A/N: I finished my Love Hina fic, and started a second Marimite fic. I am either stupid or a glutton for punishment. Well, without further ado, here is chapter 18. Please enjoy and let me know what you thought. Thank you!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to remind anyone that the characters in this story are the creation of the masterful Konno Oyuki, and I bow before her greatness and expect no financial remuneration for this silly story.

Ten Years Later

Chapter 18: Lyudi Invalidy

Shimako

Shimako woke the next morning in Yumi's arms. It felt safe and lovelier than it ever did with Noriko. There was always a sense of desperation, especially in the last few months before their break-up, in Shimako's holding her younger lover in their sleep. She had this sense that if she did not hold Noriko tight, that she would leave her. It left Shimako crying silently in her sleep on many nights when she simply did not have the energy to make love to the younger woman.

If she were honest with herself at the time, Shimako would have to admit that the prospects for their relationship were not good. She was becoming the jealous, possessive girlfriend that almost always gets dumped, and she hated it. Noriko was not helping the situation by not making herself unresponsive to the flirting of other women. It fed Shimako's sense that the anthropologist was cheating on her. In her heart of hearts, the kindergarten teacher knew that it was just a matter of time before things blew up.

Still, it was a shock when Noriko proposed to break off their romantic relationship before she left for America. 'Perhaps,' Shimako thought, 'part of the shock was how amicably we ended it.' There was nothing dramatic in the break-up. That it was so calm was every bit as jarring as if she had caught Noriko in an affair. She had not felt secure in their relationship since they started university, and at that moment, her then-fears were confirmed. They had no future.

With Yumi, she was beginning to feel secure and began to dream of maybe having a child with her and getting married. It was nice when Sachiko was still restrained from pursuing Yumi more urgently by her Grandfather's threats. Now that he was dead, and Sachiko was free to do as she wished. It was not as if Yumi had ever given her a reason to distrust her or to feel insecure about their relationship. When Sachiko had tricked her into a dinner meeting, Yumi immediately confessed to it and was genuinely contrite. Yumi would not purposefully hurt her, Shimako was sure of that. What she was not sure of was whether she would be able to keep an unfettered Ogasawara from working her way back into Yumi's heart. "I hate feeling like this," she mumbled louder than she had intended, waking her lover.

A sleepy Yumi asked, "Do I do something to make you feel bad?" The care and concern on the architect's face made Shimako's heart beat faster.

"No, Yumi," Shimako answered quickly, planting a loving kiss on her cute cheek. "It is nothing that you have done. I am just chasing shadows in my mind about things that probably will not happen."

Yumi looked confused, "What is worrying you, Shimako? I am here for you."

There was a moment's hesitation as the young teacher waged war inside herself on whether she should unburden her fears on her longtime friend and now-girlfriend. The desire to have the weight lifted overruled her desire to solve her demons on her own. Taking a deep breath, Shimako replied, "I may be being foolish, but I am feeling apprehensive about Sachiko-sama. I know that you have assured me that she is as much in your past as Noriko is in mine. I know that I can trust you, yet there is still this fear in my heart that she will try to get you to take her back at my expense. I am not as beautiful as she, nor am I as accomplished as she is. My biggest handicap is that I am not your first love."

"Baka," said Yumi affectionately. "That you are not my first love actually works to your advantage. You did not break my heart. You did not cast me aside to marry someone else. You were a friend when I needed one. It is true that you are not my first love, but you could be my last." Before Yumi could utter another sound, her mouth was covered by Shimako as the other woman tried to kiss her head off.

Sachiko

'This is more tedious than I thought,' the raven-haired heiress growled to herself. She had spent the day arguing with the Ogasawara Zaibatsu board over yet another non-issue. 'Well, the issue was issue,' she chuckled ironically. The board had demanded that she and Suguru try to have a son to inherit the firm after her. They were still not comfortable with the idea of her or Yumiko leading the conglomerate, despite their intelligence and bloodlines. She was going over documents in her office when the frustration boiled over. "Those old mossbacks just need to retire or die and let me bring us into the 21st century," she complained loudly.

