Yuna's room was lit only by the glow of a large tablet's screen propped up on the floor. And there, huddled in front of it, were the two culprits. Yumi and Asuka sat side-by-side, their faces illuminated by the screen, eyes wide with attention.
They were watching an old episode of a Super Sentai show. And beside them, cross-legged on the floor, was Yuna. She was wearing her ridiculous Pikachu pajamas and holding two of Asuka's plastic toy wrenches, banging them together in time with the fight scene music.
"And then, Red Ranger uses his SUPER JUSTICE PUNCH!" Yuna shouted, her voice full of dramatic flair. "Take that, you evil alien scum! Bwahahaha!"
"PUNCH!" Asuka roared, mimicking the move and accidentally smacking Yumi in the arm.
"BAKA ASUKA!" Yumi squeaked, hitting her back with a tiny, ineffective fist. "EAT MY PUNCH!"
"Ahem…" Makoto coughed and opened the door. "I don't like what I'm seeing in here, little misses. No screentime after 6 PM, Yuna. And it's already 11 PM, two hours past their bedtime."
The sound of his cough was like a gunshot in the quiet room. Three heads snapped in his direction. Asuka, bless her simple heart, just grinned and waved a toy wrench at him. "PAPA! PUNCH!"
Yumi immediately crossed her tiny arms and glared. "Not sleepy!" she declared, though a massive yawn betrayed her.
But the real masterpiece was Yuna. Her eyes went wide, the plastic wrenches clattered to the floor, and she scrambled to her feet with the energy of a teenager caught throwing a party. "It's not what it looks like, big bro! I wasn't… and we weren't…"
"Asuka couldn't sleep! And Yumi was having a nightmare! And I was just soothing them! With an educational program about teamwork and justice!" She huffed, crossing her arms defensively. "What if it's past their bedtime? Don't be such a boring old man, Makoto!"
Yumi, sensing a shift in power, immediately sided with her mother. "Baka dada!" she squeaked, pointing at him with a look of inherited indignation. "Boring!"
"Well, well, I had expected you to be more responsible as a mom, Yuna," Makoto facepalmed and sighed.
His words, especially the "responsible as a mom" part, hit Yuna like a slap. Her defensive bluster crumbled, replaced by a flicker of guilt and insecurity. It was one thing to be a bratty wife; it was another to be a bad mother. "I just… they were having fun… And it's a special occasion! Our pre-anniversary celebration!"
Somehow, Makoto couldn't really get angry after hearing that. He walked into the room and sat next to them. "Fine, tell me whose idea it was? Only the main culprit will be punished."
Asuka, who didn't understand the interrogation, just pointed a chubby finger directly at Yuna. "Yuna-mama!" she declared with the pride of a star witness. "Her idea!"
"TRAITOR!" Yuna shrieked, her face flushing deep red. "I gave you cookies!"
Yumi, ever loyal to her mother, glared at Asuka. "Not mama! It was Asuka's idea!" The two kids immediately dissolved into a sleepy argument of "Was too!" and "Was not!"
Yuna deflated, slumping down onto the floor beside Makoto with a pout. "Fine," she muttered, refusing to look at him. "It was my idea. Asuka missed her mommy, and Yumi wanted a bedtime story, and… I don't know."
She pulled her knees up to her chest, looking like a teenager again. "I just wanted them to think that I was the fun aunt for a night, okay?" she mumbled into her knees. "Is that so wrong?"
"Well, well, that wasn't wrong," he sighed playfully and patted Yuna's hair. "I'm sure even Mika won't be able to manage two little monsters either."
His gentle tone and the soft pat on her hair completely disarmed Yuna. She peeked up at him from over her knees, her gray eyes wide and a little watery. The validation and the understanding that she wasn't a bad mom was exactly what she had needed to hear.
"Hmph," she sniffed, turning her head away to hide the fact that she was blushing. "Whatever. It's not like I needed your approval, you fat pig." But she didn't pull away from his touch.
Makoto glanced at Asuka and Yumi. "Okay, five more minutes only before we go back to bed, you understand?"
