Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Most Nerve-Wracking Nine Months Of My Life ❯ Late-Night Cravings ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Serenitychan13 
A look at one very hard night. Will Souzou ever get any decent sleep?
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.07.2004 | Updated On: 07.13.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 223 | Status: Completed
A look at one very hard night. Will Souzou ever get any decent sleep?
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.07.2004 | Updated On: 07.13.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.3K | Visits: 223 | Status: Completed
The Most Nerve-Wracking Nine Months of My Life
A Romantic Comedy by: Serenity-chan
POV = * *
Thoughts = ' '
Speaking = " " (Did I really need to say that?)
Chapter 3
(Or: Late-Night Cravings)
*Midori*
About three months later, I woke up in the middle of the night again. Yes, I had another craving. This time it was pickles. Yes, pickles. That isn't exactly the most original late-night craving, but it was pickles. And all of a sudden, I felt very depressed. I was crying and sniffling as I poked Souzou until he woke up. He opened one dark brown eye and I heard a muffled "Huh?"
"What is it, sweetie?" he asked, trying to stifle a yawn.
He realized that I was crying and sat up, his raven-black hair sticking out wildly in every direction imaginable. Gently, he took me in his arms, keeping one hand on my rather large belly and pressed a kiss to my temple. He tilted my face up to his, concern obvious in his handsome features.
"What's wrong, Midori?" he asked, giving my temple another quick kiss.
I looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"I'm hungry," I said softly, my lip trembling.
Souzou's jaw dropped, then he rolled his eyes. He smacked one hand over his eyes as if trying to rub away a major headache and shook his head, muttering "No, no, no" under his breath. I watched him bite his lip, then set his jaw in resolve.
"Midori, it's late," he said in a level voice, pressing his hand to his temple. "Can you wait just a few hours?"
My lower lip trembled again, more tears streaming down my already-puffy cheeks. I saw his resolve crumbling. It was clear in his eyes. One pitiful whimper and I knew I had won. He could never resist me whan I was like this.
"Please, Souzou," I begged, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder for comfort.
"But honey, it's two in the morning!" he whined, a note of pleading in his voice.
I brought my hand to rest over his on my belly.
"For both of us?" I asked, caressing his hand.
His shoulders fell in defeat and he sighed.
"For both of you," he agreed, kissing my cheek. "What is it you need?"
I gave him a quick kiss and smiled.
"Pickles," I said sheepishly.
He rolled his eyes heavenward and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Why me?"
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said finally, pulling me close for a gentle kiss before settling me back down on our futon. "You two stay here."
When he got up to get dressed, I scooted into the warm spot left by his body. He threw a sleepy grin back at me over his shoulder, still bare to the waist. That smile could melt my heart in an instant and he knew it. I smiled back and he winked at me. I blushed like I did when he first kissed my cheek.
Fully dressed, he headed for the door and with a smile and a wave, slid the shoji closed behind him.
*Souzou*
This was the ninth time in the last two weeks she had woken me up at some ungodly hour because she had another insane craving. The next time I saw Reichi, I swore to myself I would wring his neck. When Sadako, who unfortunately passed away soon after the birth, was expecting, he never mentioned all this! I loved Midori and our unborn child with all my heart, but this was getting totally ridiculous. The cravings and mood swings I could put up with, but the crazed sleep patterns were killing me! I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks and probably wouldn't for a long time.
Well, it wasn't any easier on her. She needed rest a lot more than I did so all I could do was give her all the love and understanding I could. With a heavy sigh, I went to see if someplace was open. If I couldn't get hold of what she wanted, she would just keep crying and there would be no hope of getting any sleep for the rest of the night.
'Reichi lives on practically no sleep,' I thought. 'Maybe he'll be awake now...'
The problem was, Reichi lived in the middle of town. Walking from where Midori and I lived would take about an hour. And with my luck, his son would wake up. The kid was crazy about me for some unknown reason. The last thing I needed at this point, though I really was fond of Sanosuke, was him latching onto me. But right now, I had no other options.
