Chapter Text
Mira couldn't believe what was happening.
The first time they heard it, they thought it was just another mistake by their three foolish hearts, but after the second time, there was no more doubt.
Lily really said that.
"Mommy!"
Mira crumpled the baby wipe tightly in the palm of her hand, in disbelief, as she stared at the scene. There was already "soap" forming between Mira's fingers, the wipe must have been destroyed by now after so many squeezes, and Lily kept mumbling "mommy" over and over while smiling and looking at her.
Rumi.
"It's not fair!" Mira whispered, squinting at Rumi, who had a smug smile and a bargaining expression. Rumi held the baby in her arms, showering her with kisses on her chubby cheeks.
"That's right, it's mommy," Rumi said, gently caressing her daughter's face, ignoring Mira's jealous state.
"Did she talk?!" Zoey appeared in the room, carrying the little girl's new change of clothes. "I heard her saying "mommy"!"
Lily chose that moment to repeat the word again, and Zoey covered her mouth with her free hand to prevent the loud laugh from escaping. Mira was about to die of a heart attack.
Ever since the little one was born, six months ago, the three of them had reached a consensus to start teaching their daughter to call them Eomma, Mommy and Mama. And Mira wanted to be Mommy so much, she'd spent the last three months trying to teach Lily how to call her by that title, always referring to herself as Lily's mommy when she held her baby in her arms, making her daughter giggle.
Rumi was supposed to be Eomma, and Zoey always introduced herself as Mama to Lily, but for some reason, Lily was calling Rumi by Mommy.
And, in Mira's heart, this was worse than a stab in the back.
Zoey walked past Mira in the room, planting a little kiss on the corner of her mouth and murmuring, "You'll survive."
Then, Zoey promptly went to Rumi and their daughter with the clothes they would dress the little one.
Lily had just taken a bath a few minutes ago, and was about to be dressed by Mira when the baby pooped. The diaper hadn't been put on her yet, and she ended up getting even dirtier. A wave of crying filled the room, and Rumi offered to help her wife, but Mira assured her that she could do it herself.
But, actually, she couldn't.
It had been less than a minute of trying to get Lily off the changing table to go back to the bath, and the mess was gradually getting worse. Rumi watched from afar, and Zoey went off to get clean clothes, since the ones on the changing table were completely dirty, all while Mira continued to try to fight off her daughter's crying and the pack of wipes alone.
This lasted until Rumi held Lily in her arms, humming her daughter's favorite lullaby, and then Mira started cleaning her right there, while the little one curled up in Rumi's embrace and enjoyed her mother's voice. Then, Rumi went back with her to the small bathtub in the corner of the room, where Lily took another quick bath.
The little girl was sitting in the bathtub, with Rumi helping her stay seated, her hand firm on the little girl's back, when Lily started calling for her mommy.
Mira was putting away the pack of baby wipes after cleaning the changing area when she heard her talking.
Lily's first word. Mommy.
Rumi took her out of the bathtub, smiling from ear to ear, happy to hear Lily calling her by mommy, even though that was the current reason for her wife's sulking.
"It's okay, honey." Rumi approached Mira, leaving a quick peck on her pout. "When Lily grows up, we can teach her to call you that."
"It's okay, really, I don't mind." Mira looked away, embarrassed by her jealous reaction, but still completely in love with their daughter's adorable voice as she repeated "mommy" several times, while holding a lock of purple hair between her fingers. "I'll take Omma, then." She kissed Rumi's cheek.
Zoey watched the interaction, happy, soon calling Lily to her arms.
"Shall we put on the clothes before you make a mess again?" Zoey's amused tone of voice makes the baby giggle, and Rumi watches the scene with a calm smile, but the tired expression was quite noticeable.
"Go rest, Ru," Mira whispers, kissing her shoulder afterwards, the patterns there shining a soft pink tone. "Zoey and I will take care of her for now."
"Are you sure?" she asks, turning towards her wife and feeling Mira's hands holding her waist in a warm hug.
"Yeah, go get some sleep." Mira kissed Rumi's nose. "She's already fed and had a bath. She'll be fine with just the two of us."
"Okay, thanks." Rumi lifts her face, giving a quick peck on Mira's mouth and then left the room before Lily realized she's gone.
The baby gets distracted easily when she's alone with Mira and Zoey, the problem is if she remembers that Rumi isn't around. Since Lily didn't see her mommy leaving the room, the other mommies would be able to distract her long enough until it was time for her to nurse again.
"Did she go to sleep?" Zoey whispered, looking over her shoulder at Mira. Mira just nodded in response, soon approaching her wife, already knowing that she must have been unable to put the baby's socks on. "Help me, Lily is protesting against clothes."
"Lilith, look who's here." Mira called the baby's attention, shaking her favorite toy in her field of vision. The noise caught the baby's attention for just enough seconds for Zoey to put on the white shirt and attack the purple onesie over it.
The patterns on the baby's arms shone when the tiger plush was finally handed to her. It was a mini Derpy. Zoey's work. Ever since Lily was born, Derpy has been a guardian angel to the little one, always nearby, watching her, and Lily was always happier with her friends around, Sussie even used to lend her his hat.
