AN: Phew, made it :) This is for Alexia Featherchild! I was reaaally considering doing the adopting nine kids thing from July Loving xD But then just thinking about writing about nine children all together made me feel a headache coming... Kids are great but so hard to deal with.

I know the prompts are of happy things but this is kind of sad in the beginning. I like drama.

And due to the time limit and that fact that teachers adore making tests and essays and assignments due before the winter break all at once, this turned out to be kind of choppy and jumpy. Or at least to me it did, but I wanted to get it done on time and therefore couldn't spend too much time writing the unimportant parts.

So I hope you enjoy this. Everyone else, your opinion is of little value to me. Just kidding! Or maybe I'm not o_o

(I honestly expected to only write 4,000 words at the very most. No joke—I cannot believe myself.)

When Shinobu and Miyagi decided it was time to expose their relationship to the Takatsuki family, everything had gone to shit.

The blond's parents were predictably strict, but the couple had not been ready for just how unaccepting they were going to be.

Miyagi was fired. The man had hoped it wouldn't jeopardize his job, but he had also considered the possibility that it would so getting layed off wasn't a huge kick in the balls when it happened.

The big shocker was how, after nights of arguing, Shinobu's parents gave him two options: leave Miyagi or no longer be a part of their family.

And they meant every word. They did not want such a taboo relationship to alter their family's reputation and the reputation of Mitsuhashi university. All of their relatives already knew of Miyagi and how he had been previously married to Risako. If word got out to the rest of them, the Takatsukis didn't even want to fathom how they would be viewed for raising such a rebellious, immoral son. And for people at the university to know that a certain professor fucked an underage kid... that was unthinkable.

Risako didn't take the news well. She apparently spent a whole night crying in her room. She wouldn't speak out what bothered her specifically (whether she still loved Miyagi, felt betrayed by her brother, etc.), but she was firm on not granting them support or her blessings. She wanted nothing to do with her little brother and ex-husband any longer and was reluctant to even hold a conversation about either of the two.

Shinobu was also firm on his standings. He absolutely refused to leave Miyagi, no matter what the costs would be. While he agreed to talk calm and rationally to his parents while Miyagi was around, he had also been yelling quite audibly when his partner was not present, just as they screamed at him right back—his mother had tears in her eyes.

Soon enough, Shinobu was disowned and banished from their home. He was no longer allowed to speak to any of his family members as long as he was in a relationship with Miyagi. He knew they had completely erased him from their lives and gotten rid of any artifacts that might have been related to the blond boy. Pictures of him were shredded, possessions were thrown out, gifts from the boy burnt.

Takatsuki Shinobu would no longer be spoken of and they pretended he had never existed in the first place.

"Shinobu, come here."

The boy was visibly almost zombie-like. He always had his eyes downcast, was exceptionally silent, and didn't do a whole lot when he'd come home from work or university. It worried Miyagi greatly; his partner had never been so withdrawn before.

"Shinobu." Miyagi held an arm out from where he stood in their apartment, wanting to coax the depressed boy over to him.

Although Shinobu didn't take his eyes off the floor, the blond got up from the couch and stopped a few feet away from his lover.

"Look at me."

Shinobu's usual beautiful eyes looked so hollow over the past week. The whole ordeal with his parents was affecting him much more than he'd ever admit and Miyagi was very concerned how it would affect his emotional health.

The man tipped his partner's chin up so that he could meet the grey eyes' gaze when Shinobu made no move of his own to look at him.

Then, the older man moved forward and kissed him deeply on the lips. Shinobu minimally responded, which Miyagi predicted, but he continued to move his lips slowly against the other's anyway.

He just barely parted from the boy and asked, "Where's your tongue, Shinobu? I want to nibble it."

When they kissed again, the blond slowly peeked his pink tongue out of his mouth and Miyagi immediately rubbed it with his own. He stuck his own tongue in the boy's mouth and Shinobu's breath got heavier as they made out, Miyagi's arms wrapped firmly around his torso. The professor also felt Shinobu's thin arms wind around his neck and hug tight.

When they both needed a chance to breathe, Miyagi very slowly dragged his tongue out from around Shinobu's mouth and pulled away.

Shinobu was panting and looking at Miyagi with hazy eyes, cheeks very rosy pink.

Smiling a little, Miyagi caressed his thumb across the boy's cheek and said, "So cute."

Shinobu scowled at the man—exactly the reaction Miyagi wanted to see.

But then the stroking fingers on the boy's smooth cheek slowed as Miyagi grew solemn. "You know, I have another job lined up for me soon."

Shinobu blinked up at him with interest.

Glancing away, Miyagi continued, "At a university in Osaka." He looked back at Shinobu who was still giving him his full attention. "We'd have to move pretty far if I were to take the job. But if you don't want to leave Tokyo, we can stay here. I'm fine with that as well."

Shinobu frowned at his partner then to the floor. "...I'd go anywhere with you. Idiot," he mumbled.

Miyagi stroked some of the blond's bangs out of his face. "I don't want you to feel obligated to move away."

Shaking his head, Shinobu said, "It's my fault you got fired anyway."

"That's what I mean. It wasn't your fault so please don't feel like you owe me anything."

"...Okay." Shinobu's shoulders slumped and Miyagi could tell the blond was feeling bad about the professor's job loss. "I don't mind moving to Osaka."

"You sure?"

The boy nodded. "My semester ends soon at the university. I can always transfer to another one in Osaka." Shinobu sighed, fiddling with a thread on Miyagi's shirt. "There'll be no point staying here after that."

Miyagi wished he could do something for Shinobu but there was nothing that would bridge the gap built between the boy and his family. The only thing would be to break up with him, but neither of them wanted that and Shinobu would never allow it anyway.

The blond kept trying to act as though breaking away from his blood wasn't too big of a deal and he'd never been particularly close to any of them anyway. But for anyone to be erased from their own family would be a struggle and Miyagi hated being unable to do anything, especially when it was basically him who Shinobu's parents weren't accepting of.

