Babysitting and Babies

[Ai Nightray]

Ai Edogawa was tired. No. In fact, that would be an understatement! She was absolutely exhausted! The former Hufflepuff had had an early start to her day after little Jai had decided that waking up early to play with his toys and watch cartoons was a good thing. The young boy absolutely refused to fall back asleep and she couldn't very well leave her son unsupervised. And so, an early start it was. After feeding her young one breakfast and eating her own, she had gotten to start on cleaning up, which wasn't necessarily a hard thing to do normally. But right now, with her belly overgrown as she carried an infant within her, cleaning wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks to do at the moment. If anything, nothing was ever easy to do these days. Her due date was coming up next week and she would was scheduled to head on to St. Mungo's in three days. That didn't make anything easier though. Her feet were always sore, the need to go to the toilet was frequent and she had been lacking sleep for days. If anyone from school saw her now, she doubt that they would recognize her exhausted appearance.

After quite some time, Ai had finally managed to clean up the dining and the kitchen areas which were now absolutely spotless. As she looked at the time though, the woman frowned slightly, it was already past eight in the morning and she was yet to finishing anything besides cleaning. "Behave while mummy does the laundry, okay baby?" she called out to her son as she fondly watched him, too engrossed with his toys. Deeming that everything should be fine for a bit, the woman started picking through the laundry. While doing the particular chore, the woman had began counting the days and realizing that it was the weekend once again, she groaned in annoyance. It was the weekend and that meant that Jai's father would be coming again. She tried to remember what time the man would be coming only to recall nothing. They were in absolutely no condition to welcome anybody within the house. The laundry was not done, the house except the kitchen and dining was an absolute mess and she was yet to start preparing lunch. The woman groaned at the thought and she couldn't help but wonder if this day could get any worse.
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[Jeremiah Raven]

Every weekend, Jeremiah left Nightray manner to visit his son, Jai Edogawa-Raven. He enjoyed seeing his son, though hated having to leave the magical area and enter the muggle, as he rather liked using magic. Today was going to be slightly different, however, as Arianna was very busy. Therefore, Jeremiah approached Ai's home with his daughters, Artemisa and Felicita holding each of his hands. The identical girls were dressed very differently, however, as he had a hard enough time telling them apart without dressing them the same. His identical brothers had always hated being treated like a collection rather than individuals, so he made a point to not bring that into the lives of his daughters. With Artemisa's hair in a fluffy pony tail on the top of her head, and Felicita's in a plait to the side, the toddlers hurried along with their father, who eventually elected to carry them both on his hips instead.

The young man knocked on his ex's door politely, and frowned as it slid open with such ease that he was slightly concerned. Putting his daughter's down, he entered and found the place a mess, with his son sitting in the middle of it, playing with his toys and watching a muggle television show he could not identify. "Ai?" he called, looking around, before hearing someone in the laundry. Naturally, he assumed this to be Ai. "I brought food!" He added after a moment, putting his bag down and pulling out the sandwiches he had made before he left. His daughters had the ability to consume large amounts of food without being sick and it was pretty surprising. He put the triangle-cut sandwiches on a bare patch of floor, and began wandering around the room, straightening things up. He knew that Ai was pregnant (not with his child this time) and wanted to make it as easy for her as possible. She was, after all, raising his son, and he wanted to make sure that he was okay, and happy.

He looked over his shoulder as the three children began reaching for the sandwiches. There seemed to be no fights boiling up, so he let them go, speaking mostly gibberish to them in Italian, and chuckling quietly as his daughters attempted to reply in their own special form of Italian he could only just barely understand. Jai was also gibbering away in some form of broken Italian-English - and maybe some Japanese, he really couldn't tell anymore. The three of them, however, seemed to be working together just fine as if they could understand each other perfectly. "You don't mind if I clean a little bit, do you?" he called out once more, not pausing in his attempt to clean the place. By Merlin, it was really messy. He made a mental note to look into hiring a cleaner for Ai.
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai had opted to finish the whole load of laundry for today, after all, this may very well be the last time she would be able to use the washing machine. After all, ever since Dmitri had disappeared from her life, she had been having financial troubles since he had thought that it was a good idea to take a couple of her money and stuff with him. And so, here she was, barely getting through with her finances thanks to selling some stuff. In fact, she had already sold a number of furniture, appliances and even some of her clothes, shoes and jewelry and tomorrow, she was going to get the final payment of the washing machine, which would somehow get her and Jai through till after the baby was born. Sifting through the laundry, Ai had barely noticed when the noise within the small apartment increased. Taking a look at a nearby clock, the young woman nearly freaked upon noticing the time. Jeremiah was here, and with the noise, she could only assume that he was not alone. The house was a mess and there was yet to be food on the table! Deciding that the laundry could wait, she wobbled her way to the living room.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry about the mess. I'll fix up some lunch for you guys in a bit, just munch on those sandwiches for a bit will you guys?" Ai said as she turned towards the three young ones eating sandwiches that she could only assume was brought by their father. "Now decide what you want to eat then tell me later okay?" she told them and watched as they seemed to have at least have gotten the gist of what she was saying as they began chattering away. Well, at least that was one less thing to worry about. Leaving the kids for a moment, the former Hufflepuff turned to see the former Gryffindor attempting to clean the place before she walked right over to him with a bit of difficulty. "What do you think you're doing? Jeremiah Raven, you are not cleaning this place up," she huffed as she attempted to grabbed whatever mess he had been trying to pick up. "I will be cleaning up while you can watch over your children in the kitchen in case they decide to go crazy on me in Italian," the woman said as she wobbled her way through the mess, picking up Jai's scattered books and toys in an attempt to make the place at the very least, a little more organized than it previously was. But then again, there really wasn't much to clean aside from the child's entertainment and a few clothes left on the couch that had already been washed and ought to go in the dresser. After all, it wasn't like they had much stuff left in the house anyways.
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[Jeremiah Raven]

