Chapter 236

"I've just texted Hayden, I've invited us over for dinner but I didn't tell him why..." Mae trails off when she comes into the kitchen, raising her head from where it was bent over her phone. "What the..." 

Shana looks up guiltily from where she had been tasked to prepare lunch while Mae arranged the clothes that had been bought.

"Ma! Ice cream!" Ruby exclaims happily when she sees her, the creamy dessert painting her lips as she grins widely at her.

Mae gives her a returning smile then glares up at Shana, moving closer to her to whisper furiously. "What the hell, babe? she wasn't supposed to have more ice cream till after she ate and you gave her the whole tub?" 

Shana cringes, "In my defense, she gave me puppy eyes, I'm not a psychopath, of course, I'm going to fall for that." She says petulantly.

Mae just massages her temples in frustration and walks over to Ruby, knowing that depending on Shana to do it was hopeless. "Baby, Ru? It's time for food okay so you have to put away the ice cream... For now." She adds in a haste when Ruby's face falls.

Ruby nods energetically and closes up the ice cream all by herself hopping over to the fridge.

"Here, let me help you." Mae immediately hurries after her. "Good girl, now come eat lunch." She praises her when they were all done.

Ruby glows like a bedside lamp at the compliment, hurrying over to sit.

Shana helps her up and tucks in her napkin for her, Mae wants to tease her girlfriend about the babying but swallows back her words when she finds herself cutting up bite-sized pieces of chicken for her.

"So..." Ruby starts tentatively when she was finally let alone to eat all by herself.

"Yes, baby?" Shana prompts.

"Is... Is Ma and Nana going to keep me?" She asks hesitantly, worry shining in her light brown eyes.

Shana and Mae share a look.

"Do you want to stay with us?" Mae asks kindly, it would hurt if the reply was otherwise but they needed to know, Ruby had her say in this too.

Ruby's eyes light up. "Yes please, I'll be a good girl." She adds solemnly, nodding with enthusiasm.

"Then of course you can stay with us!" Shana exclaims.

"Yes." Mae smiles patiently, cutting off their excited squeals. "Now, eat up, lunch is getting cold."

They eat in relative silence, the sun shining brightly behind the waving pale yellow curtains as love is shared easily between the three.

Shana and Mae had enough love to give and Ruby soaked it all up like a sponge, practically glowing with the tender affection that was given freely.

After lunch, Ruby offers to help with the cleanup, they note that she wasn't able to eat a lot but that was to be expected, it would take some time for her to adjust to her new eating habits and well, they had all the time in the world for her.

"Ruby? You're going to clean up and then take a nap." Mae explains to her while they make their way up the stairs.

Ruby had been fascinated with the pepper plants and Mae had to seriously warn her that they weren't delicious fruits as she had immediately squealed out when she saw them.

Ruby had nodded solemnly in that cute way she did when she was trying to act grown up but Mae couldn't help but feel that the cute dark-haired child wouldn't let up till she had a flaming mouth.

She would just have to keep an eye on her.

"Will Ma nap with me?" She asks politely.

Mae blinks, thrown off by this question. "Um, sure." 

She held the younger's hand as they make quick work of the stairs, Shana had already gone up before them to prepare the bathtub.

Ruby had been cleaned up at the hospital but a proper bath was still necessary.

The room that they had chosen was done in a gentle ochre shade, the curtains and sheets a soft cream to complement it but it looked too generic to Mae and she couldn't wait till they were done redecorating the entire space.

Ruby looks wowed by the room. "This... This is mine?" She stutters slightly, eyes wide. "All mine? All for Ruby?" She asks for confirmation, her small hand slipping from Mae's hold as she wanders into the room, feet pattering against the soft rug.

"Yes, love, all yours..."

"Mae? That you?" Shana's voice calls from the bathroom.

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'm almost done here, you can bring her in!"

"Come on Ruby, you need to get out of those clothes." Mae starts after her.

Ruby tugs on the plain top she has on. "I gets to wear the new clothes, Ma?" 

