A/n: Posting this 10 minutes before January ends is true Ayushi-culture lol. So this is my entry for January of Mimato Year 2022! From this chapter onwards, the timeline will go a bit back and forth, sometimes it will focus on newly-wed Mimato, sometimes both my fankids will make appearances and so-on and so-forth.

I hope you enjoy this January themed chapter!

5. On a Snowy Evening

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Mimi leaned back on the extra fluffy pillows that her husband had so meticulously arranged for her, realising that these days whenever she was left alone with her thoughts, a frown would automatically settle on her face, making her intense skin care routine a little bit futile. Her eyes drifted towards her daughter, who sat a little far away from her on the bed, rigorously colouring into her book with her crayons, the look of absolute concentration on her small, heart-shaped face made Mimi's lips curl upwards naturally, erasing all traces of the frown from earlier. As she continued to watch Fuyumi, her hands moved on their own, stroking her now fully-grown belly in a slow, gentle motion.

Her expected due date was next week, but during their last visit at the doctor's, they'd been advised to heed caution and be ready for her to go into labour any day now. The doctor had also advised her to take bed rest and reduce physical activities as much as possible, which was the reason behind all her recent frowning.

Rest and Mimi just did not go well together, she hated sitting still and she hated not being the life of the house. Being positioned in one corner of the house by herself while Yamato took care of chores and Fuyumi was nothing less than pure torture for her. She wanted to go for a walk and pick up flowers for their living room on her way back, she wanted to run after Fuyumi to get her to drink milk at breakfast, she wanted to run down to the University to see Yamato when he'd forgetten to take his lunch. What Mimi didn't want to do was be a silent spectator of her home and family going about their lives as usual.

So when she heard the faint noise of their house door opening down below, and then Yamato's footsteps slowly making their way to the bedroom, Mimi made up her mind to get off the bed and help him with whatever chore he was currently taking care of. She knew that he'd protest against it, and things would probably end in a silly argument, but she was just so bored of resting that even the thought of a fight with her husband seemed welcoming. As soon as Yamato entered the bedroom, Mimi sat up straight, putting on a determined front to win over all the counter arguments the blond would throw at her.

But she noticed then, the dusty white snow that was scattered all across his golden hair and on his shoulders, standing out in stark contrast to the pitch black coat that he was wearing.

"Is it snowing?" Mimi asked, her caramel eyes fixed on her husband who ran a hand or two through his hair in an attempt to get the snow out of it.

"Well, yes." Yamato replied slowly, she could tell that he was biting back on a sarcastic comment for his sake and she appreciated his efforts in doing so.

And instantly she knew what she needed to do to feel like she was herself again.

"I want to go to the park."

Mimi's tone had been stable, her voice just the right amount of loud, her shoulders were squared and her jaw was set.

Even though she had phrased it like one, Yamato and Mimi both knew that it wasn't a request or a demand, it was a statement which would need to be followed through at any cost, it was a prerogative. There was no space for rejection or denial in the tense air that surrounded them, there were no delusions of a discussion or an argument in Yamato's head, the word 'no' wasn't even allowed to exist in his vocabulary in this very minute, his only choice was to say yes or to say yes, and Mimi was liking her odds very much.

"Who will watch Fuyumi then?"

Challenging her, is something Yamato had always been good at so Mimi shouldn't have begun to taste victory so soon. He'd raised a very crucial point of course, there was no way Mimi could go to the park by herself in her current state and unfortunately sitters just couldn't appear out of thin air on her whim, so Yamato had pretty much secured himself a safe bet by playing this card. She looked at him, and though to anyone else he might've seemed expressionless, Mimi would have to be blind to miss the smugness radiating off of him, which just fuelled her need to have her way even further. Her eyes wandered off to look at the person of interest for a moment, Fuyumi was still busy scribbling away in her colouring book, completely unaware of the depth of the conversation that surrounded her, and Mimi thought, well two can play the game.

"We can bring her with us," Mimi leaned back on the soft pillows with a casual shrug, allowing a small smile to appear on her face as her eyes met Yamato's with an enticing fervour, "unless you can't handle that."

She watched in triumph as signs of a scowl settled on his face, by just looking at him she could feel all the various options that circled his mind as he struggled to get himself out of the hole she'd so carefully dug up for him. Yamato had assumed that Mimi would give up at the thought of leaving Fuyumi at home, obviously unaware of her disdain over not being able to move about as freely as she wanted to. It was a bit mean of her to put the burden of minding their toddler on Yamato when she knew that he'd be looking after her too, but since she had already crossed that threshold, Mimi decided to take it one step further and secure her victory while she had a chance.

"Fuyu, Daddy said it's snowing outside. Don't you want to go out and play?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's go!" Fuyumi instantly dropped her crayons and pushed aside the colouring book as if it was yesterday's news. The next second, she was on her feet and jumping up and down with excitement on the bed, her shiny blonde hair flopping in perfect harmony with every leap as she looked at Yamato with her big, round eyes, and he melted in absolute defeat.

