Author's Notes:
I don't own Citrus or any of its characters, no copyright is intended.
This story is set when Mei and Yuzu have finished their last year of highschool and are around the ages of 20-21 now.
Italics - Means the person is thinking.
This chapter is set almost two weeks after the previous one just so you all know.
This story contains 'Science babies', don't question it, just enjoy it. ^_^
Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings, don't like? Don't read simple otherwise enjoy. ;)
...
Tonight wasn't looking hopeful as Mei and Yuzu had already been trying for hours upon hours to get their daughter to settle and go off to sleep, but unfortunately it seemed like nothing that either one of them were doing was working at all. The two having exhausted all options they had both thought of as right now little Maiya was being held over Mei's shoulder as she softly patted her back and rocked her slowly, while sitting on the edge of her and Yuzu's double bed, however it not really having any effect on the infant as she just continued to squirm and cry out loudly, clearly making it look like she wasn't going to calm down anytime soon.
Yuzu pacing back and forth as she went over all the different things they had tried tonight, and shaking her head, as she just felt utterly confused at this point and completely unsure of what to do at the moment, "We've tried feeding her, changing her, cuddling her, rocking her, giving her a pacifier that she just keeps spitting out all the time, having her sleep in our bed, we even tried to let her self-soothe by crying it all out, but that just caused her to cry louder until we picked her back up out of her cot again. None of that worked, so what else is there left to try?" the blonde asked as she stopped pacing and turned to her fiancé with a worried expression, kind of hoping she would maybe have another idea they could go with to try and get little Maiya to finally settle and give her two Mothers' a bit of peace.
"Maybe she just doesn't want to sleep tonight," Mei thought out loud with a simple shrug of her shoulders as she moved Maiya from her shoulder and just held her against her chest, stroking her short, black hair and sighing a little when she saw their daughter still weeping and fussing, seeming like she was just refusing to calm down at all at this point.
"But she's been awake for hours..."
Yuzu pointed out, before she paused and crouched down to their daughter's eye-level, stroking her cheek gently, and looking to her with a concerned expression still, "So she must be tired. Why are you fighting it so much huh?" the blonde asked little Maiya like she was going to answer her in some way, as the infant just continued to whimper and squirm, reaching both of her arms out to Yuzu, seeming like she wanted to be held by her, but as soon as Mei passed her over to be held in her blonde Mother's arms, her loud wails started again, almost making it look like not even Maiya herself knew why she was so hell-bent on not going to sleep tonight, she just knew she was unhappy it seemed at the moment.
Mei raising her eyebrow to Yuzu as she watched the blonde begin to pace again, looking like she was going a bit faster than before, while she sighed deeply and gently rocked little whimpering Maiya in her arms, hoping that she would just end up tiring herself out and fall to sleep in the midst of her still trying to think of what else they could try at this point.
However the blonde soon stopping and causing Mei to look at her with a wondering expression as Yuzu widened her eyes and seemed to have gotten an idea of some kind, but just before she thought of suggesting it she shook her head guessing that it most likely wouldn't work anyway, and so just shrugged her shoulders and looked like she was going to go back to pacing once again. Only to stop when both her and Mei heard a light knocking at their bedroom door, it catching their attention and causing them to both look to their midnight visitor.
"Come in," Mei said in a low voice as she rested her chin on her fist and softened her expression upon seeing Yuzu's Mother slowly open the door and kindly smile to the two young parents, while walking into the room.
"Hey Mom, sorry is Maiya keeping you up as well?" Yuzu asked with a nervous smile back to her Mother, but the elder woman just shaking her head in reply as she glanced to the still whimpering and squirming infant in the blonde's arms and felt sorry for the young couple, seeing that they were clearly struggling here.
"Oh no, I actually haven't gone to bed just yet, and I was just wondering if I could do anything to help at all," she suggested, offering her help as she knew the two young Mothers hadn't been getting much sleep lately, because of their crying daughter keeping them up all night long.
