I don't own or have any affiliation with Sword Art Online.
Chapter 13: Some Time Inside
"Are you all set?" Klein's mouth was near the bathroom door.
"Almost. Just one more minute." A feminine voice replied behind it.
"You've been saying that for the past fifteen." Klein grumbled.
"What was that?" The same female voice from behind the door questioned.
"Oh nothing. Just hurry up, or you'll be late." He responded.
Klein sits himself down next to the bassinet. "It's gonna be you, me and your uncles for tonight. Sound like fun?" He stroked Yumeko's hair while she laid asleep.
He hears the faint footsteps increase in volume as his girlfriend appears sporting a blue dress hanging gracefully over her knees with matching short black heels and accessories. She checks her face and teeth with the compact small hand mirror and puts the round object in her purse.
"So what's the final verdict?" Rinko looks at him curious about his opinion.
"It still needs a little extra something." Klein goes into the linen closet and throws on a white, thin bed sheet over her head, like a lazy, last-minute Halloween costume. "That's it. Have a nice night, stay out as long as you want."
After releasing herself from the not-so-effective trap she sharply narrows her eyes directly at him. "This doesn't give you powers of invisibility, you know." She snarled checking herself for any make-up smudges.
"Oh, my bad. It's this one." Klein throws another bed sheet on top of her.
"Ryo, stop it. It took me a long time to do all of this." Rinko grabbed the bedspread off of her and throws it the floor.
"Well since your already going to fix up her make-up." Klein wrapped his arms around her, covering her face with small kisses.
"S-top. C-cut it out. I'm gonna be even more late." She pleaded but couldn't contain herself not to giggle a tiny bit.
She walks back into the bathroom with a half-amused and half-annoyed expressions mixed into her face.
Klein leaned forward closer into Yumeko's ear. "You're next." He smoothed his thumb, lightly gliding it over the side of her cheek to her chin. It's only been two weeks since the both of them have started to live together in his apartment residence, but to him it felt like just a few days ago.
"So when are the guys coming over?" Rinko appeared out of nowhere standing right next to him.
"Why do you feel have the need to keep doing that?" He asked sounding a little jumpy.
"Did you just answer my question with another unrelated question?"
He rolled his eyes. "They're coming in a bit."
Rinko leaned her mouth closer speaking to her a hush, soothing voice. "Give him hell, honey. He messed up my make-up."
A small soft bang was coming from the other side of the door. Klein answered it trying not to make any noise that would disturb Yumeko.
The two expected guests came in one after the other and took off their shoes.
"Hey who's ready-!" Kazuto muffled the rest of his words after Agil covered his mouth.
"Hey guys." Rinko greeted and waved at the company.
They both stood awkwardly silent as they were trying not to stare. "You look quite nice tonight, Onee-Sensei." Kazuto slightly blushed.
She returned his compliment with a small smile.
Rinko spoke into Yumeko's ear again. "I'm leaving now. Be good, they're all pretty tired. I'll see you when I come back." She presses her lips on her daughter's soft hair and drifted her finger apart from the tiny hand.
Klein told her that Fuko and Namie might be already waiting for her. "See you later, Rin." He presses his lips against hers, at the doorway and closes to on her way outside.
"So what did you guys get?" Klein's looked at him.
Agil took out two large bottles of iced tea and light beer at Rinko's request. It was the closet liquid substance to Klein's alcoholic preferences he had been around in a while.
"I miss drinking." Klein set three glasses and bowls on the coffee table.
"Well, she did give you a choice when you guys were talking about moving in together. You're still able to drink but not so much." Agil opened one of the bottles.
"Yeah, well it felt like the right one at the time. And she was sitting next to me too." Klein sat back down in his earlier spot.
Kazuto than placed a couple large bags of popcorn and chips next to the drinks. Then held up a stack of three of famous film titles.
The first one was a space adventure that featured a young man focusing on becoming a warrior under the guidance of his father's old master. The middle one was about four siblings entering a magical world after they fall into a wardrobe. The third and final film was the first of a series featuring a young boy and his two best friends coping with his wizardry powers while attending their school and learning about the his parents' past.
Without taking the time to discuss they all agreed on the third film.
"I remember watching the last movie in the theaters. Almost everyone in the whole room started sobbing when the ending credits started rolling." Agil reminisced.
"Can you really blame them? I still can't believe its been this long since ended." Klein sighed.
Hearing the commentary, Kazuto slid the disc into the player.
As the opening credits were displaying themselves on the TV screen, the two older men began to biting their fingernails and wrenching their wrists, as if they were teenage girls watching a film filled with attractive vampires and werewolves.
Kazuto dug into his popcorn bowl and turned to Klein. "Is it okay for me to turn off the lights for a little while?
Klein ignored the teenager's question and leaned in forward still biting on his nails.
Kazuto rolled his eyes and got up anyway. He could already feel his foot on the verge falling asleep. He took a step forward. Bang. The boy tripped and dropped to the floor flat on his face.
