Chapter Text
She didn't know what it was, precisely. But the moment the doctors placed that tiny baby girl into her arms, she knew there was something about her that was special. And, as her little girl latched on for the very first time and looked up at her with those grey blue eyes, she knew that her baby girl felt the same.
She named her Rhajat. Hayato had complained about it. But she knew that the Hindi name “Rajat” meant “silver”, and to her that was beautiful, and just what her little girl deserved. Rhajat Desiree Isanagi. A beautiful name for a beautiful child.
Hayato eventually called on her sisters to come and help her care for the baby, because she was too grouchy for him to deal with. And heaven forbid he so much as touch the child or she would burst into sobs that caused her mother to come running and scoop her up.
Late one night, however, with both Camilla and Azura unable to to come for whatever reason he couldn't be bothered to remember, Corrin asked him to change Rhajat. She had to pee, and had been holding it for far too long as it was, so he agreed and took the sniffling child from his wife. Carrying her over to the changing table, he set her down. I don't get why you smile for everyone but me, he thought bitterly as he watched her ball her tiny fists up and kick her feet as he attempted to undress her before unfastening her diaper. When Corrin changed her, they both giggled and smiled as if sharing some immensely amusing inside joke. And even Camilla and Azura could get her to smile with a little bit of effort. Yet no matter what he tried, it seemed as if she just did not want to smile for him. He dressed her again and lifted her up to watch her stand on the tips of her toes. “There now. All clean.” He smiled in spite of his sour mood and was amazed when she smiled back.
Only to watch her try to reach past him, as the bathroom door shut behind them, cooing as she always did to get her mother's attention.
“Did Daddy clean you all up?” Corrin crooned, scooping their daughter up. “I bet you're hungry again, aren't you? Mm, time for a small snack before we go back to sleep,” she went on as she sat down on the bed, leaning back against the pillows as she helped her daughter latch on. “There now...”
Hayato flopped down ungracefully beside her, yanking the covers back over himself and rolling onto his side so that his back was to her.
“What's wrong, Hayo?” she said, tucking a strand of pale blonde hair behind her ear. “I just asked you to change our daughter.” She smiled softly as Rhajat clutched the finger of her free hand, before shifting her slightly to get a more comfortable position.
“Don't worry about it.”
Corrin sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Stop acting like a baby.”
“I'm not a baby!” he said indignantly as he sat up quickly.
“You're acting like one,” she replied, not looking up from their daughter's face as she watched her nurse.
“Am not.”
“Just tell me what's bothering you.”
“She doesn't smile for me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“No, I mean... You're mad because a baby doesn't smile at you? She's a baby, Hayato. A six and a half month old baby. She smiles at the fan if you leave her alone long enough.”
“All of you can make her smile and laugh no matter what you do. She just looks at me or tries to get away.”
“Oh come on,” she said. “You're making a fuss over nothing.” She glanced down when Rhajat made a small whimpering sound. She sighed before laying her down in the bassinet and letting her suck gently on her fingers. “Cami said Leo didn't smile at anyone through most of his infancy. He especially didn't smile at his bratty older sister constantly tormenting him.” A small grin pulled at her lips before she removed her hand from her daughter's mouth and turned over. She kissed his cheek gently. “You're her father. She loves you.”
“Not as much as she loves you,” he grumbled, looking away.
Corrin sighed. “Fine. Don't listen to me.” She laid down, facing the bassinet and tickling her daughter gently. “Sweet dreams, Desi,” she murmured as her little girl looked up at her through the fringe of red hair so like her father's that was creeping down into her eyes. “Mommy and Daddy love you. Even if Daddy's a grouch.”
“You're not helping.”
“Go to sleep, Hayo.”
Her first birthday came and went, but she still made little sound other than an almighty wail if something happened to her mother. Corrin hadn't taught her sign language, per say, but they did seem to have a small language all to their own. She could tell what Rhajat needed the moment she tugged on her clothes. Camilla and Azura didn't fair as well, but Rhajat seemed to enjoy their care, if perhaps not as much as her mother's. And Orochi began to step in as Azura was nursing her own child now.
But, as much as Corrin had insisted Rhajat would be more open around her father as she grew older, it seemed as if the exact opposite was happening. Though she didn't speak yet, Rhajat made her displeasure known by trying to pull on his nose or hair when he tried to hold her or even play with her. And if he persisted, she would just start screaming.
They kept trying, but as much as Corrin showed her displeasure at Rhajat's aggressive behavior, it didn't break her of it. And one night, trying to bathe her because Corrin had to answer the phone and Rhajat liked to splash the water everywhere, Hayato sighed and said “Please calm down, you're getting me wet.”
Rhajat, in response, reached up and grabbed his hair, tugging hard.
“Ow! Stop it!” he said. He popped her hand.
Normally, a light pop was all it took for her to stop. But, normally, Corrin was also present. And instead of stopping, Rhajat screamed and tugged harder, completely yanking the strands she had in her grasp out of his scalp.