"You can try holding her for a bit I guess, but I really don't know what else we could try right now,"
Yuzu stated as she felt like both her and Mei could do with a bit of a break from all the crying, and her Mother seeming more than happy to take little Maiya off of their hands, as Yuzu passed the weeping infant over to be held by her Grandmother instead, only to widen her eyes and look all too taken aback when almost as soon as she had given Maiya to her Mother did she finally seem like she was all cried out and just closed her emerald eyes, nuzzling into the elder woman's shirt and was quickly falling to sleep now.
Both Mei and Yuzu looking surprised as they watched the blonde's Mother just smile and cuddle little Maiya closer to her, whispering a quiet 'Go to sleep, little Maiya-chan,' to her Granddaughter, while she began humming a calming tune to the snuggling infant who was now drifting off to sleep as she lay nuzzling into her Grandmother's chest more. Soon causing Mei to soften her expression and give out a small chuckle, as Yuzu just glanced back to her with a questioning look.
"I guess she must have just wanted her Grandmother to hold her tonight," she stated with a shrug of her shoulders, causing Yuzu to widen her eyes and look back to her Mom holding their sleeping daughter and letting her lips form into a small smile, guessing that Mei was either right, or Maiya was just too exhausted to bother fussing anymore than she already had.
"Why don't I take her for a little while? I'll bring her back so she can sleep in her cot once you two have gotten some rest," the elder woman offered as she gave them both a small smile, while they just nodded back to her and felt grateful towards the blonde's Mother right at this moment for letting them have a few moments of peace before they would most likely have to be awake again in a couple of hours since they knew their stubborn daughter had never slept the whole the night through since the day she was born.
"Thanks Mom," Yuzu smiled to her Mother as she just nodded back to her with a reassuring expression in reply, before she turned and left out the bedroom door, deciding to just go and watch T.V in the lounge for a bit until she felt tired enough to go to bed herself and put little Maiya back into her cot for the night.
Yuzu just turning to smile back to Mei, as the younger girl simply shrugged her shoulders, before they both settled into their bed together, the blonde letting out a long sigh as she wrapped an arm around Mei and cuddled her close, while Mei just nuzzled into Yuzu's chest and let a blissful silence fill the bedroom, as the two of them were making sure to treasure this little moment of quiet they would get and just enjoyed the warmth of each other's loving embrace.
Yuzu kissing Mei's forehead lightly and stroking her long, dark hair gently, as they lay indulging in this peace and getting some much needed rest, until they would no doubt be woken up once again in a little while like they had been all previous nights before now.
...
The next day seeming to be quite the tiring one to start off, but it not being different from past days really though, as just like Mei and Yuzu had thought they both had be up again soon enough since little Maiya was awake and crying again a few hours later. However the young couple had been able to get some sleep and luckily so had their daughter meaning that they all weren't as exhausted as they were when it was middle of the night.
A plus also being that it was much later in the morning now, so at least the two Mothers could care for their little daughter properly and wouldn't need the help of Yuzu's Mom this time. Maiya's morning cries not lasting for that long however as Mei soon enough recognised the whimpers that the infant gave out and noticed how she began reaching towards her shirt, trying to grab hold of it with her tiny hands, causing Mei to guess that she must be hungry, and luckily it seemed she was right, as Maiya happily started nursing once Mei had lifted up her shirt and bra.
Maiya looked content suckling on her birth Mother's nipple, her bright, emerald eyes staying half-open, while Mei just sighed with a bit of relief and stroked Maiya's short, black hair, softening her expression as she hoped this was showing signs that she was finally maybe getting better at this whole 'parenting thing' that her and Yuzu were so new to.
Yuzu smiling to her fiancé and standing up from the sofa as she left Mei to feed Maiya in peace, while she went into the kitchen to see if her Mother wanted any help with washing the dishes as the three of them had already had their breakfast while little Maiya was sleeping in her cot earlier.
"Thanks for taking over last night Mom; I don't think Mei and I would have gotten any sleep at all if you hadn't offered to help. Maiya wasn't too much trouble I hope?" the blonde said to her Mother, catching her attention as she picked up a tea towel and started to help dry the dishes that the elder woman had already washed, while she just smiled back to her daughter with a small nod as she was more than glad to lend a hand with her Granddaughter when she could.
