Of the Earth and Sea - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Castlevania, or any other media I use in this story. They belong to their respective owners.

Of the Earth and Sea

“Tera… Tera… Tera!”

The woman found a hand being placed upon her shoulder, immediately jolting her from her thoughts.

“Tera, are you okay?” the voice asked again, laced with concern.  It was Naruto’s, which caused her to immediately sport a large flush across her cheeks as she locked eyes with him, remembering that night as clearly as day.

It had been a couple of days since she had witnessed the two of them doing it, but even still, she couldn’t quite get the images out of her head.

They were in the kitchen at her home, as she had been preparing a moderate breakfast, having lost herself in her thoughts about halfway through. As Naruto had gone to check on her, seeing her in such a state, he spurred action. Which left them how they were, Naruto unbelievably close, as she was flashed with images of her son-in-law without any clothes on. 

“Huh? Oh, right…” Tera said, trying to find some semblance of focus, as truthfully she had been feeling off ever since the night the two had arrived, and she couldn’t explain why. 

“Are you sure you haven’t been coming down with something? I mean, I may not be as good a cook as you, but I can at least whip up a soup or something if you aren’t feeling well,” Naruto said in concern, having made plenty of meals in his time living alone, some of which were actually edible. 

“Ah, no, I’m fine, just… distracted, I suppose,” Tera voiced, throwing off his concern, definitely not willing to tell him the real reason for her troubles; she would never do that. 

“Ah, well, I get that. I’ll tell you what, why don’t I finish breakfast for the three of us? That way, you can just sit at the table with Maria and relax,” Naruto suggested.

“No, I don’t think that will be—”

“Come on, Tera, I mean, it’s only a set of pancakes, I don’t think anyone can mess that up,” Naruto interrupted. 

“My daughter could.”

“Well, that’s…” Naruto struggled to find a retort to that. “I suppose then one more bad meal couldn’t hurt,” Kami knows he’s had a few of those when Maria cooked for him. 

Even still, Tera tried to argue. “I don’t think—”

“Come on, Tera, I insist, you already do so much for us,” Naruto pleaded, in such a way that she couldn’t turn him down. 

“Well, alright…” Tera relented as she moved toward the door and into the dining room. Instantly, her eyes landed on Maria, who was sitting at the dinner table reading a book, casually, as if nothing were wrong whatsoever. Tera hadn’t seen her since she saw them…

And she didn’t know if she would be able to act the same around her.

Luckily, it seems her daughter started the conversation first, unaware of her internal struggles. “Hmmm? Where’s Naruto?” she voiced, not even looking up from her book as she did so. She just noticed that her fiancé wasn’t here, and expected the blonde to come out before her mother.

As Tera gulped saliva within her mouth, inhaling a large breath as she tried to find some semblance of calm. “Oh, I suppose I wasn’t feeling well when making our breakfast, and he offered to take over,” she explained the situation.

Maria just hummed again, “Ah, well that was nice of him,” she said, still not bothering to take her eyes away from the object of her attention. 

“Yes, I-I… I suppose it was,” Tera said, looking down, being reminded of how nice the blonde always seemed to be. As she sat down at the dinner table, waiting for her food.

Such action was actually pretty abnormal for her, she realized, the action of sitting at a dinner table, waiting for something that she herself wasn’t cooking. Now that she thought about it, when was the last time she had done such a thing? She couldn’t remember. 

She supposed she spent so long thinking of such a thing that eventually, the breakfast arrived. 

“Alright, time to eat up!” Naruto’s voice came around from the kitchen, as they saw that he was carrying three plates, two in each of his hands, the other balanced on his arm. 

As he brought out a few helpings of pancakes on each plate, as well as a few fruits next to them, a banana, some blueberries, all were a normal portion for a balanced breakfast. The blonde set down their plates in front of each of their spots so they could eat.

“Took you long enough,” Maria said dryly, still a bit tired and sore from the night before, finally taking her eyes off the book. “You know, I still can’t believe my dead last of a fiancée is a better cook than me,” she remarked.

And as Naruto got to place her plate in front of her, he gave her a nice peck on the cheek. “Oh come on now, I’m sure you’ll get better eventually,” he encouraged.

“I’m starting to think even I can’t be so optimistic,” she told him, though she did have to admit that the kiss did make her feel a little bit better.  

Naruto just smiled at her, ever one to keep a bright attitude. “You know, Tera, I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty to take out some whipped cream and fruits I found, figured they’d spice up everything we had today,” he informed, seeing as this was her home they were staying in.

“It’s fine,” she told him, right as the blonde sat down in his seat.

As they ate, Naruto said his thanks, Tera trying to keep her mind off of things, trying to keep herself distracted as best as she could, focusing on the meal. It was rather good, she had to admit, having tried many of Naruto’s meals before, each with its own varying success. She supposed he was getting better at living on his own; it was always a good skill to have. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking…” Maria started, breaking her mother out of her thoughts. 