The loud sound was then followed but a quiet, yet audible whimper coming from the bassinet. Agil helped up Kazuto, while Klein was attending to the need of his smallest girl.
"I really hate doing that to her." Kazuto rubbed his face.
"Relax, I'm sure she knows that you did by accident." Agil patted him on the back.
"Well, at least this time there's no one here to threaten to kill me." Kazuto was still trying to release the numbness away from his face.
"Yeah, you made them pretty mad that day." Agil chuckled.
"Here we go again." Klein sighed as he swaddled the infant in her quilt.
"How much more long is this going to last?" Kazuto moaned.
"She usually goes on like this for a few hours." Klein was swinging her from left to right until the ear-hurting screaming came to an abrupt halt.
"Did she just stop, or did I go deaf?" Agil whispered.
"She stopped." Kazuto whispered back to him in a cheery tone.
"No, she just needed to spit up." Klein cleaned off her mouth as the crying amplified in volume.
"I think she got it all out of her system." Klein sighed in relief.
"Man I never knew colic could be like this." Kazuto pitied.
"Yeah, it takes a while, but not as much during the night." Klein put her down in swing.
Agil stroked the newborn's head. "You forget how small they are." He shook Yumeko's hand with his finger.
Klein picks her back up again when she starts squirming and laid her head onto his shoulder. The infant begins to gnaw on his ear, making short, soft sounds. "Sorry pal, I can't feed you right now."
"Check her watch maybe its broken." Kazuto laughed at his own joke.
When the squirming continues Klein settled her back into the cradle.
"Is she okay? She looks a little sick." Agil looked a little concerned.
Kazuto feels her forehead. "She feels fine."
Klein patted her back until he felt a thick substance run down his left shoulder blade.
"Guys?"
"Yeah?"
"What colour is it?"
"It's white." Kazuto gagged.
Klein gave Yumeko to Agil and went inside the bedroom.
"I never saw anyone look so calm." Kazuto handed over a damp washcloth to his friend.
"I never saw anyone look so guilty." Agil cleaned her off.
Klein came out in a different shirt while holding a onesie. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm just gonna put you something else." He kissed her forehead.
"Kiss her a few more times maybe she'll throw up again." Agil smirked.
He gently lays the distressed newborn in her bassinet on her back. He takes off his shirt and holds her close onto his bare chest. When finished he kindly applies pressure onto her back. He plays with her ear lope until she closes her eyes and slows down her breathing.
"You too are pretty close." Agil turned up the volume of the TV.
Klein threw himself onto the sofa, deep breathing and closes his eyes after placing her in the bassinet and re-clothing their bodies.
"It's been a pretty long day." Klein sighed.
"Tell me about it. I've been swamped all day, those orders kept on coming and coming." Agil stretched his arms and yawned.
"Yeah, you guys look pretty beat up." Kazuto reached for his snack bowl. "Hey if you want, I could look after her, while you two could have a little walk around."
The two older men looked at each other whispering. They look back at the teenager.
"If you're up for it, then we won't stop you." They both accepted the unexpected offer.
They walked up to the front door putting on their coats.
"Hey, if she starts..."
Kazuto raised his hand interrupting Klein and gave him a thumbs up.
Nodding at him, the two exited the apartment.
After the door went shut. Kazuto suddenly heard a high-pitched wail from somewhere behind him.
"Oh crap!" He started to panic and rushed over to her side.
"Please stop." The teenager shushed her.
However, the crying only grew louder much to his dismay.
"Look at the funny face." He stretched out his cheeks and stuck his tongue out.
He gently rocked the bassinet and reached for one of the pockets taking out a pacifier slowly slipping it inside her mouth.
The nervous boy exhaled in relief. "Phew, that was a close one. No wonder new parents have so much anxiety."
The infant unexpectedly spits out the sucker and starts to scream.
"Oh no, what do I do?! What do I do?" His teeth chattered.
He snapped his fingers. I'll just get some advice from Asuna.
He dialed her phone number but only got her voice mail. That family function of hers must still be going on.
"I wish you could tell me what's wrong with you." He groaned while bouncing her.
His eyes widened in realization. Why didn't I think of this before?
He put Yumeko back into her swing.
He grabbed his cell phone again, only this time revealing a screenshot from ALO he had transferred from his NerveGear. "This is Yui. Isn't she pretty? She actually looks a lot like you, expect for the hair and eye colour. It's like she could be your twin or something. That's sounds a little weird huh? You'll meet her someday, but in a few years. I'll work hard on that. I promise." He continues to slowly swing the seat.
"You know looking at you from this angle. I can see you a lot better. You have very nice looking hair, Yumemi. So do you like your new home?" He stops swinging her to rest his tired arm.
"The best part is that you can sleep all you want and not hearing all on that scary beeping bothering you all of the time. You're going to do a lot of amazing things in your life. You're truly magnificent kiddo." The boy traces his finger on the left side of her face and pokes her right foot.
Yumeko looks at him scared.
Kazuto's smile fades away. "What's wrong, Yumemi-chan?" He asked her sounding surprisingly calmer then before.