Suguru, walking in that precise moment, smirked, "Now Sa-chan that is not nice. How does it feel to have to live with what Alice and I have to every board meeting? Those old bastards want him to marry and produce an heir, the sooner the better. I guess it is my fault as I have heard that I am leading him into the hell of sinful homosexuality. Like he was any more innocent than I was when we started dating."

"Well, it just angers me to be found wanting merely because of my gender," Sachiko fumed. "I have no desire to be pregnant again. Once was enough. I got fat, and everything hurt. And the act of childbirth, do not get me started on how miserable that experience was. I honestly thought that I was going to die from all of the pain. If those old dinosaurs want another heir, then they can go impregnate themselves and give birth to it!"

Suguru chortled, "I would like to see that! Imagine those old men with their legs up in stirrups, trying to pass something the size of a watermelon out of their asses!"

Sachiko chuckled, "That would be a sight, wouldn't it? The more important issue is deciding on whether to bid on that Australian petro-chemical company that is for sale. It would give us an in on an important market. If we don't bid on, some American company will, and we will lose that opportunity to expand into Australia. It would also show that the old monster's death weakened us and I will not have that."

"Wow, Sa-chan," her cousin whistled. "If Yumi-chan saw how sexy you are when you get all hard-ass business, she would drop her drawers for you faster than Usain Bolt runs."

The young mother blushed and then her face fell, "No, that is something will not be happening anytime soon. While I am glad that Grandfather died; it could not have happened at a worse time for my goal of getting my Yumi back. I have had to focus on business and I allowed her and Shimako-chan to get even closer. My sources tell me that my rival has all but moved into Yumi's house. As much as I love Yumi and want to be with her, Yumiko and her future is my priority. If that means that I have to live without ever holding my love in arms again, so be it. I went through hell to have that child, and I will go through hell to make sure that her future is secure."

Her cousin drew her into his arms, "I am so sorry, Sachiko. If I could, I would take this burden on for you in order to free you up to chase Yumi-chan. Unfortunately, the Kashiwagi board and the Arisugawa directors keep me busy defending my relationship with Alice. Just as you believe that Yumiko is your priority, he is mine. That is not to say that I will not look out for our daughter's interests, it is just that I will do so when I can."

"Fair enough," Sachiko said, blowing a stray hair from her eyes. "This whole situation makes me so angry." Looking at her watch, Sachiko's eyes narrowed. "It is time to join the conference call with Southern Cross Petrol. I am just thankful that it is an audio call and not a video teleconference. Australians are as bad at not taking me seriously as Americans are because I am a young woman."

Suguru chuckled, "No, it isn't that, Sa-chan. They are simply mesmerized by your beauty and they think that all Japanese women want a western man."

"That may be true, but I don't want a man, period," she grumped. "I want one specific woman, and I cannot even have her because I was a scared teenager ten years ago. They can dream about me all they want, but that is all that they are going to get, dreams."

"I can see that you are in the right frame of mind to deal with this, so I will head back to my office. Good luck today, Sa-chan," Suguru said as he left.

His cousin barely registered his departure as she sat down at her desk to begin the meeting. She dialed a number, waited for a response, and said in English, "Good afternoon, I am Ogasawara Sachiko, and I am scheduled to speak with Mr. Jamie Boyle. Is he available?" 'Well, Yumiko-chan, watch mommy work her magic,' she thought while on hold. 'Let's do this.'

Yumi

'Well Shi-chan was sure assertive this morning,' Yumi smirked internally as she explored the collection of hickeys that started below her collarbone and trailed down her abdomen. She was waiting for the water to warm up before entering the shower. There was no dimming her smile this morning. She had a smart, handsome son, a job that she loved, a beautiful girlfriend, and she had just been awoken in the most wonderful way possible. 'It is so great making love to someone. I wished that I had learned this sooner!'