"Fine, let's go." He murmured, putting the black coat he had only just taken off back on, he moved forward to pick up Fuyumi, who happily jumped into his arms, giggling and still bobbing her head with joy. Next, he began to make his way towards her, but Mimi was quick to brush him away.

"I can get up on my own." She said, waving her hands in a gesture to tell him to go ahead without her.

And she could, she knew that and it was time for her to prove it to her husband to. Ever since bedrest had been advised to her, Yamato would magically appear at her side every time she attempted any physical activity, and while she would admit that there were times that she did need his help, mostly this habit of his had started to get on her nerves, and could be another contributor to all her constant frowning.

Yamato eyed her wryly, but decided not to contest her on that. He had always been quick at picking up on things, and though she hadn't yet once mentioned it out loud that she was getting tired of being a homebody, Mimi wouldn't be surprised to know if he'd managed to catch on to that by the tone of the conversation they'd just had.

It took her a few minutes to stand up straight on her two feet, and she didn't appreciate her husband's watchful eyes boring into her as she did, but Mimi finally managed to do so without displaying any signs of discomfort. She faced him smugly with an eyebrow raised, and Yamato struggled to hold back an eye roll.

"See you downstairs then." He said with a shake of his head, leaving the room with Fuyumi without another glance in her direction.

Which is what Mimi had hoped for but when it actually happened, it didn't feel as liberating as she had assumed it would. She felt her eyebrows furrowing again and immediately slapped her cheeks with both her hands, this was ridiculous, she didn't need Yamato's help in going down the stairs, she'd done it by herself a million times when she had been pregnant with Fuyumi and she could do it now too. With these thoughts in her head Mimi moved forward, but halfway through the stairway it became obvious to her that her body was indeed not in the same condition it had been when she'd been pregnant for the first time. Maybe she had managed to miss the signs because Yamato had been taking such good care of her, but now that she thought carefully about it, the fact that she had to take a break while going down, and that she even felt annoyed there were still a few more stairs to go, it became obvious to Mimi that her plan was about to backfire big time.

By the time she arrived in the living room, Yamato had already dressed up Fuyumi in a jacket, scarf and a beanie, and was currently helping her put on her boots. Mimi, deciding on not admitting defeat out loud, walked past them confidently towards the shoe rack next to their entrance door, picking out her own boots, which matched Fuyumi's in colour.

"Need any help with that?" She heard Yamato's patient voice float into her ear from somewhere behind her, but Mimi shook her head in refusal and kept her eyes on the shoes in front of her.

If she had managed their hellishly long staircase by herself, putting on her shoes was no big feat in comparison. And besides, if she accepted his help now, he'd know in an instant that as this point she was only putting on a charade to keep him from cancelling their plan to step out. So she began to put on her boots one feet at a time, at an extremely slow pace. Yamato was kind enough to not remark at her speed, but Fuyumi, having inherited most of her own traits, was quick to groan and point out just how slow Mimi was being.

After a few minutes, which felt like a whole year, with her cheeks tinted in pink embarrassment Mimi straightened up and faced her family, happily announcing that she was ready to leave. Yamato picked up Fuyumi in his arms again, promising to let her down when they got to the park and held out his free arm towards Mimi. Although she couldn't quite tell from his deadpan face whether he had just accepted her tantrum or whether he was still planning to prove her wrong, Mimi couldn't refuse the offer and eagerly linked her own arm with his.

When they finally stepped out, the scene in front of her was just as she had imagined wanting to see.

Snow covered pavements and cars, eerily empty streets with flickering street lamps, a boding grey sky, and snowflakes falling down like glittering dust. With Fuyumi's melodic laughter filling the air and Yamato's comforting body warmth flowing into her, she stretched out a hand and giggled as a lone snowflake landed on her open palm. Mimi could happily admit to herself that she was content, that she felt like Mimi again, because she was only truly herself when she'd gotten everything she had wanted.

But her happiness lasted for mere moments, as only after walking a bit further away from their house, Mimi felt her breathing get heavy and her ankles get sore. She couldn't believe her own luck, had she been walking farther away from Yamato, she would've still managed to hold herself together until they got to the park. But instead she was snuggled up so close to him that there was no chance of him not noticing the change in her pace.

Nevertheless she attempted to compose herself and press on, in her selfish need to get her way she'd gotten Fuyumi excited too and now she couldn't bear to let her daughter down mid-way. Of course, she also did not want Yamato to get the final word in, those occasions were rare and Mimi would rather keep it that way. So she kept her brave face on and continued to match Yamato's step with great effort as they walked.

Curious about whether her husband had caught onto her struggle, Mimi decided to sneak a glance at his face, and when she did, her heart sank straight to her stomach.

Yamato had been watching her, the concern in his deep blue eyes strengthening with each step they took, steps that he had intentionally slowed down in order to not burden her. When their eyes met, there was a flicker of a silent plea visible in his, a plea for Mimi to take her health and well-being seriously, and not for her to admit defeat. It became clear to her then, that for Yamato this hadn't been about winning an argument or bending to her demands, all he cared about was making sure that she was comfortable. That the only reason he had offered to help her at every step was simply because he loved her, and not because he wanted to prove himself right. That even now, instead of triumphing in his victory, he was worrying over her.

