Chapter 23: Three O'clock AM

"Such a funny thing for me to try to explain

How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame

'Cause I know I don't understand

Just how your love can do what no one else can."

Crazy in Love - Eden ft. Leah Kelly. (Beyonce Cover.)

Three Weeks Later…

Natsuki all but collapsed on her bed after a long night's shift at Ryoko's. She had no idea how such a dingy, shady little bar had so many regulars.

But then again, the majority of the regulars were either single, perverse older men or married men unhappy in said marriage. So, it kind of made sense.

It was almost 3am. Light showers had made a damp mess of her silky black hair and her hoodie. The latter had been carelessly tossed aside while its owner rummaged through a drawer for a towel to dry it.

Her shoulder was fucking killing her. It'd been three weeks since the accident, but still the damn thing was hurting like no one's business.

"Fuuuuuck," Natsuki groaned as she sat up, kneading her fingers into the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

"...'Suki?"

Shizuru's sleepy voice sounded a few seconds later. The dark-haired teen's pretty lips curved into an affectionate half-smile as her green eyes took in the lithe form sprawled lazily beneath her sheets.

"Hey babe, my bad. I didn't mean to wake you ." Natsuki said apologetically, leaning over to kiss her girlfriend's temple.

She was only mildly surprised when Shizuru decided to take advantage of their close proximity and looped her arms around Natsuki's neck, effectively trapping her in place.

"It's okay, I missed my Natsuki." Shizuru breathed, stroking her cheek.

"Missed you too," Natsuki replied, albeit a bit shyly. It was still kinda new to her- voicing her feelings out loud. "Couldn't wait to see my girls."

Her strong hands wandered down to her girlfriend's belly, where the soft skin was extending confidently over the brunette's waistline. Today marked Shizuru's seventeenth week of pregnancy. She'd learned that both babies were roughly around the size of a pear. Shizuru didn't know if her mind was playing tricks on her or not, but she swore she could feel her daughters' fluttering movements.

Natsuki had been astounded when Shizuru first spoke of her skepticisms, and had all but flung herself to her knees and pressed her cheek against Shizuru's tummy. However, she couldn't feel anything other than her girlfriend's impossibly soft skin.

She'd been a tad bit disappointed, but still, it was exciting to hear Shizuru's breathless confessions.

Shizuru scooted herself impossibly closer. Fuck, she loved when Natsuki caressed her tummy like that. Her touch was something Shizuru found herself selfishly craving all the time.

Besides, she found Natsuki's attraction to her stomach and their children completely adorable. "Trust me, we missed Natsuki more. How was work?"

"Long as hell," grumbled the younger girl. The ache in her shoulder seemed to intensify as memories of the workload she'd taken up came rushing back to her all at once.

Shizuru picked up on her girlfriend's discomfort immediately. "You're hurting. Sit up and take your shirt off." she instructed softly.

"Mmhm babe, no." Natsuki shook her head tiredly. "You need to go back to sleep, it's late. You're gonna be tired tomorrow."

Shizuru smiled at her girlfriend's thoughtfulness. "Ara, Natsuki must be really tired. Tomorrow is Saturday. I have the entire day to sleep. And if I'm not mistaken, it's Natsuki's day off too, no?"

Natsuki chuckled at herself. "Damn, I'm tripping. I thought it was Thursday. Well, in that case…"

The two briefly pulled away from each other so Natsuki could take off her shirt. Tossing it carelessly on the floor, Natsuki shivered slightly as the cold air met her bare skin.

Shizuru frowned at the heat radiating from her girlfriend's shoulder. The joint was obviously irritated, and painfully swollen. With gentle hands, she kneaded her palms into Natsuki's flesh, marvelling at the strong, sinewy muscles and colorful bursts of ink decorating her shoulder socket.

Natsuki groaned in satisfaction as the tension slowly ebbed away.

After awhile, she turned in her girlfriend's arms all with the intention of nuzzling her face into the crook of Shizuru's neck. Her fresh, scent - something like coconuts and shea butter or whatever - was like ambrosia.

Natsuki steered more towards forest-y stuff like summer rain and shit with some sort of cologne to go with it. In other words, she was a bit more masculine when it came to body wash, so Shizuru's opposing feminine scent was more than welcome.

Shizuru was about to object, not having completed her massage, but the sight of her gruff wolf behaving like a puppy was just too cute. Natsuki rarely let her guard down, only showing her soft side to Shizuru with the exception of her grandmother.

"Ara, Natsuki must have missed me more than she let on." Shizuru teased lightly, resting her cheek lovingly atop a tousled dark head.

Natsuki could only grumble a reply as she felt a blush began to creep up on her. Shizuru was the only woman on the planet that could garner such a reaction from her. They remained interlocked for quite some time before Natsuki's empty stomach began voicing its displeasure about being neglected for so long.

