Chapter Text
"Let's go to the beach," Miko suggests, obnoxiously poking Kuni’s cheek.
He attempts to bite the woman's finger, but she's too nimble for him. In defeat, he sneers, "Pass."
Well, that won't do, but Miko does understand why he wouldn't want to go there. "Hmm, then we'll go to the amusement park instead."
"Aren't you a hobo? Do you even have amusement park Mora?"
"Homo, actually,” Miko corrects the boy. “Terribly different terms. Your mom will pay for it, anyway."
"Eh, still too loud, and you spend more time waiting in lines than actually doing anything fun." Upon noticing Miko straining to think of a new suggestion, Kuni leans against the wall behind him and smirks.
Miko refuses to call him out, as much as she wants to. Unfortunately, that could make Ei displeased at her. With a little more thought, she then suggests, "Wanna see a movie then?"
"Nothing good is playing." His smug grin grows.
"Okay, fine. Do either of you two have any suggestions?" She eyes Shogun, who's been disinterested this entire time.
In the meantime, Kuni says, "Let's rob a bank or start a fire."
While those do sound like wonderful activities, Miko should probably not commit crimes with children. "They'll eat you alive in prison, little one."
He crosses his arms and sticks his nose toward Miko, "Tch, you're such a stick in the mud. Just do whatever you want to do and drag us along. I know you're only doing this for mom's attention."
For the first time since this frustrating conversation has started, Shogun partakes by merely picking up a nearby book and pointing at it.
Two things come to Miko's mind with that vague gesture. She sticks up a finger and asks, “Do you wish to go to a bookstore, or…” With her other hand, she extends two fingers. “Or would you prefer to go to the library?”
The small girl wraps each of her hands around the pair of fingers held up by Miko’s other hand and roughly tugs them.
“Library it shall be then,” Miko surmise with a gentle smile. When Shogun releases her fingers, she then hides her hand behind her back and attempts to shake away the pain. How can this runt be this powerful?
Once her fingers recover, Miko drags the two kids to a local library. It's quiet and calm... which is honestly the ideal atmosphere for all three of them. For all his rowdiness, even Kuni likes his peace and quiet. Though, he’ll probably never admit that to Miko.
"So, what… we just pick out any book we want?" Kuni asks as soon as they step inside the building.
"Simple as that. I like to take my time, though. I've spent hours here before, just reading." Despite how hectic her life’s been throughout the years, Miko has somehow spent more time in libraries than the average person. It's honestly the only escape she ever really had.
"Sho can't read," Kuni yaps.
Miko simply shrugs. "That's fine, she can pick something out, and I'll read it to her. Hell, I could probably even teach her how to read!"
“Pfft, as if.”
“Archons, it’s like looking into a mirror to my past. Just think, in a decade, there will be two Mikos terrorizing Inazuma.”
“Uggggh, gross,” Kuni sticks a finger down his mouth to dramatically gag. “I’m gonna find a book, don’t look for me.”
“Well, Sho,” Miko says, watching the boy march away. “It appears we’re on our own now. Shall we wander together until something catches your almighty eye?”
With fierce determination, Sho nods as she clutches Miko’s hand and takes the lead.
“Ah, little one, we just walked past the children’s section..”
No response, Sho is clearly a girl on a mission. She has no time for novels for babies who still wear diapers. No, only the finest of historic war novels and graphic depictions of the samurai will do for her. Miko doesn’t question it. At this point, there’s no use in questioning the girl’s way. Instead, she just embraces them.
Once Shogun has a sizeable stack of books in her tiny arms, it’s Miko's turn to lead the way. She takes the girl to a secluded table, tucked away in an abandoned corner of the library. When Miko sits down, Sho surprisingly climbs onto her lap and quickly gets comfortable.
“Oh, hello, little one,” Miko greets, trying to hide the way her heart melts in delight at Shogun’s acceptance. “Now, which one shall we start off with?”
Sho points to the book at the top of the stack, and Miko nabs it near instantly.
“‘A History of Torture and Torture Devices’,” Miko reads aloud. “You know, when I was your aged I got hyperfixated on foxes and becoming a shrine maiden… Eh, but to each their own. Let’s see what sort of fucked – ah.” She coughs awkwardly at herself. “I meant to say messed up, not fucked up. But, regardless, let’s dive right in.”
“Fucked,” Shogun repeats quietly.
Miko quickly puts her hand over the girl's mouth, her eyes glancing around her surroundings. At least, no one is around to hear this. “Wow, thank you for blessing me with your adorable voice, however, your mother would kill me if she found out I taught you that word…”
Shogun bites down on a finger, and when Miko's hand jolts away in pain, she continues to mimic the older girl. “Fucked, fucked.”
