Title: Regret
Characters: Miyako, (Ken), (Miyako's family)
Pairings: Ken/Miyako
Word count: 300
Note: Because Miyako is so not a housewife.
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Miyako's life is an unhappy mess of changing diapers, crying babies, carpools, after-school events, cooking, cleaning, and on and on and on.
Her fingers itch to touch a computer, do some real work. Not that she doesn't love her children, but she has never been suited for life as a housewife. She constantly finds herself thinking about Before, when she and Ken were newlyweds and she had been working with Koushirou, doing research.
Hell, she doesn't even know why she gave it up anymore. When she had first gotten pregnant, her mother would drop not-so-subtle hints that being a mother and working at the same time wouldn't be best for the baby. Then her sisters had started nagging, but their opinion had never mattered to Miyako before.
When Ken had begun to hint at the fact that he wanted their baby to have a full-time mom, that was when Miyako began to consider it. Though Ken hadn't been particularily explicit about his opinion, Miyako could tell—she isn't that unobservant.
As much as she values her husband's opinion, she still shouldn't have quit. She should have done what was—is best for her, best for their children. Her heart isn't in taking care of them, and they can tell.
But she can't find it in herself to go back to work now, after everything. She feels as if she has been molded to fit the housewife job, her corners softened, her temper dulled. She no longer has the courage to talk to Ken about it, and she hates it.
Miyako thinks of herself as a Chosen, passionate and free and brave and living. Now she's stuck in an endless loop of diapers and crying babies and carpools and after-school events and cooking and cleaning and on. And on. And on.