"...Can we go soon?" Shinobu asked. "Right when I finish my finals?"

Seeing Shinobu's eyes begin to well up, his gaze still directed at the floor, Miyagi chest cringed. "Whenever you want, Shinobu."

A tear slid down a pale cheek as the blond nodded. "Okay," he breathed as more tears slid through.

Miyagi then held the crying boy, letting him fully come to terms with the fact he could no longer see his loved ones again and be part of their lives. He couldn't visit them or randomly call them up or be able to spend holidays with them.

Soon Miyagi and Shinobu would be living hours away from here, building new lives for themselves. And with that decision made, he'd finally let go of his family for good, and the couple went ahead to start anew.

Miyagi got the job, Shinobu transferred to another top university, they got themselves a new apartment, and all was going well since they've arrived.

They didn't tell anybody where they had left to. Shinobu did not want his parents to know their address or new phone number for any reason. The only person who they had told was a friend Shinobu had in Australia. The blond figured that if his parents ever wanted to contact him again, it better be for something important. They would have to dig deep and look hard for any signs of where Shinobu and Miyagi might have fled to—if they were to go as far as to ask from one of Shinobu's Australia friends, then he figured it might be worth speaking to them again.

He was angered for not being accepted and that they did not even consider allowing him to be with Miyagi without fuss. He once thought that he was their son, which automatically entitled him to be supported no matter what. He'd been supported in his decision to go into law, move out into his own apartment, and even to go all the way to Australia when he was only fifteen. With what he was able to do in earlier years, Shinobu was surprised they didn't let him date who he wanted to.

Miyagi hadn't expected their relationship to be embraced with open arms but he did believe the Takatsuki parents' decision was a little much.

Even after they moved, Shinobu was still obviously upset. It pissed Miyagi off that the parents would allow this to happen to the boy they were supposed to love.

But Miyagi also hadn't forgotten about the reason they decided to come out with their relationship when they did. All the drama caused them to momentarily divert their attention to moving, but now that they were there and had settled, Miyagi thought maybe it was time to go ahead and do what the two of them wanted to do.

So Miyagi looked around for options about finding a surrogate mother, because Shinobu mentioned wanting their child to be blood related to one of them at least.

There were some surrogate attorneys around and Miyagi considered going in and find out more about it, but one night he was talking to a younger cousin on the phone who already knew of Miyagi and Shinobu's relationship and actually accepted it.

When he told her about how they wanted to adopt a kid, the phone nearly slipped from his hand when she offered to carry a baby for them.

"Wait, what?" the man asked dubiously. "You'd seriously do it for us?"

"Yeah, I would," she said. "It would be a lot more troublesome for a gay couple with such an age difference to go to one of those agencies. I want to support you two and this can make it a whole lot easier for you two."

"I... wow." Miyagi smiled earnestly. "Thank you so much, Kana."

The women muttered a 'no problem' and added, "The baby will also have blood ties to the both of you this way."

"I'll have to tell Shinobu about this and see how he'll feel about it," the professor said happily. He never thought his cousin would volunteer to do this for them and he'd seriously owe her big time if they actually go through with it. "I'll call you back later."

"Alright," she said. "Talk to you later, You."

She hung up and Miyagi set his cellphone down, already on his way to their shared bedroom where he knew was blond partner was resting.

He went in and closed the door behind him before sitting on the edge of the bed beside the blanketed lump of his lover. Miyagi tentatively ran a hand over the boy's arm and quietly cooed, "You awake, Shinobu-chin?"

He got a muffled Mm-hm in response yet no movement. The older man continued rubbing the boy soothingly, knowing the kid was probably sleepy.

"I was talking to Kana on the phone just now," he said. It had been a while since they were in Tokyo where they spoke of adopting so he thought tentatively for a moment, trying to come up with a way to word it properly. But it turned out he was also getting pretty tired so he settled for just saying it straight out. "She offered to carry our baby for us."

There was silence. Then a small, mumbled, "...What?"

"I mean..." The man scratched the back of his neck. "...If you still want us to raise a kid, that is." He honestly didn't know if all that previous drama had caused for Shinobu to change his mind. But if it did, then that would have been a whole lot of arguing and pain and heartbreak for nothing, mostly on Shinobu's part.

The blanket-coated form rolled onto his back and the professor watched the covers peel down a little, exposing a blond head and a pair of unreadable grey eyes. "Really?" the university student asked in disbelief. "...She'll do that for us?"

"That's what she told me," he said. "Unless she'll back down at the last second. But she's always been very supportive of us and-"

He grunted when Shinobu unexpectedly pounced him, sending the both of them into a tangled mess of bodies, limbs, and blankets on the floor.

Arms were locked around Miyagi's neck in a death grip, the boy's face buried into the professor's collarbone as the man supported himself on his elbows.

After the years being together, Miyagi's reflexes were getting a little bit better to prepare himself from Shinobu's sudden pounces, but he was never able to foresee them coming.

"Thank you, Miyagi," the blond murmured against his skin. "I want to. Thank you. And thank Kana..." He squeezed tighter, and maybe Miyagi would have been a bit concerned for the kid cutting off his breathing supply if he hadn't grown to love the feeling of being enveloped in Shinobu's love like this.

So he threaded his fingers through Shinobu's tresses and smiled as the younger one continued to utter words of appreciation into his neck.

Miyagi too was looking forward to raising a child together with Shinobu. After everything that had happened the last few months, it was definitely time for things to look up for them. Especially for Shinobu—Miyagi felt the blond deserved to be happy, and he wanted to be there to help grant him that.