Shaking my head, I started for town. Vaguely, I wondered why I had a weakness for sweet smiles and big violet eyes. It was then, though definitely not for the first time, that I wondered whether our baby was a girl or a boy. Midori hadn't said one way or the other which she preferred, but I knew I wanted a daughter. Maybe, if we were lucky, she would take after her mother. Maybe even have her mother's eyes...
Then I walked into a pole.
Swearing loudly and rubbing my forehead, I turned onto Reichi's street. I leaned against a wall and looked at my hand. There was blood on my fingers, but it seemed to be nothing more than a scratch. It stung like hell, though. I shrugged, cracked my neck in a way that always made Midori cringe and wiped the blood off my forehead. I could take care of it later.
Before too long, I was at Reichi's front door. Apparently I was in luck. It seemed like he had every light in the house on. Rolling my eyes at my best friend's strange habits, I leaned heavily against the door and knocked on it. I reeled for a second when the door banged open.
"Hello?" asked a small boy's voice.
I looked down and saw Sanosuke staring up at me with wide eyes.
"Uncle Souzou!" he cried happily, laughing and holding his arms up to me.
I smiled tiredly and picked him up, setting him on my shoulder. In a few seconds, Reichi appeared, wondering what all the commotion was about. He got one look at me and started to laugh out loud.
"Souzou, what happened?" he asked. "Did Midori throw you out during one of her mood swings or something? You look like you've been through Hell!"
He pulled, no more like pried Sanosuke off my shoulder.
"No, no. Nothing like that," I said, shaking my head. "All she did was wake up at two in the morning with a craving for pickles..."
I resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the matching incredulous expressions on Reichi's and Sanosuke's faces. Sanosuke was a mirror reflection of his father, from the same expressive brown eyes to the spiky brown hair that stuck out in all directions. Once again, I saw the little boy who had grown up as my best friend reflected in the face of his son.
"I just walked into a pole on the way over here," I explained, pointing at the scratch on my forehead. "You could say I've been a little... out of it lately. Anyway, do you still have those pickles?"
Reichi rolled his eyes at me and set Sanosuke down. He shook his head and muttered something under his breath as he went to get that jar of pickles. Sanosuke latched onto me, staring up at me with a wistful smile until I rolled my eyes, picked him up and set him on my shoulder again.
"Uncle Souzou, what's going on?" he asked. "What's wrong with Aunt Midori?"
Innocent concern and curiousity were obvious in the boy's voice. I smiled at him, lifted him off my shoulder and bent down on one knee so I was closer to his level. Sanosuke tilted his head at me, his expression now a mix of concern and curiosity as his voice had held.
"Nothing's wrong with her, Sanosuke," I said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Some different things are happening because she's going to have a baby."
Sanosuke's cocoa-brown eyes grew wider than I had ever seen them.
"When?" he wanted to know.
"I'd say about three months," I said, smiling at the shocked expression on the five-year-old's face.
His brow furrowed for a second, obviously thinking hard about something.
"Will you still play with me?" he asked shyly.
I bit my lip and gave him a quick hug.
"I'll tell you the truth, Sanosuke," I said seriously. "I'm not going to be able to come see you as often... But I'll still be here if you really need me."
Sanosuke's disappointed face became a bright smile. I ruffled his wild brown hair and set him on my shoulder again as I stood up. Reichi came back and I nearly gagged. Of course, he just had to open that jar, knowing the smell could knock out a large dog. I couldn't see how Midori could stay in the same room with that evil-smelling jar, let alone eat one of those things.
"God almighty, Reichi! Would you shut that thing!?" I yelled at him, exhausted, annoyed and in no mood to deal with his sick humor.
