20.
Add-Ons
"You alright, Nao?" Natsuki asked.
"I'm fine," Nao said, "Y'know, there's a lot of stuff they don't warn you about when it comes to being pregnant. My ankles look like tree trunks."
"I did warn you about that," Natsuki pointed out, "And I gave you that book, too."
"Look, I'm feeling like a bloated elephant, here. Can you show me a little sympathy?"
"Not to worry. I asked Shizuru to pick up some ice cream for you on her way home. Saiyuri is at daycare. Shizuru said it would be good for her to learn to socialize with other children. Do you want the t.v., or a book?"
"Actually, I'm just going to lay here and close my eyes for a bit. My head hurts."
Natsuki frowned, "Do you need to see a doctor?"
"No. It's a regular headache. Look, I know that after what happened with Shizuru, you're worried, but I promise, it's nothing severe. I asked Mama about it. There are specific warning signs if something is wrong, and I don't have any of them. And I wouldn't act like everything is okay when it wasn't. Trust me, okay?"
Natsuki sighed, "You're right. And you're right about us being on edge."
"I think Shizuru proved that last night when I accidentally bit the inside of my cheek," Nao frowned, "I thought she was going to pop from the stress."
"Nao, can I ask you a personal question?"
"Sure."
"Why did you volunteer for this, anyway? I mean…How do I put this…?"
Nao grinned, "It's not like me?"
"That's not what I…"
"Because you're right. It's not," Nao closed her eyes, "Can you bring me a warm washcloth. I think it's a sinus thing. But it's not like me. Except, and I don't know if this is pregnancy hormones talking or not, but…I did it because I love you two."
Natsuki looked wide eyed, "Um…"
"Oh, not like that," Nao managed a faint smile despite her headache, "I think I really have started thinking of you two as my big sisters. One playful and teasing. The other crabby and grumpy. But mine. And…I honestly do love the two of you."
"I've got to run out. So, before I go, do you need anything?"
"Just make sure I have a clear path to the bathroom. Naomi seems to think my bladder is a heated water bed."
"Yeah, I had the same thing with Saiyuri," Natsuki smiled gently, "You sure you don't want me to wait for Shizuru to get home?"
"I appreciate it, but no. I just need a little quiet, is all. So if you want to step out, I won't mind."
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"So," Natsuki leaned against the wall, "It's just so…awkward. But, at the same time, it's not like I'm actually unhappy about it.
"I mean, I realized I loved Shizuru when I understood that her care and attention, her love, had kept me from falling as far into darkness as Nao.
"And Nao has come so far, since those days. She's had us to look out for her, and she's got her mother back, and she's acting as our surrogate, and I just…I feel like we should do something more for her, but I just don't know what."
"Natsuki?"
"Yes, Fujimi-san?" Natsuki turned to face the WhirlWind owner.
"It's not that I don't appreciate your business and all. I mean you're a regular customer, and you pay well, and I enjoy the work you bring our way. It's just…we're a motorcycle customization and repair shop. We're don't really have much experience at family counseling."
"And here I thought all great mechanics dispensed sage advice while they tinkered on engines," Natsuki grinned.
"Not if they want to pay attention to tuning a Ducati properly, they don't," Chihiro Fujimi sighed.
"Oh? And here I was thinking I might bring Saiyuri by to say hello, one of these days."
"Hang on," Chihiro sighed, "Bell? Have you been listening?"
The towering foreign woman who worked for Chihiro came out from behind the counter. There was something about her…She was taller than Natsuki, but she didn't seem intimidating or menacing. Quite the opposite. Natsuki found there to be something soothing, almost healing, about her very presence.
When she was younger, Natsuki had a general dislike of being touched by other people, although she'd gotten better about that with her close friends. But even as this tall, willowy woman embraced her, Natsuki felt not the slightest trace of her usual unease in dealing with strangers.
Her touch was delicate, like Shizuru's, but it wasn't romantic or sexual. It was…motherly?
"Kuga-san, you want to do something for Yuuki-san to show your appreciation, am I understanding your situation correctly?" Bell asked.
"Yeah, basically," Natsuki felt herself blush, but she oddly didn't feel conscientious about it.
"You told me once that you also consider her to be like a sister. And she's technically your step-sister, now that her mother and your father have married, if I remember what you told me."
"Yes," Natsuki thought, then smiled, "And I just had a terrific idea."
"One day, Bell, you're going to have to teach me how you do that," Chihiro smiled.
"I didn't really do anything," Bell assured her, "Kuga-san simply needed a chance to clear her head. She already knew what she wanted to do. She just didn't realize her own feelings on the matter, at first."
"Well, I need to call Shizuru and work it out with her, too. After all, this is a family matter, and she's my family…"
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Shizuru listened to Natsuki on the phone as she returned to the house, "Hmmm. Yes. That is a most inspired idea, Natsuki. Yes, I can have the necessary paperwork filled out tomorrow. Do you want me to wait until you get home to tell her? Are you sure? It was your idea. Very well, I'll let Nao know."
"Let me know what?" Nao asked, as Shizuru came in.
"Ara, Nao, Natsuki wanted me to tell you that we're going to build a guest house for you in the back garden."
Nao blinked, "A guest house?"
"Well, you have to commute so far between your apartment and our home to work as a housekeeper. And between the cost of transportation, and the rent for an apartment, it must cost you quite a bit.
"What's more, you are Aunt to Saiyuri, and to Naomi. And as you're carrying Naomi in your own body, you are also, in a sense, her mother as well.
"Natsuki and I don't feel it would be fair to you to deliver her and then have to shuffle off away from her."
"C'mon, Shizuru, she's your kid. And Natsuki's."
"And she would only be a sad memory if not for your devotion," Shizuru said firmly, "You have as much right to be a part of her life as either of us. So Natsuki wants to build you a guest house so that you will always be close. And Reito can live there, as well, if you'd like."
Nao looked confused, "But…for me? Why?"
Shizuru then did something that, in the past, would have terrified Nao, but in this time, and this place, only filled her with a sense of warmth. She embraced the redhead from behind.
"You're family, Nao. And so, we want you around as much as possible."
Nao's lime green eyes blinked, and then she smiled, "If that's what you want."
