Mama Fox

<Zuri>

““WAAAAAH!!””

Ear piercing screams tore through the room.

‘W-What the hell!?’

Staring at the group of babies that had started crying out of nowhere, Zuri felt himself at a complete loss. He had no idea what triggered this sudden random fit of crying! First woken up by the soft whimpering emitted from Ruka’s crib, he had leant over to assess the problem. Seeing that blanket covering the newborn had fallen off, he laid it back onto her. A wrong move, apparently. The moment the blanket came back into contact with the baby, she burst into tears. Shedding the wide smile that had once played on her face. Soon after, her siblings joined in, awoken by the noise. And despite trying to rock the cribs to sooth them, they kept on crying out loud.

Turning to still-asleep Cleodora, Zuri began to frantically shake her awake.

‘Unbelievable!’

How could a person sleep through this!?

“D-Do something!” (Z)

Perhaps due to her time as the Hero, the second Cleodora woke up, she was alert… kind of.

“W-What’s wrong? An attack!?” (C)

‘Seriously!’

After Zuri gestured to the crying babies, she launched out of bed and appeared next to the cribs in a single breath. But, at the critical moment where she was supposed to assist and make them stop, she froze. Staring at the crying babies with a look of deep confusion. She raised her gaze at Zuri, then turned it down at the babies, before finally fixing her eyes on Zuri once more. A silent question seemed to be asked by her slightly panicked eyes. Where is the danger? Seeing that Zuri felt a surge of annoyance bubble up. Were crying babies so normal to her that she didn’t see a problem!

“Make them stop crying, you idiot!” (Z)

“A-Ah, right! On it!!” (C)

With the epiphany finally dawning on Cleodora, she set to work while Zuri quietly observed her.

He soon pursed his lips after a minute of ineffective soothing attempts.

…What had gone so terribly wrong while they slept that would cause such a wild shift? Surely, crying to this extent wasn’t normal even for newborns. It sounded like they were dying for peace’s sake! Watching Ruka, the most vocal of the bunch, let out a banshee-like scream, Zuri felt his stomach churn oddly. Had they missed something off about them after the birth? A factor that was causing them to react this strongly for no reason. Due to knocking right after finishing, Zuri couldn’t confidently claim everything was peachy. It was a given the healer checked them and made certain they were fine, but it was also equally true that her lack of experience with Kitsune could mean she missed something vital.

‘…Why is she so good at this?’

It appeared all his concerns and worries were unwarranted.

In about five minutes since starting the soothing process, Cleodora had been successful.

All three babies had stopped crying and were laid back in their cribs, relaxed. Heck, the smile that had disappeared from Ruka had even come back with full force.

“I see you are quite experienced with babies, huh?” (Z)

“Hehe, impressed?” (C)

A weird displeasure took Zuri as Cleodora smiled widely and struck a cute pose.

He, admittedly, expected her to struggle somewhat just like he did. After all, she wasn’t supposed to be much more skilled than him in this regard. In fact, given her rather recent violent life as the Hero and leader of the Salvation Army, she should be worse, all things considered. It was their first time as parents. The learning curve was steep for both, but Cleodora faced it at a distinct disadvantage…. Unless of course, Cleodora somehow had another family or something. At that ridiculous thought, Zuri nearly bust out laughing. There was no way Cleodora could do that. She was super pretty, charismatic and the literal Hero but that didn’t mean—

“…How many women have you laid with?” (Z)

In a low voice, Zuri asked a simple question.

A bewildered Cleodora took a step back.

“H-Huh!?” (C)

Taking the time to repeat the question, Zuri squarely looked Cleodora in the eyes.

He would be damned if he were some side chick!

“How. Many. Women. Have. You. Sired. Offspring. With?” (Z)

Cleodora moved forward immediately, got down on her knees, and took both of Zuri’s hands in her own.

Her scent instantly overwhelmed him while her tearful face caused his mind to waver.

“You are, and will always be, the only woman in my life! And nothing will ever change that!! I… I love you with all my heart. I want to spend the rest of forever with you. Kissing you, talking with you and playing to our hearts' content. I will never stop loving you and only you! Even death cannot make me forget my love for you!” (C)

H-How can a person say that with a straight face!

Feeling his face begin to burn fiercely, Zuri turned away and cursed.

‘This fucking pregnancy, man!!’

Despite not caring for her words, despite not wanting to be swayed, Zuri felt his heart skip a beat with every word Cleodora uttered.

