Chapter 8

(This ended up being a bit longer than I intended but I don't think any of you will even care/notice so I'm not sure why I even pointed it out XD)

"Hey, sis!" Naruko said as Natsuki answered the phone.

"Hey, Nark." Natsuki smirked, "Why are you calling me?"

"Okay so... I have something to tell you and Yuri... A favor, if you will..." he said slowly.

Natsuki sighed, shaking her head.

"Okay." Natsuki said.

"Thanks a billion! I'll be over tomorrow evening." Naruko grinned.

"Yeah yeah. I'll let Yuri know." Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"Thank you! Oh, and tell her to be prepared for two people." Naruko asked.

"Why two?" Natsuki questioned.

"You'll see... Later, sis!" Naruko said.

"Bye." Natsuki hung up.

Wonder what this "favor" is...

~~~

Natsuki opened her door to reveal her brother, who quickly picked her up in a hug.

"Thank you for having us on such short notice!" Naruko said as he shook her around in his grasp.

"I told you I don't lik- Wait, who's us?" Natsuki asked.

Her eyes fell upon a little girl standing a few feet behind her brother, sucking a lollipop with her eyes glued to her shoes.

"Uh, who's the kid?" Natsuki asked as Naruko set her down.

"Oh! I was just about to introduce you!" Naruko chuckled.

"C'mon, let's get inside first." he cooed to the young girl, taking her hand and leading her in the door.

"Naruko! So nice to-... Who's the kid?" Yuri asked.

"This..." he pulled the girl in front of himself for the women to see, "Is Nimani."

"Hi..." Nimani said softly, taking the now bare sucker stick from her mouth and shoving it in her pocket as she kept her gaze to the floor.

"Hey, Nee-mee-nee." Natsuki said, bending her knees to become eye level with the child.

"It's Ni-Ma-Ni." Nimani corrected.

"My mistake." Natsuki grinned at her.

"Is she yours?" Yuri asked.

"No... But I uh... Work at a place that helps foster children. Nimani here is one of the ones I'm assigned to find a home for." Naruko grinned, patting her shoulder.

"That's cool and all but... Why is she here, then?" Natsuki asked.

"Well... That's the favor I needed..." Naruko scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, glancing at his half sister.

"Oh no. Oh hell no." Natsuki crossed her arms.

"Please?! You guys are my only hope here!" Naruko pleaded.

"Bro, this is like, extremely illegal. And we don't exactly have clean records here to add child hostaging to that list." Natsuki said.

"It'd only be for a few weeks, I swear! Look, there's an entire batch of good people who are taking the course to become fosters. I'm just asking you to keep her under a roof and fed for three weeks, tops." Naruko begged.

Natsuki looked to her wife, who was attempting to talk to the quiet girl.

"Yuri?" Natsuki asked for input.

"I don't see why not. She appears well behaved." Yuri smiled.

"Fine. She can stay." Natsuki sighed, "But if we get cops on us and I lose my badge, I'm blaming you and I won't forgive you."

"Thank you thank you thank you!!!" Naruko hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Nimani. I'm going home but these nice ladies said they'll watch you until I come back for you, okay?" Naruko said softly.

Nimani nodded, taking a second candy from her pocket and plucking it into her mouth.

"That's my girl." Naruko ruffled her hair, "Be good. I'll try to get you a new mommy and daddy soon."

"Bye, Uncle Naruko..." Nimani said softly as the man left.

"So... Nimani... Did 'Uncle Naruko' bring you any clothes?" Yuri asked gently.

"Nope. I only have one outfit for me." Nimani stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh... Natsuki, dear, do you think you could help me find some suitable pajamas for our guest?" Yuri looked at her wife, who nodded.

"We'll be right back, kid. Just um.. Have a seat on the couch." Natsuki said.

Nimani nodded and did as she was told, humming and swinging her legs as she licked her sucker.

By the time Natsuki made it up the stairs Yuri was already frantically trying to find clothing for their new houseguest.

"Do you think this would be too big on her?" Yuri asked, holding up one of Natsuki's kitten shirts that was worn and faded from so many uses.

"Nah, I think that'd fit fine." Natsuki took the shirt from her.

"Should I find her some pants? I should find her some pants..." Yuri said more to herself than the woman beside her.

"Woah woah woah! Yuri, calm down! She's- What, seven? It's not like we're having the queen of England spend the night." Natsuki grinned, trying to ease her lover's nerves.

Yuri sighed, slumping her shoulders as the tension slowly left her body.

"Feel better?" Natsuki chuckled.

"Yeah... Sorry... I'm just... Still not used to kids, I guess..." Yuri blushed lightly.

"What? You're amazing with Mark and Jess!" Natsuki praised.

"Well... Yeah... But they're children of people we know! This little girl is a complete stranger to us!" Yuri said.

"Again, she's like seven." Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"You're right... I'm over thinking this... But seriously, do you think she needs some pants to sleep in?" Yuri asked.

