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It was long past midnight; people were snoring peacefully in their cozy beds, and someone had just started to stay awake. Shirayuki definitely wanted to sleep until the morning, but because of the baby's crying, she could not allow her to do so. Rinji was still not calming down, and she tried everything she could to calm him down, but nothing helped.
"Baby, my darling." With bags under her eyes, omega looked at her son, who did not stop screaming and crying, almost choking on his own tears. She sighed wearily and began to rock him in her arms, trying to calm him down, but the boy only twitched and did not stop shedding tears. "My sweety."
If the walls were thin, the neighbors would have come to complain a long time ago. Fortunately, they were thick, and their neighbors were wonderful and sympathetic.
After making several circles in the living room, Shirayuki sat on the sofa in despair, hugging the child to her and whispering soothing words. She had a terrible headache from his crying, and it felt like blood would flow from her ears. She didn't remember anything like this happening before that night, and she didn't remember him feeling bad during the day. He didn't even want to play with toys, throwing them aside.
He started crying so loudly and hysterically about an hour ago. Everything was fine before that: she almost lulled him to sleep, and then Rinji suddenly started acting like that. Zen went to get medicine because the baby had a fever. She could not determine exactly what could have caused the fever: possible teething or he had picked up an infection. But Zen left anyway to get medicine while Shirayuki was trying to figure out the truth of his discomfort.
The baby was still choking on his own tears; his face was very red, and he did not stop crying. Tears flowed down her cheeks, sighing heavily, unable to stand it all. Her head was pounding, and she was ready to burst into bitter tears herself. She almost yelled at him but realized in time that she would only make it worse. Clutching the baby to her chest, Shirayuki gave up looking for the cause of the discomfort and stroked his head, back, arms, and legs, trying to suppress her own tears, which treacherously continued to flow down her cheeks. She wanted and tried to be a supportive mom, but it was too difficult. She really wanted to be caring and loving, but…
Suddenly, there was a click, and the front door opened. Shirayuki turned her gaze to the hallway: she was no longer trying to hide her tears and the fatigue that had come over her. Zen, as soon as he entered the living room, froze for a while: he did not expect to see his wife crying with her son in her arms, who was screaming and crying loudly, twitching in her arms, all reddened.
"Zen..." Her voice was low and slightly trembling. She was well aware of how she looked; her face was tired, there were terrible bags under her eyes, and she did not glow with a bright light as usual. Shirayuki looked like all the energy had been drained out of her. Rinji was crying loudly in her arms as if he was ready to explode; his face was so swollen and reddened. She could tell from her husband's face that such a picture tore his heart apart. After all, this has never happened before. Zen approached her and kissed her temple, wiping her wet cheeks. He left the bags of newly purchased medicines next to her.
"I'm sorry it took so long." He took the child in his arms, who calmed down slightly as soon as he felt Papa's pheromones, sobbing and trying to see him through his tears. Shirayuki wiped away her tears and sighed heavily. "Honey, you can go to sleep. I'll take care of him."
Shirayuki didn't say anything in response, just mumbled something under her breath and headed for the bedroom, sobbing slightly. She didn't have the strength to make herself look normal, so she went to bed without even changing her clothes. She didn't care. She was in condition to do nothing but lie down wearily and let the tears run down her cheeks. She couldn't even find the strength to get up and give the child medicine or at least figure out what was wrong with the baby.
Rinji's crying and screaming continued for some time - she didn't know exactly how long because it felt like an eternity - and then he began to calm down. There was silence in the apartment. Shirayuki stared at the ceiling, completely motionless. The prolonged crying of her son was quite painful, and she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when it all stopped. There was a creaking sound, and she turned her gaze to the door: Zen was holding a sleeping Rinji in his arms. He carefully laid him in a cot next to their bed. All this time, she watched him with a lifeless gaze without saying a word or doing anything.
Quickly changing out of his casual clothes into pajamas, he carefully lay down next to her. Omega immediately snuggled up to him, burying her face in his neck. He stroked her head and moved his other hand to her back. Shirayuki closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of her husband's embrace. She felt so good as if a heavy weight on her shoulders had disappeared. Rinji was moody before, but... It was not easy and tiring today. He was about six months old, and before that, Shirayuki had never felt as tired as she did today. His screams were so loud and irritable that she felt uneasy.
***
She woke up closer to lunch. Shirayuki immediately jumped out of bed and looked around the room as soon as she opened her eyes and saw the time on the clock. Rinji was not in the crib or bedroom, so she immediately went to the living room to look for him. The living room was clean, although toys and things were scattered everywhere at night. Rinji was sitting on the couch while Zen was on the floor; her husband was feeding the baby mashed potatoes with a smile. The kid ate everything with pleasure, without leaving even a drop.
"Oh, Mommy is awake." Zen picked up the child, putting the dirty dishes aside for now. Rinji immediately turned to face her, smiling broadly and laughing and asked to be held in her arms. Shirayuki couldn't help but smile and took him, starting to cover the baby's face with kisses. "Is everything fine?"
"Yeah, it's okay." Shirayuki left a light kiss on her husband's lips. "Did you give him medicine?"
"No, I didn't. Garack said he could have been emotionally stressed, so he was crying." Zen gave Rinji a toy dinosaur, and Rinji happily picked it up. "I called her when I went to get medicine. But I don't think I bought them for nothing. He seems to be teething soon."
With these words, Zen took a napkin from the sofa and wiped the baby's saliva: Rinji slobbered on the toy. Shirayuki didn't ask her husband anything else. She was just grateful to him for asking Garack. Perhaps if she had called much earlier, she would have become more attentive to the baby and she could provide him with the necessary support.
"Come on, you haven't eaten yet." Zen headed for the kitchen, beckoning her to follow him.
Shirayuki just followed him with a smile, holding her son in her arms. She really wanted to be a good mom and tried to be very attentive, but... She didn't always succeed. That night showed that she couldn't always calm Rinji down. Fortunately, Zen was with her, who could notice or do something that she would not be able to.
This night will clearly be remembered for a long time.