Welp, first fanfic for Blue Exorcist... I caught an episode on accident whilst at a hotel, was instantly hooked, covered the entire anime within the next week...and have been perusing fanfiction ever since. This idea came to me after a point (remembering the many dream visitations I've experienced) and I figured that such a thing happening to Rin would give him closure, if nothing else.

I also really really love Shiro, and oyako in general, and think that sort of fluffy goodness is severely lacking in the archives. Enjoy!

Rin Okumura had been a student of True Cross Academy for several months now, serving under the unforgiving thumb of eccentric headmaster Mephisto Pheles, and harsh teaching methods of his own brother. It honestly hadn't taken more than a day to get used to that, and to be fair the younger twin was rather fair in the work he distributed…it was just so difficult! The dark-haired teen growled good-naturedly, propped against his headboard and smiling fondly at a picture he held. An elderly looking priest grinned back at him, each hand ruffling the hair of a pair of twins who couldn't possibly be more different.

"I bet you put him up to that" he accused the photo in his hands. "As if you knew I'd wind up here someday, and Yukio'd have to look after my sorry ass again…like he's been doing his whole life."

"Maybe I did" an older voice drawled. "Not complaining about it are you?"

Rin's head snapped up.

"…D-dad?" The late Father Fujimoto stood in the doorway, tall, hale and healthy…and wearing the same damned smirk he'd often directed at the elder of his two sons.

"Hello, Rin."

"You're…dead."

"An astute observation" the old man teased, plopping down on the bed. "What has it got to do with anything?"

"I'd say it has to do with a lot" the boy sassed in return, staring edgily at the man who so resembled his father. A resemblance was…all it could be. Shiro Fujimoto was long dead, buried well beneath a gravestone several miles away. What this stranger wanted, Rin had no idea. The priest grinned at his rebuttal.

"Fair enough, now what's with that look?"

"I'm talking with my apparently dead father" the teen said flatly. "Sorry for being a little shell-shocked." The man laughed out loud, grinning.

"I see all those months in school haven't changed you a bit" he said, giving the teen's hair a good ruffle. "Aside from the address, what happened to 'old man'? Calling me was dad was always Yukio's thing." Rin's whole body abruptly began to tremble, because no one but his father could really know that.

"Maybe I'm just making up for lost time." Shiro laughed again, slinging an arm around his son's neck and pulling him close, the teen's head knocking against his shoulder.

"I didn't know you missed me that much."

"Hard not to" Rin mumbled into the man's cassock. "Why didn't you show up earlier? You could've, right? I'm sure Mephisto would-" A light smack interrupted him.

"He'd be duty-bound to exterminate me; you know ghosts fall under that category." Rin blinked up at the man.

"G-ghost? But you're not see-through or floating or anything…"

"Should I be?" the priest asked, tapping a finger against his chin. "It's in your head after all."

"My…what?"

"You never were very bright" the old man teased, trapping his son's head with one hand and giving him an award-winning noogie with the other. "Surely I taught you about dream visitations!"

Rin's heart dropped into his gut. D-dream? If he was asleep, then this…

"Oh it's real, no doubt about that" Shiro said breezily, seemingly reading the boy's mind. "Just not physical. You said it for yourself, I am dead. There's not a whole lot I could do." He grinned again, patting the halfling's head roughly.

"As for why I didn't come earlier…well let's say you wouldn't let me in. Too preoccupied with your friends' reactions to what you are, stress over school…I'll have to tell Yukio to take it easier on you." Rin shook his head vehemently.

"Don't, it's not his fault I suck at studying. I'll just keep trying."

"What?" his father feigned shock. "You're actually taking responsibility? I thought I'd never see the day!" The teen growled, grabbing his pillow and hitting the man upside the head with it.

"Shuddup…" The priest shook his head, laughing.

"All right, all right…now tell your old man what's been going on, we haven't got all night y'know." Rin grumbled under his breath, unhappy with the reminder that when he eventually…woke up, his dad would disappear.