Her girlfriend's airy giggle only caused her flush to deepen. "Ara, someone's hungry."

Natsuki sank further into Shizuru's chest if possible. But it was true; she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Damn, her grandmother's yakisoba was bomb… Just the thought of it had her mouth watering. She could vaguely hear her girlfriend's voice over the thought of food.

"Does Natsuki want chicken or shrimp?"

The dark-haired woman in question snapped back into reality, finally revealing that beautiful face Shizuru had been dying to see all day. "Huh?"

Shizuru giggled again. Natsuki's confused face was fucking adorable. "Does Natsuki want chicken or shrimp yakisoba?"

A multitude of questions surged through Natsuki's head all at once. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, unable to settle on an response. It took a few moments for her to utter, "How'd you know I was thinking about yakisoba?"

Shizuru looked offended. "What kind of wife would I be if I didn't know Natsuki's favorite food?"

"..."

She'd done it again. Left the queen of comebacks speechless. Shizuru put a delicate finger to her lips, contemplating. "Ara, I just can't ever decide on what kind. I know Natsuki doesn't like to mix her-"

"Shrimp!" Natsuki blurted suddenly. She immediately threw her girlfriend and apologetic smile for cutting her off. It was just so fucking crazy how well Shizuru knew her - almost as well as herself, in a relatively short time considering Natsuki didn't exactly broadcast her feelings, thoughts, likes, dislikes, etc. "Wait, no. Shizuru, it's 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm not going to make you get up and fix me din-"

Shizuru's interruption of her statement was far more forgivable in her opinion. A simple yet succulent bite of Natsuki's lower lip had her eating her own words. She could taste toothpaste on Shizuru's tongue. It was still rather strong, inclining her to believe that Shizuru had brushed not too long ago.

It was something they both did every night before bed, which meant Shizuru had been up for a substantial amount of time before she'd deemed it necessary to shut it down, too tired to wait any longer.

Natsuki couldn't blame her. Her shift ended at 2:30am so she usually got home around 3. But her girlfriend was a stubborn one. She waited for Natsuki every night, including school nights where she had to be up at seven in the morning. Sometimes she'd nod off surrounded by the scent of her beloved, but she'd always awake upon her arrival.

Natsuki couldn't ride her motorcycle, of course. She'd been forced to take her father's old street tuned Mitsubishi Eclipse. Shizuru could hear its rumbling engine from the corner.

"Natsuki hasn't made me do anything." she breathed, cupping her beloved's cheek with a soft, warm hand. She gazed deeply into her girlfriend's beautiful green eyes, mesmerized by their seemingly endless plains of glittering emeralds.

She then brought Natsuki's knuckles up to her pretty mouth, kissing the scarred, tattooed digits with the utmost love and care before laying her cheek on the back of Natsuki's wrist.

"Natsuki has been working all day to ensure there is food on the table. It would be a failure on my part as your woman to not reward your efforts," the crimson-eyed beauty said softly, her eyes twinkling with adoration. However, the sharp rubies turned mischievous as Shizuru's hand fell over the front of her jeans "In any and every way possible. I want to do this, even if it may not turn out as well as your Obaa-san's."

With a final squeeze to Natsuki's clothed member, she said, "why doesn't Natsuki take a nice hot shower and relax? Dinner will be ready by the time you get out. Then I shall give you your surprise, hmm?"

A surprise? Natsuki couldn't help but perk up at that. "What kind of surprise?" she asked eagerly.

Shizuru chuckled. "If I told it wouldn't be much of a surprise, now would it. Shower, dinner, then Natsuki will get her surprise. Now go." She gave her girlfriend one last kiss before extracting herself from Natsuki's embrace and exiting the room. Natsuki flopped back on the bed, dazed.

"How'd I get so lucky?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe the universe doesn't hate me all that much." With a heavy sigh of content, the teenager set about finding some clothes to change into after her shower.

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Thirty minutes later, a squeaky clean Natsuki emerged from the bathroom in nothing but a pair of dark blue boyshorts and white tank top. Her long dark hair was swept into a messy bun, with a few errant strands falling into her eyes. She'd just finished putting lotion on and had begun a game of For Honor on her Xbox when Shizuru sautered back in armed with a steaming plate of delicious looking fried noodles and a small package in the other.

She handed Natsuki the plate first. "I hope Natsuki likes it."

"This looks fucking amazing." Natsuki announced, already breaking her chopsticks. Shizuru watched in amusement as she began to shovel the food down her throat, seemingly unbothered by its temperature. "It's so good." she breathed as she came up for air.

"Isn't Natsuki forgetting something?"

"Eh?" the dark head tilted to the side. "Oh, of course. Gomen, baby."

