Chapter Text
“It’s 3 in the morning.”
Mizuki chuckles lightly and keeps on pottering around her sewing machine, Sakura carefully watching her every move while she sits comfortably in her lap.
“She’s never waking up in time for school tomorrow, you know right?”
Mizuki doesn’t answer, patting the empty chair next to her instead. Ena sighs and sits down, yawning loudly.
“See, Sakura? That’s what happens when you get old. Kaa-san and I used to stay up aaall night all the time when we were young. Your mother is an old lady now. Old and grey. How sad.” Mizuki heaves a few fake sobs in her hand while Sakura giggles, covering her mouth with her little hands.
Ena scowls at her idiot wife, who flashes her a grin before kissing the top of Sakura’s head. The girl leans in the touch, happy as a peach. If Sakura wasn’t there, Ena would probably pinch Mizuki’s arm. Or pull on her earlobe. But she has decided to set a good example for their young daughter, who’s already quite temperamental and, according to her kindergarten teachers, is struggling to make friends because of it.
“Did you have another nightmare, darling?” Ena asks with a worried smile, and Sakura nods shyly.
Ena opens her arms, and Sakura readily jumps into her lap, hugging her neck. Ena shoots Mizuki a concerned look over Sakura’s shoulder, to which Mizuki replies with a soft smile. Her expression seems to say, ‘You worry too much. It’s okay.’
The thing is, Sakura has been having nightmares, lately. Quite a bit of them, actually. She claims there are monsters dwelling under her bed, and multiple times in the past few weeks, she has come shaking and crying into Mizuki and Ena’s bedroom to sleep sandwiched between them.
Ena soothingly rubs her hand over Sakura’s tiny back.
“Mama is making me a doll who is a nonster–slayer!” Sakura suddenly chimes up cheerfully, her troubles momentarily forgotten. She happily throws her arms to the ceiling and nearly punches Ena square on the chin.
“A monster-slayer?”
Sakura nods enthusiastically, a glint in her brown eyes. “Hmh, yep! Mama says she’s going to KILL all the monsters under my bed!”
“Is that what mama said?” Ena asks with a smile, but still kicks Mizuki under the table. They don’t need Sakura going to school tomorrow telling her teacher all about the monster-slayer doll who is brutally murdering innocent monsters under her bed.
Mizuki chokes on her own spit as she holds back her laughter. She’s as much of a menace as she ever was, really. Even two years after adopting a child, Mizuki is still the same old goofball Ena fell in love with all those years ago.
“Hmh, she said that! And she will give her a weapon!”
“How wonderful. Mama is so creative. Maybe a bit too creative, hmm?”
Mizuki turns her head ever-so-slightly to stick her tongue out at Ena, a gesture that Sakura deems to be the funniest thing to have ever happened, apparently, because she starts giggling so much it takes her a full minute to recover.
“Well, why don’t I read you a story while mama works?”
“Yes yes yesyesyes!” Sakura exclaims with glee, jumping up and down for good measure.
“…I’ll also make you some chamomile tea,” Ena decides, handing Sakura back to Mizuki, who chuckles under her breath.
The next half an hour is spent with Ena reading Sakura her favorite picture book while Sakura sips her chamomile tea in her lap and Mizuki works steadily at her desk, sewing and cutting and stuffing and embroidering. Just as Ena turns the last page, Mizuki sighs happily.
“It’s done!”
Sakura, who was just starting to get sleepy, immediately perks up, messily shoving her empty plastic cup at Ena.
“Show me! Show me!” She demands loudly, jumping up and down on all fours, her knees still on Ena’s legs and her hands on Mizuki’s thigh.
“Hehe, ta-da!”
Mizuki proudly displays a cute doll, holding it by its little hands.
The doll bears a striking resemblance to Sakura’s favorite magical girl from the show she watches religiously every Sunday morning, but it is wearing a miniature version of Sakura’s favorite dress instead of her signature costume. The doll looks lovely, really, but...
“A katana. Really, Mizuki.”
Her idiot wife has even gone and added glittery “blood” all over the blade. Great.
“Well, how will she slay all the monsters for our little darling girl, hmm?”
“Oh, I don’t know, the magic of friendship, or something similarly educational?”
Sakura squeals happily and snatches the doll out of Mizuki’s hands.
“Kaa-san, kaa-san! Look what mama made!”
“I see, darling, that’s wonderful,” Ena murmurs, gently patting Sakura’s head. She can scold Mizuki later.
It’s way too late (or better, early) to start cleaning up the mess Mizuki has made at her working desk, so Ena picks up Sakura in her arms while Mizuki quickly hides away various sharp objects (like pins, needles, and scissors) in the drawer that has a child-safety lock.
Back in Sakura’s bedroom, Ena and Mizuki tuck Sakura into her little bed, each of them kissing one of her plump cheeks. Ena stays crouching next to the bed, while Mizuki makes a big scene of checking under her bed and into her wardrobe, and even declares loudly, “You’d better stay away tonight, my daughter is armed with the deadliest monster-slayer that ever was!”
Ena shakes her head at the scene, but can’t help but smile fondly at Sakura grinning at her mom as she hugs her cute-but-murderous doll to her chest, her tired eyes drooping close.
“You’re ready to sleep?” Ena asks gently, brushing Sakura’s bangs aside. Sakura nods in reply, already half-asleep. Ena kisses her forehead and joins Mizuki, who is watching them leaning against the doorframe.
“Goodnight, Sakura,” Ena whispers, quietly closing the door behind her.
“Hmmm,” Mizuki groans, stretching her back as she walks back to their bedroom, “I must be an old lady too, my back is killing me.”
“You’re a menace is what you are, it’s 4 in the morning for crying out loud.”
Mizuki smiles at Ena over her shoulder. “It’s okay, I’m home tomorrow so she can skip if she can’t wake up.”
Ena closes the bedroom door behind her and walks up to Mizuki, currently removing her cardigan by the bed.
“Four years old and you’re already teaching her to skip school… What am I going to do with the two of you, huh?”
Mizuki turns around with a bright grin, somehow managing to look both mischievous and angelic—an expression Ena is particularly weak to. Mizuki grabs her arm and pulls Ena close to soundly kiss her cheek.
“Mwah!”
Ena giggles, pushing Mizuki on the bed. “Idiot.”
Once they are both under the covers and the lights are out, Ena suddenly remembers she meant to ask Mizuki a question.
“Ah, Mizuki,” she whispers, turning around to face her wife, who has already wrapped all her limbs around her like a damn octopus in record time.
“Hmm?”
“Did Sakura name the doll before you made it or…? I don’t think she mentioned a name after I joined you two.”
“Oh, I’m not sure we picked one,” Mizuki answers readily, and Ena knows her wife too well not to immediately sniff out her blatant lie.
“Mizuki. That girl names everything. She even gave a name to her chair and her desk. What did she name the damn doll.”
“…Hana the Beheader the Third.”
Ena sighs and groans at the same time, hiding her face in her hands. Then, she laughs.
Maybe it’s good if Sakura can’t wake up in time for school tomorrow. After all, Ena is really, really not looking forward to the next parent-teacher meeting.