章 32: chapter 32
Chapter 32 – First Words
Freya and Amethyst had just passed their seventh month since being born into this world, and while nothing monumental had happened during this time, there had been a development that I soon came to dread.
"Amethyst! Get back here young miss!" Ai yells.
"Hehehe!" And a childish giggle follows.
The littles could now crawl.
And they could do it well.
Very well.
Almost... too well.
While Freya was careful and generally a good child, Amethyst was an adventurous little rascal who took every moment as a chance to be chased around the house.
Suffice it to say, I now understood why child leashes were a thing.
But anyway, today was a special day, not for the littles, but rather for my other children.
"Ha! Finally got you! Anyway, Cas, when are they getting back?" Ai asks, having finally wrangled Amethyst into her arms.
"They should be back in a few minutes, as long as the train is running normally." I respond.
It was Ruby and Aqua's 6th birthday today, and in order to set up a surprise, we had asked Miyako to pick up the two from preschool.
With us both being home all the time, the two being smart for their age, and the fact that they started preschool early, we didn't press them to go to preschool that often.
Until today, that is.
So even though I had the feeling they knew what was happening already, Ai and I put a lot of effort into the surprise anyway.
Suddenly, I feel a vibration in my pocket, causing me to pull out my phone.
Ah, it's Miyako.
"Ai! They're here!" I say.
"Alright, turn off the lights! I've got the popper!" Ai responds.
"Just don't scare Amethyst..."
"It won't, she's a strong girl! Just like her Mama!"
Well... she's more of a troublemaker rather than being strong, but sure.
The entryway bathed in darkness, I hear Amethyst babble from across the room as Freya starts to smack my arm.
Does she hate the dark that much?
Or maybe she just likes hitting me.
A few moments passed in relative silence before I could hear the familiar beeps of the door's electronic lock.
The door opens slightly as two small figures walk in, and with that as the signal...
""Happy birthday!""
"Gahga!"
Even Amethyst joined in.
A crack accompanied our cheers as a small burst of confetti landed on the two kids.
"Wooooow."
Oi, laying it on a little thick there, Aqua.
The two, as I had expected, were not surprised in the least.
But seeing their smiles... well, at least they were happy.
"Hihi!"
And so was Freya, apparently.
"Thanks for bringing them. Though I don't think our surprise worked very well." I say to Miyako.
"Think nothing of it. It's good to see them after so long, after all." She responds with a smile.
"Ah! Papa! We were totally surprised!" Ruby then exclaims while averting her eyes.
Sorry sweetie, you aren't fooling anyone with that, but thanks for the thought.
"Moving on! We'll do cake and presents later tonight but for now..." Ai says.
"For now?" Aqua asks.
"It's bowling time!"
And so, our activity for the day was decided.
----- Ruby POV -----
Bowling.
A mundane sport that was commonly played casually with friends and family.
But for me, this was a challenge.
I was nine when I was diagnosed with my terminal illness, so I was quite a novice in activities such as this.
But I wasn't scared.
Nor was I worried.
I just wanted to win because... well... winning was fun.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Huh... I guess I was quite competitive.
"Alright. It's about time your old man here gets to show off." Papa says while grabbing a ball.
The bowling alley was quite empty, as it was still early in the day, with the occasional crash of the other bowlers echoing through the room.
It was good that there weren't too many people, as I wouldn't want Amethyst and Freya to be overwhelmed.
Speaking of those two... although it's only been half a year, I could say with absolute confidence that my new sisters were the cutest things in the whole world.
With how they giggled at my silly faces, wore the biggest smiles when they were happy, and were so fascinated with every little thing-
GAH! They were precious!
And I knew Aqua felt the exact same, even if he complained when they cried.
I was a bit... worried at first.
Worried that they would be like Aqua and I... reincarnators.
While I would love to say it was because I wanted Mama and Papa to have the chance to raise normal children, the reality was a much more selfish desire.
I wanted to have normal little siblings that would be able to look up to me as their big sister, without their past lives messing things up.
I also didn't want Papa to notice anything weird going on with them, and thus look into us as well.
I don't think the trick we pulled on Miyako would work as well on him.
But it was fine.
They were normal, and everything was good.
I was happy, my parents were happy, and my siblings were happy.
What more could I want?
Ah... I want to be an idol too... But I'm already working on that!
"You ready to see some magic?" Papa says while holding his ball, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah!" I say in excitement.
Watching his eyes narrow while his arm slowly stretches back for the throw, I feel my heartbeat quicken in anticipation.
Was he gonna get a strike?
No, Papa was more amazing than that.
Maybe he'll throw it so hard that all the pins in the alley fall over?
Maybe he'll even crack the ball from the impact!
Thinking such thoughts, he takes a few steps forward before smoothly throwing the ball, his hands brushing over the floor in a gentle arc.