“Dammit!” Hayato swore loudly, standing up.
“Hayo?” Corrin appeared in the doorway to the bathroom, the cordless phone to her ear. “What's going on?”
“She pulled my hair out!”
The blonde sighed heavily. “I'm gonna have to call you back, Mom,” she said. “My children are squabbling.”
“I'm not a child!” Hayato cried indignantly as he stormed out of the bathroom.
“Then stop acting like one!” she yelled back, ending the call and setting the phone down on the counter before she knelt down by the tub. “Now, Rhajat,” she began gently. “I've told you you need to be nice. Mama had to talk to Grandma Mikoto.” She reached out to touch her cheek, but Rhajat pulled away dejectedly. She sighed. “All right. Let's finish your bath so you can go to bed.”
“It could be how he acts when she tests her boundaries,” Camilla said, running a brush through Corrin's hair.
Rhajat was sitting a few feet away, making her stuffed dragon's wings flap like it was flying.
“What d'you mean, Sis?” Corrin asked, glancing over her shoulder at her older sister.
“Well, think about it. When she does something you don't like, how do you react?”
“Like I'm disappointed?”
“Exactly. Hayato, on the other hand, acts mad. Anger scares small children. You used to hide behind me when Father got mad about something, even if he was yelling at one of his employees on the phone.”
“I never pulled his hair out though.”
“True, but Xander and I were the ones that generally took care of you and Leo and Elise,” Camilla said, pulling her sister's hair into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. “I think if Hayato just chills out a bit, Rhajat will finally warm up to him. Some kids are just really picky about who they want to be around.”
“I suppose...”
The stuffed dragon went sailing across the room before Rhajat crawled over to her mother, tugging herself up to sit on Corrin's lap. She tugged on Corrin's shirt gently. “Mi-mi,” she babbled. She'd gained a few words in the past few months, but it was still mostly baby talk. She seemed to have a very hard time with consonants, especially those that had to be combined with other sounds.
Corrin smiled gently and adjusted her shirt enough so that Rhajat could latch on. She put her hand to her back to give her a little extra support as she stroked her hair gently. It had taken a few tries to get her to understand how to nurse with teeth coming in, but the past nine months had definitely improved her ability. Corrin figured the biggest issue had been Rhajat coming to terms with “There is a way to not hurt Mama” and figure out just what it was. But around eleven months of age, Rhajat had developed a new habit: sucking her thumb. Corrin didn't worry about it though, as she only did so when she needed something, even if it was as simple as a cuddle. And Rhajat loved to cuddle.
Camilla leaned over and tickled her niece's side gently, causing her to giggle and smile. “There's that cute smile. Just like your Mama!”
Rhajat giggled again before patting her hand against her mother's face.
“What? You want me to giggle too?”
Another pat. Then her eyes shifted to her aunt as if to say “Well? Make her laugh!”.
Camilla smiled in response, and poked Corrin's side gently, causing her to squeak. It brought a smile to the little redhead's face and Camilla tickled some more, bringing them tumbling over onto the floor as Corrin laughed uncontrollably.
“Oh god,” Corrin gasped, staring up at the ceiling as her laughter died down. “Oof!” she exclaimed as her daughter flopped heavily onto her chest. She smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair gently. “Why can't you be this way with your Daddy?” she said absently.
Rhajat whined and nuzzled into her mother's hand, her way of apologizing.
“'S'okay,” Corrin murmured. “I'm not mad, baby.” That earned her another nuzzle. “What do you want to do?”
Rhajat climbed off her mother, crawling across the room to grab her dragon before holding it out.
“What about your stuffed draggie?”
“Mm!” Rhajat tossed the dragon in an arc and it bounced across Corrin's chest, landing on the other side of her, near Camilla's knees. “Draggie fwy!” she cried, clapping her hands. She rarely spoke much more than a few words, and usually even those were quite garbled, but Corrin didn't worry. Rhajat would grow at her own pace.
“Draggie fwy, eh?” she chuckled. “Where's Draggie fwy to?”
“A'nt 'Milla!”
“You're a place now, Big Sis,” Corrin said, grinning.
“I've been a place since you weren't much older than her. I'm used to it.”
Rhajat was grinning widely as she crawled over to her mother and aunt, climbing onto her mother's stomach and grabbing Camilla's face between her tiny little hands. “A'nt 'Milla?”
“Yes, darling?”
“Bring draggie?”
“Did I bring my draggie?”
“Mm!”
“Well, why don't you check my bag?” Camilla said, smiling. “It's over by the couch.”
“'Kay!” She crawled over to the bag and dug through it a few moments before pulling out a dark purple dragon with yellow eyes. “Maza!” she giggled, before flinging the dragon over to where her mother and aunt were, and it bounced off of her aunt's legs, landing next to her own.