“Huh? About what?” Naruto asked, digging into his pancakes after having added some syrup as well. 

“About the fact that I need to pick up some stuff from the store, and I was wondering if all of us would be able to come with me,” Maria proposed to her mother, who was trying her best to focus on the food right now.

“Oh, well… I don’t know,” she said honestly, not sure if it would be the best idea for her to go with the couple. “I don’t know if you had anything else planned, I mean, it’s Saturday, so it’s not like you have to go anywhere for your job or anything,” Maria reasoned, guessing that her mother had planned on being cooped up in the house all day.

That was right, Tera was a teacher at an elementary school a few blocks down, which is where she normally spent her time, planning, teaching, and generally staying there when she went out of the house.

Tera didn’t have anything planned that day, if she were being honest. However, she still wasn’t sure if it would be okay. “Maybe, but even so…”

“Plus, it’s such a nice day, the weather would be wasted if we didn’t go out,” Maria argued again.

“I don’t know, you wouldn’t want an older woman like me within your company,” Tera said somberly. 

“Nonsense. Come on, Tera, I think it’ll be fun, having you around,” Naruto interjected, trying to lay his vote into the mix and trying to convince the woman that everything would turn out well. 

“Well…” Tera was beginning to have her thoughts wane, not being able to give an actual reason as to why she should refuse her offer. “I suppose one trip couldn’t hurt,” she relented. 

“That’s great!” Maria said, clapping her hands together. “Naruto, why don’t you start up the car?” she suggested.

“Really? But I mean, I’m still eating a bit…” Naruto said, still taking a bite of his food.

“But I want to leave as soon as breakfast is over, I mean it's obvious that we need to go as soon as possible,” she reasoned.

“Well, alright…” Naruto sighed, before he got up to go do as his fiancée asked, not going to complain one bit.

XXX

The drive to the store was a pleasant one, as the blonde, driving in his silver Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, which he paid for with his own money. As Maria sat in the passenger seat, Naruto driving, and of course, Tera was in the back seat, watching as the scenery passed by without a care in the world.

She didn’t have many opportunities to ride in a car, not owning one herself, as she usually traveled on sidewalks and walked to all the places she needed to be. Something that she had done from a young age, she supposed it was just a habit she had held onto. It was nice, she supposed, being able to stare out the window, watching everything pass by, the houses, the trees, the roadside; she didn’t mind. It was a relaxing feeling, something she wasn’t all that used to.

“You know, I talked to Richter the other day,” she heard her daughter say aloud, talking to Naruto.

Richter was a young boy—sort of like a nephew—whom Tera had taken in when he was about a teenager, whom she raised like a son, and who currently lived overseas with his wife in London.

“Oh yeah, what did the bastard have to say?” Naruto said, a grin forming at remembering the brunette male. 

“Ugh, must you two compete with everything all the time?” Maria scoffed. The two were rivals, in a sense, always competing, always picking on each other. If she didn’t know any better, honestly, she would have thought the two hated each other. 

“Hey, it’s not like I’m the one to compete, I’m just naturally awesome, and he wants to compare,” Naruto bragged.

Maria just rolled her eyes, “right…”

“Well, I should say I talked to Annette more than I talked to the bastard,” Maria corrected, which was also true. Richter is usually not one to pick up the phone, always so careless with these things. 

“Hey, why can you call him that?!” Naruto argued, still keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.

“Because when I call him that, it doesn’t lead to him using it as a reason to pick a fight with me,” she told him. “Honestly, you two… I’m damn near bewildered how you two haven’t killed each other yet,” Maira said, crossing her arms.

Of course, she knew that wasn’t the case, and the two were actually more like brothers. Even considering the fact that Richter was a few years older, the two still hit it off rather well, willing to throw down with each other at a moment's notice. But even when both of them were black and blue, having fought each other to near exhaustion, both would still be willing to work together to pick a fight with anyone who threatened them or their loved ones.

“That’s just how guys talk, y’know,” Naruto smiled, remembering his brother figure.

“Ugh, boys…” Maria scoffed.

“Haha!” Naruto just laughed, sticking his tongue out, which didn’t make Maria any happier. “So, anyway, you were saying?” Naruto asked, which reminded Maria of why she brought the topic up.

“Right, well, I just wanted to tell you that they seemed well, not to mention little Julia is growing so much now, I could hardly believe it was her when I saw her,” Maria explained. 

“Well, that’s nice,” he said. Remembering when Annette had given birth to her daughter, she had to be what? Like 3 now? Time sure flew by.

As Tera, listening to their conversation, as well as her subsequent ‘granddaughter.’ Being reminded of when Maria was that age, and even younger. She had been so small, hell, when she had her, she had been so young, and look at Maria now, so big, and likely to get married soon. 

The woman looked down. If she were being honest, a part of her missed those days, even if they were hard on her, raising Maria all on her own. True, having a child wasn’t easy, but it was well worth it, looking into their innocent eyes, seeing their pure, unadulterated joy, the looks upon their faces. And of course, there was witnessing all of their firsts, first words, first steps, first breaths. 