Kana spent two and a half hours taking the train from the outskirts of Toyko all the way to Osaka about a few weeks later, when she was able to get away from her job as an elementary school teacher. They met her at the airport where she and Shinobu met for the first time in person. They all took some time to chat and discuss about surrogacy and Miyagi's relationship with Shinobu, before Kana left to stay with a couple of her friends nearby who wanted to take her in. Miyagi and Shinobu both offered her a room in their apartment, but she declined, saying she'd rather not impose on their living arrangements.

When they all felt ready, Shinobu provided her with several samples of his semen while she would religiously use a pregnancy test each time she used the bathroom.

After a week and a half, she got a positive and the pregnancy began.

During the first few weeks of the pregnancy, Shinobu regained his youthful spirit that Miyagi missed so much. He was constantly talking to Miyagi about the baby, what gender it might become, how they were going to raise it, baby names. Whenever he wasn't at his university or studying, he was persistently researching baby-related material on the internet or at the library.

Shinobu was to graduate university a few months before the baby was expected. While Miyagi was happy to see the boy's enthusiasm pertaining to their future child, he often felt obligated to tell him to put down the book of parenting tips and study for his upcoming law finals instead.

They often went to visit Kana or vice versa and Shinobu would be all over her. The two of them often talked and Shinobu insistently offered his newly acquired knowledge about things to avoid while pregnant, as well as things that would benefit her and the child. While Kana voicelessly agreed with Miyagi's claim that perhaps the blond was a little overprotective, she did like the boy and the two had many bonding moments.

But that of course meant that Miyagi was frequently the one left out of the conversations. All he could do was watch his beloved terrorist cling to another person, while he sat a little ways away to allow his head to chant, 'I am not jealous, I am not jealous, I am not jealous...'

At seven and a half weeks pregnant, it was time for Kana to have her first ultrasound. Both Miyagi and Shinobu came along with her, each wanting to witness signs of their baby's early life.

Shinobu was fascinated with the technology and the gunky liquid-ish stuff that was smeared all over the woman's stomach. Even before the doctor was able to begin, the boy was hounding her with a load of questions. When many of his inquiries had no answers yet—as the pregnancy was too early to reveal the baby's gender, the baby's appearance, and how the baby was going to change the world when adulthood hits—Shinobu was a little displeased, but decided not to fire the doctor just yet.

Miyagi was simply looking at anything elsewhere, desperately trying not to let on the fact that he had any sort of relationship with the impatient and determined young blond next to him.

The rest of the ultrasound went smoothly, like any regular ultrasound would, until the doctor abruptly paused in her actions and blinked.

Before Shinobu had the opportunity to leap off his seat and grab the woman by her coat to demand what was wrong with his baby, Miyagi quickly slapped his arm across the boy's lap to prevent mobility. The calm professor received a hard glare for the gesture, but Miyagi tried to ignore it, instead listening to what the doctor had to say.

"Congratulations," the middle-aged lady said mainly to Kana (the only one in the room who the doctor safely deemed sane). "You're carrying twins."

Miyagi and Shinobu were going to have twins.

As anyone would predict, Shinobu's obsessiveness towards his upcoming title as a father only dramatically increased. While his research shifted from parenting one child to parenting twins, he was also spending even more time around the pregnant woman to make sure she was taking care of herself to the utmost extent.

Miyagi was more than a little shocked to find out of their twins. He knew it would be difficult to raise one baby, but two seemed like madness. They were going to drain the life out of him and Miyagi wasn't certain whether his old age could deal with it or not.

He didn't voice his opinion to Shinobu however, as he was too busy enjoying the happy aura omitting from his lover. Just a couple months ago the boy was a depressed shadow, yet now he showed more enthusiasm each day than Miyagi could even remember. And Shinobu's excitement was reassuring for Miyagi; he could deal with two kids for Shinobu—as long as the two of them were together through it, the man would be willing to deal with anything. Especially if Shinobu continued to smile like he was right now.

Fourteen weeks into the pregnancy, it was time for Kana to get her second ultrasound. Shinobu was ecstatic for this one since they were finally going to be informed of the babies' genders. While Shinobu had no preference, knowing whether they will be boys or girls or both would make it easier for the blond to get names.

Miyagi was unable to go with the two since he had an important meeting during those hours. It annoyed him that he wouldn't be able to see them on the screen and see Shinobu's face when he finally discovers the genders. But the professor was still trying to build a solid reputation at his workplace since he was fairly new, and missing this meeting would lower his boss' opinion of his work habits by just that much. The boss was impressed by Miyagi so far and he wanted to keep it that way.

So when he arrived home, looking forward to Shinobu's babbling about every minor detail of how the ultrasound went, he was greeted by his young lover the moment the door cracked open.

"Miyagi!" The adorable blond already had his arms wrapped deathly tight around the professor's back.

"Shinobu," the older man responded, kicking the door shut behind him. He swiftly kissed the top of Shinobu's soft head as he returned to the embrace. "How did it go?"

Shinobu pulled back just enough to be able to look at his face, and Miyagi had to raise his brows at the broadest smile Shinobu sported during the whole pregnancy thus far.

"Miyagi, the ultrasound person was wrong the first time! We're not having twins!" the young adult said happily.

"What?" The professor was a little confused at his partner's exclaim. But he wanted Shinobu to continue.

"There's three!" The boy threw himself into Miyagi's chest once again, squeezing for all he was worth. "We're having triplets, Miyagi!"

"T-Triplets?" Miyagi's jaw fell and Shinobu cheerfully tilted his head to kiss it.

"Mmhm," the boy mumbled. "Two girls and a boy." The blond pulled away to kiss the dumbfounded man on the lips quickly.

"Whoa." The professor was almost at a loss for words while Shinobu began to nibble on his ear. "They're healthy?"

"Yup."

"And Kana?"

"Mmhm." The younger one went lower to suck and lick spots on his neck. "Everything's going well. Apparently one of the babies was hiding behind another during the first visit, or something like that. I have pictures too if you want to look at them."

