2 and a Half Months Later
"Are you sure about this Sasha? Kaya will understand if you need to reschedule the sleepover" Niccolo tried to reason with his wife.
"The baby will be here any day now and we won't be able to have the sleepover for a while then. She deserves this time, so help me get my boots on honey" Sasha said determined, even though she couldn't see her feet.
Sasha was now eight and a half months pregnant and the doctor said that the baby could come anytime in the next two weeks. So Sasha knew that now was the best time for the sleepover she had previously promised Kaya. The sisters had planned to take the train and do some shopping in the Trost District for some last minute baby items and to just get out of Dauper for a while. Then they would go back to Sasha and Niccolo's home and enjoy each other's company for the rest of the night.
"Your boots are all good to go" Niccolo said, as he stood back up and then helped his wife up.
"Thank you Nico, I'm going to head to the train station now, Kaya should already be there" Sasha said, while giving him a chaste kiss and then grabbing her purse.
"Not so fast" Niccolo said slyly, before connecting their lips once more and placing one hand in her hair and the other on her waist. They stayed like that until Niccolo pulled away to press his lips to her stomach.
"Okay, now you can go" Niccolo said with a small smile.
Sasha smiled back with a blush before saying, "We'll be home before dark, have a good day at the restaurant" and then heading out the door.
Sasha slowly but surely made it to the train station and quickly found Kaya, who was waving happily at her.
"Big Sis! Did you get here okay?" Kaya asked, noticing the beads of sweat rolling down Sasha's face.
"I did but I am ready to sit down" Sasha admitted sheepishly, while swiping some of the sweat from her face.
On cue, the train's horn sounded throughout the station and villagers began leaving and boarding at the same time. Kaya held Sasha's hand since she could see her sister's discomfort as they navigated through the crowd, but the villagers were nice enough to make sure Sasha got a good place to sit next to the window.
The train ride to Trost took about thirty minutes and the sister's spent that time catching up and discussing what they would be shopping for. When the train came to a halt at its destination, all the passengers let Sasha and Kaya off first and even wished Sasha well for her delivery.
Their first stop was a cafe for a cup of tea and a slice of strawberry cake (or two). Sasha was telling Kaya a story from her childhood whenever something caught her eye, but not something, someone.
"Annie, is that you?" Sasha asked the woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bag of donuts in hand.
"Sasha? I haven't seen you in a while" Annie pointed out simply, that bored expression never leaving her face even though she was secretly happy to be seeing a familiar face.
"Annie it's been so long, come sit with us for a bit!" Sasha requested happily, while waving for her to come over.
Sasha introduced Kaya to Annie, as she sat down and began munching on a chocolate frosted donut while listening to Sasha speak. Annie answered all her former comrades questions and even asked a few of her own.
"What are you in Trost for?" Annie asked passively, as she finished off her donut.
"Kaya and I wanted to get away from Dauper for a while and I needed to get some last minute baby stuff" Sasha replied back, while taking a drink of tea.
"I see, it does look like you're going to pop any minute" Annie said before adding, "Armin and I have been thinking about having a child" in a quiet tone.
"That's so exciting! Annie you would be a total mama bear and Armin would be such a good dad" Sasha assured Annie, knowing how daunting the idea of having a baby can be.
Annie nodded as she thought over Sasha's encouraging words, "I need to get back to my office, it was nice meeting you Kaya. And thank you Sasha, I look forward to seeing you here with your baby next time" Annie said before leaving the cafe.
"She's nice but a little scary" Kaya said, while releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"Annie's been through a lot, you should have seen how intense she was during our Cadet training!" Sasha exclaimed and then went into telling Kaya stories of Annie from those days.
Once they were done at the cafe, they went to a clothing store and browsed through all the different sections. Sasha sat in the waiting area while Kaya tried on some dresses and got Sasha's opinion on them. After buying a few dresses, Kaya asked if they could go to the baby store next. And Sasha couldn't help but tease Kaya and say that she was more excited for the baby than her and Niccolo.
They walked a few blocks and arrived at the large baby store and once they stepped inside, their eyes went wide. "I hope Nico isn't upset after I spend all this money" Sasha said with a giggle as she and Kaya began picking out different items.
The sisters went through all the aisles and were so engrossed in shopping that Sasha barely heard her name being called. "Sasha" the familiar voice called out for the third time. At that, Sasha finally turned around and had to hold back tears at who she saw.
Mikasa was standing there with a sleeping baby wrapped to her chest, her black hair grown out to her shoulders, and looking more at peace than Sasha had ever seen.
"Mikasa!" Sasha said, as the tears began falling and she gave her the best hug she could with her stomach in the way and the baby between them.
"I'm sorry we fell out of touch over these last two years, things just changed so much" Sasha said with a hiccup, as she pulled back and wiped her eyes.
"I'm sorry too, it's been the same for me. This new life is peaceful but presents it's own challenges" Mikasa said with a soft look, her gaze falling down to her sleeping daughter.
Sasha then introduced Kaya to Mikasa and they all went ahead and checked out their items so they could catch up. They decided to go to the Port and sit on the benches together so they could talk, but before they left, Mikasa went to the bathroom to change her daughter.
While they waited Sasha turned to Kaya and said, "I'm sorry we keep running into people I know, I promised it would just be us today" she fretted.