He had to admit, straightening up in a muggle environment was a pain, but he couldn't very well ask Ai to move just because he couldn't take a few hours without magic. As he began collecting fluff that was on the floor (that seemed to have come from cushions), he turned to Ai as she came out fretting. The three toddlers seemed happy enough with their sandwiches, he wasn't exactly sure that they needed anything else beyond them. The twins didn't tend to eat too much, but he didn't know the eating habits of his son (something that annoyed him slightly, but it was no-one's fault but his own). He frowned as he was berated for helping - something that had always occurred quite literally his entire life - and looked at her sceptically. She was heavily pregnant, and whilst he tried not to see her as some fragile creature simply because she was pregnant, she could barely walk properly.

"Why don't we clean together?" he suggested, tossing the fluff into a bin and scooping his daughters up to be put on the couch. Jai and the sandwiches soon followed and the trio returned to eating happily. "I'm here anyway, and I can see them well enough right there on the couch. If you lived in a magical area, this would be easier," he suggested. "Do you need me to get someone to help out? I mean..." He looked around the room, which was very bare, actually. It was missing a lot more stuff than it had previously. "Where is all your stuff?"
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai mentally swore at the headache that was beginning to quickly form. She knew that Jeremiah tended to be quite stubborn, but right now he was just downright insufferable. "Why are you even picking that up?" the woman asked in exasperation as she rubbed her temples in an attempt to soothe the pain. She watched as the man attempted to pick up the fluff that had come from the cushions from Jai's earlier attempt at hitting and throwing them. The former Hufflepuff wobbled her way back into the kitchen to grab the broom before making her way back to the living room as Jeremiah continued his attempts at picking up all of the mess. "You are giving me more of a headache by trying to help out. Honestly, all that has to be done is sweep the floor since I've already dusted," Ai told the man as he picked up the children and placed them on the couch. At the very least there were no obstacles to her sweeping now. Well, except for him. "Would you please sit down?" the woman said as she pointed to the couch and started to sweep.

It wasn't like Ai had not considered living in the magical area. As a matter of fact, she had since it would make her and Jai's life probably more comfortable. The problem was, she was running ridiculously low on galleons, she had zeroed out her Yen inheritance and had them converted to Euros which was barely enough to get them by these days. "I can't afford to live in the magical area right now. I wouldn't have enough galleons, but I do have enough euros. I'll look into an apartment in the magical area after I get a job," she said and that was true. Although she had wanted to be a magizoologist, she was sure that there were other jobs that would provide better for her and her children. And that was what she needed. "No, we're fine," she answered almost immediately before looking at him like he had grown a second head. "You can see the stuff right there," she paused her sweeping to point out the obvious. Although she knew what exactly he was asking, it wasn't like she was that desperate. Or maybe she was and just wasn't prepared enough to let him know.
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[Jeremiah Raven]

Jeremiah shook his head stubbornly. He wasn't going to sit down whilst Ai went about being stubborn. The young man was just as stubborn as she was - possibly more so - and he remained standing. He couldn't believe that she was trying to pass herself off as completely fine. He wasn't an idiot - no matter what she wished to believe - and as long as she was caring for his son, he was very interested in what she was doing. To be frank, however, Jai's existence wasn't his only motivation. Things could have been very different for them, had they both made different decisions. He brushed his hand over Felicita's curls absent-mindedly as Ai continued, deciding that he didn't believe about ninety-percent of what she was going on about.

He stared back at her sceptically as she tried to convince him that everything was fine. Clearly she was lying - she had always been a terrible liar and he frequently saw right through her. Blue eyes narrowed at her, he huffed. "Ai, I'm not blind. You're missing your table, three chairs, that ugly side dresser thing, the hanger - where is all of your stuff going?" He had a few ideas of where it was going, but he needed to hear it from her to be sure.
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai couldn't help but huff at the stubbornness of the man before her. Honestly, he was complaining about the mess and now that she was going to clean up he was standing in her way. How the hell was she going to clean the house if he remained there like a stupid statue that had nothing better to do than stand around. He was infuriating and spiking her blood pressure in utter irritation. "Jeremiah, I am trying to clean the living room. Would you at least cooperate with me?" she said more of a demand out of frustration than a question. She was getting grumpy, getting tired and getting a headache. They were not a good combination for the pregnant woman.