"Just boring school life" he said shrugging. "Not sure why Mephisto had to enroll me in the day classes, but cram school's not bad. It's pretty cool learning to be an exorcist…got a familiar and everything. My classmates are okay, too, actually. I'm not sure they trust me though, after finding out I'm the freakin' son of Satan." He punched the bed angrily. "I can't help being related to that monster, so why-!" A slap to the head interrupted him.

"When did accusations of being a demon ever bother you before?" Shiro snapped. His expression softened. "When you were young, you went out of your way to prove such words wrong, why not now? They trusted you before; simply give them reason to trust you again."

Rin's head drooped, but he managed to look back up at the man, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes.

"It's that simple?" His dad smiled warmly, pulling the teen into a hug.

"It's that simple." The boy slumped; face nuzzling into the elder man's shoulder. In reality, he'd long since grown too old for such acts. But this wasn't reality, it was a dream and the teen would be damned if he didn't take advantage of the opportunity.

"…thanks Dad." The arms around him tightened slightly, and the half-demon felt a sturdy hand rubbing circles into his back.

"No need to thank me" the old exorcist answered softly. "I'm your old man aren't I? It's what I'm here for." Rin's arms snaked up, gripping the back of his father's cassock in an attempt to return the hug.

"Y-yeah…Dad?" The priest leaned back a bit, peering down at the half-demon's perpetual bedhead.

"What is it?" The teen hugged him a little tighter, shaking.

"I'm…I'm sorry. For what I said, I didn't mean it." Shiro laughed low in his throat, pushing his son away and holding him at arm's length.

"You've been beating yourself up for that since I died, haven't you?" The boy shuddered, his eyes downcast, but made no attempt at a response. There was a small but fond sigh, and Rin felt his face abruptly get up close and personal with the buttons running down the man's chest.

"You were scared" his dad said softly, ruffling the teen's hair gently. "Scared and confused, and I know my curt manner of handling the situation didn't help. I don't blame you for lashing out." His son looked up, face tear-streaked.

"B-but, it's my fault that Satan was able to possess you, Yukio said it happened because I said those things."

"Oh he did, did he?" Shiro asked in clipped tones, rubbing away the tears with a thumb. "I'm going to have to have words with that boy… No Rin, it wasn't your fault. I let my guard down after hitting you." He winced. "It wasn't your words that did it." The half-demon gave a watery grin, pushing away and rubbing an eye.

"What, the smack? Nah, I needed that." He was offered a pained grimace.

"Even so..." Shiro glanced up and around the room, of which the edges were starting to fade out. He shot a sad smile to Rin, whose eyes were widening in horrid realization. "Looks like you're waking up."

"W-what, no-"

"Oh shush, it's all right" the priest chided, holding the boy's face in both hands. "This isn't a one-time thing, I'll be back." The teen's eyes watered for the umpteenth time that night.

"Really?"

"For as long as you need" his father promised with a smile, and that expression was the last thing Rin saw before the world around him faded completely.

Waking up~

"Rin!" Yukio's voice was harsh, hands vigorously shaking him by the shoulder. "Dammit, get up!" Instead of the usual drowsy swats and downright refusal to do just that, Rin's eyes snapped open, wide awake.

"Dad?" The brunet took a step back, irritation fading away in favor of a somewhat sad smile.

"…You were dreaming about him again, huh?" Rin pushed himself up, rubbing an eye and squinting through the predawn darkness.

"Not a dream" he mumbled, instinctively reaching over to pet Kuro, who'd fallen off his lap in the throes of sleep. "He came to visit." Yukio raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?" His twin gave a strange smile.

"I think you'll see soon enough."

I LIKE COMMAS, OKAY. I HAVE A LEGITIMATE PROBLEM. I also have issues with pacing...hopefully it wasn't horrendous this time. -shudders-

Also, a cassock is the long black robe you sometimes see priests wear. It's the garment Shiro has on every time he makes an appearance~ (My brother's a priest. Trust me, I know these things.)