After finishing her shower, she began to dress and realized, to her dismay that the hickeys were visible above the neckline of the dress that she had chosen to wear. "There's nothing for it. I guess that it is a blouse and skirt day instead," the architect said as she exited the bathroom and walked back to her bedroom.

Turning the corner, Yumi saw her girlfriend's shocked face, "Did I do that?" Shimako asked as her face flushed red.

"No, Amaterasu-sama snuck into our room while we were asleep and molested me so that she could steal me from Maria-sama," Yumi replied facetiously. Her eyes softened, "Don't worry about it, Shi-chan. Your love makes me happier than anything other being a mother."

Shimako blushed and shyly took Yumi's hand, "I am glad. It is crazy how insecure I felt before you woke up. My dreams of how things went bad with Noriko scared me because your face would replace hers. I know that you are not a flirt. You also are not encouraging Sachiko-sama, but I've been hurt once before, so it is hard."

"You should not forget that it was you who taught me to love again after Sachiko-sama broke my heart, Shimako," Yumi said with her eyes glowing. "I am grateful to you for that, and even if things ever fall apart between us, which I hope that it doesn't, I will always love you for that."

Drawing the still near-naked Yumi into her arms, Shimako laced her fingers behind her love's back, and breathed, "And I you. Please forgive me if I get insecure and worry about stupid things. It is the most uncool part of me."

Yumi laughed, "I thought that the most uncool part of you is how nerdy you are about girl bands!" Shimako gently head butted her before kissing her lovingly. "Oh Shi-chan, oh that feels lovely, but we both need to get dressed or we will be late for work. Besides, Yuuichi will be getting up right about…"

"Mommy, I'm hungry," the aforementioned little boy said as he staggered sleepily from his bedroom. "Ohaiyo, Shimako-sensei," he mumbled to his mother's girlfriend, who turned red at almost being caught in the middle of a passionate kiss.

"So you say 'good morning' to Shimako-san, but you greet me with 'Mommy, I'm hungry' you little stinker," growled Yumi as she tickled her son's tummy, causing him to giggle. "Let Mommy get her clothes on and I will get you breakfast while you get ready for school."

Yuuichi yawned, "Yes, Mommy," as he returned to his bedroom. He was usually a bit subdued on school morning because like his mother, he was not a morning person. Yumi knew that by the time she got him into the car for school, he would be his normal, high energy self.

"And there goes one of the only three men that I will ever love," she mused aloud as he walked into his bedroom, thinking of her father and brother.

Shimako smiled even though she felt a little left out of this mother-child bond that Yumi and Yuuichi shared. She understood that it was stupid to be jealous of such a cute child, but she also knew that Yumi would choose her son over her any day of the week. 'That is the way that it should be. If I had a child, I would probably do the same. I would love to have a baby with Yumi though."

While she was deep in thought, Shimako did not notice that Yumi had dressed and was standing front of her with a smirk on her face, "Was I that good, Shi-chan?"

Shaken from her baby dreams, Shimako spluttered, "No! Yes! I was thinking that being a mother is a wonderful thing. I would like to be one some day."

Yumi chuckled, "It's wonderful once they are born, but I can tell you that being pregnant is not the most excellent experience. Your stomach stretches. Your ankles swell. You get bad gas. For the first few months, random smells will make you nauseous. And labor, well, that is a torture worse than anything the CIA or the KGB could dream up. The pain, Maria-sama, the pain is so bad. It feels like your insides are ripping apart and then it spreads down below. I, for one, will be adopting my second child if I wish to have a second child!"

"Yu-chan," Shimako said with a small voice. "You are scaring me. I don't like pain."

Yumi smiled ruefully, "The horror aside, it is worth it the first time that you get to see your baby and get to hold him. The little pink blob becomes the center of your world, and you love every minute of it. I certainly have. I suppose the right woman could make me forget the bad parts and I might be persuaded to do it again."