There was just something about the way Natsuki said that cursed word that made it tolerable… she'd grown tired of hearing it all over campus and seeing it all over social media, and now she just couldn't hear it enough. "Ara, anything for my sweet puppy, but I meant this." she held up a small tub of mayonnaise.

Natsuki smiled gratefully at the older girl. she took the jug and poured a hefty amount on her noodles before resuming. With her belly full and a content smile on her face, Natsuki placed the dish on her night-stand, somewhere out of the way before turning back to the girl who had thawed out her frozen heart.

Shizuru was looking at her with such a soft, adoring gaze that she felt her cheeks heat up a bit. The crimson-eyed minx giggled at her girlfriend's reaction as she presented the dark-haired teen the package she'd brought out from its hiding place a few moments ago.

"I hope I picked the right one…" the normally confident brunette said with a bit of insecurity in her light tone.

The wrapping paper was no match for Natsuki's quick fingers, and what she was left with once again left her speechless. "Mass Effect: Andromeda?!" she almost squealed. Her eyes darted back and forth between Shizuru and the game she'd been wanting since its release a few days ago, but she'd spent her hard earned check on Shizuru's doctor visits, groceries, and some baby supplies. Even though it was still early, she wanted to make sure her daughters had enough of everything they needed when they were born.

She'd wanted the game terribly, had so since the end of the trilogy a decade before, but she skimmed past her personal needs for Shizuru's and their family's.

"Ara, gomen, my love, but I overheard Natsuki tell Tate all about the game she's been wanting for so long. However, I knew my Natsuki would forgo her own desires for my needs. So, while Natsuki's been at work after school I've been babysitting the neighbor's baby girl so I could raise the money to-"

Plump lips claimed hers as Natsuki surged forward. Smitten laughter erupted from Shizuru's throat as her beloved's body wrapped around hers, mindful of her belly. "Ara," she breathed, "so I did get the right one…?"

Natsuki pulled back, hands on either side of her girlfriend's head. She stared for a moment. Shizuru's feather-soft locks were tamed into complicated braid that fell prettily over her shoulder. A pair of far too short black Pink (or were they underwear?) shorts did little to hide slight impression of her nether lips, further inclining her to believe that maybe they were underwear. Her breasts were nearly spilling out of the silk bra she was wearing.

Natsuki was beginning to think her girlfriend had been plotting on her.

"Nah," she said lowering herself so their bodies were pressed intimately together. Shizuru did all of this… for her. She spent hours of her free time watching someone's spawn all to spend the money on her girlfriend. She made her a delicious meal. And now she was looking at her with a peculiar glint in her eye, a glint that Natsuki knew all too well. "I think I did." she said as she re-connected their lips.

Shizuru's soft hands rose to cradle Natsuki's equally soft cheeks, tracing over defined cheekbones and a heart-shaped face, leaving liquid fire in their wake as they made their way into the dark locks she loved so much. Natsuki moaned softly against her lips when the pale digits tugged sensually at the long tresses, exposing the pretty throat she sought to press her mouth against.

Natsuki's eyes fluttered shut. "You're not too tired?" she questioned breathlessly, her fingers lingering on her girlfriend's round tummy.

"I have been waiting for Natsuki all day," the brunette said just as quietly, lips moving skyward to claim a sensitive ear lobe. Long legs sneakily wrapped themselves around Natsuki's lean waist. "The only thing I'm tired of is not feeling Natsuki inside me."

"So you were plotting on me," Natsuki purred, placing her hands on either side of Shizuru's head."

"Whatever does Natsuki mean?" she cooed back, batting her eyelashes.

Natsuki grinned wolfishly. "Oh, it's like that? For sure. It's cool, baby, I know a few ways I can squeeze it out of you."

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An hour later, Shizuru lay sprawled out on the mattress, face wedged into the pillow with a bit of drool leaking out the side of her swollen lips. Natsuki chuckled at the sight and reached over to pull the sheets over her body to protect her from the early morning chill.

It was around 4am. The sun would be rising soon, and that meant she'd have successfully been awake for twenty-four hours straight for the second time that week. But there was something she absolutely had to do before she called it a night… morning… God, she didn't even know anymore.

"Please let Vetra be Bi, please let Vetra be Bi. Come on, Bioware, don't let me down!" she pleaded, picking up her controller.

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I know it's a bit short and pretty much plot-less fluff, but it's been awhile since I've written anything. Months. Just trying to get my bearings back. I've been recovering from probably the most toxic relationship I've ever experienced that had left me broken to the core. Seriously, writing a love story all the while being horribly depressed doesn't mix, but I've been foolish. I forgot how relaxing writing these two women are, and I think I'll do something productive with my pain.

I'll try not to be so long next time. Until then, my friends.