"Not at all, it's cool meeting all the people you fought alongside. Especially seeing you all be happy after everything you went through for us to have this peace and freedom" Kaya said genuinely, hoping to ease her sister's worries.
Sasha hugged Kaya and thanked her for being so understanding of everything, Mikasa then came out of the bathroom and they all headed towards the Port. Once there, Sasha asked all about what Mikasa had been up to and about her daughter.
Mikasa explained that she and Jean had gotten married not too long after the Scouts retired, though Jean chose to join the Military Police to keep busy. And that their daughter was named Aiko and that she was a little over three months old.
Sasha and Kaya gushed over the baby girl and her black hair that so greatly resembled Mikasa's. Mikasa took Aiko out of the wrap and let Sasha and Kaya both hold her while she continued to nap.
As Sasha looked down at the sleeping baby, she asked Mikasa, "Be honest with me, does it really hurt that bad?" knowing that she would understand what she was talking about.
"Yes it does, even more than you're probably thinking" Mikasa said without holding back.
Sasha shuddered at her words, Mikasa saw this and tried to ease her worries, "Having Jean encouraging me throughout her labor helped a lot, and imagining holding her once she was born was all I needed to get through it" she said warmly.
The girls all continued to talk and watch the boats in the Port drift by until Aiko began waking up and squirming around in her mother's hold with a disgruntled look on her small face. "I'm sorry to have to leave so soon, but I think my little one is ready to go home" Mikasa said softly, as she stood up and readjusted Aiko in her arms.
"I completely understand! I'm just so happy I got to see you" Sasha said wholeheartedly, while standing up and giving Mikasa another hug and then Kaya did the same.
"When you're ready after the baby is born, let me know and I'll come by and visit" Mikasa offered before giving the sisters a final wave and heading off down the street.
"Mikasa has always been so cool and now being a mom suits her so well" Sasha said with admiration as they headed to the next shop before adding, "Let me tell you about the time Mikasa and Annie sparred during our Cadet training" with a nostalgic feeling washing over her.
The sisters spent a few more hours in Trost and Sasha picked up some more baby items, as well as some shirts for Niccolo, and Kaya picked out some hair clips and headbands. Before getting back on the train they had a lunch of beef and vegetable stew with bread and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
Sasha and Kaya made their way back to the train station with all their shopping bags and boarded onto the train headed back to Dauper. "Thank you for doing this with me, I know how tired and achy you must feel at this point" Kaya said in a grateful tone.
"Of course, we needed one last hangout with it just being us before the baby gets here" Sasha said with a smile, while running her hand over her stomach.
"We did, but think about how nice it'll be when the baby is here and we can have another day like this all together" Kaya said with a giggle.
Sasha began to answer but was interrupted by the slight tinge of pain she felt from the baby kicking. "I think that means she agrees" Kaya guessed, as she placed her hand on Sasha's stomach to feel the baby.
"Something tells me it's a girl too but Nico thinks it's a boy" Sasha mused, while thinking about her husband and his antics.
The sisters arrived back in Dauper as the sun was going down and went straight home. Once there Sasha immediately sat down on the couch to rest some since she hadn't done that much walking in a while. Kaya saw this and helped her sister take off her boots and then folded all the clothes they'd bought and placed the baby items in the nursery.
"Thank you for doing all that Kaya, I'm going to change into my comfy clothes and then make us something for dinner" Sasha announced before heading to her room, and then coming out in a long sleeve shirt and cotton shorts. Once Sasha was in the kitchen, Kaya went to the guest room to change for the night.
Sasha was looking around for something to eat when a plate covered in foil with a note on top caught her eye.
Sasha, I knew you and Kaya would be hungry once you got home so I prepared this before I left for work. I won't be home til late tonight, so enjoy this.
-Niccolo
She then removed the foil and couldn't help but squeal at what she saw, Kaya heard this and rushed into the kitchen. "Are you okay?" Kaya asked, slightly panicking.
"Niccolo made us pizza" Sasha croaked out, on the verge of tears from her husband's kindness.
"You had me worried Big Sis! But that does look yummy, I've never had anything like that before" Kaya said, while looking over the pizza that was topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and basil.
"It's so good, the first time I had it was when the Scouts went to Marley" Sasha said, as she brought the pizza to the table.
The sisters sat down at the table and began eating the pizza and Sasha told Kaya all about her first trip to Marley. She reminisced about all the foods she tried, the kind family who invited them over for dinner, and how drunk she and all the Scouts got that night.
After dinner, the sisters went to the living room and started up the fireplace for some warmth. And Kaya picked out a record and placed it on the record player, enjoying the soft instrumental music that began to play. They spent the rest of the night talking, playing card games, painting each other's nails, and snacking on sugar cookies.
At around midnight, Niccolo finally made it home and quietly opened the front door of their home. He went into the living room and found Sasha sitting on the couch and Kaya laying down with her head on Sasha's lap, both girls fast asleep.
Niccolo smiled at the sight and went and grabbed two blankets and draped the blankets over them both. He would prefer that they slept in the bed since they will likely be sore in the morning, especially Sasha. But they both looked too comfortable to move so Niccolo decided to leave them be.
"Goodnight you two" Niccolo whispered, as he placed a light kiss on Sasha's head and then went and got into bed himself.