Corrin smiled softly. It was a wonder either of the dragons weren't in tatters, especially since Marzia and Jörmungandr and been through Camilla's and her own childhoods beforehand. But Rhajat wasn't a terribly destructive child. In truth, she was probably too frail to do much to a stuffed dragon. There was more risk she'd run into something while the dragons flew, honestly. Rhajat flopped onto her stomach for a third time that day, laying across her as she played with the two dragons quietly. “Welp. Guess I'm not getting up any time soon,” she said.
“Guess not,” Camilla replied, getting to her feet. “I'll go make us some lunch, okay?”
“Yeah, I'll be here,” Corrin answered, waving slightly.
Rhajat paused, Marzia raised up in the air as if she had leaped or something. “A'nt 'Milla?”
Camilla paused and glanced back down. “Yes, Rhajat?”
“Wamen?” She looked at her aunt. “Fo' Maza an' Jormin too?”
She smiled softly. “Yeah. I'll make ramen for all of us.”
“T'ank 'ou!” She went back to playing as Camilla left the room to head into the kitchen. After a few minutes, Marzia went flying straight into Corrin's face as she sat up, the slightly stiffer head smacking into her eye.
“Ow,” she murmured, rubbing her eye.
Rhajat's eyes went wide. “Sowwy!” she cried.
“It's okay,” Corrin answered, picking up the dragon and handing it back to her daughter. She ruffled Rhajat's hair gently. “Just be careful, 'kay? You wouldn't like getting tossed about and Marzia doesn't either.”
“Oh yeah...” She went back to playing for a few minutes before rolling herself off of her mother and down onto the floor.
Corrin sat up, watching her daughter continue swing the dragons through the air. “Desi, you wanna visit Grandma Mikoto this weekend?”
“Gramma...” She frowned slightly as she stared up at the dragons. It seemed she still had trouble with all the consonants in her grandmother's name. It would come in time.
“Yeah. Grandma Mikoto. You want to visit?”
“A'nt 'No'a?” she mumbled. “An' Un'le Ta'mi?”
“If they're not busy we can see them too.”
“If Mama want to,” she answered, as Jörmungandr became a suicide bomber and hit the floor face first.
Corrin cringed. Some things made her grateful they had no pets. “But do you want to?” she said again. “You haven't seen them in a while, not as often as you see Aunt Camilla or Aunt Azura.”
“Mkay,” the little redhead mumbled, swinging Marzia in an arc over her head. Corrin remembered when she was small and Camilla had first given her Jörmungandr. They'd spent hours running around and making the dragons fly together. Of course, Corrin had been a few years older than Rhajat was now. But it was still endearing to see that much love given to her old playthings.
“Cori?" Camilla's voice pulled her from her nostalgia and she glanced up. “I know we've got a sensitive tummy here, so what flavor do you want?”
“Why not surprise us?”
Camilla smiled softly underneath the fringe of lavender hair that covered her eye. “Cori, the last time we tried that, Rhajat gave us a surprise all over the car when we took her to see Elise.”
“That was a pretty long trip, though,” Corrin reasoned. “And she gets tummy aches when she's grouchy or overtired.”
“She naps after her lunch. And she's been tromping all around this morning.”
“There isn't any chicken or shrimp?” the blonde asked, not looking away from her daughter. “Hayato said he went shopping yesterday while we were out.”
“Well, he obviously didn't get anymore ramen.”
“Damn it,” Corrin swore quietly. “I think there's some soup in the cabinet by the sink.”
Camilla disappeared into the kitchen again and after a few minutes she exclaimed “Ha! There it is is.”
Corrin sighed softly as she watched the dragons' movement slow a little. “Come on, Desi,” she said, tickling her daughter's stomach gently. “You've gotta eat your lunch before you can sleep.”
“Yeah...” She yawned widely, before blinking sleepily. “Sowwy, Mama. Too sweepy.”
She sighed and got to her feet before scooping her daughter up into her arms. “Who's coming to guard you during your nap? Is it gonna be Jörmungandr or Marzia?”
“Mama,” Rhajat mumbled as she snuggled into her mother's chest.
Corrin smiled softly. “Cami?” she said, walking to the kitchen. “Can you just save some? I'm gonna go put her down for her nap, okay?”
Camilla glanced up from the stove. “Oh, yeah, sure.” She walked over to them and pressed a gentle kiss to Rhajat's cheek, which caused a small, sleepy smile to appear on the little girl's face before she turned and kissed her aunt back. Camilla smiled and ruffled her niece's hair gently. “Sweet dreams, draceling,” she said before glancing up at her sister. “Are you going to nap too?”
“If I fall asleep,” Corrin replied, grinning tiredly. She let her sister kiss her cheek gently before turning back to the food. “You know she can't stay in her bed without me.”
“It's like you're her lovey,” Camilla chuckled. “All right, I'm not gonna keep you any longer. Go nap,” she said, waving them off.