A part of her truly missed those days, as she realized that they were truly gone from her, given her age, as well as the lack of a partner. 

If Maria noticed her thoughts, looking back at her, Tera didn’t notice, too engrossed in her thoughts to even recall what she had been looking at. As the three drove through the road, headed to their destination. 

XXX

The mall for the city was a simple one, large as any other, with only a few floors and tons of shops, as well as a grocery store connected, where many people walked about. Of course, as a trio of blondes, the two looked rather abnormal, at least compared to the other civilians walking about, Japanese-looking folk with dark hair and eyes. To many, they would seem almost like a family of foreigners, and Naruto was a Yankee, a troublemaker, whom they didn’t want to get near. They ignored the feelings, not willing to let it get them and ruin their day.

Of course, that was until a voice called out to the group. 

 “Umm… excuse me!” they said, as the three turned. Unexpectedly, it was a small, grey-haired lady of elderly age, and she seemed to be smiling. 

Leaving the three to wonder what exactly she was talking to them about.

“Well, I would just like to say, young man, I think your family looks wonderful, and why… don’t you just have the cutest daughter!” the old lady said, looking at both Naruto and Maria, shocking them both, mostly the laddar. Even Tera was surprised, not expecting that people would assume…

“Daughter?!” Maria said in a stupor. 

“Why yes, and how lovely you look!” The old lady said, and clearly, there was no malice in her words, as she was just genuinely confused. 

“Ha!” Naruto laughed, knowing that because Maria was so petite, it was obvious she would have come to such a conclusion, as his fiancée glared at him in return.

Luckily, it would see that Tera was willing to set the record straight with how things were. “Well, actually… while Maria is my daughter, Naruto is actually my future son-in-law,” Tera explained, though, even she was a little taken aback by such an assumption. Sporting a small blush upon her cheeks at her words. 

“Really?” the grandma blinked, “but you look so young. You know it really is a shame, I bet you would have made such a lovely couple,” she said, as the old lady left. 

Leaving the three in a somewhat amused, and/or bewildered state. 

“Well, that was something…” Naruto blinked.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Maria grumbled, though unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t fault the old lady for her words, as she truly did have the best intentions. “I need a treat,” she announced, much like the childish figure she was confused as. 

She merely sighed, taking hold of her boyfriend’s arm as she started to drag him away. “Come on, we’re going to go to the ice cream shop over there, and you’re paying for laughing at me,” Maria told him. 

“Fine, fine…” Naruto said, in his mind, it was totally worth it.

Though the blonde did stop for a second, looking back, “You coming, Tera?” He asked, looking at the woman. 

As Tera was just standing there, stunned a little, mostly at the woman’s comment. Her, with a young male like Naruto? Of course, such a thing could never happen; she was far too old, far too washed up for such a thing to happen. But then, why did the woman assume that she could do such a thing?

The thought left her confused.

As she nodded, moving forward to follow Naruto and Maria, she was still lost in her thoughts as she did so.

XXX

“You know, I still can’t believe that happened,” Maria remarked. They were at a mall table, sitting down right outside the ice cream parlor together.

“Oh come on, Maria, cheer up!” Naruto said, heading back to them. “Look, I got your favorite,” Naruto said, holding out a cup of chocolate ice cream with tiny bits of chocolate chips in the mixture. 

Her daughter just sighed, “Well, alright…” as she took the ice cream straight from Naruto’s hands, quicker than anything he had ever seen before. “But this only makes me feel a little better,” Maria said, taking a bite of her treat.

Naruto just smiled, seeing as how his girlfriend’s antics usually were like this. Before he turned to Tera, a cone of light blue ice cream in hand, “And you’re—”

Before he could even realize, the cone had been snatched right out of his hands, as it was now in Tera’s hands, her happily licking the frozen treat before he could even blink. Sea salt ice cream, something that was fairly rare, and Tera’s absolute favorite, combining both sweet and salty flavors that reminded her of her childhood and years traveling. 

Naruto just sweat dropped, seeing as how both girls were eating their ice cream like there was no tomorrow, both being their absolute favorite. Of course, she knew that Maria had a sweet tooth, and he had found out that Tera was actually much the same, her daughter inheriting her love for ice cream. 

Sitting down once again, he munched on his own strawberry ice cream, which was quite good, if he had to say so himself. 

As the three sat and ate their sweet treats, Maria still couldn’t help but think of the situation, and while it wasn’t a common occurrence, she could see that it was an assumption people made that they couldn’t quite help. After all, she knew she was pretty petite, small by most standards, and standing next to her, admittedly, rather tall boyfriend, it only amplified such a feeling. 

Looking at her mother, who was a similar height, it was then realized one simple truth about reality: life wasn’t fair.

