Crown Jewel - 2/7 - Shou x Hiroto
Title: The Underground - Crown Jewel
Author: silveryxdark @ arcoireis
Chapters: 2/7
Pairings: Shou x Hiroto
Bands: Alice Nine
Genre: Romance, family, humour
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Manxman, suggestiveness
Disclaimer: I own no one except the OCs.
Summary: Mini-series 'sequel' to The Underground. Shou and Hiroto deal with becoming parents to a hyperactive, precocious four-year-old girl, who also has uncontrolled fire magic...
A/N: At the end.
[Chapter 1 - In which Shou and Hiroto meet Cein for the first time]
When they returned to the palace, Cein was bouncing on the balls of her feet, holding Hiroto's hand tightly. She looked awed at the size of the palace, and again the courtyard began to feel warmer. Hiroto squeezed her hand and patted her head.
"Cein, don't do that, alright?" he said gently.
Cein blushed and nodded. "Yes, Papa."
Hiroto caught Shou's indulgent smile, and winked at him. He knew that Shou was going to be a great father to Cein. There had been no need to worry at all.
They stepped into the palace and Shou picked Cein up easily, walking to the court. A few of the nobles were there, speaking to the Queen. Hiroto could feel Cein's anxiety at the unfamiliar demons nearby. She had only been around her kind, it seemed.
The nobles bowed to Shou and Hiroto, looking at Cein curiously, who stared back with wide amber eyes. Hiroto patted her arm and smiled at her.
"It'll be fine, Cein," he murmured.
Cein smiled sweetly and nodded. Then Shou smiled and announced, loud and clear, "May I introduce you to Hiroto's and my daughter, Cein?"
He put Cein down gently and she curtseyed, smiling shyly. "Grandma?"
Hiroto stifled a chuckle at the shocked looks on the nobles' faces and the amusement that was clear in the Queen's expression. No one had expected the Queen to be a grandmother so young, too, it seemed. Cein was smiling sweetly at everyone, eyes shining with innocence and even a little mischief.
"Yes. Come here, Cein," Queen Aria said, and Cein ran up happily. "You shall be a princess from this day on."
Cein beamed at Queen Aria and thanked her profusely, before Shou called her and Cein happily ran to him. Hiroto bowed to Queen Aria before leaving the court with Shou. He was happy that Shou had taken to becoming a father so naturally, and also that Cein was such a sweet, endearing girl who loved her new fathers so easily. And yet, he could not help but feel just the slightest bit of envy as he watched Cein chatter away happily to his lover.
He wished that Cein liked him as much as she did Shou.
"Papa, Papa!" Cein said loudly, latching onto Hiroto all of a sudden. "Is it true that Daddy was a bad prince before he met you? That's what he says."
Hiroto was rather alarmed. "What do you mean?"
"I asked Daddy whom he loved the most and asked why. He says you, because you taught him what love was, and how you changed him from a bad prince to a good one," Cein replied bluntly. "Daddy says you're the most beautiful man he's ever known."
"D-did you?" Hiroto asked softly, smiling at Shou.
Shou nodded, smiling back at him. "You are, you know."
Cein suddenly kissed Hiroto's cheek, and only then did Hiroto realise that he was crying. "Don't cry, Papa. Did we say something wrong?" she asked, biting her lip.
"No, Cein. I'm - I'm happy," Hiroto chuckled softly, combing his fingers through his daughter's hair. "I'm alright, Cein."
"Yay!" Cein giggled, and hugged Hiroto even more tightly. Hiroto hugged her back, and he looked up as he felt Shou's fingers caress his lips, a loving, understanding smile on his face.
Hiroto thought he loved Shou even more, then. Only a little less than a year ago would he have thought that Shou could never be capable of love. And now... here they were, parents to an adorable little girl.
"Papa, Daddy, can I see my brothers soon?" Cein asked, breaking Hroto's train of thought.
Hiroto looked at Shou and he nodded, before Shou said softly, "Yeah. How does tomorrow sound? But for now... do you want to rest first or to see your uncles?"
"I have uncles?" Cein said brightly.
Shou chuckled, "Yeah. My brother, Saga, and Hiroto's brother, Tora. They are together, and your godfathers. They can't wait to meet you, Cein."
Cein smiled brightly and nodded. "Can we go now? Please?"
"Well... they shouldn't be too busy now," Hiroto grinned. "It's the weekend, too, and I don't think Saga's working. Let's go. You've never been to the human world, have you?"
"No," Cein replied. "Humans aren't scary, are they, Papa? Byou and Jin never liked them..."
Hiroto kissed the top of Cein's head. "No, honey. Humans can be just like us. They have no magic, but are capable of both great and terrible things, exactly like us demons. Do not judge before you know one."
"Your Papa's part human, too, and like I said, he's beautiful," Shou said softly. "Your uncle Saga is half human, a cambion, and he's a great man."
"Okay, Papa! So can we go now!" Cein beamed.
Shou laughed softly. "Here we go."
Hiroto held his hand as he chanted the teleportation spell. They stepped through the portal, and in seconds, were teleported to Saga's apartment,, where they found Tora sitting on the couch with Saga curled up, his head in his lap, asleep.
Tora raised an eyebrow. "You could have informed us beforehand you were coming. Saga isn't exactly up for interaction now," he said, looking rather amused.
"You wore him out?" Shou blurted out, and Hiroto punched his shoulder lightly.
"What does Daddy mean, Papa?" Cein asked innocently.
Tora smiled and waved at her. "Are you Cein? I'm your uncle Tora. Your uncle Saga's asleep, he's had quite a long night... and morning, too."
Hiroto snorted. "You're worse than us, sometimes." Then, he walked over, carrying Cein, and put her down next to Tora.
Cein looked up and let out a sigh. "You're all so tall! You're taller than Daddy, too," she said, shaking her head. She looked at Saga, then, and smiled. "Uncle Saga? He's pretty... but why is he so tired?"
"You'll know when you're older," Tora said vaguely, then patted Saga's head. "Sagachii, wake up. Your niece is here."
It took Saga a few seconds to awaken, after which he blinked lazily up at Tora before his eyes met Cein's wide, curious ones. "Cein? Hey," he said softly, smiling. "How are you?"
"I just got to my new home today!" Cein said excitedly. "The Palace is huge! Are you a prince, too? I'm a princess now, that's what Grandma says!"
Saga laughed, getting up and cuddling into Tora. "Yeah, I am. I don't live in the Underground anymore, though, so I'm not an heir."
Cein nodded, and Hiroto had to smile at the excitement in her expression. Shou looked amused, too, and together they sat down next to Cein. She promptly climbed up onto Shou's lap and hugged him.
"Daddy, can we come here more often? My uncles are so nice!" Cein asked brightly.
"Of course," Shou laughed.
"But... Daddy, Papa..." Cein pouted, suddenly looking serious. "Why is no one telling me what Daddy meant when he said Uncle Tora wore Uncle Saga out?"
Yup, 7 chapters total. It's a mini-series after all. I have more plans for the rest of the story, though, worry not~ XD Though, updates for this (and the other mini-series fics) might be slower, since I signed up for NaNoWriMo and will be juggling that daily alongside this fic, exams and cosplay... Aside from that though - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!