“Mm.” She made her way upstairs to Rhajat's room and laid her daughter down on the bed before crawling onto the mattress beside her. After almost six months, it wasn't exactly uncomfortable any longer to curl around her daughter. Hayato had had enough of the bassinet just after Rhajat hit seven months. “It's time for her own room,” he'd said. They'd tried giving her a nightlight to help, but she still cried and climbed out the crib at nearly nine months, and that was when Corrin put her foot down. They'd tried everything by that point, and somehow Rhajat still managed to get out and crawled all the way into their room, crying her eyes out at the apparent abandonment. They'd switched to a toddler bed, but that only served to make it easier for Rhajat to get into their room. The only time she would sleep through the night was if Corrin was laying next to her.
She was grateful her sisters and mother hadn't immediately started ridiculing her for her choice. Mikoto wasn't exactly the biggest supporter of co-sleeping, but Camilla said it was the only way she could get Corrin to sleep sometimes when she was small. Holding her close and singing softly until they both fell asleep. Corrin couldn't sing as well as Camilla or Azura, but Rhajat didn't seem to mind. Just being near her mother seemed to be the only thing it took to get her to sleep.
Corrin looked down at her toddler's sleeping face, dark red hair falling across her cheek as her head rested against her mother's side. Maybe she wasn't doing things by the book. Maybe they weren't the safest methods. But Rhajat was healthy and happy, and that was all that mattered to her. “I love you, my little dragon,” she murmured, kissing the top of her daughter's head gently.
She sighed softly. Hayato had been off all week and practically insisted on being with her every moment. She tried not to mind, but she had already gotten used to her family just working around Rhajat's limitations. But Hayato...he just didn't seem to understand.
Rhajat tugged at the leg of her pants and she scooped her up gently. “Getting tired, baby?”
“An' hungwy,” she mumbled.
Corrin glanced up. “Hayo, can we stop for a few minutes?”
“Why? I have to get this done for Father.”
“Because you've been making your daughter walk since 8:30 and she's tired and hungry.”
“We'll stop in a few minutes.”
“Hayato...” She groaned. “She needs her nap.”
He stopped and turned around, looking at them for a moment. “Fine.” He tossed her the car keys. “Go back home. I'll walk.”
“Hayato!”
“What?”
“You wanted us to spend time together. But you keep trying to make it fit around your schedule and Rhajat can't do that.”
He frowned and turned away. “I'll see you later, Corrin,” he called over his shoulder as he walked off.
She heaved a sigh before turning around and walking back to the car, trying to ignore the lump in her throat as her daughter sniffled.
She was sitting on the couch as Rhajat nursed quietly, when Hayato came in. She heard the door shut, but he walked straight past them into the kitchen. “Hello, Hayato,” she said as she burped her daughter gently.
“Oh. Hey, Cori.”
“It's late.”
“I know, sorry,” he explained, sitting down next to her. “It took longer than I expected.”
She leaned against his side and lay her head on his shoulder as he put an arm around her. For a moment, she felt they'd gone back to when they were dating. When Hayato would let her cuddle as much as she wanted. Lately, he didn't seem to want to sit still long enough. She hummed softly as Rhajat smiled up at her. “Hey, Hayo?”
“Mm?”
“Why don't we sing to her?”
“Corrin, I can't carry a tune in a bucket, you know that.”
“Neither can I,” she replied. “But Desi doesn't care. She loves any singing.”
“Ugh, fine. What are we singing?”
“Why not “Baby Mine”, from Dumbo?”
He sighed. “All right.”
“Baby mine, don't you cry,” Corrin began to sing quietly. “Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart. Never to part, baby of mine.”
“Little one, when you play, don't you mind what they say. Let those eyes sparkle and shine. Never a tear. Baby of mine.”
“From your head to your toes.” She tickled Rhajat's feet gently as she said “Baby mine,” before singing again. “You're so sweet, goodness knows. Baby mine. You are so precious to me, cute as can be, baby of mine.”
“Baby mine. Baby mine.” They sang the last lines together as Rhajat smiled.
Hayato reached out to tickle her gently, barely touching her as the little girl's smile faded away and she whimpered quietly before beginning to wail.
“Hayo,” Corrin began, but her husband frowned before getting up and leaving the room. She sighed. “I was going to explain to him that your tummy was bothering you,” she said tiredly, shifting her daughter so that she could rub her stomach gently. “It's all right, baby, don't cry.”
Rhajat sniffled, leaning back into her mother's arms, her tiny fingers tangling with those on her mother's hands.
When she finally managed to ease her daughter's pain enough to see her drift off, she lifted her up into her arms and carried her to her room. She could only hope the next day would get better.
It didn't.
Corrin's patience was beginning to wear thin as she had to lift her daughter up for the third time that day as even she was beginning to have trouble keeping up with her husband. Rhajat clung to her shirt and she squeezed her gently, murmuring a few words of comfort into her hair.
“Can you hurry up?”
“I'm carrying the diaper bag, y'know. And our toddler.”
“Just hurry up.”
She groaned inwardly and jogged to catch up. Sometimes she wanted to slap him.
The day continued to drag on, and about midday, Rhajat had clearly had enough, growing grouchy even with her mother. She yanked away when her father went to touch her head and hid behind Corrin, burying her face into the material of her mother's pants.