Her left foot kicks his index finger hard and starts screaming.
"What happened, you were fine just now. Is your foot bothering you?"
Kazuto covers it and makes small circles, apply pressure to the body part. He stopped and his eyes widened when felt small curvy line through the sock. He removes the piece of clothing revealing her bare skin and scar.
"You got that...from a needle. So when I poked you. You thought I was giving you a..."
He stroked her face with both of his hands and gives her a gentle hug, reducing her volume to a mere whimpering. "You don't have to worry about anything like that anymore."
He moves her from the swing onto the couch and sat crossed-legged style in front of her.
"I must say, you're really beautiful. The boys will be all over you someday, well not if us guys have to do anything with it." He grinned.
"Yumemi, I own you an apology. I haven't been very good to you before."
He patted the top of hair in a slow motion.
"When you were in the hospital I thought about you so much that I sometimes, I would tear up at night... And I can't imagine what it was like for you. I was too selfish to believe that I wasn't terrified to be with you. I thought about giving you cards and flowers, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. He blinked away the forming tears in his eyes.
He put her small hands into his own. "When you had your surgeries done I... The day when Sugu told me that you were coming home, I felt so relived and happy, that couldn't stop crying that night. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you enough. I love you. I really, really love you."
His mind briefly went back to the day he had gone to the hospital by himself. He had swore to two things that day. Two secrets that he doesn't know if he could even trust himself with. The first secret was about Yui. However, the second secret was something that he wasn't exactly sure how to entirely comprehend. Even though the conversation he had together with Rinko was weeks before. The event was still fresh in the back of the conscience as if the event taken place only a few short days ago.
"If you ask me, the real reason why all of this happened, was because you already knew that you were going to be loved so much starting from the very moment you come into his world and you couldn't wait any longer." He kissed her face several times.
He dangles her favourite toy a few inches away from her face. "You wanna play for a little bit?"
*Flashback starts*
Thursday May 01st, 2025 ~Evening~
"Oh what about that one?" Suguha pointed to an odd furry owl resembling creature with a pair of large ears, large eyes and a beak.
"That looks like something that can kill you in your sleep." Kazuto bluntly criticized the eerie-looking plaything.
"Sugu, this is the seventh time you've said that today and this is the fourth store that we've been to this week." He complained.
"Who are you, my biographer?" She glared at him. "As I recall, you actually liked coming to toy stores when we were little."
Kazuto rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is to make a quick decision. We're burning daylight."
"Well, if you're in such a hurry, why don't you pick something?" This cousin rested her hands on her hips.
"You know I'm not good at these sort of things. Plus the shower is tomorrow."
"Then wait here until I find something from the both of us." Suguha continued to travel down the aisle of the store.
"Hey, I found something." She called out to him.
"That makes it the eighth time." The annoyed teenager grumbled to himself.
"This is it!" Suguha gleefully pointed at a palm-sized pink teddy bear with matching pair of black eyes and big black nose. "Isn't it adorable." She squeaked like a chipmunk.
"I think that it should have a bow on it." Kazuto unexpectedly suggested.
"That's...actually not such as bad idea." Suguha took a tiny step away from him. "Who are you? And what have you my brother?"
"I have my moments." He patted her head softly.
"So we're getting it then?" She asked him with excitement in her words.
*Flashback ends*
"You like it don't you?"
The teenager stopped playing and rocked her gently into the swing until her eyes closed.
Kazuto heard the door widen but didn't turn his attention from his sleeping niece.
"Looks like I'm gonna have give you an I.O.U. after all." Klein snickered.
"Nah, I'll just add it to your tab later." Agil entered behind him.
"I hope she wasn't too much of a problem." Klein patted Kazuto's back.
"She was screaming for a little bit, but she must have been tired from earlier." Kazuto replied.
"It's not easy sight to see like that." Agil patted her head.
"It's been going like this for a while now." Klein sighed and threw himself onto the sofa. "I love her so much, even if she's not really mine."
"It's no secret that you already don't." Agil looked at his watch. "Time ta go. See ya around."
Kazuto took his jacket from the closet. "I'll charge you for the babysitting later. I take cash not credit, but if you wanna send some stuff in my game inventory. I could work something out." The boy turned around to find that his friend and fallen asleep with the baby cuddled close to his chest.
Kazuto concealed the moment into a picture taken by his cell phone camera.
A key slipped into the lock.
Two bare feet make their way into the apartment.
A pair of gorgeous short high heels are left in the middle of the welcome mat.
The woman briefly walked into another room and came out wearing a long sleeping gown with a long blanket cascading on her back like a cape.
She had gotten a text from Kazuto informing her that her boyfriend had fallen asleep in the living room, and her daughter had yet another colicky episode during the visit.
Rinko covers up half Klein's body and snuggles against his back.
Her nose rubs against his shoulder blade.
She glances at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. It was only a few a minutes before the middle of the night.
It must have been a long night. She can feel tears form in her tired, heavy eyes, giving them a slight refreshment.
Her vision changed from coloured to pitch black.
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