He laughed and stuck the lid back on the jar. Sanosuke yawned, gave me a sleepy smile and waved as his father pried him off my shoulder again. I smiled back, reached out to ruffle the sleepy five-year-old's hair and thanked Reichi before heading for the door. Yes, I was definitely going to have to wring his neck out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ -
*Souzou*
I tried to be as quiet as possible when I was going back in the house. It was around four in the morning by now and I was ready to crash, at least until noon. When I opened the shoji and stepped into our bedroom, I saw Midori sitting up on our futon, glaring at me.
'Oh no...' I thought, wanting to leave before something set her off. 'Another mood swing...'
Midori sighed irritably and reached for the large jar in my hand. Then she got a good look at it. The jar was very full and the pickles were floating in that foul green juice. Midori glared at the jar, then at me.
"You really thought I would eat that much?" she asked, a definite edge to her voice.
I had found out the hard way a good while ago that reasoning with her while she was like this was useless. Basically all I could do was wait for it to blow over, give her time to let off some steam. I set the jar down beside our futon, thinking it best not to say anything. When she was like this, anything I said was likely to set off a full-blown explosion. Those usually ended with me getting stuck with a spare futon in the living room.
I never blamed her for it though. On those occasions, I just missed having her warmth to cuddle up to. If I was lucky, I could go back in in the middle of the night and whatever was bothering her would have passed. Normally she welcomed me back with open arms, which I was always glad for.
"Well aren't you going to answer me?" she demanded sharply.
I sighed and tried to think of something that was least likely to set her off.
"Just eat what you want and I'll put the rest in the pantry," I said quietly.
I got lucky this time. As quickly as it had begun, her little angry spell was over. My ears were intact and I hadn't been thrown out. I sat beside her, sliding my legs under the blankets, wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned my head on her shoulder. She waited a moment before opening the jar, knowing I hated the smell.
"Souzou?" she asked, sweet and quiet once more.
"Hm?" I mumbled, already half-asleep and not even opening my eyes.
"Thank you," she said softly.
She took my hand and laid it over the roundest part of her belly.
"From both of us," she whispered.
I lifted my head from her shoulder and kissed her cheek gently, smiling at her. She turned her head towards me and I gave her lower lip a little nibble. Another quick kiss and she guided my head back to where it was, resting on her shoulder. I was asleep before I knew what hit me, never even noticing her wolfing down the entire jar of pickles.
A Romantic Comedy by: Serenity-chan
POV = * *
Thoughts = ' '
Speaking = " " (Did I really need to say that?)
Chapter 3
(Or: Late-Night Cravings)
*Midori*
About three months later, I woke up in the middle of the night again. Yes, I had another craving. This time it was pickles. Yes, pickles. That isn't exactly the most original late-night craving, but it was pickles. And all of a sudden, I felt very depressed. I was crying and sniffling as I poked Souzou until he woke up. He opened one dark brown eye and I heard a muffled "Huh?"
"What is it, sweetie?" he asked, trying to stifle a yawn.
He realized that I was crying and sat up, his raven-black hair sticking out wildly in every direction imaginable. Gently, he took me in his arms, keeping one hand on my rather large belly and pressed a kiss to my temple. He tilted my face up to his, concern obvious in his handsome features.
"What's wrong, Midori?" he asked, giving my temple another quick kiss.
I looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"I'm hungry," I said softly, my lip trembling.
Souzou's jaw dropped, then he rolled his eyes. He smacked one hand over his eyes as if trying to rub away a major headache and shook his head, muttering "No, no, no" under his breath. I watched him bite his lip, then set his jaw in resolve.
"Midori, it's late," he said in a level voice, pressing his hand to his temple. "Can you wait just a few hours?"
My lower lip trembled again, more tears streaming down my already-puffy cheeks. I saw his resolve crumbling. It was clear in his eyes. One pitiful whimper and I knew I had won. He could never resist me whan I was like this.
"Please, Souzou," I begged, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder for comfort.
"But honey, it's two in the morning!" he whined, a note of pleading in his voice.
I brought my hand to rest over his on my belly.
"For both of us?" I asked, caressing his hand.