“F-Friends don’t do that…” (Z)

As a direct result, the few he managed to muster as a rebuff were nothing more than a pathetic dodge.

"That's right! I don’t want to be your friend; I want to be your lover!!” (C)

At those words, Zuri felt himself melt some more.

An act that caused a deep shame to crash down on him.

…He had already given birth; why did he still have to be subjected to the effects of the pregnancy!?

What was he even thinking getting annoyed that Cleodora may have had potential partners before him?

Who cares!!

…Still, it was good she didn’t have such.

After taking a few moments to calm himself, Zuri quickly changed the topic to something else.

“U-Uhm, so, do you know why they were crying?” (Z)

Cleodora didn’t seem that eager to move on, staring longingly at Zuri, but when prompted with the question, she answered regardless.

“Yes, I did.” (C)

Then smiled softly.

“From what the healer said, they may be just a little hungry.” (C)

What a convenient out!

“G-Go prepare them something to eat then. I’ll watch them while you head.” (Z)

Utilising the time bought from this, Zuri could safely get himself under control and regulate better.

Ensuring he sheds off this fog that steadily seemed to be clouding his thinking.

Strangely, though, Cleodora didn’t move to the kitchen.

She merely coughed lightly into a closed fist.

“W-Well, the food is kind of here already…?” (C)

Hearing the awkward tone returning back to her voice, Zuri felt a familiar surge of confidence flow back in. Yes, this is how it should be. Not that lovey-dovey nonsense that idiot was spouting off earlier. She was much more natural in this inept showing of herself. Committing it to memory, Zuri grinned. All he needed to do was remind himself of who he was really dealing with. Cleodora wasn’t some smooth-talking charmer but a clumsy fool. If he just keeps this in mind, resisting the charms created by her and the pregnancy should be easy.

“Have you gone blind? There’s no food here.” (Z)

Confidently rebuking Cleodora’s words, Zuri waited for a response.

It came rather slowly and was… a finger pointing to him?

“Why can’t you do it!?” (Z)

“I-I don’t produce any—” (C)

“Why not!?” (Z)

Feeling frustrated, Zuri couldn’t help but sulk.

The idea of breastfeeding anyone, even if they were a baby, just felt too… emasculating! Which may sound rich coming from someone who had just carried a pregnancy to term and given birth, but it wasn’t like he could stop the feeling! Not to mention, the latter things were mostly forced on him, whereas this was an activity he was willingly partaking in. Like a lot of things, namely his sex, the pregnancy, and generally hard life situations, Zuri often adopted a simple policy: ‘I’ll deal with it when I cross that bridge’. A means to keep on pushing when things get tough. It went without saying, but Zuri was never a fan of crossing that damned bridge.

‘Why me?

Logically, he knew that this was pretty much an inevitability.

But, like giving birth, knowing it and experiencing it were two very separate things!

“Do you want me to call the healer?” (C)

A gentle voice called to Zuri.

The owner of which was tenderly petting his hand.

“…No.” (Z)

Having the healer here would only add to the embarrassment of this act.

Vaguely gesturing to the crib housing Ruka, Zuri gave a resigned sigh.

“Bring her here.” (Z)

Running away wasn’t really an option at this point. It wasn’t like he could let them starve in order to maintain his dignity… right? He was the only one with the food they needed. Zuri just needed to man up and do it!

“You need to support her here and here.” (C)

The moment Cleodora placed Ruka in Zuri’s arms, he was quickly reminded of their tiny size. The small little thing barely occupied space in his arms. And it wasn’t like Zuri was a big person; far from that, he was actually on the smaller end of… well, everything. Yet, here was this tiny thing seemingly shrinking in him. Looking at the smiley, surprisingly lively baby fidgeting endlessly, Zuri swiftly confirmed his earlier observation…. This thing was cute as hell. With striking red hair and—sigh—sky blue eyes, it was the poster child of cuteness. The delicate features it possessed made one feel like it would shatter if wind blew a little too hard on it.

…This was their child.

Zuri was carrying his child.

Feeling his arms tremble, he looked to Cleodora.

A hand swiftly came to rest on Zuri’s shoulder.

…When did she move on to the side of the bed?

“Look away already.” (Z)

Cleodora paused.

“D-Do I really have to?” (C)

It took one glare to answer that question.

Looking back at the delicate bundle as that idiot started moping about, Zuri took a deep breath.

He had thought it wise to start with the troublemaker who would made the most noise.

‘Let’s do this!’