Rising Stars

Chapter 27

6 Months Later: Semi's POV

I dragged myself out of bed when I heard crying. Who knew that in only 6 months things could've gotten this weird. Shirabu and I moved in together, which was fine, but ends up.. He got approved by the adoption agency pretty fast. That little girl he loved was gone, and he was heartbroken. But he took in another little girl, though this one was an actual baby. They said she's 2 and is named Eri.

"You stay here Semi, I'll get her." Shirabu said, patting my chest and giving me a kiss as he got up. I watched him quietly before grumbling.

"Shirabu, do we have to keep her in the same room as us..?"

"Hm? Of course we do. When she cries, I need to be able to get to her as quickly as possible. And she likes it here!" Shirabu said as he walked over to the crib he set up in our bedroom. I watched as he leaned over, picking up his baby daughter and catered to her.

Well, she stopped crying and that's good enough for me. I yawned and flopped back down, putting a pillow over my head and passing back out before she'd start up again.

Shirabu's POV

"Come on baby girl.." I mumbled quietly to try and not wake up Semi again. I carried Eri out of the room and downstairs. She stared up at me and I smiled softly back down at her. I've only had her for about 1 and a half weeks now, but she was the absolute light of my life. Semi sometimes would get a little annoyed, but I made sure he didn't have to do anything for her since she was mine. 

Eri didn't really seem to want anything else but to be held. So, that's what I did. I carried her around carefully while humming softly. She was so precious.. and I loved her more than anything. Eri didn't end up falling asleep, but she looked content. I giggled slightly, walking to the couch and slouching slightly and resting her on my chest. I made sure her head was laying so she could hear my heartbeat.

Things were going okay.. I liked having Semi living here with me. But he was worried about work. He's applied for a few different roles, and so far hasn't gotten any word back. He's only been able to get into one short season of a random series which has held us this past half year in terms of money.

 I haven't bothered applying for anything yet, I've been too busy with Eri. But, I had enough at the moment I suppose. But I know that I really should go back and start looking for work soon.

And I will. I just need a bit of time for Eri to get all settled in here with me. She was definitely a crier, but I don't blame her. She was taken from a horrid home who neglected her when she'd cry and suddenly brought to a new environment with different sights and smells, and sounds. It would be scary. 

"You know what, Eri?" I started saying, even though I knew she couldn't understand anything I said. I still wanted her to get used to my voice, and there were some times that when I'd talk, it'd comfort her.

"You're one of the best things to ever have happened to me. You know that big ol' mean guy we live with? He's another of the best things to have ever happened to me." I said with a giggle, Eri staring off in the distance but her little hand was holding onto a necklace around my neck. 

"I kinda had hoped that Semi would come around to this a bit more. Guess that was dumb of me, huh? I dunno, I just thought that maybe when he saw you, he'd change his mind and want to be more involved. But, it's his decision. And I'm okay with whatever he wants. It's enough for me that he's even stayed around." I mumbled to her with a yawn. 

I carefully rested my hand on Eri's back, slouching back even more so she'd be laying down. She was so tiny and fragile. She was this tiny life that I was in charge of protecting. I still have a lot to learn about being a parent though. There were online parenting courses, believe it or not. But, I didn't really like any of them. 

There were so many different "ways" that people were telling me how to handle situations with my child. Some of them had some pretty decent advice actually, but there were others that made me sick. One of them said that to teach a baby to not cry, to just leave it in a dark room till it stopped. If I did that, I don't think I'd be able to live with the consequences of that. 

Satori and Wakatoshi said that they'd offer advice if I needed it. What time even was it? I looked over at a clock on the wall, sighing gently to see it was 2 am. We were all supposed to go visit the couple tomorrow afternoon. And I was excited. Hopefully they'd have some actual advice on how I can be a better dad, especially if I was gonna have to do it alone.

I sat there a while longer before slowly getting up. Eri was sound asleep again, and I needed some sleep too. With my baby in my arms, I took her back upstairs and whispered to her.

"I love you.. And I promise, I'll give you all the love and support I never received. I'm gonna make sure you never feel unwanted."

I said quietly before slowly and carefully lowering her back into her crib. When I stood back up straight, I made sure she was gonna stay asleep before I climbed back into bed with Semi. Semi shifted slightly and let me snuggle underneath his arm before he passed back out and gave a kinda loud snore which I had to stop myself from laughing.

"Pftt.. And I love you too."