"It was no problem really, and no she stayed asleep for a good few hours before and after I put her back into her cot. I think Maiya-chan was just too exhausted at that point and didn't have any fight left in her anymore," the elder woman stated as she gave a reassuring expression to her daughter and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing the blonde to smile back to her in return.
"You're probably right," Yuzu replied with a simple nod, feeling grateful to her Mother for helping her and Mei out when they had needed it.
The blonde seeming to be thinking for a moment, before widening her eyes and was about to offer to take over and wash the rest of the dishes for her Mother as a thanks for how she had helped them with Maiya, however she not getting the chance to make her suggestion as she and her Mother both suddenly heard Mei calling out Yuzu's name from the lounge, causing her to stop what she was doing and quickly go to see what her fiancé needed her for, while her Mother just watched her go, smiling slightly still.
"Yuzu! Can you come in here for a moment?" Mei called as she sighed deeply and waited for the blonde to come running into the lounge, which she didn't have to wait for very long at all it seemed.
"What it is, Mei?"
Yuzu questioned as she quickly entered the lounge to see what the problem was, widening her eyes and looking a little concerned as she saw Mei was now holding little Maiya in her arms, rubbing her back lightly and calming her slight cries, while both Mei's right shoulder and Maiya's clothes were covered in the milk that Mei had just fed to their daughter.
"Did she spit it all back up?"
The blonde asked looking a little worried still as she quickly handed Mei a packet of baby wipes, as the younger girl just nodded and wiped Maiya's mouth and chin clean, before she stroked her cheek softly, while the infant was still whimpering slightly, her bottom lip quivering seeming like she didn't know what to be more upset about the fact that she had just thrown up all that she had drank, or because of that she was still hungry at the moment.
"I think she's okay, she must have just drank it all a bit too fast, and couldn't stomach it," Mei thought out loud as she also seemed a little concerned for their daughter, combing her fingers through the infant's short, black hair, before she stood up from the sofa and looked like she was about to go and get cleaned up, but Yuzu stopping her as she caused her to turn back to her now.
"Here I'll clean Maiya-chan up, while you go and change your shirt,"
The blonde offered with a smile to her fiancé, causing Mei to widen her eyes a little, looking like she was going to refuse and do this herself, but soon just sighed as she figured she should let Yuzu help since she would prefer getting out of her stained shirt now rather than later. And so just nodded to Yuzu, passing their daughter over to her to hold, as she softened her expression and thanked the elder girl, before she left to go and change her shirt while Yuzu just nodded with a smile, watching Mei go and then looked down to the still whimpering infant lying in her arms.
"Well let's get you cleaned up shall we?"
Yuzu said as she smiled to little Maiya and stroked her cheek gently, while the infant just looked back up to her with a quivering bottom lip still, before her expression began to change, as her blonde Mother walked off towards the bathroom to give Maiya a bit of a bath.
Mei meanwhile in her and Yuzu's bedroom, taking off her now stained shirt and putting it into a washing basket to be washed, before she walked over to her chest-of-drawers and slipped on a clean top. Her eyes soon catching her laptop lying closed on the desk in the bedroom, and sighing slightly as she gave it a long glance, before shaking her head and turning away, leaving the room as she thought she might as well go and see how Yuzu was doing with giving Maiya a bath by herself, however stopping in her tracks as she heard knocking at the front door.
"Could you get that please Mei?"
Ms Okogi asked as she was still busy cleaning the kitchen it seemed at the moment, popping her head around the corner and looking into the hallway, while Mei just shrugged her shoulders and nodded back to her before she went to go and answer the door, leaving the elder woman to smile to her and quickly get back to finishing off cleaning the kitchen a moment later.
Walking up to the front door and answering it as she wondered who had come to visit them, but she figured she could have just guessed and most likely would have been correct, as she opened the door and was unsurprised to see Harumi and Matsuri on the doorstep, while they both greeted her kindly and she greeted them back soon afterwards.
"Morning Mei-san," Matsuri said in a cheerful tone, as she and Harumi smiled to Mei, while she just softened her expression and raised her eyebrow slightly in response to the other two.
"Morning, what are you two doing here?" she asked with a curious gaze as she was used to the other couple calling or telling Yuzu about them dropping around to the apartment, and not normally just showing up on their doorstep like this out of the blue.