"I think the shirt will be enough. It'll be long enough that even if she's pantsless you wouldn't tell." Natsuki shrugged.

"Okay. Let's give it to her, then." Yuri smiled.

"And hey, if the kid manages to overwhelm you, I'm here to help." Natsuki took her hand.

"Thank you." Yuri gave it a gently squeeze as they descended the stairs.

"Is that for me?" Nimani asked slowly, glancing at the shirt in Natsuki's hands.

"Yup. For you to sleep in." Natsuki threw it to her.

Nimani caught it and examined it thoroughly.

"Thank you... I like it..." Nimani smiled softly, blushing.

"Yeah? You like cats?" Natsuki asked, sitting a few feet from her on the couch.

Nimani nodded slowly, nervously clutching the shirt against her as she glanced at the cushion between them.

"Me too. They're pretty cute." Natsuki grinned, trying to warm the girl up to her.

"They're... Soft..." Nimani agreed quietly.

"Let me know if it doesn't fit and I'll try to find something a bit smaller, alright?" Yuri asked.

"Okay." Nimani nodded firmly.

"The bathroom is right over there. You can get dressed there." Natsuki pointed the room out.

"Thank you..." Nimani stood and quickly walked in the room, locking the door after her.

"I wonder if she's hungry... I think we have something leftover from dinner..." Yuri walked into the kitchen to check.

"It fits..." Nimani said, opening the door.

Her fists clutched the hem of the shirt tightly, her eyes focusing on her hands as she returned to the couch.

"Where's the other lady..?" Nimani asked, glancing around.

"Yuri? She's in the kitchen." Natsuki pointed.

"Oh... Okay..." Nimani nodded, swinging her legs over the edge of the couch.

"How old are you, Nimani?" Natsuki asked.

"They say I'm almost seven now..." Nimani said.

"That's nice. When's your birthday?" Natsuki asked.

"I don't know... Mommy and daddy never told me..." Nimani said sadly.

"Oh... Didn't your teacher ever announce it or something?" Natsuki asked.

"Umm... Nope. I never had a teacher before." Nimani said.

"You're almost seven, you should be in like, the second grade by now?" Natsuki said.

"I dunno..." Nimani shrugged.

"Your eyes are pretty..." Nimani said softly.

"Oh, thanks. I like yours, too. Reminds me of my friend's." Natsuki grinned.

"Really? Is she pretty?" Nimani asked.

"Very. So are you." Natsuki chuckled, nudging her lightly.

Nimani giggled and grinned widely, blushing softly as she finally looked up at Natsuki.

"Are you hungry? We had some leftover pasta." Yuri said, coming into the room with a plate of warm noodles.

"Thank you." Nimani smiled softly at her, scooting forward and grabbing her fork.

Yuri sat in Natsuki's lap, resting her head on her wife's as they watched the young girl devour her food.

"Slow down, champ. You can always have more later." Natsuki said, noticing how the girl was practically inhaling her food.

"I can?" Nimani asked.

"Of course." Natsuki nodded.

Nimani's eyes seemed to light up as she smiled.

"Okay. I'm full." Nimani pushed the plate away a bit, resting the fork on it.

"Okay. I'll wash these and Natsuki can show you to where you'll be sleeping." Yuri said.

"Wait.. I don't have to sleep on the floor?" Nimani asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Nope. You get a nice, comfy bed and some warm blankets." Natsuki ruffled her hair.

Nimani gasped as Natsuki opened the door of the guest room.

"The girl who usually stays in here really likes horses." Natsuki chuckled at all of the horse pictures taped and hanging on the walls.

"Thank you... I like it." Nimani said, hesitantly sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Want me to tuck you in?" Natsuki asked.

"What's that?" Nimani asked.

"Never been tucked in goodnight before?" Natsuki asked, surprised.

Nimani shook her head.

Natsuki helped her lay down and pulled the blanket over her, tucking her in securely.

"Goodnight, kid." Natsuki brushed back her bangs.

"Goodnight..." Nimani yawned.

Natsuki quietly shut the door and walked back into the living room.

"Cute kid. I hope my brother gets her a really good home." Natsuki commented.

"I know, me too... She's just so polite and quiet, very easy to enjoy the company of." Yuri agreed.

"Yeah..." Natsuki nodded.

"Ready for bed, cake pop?" Yuri asked with a yawn.

"Sure." Natsuki giggled, watching her wife stretch and rub her eyes.

"Okay." Yuri grinned, taking her by the hand as they walked up the stairs.

Yuri climbed onto the bed and held her arms out.

Natsuki happily jumped into them, nuzzling her face against Yuri's neck and chest area.

"Goodnight, baby..." Natsuki whispered.

"Goodnight, sweetie." Yuri whispered back, smiling softly as she ran her fingers through Natsuki's hair.

~~~

(Nimani is dedicated to Hellokitty311009
While writing this I just kept thinking "I know the first person who's going to ask to adopt this bean is gonna be Kitty."
Hope you like her as much as I do lol
-Diana)