#fireclaw90a

“I need the pink one.”

“But Miho, there’s already so many of them in Dad’s hair...”

“I need more!”

“No, you don’t!”

“Yes, I do!”

“Um...girls?” Keebo laughed nervously as he looked at his two daughters, Miho and Sayuri. “I think you’ve put plenty hair ties in my hair...” he trailed off.

“No!” Miho stomped her foot, cheeks puffing out in a pout. “There needs to be more!” she complained.

“Dad looks fine! He doesn’t need more!” Sayuri shot back.

“But Dad will look even prettier if I add more.” Miho pointed out.

“But Dad is fine the way he is...” Keebo trailed off as the apartment door opened.

“I’m home!”

“Oh! Welcome back, Miu!” Keebo called out.

Miu came into view soon after, her strawberry blonde hair slightly disheveled. Kicking off her black heels, she released a sigh.

“Ugh, work was so tiring...I think I’m gonna need you to give me one of those foot massages again...” she grumbled.

“Alright, I’ll give you one just now. I’m a little...occupied at the moment.” Keebo replied sheepishly.

“Yeah! Dad’s busy!” Miho declared.

“No, he’s not.” Sayuri deadpanned.

Miu lifted her foot up and rubbed it a little as she looked up, spotting Keebo sitting on a pillow on the floor with their daughters surrounding him. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Is that a new look or something?” she asked, motioning to the many tiny ponytails in his hair.

“Yeah...the girls insisted on being my hairdresser.” he explained.

“Is that so...” Miu trailed off as Miho and Sayuri ran over to her.

“Welcome home, Mom!” they both shouted in unison before hugging Miu.

“I was wondering what was taking my princesses so long to greet me!” she bent down and kissed them both on their foreheads. “You guys did an amazing job with Dad’s hair!” she gushed.

“But Mom, Dad needs more of them!” Miho whined.

“Miho, he looks fine.” Sayuri stated.

“Now now, girls. No need to be bickering with each other, unless it’s for a good reason.” Miu ignored the way Keebo rolled his eyes at that remark as she continued. “Ah, I have an idea! How about you two do my hair for me? Your dad plans on massaging my feet for me, so it’ll be like a spa treatment.” she suggested.

“Spa...huh?” Miho questioned, big blue eyes staring up at Miu in confusion.

“Basically we have to spoil Mom like Dad spoils us.” Sayuri told her.

“I don’t spoil you guys!” Miu narrowed her eyes at him. “...much.” he added.

“That’s what I thought. Now, let’s get to work, girls!” Miu declared as she flopped down onto the couch.

Miho and Sayuri hurried to grab some more hair ties as Keebo made his way over to Miu.

“I hope you realize that I spoil you ten times more than I spoil the girls.” he stated.

“I know.” Miu replied.

“You’re proud of that, aren’t you?” he guessed.

Miu smiled as Keebo leaned in towards her.

“Damn right, I am.” she replied as their lips came together in a kiss.

“Ew! Mom and Dad are kissing!” Sayuri whined.

“Don’t be jealous!” Miu shouted over Keebo’s shoulder.

She then pecked him on the cheek.

“Get to massaging my feet.” she said, lifting her foot up a little to nudge his knee.

“Alright, alright.” Keebo replied before pulling away and getting down on his knees.

The girls climbed onto the couch as Keebo took Miu’s foot in his hands, proceeding to massage it as the day continued to pass them by.

💙💕💙💕

By the time the late night program came on, both Miho and Sayuri were fast asleep, curled up under the sheets with Miu and Keebo on either side of them.

“Miu, do you want some tea?” Keebo asked.

“Yeah, sure.” she replied.

“Alright. I’ll go make that while you change the channel. I’m not in the mood to watch a talk show tonight.” Keebo said.

“Okay.” Miu responded as Keebo left the bedroom and headed off in the direction of the kitchen.

She grabbed for the remote and began to flip through the channels. Settling on a Disney princess movie, she placed the remote on the nightstand.

She looked at Miho and Sayuri, smiling as she leaned over and gave them each a kiss on the forehead.

If Miu was being honest, she never dreamed in a million years she would be where she was right now. Sure, she had imagined becoming a fairly successful engineer, but she had convinced herself that she would remain single for the rest of her life no matter how badly she wanted to be in a relationship, how badly she wished to get married, or to even have children of her very own. But after taking the chance and dating Keebo for almost five years, her dreams didn’t seem so far out of reach. Then they got married as soon as they graduated college and had Sayuri and Miho along the way, leading her up to where she was now, the four of them chilling together in the master bedroom.

Just thinking about it made her feel incredibly giddy.

“Someone looks happy.”

Miu looked away from the girls and up at Keebo, who was offering her a mug.

“Wow, that was quick.” she commented as she took the mug from him.

“Honestly, I’m glad we got that Keurig. Makes my life a whole lot easier.” Keebo explained as he got back under the sheets.

“Yeah.” she said.

She took a sip from her tea as Keebo looked at the television screen.

“Aladdin? Really?” Keebo asked.

“What? There’s nothing else on.” Miu stated.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Keebo sighed.

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.” a smile touched his lips. “It’s so like you, though. You sure like your kids shows and movies.” he commented.

“Don’t judge.” Miu said.

“I never said I was.” Keebo replied.

The two of them drank their tea in relative silence. Sooner or later, the movie ended and The Little Mermaid began to play. Miu eventually found herself on the other side of the bed in Keebo’s arms, the two of them cuddling together.

“You know, I started thinking, Keebo...” she trailed off.

“About...?” Keebo asked.

“About us.” she eyed the wedding band on her finger. “I was just thinking about how surreal it is that I’m married to you and we have kids together and we’re enjoying life like this.” she explained.

She looked at Keebo.

“Did you ever think that we’d be here right now?” she asked.

“Well...yeah, I did.” Keebo replied.

“You did?” Miu questioned, blinking her eyes twice in surprise.

“Yeah. I knew we’d come this far because if I’m being honest, I can’t see myself with any other woman besides you.” he explained.

“You...mean that?” she asked, her cheeks taking on a light shade of pink.

“I do. You’re the only one for me, Miu.” Keebo said, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her lips.

Her heart nearly leapt into her throat as he pulled away, pulling her closer. She rested her head atop his as they continued watching the television. Eventually, Keebo drifted off to sleep, his head resting on Miu’s shoulder.

Her heart raced as his warm breath hit her skin.

He’s so close, she thought to herself.

She released a sigh as she turned off the TV and they got under the covers. Miho and Sayuri shifted, both of them leaning against Miu.

Every once in a while, Miu was still surprised that she was here today with two adorable daughters and a loving husband, living her dream and being with a family of her very own.