"Sorry, we know this is a little sudden, but Matsuri here wanted to come and see you two, plus she wouldn't stop pestering me about wanting me to come with her," the brunette explained as she smiled nervously to Mei, before giving a slight annoyed glance to her girlfriend, while the younger girl just folded her arms and turned away from Harumi in response.
"I only wanted to come and see how Mei-san and Yuzu-chan are doing with caring for their baby, after all we haven't really gotten to see them since she the day that they brought little Maiya-chan home, a little over a week ago" Matsuri stated in her defence, as she caused Harumi to just shrug her shoulders, before they both turned their attention back onto Mei.
"Anyway, this isn't a bad time is it?" Harumi asked, as Mei simply just shook her head and soon replied back to the brunette.
"Oh no, you can both come in for a bit, Yuzu is just giving Mayia a bath right now," she said, inviting the other two inside as they both nodded to her and walked inside while she closed the front door behind them, walking with them into the kitchen as Matsuri and Harumi greeted Ms Okogi, the elder woman smiling and greeted them back before carrying on with her cleaning.
"I'll go and say 'Hi' to Yuzucchi, and see if I can help her then,"
Harumi simply exclaimed as she glanced to her girlfriend and gave her a slight nod, before smiling to Mei and leaving to go and see Yuzu, causing Mei to raise her eyebrow and look a little suspicious as she turned back to Matsuri, and waited for her to give her some sort of explanation, as she could suspect that there was more to this sudden visit then just the fact that the two wanted to catch up and 'see how things were going' with her, Yuzu and their newborn daughter.
Mei was just about to question Matsuri since she was just standing there and smiling, it not really looking like she was going to say anything, until she gave out a sigh and cut the dark haired girl off in a lowered tone a moment later.
"Can we talk for a bit Mei-san?" the younger girl asked with a bit of a nervous expression it seemed, causing Mei to look a little curious and just nodded, wondering just what this was all about, while she led Matsuri into the lounge, so that they could talk alone as they sat on the sofa beside each other.
"So how are you and Yuzu-chan adapting to life as new parents?"
Matsuri started off the conversation a little slow, as it seemed like she didn't want to just jump into the topic that she had really come here to talk to Mei about right away, in which causing the elder girl to just look a bit sceptical of her, as she just shrugged her shoulders and decided to go along with the younger girl's act, and just wait for now until she came out with what she really wanted to talk about, although Mei not knowing how long that would take from this point.
"I think we're getting the hang of it, Maiya still won't sleep very much at night for us, but she seems like her regular happy self otherwise, And I'm starting to identify what certain cries and gestures from her mean. So I think we're slowly getting there, although Maiya did just throw up all her breakfast on both herself and me a few minutes ago when I tried to feed her," Mei explained, saying that last part in a bit of a low tone as she glanced towards where the bathroom was, and was wondering how her fiancé and Harumi were doing with getting little Maiya clean again.
"So that's why Yuzu-chan is giving her a bath. Well I'm glad to see that things are going rather well for you both right now," Matsuri smiled, but Mei seeing through it as she just nodded back to her, wondering where exactly she was going with this conversation at the moment, and was still curious about when she would start to bring up why she had really come here in the first place.
"Are you still doing that online College course?"
"I get in a couple of online classes when I can...but I'm not able to do as much as I would like to, hopefully I can do more in the near future though," Mei answered as she sighed a little, thinking back to the fact that she did want to get more of her online classes done, and didn't want to fall behind too much, but then she also didn't want Yuzu to be the only one taking care of Maiya, they were both her Mothers' after all.
"Speaking of 'the near future', have you and Yuzu-chan thought anymore about your wedding?" the younger girl asked trying to make her tone seem nonchalant, however Mei just raising her eyebrow again, as she kind of guessed just what Matsuri had really come here to talk to her about now.
"So that's what you actually came here for?" Mei questioned, causing Matsuri to smile nervously as she shrugged her shoulders back to the elder girl, trying to look all innocent.