“Ow, fuck!” Just as quickly Miko covered Shogun's mouth, she covers her own in embarrassment. “Why don’t you say something wholesome, instead? Like ‘I love you, Miko’, or how about, ‘I’m so happy you’re going to be dating my mother soon’.”
“...” The girl stares up at Miko with her lips flattened. Then, slowly, her front teeth catch on her lower lip and she emotionlessly announciates, “... Fffffucked.”
“Why yes, I will be,” the older woman sighs in defeat, and yet, she's unable to hide her proud smile. Regardless of what Sho is saying, Miko feels honored to be one of the sparse few who the child whispers to. “Ahem,” Miko clears her voice a little too loudly and is instantly hushed by someone. She chooses to ignore them and says, “without further ado, it's time to be Teyvat’s best narrator…”
As Miko reads in a warm whisper, it dawns upon her how nice Shogun’s undivided attention and respect feels. Then, a horrific thought smacks her square in the face – she actually loves the idea of being a mother figure. It feels like being given a second chance – to be the positive role model Miko always needed. Is this what Ei meant? Will she really be the mom who steps up? She... She hopes so.
“Okay, I’m bored,” Kuni suddenly says, interrupting Miko mid-sentence. “We’ve been here for sooo long.”
Miko peers at her phone to check the time. “Ah, so we have. We can go ahead and check our books out, then hit the road… under one condition.”
Kuni already looks immensely concerned; he's clearly used to this by now. “No, absolutely not, you’re not dragging me in whatever L you managed to make within the past two hours.” The boy waves his arms in front of his torso in a panic while backing away ever so slowly.
“There must be some way I can bribe you…”
“Probly, but I ain’t telling you. What did you even do?” Kuni asks.
“Shogun, sweetie, tell Kuni the new word you learned today.”
The girl is hesitant, but both her brother and Miko reassure her. Eventually, she mumbles, “... Fucked.”
Kuni bursts out laughing, although like Miko, he’s instantly hushed. His middle finger rises proudly in the direction the voice came from. He’s then met with a harsh, scolding whisper from Miko.
“Whatever,” he rolls his eyes. “Man, sis barely ever says anything, and you make her learn the fuck word. Are you shameless?”
“It was a… mere slip of the tongue,” Miko says. “If your mother finds out, can you take the blame for me?”
The boy slowly shifts his eyes from left to right, contemplating at a snail’s pace – probably just to piss Miko off. He’ll have to try harder than that.
“Okay, bribe me. But FYI, I’m only doing this because it’s funny, not because of you.”
“Whatever you say,” Miko pauses and then grins tauntingly. “Tsun~ tsun~”
“Hey, sis, when we get home today, let’s show mom the new word Yae taught you.”
“I’ve never witnessed a stick placed so stubbornly deep in the mud before. But, fine, I take it back. My apologies for offending you. Do you want me to get you Burger King? You seem like a Burger King boy.”
“Can it. I’ll just decide what you’ll bribe me with later. I wanna go home.”
Someone needs a nap. Sho yawns, which then makes Miko yawn as well. Actually, it appears all three of them need a nap. That settles it then. They checkout their assortment of books and various shonen manga and head home.
The sun is beginning to set by the time Ei returns home. It’s quiet, suspiciously quiet…
Tiptoeing through her house, she attempts to catch those mischievous kids, and Sho, red handed. If they’re up to no good, that is. Ei certainly hopes that truly isn’t the case, but a mother can never be too careful. Eventually, she starts hearing the faint sound of snoring. How unexpected. Following the trails of snores to the source, she discovers… one of the most precious sights she’s ever seen in her life.
On Kuni’s bed, lie the three people Ei adores most, all slumbering peacefully. Tucked in the bend of Miko’s elbow and held tightly in one arm, Kuni nuzzles against the woman’s soft bicep. Meanwhile, propped against Miko’s chest and securely held, lies Shogun, as serene as can be. Ei sneaks away as quickly as she can to grab her camera and snap several photos of the trio. Then, she tucks Kuni’s blanket over them, before taking one last photo. Ei looks upon them lovingly, but not long after, she realizes how tuckered out she is herself.
So, she crawls under the blanket and attempts to stretch her arm over the three of them – being tall has never been this rewarding before. Now, nuzzling her face into Miko’s side while gently stroking her son’s back, Ei quickly succumbs to slumber.
Miko is the first to awaken. It doesn’t take her long to realize Ei somehow wiggled herself against the younger woman’s side, getting her face nice and comfortable in the crook of Miko’s neck. Either she's still dreaming, or Miko is in heaven right now.