She remembered when she was younger, and she remembered when she asked her mother when she would grow, and her mother told her, ‘I’m sure it’ll happen one of these days.’ After all, her mother was quite tall, quite buxom, and she… was not. That was just how the world worked. And, if she were with any other person, she would start to think that most men preferred women as such. Tall, large breasts, wide birthing hips, but of course, she was with Naruto, and he had assured her on multiple occasions that he found her beautiful. Letting her know that he didn’t explicitly have any preferences when it came to women, but he liked her instead, and was attracted to her, and that was all that mattered.

 But even still, looking at her mother, both mature and beautiful, she had to wonder, would Naruto prefer a woman like that? 

That was where the line of thought ended, as she decided on her next course of action, “That’s it!”

“Hmmm?”

“Huh?”

They both looked at her.

“We’re going to the clothing store next!”

XXX

“Alright, how about this one?” Maria sounded like they were standing within a clothing store, right next to the changing room’s outside. Naruto and Tera are waiting outside the area, as Maria tries on a few things. 

As she came out, wearing what appeared to be a black leather jacket over a set of black shirt and jeans, which overall, gave her a whole new look, different from what she usually wore.

Naruto flashed her the thumbs up, already knowing how this game went. “Wow, you look great!” he said, smiling. 

Maria was less than enthused. “You’re just saying that,” she said, seeing right through him. No matter what she wore and what she came out with, he would always say it looked great on her, not amazing, not awe-inspiring, just great. And of course, that wasn’t what she wanted. Not that it was a bad thing, considering she knew that Naruto would like anything she put on. Hell, he would probably prefer it if she came out of the changing room wearing nothing at all. 

“Mom?” she asked for her mother’s opinion; at least she could hope that she would be honest. 

“Well…” Tera started. “I’m not sure black is just your color,” she said honestly. Maria had tried something new, and she wasn’t sure it really fit her daughter. 

“Alright, thank you,” she told her mother, happy that she gave her honest opinion. She wanted to try something new that Naruto hadn’t seen before. She wanted to impress him, wanted to get him slack-jawed, and to get his heart beating a million miles a minute, as an idea struck her. 

Before Maria turned towards her mother, she instantly grabbed Tera’s arm. “Alright then, you’re coming with me,” she said, dragging her towards the changing room as well. 

“But—”

“And Naruto, be sure to give us your honest opinion this time!” Maria added as an afterthought. 

“Huh?” Naruto just blinked, confused as the two left him. Leaving him stranded in the middle of the clothing store, a position he, as well as many other boyfriends across the world, had occupied many times. He just sat back, leaning against the wall, not bothering to question it. 

.

.

.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” her daughter just told her.

“Maria, what are we doing?” Tera questioned as she was shoved into the changing room.

“But—”

“Come on!” she said, as they were now in the small room, which was only barely spacious enough to support two people. Surrounded by the clothes that Maria had brought in, which were piled on the side of the room, some of which were rejected, and some of which they decided to keep. 

“Alright, now, which one do you like?” her daughter asked, holding up two dresses, one was a dark grey dress with cloth that was low cut, the other was a dress that was crimson, with sequins. Both seemed to be a few sizes too large for her.

“What?” Tera blinked. “I mean, I don’t know if those dresses will really work for you—” she told her.

“Huh? Oh, these dresses aren’t for me, they’re for you, of course!” Maria corrected her line of thinking. 

“For me, oh no, I couldn’t possibly wear something like that,” her mother waved her off. 

“Really? I mean, I think you’ll look great, are these not the right size?” Maria asked. 

“No, that’s not it,” Tera shook her head. She had gotten them right; she could see with just a glance that Maria had gotten the right sizes, perfect for her. Hell, she would admit that they were very beautiful, and any woman would be lucky to have them, but that wasn’t the problem.

“Then what’s wrong?” Maria questioned, confused. 

“The problem is me,” she simply said. 

“And what’s wrong with you?” her daughter asked, eyes narrowing. 

“I mean, can’t you see? I’m old, and those dresses would just be wasted on someone my age,” Tera admitted. And she was right, those dresses were for someone with youth to them, with life, people who could light up the room the instant they walked in. She just didn’t have that anymore; she didn’t know if she ever did. 

“That’s bullshit,” Maria merely told her bluntly, shocking her mother. “I mean, look at you, you’re hot, you’re beautiful, you’re sexy, I mean, if any man can’t see that then they’re blind, as well as stupid,” her daughter told her. 

But even still, Tera’s thoughts weren’t quite dissuaded.

“How about we make a deal?” Maria spoke.

“Hmmm?”

“How about, if we go out there, and if we leave Naruto speechless, like truly knocked out, shocked by both of our beauty, you and I get the idea out of your head that you’re old. I mean, anybody would be lucky to have a woman like you,” she proposed.

“Naruto? But we couldn’t——”

“I mean, who else could we use, and besides, I know he’ll be honest, especially when we go out there and show him how beautiful you truly are,” Maria spoke, with full confidence.

“Maybe, but… I don’t know,” Tera said, still unsure of herself. 

“Yeah, well, I’m not giving you much of a choice. Now take off your clothes,” Maria spoke bluntly once again. It would seem that she and Naruto had that quality in common.