"Ah." Miyagi ran a hand through Shinobu's hair and placed a long kiss to his temple, smiling into it. "Wow."

Pulling away from his lover, Shinobu half-heartedly frowned at him. "That's all you have to say about this?"

"Brat. This is a lot to take in, you know," Miyagi said, flicking his partner's forehead. Shinobu flinched at the gesture before muttering something about an old man under his breath. "When we first thought we were going to get twins, I was a little bit worried about how we were going to manage them," the man said earnestly. "But you were already working hard for them and I thought that we could handle multiples. So I think it's great we're going to raise another one."

As the pair shared a tender kiss among them. Shinobu hummed gently as they parted and murmured, "Good then. I can't wait until we'll be dads." The blond nuzzled against Miyagi's neck while rubbing his biceps and the professor adored Shinobu's love for cuddling.

"It'll be a lot of work," the man noted. "But it'll also be great to do this with you."

He felt Shinobu's grip on him tighten slightly and the professor could guess that his lover was blushing.

"So where are the ultrasound pictures you mentioned?"

"Look at them later," the blond mumbled, leaning up to kiss the man once more.

Miyagi responded to the lips and smiled a bit when Shinobu decided to add tongue to their lip-lock. The professor framed one of Shinobu's cheeks with a hand and looped his other around his waist to deepen it.

They broke it at the same time to be able to breathe once more. Shinobu was all flushed with reddened lips, as he said, "Let's do it, Miyagi..." He pressed his body into Miyagi's. "We won't have as much time when we become parents... We might as well make love as much as we can now while we can."

The professor chuckled at his partner's logic. But when Shinobu pulled him for another deep and passionate kiss, any retort he could think of flew away from his mind. He pushed the blond against the wall and ravished him until they heatedly made their way over to the bedroom and continued on from there.

The two did end up making enough love to provide for all of Japan during the next months leading to the delivery. But they were also devoted to prepared for their arrival, slowly purchasing everything they thought they'd need for triplets.

Shinobu graduated from university along the way, having done exceptionally well for someone who hadn't been studying as much as he should have, in Miyagi's opinion. Because they were expecting the babies only a month away at that time, Shinobu refrained from seeking a job in order to be able to stay home with their children.

Miyagi often teased him for being his little "house wifey," which had the blond flushing excessively each time, but both knew that Miyagi's job alone was easily able to provide for all of them.

Kana was looking massive during the final months. Since earning his degree, Shinobu had been devoted to ensuring her and the babies' safety, constantly by her side whenever Miyagi was at work. She once told him that she was perfectly fine and he should make better use of his time, but he merely gave her a look as though she was absolutely insane, and that was the last of that suggestion.

When her water broke two weeks earlier than expected, it was fortunate that Shinobu was with her. He immediately brought her out to his car and drove her to the hospital, where she was taken by medics to a her delivery room. Shinobu called Miyagi on his cellphone to inform his lover and the professor immediately asked his assistant to take over before nearly speeding over to the scene.

Kana had a Cesarian section preformed on her. Shinobu and Miyagi decided to stay in the room with her to give support, as well as to see their births.

Shinobu, again, was fascinated. Though this time, when he unexpectedly caught a glimpse of the woman's insides, he went a little bit pale and his jaw tightened. Miyagi had to suppress a laugh at his lover's face.

But soon one screaming baby was pulled out of the open stomach. Then another, then a third one. They were covered head to toe in mucus and Kana's bodily fluids, while their faces contorted as they shrieked almost painfully loud.

It was captivating and mesmerizing, which almost made the two fathers want to protest as a nurse took them away.

Kana looked well. Actually completely normal as though her stomach wasn't just split open three newborns weren't just extracted from her body. She was just laying there, appearing completely content with everything that was going on.

And when Miyagi and Shinobu were finally allowed to hold the newborns—each taking a girl while Kana held the boy for them—they were at a loss for words and the ability to even think straight. They were dads; after everything they had gone through, the sacrifices they made, they were rewarded with these three beautiful babies that they would care for and love for the rest of their lives. They felt privileged to have these children and felt that everything was well worth it.

Miyagi smiled fondly when the baby girl's fingers curled gently around his much larger one when he put it close to her. Her hair, what little there was of it, was a light colour and her eyes were a dark grey; Miyagi adored how the two girls were looking closer to Shinobu right now, while his own family were all ebony-heads with dark blue or violet eyes.

Their son's hair was a tad darker, but still looked relatively light, and his eyes were also dark. All three of the babies looked flawless to the older parent and he could tell Shinobu thought the same.

"Shinobu-chin," the professor said, getting his partner to look up at him.

"Old man," the blond said, trying to look displeased, but really couldn't due to the sheer happiness from holding one of their kids for the very first time. "I'm a parent now," he declared proudly. "You shouldn't refer to me with that childish nickname anymore." He was stroking their daughter's blond hair fuzz the whole time, and the image was beyond precious for Miyagi.

Grinning, the professor responded, "Fair enough."

They smiled fondly at one another before leaning close for a kiss—which Kana was already used to witnessing—before pulling back to ogle their babies some more.

After a moment of teasing the young girl with his finger, Miyagi asked, "So what are their names again?"

Shinobu smiled broadly and responded, gesturing from the baby he held, to the baby Miyagi held, and to the baby Kana held.

"Rin, Yoko, and Kaito."

It was a lot of work. For a week straight, it was next to impossible for either of them to get a moment's worth of sleep. One baby would begin crying, and that would set off the other two. Miyagi and Shinobu both anticipated the raising of triplets to be straining, and first hand experience verus simply reading about it were two entirely different things.

They were lucky that their neighbours were friendly and adored the kids. A couple of them wanted to help at times and even when it wasn't for a long time, the couple was quick to accept any helpful gestures.

Kana stayed in their apartment during the first five months to breastfeed and assist. It was obvious that she was also completely drained from the constant screams for attention.

