The New Neighbor (USHIJIMA X OC)

Post Story Chapter 2: Breaktime

Groaning for the 12th time in the last 15 minutes, Akira drops her pen on her notepad and puts her hands over her face. For the past 30 hours, she had been running around the house and thinking about the next magazine structure.

It'd been three months since everything had happened and she wasn't allowed to drive for another two weeks, meaning she had her work at home and took care of her baby.

Kenji was small, and he was anything like his sister. Every 15 minutes it felt, Akira had to get up and get the poor boy to stop crying. Being as young as he was, it was always concerning for how much he cried.

It stressed his mother out too.

"This is fucking impossible," She muttered, sitting back in her at-home office chair and leaning her head back over it.

Akira enjoyed the few moments of silence before it being broken by the cries of her son from the room across from her. Slowly opening her eyes, she hopped out of her chair and walked to the other room.

Opening the door, she saw little Kenji wailing in his white crib, his face red with tears and some type of sadness.

"Oh come here, little 'Ji." Akira walks over and scoops the small baby up in her arms.

She placed gentle kisses on his forehead, one hand under his bottom and the other on his little head, carefully laying it on her shoulder and trying to sooth him.

"It's okay, shhh. Kenji I'm right here." She whispered, giving him occasional bounces the way she did to get him to stop crying.

"Daddy's gonna be home soon with your sister, okay? Will you quiet down so momma can finish up?" She brought her hand down from his head and lightly patted his back, his sobs quieting down.

"Mmm, I'm convinced you cry because you want me to hold you, is that what you like the most?" His mother lightly laughed and it caused Kenji to let out a few happy giggles filled with drool.

"Alright, you can come hang out with me for a bit." Akira fixed him so he was on her hip and walked him out of the room into her office.  

"Maybe you can help me with what I should do next month's issue on." When Akira sat down in her chair, she lightly bounced the baby, making him giggle and suck onto his little fingers.

---

"Dad, can I go over the Sawamura's tonight? Aiko said he's having s'mores and I want to make some too!" Aimi beamed in the back seat of her dad's car.

"Let's ask your mom when we get home, okay? Do I need to call your uncles to let them know?" Ushijima said, looking at her with the rear view mirror of his car.

"Aiko said we're always invited and so did auntie Koushi!"

"Did he say you could call him auntie?"

"He doesn't say I can't." Aimi said back, fiddling with her backpack and happily looking out the window.

Ushijima lightly nodded as a response, focusing on the road in front of him. He wondered how his wife was doing as it felt like weeks since he talked to her. They hadn't sat down and had a real conversation since they lost their son and it pained him.

The only times Akira spoke to him was when it was his turn to get Kenji, asked what was for dinner, or telling him she was going to sleep. She was a stay at-home mom at the moment and as much as she loved her kids and spending time with them, she hated it.

It was so much stress and she hadn't gotten more than 2 hours of sleep without waking up from nightmares, the baby crying, or just being in some new form of pain. Her body felt like it was aging and it mentally killed her. She was married to a professional athlete and it made her not feel attractive at points.