Mimi felt silly then, and berated herself internally for all the childish things she'd said and done till now. Putting herself through pain to prove a point was one thing, but putting Yamato under so much stress for her sake was something she couldn't stand to do.

She unlinked her arm from Yamato's and came to a halt, facing him sincerely, she said, "Yama-kun I'm tired and I'd like to sit down."

Relief spread all over Yamato's face and through his body as he relaxed his shoulders and looked left and right before pointing towards a bench not too far from where they were standing.

When Mimi took her place on the bench, her whole body felt extremely heavy and she bitterly realised that it'd be a little while before she would be ready to make the short trip back home. Yamato took his place next to her in silence as Fuyumi ran forward to play in the snow that was piled up at the edge of the pavement. Mimi immediately rested her head on his shoulders and he sighed in content. A minute later she felt his hand thread through her hair, in an attempt to get the snow out of her hair, she heard him murmur under his breath that he didn't want her to catch a cold.

There were still many things she could have said to make things better between them, but Yamato didn't prompt her and she didn't bother. This is how they'd always worked, understanding the need for silence and speaking not through words, but gestures. Mimi had let go of her prideful charade and admitted the truth out loud and Yamato didn't need anything more.

The streets were still empty, the snow was still falling and the sky was still grey, but sitting on a bench in a lonely corner of a pavement wasn't the scene Mimi'd had wanted to see, but with Yamato's warm hands gently stroking her head and Fuyumi happily playing with the snow in front of them, Mimi concluded to herself that she could make her peace with this one too. Knowing that neither her husband nor her daughter would rush her, she allowed her eyelids to droop and gave into the rest that her body was craving.

"What is she trying to make?" Yamato's confused voice spurred her awake, and Mimi followed his furrowed gaze to look at Fuyumi, who was busy crafting something out of the snow that was laden across the pavement. Her face mirrored her husband's confusion as she tried to make sense of the weirdly oval shape their daughter had managed to mould the snow into.

"Fuyu, sweetheart, what are you making?" Mimi called out gently, so far Fuyumi had consistently displayed creativity akin to her father so she knew that Yamato would never let her live it down if Fuyumi ended up with Mimi's artistic skills, or lack thereof.

With a flip of her shoulder length hair, Fuyumi turned around and faced her parents, the look on her face clearly stating that they were the ones in the wrong for even questioning her process, she folded her arms across her chest and in a bossy tone that oddly resembled Mimi's replied, "I'm trying to make one of the monsters from Uncle Takeru's book. Duh." She ended the sentence with a force that implied that Yamato and Mimi were total idiots for not catching onto her creation.

Mimi had to hold onto Yamato's arm so as to stop herself from laughing out loud and when she sneaked a look at him, she saw that he was going through the same ordeal. She had half a mind to turn back to Fuyumi and ask her which of the monsters she was trying to make, but noticing an amused smile spread across Yamato's face, she stopped herself. Yamato gently removed her hand from his arm and her head from his shoulder as he made to get up.

"Wait here."

He walked over to Fuyumi and bent down to whisper something in her ear, watching Fuyumi's excited response made Mimi very curious about the conversation that transpired between the two but before she had a chance to pose her question, Yamato took Fuyumi's hand and they started to walk towards the direction of the park.

"We'll be back soon." Yamato grinned at her, before the two disappeared along the corner of the road, leaving a very confused Mimi alone on the bench.

Even though she had ended up alone with her thoughts, Mimi was taken aback by the fact that her face didn't automatically scrunch up into a frown. Maybe it was because she had finally made peace with the state of things, or maybe it was because there was a sense of excitement bubbling up inside of her over what her husband and daughter had in store for her, or maybe it was because the snowfall had managed to wash away all her worries like fairy dust, whatever the reason, Mimi was relieved to be able to be at peace by herself again.

She heard their footsteps and Fuyumi's laugh before the two even turned the corner and came into her view, making her immediately sit up straight with her eyes open wide, searching for anything that resembled a surprise for her. It wasn't until they reached closer to her that Mimi noticed that Fuyumi was carefully carrying something in the palm of her hands, walking with cautious steps so as to make sure that she didn't drop the object. When her daughter finally reached her and raised her palms up so that Mimi could see what she had prepared for her, despite the chilly weather, Mimi found herself melting into a puddle of love and warmth.

On Fuyumi's palms rested a small, oval shaped piece of ice on which were stuck two small reddish stones resembling a certain set of eyes, and from it's top a slim stem that had two green leaves sprouting from it struck out, resembling the head of a certain monster that Mimi was fond of.

"Daddy said this one is your favourite."

She raised her eyes to find Yamato gazing at her, a little bit proud of his work but mostly with love for her.

This is the point when most people would say thank you, or I love you, but Mimi, through tearful eyes and in a defeated voice, announced that she'd rather be at home stuffed between fluffy pillows and blankets then out in the cold.

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A/n: Thank you for reading, until next month!