But as time progressed, they were getting the hang of it. The couple argued and fought from time to time when they were both completely exhausted and stressed out. But they always put each other's needs first and foremost, and since Shinbou was the one who was at home mostly, Miyagi always made sure to let him know how much he appreciated the young male and everything he did for the family.

Kana left Osaka when the triplets were five months old; she had to return to her job. Miyagi and Shinobu then had to switch to using baby formula to feed them, which was more work for the two but it couldn't have been helped.

They continued to take care of the babies for five years until it was time for the three of them to begin kindergarten. Shinobu was a little bit reluctant to let go of them for any amount of time, but Miyagi, being the professor he was, kept having to convince his protective lover that it was important for their children to receive education.

So reluctantly, Shinobu decided it was also time for him to make use of his law degree and found a job as an associate lawyer. He hoped to someday upgrade into a full fledged criminal lawyer.

They were lucky that a young couple with a son the same age as their twins moved into the apartment next door. The parents were absolutely fascinated by Miyagi and Shinobu's family—two men with an age difference, raising triplets together was something they'd never seen before. The two families befriended each other which worked out wonderfully since they were willing to put up with the triplets when neither Miyagi or Shinobu was available to pick them up after school.

Everything was working out perfectly. They were all happy, the kids were healthy, and their jobs treated them well.

But then one day during the beginning of their holiday break, while the triplets were at the neighbour's place, there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah, hold on," a twenty eight year old Shinobu grumbled, tossing his panda apron off onto the couch. Messing up his hair a bit, he slaughtered over to the door with a yawn and swung the door open.

He looked at the three people staring back at him and the blond immediately tensed up.

"What are you people doing here?" he snarled venomously.

"Shinobu," his mother said, almost longingly. He looked as though she were about to tear up, seeing her youngest child for the first time in roughly six years. Next to her was her husband—Shinobu's father and Miyagi's ex-boss—and on the other side of him was Risako. "Shinobu, listen-"

"I don't want to hear it!" the man yelled, backing up a few feet. "You people all banished me away. I don't want anything more to do with you!" His anger was flaring at a rapid rate and each second he spent looking at his ex-relatives—his mother's seemingly emotional state, his father's typical business-like demenour, and Risako appearing similar to his mother—Shinobu felt more pissed and very conflicted.

He heard footsteps coming up from behind him and his lover's voice after. "Shinobu, what's going on?" When Miyagi came close enough to see his ex-boss and ex-wife, he was a little stunned, but continued over to Shinobu's side and placed a comforting hand around his precious partner's waist.

The professor considered at least greeting the Takatsukis, since he was not about to bow, even regardless of their statuses, but he harboured negative feelings towards these three. He could still remember all the pain they put Shinobu through prior to their three wonderful kids. Normally he was a pretty lenient towards forgiving other people, but when they'd done something to put Shinobu through such a rough time, he wasn't about to forget everything and befriend them all again.

So Miyagi didn't say anything to the three; he merely waited for them to tell the couple why they decided to suddenly show their faces, all the while granting them an icy stare.

Shinobu wasn't so patient and demanded bitterly, "Well? What business do you have with Miyagi and I?"

His father groaned, rubbing his hair back with his large hand, and said, "May we come in, son?"

"Son?! I'm not your son," the blond sneered spitefully. "Why would we let you come into our home when you kicked us away from yours? Don't expect me to forgive you guys!"

This time, Risako spoke up. "Shinobu, we spent weeks trying to figure out how to contact you and it took us an hour to fly over here," she said tiredly.

"I don't want to see you guys," Shinobu muttered, hands balled up into fists. "There isn't anything worth talking about."

The oldest Takatsuki frowned at the youngest. "Don't be unreasonable with us," he said.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Shinobu ground out, "You were with us those years ago."

Miyagi squeezed his lover once, peering down at him. "We should see what they have to say."

Shinobu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to help calm his nerves a little. He remembered what he and Miyagi discussed years ago when they first moved, that if his family actually managed to put enough effort to contact them, then they would listen to them rationally. They made it challenging on purpose, being very careful about the only few people they'll tell their address to.

So with a huff, Shinobu turned and walked towards the kitchen with a curt, "Come in," muttered over his shoulder.

Miyagi shut the front door after the Takatsukis stepped in and took off their shoes. He wordlessly lead them to the living area, and when he peered over, he could see Shinobu in the kitchen preparing tea.

The ebony-haired man sat down after setting aside the ruffled apron Shinobu had previously tossed and was relieved when Shinobu joined him soon after.

"Waiting for water to boil," he grumbled, scowling fixedly on his lap.

"You don't have to go through the trouble," Mr. Takatsuki said, sitting up straighter, across from the two lovers.

"It's fine." Shinobu sighed, evidently not relaxed about the situation. "So what did you guys want?" he asked.

"Well," the elder man began, "You're already aware of what our views on your relationship with Miyagi-kun were."

Shinobu noticeably tensed, which had Miyagi looping an arm around him once more. "If you came here to lecture me about that then you all can just leave and-"

"Shinobu, sweetie, we heard that you have a child," he mother calmly cut in.

Glowering, the blond unnoticeably gripped the fabric of Miyagi's pants between them. "What about it?"

Mr. Takatsuki spoke again. "If you have a child—our grandchild—we would have liked to have been informed."

"You said I'm not a part of your family anymore," Shinobu explained. "If you didn't accept me, then it was granted you wouldn't accept children from Miyagi and I."

Mrs. Takatsuki shook her head. "We don't know much about how to two of you got a child, or if he or she is even related to us by blood, but if you became a father, Shinobu, then we would have appreciated it if you'd told us." She sighed dejectedly. "You know how I've always wanted grandchildren."

Risako pretended to ignore the sad glance casted towards her.

"How did you even find out?" Shinobu inquired with skepticism lacing his words.

