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The house was a mess, clothes and dirty piles of dishes laid everywhere, hell even a few dirty diapers had landed far from the trash can. Himari, their daughter, was crying, smearing her snot on her mattress while Heizou desperately tried to calm her down. She was tired, hair unwashed and dark eye bags under her eyes. She tried to cheer her up, cooing at her gently while she put down the blanket she was holding to pick her up.
“There there..” She mumbled as she patted her back, her efforts to soothe her not being that effective. Heizou honestly didn't really want Himari, even if she was her own daughter. She was too young and inexperienced, Kuni wasn't even supposed to get pregnant. It's such a rare phenomenon for an Omega to get another Omega pregnant, yet they hit the jackpot unfortunately.
Heizou hummed softly as she swayed back and forth, her eyes barely open. Kuni walked into the room, just as exhausted as she was, her ears pressed flat on her head. She had just been trying to get some sleep, it was quite late after all. And sleep is hard to get with a baby who's barely a year old. “Give her here..” Kuni said quietly, holding out her arms.
Heizou handed over the little kitten to Kuni, who slowly started purring to soothe Himari. It was a sound that Heizou always found adorable, but in overwhelming situations like right now she couldn't help but wish that it was quiet, without the loud cries of a baby, maybe with just her and Kuni, the thought made her small tail wag.
As much as she loved their daughter, she missed how it was before her. They were still so young, but already having to bear the troubles that parenthood brings. “You look exhausted,” Heizou commented as she went to get a change of sheets for Himari.
“I know that, idiot.” Kuni said with a bit of disdain in her voice, her grip on Himari tightening a bit. The deer tensed a bit at the tone in her voice, sensing that she was getting frustrated. Not wanting to anger her further she stayed quiet as she grabbed a pair of clean white sheets.
She walked over to the crib and carefully removed the snot stained bed linen. She threw it in the overflowing laundry basket and replaced it with new ones. Kuni kept rocking the baby while purring softly, Himari slowly calming down. It was surprising that she wasn't hungry, usually she would be. The cat was used to waking up in the middle of the night because of the kitten desperately screeching for milk.
Kuni placed Himari back in her crib, sighing as she did so. “She's so… exhausting,” the cat exhaled as she spoke, clearly in need of sleep. “I know,” Heizou replied as her eyes drifted between the baby and her girlfriend. They both knew neither of them were actually expecting nor wanting Himari.
“She never shuts up, does she?” Heizou added as she looked away, tired and getting frustrated from the effort that it took to raise a child who she didn't even really want. Her maternal instincts were strong, but her annoyance took it over quite frequently. She'd never scream or be mad at the kitten directly, but it did affect her level of care.
“You should do the laundry soon.” Kuni commented as she picked up some toys from the ground, her voice soft and quiet so as to not wake their adorable sleeping kitten. Heizou's eyebrows furrowed, her eyes snapping to her girlfriend. “Maybe you should do something for once.”
Kuni's ears flattened once more, tail flaring up as she shot her a glance. “Shut it. You're not the one who had to give birth to this nuisance!” Heizou's eyes widened, her deer ears twitching as she snapped. “Excuse me? At least you get the pleasure of not having to deal with both an annoying girlfriend who does nothing but complain and a baby who never stops crying!”
Before Kuni could respond Heizou continued: “All you do is slack off while I'm stuck working my ass off trying to get a living while taking care of this shit that shouldn't even have been born!” The deer huffed, stepping closer to Kuni as she raised her voice, “I get no sleep and not a moment of peace while you can sleep and rest all you want, huh!?”
Kuni's eyes widened, her grip on the toy in her hand tightening. “Slacking off!?” She exclaimed, anger and hurt filling her voice as she tensed. “I have to spend ALL day taking care of her while you at least get a break at work!” Her tail whipped aggressively, her eyes narrowing once more. “Do you not understand how hard it is to recover both mentally and physically while a crying baby is screeching in my ears and YOU whine about something useless!?”
“Useless!?” Heizou sounded genuinely baffled, as if it hadn't even occurred to her that they're both overreacting at times. The kitten slowly stirred. “I work hard all day, spending sleepless nights trying to solve cases just to come home to a crying baby and an incompetent girlfriend!” Cries filled the room, a shrieking sound that added salt to the wound.
Both of them froze for a moment, their dear daughter had woken up to their arguing. Kuni felt a pang of guilt but it was quickly overshadowed as Heizou spoke up once more. “And now she's awake because of you! Can you ever do something right for once!?” The overwhelmed cat glared at her, eyes flicking between her and their crying daughter.