"Well it wasn't the only reason...I also did want to come and see how you and Yuzu-chan have been coping since bringing Maiya-chan home with you," Matsuri pointed out in her defence, as Mei just sighed a little and glanced away from the younger girl, looking like she was thinking about the question she had asked her a minute ago, while Matsuri waited to see what Mei would say in response to her.
"Not really, I guess we haven't really had the time to think about all that yet, while we've both been caring for Maiya," Mei confessed lowering her voice a little, as she caused Matsuri to sigh in return and lean back against the sofa, while the elder girl looked back to her and was going to question her sigh, only to have Matsuri cut her off before she could say anything at all to her.
"Well I can understand that, but things can't just stay like how they are now you know, after all...it won't be long before Yuzu has to go back to her job, and you've also got that whole 'becoming the successor to your Grandfather' again to think about," the younger girl stated as she caused Mei to widen her eyes, and look like she was thinking for a moment, but Matsuri not really wanting to wait for a answer from her it seemed.
"You do still want to marry Yuzu, right?" she asked looking a little nervous, and uneasy about how exactly Mei would respond to her, as the elder girl seemed taken aback and raised her tone a bit to Matsuri.
"Of course I do!" she stated with a serious look in her lavender eyes, causing the younger girl to gaze back to her for a moment, not saying anything, before she soon just let her expression soften and shrugged her shoulders, smiling slightly to Mei.
"Listen Mei...all I'm saying is, don't keep her waiting forever for you. Because...you know she will," the younger girl replied, causing Mei to go silent and bite her bottom lip, looking like she was trying to collect her thoughts, before she soon just glanced back to Matsuri and nodded slowly, letting out a long sigh as she felt Matsuri rest a caring hand on her shoulder and turned to see her smile to her reassuringly.
"Now I wonder how Harumi and Yuzu-chan are doing with bathing Maiya-chan,"
Matsuri simply thought out loud as she stood up from the sofa, glancing back to Mei for a moment, before she turned and left, making her way to the bathroom, while the dark haired girl watched her go and thought about what she had said to her, seeming like she was just going over how she felt at the moment, however soon shrugging her shoulders as she stood up as well and followed after the younger girl to the bathroom.
Mei came to the open bathroom door as she saw Yuzu happily bathing their daughter in the sink, looking like she had washed all of the milk off her, and was now just lifting her up and out of the sink, while Harumi held out a towel for the blonde. Yuzu grabbing hold of the soft towel and thanking the brunette with a smile, before she wrapped little Maiya in the towel and began drying her, the infant giggling and squirming cheerfully as it was clear to see that she loved getting bathed and dried luckily for her Mothers.
Leaning against the doorframe and smiling Mei sighed a little, looking to her fiancé and daughter, and causing the other three to all notice, and turn back to her now, "Maiya-chan's all clean now, plus she seems fine to me, so you can try feeding her again in a little bit," Yuzu suggested with a smile to Mei, causing the dark haired girl to just nod back to her in reply.
"That's good, and yeah I'll feed her again in a little while, hopefully she'll keep it down this time," Mei stated with a softened expression to the blonde, as Yuzu just nodded back to her before turning back to Maiya, to finish drying her off and dress her in some clean clothes, nuzzling and kissing the infant on her little forehead, while Maiya just giggled again and reached her hands out to cuddle her blonde Mother, Mei stood watching the cute moment between her fiancé and daughter and just smiled at how close they had already grown in their so far short time together.
Matsuri glancing to Mei as she let a small smile form on her lips, knowing that she must have left the young Mother with quite a bit to think about, and hoped that soon enough Mei would decide what she was going to do about having to think about whether she should add on starting wedding plans on top of all the other things she had going through her mind right now.
...
Harumi and Matsuri not staying for too long it seemed as they soon left once Maiya's bath was all over a done with, as Mei and Yuzu had not long had their lunch along with the blonde's Mother. The late afternoon settling in as the young couple were in their bedroom now, Mei having just fed little Maiya and luckily enough she was keeping it all down this time, being slowly rocked to sleep by Yuzu as she hummed a calming tune to the infant, holding their daughter over her shoulder and patting her back softly, while Mei sat on the edge of the double bed, watching her fiancé slowly stroking Maiya's short black hair, and smiled to them both.