The ball lands on the wood with a thump, before rolling down and down the lane.
...Right into the gutter.
Oh Papa...
The silence is deafening as he remains in his kneeling pose, seemingly undeterred by his massive failure.
But I could definitely see his ears getting a little red.
I could understand, I mean, even I was a bit embarrassed by that display from all the way back here.
"...Hihi."
Freya's cute giggle breaks the silence as Aqua, Mama, and I all descend into a fit of laughter.
"Hahaha! H-Honey! What a wonderful throw!" Mama says with a red face.
"A-Amazing Papa! You should try out for the Olympics!" I add.
Was bowling even in the Olympics?
I don't think so... but whatever.
"A hero, a musician, a father, and now a comedian. You really are quite the jack of all trades, Cassius." Even Aqua was joining in on the fun.
Judging by his toothy grin, he was very content with finding a new weakness of Papa's.
Seemingly ignoring our jeers, Papa takes his second throw without any theatrics, getting three pins down as a result.
Walking back with a pout, he quickly kneels over the stroller, pushing his head onto Freya and Amethyst's laps as he sulked.
"Your Papa's being bullied right now. But you two won't do that, right? You'll always be on my side, right?"
But all he got in response were the two pulling on his hair with enthusiasm.
Poor Papa.
Like that, we continued having fun as the day turned to dusk, with Aqua and I getting a few strikes each while using the rails.
And as it turns out, Mama was really good at bowling.
Who knew?
----- Cassius POV - 1 Month Later -----
"Okay, Freya~ Say 'Mama'. 'Ma-ma'."
Cutting up the chicken for tonight's dinner, I send an exasperated glance to my wife, who was desperately pleading with my purple-haired little girl.
It eventually becomes too much, and I decide to step in.
"Sweetie, it doesn't work like that. It's just something that comes naturally." I say while shaking my head.
"Besides, why are you so intent on them saying 'Mama'? Babies don't say their first words until they're a year old, usually."
"B-But Ruby called me 'Mama' when she was six months old! What if they never say my name?" She pleads.
"How ridiculous. You know Ruby and Aqua are the weird ones, right? Newborns usually don't tell you when they dirty their diaper with a single babble."
"Uuu~ But still~"
Turning away from me, Ai decided to bury her head in Freya's chest, hiding away from the world as she sulked.
Though I could faintly hear a muffled 'Mama. Say Mama.' repeated over and over.
Haa... what a silly wife I have.
Soon, Ai left to pick up the kids from their activities.
Ruby with her vocal and dance training, and Aqua with his badminton after we forced him to pick up an extracurricular.
Badminton... didn't think he was the sporty type.
Who knew?
With the house now empty and dinner cooking in the oven, I decided to play with Freya and Amethyst a little bit with some blocks.
Playing with blocks was an excellent way to develop a child's fine motor skills as well as their hand-eye coordination, and their cute giggles were just a bonus.
I also made sure to keep talking with them so they could slowly build their communication abilities, though not as... concentrated as Ai's efforts were.
"So? Did you build a tower?"
"Ba!"
Freya promptly destroyed her tower with a smack.
She really liked smacking things... maybe she'll take up my martial arts?
"Is that so... but what will you do now? Are you gonna build it up again?"
"Uu! Gah!" Amethyst exclaims.
"Are you gonna build it again Amethyst? But what about Freya?"
"Pa!" Freya responds.
"Yeah, I know! But you have to grab the blocks to do it!" I say with excitement.
Funnily enough, I didn't really have to fake being excited around them.
Watching the two beautiful girls, my beautiful girls, grow up happily right before my eyes... how could I not?
However, I did make sure I didn't use baby talk.
Wouldn't want them picking up any bad habits after all.
"Pa! Pa! Papa!"
...
What?
"Sorry, Freya? What was that sweetie?"
Turning around to face me, she lightly slaps my chest while puffing out her chubby cheeks.
"Papa!"
Oh.
Ohhhhh shit.
Ai was gonna be pissed.
----- 1 Hour Later -----
Setting down the final plate, I slowly took my seat as I diligently watched the two girls who were happily sitting on their high chairs.
Luckily, Freya hadn't spilled the beans of her new discovery of linguistics yet, meaning I still had some time before Ai turned into a depressed Ai.
Or a mad Ai.
Either way, I was desperately praying that it was just a one-time thing and that my cute daughter didn't start calling me 'Papa' all the time, at least until Ai got her time to shine.
Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely heartwarming to be called as such by my daughter, and my competitive side was definitely happy with being her first word, but as they say... hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
But hey, even if Freya started calling me 'Papa', there was still Amethyst to soothe Ai's sorrows, right?
Looking across the table, I watch as Ruby excitedly talks to the happy child.
"Guess what? I did my first perfect pirouette today! Sensei even said I could start learning routines next week now that I have my basics down! Isn't that exciting, Amie?"