Hayato frowned slightly. “My father would have disciplined me for being rude.”
“She's tired, Hayato,” Corrin sighed. She picked her daughter up, holding her against her side as she tucked a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her daughter's ear. “We've been walking all day. Honestly, even I'm tired.” And I think she's starting to develop a stomachache, she thought worriedly as her daughter whimpered quietly and buried her face into her shoulder.
He sighed. “Let's go,” he said. “I've got a few more things to do.”
Corrin groaned. “Did you even hear me?”
“Yes.” But he continued to walk off.
Corrin shook her head, adjusting her daughter in her arms before following him.
They were sitting in a booth in Curran's Family Restaurant, Rhajat sitting on the inside next to her mother, leaning against her mother's side and playing with Corrin's old stuffed bear, Mr. Pookie.
The waitress came over to take their order, commenting on how adorable their little girl was. Rhajat looked up at her briefly before hiding behind her mother.
Corrin chuckled softly. “It's been a long day for the little sweetpea,” she explained.
The waitress nodded understandingly, before saying that her name was Suzie, and taking their order. Corrin asked if they could get a small cup of water for Rhajat, and Suzie nodded before walking over to the kitchens, coming back a few minutes later with a glass of coke for Hayato, and two glasses of water, the smaller one for Rhajat.
Corrin helped her daughter take a few sips before setting the cup in the middle of the table and pulling her daughter into her lap. She held her arms around her daughter's waist gently as she started bouncing Mr. Pookie on the table's surface. She was grateful that after a small nap in the car a few hours ago, Rhajat seemed to feel at least a little better. But the sooner they got home, the better.
The food was brought to the table soon enough, and Corrin helped Rhajat use the spoon to eat some of the mashed potatoes, before cutting the chicken up into small pieces and letting her daughter eat them with her fingers, ignoring the look of mild disgust on Hayato's face. It wasn't like she wasn't going to clean her daughter's hands after they were done eating. There were more uses to baby wipes than cleaning baby bottoms, after all.
Rhajat's fingers drifted toward the green beans and Corrin nudged the spoon into her hand again, a silent reminder to use silverware more than her fingers, before Hayato said “So what do you want to do tomorrow?”
“I don't know,” Corrin replied, not looking up. “It'll be Saturday. Usually Orochi comes to watch Rhajat while I clean the house.”
“I thought Camilla cleaned when she came over?”
“She does. But there's a lot of laundry.”
“I told you to just use disposable diapers.”
“Do you realize how much money we would have wasted on disposables by this point?” Corrin sighed. “She's not even two yet. And don't forget that bout of diarrhea she had at nine months.”
“I'm trying to eat here, Corrin.”
“You brought it up,” she replied, just as Rhajat started to seem fussy, banging the spoon against the plate. She took the spoon from her and set it out of her reach, trying to ignore the whimper it caused. She pulled the wipes from the diaper bag and cleaned her daughter's face and hands gently before sitting her back in the booth and putting the bear back into her hands. “Play with Mr. Pookie until Mama and Daddy are finished, okay?”
Rhajat didn't answer, but flopped back against her mother's side, sucking on the bear's ear.
“That's so gross,” Hayato complained.
“What? He's been washed. He got washed even when I was a kid. Cami used to get Leo to distract me so she could take Mr. Pookie and wash him.”
“It's still gross.”
“She's teething, give her a break.”
He shook his head and went back to his food.
Twenty minutes later, he'd gone to pay the bill and went out to the car, leaving Corrin to pick up their daughter and the diaper bag all on her own. She sighed, slinging the bag over her shoulder before lifting her half-asleep toddler up into her arms. Rhajat whimpered softly when Mr. Pookie's paw slipped out of her mouth, and Corrin fixed it gently before walking out of the restaurant.
“It took you long enough.”
She frowned as she buckled Rhajat into the car seat, quickly pushing the bear back into her grasp before she started crying. “In case you didn't notice, I'm carrying our toddler. She can't keep up with how fast you walk.”
“Whatever. Hurry up so we can get home.”
She kissed her daughter's temple gently before closing the car door and getting into the front seat and buckling herself in. “I told you we needed to go home hours ago.”
“And I told you I had things I had to do.”
“Then why couldn't you do them on your own? You didn't have to drag us along!”
“What? Now you don't want to spend time with me either?”
“I never said that. Don't put words in my mouth.”
“I'm not putting words in your mouth. I'm just trying to figure out why the hell you keep pulling further away, and letting her do the same.”
Corrin stared at him in disbelief. She knew he was exhausted. They both were. But this... She pulled her phone out of her bag and dialed her sister's number.
“What are you doing now?”
She ignored him as she heard the other line pick up. “Cami?”
“Yeah, Cori, what's wrong?” Camilla said instantly.
“Can you pick up Rhajat for the night?” She was ignoring Hayato's odd look in her direction. “We're about ten minutes from the house.”
“O-okay. But why?”
“Just please,” Corrin said.