“W-what?” Tera said, face flushing at her crassness. 

“I mean, we’re in a changing room, aren’t we, and besides, we’re both women, so it doesn’t really matter, how else are we going to knock Naruto off his feet?” Maria said, as if it were nothing. “And besides, people in this country have family baths in bathhouses all the time, something about skinship or something,” her daughter reasoned. 

“Maybe, but even so…” Tera said, still feeling a little nervous. Her words fell on deaf ears, as Maria looked over the pile of clothes again.

“Now then, what do you think we should wear? Hmmmm…” she hummed. Before she saw something. “I know, how about these?” Maria asked, as her daughter held up two dresses for them.

Tera had to admit, they were rather fitting for both of them.

XXX 

While all this happened, Naruto just stood there, eyes closed, head sat back, and without a care in the world. He didn’t know how long this would take, didn’t know how many more outfits he would be seeing. Although don’t get him wrong, it wasn’t that he didn’t like seeing her in different outfits, of course, that wasn’t the case. He just thought Maria was beautiful, no matter what she wore; it didn’t matter if she was wearing the most expensive dress he had gotten her, or if she had just woken up, hair messy, and she was just wearing one of his shirts, with drowsy eyes and a half-asleep expression. He thought she was beautiful and was attracted to her all the same.

Of course, Maria didn’t want that response; she wanted him to appreciate the effort she put in for him, and he did, of course. The problem was that he just wasn’t all that into fashion— he had practically run around with the same orange and blue jacket when he was a kid— so he couldn’t really appreciate her clothing as much as she would have liked. 

“Okay, we’re coming!” Maria’s voice broke out, after an unknown amount of time, as he heard footsteps walking towards him. 

Naruto peeked one eye open, expecting another outfit, much like the first few he had seen, still good, but slightly repetitive. What he saw was not that…

What he saw was both Maria and Tera walking towards him, their appearances changed, their expressions different. 

Maria was dressed in a light pink, strapless dress with a white sash and a high-low hemline, short in the front to show off her legs, and a gradient-like, floral pattern of white flowers at the bottom. The fabric was light, breezy, with a gentle softness that gave her an almost fairy-like look to it, filled with springtime, youthful charm. Her expression was bright, almost teasing, seeing his face, filled with mirth and amusement, as she looked at him, holding onto the hem of her skirt with a bright smile. 

As for Tera, the clothing she had picked out was larger, though no less revealing, as she was wearing a sleeveless blue dress with a fitted bodice, and a flared skirt decorated with a white daisy pattern, similar to Maria’s lining her hem. Moving down into a gradient of maytime, the hem itself is finished with a lace trim, reinforcing the soft, almost romantic touch. Tera’s face was flushed slightly, her hands at her stomach connected, as she was unable to look him in the eye, giving her a slightly embarrassed look, giving her an allure of uncertainty, which only made her look more beautiful.

They were wearing sundresses. 

Sundresses of all things, which gave them both a look of innocence, as well as a sex appeal not many could achieve. The dresses hugged their chests tightly, showing off Maria’s small B-cup breasts and shoulders. Whereas Tera’s dress accentuated her larger bust and cleavage, as well as her neckline, both dresses wrapped tightly against their slim waists and accentuated their smooth legs. 

Overall, Naruto was left slack-jawed, with wide eyes as he looked at the two, not having expected them to look so… so much like this.

“I-I… Y-you… huh?”

“Ha, I think we short-circuited his brain,” Maria sounded, satisfied with the plan.

Tera giggled, “Do you think he will be alright?” 

“With that face and the way we look? It wouldn’t surprise me if he was like that for at least a few hours,” Maria commented. 

“Maria… Tera…” Naruto said, his mind rebooting, and that was the only thing his mind could come to.

Maria and Tera were in sundresses.

They were in sundresses.

“You think we should do something?” Tera asked, still a little unsure about the situation. 

“Oh, please, he’s probably having the time of his life in his head, imagining—Mffptt!” Maria was cut off from her sentence, as Naruto’s head instantly rebooted, and he took her lips then and there, cutting off her train of thought and sentence completely. 

“You look amazing,” he told her, in the midst of her lips, feeling the softness of her warmth. Maria just leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as they embraced passionately. 

“Like what you see?” Maria said with a laugh, pulling back. 

“Are you kidding? My heart almost stopped!” Naruto said honestly. 

“Is that really what happened for both of us?” Maria asked, looking at Tera.

Naruto did his best to follow her eyes, “Yeah, of course!” the blonde said. 

“I’m not sure this dress fits me,” Tera said, unsure of herself. It was just so young, so vibrant, nothing like how she was, not anymore. 

“I don’t think that at all!” Naruto blurted out too fast for his brain to think. Maria squeezed him slightly, pressuring him to go on. This was something that her mother needed, and she was more than willing to give it to her. 

“I mean…” the blonde paused. “I mean, you look beautiful, really!”