Unshed tears burnt in her eyes as she shouted back. “Do you ever shut up! Is making shit up and trying to throw me under the bus all you do?!” Her breathing was unstable, tail puffed up as her ears twitched. “I don't even remember the last time you told me you loved me or that this relationship- no- family is worth fighting for!”
In a fit of rage she threw the toy in her hand at Heizou, the sharp edge of it hitting the deer right at the curve of her neck. Heizou let out a sharp breath, clutching the area it struck. “I try my best to keep our family fed and stable, and this is how you repay me?” She muttered, staring back at her fiercely. “You really are a piece of shit.!” A few stray tears rolled down Heizou's cheeks as she closed her fists tightly, fighting the urge to hit something.
“You!?.....you..” Kuni quieted down a bit, genuinely starting to feel hurt as her tail drooped. Her breathing was rapid and quick, the sound of the baby crying and the overwhelming feeling of betrayal ruining her ability to think clearly. “You may be the one doing the work that brings us money,” she started.
“But you are never there when it's truly needed, I've tried my best to keep us together but recently it doesn't even seem like you love me!?” She blurted out, clutching her own arms in an attempt to self-soothe. “Do you even love her? Let alone me?” She said quietly.
Heizou glared back at her. Eyes flicking between their distressed daughter and her girlfriend. Her expression showed a mixture of anger and guilt. She knew Kuni was going through a lot and that they had likely rushed into everything way too quickly, so why can't she bring herself to apologize for not showing her the proper support?
“I'm stuck monitoring her 24/7, feeding her, changing diapers, bathing, keeping her safe, everything and you come home to complain about how I'm not doing enough?!” Kuni took a step back, wiping away a few tears as she continued. “Is anything I do ever enough?” Her eyes looked anywhere but at Heizou, mostly at Himari, what a pitiful child.
“Oh you have it so hard, don't you!?” Heizou said defensively, not wanting to admit that they both desperately needed a break while also trying to avoid her questions. “Must be horrible to be able to stay home all day while I have to solve difficult cases with zero hours of sleep!” She huffed, eyes flickering to the kitten for a moment when her cries grew louder, but they soon landed back on Kuni.
“Oh right, because you know nothing about what goes down while I'm desperately trying to keep us all together..” Himari tried to stand up in her crib, her cries filling the room with an unbearable screeching noise. But as she was so young, she quickly fell. The soft thud it created caused their eyes to flicker to their dear, but unwanted, daughter.
Heizou wiped her tears as she picked Himari up, rubbing her back while glaring at Kuni, as if to blame her for the argument. The cat stared back, in silence as she thought over the exchanged words. Heart sinking to the pit of her stomach as she realized Heizou avoided the question which mattered most.
“Do you even love me?” She said, eyes locking with Heizou's for just a few seconds before the deer looked away. The silence was only interrupted by Himari's continued cries as Kuni stood there, waiting for a response which would never come. Her breath hitched as she realized it could only mean one thing.
“After everything we've been through, you can't even bring yourself to reassure me that you love me..?” She said quietly, her eyes stinging with more tears once more. The person who swore to support her forever, to be there for her when things got rough, couldn't even tell her that she loves her.
“I..” Heizou trailed off, unable to say anything as she stood there uncomfortably, still trying to soothe Himari at the same time. Kuni stood frozen as the overwhelming emotions threatened to break her. Without another word she grabbed the nearest bag and started stuffing it full of essentials.
Heizou's eyes widened as a sense of shame and fear filled her heavy heart. “Kuni… what are you doing.. I.. I do love you, I swear!” She tried to save herself as she placed Himari back in her crib despite the kitten still being teary eyed. Her hand grabbed the cat's arm to stop her from packing up, only to be met with a harsh shove.
“We're over, I'm leaving,” It was all Kuni managed to muster up as she finished packing what she needed. She carefully picked up Himari, who was still crying a bit, giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head as she wrapped her in a blanket. She didn't expect or want Himari, but she definitely loved her. And she wasn't about to leave her with Heizou.
“Wait! Kuni, don't do this!” Heizou raised her voice, hoping to get through to Kuni but the cat didn't even give her a second glance back as she stormed out, tears flowing down her cheeks as she bit her lip to stay quiet so as to not make the kitten cry more.
She didn't even have anywhere to go, all she knew was that she never wanted to see that stupid deer again. Why did she ever decide to spend so much time with someone who didn't even care for her or their daughter? Himari's soft cries were the only thing keeping her alert as the tears dried on her cheeks. She couldn't fully lose her composure, not yet.