TWENTY-FIVE
"So," Kirika states, putting down her glass and turning her full focus to Maria. "You've adopted Elfnein."
"Yes…?" She, too, leaves her meal to give Kirika her undivided attention.
Tsubasa's rubbed off on them. She's glad that Kirika and Shirabe had such a good role model during the upheaval in their teenaged years, with both herself and their mother gone.
Shirabe murmurs, not quite questioning, "We thought you were looking for… someone younger."
She sighs.
"I mean, we just want to know why," Kirika hastily explains.
"At first… well, I had a nursery all ready at our apartment, and when we had received approval, I was certain we'd come in the next time looking for little children—toddlers, babies." She shrugs, chuckling, "but I felt drawn to Elfnein the moment I saw her, and Tsubasa agreed."
"That explains why everything happened so fast," Kirika realizes, "because you hadn't made preparations for an older kid—you hadn't expected to need to change your lifestyle so quickly."
Blushing, she mutters, "It was lack of foresight on my part."
Kirika and Shirabe laugh.
She smiles as she watches them relax under the familiar atmosphere.
"I think it runs in the family," Kirika confesses sheepishly. "We didn't really consider what was going on here when we decided to cut our trip short." Now she looks guilty, twisting her napkin in her hands.
"Yeah," Shirabe nods, "we didn't mean to come back right after you'd adopted Elfnein."
Ah, yes. That.
"I have to admit that it has been a bit inconvenient—honestly, I've felt a bit torn between the both of you and Elfnein. I'd thought I would have more time… that we'd all have more time to get used to each other before introducing even more new people into Elfnein's life. And Tsubasa, you know how it is, being back in a place with so many unpleasant memories."
Kirika and Shirabe seem to wilt.
"We're really sorry," Shirabe whispers, and Kirika nods emphatically.
Giving in, she says, "I'm not mad. Really. I just wish things had gone a little differently."
"That's why!" Kirika leans forward, slapping her hands onto the table, "that's why me and Shirabe want to give you guys some space. We're thinking of going back to our apartment in the city in a few days instead of sticking around 'til the new year."
"Plus, we have to get back to work. We have a giant stack of reports to go through—our total was up at twenty-five the last time I checked, and it's probably more now." Shirabe and Kirika both scrunch up their faces at the thought of desk duty.
"Oh." She blinks.
Well, that's a curveball.
But a welcome thing, she thinks.
"And, it's not like we're gonna let you guys be hermits. We'll still visit often enough to keep you on your toes," Kirika points out, smirking.
"You just got back…."
Maybe not so welcome. But, well, she's only just gotten Kirika and Shirabe back after nearly a year of them traipsing all over the world.
"Hey, don't cry," Kirika says, blinking rapidly, "or else you'll make me cry, too! And—like I said, we're not going far…."
Shirabe nods in agreement, "It's high time we were independent, Maria. Like we told you when you married Tsubasa—we can take care of ourselves perfectly fine, and we will. We're not going to hold you back."
"I know, I know," she sighs, dabbing at her eyes.
It's just that, all of a sudden, it feels as if everything is changing, everything is moving so fast. For the better, yes, but still; it hadn't hit her until now that they are all moving forward in their lives.
Kirika and Shirabe aren't kids anymore.
And she has an actual child waiting for her at home, someone who will always look up to her as a mother, and not as a bumbling sister, like Kirika and Shirabe knew her.
Of course, she had seen this coming. She doesn't always lack foresight.
"Okay. I'm good now." She smiles at them, reaching across the table to clasp their hands in hers.
"Good. We didn't mean to make you cry. Though, I feel like that's kind of inevitable, isn't it?" Shirabe asks with a wry smile.
"Aw, darn it! Our food's gone cold," Kirika whines, poking at her plate.
Shirabe covers her eyes with her free hand, muttering, "Way to ruin the moment, Kiri."
Maria laughs as Kirika grins at them, shrugging sheepishly.
a/n: So apparently FFN delayed the alert emails, welp. But I hope everyone caught that I did indeed update over the weekend.
Please review!