Chapter Text
Being the single father of twins, one being a half demon, proved to be uttermost difficult. The baby stage had been harsh, countless nights of little to no sleep, but Shiro had yet to enter the battlefield known as: The toddler age. Anger outbursts, swear words (that they didn’t learn at home, surely) and the act of learning to walk, this proved to be the greatest challenge yet.
The current challenge: Getting them tucked into bed on time. There wasn’t a consistent time for them to go to bed, usually they would tire themselves out, and when they reached the state of blurred speech or talking in tongues, he’d usually try his luck in getting them to go the fuck to sleep. That could be at 8pm or 2am, all depending on his own insomnia. It didn’t help that one was constantly fussy and dependent, while the other was an independent energy bomb. When Yukio was tired and ready to go to bed, Rin would run off in a boat of laughter, his tiny feet wobbling across the wooden floorboards as he tried to outrun his guardian. Then, once caught and put to bed, he’d get out, leave his room and run around again. Didn’t help that the other munks were terrified of the child, so there was little to no help to get.
“Rin, damnit, we can’t keep doing this!”
The skunk haired toddler had even gone as far as to pull off his clothes and run around naked, knowing it would annoy their father. Nothing was more fun than having Shiro run around the monastery, trying to force him into wearing underwear.
“No catching, too fast!” Rin giggled right before stumbling and falling down the stairs, only just cushioning the fall with his arms.
“Ups. I fell.” No tears, just a moody pout at his own defeat as Shiro finally caught up and turned the naked toddler to lay on his back. He let out a groan when Rin’s foot met his cheek, a last attempt to avoid wearing clothes.
“Stop that! Those kicks of yours, they hurt.”
“I don’t wanna! Clothes is itchy!”
“Maybe so, but you have to.”
Lifting the boy after dressing him for bed, Shiro carried him back upstairs, making sure he wouldn’t accidentally drop the squirming kid. Surprisingly, Rin quieted down as Shiro opened the bedroom door. Usually, the fight would continue.
”Daddy, my tummy hurts.”
A statement taking Shiro off guard as he put the boy down and tucked him in beside a half asleep Yukio. He would usually hear Rin say that when they were getting close to either dinner or lunch, it being a sign that he was hungry, and sometimes around bedtime, which meant they’d have to pull out a midnight snack, further procrastinating sleep.
“Are you hungry?”
“No.”
Bending down to sit on the edge of the bed, Shiro looked him in the eyes.
“Is something troubling you? Sad about something?”
“Nuh uh.”
“Rin.”
A harsh shake of his head before reaching out to grab his father’s hand, then placing it on top of his head. A sign he wanted to be comforted.
Odd.
What was wrong? Demons couldn’t get ill, that had been a statement from Pheles himself, so this stomachache had to be something else. Could it be a bad excuse, knowing Shiro had to leave home for a few hours in the morning, or could this very well be a legit concern?
“Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”
“My hand.” He shoved it in his father’s face, the tiny fingers almost poking Shiro in the eye before he could back away to have a look. It was red, a few scratches and dirt, but nothing serious. He blew on it and tucked the boy’s sleeve over it.
“Well, it’ll pass. Try and get some sleep, if it gets worse, I’m just a door away.”
“Okay, night daddy.” A quick hug was exchanged before the half demon crawled under the covers, intended to sleep off the strange feeling in his gut. Sure he’d eaten not even an hour ago, and had a glass of water given to him, but nothing out of the ordinary.
However, Shiro barely managed to get into bed, perhaps getting half an hour of rest before being awakened by a sniffing toddler and a nauseating stench that went straight to his nostrils.
“D-daddy, I had to go potty!”
Sure enough, it was Rin standing by the bedside, Yukio beside him holding his hand. The kid’s shirt covered in puke, while the smell indicated something else as well.
“The bed is yucky!” A sleep deprived Yukio informed as Shiro sat up and turned on the lights.
“…Still hurting?”
“A little…”
“Well, no more eating right before bed, it ain’t healthy anyway.” Shiro let out a faint sigh and stood up, then went to take Rin’s hand. “Yukio, if you’re clean, you can sleep in my bed tonight. I’ll deal with your brother.” He would need a good, long bath.
Was this a metabolic issue? Or purely emotional? He knew that anxiety could cause digestive issues like vomiting and diarrhea, but this kid? He was a rock, steadfast, nothing seemed to ever shake him. He wore his heart on his sleeve. If Rin was upset, it’ll be known either by anger or tears, or by being overly snugglish, but lately, the kid had been nothing but happy and talkative, and, as per usual, accidentally destructable.
What changed?