"The table was wobbly. We didn't need the additional chairs and the hanger was an unnecessary mess," she said letting the broom lean on the wall before crossing her arms in front of her, trying to look intimidating with her glare. Though with her bulging midsection, she doubted that it was as effective as it had been in their school years. "And that was a beautiful dresser, excuse you," she said with utter disbelief. In fact, it was one of the items that she didn't want to sell but had to. She was pretty sure though that some people would at least understand why she had to sell such items. But then again, it was Jeremiah Raven she was talking to so perhaps he would not understand why she was selling them. But she didn't think she needed to provide him with a clear explanation. It would only cause her more headaches and that was not something she wanted to deal with at the moment.
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[Jeremiah Raven]

Jeremiah rolled his eyes, trying not to get annoyed. He knew that Ai was stubborn - perhaps even more stubborn than he was - but he was not going to back down. She was pregnant, for starters, and taking care of Jai, who was a handful. That much he knew. This place was a clear mess, and things were disappearing as time went past. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening, and it deeply concerned him. He folded his arms across his chest, letting her know that, no, he was not going to co-operate. The Italian could be stubborn, also, and he was sure that Ai knew it. "No Ai, you're just being difficult. Sit down, hang out with the musketeers over there, and just relax for Merlin's sake. I've got this." His time with Jai was supposed to be that break for her to relax in, anyway, where she wouldn't be worrying about his care. Ai just never seemed to be able to let go and calm down, it would seem.

Jeremiah sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ai, come on, I'm not blind, and I'm not an idiot." He stood close to her to allow them some private conversation out of the earshot of their children. "What's going on? Are you aright?"
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai wanted to scream in exasperation at her annoyance and the added fact that she was beginning to feel physical pain at all this but held herself back in front of the toddlers. They didn't need a raging pregnant woman ruining their fun for today. Granted that they saw each other every weekend, didn't mean that Jai does not miss the two girls at all. In fact, she was pretty sure the small boy was more often than not lonely with only her around and it was obvious he enjoyed the company of his sisters. She would not ruin his fun with his dad and sisters, even if it was causing her some stress right now. "You're not supposed to be doing the cleaning," she said, gesturing to the mess around the living room. And it was the truth. They had all agreed that Jeremiah can come see Jai but it was to spend time with him. The house responsibility would still be Ai's and she would not let him deal with it when he should having fun with his kids. "You came here to spend time with Jai. Not," she looked over to the kids before returning her gaze to him. "Do these kinds of things that I should be doing," she said as she rubbed her swollen belly to soothe the pain that came from within. This was her job. He shouldn't have to do it just because she was an idiot.

Ai shook her head as her free hand rubbed at her temple then her face. Everything was starting to stress her out. Jeremiah. The kids. The mess. The apartment. Finances. Everything. She barely noticed when he approached her and stood near her. "It's nothing," she replied before looking over to the children and looked longingly at her own child. She had been stupid. And though she could not bring herself to get rid of her second child, she couldn't help but chastise herself. Jai deserved better than this. This baby deserved better than this. She took a deep breath trying to calm her emotions before her head burst from the pain. "He's fine. I'm fine," she breathed out finally before returning her gaze to him. She thanked the heavens for the financial support he gives regularly and all of it goes to Jai and his welfare without question. Of course, she tried to pitch in whenever she can as well, but it made her guilty that with her pregnancy, she could barely spare any from the little savings or earnings she has. "You're doing enough. I'm the one... ugh," she cut herself off before she could say anything more. She didn't want him to think that she was incapable of taking care of her son, their son. Even if the amount she could set for Jai from her own money was small compared to what the former Gryffindor gives, she always made sure that she never took any of those money for herself. Miah's money was only for their son and no one else. Not even herself. "It's nothing. I'm getting a job in a couple of weeks," she said before grabbing the broom from the wall again after the pain in her swollen belly and head had turned into somewhat of a dull throb.
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[Jeremiah Raven]

Technically, Jeremiah did a lot of things he wasn't supposed to, but the most harmless had to be cleaning up Ai's house. She was engaging in semantics, and he wasn't about to have this conversation with her. He was a grown man, he could clean a room and spend time with his children, it wasn't an impossible task. Finally looking back at her, he frowned. "Ai, I'm perfectly capable of picking up a few things and straightening others, and spend time with Jai. Sit down, and I'll have this done quickly." He smiled at the kids, letting them know he hadn't forgotten them, and they smiled back to him. He then looked back at Ai. Something was going on here, and he was rather sure he knew what it was. But he needed to hear it from her.

She seemed to be telling him - but cut herself off before she could. It seemed to be something financial (which did not surprise him at all), but the thought of her getting a job, not only in her current state, but also the fact that she would soon be juggling two children. "Ai, you can't get a job with a baby on the way, and then with a baby. How are you supposed to take care of Jai and your baby if you're off working? I can help more, with your bills, until you're on your feet again."
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