“You mean that?” Tera asked, doubt still leaking into her mind. 

“Of course!” Naruto said so fervently she knew for him it could be nothing but the truth, as he flashed her a bright, near blinding smile, which nearly caused her heart to skip a beat. After all, he was so sure of his words, so sure of himself, that her fire hadn’t died out, that all of her words, all of her doubts were gone, just like Maria said they should be. 

Almost instantly, Tera’s cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes widening slightly, as she looked at him. 

“I see…” the woman said, unable to look at him. “I-if you would excuse me, I have to go to the restroom,” she said suddenly, ushering herself off.

XXX

Tera felt uneasy with herself. 

As she made her way to the store restroom, her heart beating a million beats per minute, she didn’t even allow herself to breathe until she reached her destination, holding a heavy breath. Letting it all out in a single, ragged exhale as she leaned against the bathroom wall. Putting a hand over her chest in that moment, feeling at her heart, which sounded like a drum running wild. Of course, she knew the reason. 

Going out there, in a dress that Maria had picked out to present herself to a male, reminded her of one of those romance stories the younger girls would read, and she could see why. If she were being honest, she would be willing to admit the dress Maria had picked out was something that she felt uneasy about, still believing it didn’t quite suit her. However, when she tried it on, she would say that it did look rather nice, looking in the mirror, though something she didn’t usually wear.

But when she walked out that door, that was when a new feeling set into her. Her palms began to sweat, her steps more unsure of herself, she even found herself fiddling with her fingers a little, and she would be willing to admit that—for some reason, she was rather nervous. For reasons that she didn’t even know.

And when she saw Naruto’s reaction, if she were being honest, she would say that she was happy. Actually happy. 

She realized that it shouldn’t be the case. Naruto was her daughter’s fiancé, a boy she had known from a young age. Why was she happy seeing his reaction? Why?

Tera couldn’t figure it out as she went up to the bathroom sink to wash her face, trying to cool herself down. The water along her skin made her feel only moderately fresher, but it was enough. 

She must not have been feeling well, she reasoned, that must have been it. She knew she shouldn’t have gone out that day, feeling as under the weather as she did. 

It was just a cold, she was feeling, she assured herself. But even still, she knew that wasn’t quite the case, rationalizing and lying to herself as she did. Yet she didn’t care; things were simpler this way, it wouldn’t do to have so many unwanted thoughts rolling around in her head. She realized that it was better to nip it in the bud now, rather than later, saving herself the trouble. 

So yes, that was all it was. 

She was just tired. 

Calming herself down in the restroom. It took some time, but eventually she felt better, and so, tentatively and carefully, she made her way back. Heading back into the clothing store that was filled with several racks of clothes, making her way through the maze. Of course, she had found that Naruto and Maria had moved themselves, not knowing where they could be in the rather large store. And that’s when she heard something.

“Cut it out!” a voice called near the registers. Of course, she realized it was her daughter’s voice yelling through the store. “Come on, give it back!” Following the voice, she was met with both Maria and Naruto. 

And from the look of the scene, it would appear that Naruto had taken her daughter’s ribbon, straight from her hair, as he was holding it up above his head, as Maria struggled to take it back. Her face riddled with a flush of frustration as she tried to grab it back, her long golden hair flowing down her back in waves.

“Oh, but come on, you look so beautiful without it, and you’re so easy to tease!” Naruto smiled, still holding the ribbon up.

Such a comment only caused his girlfriend to say, “I-I… y-you… you idiot!” she stuttered.

“Yup, and you—ooof.” Naruto’s teasing was cut short as Maria hit him square in the stomach, where she could reach. Knocking the wind out of him, causing him to keel over and his hand to go down, leading Maria to grab it from him. 

“Thank you!” Maria said, as she took it, tying her hair back once again and fixing her ponytail, all the while Naruto stood in the same position.

“...” still hunched over as if he were injured and actually hurt. 

“Oh, please, quit acting like a baby,” Maria said, knowing he wasn’t actually hurt.

“Hummm…” he sulked again, hands hanging due to gravity, like an automaton that had lost all of its power, unable to move any longer.

Maria just looked at him in mirth, not buying the act for an instant. She did, however, allow her lips to morph into a small smile, “Alright…” she just sighed. “Want me to kiss it better?” she proposed.

“...” was his response, though she could tell that he was happier with her words. 

“Fine…” she said, before she got close to him, leaning to give a small kiss to his nose. “There, all better!” Maria told him. 

“Oooo—ahh!” Naruto said, like a robot coming to life as he snapped upward. “Alright, I feel refreshed and full of energy!” he yelled.

Maria just giggled, “You’re such a dork!” though she wasn’t complaining, she would never complain about Naruto acting in such a way.

Tera watched the whole scene, not bothering to close her eyes for even a second as she watched the rather cute display. A small hole was building up within her heart that she could feel growing. She didn’t know why.

A pang of jealousy struck her in that moment, like an abyss, all-consuming her as she watched her daughter and her fiancé’s antics.