His shoulders fell in defeat and he sighed.
"For both of you," he agreed, kissing my cheek. "What is it you need?"
I gave him a quick kiss and smiled.
"Pickles," I said sheepishly.
He rolled his eyes heavenward and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Why me?"
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said finally, pulling me close for a gentle kiss before settling me back down on our futon. "You two stay here."
When he got up to get dressed, I scooted into the warm spot left by his body. He threw a sleepy grin back at me over his shoulder, still bare to the waist. That smile could melt my heart in an instant and he knew it. I smiled back and he winked at me. I blushed like I did when he first kissed my cheek.
Fully dressed, he headed for the door and with a smile and a wave, slid the shoji closed behind him.
*Souzou*
This was the ninth time in the last two weeks she had woken me up at some ungodly hour because she had another insane craving. The next time I saw Reichi, I swore to myself I would wring his neck. When Sadako, who unfortunately passed away soon after the birth, was expecting, he never mentioned all this! I loved Midori and our unborn child with all my heart, but this was getting totally ridiculous. The cravings and mood swings I could put up with, but the crazed sleep patterns were killing me! I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks and probably wouldn't for a long time.
Well, it wasn't any easier on her. She needed rest a lot more than I did so all I could do was give her all the love and understanding I could. With a heavy sigh, I went to see if someplace was open. If I couldn't get hold of what she wanted, she would just keep crying and there would be no hope of getting any sleep for the rest of the night.
'Reichi lives on practically no sleep,' I thought. 'Maybe he'll be awake now...'
The problem was, Reichi lived in the middle of town. Walking from where Midori and I lived would take about an hour. And with my luck, his son would wake up. The kid was crazy about me for some unknown reason. The last thing I needed at this point, though I really was fond of Sanosuke, was him latching onto me. But right now, I had no other options.
Shaking my head, I started for town. Vaguely, I wondered why I had a weakness for sweet smiles and big violet eyes. It was then, though definitely not for the first time, that I wondered whether our baby was a girl or a boy. Midori hadn't said one way or the other which she preferred, but I knew I wanted a daughter. Maybe, if we were lucky, she would take after her mother. Maybe even have her mother's eyes...
Then I walked into a pole.
Swearing loudly and rubbing my forehead, I turned onto Reichi's street. I leaned against a wall and looked at my hand. There was blood on my fingers, but it seemed to be nothing more than a scratch. It stung like hell, though. I shrugged, cracked my neck in a way that always made Midori cringe and wiped the blood off my forehead. I could take care of it later.
Before too long, I was at Reichi's front door. Apparently I was in luck. It seemed like he had every light in the house on. Rolling my eyes at my best friend's strange habits, I leaned heavily against the door and knocked on it. I reeled for a second when the door banged open.
"Hello?" asked a small boy's voice.
I looked down and saw Sanosuke staring up at me with wide eyes.
"Uncle Souzou!" he cried happily, laughing and holding his arms up to me.
I smiled tiredly and picked him up, setting him on my shoulder. In a few seconds, Reichi appeared, wondering what all the commotion was about. He got one look at me and started to laugh out loud.
"Souzou, what happened?" he asked. "Did Midori throw you out during one of her mood swings or something? You look like you've been through Hell!"
He pulled, no more like pried Sanosuke off my shoulder.
"No, no. Nothing like that," I said, shaking my head. "All she did was wake up at two in the morning with a craving for pickles..."
I resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the matching incredulous expressions on Reichi's and Sanosuke's faces. Sanosuke was a mirror reflection of his father, from the same expressive brown eyes to the spiky brown hair that stuck out in all directions. Once again, I saw the little boy who had grown up as my best friend reflected in the face of his son.
"I just walked into a pole on the way over here," I explained, pointing at the scratch on my forehead. "You could say I've been a little... out of it lately. Anyway, do you still have those pickles?"