“Okay, sure. I'll be there.”
“Thank you, Sis.” She said her goodbye and hung up the phone, looking out of the window instead of towards her husband.
When they reached the house, Camilla was leaning back against her car with her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “I've got the bag already, Cori.”
“Thanks,” Corrin mumbled, moving the car seat into her sister's car as Hayato stomped inside.
“Are you sure you're okay?”
“I'll be fine,” Corrin answered. “I just...I need to talk to Hayato. And I'd rather not have Desi hear us fighting.”
“Do you think it will get that far?”
“I just don't want to risk it.”
Camilla hugged her little sister gently. “All right. I'll see you in the morning, okay?”
Corrin nodded, before bending down to kiss her still-sleeping daughter good night. “Thank you, Camilla.”
Camilla nodded, watching her sister walk into the house before driving off.
Corrin shut the door behind her before she said “Hayato, we need to talk.”
“Why? I just want to watch TV and go to bed.”
“This is why we need to talk.”
“What?”
“Look at us. We're fighting just because we're tired.”
“I'm not fighting. You're jumping on me after carting Rhajat off to stay with your sister.”
“Because you jumped on me for doing my job!” she cried. “All week, you've been complaining about how long it takes me to do things, without ever once stopping to remember that I am taking care of our daughter. Our nineteen month old daughter. I have to make sure she's wearing a jacket when we leave. I have to make sure she has her shoes on the right feet. I have to make sure the diaper bag has everything we need. And guess what? When she gets overwhelmed, I'm the one that has to deal with it. I'm the one that has to carry her when her feet hurt. I'm the one that has to re-tie her shoes when they come untied.”
“It's not just that. You're ruining her. She won't sleep on her own. And she'll never be off your boob.”
“Oh don't even fucking start!” Corrin said angrily. “You're the one that wouldn't even let her stay in our room after she hit seven months. Do you realize how many times I had to get up the nights she was sick with diarrhea? Did you ever once offer to help?”
“Because you don't let me! You just let her whine her way back into your arms!”
“She's nineteen months! She's not even two yet.”
“Yet you treat her like she's still a newborn.”
“Please tell me how on earth taking care of her needs is treating her like a newborn. She can barely string five words together. What the hell do you expect from her?”
“She can walk. You don't need to carry her everywhere.”
“I don't! It's only when you make her walk until she can barely stand!” she said in exasperation. “She's only a toddler.”
“I never had a problem keeping up with my father at that age.”
“But she's not you, Hayato!”
“I never said she was.”
“Every time she does something, you have some snide remark about how you were never that way as a child, or your father wouldn't have let you do this or that. It's no wonder she doesn't want to be around you. All you do is complain about her.”
“I don't have to listen to this. I'm going to bed.” He brushed past her and went upstairs.
Corrin sighed and ran a hand through her hair tiredly. “That was a fuckin' bust....” She collapsed onto the couch and covered her face with her arms. “I hate this...”
“Being a jungle gym is hard work,” Azura sighed. She had her cheek resting against her palm, her elbow propped up on the table, and her eyes had dark circles under them.
“I've been a jungle gym since Rhajat started crawling,” Corrin muttered. “I'm completely used to it by now.”
They watched their nearly three year old daughters playing in the next room. Selkie stood up shakily before lunging and tackling Rhajat and they fell to the floor in a giggly mess. “At least they're happy playing with each other sometimes,” Azura said. “Sometimes I think Selkie gets tired of me because I get so worn out.”
“We're only 23,” Corrin said. “It shouldn't be so hard to keep up with toddlers.”
“It is for me. I'd much rather sit and read, but Selkie just wants to get into everything. I've tried reading with her, but that doesn't seem to do much at all and she gets bored halfway through and runs off.”
“You stopped nursing, didn't you?”
“She weaned herself,” Azura replied, glancing at her cousin. “At about a year. I was starting to dry up anyway, but she just started reaching for the food on my plate and took off on her own with it.”
“Guess it's a good thing you've always cut your food into toddler size pieces, huh?” Corrin smiled. They all usually picked at Azura about her habit, but Corrin never meant anything by it.
“Yeah... I miss it, sometimes,” the blue-haired woman said, a wistful tone ebbing into her voice. “When she would just curl up against me and watch me with those beautiful golden eyes of hers. Now she just flops over my lap when she wants to take a nap in between play times.”
Corrin sighed. She always felt like Azura resented her for continuing nursing Rhajat when she couldn't nurse her own daughter.
Azura took her hand gently. “I don't. Really. I'm happy for you to be so close to your daughter.”
“You don't think I'm spoiling her?”
“She listens, doesn't she?”
“Only because she's scared I'll be disappointed if she doesn't,” Corrin protested. “I've lost track of the times I've done something Hayato hated just because it made Desi happy.”
“Is she hurt because of it?” Azura tilted her head towards their girls, rolling about on the floor and tickling each other. “She looks perfectly healthy to me.”
“Yeah, but...”
