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"I'm home!"
Yukine Chris shut the front door behind her. It had taken a while for this place to truly feel like home, but now she couldn't imagine it being anywhere else. Or with anyone else.
"Welcome back!" replied a voice from further in.
After graduating Chris had spent a year abroad, travelling to various places as she sorted out her thoughts and feelings about the future. Some of it had been visiting places her parents had been to, some it revisiting places she and the others had gone to in the line of duty, and some had just been seeing entirely new places.
When she got back, she had decided on her course: Become a music teacher. Just as Hibiki and the others had ignited her own love for the music she had spent so many years detesting, she was hoping to spark similar feelings in others. Now she was in the midst of getting her teaching license. And for that she had returned back to the home she was sharing with the two most important people in her life. The city had an excellent university she had started attending.
As she got past the entryway she spotted one of the aforementioned people, Kohinata Miku, who was putting something away in the kitchen.
"What are you up to?" Chris asked.
"Oh, I just finished cleaning the bathroom," Miku replied.
"Should you really be doing that in your condition?"
Miku rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You and Hibiki are just as bad, I swear. I'm still perfectly fine to move around as normal."
"Sorry..." Chris glanced down. There was a small, yet noticeable bump on Miku's stomach. The very 'condition' Chris had been referring to. While she wasn't sure how she felt about being called 'just as bad' as Hibiki, she couldn't deny that Miku's pregnancy made her worry.
It had been nearly two years after Chris's return that Hibiki and Miku had told her they wanted to have a baby, and Chris hadn't seen any reason (or felt it was her place) to raise any objection. Enough months had passed since then for Miku to start showing signs.
"Do you want to feel it?" Miku asked.
"Huh?" Chris's eyes went back up to Miku's face, which had a soft smile. Chris realised she had been staring, and Miku had to have noticed. She had been idly wondering what it felt like, but how had Miku...
"No, I can't read your mind," Miku said, in a way that definitely made it seem like she was reading Chris's mind. "I just know you." She sat down on the couch. "Come on, I don't mind."
Chris blushed a little, but she didn't protest. She might be able to fool Hibiki, but she knew that Miku saw right through her, so she had given up pretending long ago. She placed her bag down against the wall, and sat down next to Miku.
Miku rolled up her shirt. The bump stood out even more when exposed. "Go on," she urged again.
Chris reflexively swallowed as she very carefully placed her hand on Miku's stomach. It was warm, but otherwise it didn't seem particularly out of the ordinary. It was probably too early to feel any kicking, or anything along those lines. "Is this okay?" she asked.
"It tickles a little. You don't need to touch that lightly, I won't break so easily."
Chris stroked a little more confidently. "Better?"
"Yes." Miku smiled.
It was still weird to think there was a baby growing in there. For some reason children had never really entered into Chris's plans for the future. She didn't have anything against children, she had simply not considered them. But now Hibiki and Miku were having one, in their home. Which was also her home. So it was going to be part of her life as well.
"Where is Hibiki, by the way?" Chris asked. As far as she was aware it was Hibiki's day off, so it was odd that she wasn't around.
"She went to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner, and other assorted things."
"Is one of those assorted things carrots?" Chris grinned.
Miku's only reply was a blush in her cheeks.
Chris had heard stories about pregnant women getting urges for certain things, and had also heard that such stories were overblown, but in Miku's case it had rung true as she had become obsessed with carrots. Baby carrots, to be specific. That they had 'baby' in the name was just a coincidence. Probably.
Her thoughts drifted onto the subject of family. Her own was gone. Though she had a new one in Hibiki and Miku. She wasn't sure exactly when she had started thinking of them as such, but it felt natural now. But what of the baby's? Miku's parents were fine, there were no issues with thinking of them as grandparents. Hibiki's was a different matter. At the very least she expected Hibiki wouldn't want to get her father too involved. Perhaps it was better in both hers and Chris's case to nominate Genjuurou as their father. He'd probably make a good grandfather. But what would Chris be?
"I guess I'll be an aunt," she murmured. A strange thought, but part of her was looking forward to it, completely naive and oblivious to the challenges of raising a child.
"Mother," Miku corrected her.
"Huh?" Chris gave her a confused look.
"You'll also be her mother, Chris."
"But... I didn't... um... take part..." Chris said hesitantly. For various reasons she hadn't felt comfortable getting directly involved. It was a thing between two people anyway, and Hibiki and Miku had known each other far longer. They were as close to 'made for each other' as you could get. There was still a small part of Chris that felt like she was intruding on them. That was no fault on their part, they had been supportive and welcoming all along the way, it was just her own insecurity having a hard time going away. Even after several years.
"Doesn't matter," Miku stated firmly and confidently. "You are going to be raising her along with us, yes? So you'll be just as much her mother as Hibiki and me. We're family, Chris."
Hearing it stated out loud made it really hard for Chris to not get teary-eyed.
"Besides, there's no rule stating a child can't have three or more mothers, is there?" Miku added with an impish smile.
"Haha, I guess not." Chris smiled back.
Miku leaned forward, and stole a quick kiss, causing Chris to blush.
"Have you decided on a name yet?" Chris asked to distract from the issue.
"No. We still have plenty of time," Miku said.
"Hm..." Chris gave it some quick thought. "How about Hikari? Since she'll be the light of our lives?"
Miku laughed. "Ahaha, oh god, that's so cheesy. I don't hate the name, but wow, Chris."
"H-hey..."
"I'm home!"
Before Chris could say anything more, the third occupant of the home, Tachibana Hibiki, announced her arrival.
Both of them replied: "Welcome back!"
"What are you doing?" Hibiki asked as she entered the room.
"Chris was trying to come up with a name for the baby," Miku said with a grin, causing Chris to blush some more.
"Oh? I have one! Mikurisu!" Hibiki proudly declared.
"No," said Chris.
"Definitely not," said Miku.
"Awww, how come?" Hibiki looked genuinely dejected.
"Just no, Hibiki," Miku said in a firm tone. "Put away the groceries, then come cuddle with us."
"Okay!" Hibiki didn't need to be asked twice.
It had apparently been decided that dinner could wait a little longer. Chris could endure for the sake of cuddles. Living with these two had made her quite fond of them.