Summary: Night brings insight.
Maki could feel Nico, sense the heat coming off the smaller woman's body, the sensation of Nico's weight pushing her into the couch, the very specific gravity that happened when Nico was near, Maki not able to look away, wanting only to move closer, pushing away when the overwhelming want rushed through her…
Eyes open, breathing rate accelerated, stretched out along Nico's couch, Nico sprawled out over her, seemingly soundly asleep. Maki's hands itched to loop around Nico's back, pull the smaller woman closer, slide Nico's hand down her side, across her thigh, see the surprise in Nico's eyes…
Sleeping. Nico. Healing. Nico. Very carefully, Maki tilted herself off the couch, changing from her awkward landing to kneeling, fingers gently brushing through Nico's hair, "Get better, Nico. Please."
Nico muttered something and turned, facing away from Maki.
Maki wondered if some noise from Dia had woken her. With a swallowed groan, she pushed to her feet, ready to head upstairs to check on her sleeping daughter. She glanced again at Nico and corrected her inner voice: their sleeping daughter. Maki sighed. Would that ever feel right to say out loud?
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Dia still slept. Maki sat in the rocking chair, positioning it next to the crib so she could sit next to Dia and stare at Nico's bed. She'd packed up her daughter and come here, at Nico's invitation, to…take care of Nico. To get away from her mother's demands. Maki remembered being alone with Dia, in Wisconsin, stressed, being alone and responsible for Dia, wanting to see Nico, having to be with Dia…Maki had never felt conflicted like that before, never really wanting anything for herself, always content to just push along easier paths. But something about Nico touched something raw in Maki, brought out a side Maki had put aside long ago, somewhere in college, maybe, choosing ordinary days. But one afternoon with Nico and Dia had invited Maki to realize that she'd settled for an empty sort of ordinary days, with no partnership like Rin and Hanayo had. And one night in Philly with Nico had made Maki realize how incomplete she felt without Nico's arms around her in bed, or Nico close on the couch, or sending text after text. Did everyone in love feel it this vibrantly? At some moment, Nico had stepped in, close enough to raise the hairs on Maki's arm, and then all Maki could see, hear, smell…all Nico, sharp and sweet and sexy. And now, all Maki could think about was more…more time with Nico, finding out more about Nico, more skin touching Nico's skin, more nights together, more meals, more mornings…everything else had tilted and slid off the table in Maki's mind. Maki reading Dia a story, Nico singing a lullaby, Dia watching them both and grinning…Maki stood up, patting Dia's hair with the gentlest of touches, "We're going to do this, Dia. Mama loves you.."
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Nico woke, feeling better than she had for days. Having Maki and Dia in the house, with her, not who knows where, having a crisis with no one near to help, that levelled down Nico's stress. She stepped over to the monitor, turning it up. Barely hearing Maki's even breathing…maybe she fell asleep in the rocking chair. Nico would have to get Cocoa and Cocoro over to move her office out and set up the nursery. Climb the stairs, slowly, blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. Stop in bedroom doorway, see Maki asleep in the rocking chair, hair askew, one finger touching where Dia had curled up near the side, have heart melt. More feelings than Nico realized her body could hold, centered on these two beautiful newcomers who'd changed her life in such a short time.
Nico wrapped the blanket around Maki, carefully. She didn't want to disturb either sleeper. If Maki woke up, maybe she'd join Nico in the bed. If Dia woke up, Nico smiled, they'd all probably know. Dia didn't wait for attention, Nico had already noticed.
A/N: Howdy! A short bit to get back on track.