"How come it seems so easy to get her to get to sleep in the day, but then it's so difficult at night?" the blonde asked as she seemed to just be asking herself rather than Mei, however the younger girl shrugging her shoulders in reply anyway.
"Maybe she just likes keeping us up all night,"
She thought out loud, causing Yuzu to chuckle slightly and nod back to the younger girl in response, as she continued to rock their sleeping daughter slowly, before soon lying her down in her cot, while little Maiya happily rolled over and snuggled into her soft covers, smiling in her sleep, as Yuzu just leaned against the wooden cot and smiled to the peaceful resting infant.
Mei turning away from Yuzu as she glanced back over to her laptop lying closed on the desk, and let a long sigh leave her lips, 'I hate to say it, but...Matsuri's right, I can't keep Yuzu waiting forever, after all things are starting to settle down now, so...I guess it is about time we maybe thought more about starting to plan our wedding finally,' she thought, going over all the things that Matsuri had said to her earlier in her mind, before she soon took a deep breath and looked back to her fiancé again, catching her attention a moment later.
"Hey Yuzu?"
"Yeah?"
"Since things are starting to calm down for us now after having Maiya...do you think...we should maybe start thinking more about what our plans should be for our wedding?" Mei asked in a bit of a low voice, looking nervous, as she caused Yuzu to turn back to her and widen her eyes, seeming taken aback as she stayed silent for a few moments, while Mei waited for a response from the blonde, before she soon shook her head and wondered where that question had suddenly come from.
"W-well we can start thinking about it if you want to Mei, I mean I definitely can't wait to be married to you...but there's really no rush if you're not ready for all that as well as everything else going on in our lives right now, and we can just- Yuzu began rambling in a bit of a rushed voice, it obviously seeming like she was nervous, not expecting the younger girl to suddenly ask her something like this, and clearly not knowing exactly how to answer her, before Mei soon cut her off and interrupted the blonde's uneasy carrying on.
"I really want to be married to you as well, Yuzu...so I thought we should start thinking about our wedding a little more, I mean we haven't even decided on a date yet or anything...I don't even know if you want to change your name or not," Mei explained as she sighed heavily and glanced away from the blonde, biting her bottom lip, while she caused Yuzu to widen her eyes again, before she looked to Mei's nervous expression, and just let a small smile form on her lips, replying to the younger girl a few moments later.
"Well that's easy enough..." she paused causing Mei to widen her eyes and look back to her a little taken aback, while the blonde soon enough continued on, "I want my name to be Yuzu Okogi Aihara, just like Maiya-chan's, after all...you've always been a part of me Mei," she finished, blushing slightly and smiling back to Mei, causing the younger girl to look surprised for a couple of moments, before she could feel slight tears beginning to well up in her eyes, letting her head hang and seeming really glad that she had now brought this subject up, feeling like she should thank Matsuri for talking to her about it earlier on today.
Soon lifting her head back up as Yuzu came to sit beside her on the bed, the younger girl just letting her expression soften, "You've always been a part of me too, I love you Yuzu...so much," she whispered out with a small smile as she leaned into the blonde, and rested her head against her shoulder, while Yuzu just wrapped an arm around her and held her close, smiling back to her in return.
"You could change your name if you want to as well, and I love you too Mei," the blonde said, kissing Mei lightly on her forehead, causing the younger girl to soon nod back to her, as she nuzzled lovingly into her neck, while she seemed to actually maybe be considering the idea of changing her name like Yuzu had suggested to her.
"We can just figure out the rest as we go and take things slow. So...do you want to start brainstorming some small wedding plans we both might have on our minds, until Maiya-chan wakes up from her nap?" Yuzu asked with a raised eyebrow to Mei, as she caused the younger girl to soon simply nod her head in reply.
"I'd like that,"
She gave Yuzu a softened smile in return as it wasn't long before the two were lost in their ideas and plans that they both had about the wedding, not really deciding on anything just yet, but they were glad and more than happy that they were actually finally talking about all this and feeling comfortable while going through it together. Talking for what seemed like hours upon hours until they eventually had to take their attention off the subject and instead focus on other important things like their newborn daughter who would most likely be awake again in a little while.