029

A pair of soft, plumps lips pressed tepidly to your cheek rouses you; your eyes sleepily fluttering open as you spot Rin standing fully clothed before you— dressed head to toe in athletic attire, gym bag in hand.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." He says softly, taking a moment to admire your beguiling form; your curves delicately wrapped in lustrous sheets, and your slumbering, bedroom eyes enticing him to join you back into the hollow of paradise.

"'s okay." You slur, a somnolent smile forming on your lips. "You have practice today?"

"Unfortunately." He responds; because truthfully, he'd much rather stay here with you and the kids— but he won't lie that he's thankful for having other obligations right now, because of a certain someone that he'd love to avoid right now.

Funnily enough, if you'd asked him how he felt about this situation a few months ago, he'd say he's been anticipating a moment like this; one where Mei comes back home to him and the kids. Maybe they live happily ever after, or maybe not— the old, dejected Rin wouldn't have cared either way.

...but, now?

He wants nothing more for her to leave, so that he can continue a life without the pain that plagued his heart and explore new, hopeful possibilities with the woman who's mending it back together.

"Wait, so does that mean— ?" Your eyes widen upon the realization that you'll have to spend the day with his ex-wife; Alone.

"I'm so sorry about this y/n, please don't be upset." He pleads, sincerely. He honestly does feel terrible about having to leave you like this, but he really doesn't have a choice this time.

"What am I supposed to do with her?" You groan. "This is gonna be so awkward."

He leans over you, kissing your cheeks, your lips, your neck— carefully casing every inch of your soft skin that's available to him. He looks at you with apologetic, muted yellow eyes, before carefully caressing your lips with the pad of his thumb.

"I'll make it up to you, promise." His tone low and gravely, alluding to his otherwise lustful intentions.

If 'making it up you' meant anything along the means of what occurred last night, you'd gladly babysit his ex-wife a million times over.

"You better." You tease, playfully shoving him off as you start to climb out of bed, ready to start this presumably cumbersome day. "See you later Rin."

He shoots you as subtle smile (he still hasn't gotten used to displaying it so often) as he heads out  the door— leaving you to get dressed and head down stairs to start making breakfast for the kids... and his pregnant ex-wife.

Something about this felt different. It was hard for you to continue doing your job as you usually would, considering that your relationship had past the point of client-nanny.

Are you even still the nanny?

Technically you were, you supposed. Though it didn't really feel like a job anymore, rather something that your heart looked forward to every waking moment. You loved the kids as if they were your own, and maybe... maybe you loved their father too.

You would sort out the technicalities later, but right now, you had a job to do.

Quickly descending down the stairs, you can smell the scent of freshly made pancakes coming from the kitchen— where you spot Mei in front of the stove, spatula in hand. She smiles sweetly when she takes notice of you, before handing you a plate of breakfast and motioning for you to take a seat next to the kids who are about to enjoy their meal.

You're a bit perplexed, but you don't question it— instead seating yourself next to Reiki who only looks at his plate disapprovingly.

Mei waddles over happily with the final stack of pancakes, before taking her seat next to her daughter. Reiko smiles at her mother, but you can see that she's a bit uncomfortable with the awkward energy that's lingering at the table. No one says a word for a while; everyone choosing to stuff their faces, rather than make an attempt at refractory conversation.

Well, everyone except Reiki.

"Ki, baby... you aren't eating." Mei states, concerned.

"I like y/n's pancakes better."

He blurts it out without a second thought— if you didn't know any better, you'd think he meant it to be hurtful on purpose.

You exchange awkward glances between the boy and his mother, your cheeks stuffed full of breakfast, giving your best consoling smile to the woman who tries her best to remain unbothered by her son's unfiltered mouth.

"Oh, of course... I'm sure she makes delicious pancakes. I'd love to try them someday." She says through a shattered smile. You can tell it hurt her feelings, but she doesn't allow it to be well perceived by her children, who continue to pick at the food she's made for them.

A quick glance around the common area tells you that in addition to making breakfast, she's also cleaned up the place— not that you would complain, since it makes your day a whole lot easier.

"I hope you don't mind— I uh, had a bit of trouble sleeping last night; I was up pretty early and decided to make myself useful around here." She chuckled, trying her best to laugh off an uncomfortable situation.

"Yeah, of course. It's no problem at all." You respond, just as awkwardly. "I can clean up the dishes, I'm sure you're tired— you could try to get some rest, for the little one."

She only nods, muttering a small thank you as she finishes up the food on her plate. The kids are done before the two of you; Reiki's plate was hardly even touched. You gather up the dishes, including Mei's, and head into the kitchen to get started on the clean up.

"Excuse me, I'm just going to grab a mug for some tea." She says, scooting by you languidly.

"Oh, sure! Mugs are in the cabinet on the—"

"I know where they are." She spits abruptly, before quickly recoiling once she realizes how aggressively her words came out. It truly wasn't her intention to bark at you like that, and she immediately apologized for it.

"Sorry, I'm just really on edge. Things with Hiro aren't very good right now, and I'm due within the next month— the stress is really getting to me."

"It's alright, I understand. Please, just try to get some rest. I'll bring you up some chamomile tea." You smile warmly, putting on a pot of hot water. Despite what you know about Rin's relationship with her, you can't help but feel sympathetic towards their situation.

"Thanks." She says meekly, trailing off towards the refrigerator where she spots a beautiful piece of artwork made by her precious daughter.

Her finger's delicately trace the colorful lines on the paper— every single stick figure admired, all the way down to the very last one. She smiles, but it does nothing to hide the pain in her downhearted expression.

You watch as she dolefully drags herself up the stairs, soon hearing the bedroom door click shut.

Suddenly, your phone vibrates in your pocket. Upon its retrieval, you see that it's a number you don't recognize. You let it go without answering; if it's urgent enough, they'll leave a voicemail.

and... they do.

You press play, as a deep, silky smooth voice plays through the speakers—

"This is Daisuke Sano, I'm calling because I have something I'd like to discuss with you, Y/n.

Let's meet over lunch."