His declaration was met with a unified "YAY!" from the two toddlers. They immediately abandoned their argument and turned back to the tablet, their tiny faces once again glowing with animated explosions.
Yuna relaxed, leaning her shoulder against his with a sigh. The tension drained out of the room, replaced by a sleepy peace. She watched the screen with him with a genuine smile on her face. "See? Red Ranger is the best one. He's the leader, just like me."
She leaned her head on his shoulder, the sharp tsundere edges sanded down by the late hour and the quiet closeness of the moment. "Hey, big bro. Remember the hike in the trail back then during our hot spring trip?" she asked, her voice barely audible.
She stayed quiet for a moment until both Yumi and Asuka slowly closed their eyes in drowsiness. "I've missed just having you to myself, big bro. Even if I have to share you with those other idiots."
"I know. Sometimes I feel that too. I miss the simpler time, Yuna," he whispered while carrying the babies back into their beds and slowly dimming the light. Yumi was out almost instantly, her small body curled into a tight ball, her face a mini picture of grumpiness. Asuka fought it a moment longer. "One… more… punch…" her tiny fist going limp as she finally succumbed to sleep.
"I know how clingy you are anyway, no less than Yumi here." He chuckled as he covered them with a light blanket.
"I am not clingy," Yuna hissed, but her protest was a sleepy thing, and she made no move to detach herself from Makoto's side as he tucked the now-drowsy toddlers into their beds.
Makoto stood there for a moment, just watching their children in the soft glow of the nightlight. Yuna's hand found his in the near-darkness, her fingers lacing with his. Her grip was surprisingly tight.
"Hey," she whispered, her voice soft and vulnerable in a way he rarely got to hear. "Tomorrow at the hotel." She took a deep, shaky breath. "Can it just be us for a little while? Before the others… you know." She didn't dare to look at him, just staring at Yumi, at the tiny creature that was a part of her and a part of him now.
"I just want to pretend that it's just you and me again. Back in your old room, before all of this." She squeezed his hand. "Is that stupid?"
"Sure, I guess the others don't mind. We can just check in early for an hour, just us," Makoto grasped her hand with a grin. "Did I ever deny anything you had requested, Yuna?"
A happy little sniffle escaped Yuna's lips. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. "You're still a big, stupid, pervert idiot, big bro." She yanked her hand away, but immediately grabbed the hem of his shirt instead. "You deny me all the time! You denied me that Gawr Gura limited edition figure last month, asshole!"
"But just for the record," she added, some of the old tsundere fire creeping back in, "if you try to pull any of that perverted dog shit tomorrow, I'm kicking you in the balls. Our private time is for romantic, missionary position, vanilla fucking only. Understood?"
After seeing Makoto's nod, Yuna let out a long, contented sigh, her body relaxing against his. "Let's go to bed then. I'm exhausted. And I need to be well-rested if I'm going to properly dominate those other sluts tomorrow." She started shoving him out of her room, like a happy little gremlin.
Makoto walked back to Ayane's room. The room was just as he had left it, dark and quiet, filled with the faint scent of soap and Ayane. She was a warm lump under the covers, having rolled to the center of the bed in his absence.
Makoto slid in beside her, feeling the cool sheets for a moment before the radiating heat from her body enveloped him. He pressed up against her back, wrapping an arm around her waist, and whispered into her hair. "Miss me, Ayane?"
A sleepy sound escaped Ayane, mixed with a half-formed mumble of his name. She stirred, her body instinctively relaxing and melting back against his. She wasn't really awake, but her body recognized him. "Mmm… honey…?" she murmured, her voice thick and hazy with deep sleep. "Are you back already…?"
Her arm snaked out from under the covers, wrapping around his waist with surprising sleepy strength, pulling him flush against her. Her hand came to rest on his stomach. "I got cold without you…" she mumbled, her nose nuzzling into the back of his neck.
Her fingers began to drift downwards over his sleepwear, making a lazy exploration. "Mmm… still soft… Good, save it for tomorrow…"