"Ooh! Ruu!"
Indeed... seeing children, especially one's own children, get along so well was good for the soul.
But wait... doesn't this development feel familiar?
"And that's not all! I also got to make a new friend! She's a newcomer in the singing class and has already released a song! She's really pretty, and she has really nice red hair! Isn't that cool?"
"Ru! Ruu!"
Yeah, I was definitely feeling a bit of deja vu here.
"She even said she was a famous actress!"
"Ru! Ru!"
Wait...
Stop!
"Ruru!" Amethyst exclaims while pointing her fork at Ruby, unintentionally flinging some rice onto her face.
Not that Ruby could notice, as she was frozen still in shock.
In fact, the entire table, save for the babbling Amethyst, was dead silent as they stared at the two.
"Ruru! Ruru!"
Shooting a glance over to Ai, I could see her eye twitching as her lips curled into a strained smile.
"Ayah~ Isn't that wonderful~? It seems Amethyst said her first word already~ Aren't you happy, my sweet daughter~?"
Scary!
She was really scary right now!
"R-Really? Amie, are you saying my name right now!?" Ruby asks with hearts visible in her pupils.
"Ruru!" Amethyst responds with a cheer.
"Aww! So cute~! I love you~!" Ruby then goes in for a hug.
Turning my head once again, I look over to Ai who was stabbing her chicken with her chopsticks over and over again while muttering a storm under her breath.
"Is it fun, my first daughter? Is it fun to betray me so heartlessly? Don't worry, sweetie, I'll remember this. I'll remember this very~ well. The start of April is coming soon, isn't it? While that's your first day of grade school, isn't it also a famous prank day in America? We should embrace other cultures in our house, should we not? Ah, you won't mind going to school with some makeup on, will you? Some white foundation, some red blush on your nose..."
Ai!?
Stop! Seriously stop!
I could feel my feet anxiously tapping unconsciously under the table as I side-eyed Freya, who was looking at Ruby and Amythest, who were both happily clapping their hands together, with deep interest.
Ah, but she looked quite confused.
Maybe the concept of names was still out of her reach?
Feeling my heartbeat settle down, I'm about to return to my rice bowl before noticing Freya slowly turn her head toward me.
Oh, my lovely daughter~ Please~?
Please don't put your dear Papa in such a precarious position~
Her eyes widen in comprehension as she quickly raises her fork to point toward me.
No... Please...
Now was not the time.
I don't want to be a clown!
"Papa!"
Silence descends once more, only to be promptly broken by the sound of a pair of chopsticks clattering against the table from behind me.
Ah... it was all over.
"Papa! Papa!"
Swallowing my saliva, I ignore the gaze searing into the back of my head as I placate the excited Freya.
"Y-Yes, my dear daughter? I-I can't believe you said my name! Yay~! P-Papa's so happy~! Now, c-can you say 'Mama' for me? Pretty please~?"
Please.
Please do it.
I'm begging you here!
"Papa!"
My prayers were ignored.
"Husband."
A cold tone echoes from behind me.
Prickly like a rose yet soft like velvet, as I try to distinguish the level of anger laced in her voice, I feel a hand clench around my shoulder.
"Oh husband~" Ai says in a more loving tone this time, sweet as sugar.
But for some reason, that made me even more scared.
My head creaking, I slowly face the brewing catastrophe head-on.
Eyes devoid of light, with her lips stretched into a forced smile, Ai stared back at me.
Oh.
She was mad.
"'Babies don't say their first words until they're a year old', was it? Tell me... does eight months equal one year back in Aspia? Hmm?"
Really mad!
"N-No ma'am! But I did say 'usually'-"
"Cassius."
"Mommy!" I exclaim, even though I was an orphan.
"Fufufu, no mother will help you here, husband~"
I-I had to fix this, and fast!
My brain flipping through the library of knowledge I had accumulated across the two worlds I had lived in, I grasped at anything to help me escape this situation.
There was one...
"Y-You know, Ai. Most babies call another family member by their name before their mother because they view their mother as part of themselves. I-Isn't that sweet? They both view you as part of themselves-"
"Quiet."
It didn't work.
Oh well, I tried.
It's been a good second life.
Tightly grasping the collar of my shirt, she pulls me close to her before whispering gently in my ear.
"Listen here, dear husband. Tonight, you're going to follow every single order that I give you. Understood?" Feeling her breath tickle my neck, sending a shiver down my spine, I quickly respond.
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
"Good~ By tomorrow, your jaw will be so sore even your healing magic won't be able to fix it." She says while gently patting my cheek.
I was equally as scared as I was aroused.
Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all?
Well... I could only hope so.
I also decided to firmly ignore Aqua, who was mouthing 'whipped' from the end of the table with a wide smile.
It seems that I'd been betrayed once again.
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