For a brief moment, she wonders if she’s permitted to kiss Ei’s bangs. However, she never gets the chance to attempt it. Ei’s eyes flutter open and stare dreamily at the other woman.
Miko speaks first. “Hey, you.”
“Hi…” Ei blinks a few more times before realization hits her. “Oh dear me, I’ve just overstepped my boundaries, haven’t I?”
“Perhaps you should overstep these boundaries I wasn't made aware of more often,” she smirks. “Did I really look that comfy?”
“Indeed. Not to mention you’re even comfier than you look. I simply couldn’t resist.”
Archons, the way she stares at Miko makes the younger woman’s heart ache. She can’t resist asking, “Can I kiss you?”
“Mm, I would quite like that, actually.” Ei careens her neck backwards in order to make things easier for her. “Let this be my punishment for crossing the line into your perso-”
Miko gleefully interrupts the older woman with a chaste kiss, drawing her head back quickly to admiring the look on Ei’s face – and, she is not disappointed in the slightest. Ei stammers, wordleslly, and her face glows a bright red. Nailed it. This is Miko’s first kiss, maybe even Ei’s too, judging from her reaction.
“I now know with certainty what I want, Ei. I figured it out earlier today.”
“I-is that so?”
Determined, Miko nods. “I want to experience more days like this. With your children feeling safe beside me, and your adorable face being the first thing I see every morning. There would be no greater joy than assisting you with your hardships, to ensure Kunikuzushi and Shogun don’t experience the hardships I went through.”
Being mindful of Sho, Ei carefully snakes her arm upward to stroke Miko’s cheek. “You want to be their mother too, don’t you?”
Miko quickly blinks away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She didn't expect hearing that kind of recognition from Ei would make her emotional. “If you would allow it – if they would allow it.”
“They will. I will, too.” Now it’s Ei’s turn to deliver a kiss. Hers is a lot less chaste and entirely more passionate. The hand that once caressed Miko’s cheek has found its way to the back of her head. Ei pushes Miko’s lips into hers and holds her steady.
Miko loses all of her composure, she's dumbfounded, dizzy. When her mouth opens, nothing comes out of it, however, something goes in it – Ei's tongue. It's a wonderful daze that unfortunately comes to an end when both the women need air.
“We should probably stop doing this in front of the kids…” Ei pants. “How inappropriate of me. Apologies.”
Miko nods her head in agreement while clumsily babbling, “Hhhh… W-wow… That, that was... ”
A concerned look slowly grows on Ei's face as she examines the younger woman's burning red face. “Teyvat to Miko, are you still with me?”
“No, no. I'm afraid not! I've died and moved on to the afterlife, for I could only find something as glorious as this there.”
Ei giggles adorably. “Oh, Miko.”
As her laugh tapers out, the two women stare at each other without saying a word, yearning for more. Both of them lean toward each other simultaneously, however, something, or someone, yanks on Miko's hair.
“Ow! What was that for?” Miko yelps, stirring Kuni for his slumber at the same time.
“Fucked,” Sho scolds the woman, still clutching her hair threateningly.
“W-what did you just say?!” Ei gasps in sheer terror.
“My bad,” Kuni groans while yawning.
“Kuni…” Ei peers over Miko, directly at her son – her gaze turning stern. “What did you do?”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Miko intervenes. “I'm the culprit here.”
The boy whispers to Miko, “The hell you doing?”
“Can either of you explain yourselves?” Ei interrogates as she gently releases the strained lock of hair from her daughter's hand before cupping her own hands over Sho’s ears.
“I just…” Miko cautiously begins, against her better judgment. “I merely wasn't thinking and accidentally said it in front of her. I never would've expected her to say it aloud to me seconds later. Nonetheless, I do apologize. I should've known better.”
“Ugh, whatever, it's your funeral, Yae.” Kuni says, rolling to his other side.
“Wait, hold on for a moment." Ei pauses. “She talked to you earlier?”
“I wouldn't describe it as talking, but she definitely seemed quite comfortable saying it around me.”
“My, my,” Ei giggles again. “This is quite the delightful omen indeed.”
The mother then casually pecks Miko's lips, showing her gratitude.
“What? WHAT?!!” Kuni cries in disgusted horror
“Shhh, inside voices, dear,” Ei shushes. “Both Miko and I have given it a lot of thought over these past couple of months. We both deserve happiness.”
He throws his hands up in the air, relenting. “Ugh, sure. I guess! Just keep your cooties out of my bed. Disgusting…”
“Oh, Ei,” Miko gasps dramatically, “Has he really yet to get a cooties shot? A boy his age should’ve gotten one ages ago, you know.”
“... There’s a shot for that?” Ei innocently asks.