She realized she had never gotten to experience such obvious acts of love on full display; she had never had such experiences before, and for some reason, that made her a little envious. She couldn’t explain it, and knew that it should not be a feeling she should be feeling. Tera realized she should be happy that her daughter was experiencing such love and that she had found a lover who truly cared and respected her. Wasn’t that what any mother should want for their daughter? To have their daughters find a good husband, she could see that Maria was truly happy. 

So, why did that make her feel that way?

She didn’t want to explain such a feeling, pushing it down and suppressing it. 

As the blonde woman fixed her face, giving herself the normal, pleasant, and homely expression that she was said to have, walking up to the young and obviously in love couple.

“Oh, hey!” Of course, Naruto noticed her immediately. “Is something wrong? You were in there for a while?” he asked in concern.

Which caused his fiancée to lightly nudge him with her elbow, “stupid, you shouldn’t mention such a thing, especially when you’re talking to a lady,” she told him.

“No, everything is fine,” Tera said.

Naruto looked at her, observing her, but he wasn’t quite satisfied. Nevertheless, he took her word. “Alright, well, we still have to pay for your things, but after that, we should be ready to go. Are you ready?” he asked her.

As she nodded, the pang in her heart still present as she stepped up to the counter, Naruto and Maria already having purchased their clothes, she realized she was still wearing her blue sundress, and needed to pay for it.

“Yes, let’s,” Tera said as they went to the cashier and purchased her dress, and left the store.

XXX

And so they continued to stay at the mall for a bit, going from a few stores, shopping for things they needed, as well as things they didn’t. Naruto was carrying their bags, of course, Maria insisted it was, of course, the manly thing to do in that situation,’ he didn’t complain. Eventually, they headed home and ate dinner, Naruto offering to take care of the dishes, which left Tera a bit of free time to do some laundry.

Which is where she was now, standing within her room, folding clothes onto the bed as the night pressed on. She didn’t say much that night, trying to keep her hands idle, and her mind blank; she found doing things helped, or focusing on her surroundings. Much like her habit of looking out the window while driving, she supposed it helped the time pass by for her, focusing on the scenery, and of course, doing something. It was just something that she liked, something that she did often. 

So she did laundry, she cooked, she did all of these things; it was peaceful, and that was all she could really ask for.

Knock. Knock. 

A small tapping of her door snapped the blonde mother out of her musings, as she immediately turned towards the entrance to the master bedroom. 

“Come in!” she said, though she didn’t exactly know who it was that was knocking. 

“Hey, Mom,” a voice came her way. She instantly recognised it as her daughter, who ushered herself into her room. 

“Maria,” Tera said softly, a small smile making its way onto her face at that moment. 

As her daughter went up to hug her, wrapping her arms around the woman with a tender embrace, one that her mother reciprocated.

“Oh? And what’s this for?” her mother questioned, resting her head onto her daughter’s head, her golden locks under her chin. 

“Just, for everything, I guess,” Maria told her, burying her face into her chest, hearing her mother’s heartbeat, as Tera allowed her. Each of them feels the warmth of the other’s bodies; she smells the lavender shampoo of her daughter, hitting her nose. Maria’s favorite, it was a comforting smell, the smell always reminded her of her daughter. 

As her daughter sank into the hug even more, her small fingers and arms linking together around her mother’s frame, finding solace in that position, next to her mother, something she hadn’t quite done for a while. The only sounds were her and her mother’s breathing, a small exhale, a small inhale, both were in absolute calm in each other’s arms. She could hear her mother’s heartbeat, listening to it, finding serenity.

That was, until Maria broke the silence, “Hey, Mom?” her daughter asked, looking up at her mother. 

“Hmmm?” she hummed.

“Are you… " Are you lonely?” was her daughter’s response.

“What?” Tera said, shocked by her daughter’s response. Taken aback, as she let go of the hug, Maria let her mother go as she did so, in the wake of her question. “Why would you… Why would you ask that? Of course I’m… of course I’m not—”

“Mom…” Maria said, her eyes softening. “I’ve seen the looks you have sometimes. I know how it must feel for you, I mean, with Naruto and me being gone, plus Richter leaving with Annette, this house must feel a whole lot more empty now, doesn’t it?” “Well, I-I…” Tera tried to argue, of course, she wasn’t lonely, she had so many things, she was doing so many things. How could she feel lonely at that? 

“Mom!” Maria shouted, snapping her out of her thoughts. “I know…”

“You know… You know what?” Tera said, trying to feign ignorance. 

“I know…” her daughter reiterated. 

“You know…?” 

“Yes… I know,” Maria said, grabbing onto her mother’s palms.

Oh… she knew.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tera said, wrenching herself from her daughter.

“Mom… I know you saw Naruto and me, I saw you!” Maria told her mother. 

Causing a whole horde of memories to flood Tera of ‘that’ night, as her cheeks began to flush, not being able to look into the eyes of her daughter. 