“Cori, she picks up on your uneasiness. You know she does. That's why she clings to you when either of you don't feel well. You're teaching her she has a safe place to fall when she does fall, and that's why she's not scared to go “adventuring” with Selkie. She knows she can come back and fall asleep in your arms.”
“But every time we're in a new place she clings to me.”
Azura snorted. “You think Selkie just runs up to everyone she meets? You should have seen her the first time we took her to see Kaden's cousins. She clung to his leg whimpering until he started treating the “strangers” like friends. Once she saw that he thought the new people were safe, she opened up to them. You were the same way according to Mom. Always hiding behind her, and later Camilla when you stayed with them.” She smiled softly. “Just trust your own intuition here, Cori. She's your kid. Raise her the way you see fit.” She was quiet for a moment. “You've already done a hell of a lot better than Garon...”
Corrin grimaced, hating that she'd brought up such painful memories for her. “I just don't want to spoil her,” she said. “I want her happy, but...everyone outside the family keeps saying I'm ruining her. Even Hayato says it.”
“That's because the Isanagis are known for their hands off approach to parenting. They expect children to be tiny adults. It's why Hayato has so many issues and can't take a joke about his height.”
“Or accept when he's being childish,” Corrin muttered darkly.
“That too. Garon was the same, at first. Why do you think Xander and Camilla took care of you and Leo and Elise? They understood that kids should be allowed to be kids.”
“And letting her dictate who she spends time with?”
“Corrin,” Azura said gently. “Hayato got angry with her when she was younger. He got angry over tiny things, like her not smiling at him. She took that to heart, and now she doesn't want to be around him. Just like you didn't want to be around Garon. Take a minute to put yourself in her shoes and imagine this big person getting mad over something you might not have even meant to do.”
Corrin shuddered unintentionally as she remembered the very first time she could remember Garon yelling. Xander had complained because she'd peed herself and they had to clean up the mess before their father found it. “I was old enough to rationalize then,” she mumbled. “To tell Cami that I was scared and what scared me.”
“Exactly. She's still too little to do much more than react. And when you try to discipline her for it, she just knows she did something to upset you, but she doesn't know what. She just knows it has to do with Hayato. And so she doesn't want to be around him. Because being around him somehow makes her upset you. And she doesn't like that.”
“Hayato started taking night shifts so he didn't have to be around us...”
“Cori, please don't blame yourself. Hayato needs to understand that Desi is just a small child. She can't be expected to understand things like an adult.”
“I know, but...” She trailed off as the little redhead toddled into the kitchen and flopped against her side. “What's up?”
“Hungry,” Rhajat said. She looked up at her mother, her bangs nearly falling to her nose.
“We need to get your hair cut,” Corrin said absently, brushing her daughter's hair gently away from her face.
“No!” Rhajat said as she struggled to pull herself up into her mother's lap. When Corrin helped her up, she said “Want it be like Mama's.”
Azura smiled softly. “Do you want some ramen, Desi?”
“Mm...yeah! Pwease?”
“Sometimes I think you say it that way just to be cute,” Corrin said, tapping her daughter's nose gently.
“Dat be bad?”
“You couldn't get any cuter, my little dragon,” she replied, tickling her daughter's stomach.
Rhajat giggled and squirmed a little.
“Selkie, would you like some ramen too?” Azura asked as her daughter came into the kitchen.
“Sure!”
Corrin bounced her knee gently as Rhajat leaned over the table to pick up the pen and doodle on the paper. She'd learned long ago to never leave stuff out in her daughter's reach. It was a hassle constantly having to pick up after Hayato though. He never seemed to grasp the “toddler proofing” part of having a toddler.
Selkie climbed up into the chair next to her and said “Aunt Cori?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Can Desi stay the night wiff me tonight? Daddy's gonna take me camping and I want her to come too.”
“Hmm, I don't know...” Rhajat loved all of her aunts, but she always seemed to be uneasy around her uncles. Corrin didn't want to say no and watch the little girl crumple. But she also didn't want Rhajat to have a meltdown during camping and ruin Selkie's time with her father.
“She's stayed at my house plenty of times,” Azura said. “I'm sure it will be fine.”
“Pwease Mama?” Rhajat looked up at her with such huge eyes that she couldn't help but relent.
“Okay.”
The sleepover went well, until it started raining and they had to bring the camping into the living room.
“Hey, Kiki? Where'd Des go?” Kaden asked, looking up from their play fire.
“Uh... Desi!” she called, just as a boom of thunder echoed outside.
There was a whimper from down the hall, and Selkie tromped down the hall on all fours to find her cousin curled up against the stairs. “Desi?”
“I want Mama!” Rhajat cried, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I hate the rain! I wanna go home!”
Selkie held out her hand. “Come on.”
Rhajat shook her head. “Want Mama...”
Selkie huffed and took her friend's hands in her own, pulling her to her feet and guiding her down the hall.
“What happened?” Azura asked, looking up from her book as they came into the living room. “Did she trip in the dark and get hurt?”
