Mama Fox

<Zuri>

“A-Are you sure? I can stay home for today…" (C)

“Get lost!” (Z)

Walking over to the cribs, Zuri brushed aside the hand that attempted to stop him.

“I can very much handle this on my own!” (Z)

“I-I’m not saying you can’t… I just thought it better for me to stay and help.” (C)

Cleodora raced to Zuri’s side and stood close, far too close for his liking.

With an exasperated sigh, he turned and glared at her.

“Go. To. Work!” (Z)

Seeing Cleodora avert her gaze while still slowing inching closer, Zuri’s glare deepened.

‘For the love of—!’

“I’m not going anywhere, alright? I’ll be waiting right here!” (Z)

Trying to get at the heart of the problem, Zuri made a proclamation.

He then gestured to the babies stirring awake.

“Now buzz off! I’ve got my own work to do. These babies aren’t exactly going to clean themselves.” (Z)

“…Okay.” (C)

Witnessing Cleodora mope about for a while before finally leaving the room, Zuri relaxed his tough expression.

He hadn’t initially intended to be so harsh, but her persistent instance to stay was beyond annoying.

“There goes your fool of a father.” (Z)

With Cleodora out of the room, Zuri turned his attention to the waking three.

It was no surprise she was suddenly being extra clingy. Remembering the events that transpired last week, Zuri fought the heat rising to his face. Frankly, if she hadn’t been clingy, he would’ve suspected something wrong with her.

‘Goddamn it….’

Things weren’t supposed to have gone that far.

Everything just got so out of hand so quickly. A fact that Zuri couldn’t help but blame on himself. If he had done things like they usually did, none of this would’ve happened. Instead, he chose to humour that fool for reasons he found difficult to justify now. And, not only did he humour her, but he also decided to take petty revenge over kisses. The result of which saw him landing in an unfavourable position. Fetching the warm water from the baths and quickly returning to the room, Zuri sighed deeply… Perhaps, he was thinking too negatively about this whole situation. At least, the events of last week would keep that idiot held over for a while. Given how many times she finished inside him, it should alleviate that particular burden for a long time.

Feeling his face burning once more, Zuri cursed himself.

Cleodora didn’t go down easy. As a result, he may have given her permission to go j-just a few more times.

But it was strictly for efficiency’s sake!

At that point, Zuri couldn’t really move his body in order to help her.

He had no choice!!

Turning his attention to the little noise makers in the cribs, Zuri swiftly supressed the memories of last week.

He was here to bath these babies!

…These stupidly cute babies.

“Please have my babies! I promise I’ll be a good dad!” (C)

Clutching his chest, Zuri continued to stare at the little ones fussing in the cribs.

He could understand a little of what she was on about.

Nevertheless, such a future was impossible!

“So, who volunteers to be first?” (Z)

Naturally, the first one to respond was Ruka, who giggled at Zuri’s words. Lifting the tiny excited baby up, Zuri quickly undressed her and placed her in the small, wooden bath, making sure to double check the temperature. The moment Ruka entered the bath, she started splashing around. Spilling water and instantly creating a mess. Zuri, who had foreseen this, grinned to himself. Unlike the last few times he attempted bathing, this time he was completely prepared. Extra towels laid underneath the bath stopped the water from soaking in the bedsheets.

“You are a cheeky one, aren’t you?” (Z)

Receiving more giggles in response, Zuri got down to work.

On the advice of Luwn, he didn’t use any soaps but merely warm water to clean, repeatedly dowsing Ruka while using an ultra-soft wash cloth to scrub her down. Ruka, like the rest of the babies, wasn’t actually that dirty. As a result, the cleaning process was relatively swift, with Zuri managing to finish in about ten minutes. Sadly, due to the movements of the overly excited baby, he was somewhat drenched in water.

‘Haa…’

Was it because they were Kitsune?

These babies were far too active, not to mention big, for being only two weeks old.

Lifting Ruka to his chest, Zuri set himself ablaze, utilising his prized royal flames to dry them off slowly.

Done, he wrapped Ruka, who had started to doze off, back up and placed her in her crib.

One down and that only took twenty minutes.

A great improvement from the forty of last time!

Looking at the other two, Zuri softly sighed.

