Work Text:
Once, she had been a renowned slayer of powerful Dark Lords and a bandit killer. She was famous, or infamous, for her power and intelligence. When she wasn’t taking down Dark Lords, she traveled the world, read voraciously and wrote paper after paper that shook the sorcery community to its foundations. And now Lina just wanted to finish the damn laundry, but only so she could start to tackle the mess that was the twins’ room.
Laundry had always been a loathsome task, something she would procrastinate on for as long as she could. But now it was something she desperately wanted to do. Not because she enjoyed it, mind you, but because it had to be done! How desperate she was to finish laundry left her feeling rather boring and common. But with three small children under the age of four, it was hard to keep the house in order and make enough money to pay for the house and food, much less write the next break through article.
Because while you could keep one child occupied for some of the time, keeping all three children occupied for more than five minutes was impossible. Just as she would get one settled and happy, another would demand her attention. Lina looked at the clock as she ironed the clothes, wondering if she would be finished before Gourry came home.
Glynn screamed. Lina looked across the room to see Glynn holding his arm and staring accusingly at his older sister. Lina rolled her eyes. “Lucia!” she yelled as she dropped the iron and crossed the dining room into the living room and scooped Glynn up, who stopped crying and cuddled closer to his mother. “What have I told you about pinching Glynn?”
Lucia’s big blue eyes widened as Gwynn toddled into the room to see what all of the fuss was about, “I didn’t!”
“Then why is he screaming?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Lucia said firmly and defiantly as she crossed her arms and started to stare her mother down. Lina wondered how someone so cute and tiny could evoke such feelings of anger. She felt that she would rather be facing Shabranigdo again than her own stubborn four year old daughter. It was a lot less frustrating for one thing.
It didn’t take long for Lina’s patience to snap. All day Lucia had been tormenting the twins and, when Lina had confronted her, she would lie about it. Lina had taken her toys, sent her to her room and put her in the corner countless of times, but still she persisted in pinching them! Lina must have been yelling pretty loud. When Gourry came home, he was slightly flushed and breathless, as though he had been running for a few blocks.
Gwynn and Glynn screamed with delight at the sight of him. Gwynn toddled over to meet him while Glynn indicated he wanted down, and as soon as Lina put him on the floor he made a bee line for his father. Gourry scooped them up as he surveyed the scene, “What’s all the fuss about?”
Lina pointed at Lucia, who continued to stare at her mother defiantly, “She’s being a brat, that’s what’s the fuss!” Lina yelled. “She keeps pestering the twins and taking their stuff and then lying about it! I’ve not been able to get anything done!”
“I’m not lying!” Lucia protested, her own face turning red with anger.
“Hey, we still have some time before we go to your parents’ place for dinner. How about I watch them while you have a rest?” Gourry offered.
Lina took him up on it faster than she could eat a platter of fried chicken. In seconds she was down in her basement laboratory, her retreat from children, housework and domesticity.
“It has been a day!” Lina said she helped her mother clear the plates after finishing dinner. “Lucia won’t leave the twins alone!”
“Lina,” Luna said, pointing at Lucia who was playing in the living room, “Look.”
Lucia was playing quietly with her blocks while the twins, believing that all of the adults were distracted, made their way over to her. Gwynn walked confidently while Glynn crawled in his awkward fashion. Occasionally they would sneak devious glances at each other. Once they were behind Lucia, Gwynn put her hand over her arm and wailed, while Glynn grabbed his foot and joined her.
Lucia turned around looking panic stricken, “I didn’t do anything!” She said.
Suddenly, Lina felt very gullible as her parents scooped the twins up. “Well, I’ll be! Those little sneaks!”
Hard as it was to admit, a pair of toddlers still in diapers had pulled the wool over her eyes. Motherhood must have killed some brain cells. When had she become so stupid? She looked at Lucia and felt horrible at how she’d been riding her ass all day for something she’d not even done.
“They get it from you.” Luna said caustically, “You did that to me all of the time growing up.”
Feeling sheepish, Lina knelt down before Lucia, “Hey, um, sorry about that. How about another piece of pie, sounds good?”
Lucia smiled and nodded and headed back to the table and sat beside her aunt Luna, who leaned in closer and whispered, “And while I have you here, how about I teach you some ways to punish them? Sound even better?”
Lucia grinned deviously and nodded. Gourry walked up beside Lina and put an arm around her as she groaned. “Well, you know what they say, it’s going to get harder before it gets easier.” He said.