Z is for Zen

WC: 564

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"Sssh, he's finally asleep. You're going to wake him."

"Especially since I don't think he's slept the entire time since he's been born."

"Don't be silly," Haruhi said. "Besides, I miss him when he's sleeping."

She had to resist reaching into the crib and caressing the pudgy cheek of the baby, who was already a few months old. His eyes were gently shut, and he kept burbling as his hands made tiny fists as he slept.

Her sigh of contentment came from deep within, surfacing from the brim of her soul.

"Come on," Kyoya said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the window. He had a smile that mirrored her own, but in his own way. A smirk that was both joyfully awed and yet smug about it.

With both of them leaning up against the wide window sill, Kyoya leaned over and kissed her ear. "You did a wonderful job."

Haurhi grinned with her own flush of pride.

Making her own little Ootori baby might have been a lot of work, but she never regretted a second of it. Everything was paid off once she held the little bundle of joy in her hands.

Sometimes... over the nine month course... she wondered at which time was he conceived... Could it have been the stockings? The time on the kitchen floor? Perhaps the morning spent in bed? Maybe the shower?

Hm, it didn't matter, she figured as Kyoya kissed her softly with the moonlight chiming in behind them.

"He's got your smile..." Kyoya said.

"And your eyes."

Their noses gently touched.

"He's going to be a problem for the ladies," Haruhi said as she was gathered up into a hug. Which was quickly turned into being pressed up against the wall. His hands traveled up and down her sides, never growing bored although they had explored her many times before.

She kissed the crook of his neck. Her hands slid up his back and she hid her smile by pressing her face into his chest.

Maybe it was the ethereal quality of the moonlight, the seemingly endless quiet of space and time, or just the moment of peace.

"Are you afraid?" she asked as he hoisted her up with the support from the wall. Clothing seemed to fall away with the faint sounds of zippers and buttons. She wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Of parenthood?"

"Yeah."

"Not with you by my side."

With a firm grasp on her hips, he pushed into her, slowly, carefully. She bit his shoulder to keep herself quiet as he moved. Her hands reached up and fingers grabbed his hair.

"Why?" he said into her ear, deliciously hoarse.

"It's just another step forward, and I have nothing to be afraid of."

She pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him hard until he almost dropped her. He chuckled as he readjusted her against the wall.

"Just as long as you're here to hold me, I can do it," she said.

"I've got you," he said, "Literally."

She wrapped her arms around him and tried to bring him as close as physically possible. Maybe it was just a new motherly intuition that was born to her with the birth of their son, but she felt so acutely aware of him slumbering within the crib.

Everything felt so highly detailed around her, from the touch of their skin, the texture of the wall, the flutter of the drapes, the shade of the moonlight. She felt like she was dancing in the colors that could only be seen with the heart.

Could any words truly sum up the aching, intense emotions that she felt within her? So high, so ecstatic, that she still sometimes felt dizzy standing near him. She wanted to tell him exactly how she felt, but no words would come to her.

It was just him.

So in the end, she didn't have to say anything.

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The alphabet has never felt so long before.

Any reviews, follows, favorites… they're the only reason this story ever finished. Even to the ones that didn't say anything, thanks for reading.

- WCR