Mr. Takatsuki replied, "I overhead Kamijou on the phone one day and he briefly mentioned that Miyagi-kun was a father. Of course, I doubted that the two of you were still together..."

Shinobu looked deadly.

"...But I had to make sure, so later on I asked Kamijou himself about it. Unfortunately he wasn't very informative—the only thing he told me was that you two are indeed still together, but he refused to shed light on any of my other questions."

Hiroki was the only other person (along with Nowaki), aside from Shinobu's Australian friend, that they shared their address and phone number with. There was this one incident when three-year old Yoko looked pretty sick one night, and Shinobu was busy freaking out about it. Miyagi decided to call up his ex-coworker and speak to Hiroki's "husband" for some insight, recalling the fact that he was studying to specialize in children doctor stuff.

Shortly afterwards, Miyagi invited the couple to visit them. He honestly didn't expect Hiroki to accept, but it seemed that the brunet missed the professor more than he'd admit. Or at least that was what Miyagi liked to think.

Hiroki knew of what happened to Miyagi and Shinobu, and, being in a committed same-sex relationship himself, he was disappointed in the Dean. That was why he agreed to Shinobu's request of not telling the Takatsukis anything about them. Shinobu had to grant some respect to the brunet for that and actually following through with it.

"Well, Miyagi and I are fathers," Shinobu confirmed. "If that is all, then you are welcomed to leave."

"I want to meet my niece," Risako suddenly said. "...Or nephew," she added, trying to glance around the apartment. Toy cars left on the floor and colouring books on the coffee table were evidence of the kids' existance, but she did not spot a little person anywhere. "Where is he or she?"

"None of your business," the blond responded.

"Did you adopt?" Mrs. Takatsuki asked curiously.

When Risako and Shinobu began to bicker back and forth, as though they were still children themselves, Miyagi responded to the lady instead. "My cousin offered to deliver for us. Shinobu would be the biological father but we both have blood connections."

"I see." Mrs. Takatsuki asked, "May we meet our grandchild?"

"Absolutely not!" Shinobu interjected, cutting away from his little feud with his elder sister.

His mother blinked at her son's harsh bluntness. Her husband merely frowned. "And why would that be?" he inquired stiffly.

The blond's fisted hand in Miyagi's pants' fabric tightened with determination. "I don't want any kids Miyagi and I may have to be exposed to your narrow-minded opinions. And after breaking me apart from your family, you have no business to be dealing with my own that we've been working so hard for," Shinobu ground out. It was difficult, seeing his loved ones after six years of no contact. A part of him wanted to despise the three of them, but another part, the one that had been under their care for his entire childhood, wanted nothing more than to make amends and become part of their lives again.

But then he'd think back on the absolute rejection, and horrible words they'd uttered towards the love Shinobu had for Miyagi and vice versa. With their contrasting opinions and values, the blond wondered if it would be absolutely impossible to truly be their son again.

And it pained him much more than he'd ever want to admit.

Mrs. Takatsuki appeared torn between being sad or angery at the blond's automatic, rash decision. "Shinobu, we only want to see and offer our support for our grandchild. And we've also been thinking—"

"Yeah, wonderful, support them and not your own son!" Shinobu yelled, severely distressed. He forced himself not to show signs of weakness—shove back the tears—though it was difficult. "What would you do if one of them suddenly turns out to be a homosexual in the future? What if one of them chooses not to pursue post-secondary education in order to join a rock band, or wants to marry someone of a completely different cultural background? Would you abruptly reject one, try to erase him or her from your family, and continue to support the other two until they too show their own terrible natures?!"

He bit back a sob that almost broke through and used a sleeve to wipe away the wetness from his eyes. Miyagi brought an arm around the smaller man's shoulder and pulled him to gently lean against him, soothingly rubbing his bicep.

"I can tell—you would all spoil them and constantly tell them you love them for years as they grow older, trying to mold them into your perfect images of perfect grandkids. And then the moment one of them decides to come out and honestly reveal something different about themself, you'll immediately toss away your recognition of them as human beings and continue to pamper the other ones until they too becomes completely honest. It would be as though they never existed to you people." The blond shuttered and Miyagi kissed his temple, uncaring about their gaping spectators. "I don't want my kids to go through that kind of suffering... for simply being themselves...!"

Nobody said anything as Shinobu tried putting himself back together, calming his breathing and wiping away the tears. The other Takatsukis were stunned into silence and Miyagi continued to comfort his beloved.

"...We didn't come here to criticize you two anymore," Mrs. Takatsuki spoke. "We've actually been doing a lot of contemplating and thinking, until the idea of you two together isn't as bad as it once sounded. We want to try and bond more with you, Shinobu, and see for ourselves how you two suit each other."

When Shinobu was about say something, his grey eyes widened at the sound of small, impatient knocks from the front door.

Shinobu shot out of his seat, gaping in the direction the sounds came from. He knew it was his children returning from their next door neighbour's place.

Miyagi, still seated on the sofa, gently touched Shinobu's hand and asked him, "Do you want me to—"

"No," Shinobu interrupted, wiping his cheeks once more for good measure. "I'll get it." He briefly squeezed Miyagi's hand in his before heading towards the door.

"What did Shinobu mean when he said things like 'they' or 'one of them'?" Mr. Takstsuki asked the professor. But Miyagi didn't answer, too busy trying to peer over at his partner in his emotional state, greeting their kids.

Once Shinobu opened the door, out of view from everyone else, he couldn't prevent himself from smiling at the view of his five-year olds smiling back at him.

He crouched down to become eye level with them and ruffled their hair, one by one. "Hey," he said affectionately. "How was your visit?"

"Daddy," Rin said, smile falling off her tender little face, concern etching her features. "Why are you crying?"

Yoko observed her younger dad closer and she too ceased smiling, instead looking worried for her dad. Kaito tried to suppress his concern, but also looked a bit troubled by Shinobu's display of sadness.