So Zoey decided she should learn how to make stuffed animals just so she could give Lily a mini Derpy and a mini Sussie.
Mini Derpy is almost her size, and he usually spends a lot of time in the crib, to avoid getting too dirty from Lily's agitated hands. He is a great help when they need to calm the baby down. The plushie has a collar with a bell, another thing that never fails to catch her attention and bring a smile to her face in the middle of a crying fit.
Already dressed, with her pink hair combed and a little white bow adorning her rebellious waves, Zoey finished putting on her shoes and was so sweaty she looked like she had just come out of a sauna.
“Why does Rumi make it look so easy?” Zoey whines, resting her head on Mira’s shoulder and watching their daughter playing with the plushie.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“Who said that? The one that almost cried because Lily didn’t call her mommy?” Mira groaned audibly, crossing her arms, an unfriendly expression that began to disappear as Lily’s giggles sounded in the room.
Staring at her daughter from there, Mira ignored the fact that Rumi is her favorite for now. That’s okay. Closeness since Rumi is the one who carried her and spends most of the time with her because of breastfeeding, but Lily is already growing up!
Now Rumi can rest much more than before, which means that Zoey and Mira have started spending more time with their daughter.
The baby's chubby little face has patterns just like Rumi's, but their tone has been the same since Lily was born. Purple. They get lighter and darker, depending on her mood, but always purple. Her pink, wavy hair has finally grown out. Two months ago she was completely bald, but now she can even wear bows! The freckles scattered across her cheeks are the same as Zoey's, but her eyes are totally Rumi's. A perfect mix, both in appearance and behavior. When she's in a good mood, she's a happy little pill, just like Zoey. She's a calm baby too. She likes hugs and always calms down when she gets a good cuddle time, just like Rumi does.
But when she gets angry...
"She gets that from your side of the family," Zoey grunted, massaging her forehead and staring at Mira.
"I know," Mira lets out a nervous chuckle, running to catch the flying spoon.
Lily started solid food this week, and she hasn't shown much interest in eating. Yesterday, Zoey and Mira tried to offer her a banana, and the baby's plate ended up on the floor after the second spoonful. Today, they decided to try their luck with baby food, and Zoey suffered her daughter's wrath when the spoon flew at her forehead, and the plate was again thrown on the floor. And, unlike the previous day's crying, when they managed to calm Lily down without waking Rumi, and quickly offered her a bottle, this time the baby had other plans.
"Mommy!"
"No, no, no, it's okay, don't call mommy, mommy's sleeping." Mira widened her eyes, shaking her head, hurrying to take her daughter out of the highchair and calm her down without having to wake Rumi. "Come on, my little darling, omma's going to give you a bottle, sounds good? Let's get my darling's baba, hm?"
"Mommy!" Lily cried louder. The patterns spread across her little body shone a darker shade of purple. Zoey was running to prepare a bottle while Mira tried to calm Lily down, but soon they heard Rumi's footsteps invading the kitchen and moving towards the baby.
"Oh my love." Lily continued crying, already in Rumi's arms, now being cuddled closer to her chest, but Rumi didn't put her to breastfeed. She focused on calming her daughter first, caressing her cheek and humming softly.
Lily, realizing that the arms that surrounded her were Rumi's, began to open her little mouth, looking for her food. Rumi's shirt was covered in saliva. Rumi giggled softly, pushing her away a little just to be able to open the buttons of her shirt, fitting her breast into the baby's mouth so she could suckle.
Mira and Zoey admired the scene with loving little eyes, always enchanted by the way Rumi managed to calm the little one.
"Thanks for letting me sleep, but please call me when she starts crying like this," Rumi said, yawning right away. She was still sleepy, she had barely opened her eyes when she heard Lily crying, getting out of bed on autopilot and running to calm her down.
Zoey and Mira approached their wife, wrapping her in a comfortable hug and giving her little kisses on the cheeks.
"Let's go to bed, you can get more comfortable while she eats," Mira called, promptly placing a hand on her wife's back and subtly pushing her towards the kitchen exit.
"Clean up this mess before you come with me, if Derpy see this lying around... well." Mira and Zoey smiled awkwardly as they remembered Lily's mess with the plates, cups and spoons. They were so stunned by their daughter's crying that their minds erased the information until Rumi reminded them.
The last time they forgot to clean up the floor, Derpy's paws ended up dirty, and so did the whole house.
Shortly after Rumi left the kitchen, Mira and Zoey could hear Lily saying "mommy" again. A smile immediately appeared on both of their faces as they cleaned up the mess.
"Just so you know," Mira calls Zoey's attention, pointing the spoon at her wife. "The next word she learns will be omma."
"Wanna bet?" Zoey asks, flashing a cheeky smile that made Mira narrow her eyes.
"Hm. I do."
They sealed their little bet with a handshake and amused smiles, then went back to work together. While Zoey washed the dishes, Mira cleaned the floor, and so continued the perfectly beautiful routine of the three of them and their daughter.