on her back with Namiko on her chest. Kaiya shot her a dark glare, and she smiled innocently. Her eldest daughter approached the back of the couch and leaned over to kiss her mom on her dark head.
"I think you're hilarious, mommy." She said, her voice dripping with sweetness.
"This is why you're my favorite." Natsuki teased, curling her hands around Namiko's tiny form and initiating a dance session on her torso.
Shizuru finished her stretching ten minutes later, and plucked their baby girl from her wife's clutches. "That's enough torture for now, Natsuki."
Natsuki made a face. "Torture? I was teaching her how to do the dougie."
She grunted as her wife plopped on her lap without warning. She could feel the warmth of Shizuru's body through her tights on her bare legs, the thickness of her hips down to the swell of her plump behind. "No naughty thoughts, there are children present." Shizuru said, smacking her lightly with one of the nearby pillows.
Natsuki's smirk was full of mischief. "I think they both know how children are made."
"Ew," Keira said from the other couch, "doesn't mean we want a live demonstration."
"Prudes." Natsuki muttered, picking up the remote and flipping aimlessly through the channels. She settled on a basketball game airing on ESPN. "Bulls and Lakers."
She winced once she saw the score. The Lakers were getting their asses handed to them by Derrick Rose and the Bulls. Her father, who had been a hardcore Laker fan, must be rolling in her grave.
Kaiya sighed. "Ew, can you change it? I hate the Lakers."
"Your grandpa would beat your ass-"
"Natsuki."
"-butt- if she heard you say that." Natsuki finished sheepishly.
Keira snorted. "Don't listen to her, ma. She only hates them because they were Avery's favorite team."
"Oh my god, why would you even bring her up?" Kaiya demanded hotly, crossing her arms across her chest with a small huff of irritation. Avery was her tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed ex girlfriend she had dated during their time in Atlanta. Needless to say, they didn't depart on the best of terms.
"Don't take your frustration out on my team though." Natsuki said. "Kobe did nothing to you."
"Ma?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you tell us more about Oji?" Keira asked softly. Her name had come up many times, and she was beyond curious to learn more about her deceased grandfather. However, she had been reluctant to ask her mom because she feared it would bring back unpleasant memories. Natsuki's expression turned into one of sorrow, but her eyes were filled with fondness and adoration.
"Dad was my hero. Well, she was more of an anti-hero, but still. She was rude, arrogant, woefully cocky, and utterly brilliant. She liked to play practical jokes on any and everything, including me and my stepmom at the time. She liked to piss of cops too." Natsuki said with an irritated, but fond huff.
"How so?" Shizuru asked, deeply interested.
"I remember one time, she filled a tequila bottle with water and drove me to school with all the windows down and the music loud, and when this cop stopped us under suspicion of drunk driving…"
"Problem officer?" Her father's voice was filled with barely concealed smugness. Natsuki was trying very hard to control her laughter from the passenger's seat of her father's vintage Cadillac. The cop, a stern, overweight fellow with a grizzly beard peered into the car, staring straight at the tequila bottle sitting in the cupholder.
"Have you been drinking, ma'am?" He barked, his mouth curled into a sneer. He looked almost as smug as her father did, probably thinking he just busted a couple of teenagers for DUI.
Her father shook her head, wavy locks whipping around like a black cyclone. "No, sir."
He didn't look convinced. "Please step out of the vehicle."
"Why?"
"Because I said so. I suggest you do as I say, young lady."
Natsuki was about to lean over and tell the cop that this 'young lady' was actually a rather childish woman in her early thirties who enjoyed trolling the community, but she decided against it. Regan gave a mock sigh and did as she was told. The cop went back to his squad car and returned with a breathalyzer.
"Open." He demanded.
"That's what she said." Her father retorted, but doing as instructed.
"Blow."
Regan did so and the cop waited, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. When the results came back negative, he was flabbergasted. "Give me the tequila bottle."
"Here you go, sir." Natsuki said from the passenger's seat, holding the offending object out of the window, and snorting when he rudely snatched it. He gave it a curious sniff.
"Water…?"
Regan's smirk turned into a full-fledged smile, dimples swallowing her cheeks whole. "We didn't have any water bottles, so I had to make do with what we had. Can we go now?"
He clenched his teeth together, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. He stiffly nodded and stomped back to his cruiser, but not before giving his squad car a swift kick. Regan flopped back into the vehicle and held out a fist, which her daughter pounded with a hearty laugh.
"I didn't think it was going to work!" Natsuki guffawed, tears in her eyes.
Regan smirked. "Trust me, kid, I've been doing this since you were semen in my balls. I know what I'm doing."
"Wow."
Shizuru's melodic laughter broke the stunned silence of the room's other occupants. Even Namiko looked slightly amused, even though she probably couldn't understand a word they were saying. Keira was slowly shaking her head back and forth, and her sister was looking at her mom with an expression of utter disbelief.
"I wish we could've met her. She seemed really fun to be around." Kaiya said sincerely.
Natsuki nodded. "I do too. You would've loved her."
My father may be dead, but it's like she's with me wherever I go… Natsuki thought, her eyes locked with the hazy orbs of her youngest daughter. And when the child gave a hearty, toothless grin, she swore she saw the dark-haired woman standing beside the child, identical smiles on their face.
She couldn't help but smile as well.
SMOKE/MIRRORS
In the deepest, darkest of alleys on the South-side, a figure crouched, waiting. Watching. Stalking. Black orbs peered through the eye-holes of the ski-mask, locked onto a dark-haired figure leaning against a red Aston Martin. The figure clutched the pipe they held in their gloved grasp and silently surveyed their surroundings.
The woman was probably waiting for her girlfriend, a chipper blonde they had spotted earlier that day. She had entered the beauty supply adjacent from the waiting dark-haired woman. Sensing this was their chance, the figure sprinted full speed towards her.
Alex Vause looked up as the sound of hurried footsteps reverberated behind her. She turned just in time to recieve a vicious blow to the sternum from the weapon in their grasp. She doubled over and stepped away just in time to dodge another blow.
Alex threw multiple punches, but the figure was too quick and in her panic, she tired herself out, making herself easy pickings for the robber. Blow after blow from the steel pipe left her severely wounded and soaked with blood. She fell to her knees and grunted when a rough knee knocked her onto her back.
The figure kicked her again in the ribs and she turned her head to the side, throwing up all the dinner she had previously consumed hours earlier. She sucked in a pain-filled breath, anticipating her death, Piper's name prepared to be her final thoughts, but the figure just dropped the pipe and bolted.
The last thing she heard before everything went dark was the sound of Piper's alarmed cries.
SMOKE/MIRRORS
Chapter Song, Mirrors - Lil Wayne and Bruno Mars.