Though Shinobu knew his eyes were watery, he was hoping none of them would notice. He smiled bigger to reassure them that all was well and they shouldn't worry themselves over it. "I'm alright," he said, petting back Rin and Yoko's hair. Kaito was a little bit less affectionate, already starting to conform to the belief that men shouldn't express too much emotion, so Shinobu refrained from touching him as much as the girls. "I'm not sad, so place don't be worried about it."

"...Okay," Rin said hesitantly. "But here's a kiss to make you happy, just in case." The girl quickly leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Shinobu's lips. Upon seeing her sister's actions, Yoko also hastily leaped forward and pecked Shinobu's lips quickly herself.

Rin was the first one to be born and took it upon herself to be almost like a leader of the trio. Yoko was the youngest and most timid, who'd often follow her older sister around, trying to be more assertive. Kaito just didn't care—he was often in his own little world and often wandered off, away from the other two. Shinobu and Miyagi often left a closer eye on him whenever they went out.

When Yoko detached herself from her dad, Shinobu smiled at the three again before gathering them all in his arms and pecking each of their heads lovingly. The girls giggled while Kaito squirmed, and soon the blond pulled away. He felt a large hand on his shoulder, indicating that Miyagi came and was standing behind him.

"We have guests inside right now," the young man explained. "When you come inside, make sure you act nicely and behave." He turned his attention to the dark-haired boy. "That means you too, Kaito."

He got a small pout in response but it vanished when Miyagi leaned over and scooped the young boy up in his arms. Kaito tried suppressing a giggle when Miyagi latched a big kiss on his cheek while Shinobu grabbed each girls' hands in his own.

"We'll be good," Rin promised. Yoko eagerly bobbed her up and down in mutual agreement.

Miyagi went into the Takatsukis' view first, with Kaito carried against himself. The family stood upon seeing the small child and was about to relish the fact that they had a beautiful grandson, until Shinobu also followed behind with the two girls joining hands with him.

The couple saw matching blank looks overtake each of their faces, eyes darting from Kaito, to Rin, and to Yoko, then repeat.

Kaito raising a sceptical brow at them, uncaring if he appeared rude in any form, while Yoko felt a little intimidated under their stares and pressed closer to Shinobu's leg. Rin was comfortable and simply waiting for someone to do or say something.

Risako swallowed and finally broke the silence. "Are they... triplets?"

Shinobu nodded his confirmation and gestured to each of the daughters. "This is Rin and this is Yoko."

"And this troublemaker is Kaito," Miyagi interjected, bouncing the small boy in his arms once to startle him. The boy yelped and flushed embarrassed before the two of them playfully exchanged childish scowls at one another.

"Those are your grandparents," Shinobu said to the young kids.

Risako promptly exaggerated a cough.

"...And your aunt," the blond reluctantly added with a huff.

"...Grandma and grandpa?" Rin cocked her head to the side, some of her dark blond hair falling in front of her shoulder.

Yoko blinked. "Auntie," whispered.

"Yeah." Shinobu let go of their hands and pat their backs for encouragement. "You two should go over and say hello."

The two women stepped forward and opened their arms for the girls to run into. Rin went up and hugged Mrs. Takatsuki first, as Shinobu had expected, and Yoko soon after slowly walked into Risako's arms with brief hesitance, and looped her arms around the woman's neck.

Miyagi went up to his ex-boss with Kaito and asked, "Would you like to hold him?"

Even though Kaito was frowning at the old man, Mr. Takatsuki accepted and Miyagi transferred the boy to the other man's arms, despite the protest from the small boy.

Shinobu plopped down on the couch again and his partner joined him, stretching an arm around him, while their kids conversed with some of their family members for the first time.

Miyagi tenderly kissed his lover's cheek. "It's good you're letting them all communicate like this," he said.

The blond sighed in response as he leaned against his partner and kissed his lips, which Miyagi was quick to respond to. "I didn't want to take away our kids' privilege to know their own relatives."

"They're so cute," Risako said as she squeezed Yoko again for the umpteenth time. Each time the girl made so much as the tiniest sound or movement, Risako swooned and felt immediate pride in being the aunt of such adorable kids.

Mrs. Takatsuki was listening to Rin brightly talk about how kindergarten was going and things she'd learned. The woman marveled at the maturity in such a young child, though Shinobu was always convinced that his daughter's intelligence was a gift from Miyagi's side of the family.

"This one's a brat." Mr. Takatsuki and Kaito was under an intense staring competition. Or at least that was what it appeared like, though under closer inspection, Kaito was blatantly glaring at the old man as the Dean was struggling to find a way to break the kid's sternness. But eventually he just straight out asked the kid, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why shouldn't I look at you like this?" the boy instantly counteracted.

Shinobu snorted, internally feeling very proud of his son, but received an elbow to the gut from Miyagi.

The Dean didn't let a five-year old deter him. "Because you're not supposed to give people those kinds of looks."

"Actually," the boy said bratily, "There's no rules for it. Which means there's no right or wrong way for people at look at each other. You're the one who has a problem with it," he concluded on his own.

"Kaito," Miyagi warned. The kid certainly had a bit of an attitude and the professor never had a doubt in his mind as to where he'd gotten it from.

Instead of disapproving of the child's front as Miyagi had expected, the Dean laughed and said, "He's just like Shinobu when he was this age."

That definitely confirmed Miyagi's theory, not that he really needed it. The man smirked at his lover in victory, which got a muttered "shut up" in return.

Mrs. Takatsuki let Rin run off to join her sister and Risako and sat down on the other side of Shinobu.

"We would really be happy if you forgave us, Shinobu," his mother said. "I've missed you dearly—we all have. I've thought back on it many times, and I realize that the world is changing. Gay couples are becoming more accepted, and while your relationship with Miyagi is still one people don't see everyday, you two clearly complement one another. You two have raised such beautiful kids," she said admiringly.

