How To Play At The Park

[A/N: This is the last of the three short ideas I had for this round. It’s unlikely this will be the last time I’ll visit this series, but it might be a while before next time. We’ll see, nothing is ever set in stone. I just really wanted to write about some of my favourite characters having children. Chris deserves to be happy. All of them do.]

“Ena! Don’t run too fast, sweetie!”

“Okay!”

Miku let out a sigh as the little girl sped off. At least all the kids were on grass, and they’d had the foresight to dress them in clothes where it wasn’t a big deal if they got dirty.

Chris patted her on the shoulder. “Reminds you of a certain someone, huh?”

They shared a smile as said someone was following the kids to keep an eye on them.

At four years old, Ena was quite active, and a proud big sister. She definitely resembled Hibiki in more than just looks, but maybe that would change as she matured. For now she loved leading the twins around, even though at two years old they weren’t quite as nimble as she was. So Hibiki had volunteered to help them keep up.

All three kids looked fairly different, in that it was obvious who they took after the most. Ena looked mainly like Hibiki, though a few traits of Miku’s had shown up too. You could see some hints in her facial structure, and her hair volume was definitely close to Miku’s than Hibiki’s, even if it had Hibiki’s colour. Ena wanted to grow her hair long, something she had asserted quite clearly as early as she was able. The first time they’d taken her to a salon for a haircut she’d cried so hard they had to apologise and leave. They couldn’t even get permission to trim her ends. The little girl was determined to get hair like Chris, and even wanted to have the same tails, though her hair wasn’t quite long enough for that yet. Pigtails were not good enough. Unfortunately ‘in a few years’ was a hard thing for a toddler to understand, so Chris had caved, and let Ena wear four hairbands just like her mama, even if they didn’t have a lot sticking past them.

The twins were still a bit young to have much in the way of demands. Aki resembled Chris the most, and had been born slightly ahead of Aoi, who resembled Miku the most. The one obviously shared trait between all three kids were that they all had Miku’s teal green eyes.

While going through the process of implanting Hibiki with an egg that had the genetics of all three mothers, they had been informed that the procedure had a high likelihood of producing twins, and that had come true. So the first year with the twins had been more challenging than it had for Ena, but with Chris finishing her master’s degree she’d been able to go full-time housewife for the past two years, while the other two kept up their rotating schedules. Aki and Aoi were also a little calmer than Ena, even if they both looked up to her.

Aki was a little clingy and whiny, while Aoi was more relaxed. She was still sensitive to whenever Aki was in a bad mood, and had empathetic reactions, but she was rarely the one who started things. They were both more timid with strangers than Ena, who seemed to have very little fear of other people. Which honestly worried Chris a little. What if she got herself in trouble by trusting a stranger?

The whole family had gone to the park to let the kids play around for a bit, while the adults had a picnic. They were even joined by Kirika and Shirabe, and their little Haruka. The kids surely wanted food eventually too, but for now they were content to lead their mum around.

Haruka was about half a year older than the twins. She had Shirabe’s hair, but her other features looked closer to Kirika. Who was currently holding her daughter’s hand as she went off to play with the others. According to her parents, Haruka was generally fearless, though she also seemed to look up to Ena. Maybe the older girl had some special charisma, or it was just natural for kids to look up to slightly older kids.

“How are things going?” Miku asked.

“Well,” Shirabe replied. “Getting back to full-time work was a little stressful, but Kirika is going to be taking a year off now that her degree is done, much like you did, Chris.”

“I see.” Chris nodded. She had considered taking a third year off herself, but in the end decided that two were enough, so she had found and started a teaching job this semester. Hibiki and Miku had also gone back to working full-time. They would have preferred a little less, but knew they had to save money for the future.