“I didn’t… I wasn’t… I was…” Tera stuttered, trying and failing to come up with something, anything her mind could come up with as an excuse for herself. “I mean, I was only doing my duty as your mother—— it’s my job to make sure you are using proper protection and…” 

“Mom!” Maria sounded, interrupting her ramblings with a giggle. “It’s fine!”

Huh? Tera blinked. What was her daughter talking about? Of course, it wasn’t fine; she had invaded her daughter’s privacy and had seen them in ‘that’ state. A state she shouldn’t have.

“Yes!” Maria repeated. “I mean, I’ve been thinking…”

“...”

“And, I know you must have been lonely within this house of yours, not to mention, when dad… and I guess I should remember, you’re a woman too,” Maria continued, stumping her mother. 

“What?”

“I should have realized you had needs to, something that Richter and I prevented you from having, and for that, I’m sorry.”

Huh? Now, Tera was getting well and truly confused, not seeing where this was going. 

“Maria, I—” she interrupted.

“My point is…” Maria took a deep breath. “You must have been bothered, watching Naruto and me, but that’s okay…”

“I’m not… I don’t…”

“Oh, please, stop denying it,” her daughter said, seeing right through her. “And, I’ve been thinking, if you need a little help with that… why don’t you come to Naruto about it? I know he’s got the energy, and I’ll admit— the amount of times he leaves me limping, he is a real handful to deal with sometimes,” she proposed. 

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Tera spoke with a pointed look.

“Do I really have to spell it out?” Maria asked. “I’m asking if you want to… take Naruto for a spin, so to speak,” she told her mother. 

“Maria, this is no time for jokes,” Tera tried to say.

“I’m not joking,” her daughter told her, absolutely serious. 

“Maria, stop it…” Her mother’s eyes narrowed. 

“But I—”

“I mean it, don’t say things like that,” Tera said, voice obviously strained. “You shouldn’t be saying things like that, especially about your future husband.”

“I just want you to be happy,” Maria argued. 

“I’m fine and you… You have a good thing going on, Naruto is a good man, and you shouldn’t waste your relationship, especially for something like this,” Tera snapped, getting more heated.

“Mom!”

“Just don’t!” Tera argued. “Don’t talk about things like this, I don’t want a word!” her mother told her.

As Maria’s eyes widened, her mouth fell in a stupor. 

“Mom…” she voiced, trying to regain her bearings.

“I don’t want to hear about this any longer… please,” Tera sounded, far more vulnerable than she would have liked.

“...” Maria didn’t say anything; she couldn’t say anything, after all her mother had said all that needed to be said. And so she walked away, leaving Tera to contemplate what her daughter had just said. 

XXX

Maria was… unsure of what to do after that. 

After all, her mother just yelled at her; her mother never yelled at her. In all her years of life, she had never spoken to her so out of line, and so she was surprised that she did so now, stupefied even. What could she say to her after she had been so adamantly refused?

Of course, she had seen the signs, known for a while now that her mother wasn’t as happy as she seemed. Her mother always valued family, loved it like any other, and a large part of her life had been centered around taking care of them, and now they were moving away, and a bit of a hole filled the gap.

She had seen it, from time to time, and if she were being honest, it irked her, knowing that her mother was unwilling to address her feelings, preferring to keep them locked within. Of course, this wasn’t done consciously, but rather out of habit, always trying to keep herself in check, always trying to be the voice of reason.

Well, to hell with that.

The thought that her mother was denying herself for them made her blood boil. She just wanted her mother to be honest with herself, and it was annoying to think otherwise. 

The fact that her mother was actively hurting made her angry, and it made her angrier knowing that she could do nothing about it. Stomping throughout her house on a mission, though she couldn’t exactly say where she was going, just away. So she marched, finding herself in the company of her old room, where Naruto was situated, lying on her bed, watching her television. 

“Oh, hey, babe!” Naruto said with a smile. 

“I can’t believe she did that,” Maria muttered to herself, marching back and forth. 

“Hmmm? Is something wrong?” Naruto hummed. He could tell that Maria was frustrated about something, but he just didn’t know what. “Maria?” he called, and to her own name she responded, seemingly noticing his presence as she had been lost in that head of hers.

“Naruto…” Instantly, his Fiancee’s head snapped towards him. “Naruto… what do you think of my mother?” Maria asked, looking at him fully. She said, almost robotically, it was actually kind of creepy.

“Huh? Tera, I mean, she’s nice, really nice, so I like her alot,” she was honestly almost like an aunt to him, if he were being honest, or perhaps something else… she was going to be his mother-in-law after all.

“No! I mean… what do you think of her?” Maria repeated, staring into his soul, wanting to find out the truth.

“Pfftt… w-what?” Naruto sputtered, a bit of a pink hue flushing his face. 

It would seem that she saw what she wanted, as Maria took a deep breath.“Naruto, I want you to do something, and I just want you to know that it will be done out of love…” his fiancée said.

As she proceeded to tell the blonde about her plan, a plan that would change all three of their lives forever…

End Chapter.