Shinobu said nothing, observing his kids conversing with his dad and sister, large smiles on their faces (except maybe for Kaito's, but Shinobu could tell when the kid was concealing it.)

"Will you forgive us for our foolish decisions, Shinobu? We want to become closer to you and compensate for the last six years, if you'll allow us to."

When his mother held his hand in hers, Shinobu turned his gaze to her and swiftly found sincerity in her eyes.

He then shifted his gaze back down to his lap, and gave a small nod to her. Miyagi smiled and kissed his head.

"Guys!" Shinobu called, panda apron tied around his waist, wooden spoon clutched tightly in his hand. "Come over here so we can bake! Your aunt and grandparents will be here in an hour!"

From his spot at the fridge, searching for something small to snack on, Miyagi quirked a brow on his partner. "You're baking?"

Shinobu smirked a little mischievously to his older beloved. "Since it's Christmas today, I am going to teach our kids how to make the most delicious holiday sugar cookies," he said determinedly. "Our son and daughters will be masters in the kitchen by the time they become adults."

"Ah..." Somehow, Miyagi wasn't totally convinced. "You do realize that you've never made decent cookies before in your life, don't you?"

The younger man flushed—he never lost his tendency to do that, ever since he was a teenager. "That's beside the point! Because they're starting off learning at a young age, they'll certainly become amazing at it!"

"...Maybe I better stand by and supervise." Miyagi knew the blond would never do anything to purposefully harm their kids, but he still feared their kids' safety in such a situation. Shinobu plus a kitchen can equal death.

"Guys!" Shinobu bellowed even louder, finally hearing the pitter-patter of small footsteps approaching. Rin and a pouting Yoko came into view, and the older girl immediately began to whine.

"Kaito won't give Yoko back her Pikachu stuffie she got from auntie Risako!" Rin complained, gesturing madly in the direction Shinobu presumed Kaito was in.

Yoko nodded, furrowing her brows at her brother's mean ways.

"Kaito, put the Pikachu down and come bake with us!" he said, plopping a canister if sugar and a mixing bowl in front of the two girls.

When the boy with messy, black hair came into view, he and Yoko exchanged dirty looks.

"Kiss and make up, guys," Miyagi teasing, munching on a muffin as he leaned against the fridge.

"I don't like it when Kaito keeps taking my things," Yoko said, while Shinobu instructed Rin how to measure the correct amount of sugar.

"Kaito, stop bothering your sister on purpose," Miyagi said.

"Actually," the kid said. God, Miyagi couldn't wait until the boy stopped using that word—it was as though the little brat just loved telling people they're wrong. "I didn't take it from Yoko. She left it on the floor and I simply wanted to see it."

"I left it to go pee and when I came back, you wouldn't give it back," his sister squeaked.

"Oops." Rin looked guilty when she spilled sugar onto the floor. "Sorry!"

"It's alright," Shinobu said, standing up to get a broom. "I do that all the time."

Miyagi looked more than a little worried—it only crossed his mind now that their infants may have inherited Shinobu's God-awful cooking skills.

Kaito looked over at the mixing bowl and measuring cup and furrowed his brows. "What are you doing?" he asked, plucking the glass measuring cup in his hand. "This is for liquid measures! Sugar is dry—you're using the wrong thing."

Miyagi rose a brow.

"What?" Shinobu came over with a broom. "There's no difference."

"Actually," Kaito said, while Miyagi cringed. "It's easier to measure it off in the right measuring cup. It will be more accurate."

"...Fine then," Shinobu grumbled.

Miyagi was a little bit stunned, watching his son try and find a dry measuring cup. He knew the boy often enjoyed watching cooking shows on TV and the internet... but the professor never actually thought the bored-looking boy was actually committing any of it to memory.

Maybe there was hope for an actual good cook to emerge from the household.

'Hallelujah!' Miyagi cheered inwardly as Shinobu cleaned up the sugar mess on the floor.

They continued to measure, mix, and finally bake the cookies. It went pretty rocky, but both Miyagi and Kaito worked to stabilize the situation, even though sugar cookies were just about one of the most basic things to make. It turned out that Rin and Yoko were absolutely horrendous when it came to baking—which Kaito so generously let them know very clearly. They would have been overdone or burnt if Kaito hadn't kept a strict watch on signs of completion while they were in the oven.

When it came to decorating the cookies with frosting afterwards, Rin and Kaito were both terrible at it. Yoko, however, came up with such creative ways to frost and managed to be gentle and steady with the pipe bag.

When everything was finished, Rin was a little bit grumpy and embarrassed for being the only triplet who couldn't contribute much.

'Wow,' Miyagi thought, stroking his chin, 'So we have an intellect, a cook, and an artist.' He was already feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, harbouring very father-like proud feelings towards his kids.

When the other Takatsukis arrived, they were warmly greeted by the two female triplets. They brought dinner themselves but were excited to taste the cookies that the kids made for them. Kaito tried stealing all the credit to himself in the baking department, though Yoko insisted that both she and Rin were the ones who added the nice designs.

All of them proceeded to eat and bond, afterwards simply hanging around the living area. While Risako obsessed over the kids, the rest talked about things such as work or how things are in Osaka or Toyko, which carried through until it was time for them to leave.

Shinobu felt good about how everything turned out between them and his family. He was glad that his kids got to have more relatives and his parents were able to accept his and Miyagi's relationship. The blond even tried kissing Miyagi gently in the lips in front of them to test their reaction. While Rin and Yoko each squealed about "eww-they're kissing!" nobody else showed any signs of being bothered by it, and Shinobu felt grateful for that

He felt confident that there was going to be many more peaceful visits from his family from that day onward.

AN: Based on how my English Lit teacher's sister got pretty much erased from her own family when she decided to live with a Caucasian man, when her parents held strict, traditional Chinese values.

Hope this was alright, though I did scramble a bit near the end when I was running out of time.