It was currently summer break, and they wanted to make the most of it. Finding a daycare had been the most stressful part. Chris’d had so criteria in mind for how it needed to be, but Hibiki and Miku had managed to calm her down, and be more reasonable. The twins had been unhappy in the beginning, but with Ena there to comfort them, they had acclimatised over time. She was glad the kids were doing well. And maybe a little disappointed that someone else was able to take care of them.

While Miku and Shirabe kept chit-chatting, Chris got up to go trade places with Hibiki. Tsubasa and Maria had moved abroad, but Kirika and Shirabe had stayed in the city, so they regularly met up.

“Want me to take over?” Chris asked as she reached them.

“Oh, Chris-chan!” Hibiki smiled, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You don’t have to-”

“Mama!” “Mama!” The two twins came running over as best they could, and attached themselves to Chris’s legs. “Mama, guesh what.” Aoi beamed.

“What?” Chris patted them both on the head.

“Nee-chan wen’ down the big shlide!” Aki sounded impressed, and proud.

The nee-chan in question stood tall, and put her hands on her hips, as if to look bigger.

Kirika leaned closer, and whispered: “Hibiki stood at the bottom to catch her.”

“Of course she did,” Chris whispered back. Hibiki still spoiled the kids rotten, and went along with nearly anything they asked if no one stopped stopped her. Quite the ‘yes man’, or maybe ‘yes mum’ in this case.

Hibiki lifted a giggling Ena up onto her shoulders, and strode back towards the playpen, with the twins and Haruka following close behind.

“Me too, mum!” “Me too!”

Hibiki only had herself to blame for all the extra work she got. At least it was entertaining to watch.

“So senpai…” Kirika dragged her foot. “As someone who has lived the housewife life, do you have any tips for someone who’s just starting?”

“The housewife life?” Chris chuckled. “Well, you can cook, right?”

“Of course!” Kirika puffed her chest out confidently.

“Clean?”

“Er… y-yes.” Suddenly that confidence waned, and was replaced with an embarrassed blush.

“Laundry?”

“W-well… Shirabe can do- I mean, Shirabe can teach me how to… um… push the buttons?”

Chris patted her on the back. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” They watched as Haruka also got a turn on Hibiki’s shoulders. Thank goodness someone was strong enough to do all that. “I guess Haruka-chan might be a little old for this advice, but at least during my time with the twins so far, I learned to sleep whenever they slept. Gotta get your rest, you know?”

Kirika was nodding along, though her focus also seemed to be on Hibiki and the kids.

“Oh, and I guess make sure to put away their toys so no one steps on them,” Chris said. They should probably teach them to do that themselves, but Ena was probably the only one old enough to understand yet.

Kirika kept nodding.

How much is she actually listening? Well, I guess she can send me panicked texts if she really needs advice later. “Wanna go join them?”

“Huh?” Kirika blinked. “Oh, yeah!”

* * *

When both twins had started wobbling, Chris and Hibiki had carried them back. Currently they were sound asleep in their stroller. Haruka had lasted a little longer, and had started to eat a little, but quickly fell asleep in Shirabe’s lap. Only Ena was still going strong as she devoured a sandwich.

At least the adults got to have their picnic. They had gotten pretty good at idle chat. Since they saw each other regularly there wasn’t really any catching up to do, it was just everyday chatter. What they’d been doing, what they were watching, or reading, stuff they’d seen in the news, and so on.

After a bit Ena came snuggling up against Miku.

“Mummy. Brushy,” she said softly.

Miku giggled. “Alright.” She got a hairbrush out of her bag, and started brushing Ena’s hair. In the hierarchy of brushing skills, Ena had placed Miku on top, Chris second, and Hibiki last. So whenever possible she would go to Miku first. The little girl loved getting her hair brushed, especially if she was feeling drowsy. Sure enough, it wasn’t long until Ena closed her eyes, and her little arms went limp.

With all four children asleep, it was a good time to wrap up the picnic. Having children came with its own challenges, but it was still a good way to enjoy their hard-won peace.

Chris wouldn’t trade her beloved family for anything.

~Wulf