Reichi rolled his eyes at me and set Sanosuke down. He shook his head and muttered something under his breath as he went to get that jar of pickles. Sanosuke latched onto me, staring up at me with a wistful smile until I rolled my eyes, picked him up and set him on my shoulder again.
"Uncle Souzou, what's going on?" he asked. "What's wrong with Aunt Midori?"
Innocent concern and curiousity were obvious in the boy's voice. I smiled at him, lifted him off my shoulder and bent down on one knee so I was closer to his level. Sanosuke tilted his head at me, his expression now a mix of concern and curiosity as his voice had held.
"Nothing's wrong with her, Sanosuke," I said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Some different things are happening because she's going to have a baby."
Sanosuke's cocoa-brown eyes grew wider than I had ever seen them.
"When?" he wanted to know.
"I'd say about three months," I said, smiling at the shocked expression on the five-year-old's face.
His brow furrowed for a second, obviously thinking hard about something.
"Will you still play with me?" he asked shyly.
I bit my lip and gave him a quick hug.
"I'll tell you the truth, Sanosuke," I said seriously. "I'm not going to be able to come see you as often... But I'll still be here if you really need me."
Sanosuke's disappointed face became a bright smile. I ruffled his wild brown hair and set him on my shoulder again as I stood up. Reichi came back and I nearly gagged. Of course, he just had to open that jar, knowing the smell could knock out a large dog. I couldn't see how Midori could stay in the same room with that evil-smelling jar, let alone eat one of those things.
"God almighty, Reichi! Would you shut that thing!?" I yelled at him, exhausted, annoyed and in no mood to deal with his sick humor.
He laughed and stuck the lid back on the jar. Sanosuke yawned, gave me a sleepy smile and waved as his father pried him off my shoulder again. I smiled back, reached out to ruffle the sleepy five-year-old's hair and thanked Reichi before heading for the door. Yes, I was definitely going to have to wring his neck out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ -
*Souzou*
I tried to be as quiet as possible when I was going back in the house. It was around four in the morning by now and I was ready to crash, at least until noon. When I opened the shoji and stepped into our bedroom, I saw Midori sitting up on our futon, glaring at me.
'Oh no...' I thought, wanting to leave before something set her off. 'Another mood swing...'
Midori sighed irritably and reached for the large jar in my hand. Then she got a good look at it. The jar was very full and the pickles were floating in that foul green juice. Midori glared at the jar, then at me.
"You really thought I would eat that much?" she asked, a definite edge to her voice.
I had found out the hard way a good while ago that reasoning with her while she was like this was useless. Basically all I could do was wait for it to blow over, give her time to let off some steam. I set the jar down beside our futon, thinking it best not to say anything. When she was like this, anything I said was likely to set off a full-blown explosion. Those usually ended with me getting stuck with a spare futon in the living room.
I never blamed her for it though. On those occasions, I just missed having her warmth to cuddle up to. If I was lucky, I could go back in in the middle of the night and whatever was bothering her would have passed. Normally she welcomed me back with open arms, which I was always glad for.
"Well aren't you going to answer me?" she demanded sharply.
I sighed and tried to think of something that was least likely to set her off.
"Just eat what you want and I'll put the rest in the pantry," I said quietly.
I got lucky this time. As quickly as it had begun, her little angry spell was over. My ears were intact and I hadn't been thrown out. I sat beside her, sliding my legs under the blankets, wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned my head on her shoulder. She waited a moment before opening the jar, knowing I hated the smell.
"Souzou?" she asked, sweet and quiet once more.
"Hm?" I mumbled, already half-asleep and not even opening my eyes.
"Thank you," she said softly.
She took my hand and laid it over the roundest part of her belly.
"From both of us," she whispered.
I lifted my head from her shoulder and kissed her cheek gently, smiling at her. She turned her head towards me and I gave her lower lip a little nibble. Another quick kiss and she guided my head back to where it was, resting on her shoulder. I was asleep before I knew what hit me, never even noticing her wolfing down the entire jar of pickles.