Mae melts internally at the wide eyes staring up at her like she was made of stares. "Of course but you need to clean up first..."

A couple minutes later, Mae is starting to question her life choices.

"This isn't what bathing is supposed to be." She sighs in exasperation.

Shana and Ruby turn to her at the same time, pausing in their actions.

The entire bathroom was flooded in bubbles and the smell of coconuts was so intense Mae thought she could taste it at the back of her throat, Shana was currently sitting beside the tub, surrounded by bubbles as Ruby dutifully poured handfuls of bubbles over her head.

"It's not?" Shana asks with a frown and Mae shoots her annoying girlfriend an impossible look.

"But we are getting clean, Ma." Ruby argues, mouth in a pout. 

Mae just stands a little ways from them, holding the sponge, unlike Shana who was apparently unbothered, she wasn't interested in getting soaking wet while she was fully dressed.

"And I've let you two carry on for nearly twenty minutes, come on babe, get up and go clean up while I finish up here or I'm cursing itching powder in your ears." She says sternly.

Shana doesn't hesitate after this threat, hopping up and causing bubbles to float around the bathroom earning happy giggles from her. "See you, Ru." She wraps Ruby in a cozy hug, uncaring of their current positions.

"Bye, Nana!" Ruby waves her away from the confines of her bathtub.

"Mae..." Shana starts to say, making for the half-witch.

"You had better not be thinking to give me a hug." She throws her a dark look.

Shana falters, pouting. "But I love you."

"And you're all covered in lather." She responds, daintily putting out a hand for Shana to shake. "Love you too."

Shana takes her hand with a small smile and before Mae could predict her next move, lifts it to her lips and places a gentle kiss before hurrying out.

Mae just shakes her head fondly and clutches her hand to herself, walking back to tackle Ruby who was engrossed in making as much lather as she could so she could yeet it out the tub.

She had a lot to tackle if she wanted to be able to peacefully bathe her daughter without having to clean the bathroom up after but somehow they manage to finish up.

Mae wraps a large towel around Ruby which practically dwarfs the child, taking another towel to use in drying up the water on her body, especially her hair.

When she was done, she led her back to the bathroom and helps Ruby lather lotion on her skin before dressing her up in the clothes that Ruby had picked out herself.

It was a soft white shirt with a pale blue pinafore over it and then socks had gone on, with cute little white shoes.

Mae nearly melts when the outfit is on, her eyes tearing up at the realization that they would have this precious bundle of joy for the rest of their lives.

Then she tackled Ruby's long hair, it was uncared for from the time she had spent in the wild all by herself and it made Mae's stomach turn, beautiful hair not being taken care of properly was a crime.

She parts the long strands, relieved when Ruby sits patiently in front of the mirror, she wasn't sure she could handle much more, you know what, maybe she actually needed that nap now.

Mae packs up Ruby's black hair in pigtails and braids them so she wouldn't have to constantly comb the hair to make it look presentable and also so it wouldn't get in Ruby's face.

(I saw this and thought of the style, it looks a lot like how I imagine Ruby's hair.)

(*A picture is inserted as a comment)

Shana wanders back in around this moment and her audible gasp is much how Mae feels at the moment.

Ruby immediately hops up from the dressing chair, her patience expired. "Nana! You're back! Look! Look at what Ma did!" She hurries over to Shana to say.

Mae just leans against the table wearily, a smile of satisfaction on her face as she watched Shana compliment Ruby who laughs loudly and happily at them.

"I need to clean up too." She throws at them, stepping out of the room and heading to theirs.

She cleans up in no time, a soft smile constantly on her face although her arms ached, she could get used to this.

She hurries back to Ruby's room, suspicious of the odd quietness to find them fast asleep on the bed, cuddled around each other.

yes... She thinks as she walks over to the bed, her smile widening... she could definitely get used to this.

She gets on the bed as well, brushing stray wisps of hair from Ruby's peacefully sleeping face, she places a soft kiss on both their cheeks and joins in on the cuddle.