"You wouldn't have to if it is with me," the honey-haired woman blurted. "I want to do it. I mean I would like to have a child with you when we are both ready."

At this, Yumi looked uncomfortable, saying, "Well that's good to know. I better check on Yuuichi to see if he is done eating so that we can go." She walked into the kitchen quickly. Shimako was left in the hallway, knowing that she had pushed too hard again.

Noriko

'I wonder how Oneesama and Yumi-sama are doing,' the young anthropologist thought while snuggling in bed with her fiancé. Her relationship with Michael had progressed so quickly that her head was spinning. She did feel that things might be a bit too perfect, but she was past the point of caring. She now realized that although she could go both ways that she preferred men. She still fantasized about cute girls every now and then, but she was only human, wasn't she? She was positive that Michael still looked, but as long as he either shared or didn't touch, Noriko was fine with it.

Going back to thinking about her Oneesama, Noriko worried that she might try to get serious too fast. It happened in their relationship and was part of the reason that Noriko began to distance herself. It also, in her mind, justified the cheating. Once she had been intimate with Shimako for the first time, Noriko found herself craving it all the time, and not just with her girlfriend. She remained faithful until Shimako started talking about marriage and children. To be sure, Noriko wanted children. She just wanted them a little later in life than Shimako did. 'If she starts with that, I just hope that Yumi-sama is more patient than I was,' she remarked to herself. 'The last thing that we all want is for Oneesama to drive her back into the Ice Queen's arms. I better call Oneesama.'

Noriko silently sled out of bed and left the bedroom. She dialed the familiar number and waited for the call to connect. Her Oneesama answered the phone, "Hello Noriko, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I was just worried about you, Oneesama, and I wanted to hear your voice," Noriko replied. "Are you somewhere that you can talk?"

Shimako looked around and saw that Yumi was rough-housing with her son and they were both giggling. She went into the bathroom, "I am now. Oh Maria-sama, Noriko, I screwed up again. I got so envious of Yumi for having such a cute little son that I told her that I wanted to have a child with her. It freaked her out, Noriko. She acted okay, but I could tell that it freaked her out."

'I knew it,' Noriko groaned internally. To Shimako, she said, "Just relax, Oneesama, and don't bring anymore attention to it and Yumi-sama will forget about and things will go back to whatever normal is for you two. Just remember to calm down and let things happen. If you try to force things, then you will scare her off, and no one wants that because Sachiko-sama is waiting to strike and take her back."

With a sob, "It is a sad state of affairs when I have to be lectured by my petite soeur. I am supposed to be the wise older sister. How did you get so smart?"

"I had a great older sister who taught me many things," said Noriko with a smile in her voice. "Don't be too clingy or paranoid or else your fears might be realized and you will lose her. Your opponent is being patient so you must. So," the professor drawled. "How is the sex? Is it good?"

The older woman smiled, "It is very good. She is so tender and loving that I want to cry for joy. That is why there is a part of me that wants to monopolize her so that no one else can experience what I have. I know that it is wrong, but I am falling for so hard for her and I cannot stop myself."

Noriko replied, "I know how you feel, Oneesama. My Michael is like shoujo manga hero. He is tall, handsome, and oh my god, is he sexy! He can speak Japanese fluently. He cooks and washes the dishes. He is spontaneous, romantic, considerate, and he loves to tease me. I am actually scared that things are going too well, so we are in the same boat, Oneesama." Both women giggled. "Well, have a great day at school."

"Good night, Noriko," the young teacher answered happily.

Hearing this, Noriko felt like she had helped herself and her soeur. With Oneesama working on it too, she believed that they could conquer their insecurity with their relationships. They would be happy. She had faith.

To be continued…

A/N: Thank you all for your patience. I am sorry that it took me so long to update, but here it is. I hope that it was worth the wait. If not, oh well. Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!