Selkie shook her head. “Desi's not banged up.”
“Oh.” She relaxed visibly. “Then what's wrong?”
“I...I wanna go home...” Rhajat sniffled.
Azura sighed, marking the page in her book and setting it aside before she leaned down and scooped her niece up, setting her on her lap. “Come now. It's just a little rain. And really, you're safer here than if we were to drive in this.”
“I want Mama!” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands as she continued crying.
Azura sighed again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she lifted her niece up in her arms, getting to her feet and rocking the redhead gently. “I know you want your mama,” she said gently. “But it's not safe for her to be driving right now.” She rubbed her back lightly. “Do you want me to sing?”
Rhajat looked up at her, her grey blue eyes brimming over with tears. She sniffled softly. “Okay...”
“Right.” Azura sat down on the couch with her niece in her lap, leaning back against her, as Selkie climbed up beside them. She ruffled her daughter's hair gently before kissing both girls. “What shall I sing?”
“The one Gramma taught you?” Selkie said as Rhajat nodded.
She nodded. “You are the ocean's grey waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach. Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time. The path is yours to climb.”
Rhajat sniffled softly and nuzzled into her chest as she paused and she smiled softly down at her.
“In the white light, a hand reaches through. A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two. Waking dreams fade away, embrace the brand-new day.”
Selkie leaned into her mother's side, smiling sleepily. Maybe it was the fact she'd always used it as a lullaby, but it was one of the few things that could make the ball of energy she called her daughter slow down for more than a few seconds. Kaden had leaned back against the couch nearby, almost silently humming along.
“Sing with me a song of birthrights and love. The light scatters to the sky above. Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone. Lost in thoughts all alone.
You are the ocean's grey waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach. Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time. The path is yours to climb.
Embrace the dark you call a home. Gaze upon an empty white throne. A legacy of lies, a familiar disguise.
Sing with me a song of conquest and fate, the black pillar cracks beneath its weight. Night breaks through the day, hard as stone. Lost in thoughts all alone.
The path you walk on belongs to destiny, just let it flow. All of your joy and your pain will fall like the tide, let it flow.
Life is not just filled with happiness, nor sorrow. Even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose.”
Selkie snuffled quietly in her sleep. Azura doubted her daughter had ever heard the full song, but Rhajat's eyes were still fixed on her, expecting more.
“A burdened heart sinks into the ground. A veil falls away without a sound. Not day nor night, wrong nor right. For truth and peace you fight.
Sing with me a song of silence and blood. The rain falls but can't wash away the mud. Within my heart dwells madness and pride. Can no one hear my cry?
You are the ocean's grey waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach. Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time. The path is yours to climb.
You are the ocean's grey waves.” With those last words, she took Rhajat's face in her hands gently and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
“Aunt Az'ra?”
“Yes?”
“Where's that song come from?”
“I don't know, exactly,” she admitted. “My mother learned it from her family, and she taught it to me when I was small.”
“I think it's pretty,” Rhajat said, yawning. “Very...pretty...” Her eyes closed slowly as she snuggled against Azura's chest, even as the rain continued pouring.
Azura smiled softly as she stroked her hair.
“Amazing,” Kaden said quietly.
“That's always worked to put her to sleep,” Azura said. “Well, as long as it's not storming. And she's calmed down enough over the past few months. She used to be inconsolable when it rained.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember when she cried herself sick in Camilla's care.”
“Mm. Camilla thought that maybe if she could get her to sleep with Corrin there, she'd be fine. But it's the weather. Maybe it's just the pressure changes that make her head hurt or maybe she really can't be sure that Corrin's okay unless she's able to touch her. I don't know.” She ran her fingers gently through the little girl's dark red hair. “All we can do is make her as comfortable as possible during times like these...”
“Are we going to move them to Kiki's room, or...?”
“Rhajat doesn't take well to being moved after she's asleep,” she replied.
“So I guess you're stuck here,” Kaden said.
“Yeah... God, I hope I don't have to pee before morning...”
That caused Kaden to giggle and she smacked him lightly.
The next morning, Azura went through the same morning routine she always did with her daughter and niece. First to the bathroom to potty, and if they hadn't made it through the night, a quick change. Then they changed into their clothes for the day and she brushed their hair.
“I swear, your hair is as soft as your mother's,” she said, running the brush through Rhajat's dark red hair. The little girl giggled in response before looking up at her.
“Good!” she said. “Coz I wanna be just like Mama!”
Azura smiled softly. “All right. Run along and go play now while I make you some breakfast.”
“C'mon, Desi!” Selkie said, pulling her cousin to the playroom.
“Kaden?” Azura said.
“Hmm?” He glanced up from the newspaper he'd brought in, some stupid subscription that everyone in the neighborhood had and there was little way to get out of it. “Oh, yeah. I'll go keep an eye on them.”
“Thank you, baby,” she said, kissing him gently on the cheek. “I'll make you some sausage after I get their oatmeal ready.”
“No problem.”