After this, he still needed to feed them, change their diapers, and rock them to sleep; tasks that would swallow three hours of his day, assuming he could maintain his current pace.

…Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so hasty to chase that idiot away.

At the familiar click of the front door, an invisible heavy weight lifted from Zuri’s chest.

It was about noon. The time Cleodora usually came back for her lunch break.

He could finally take a rest.

“I’m back!” (C)

“W-Will you quiet down!” (Z)

Whisper shouting at the jovial fool who came loudly bounding in the room, Zuri made way to her and quickly silenced her.

He had just managed to talk them asleep and wasn’t in the mood to do it again.

“Sorry!” (C)

Cleodora uttered an apology in a small voice.

Seeing the fresh water dripping from her face, Zuri decided to let it go.

It was not worth the energy to chastise the overly eager.

…Most of the time anyway.

“I hope you didn’t forget why you came. Where is our lunch?” (Z)

“Right, right!” (C)

A few minutes later, Zuri and Cleodora lay in bed. Two boards containing their meals rested on their laps. Oddly though, despite being the one to push for the meal, Zuri felt no desire to eat. The fresh scent of the warm meal didn’t sway him in the slightest. If anything, it distracted him from the massively overpowering scent sitting beside him. Bitting his tongue, Zuri refocused his mind. Ever since the events of last week, that scent had somehow become even more intoxicating than it already was. And his attempts to ignore it were increasingly becoming less and less effective.

“They didn’t give you too much trouble today, I hope?” (C)

“…Akili was rather well-behaved. " (Z)

After recalling the events that took place in the morning, Zuri struggled to find anything positive to say. Unlike their cooperative brother, Ruka and Mei fought him every step of the way. From constantly splashing in the baths to repeatedly refusing to nurse, the list of their misdeeds in this short time period felt endless. Honestly, it was a miracle that they decided to even sleep now. With how things were moving, Zuri had been almost certain that Cleodora would’ve come back to them still awake. A mortifying scenario given his earlier instance of being capable of handling them.

Cleodora lightly laughed at Zuri’s response, a wide grin spreading on her face.

“Don’t worry.” (C)

She leaned closer to Zuri, her bright blue baring down on him. For a moment, Zuri froze, his eyes captured by hers. Cleodora’s fiery red hair framed her alluring face as she tilted her head to the side.

“It gets easier the more you do it.” (C)

“I-It better.” (Z)

Coming to his senses, Zuri pulled away from her, turning his attention to the food present.

To which he proceeded to stare at blankly for minutes on end while gradually calming himself.

“You’re not eating.” (C)

Cleodora, taking notice, again leaned in closer to Zuri, undoing all the progress he managed.

“Is something wrong?” (C)

“Y-You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” (Z)

Frustrated, Zuri lightly smacked his cheeks.

“Z-Zuzu?” (C)

“As a matter of fact, something is wrong.” (Z)

Forcing himself to meet Cleodora’s eyes, Zuri sought a quick exit to this situation.

“I am far too tired to eat.” (Z)

He needed to put an end to this meal and get her out of here.

At Zuri’s words, a look of understanding flashed across Cleodora’s face.

She reached for Zuri’s spoon, skimmed the top of the stew they ate and, with a sly smile, said,

“Let me serve you, my Princess.” (C)

“Just go already!” (Z)

Pushing Cleodora outside to the front door, Zuri did his absolute best to avoid her gaze.

The burning sensation on his face simply refused to go away.

“D-Did I do something bad?” (C)

“Leave!” (Z)

Cleodora, who had complied with the pushing until they reached the front door, suddenly stopped.

“I-I don’t know what I did, but I am truly sorry—” (C)

“Now is not the time!” (Z)

“O-Okay, I get that. But before I go, there’s something important I needed—” (C)

“Out with it!” (Z)

“The villagers wanted to host a party for—” (C)

“Okay, sounds good!” (Z)

“R-Really?” (C)

“Yes, really!” (Z)

“T-Then before I go—” (C)

Zuri’s pushing finally gave as Cleodora took a step back.

Suddenly falling forward, he found himself landing in Cleodora’s arms… Where she proceeded to lift his face and plant a kiss on his lips.

“I’ll see you later then, Zuzu!” (C)

Standing still for a moment, Zuri reached up and touched his lips.

That evil seductress!