The toddler thought about it for a moment.
"Geen!" she announced. Kira laughed a little and carried her to the kitchen.
******
"Shinji!" Eiro knocked loudly on his brother's front door but recieved no answer. He backed up slightly, peering at all the windows, hoping to see one of them lit up in the soft, dusky light.
Nothing.
"Shit!" He glanced down at his watch. Lucifer was a good ten minutes ahead of him. More than enough time...Eiro gave a start. Of course, time. Shinji and Rei always took a walk in the park at this time.
Unfurling his huge black wings, he took off towards the park.
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Sure enough, when he got to the park, he could see Shinji and Rei walking hand in hand.
He landed on the ground, running towards the pair.
"Shinji! Rei!" He skidded to a halt, eyes wide. Lucifer had just appeared in front of the two.
Shinji blinked at Lucifer. "What do you want?"
"Well, Ikari Shinji--"
"Shinji!" The man turned his head, blinking fast at his brother. Eiro marched over to Lucifer, grabbing him by the back of his neck and yanking him away.
"OUCH! That hurts, Eiro!"
"What would you know about human pain, Lucifer?"
Lucifer's eyes flashed.
"What would I know? Unlike the damn angels, I see the souls when they're broken, barely souls at all. For one sin, they're punished for a lifetime. I've seen what it does to the people they leave on earth. Do NOT accuse me of not knowing what humans go through when they loose someone."
Rei spoke up then. "If the three of you could stop fighting..."
Shinji glanced at his wife then looked at Lucifer.
"What are you proposing?"
"Shinji--!"
"Shut up, Eiro," he said. "I'm not agreeing to anything yet and I believe I'm an adult. If I want to hear him out, that's exactly what I'm going to do." He looked back to Lucifer. "Well?"
"What I'm proposing is to make you and your children demons. DESPITE what Eiro thinks," he added quickly, cutting off the angel when he opened his mouth, "I won't be taking your souls when I do it."
"What exactly to you mean by making us demons?" Rei's red eyes fixed on Lucifer.
"Easy. I take your humanity and give you MY wings. You'll be immortal, just like the angels of heaven, but you won't be able to be in heaven."
"I see."
"Lucifer, I won't let you--" Eiro started in a hard voice.
"Eiro...shut up," Shinji said again.
Rei turned to her brother-in-law. "I know you want to keep us safe, but this is our decision."
"Why are you willing to do this for us?" Shinji asked.
"I have my reasons."
"We'd appreciate if you elaborated on that, Lucifer."
"I already told you the main reason: it'll save you all a lot of pain later on."
"But thats not all of it."
"No. But that's the only reason you should concern yourself with."
"Is that so? I don't agree."
"It's a simple question: do you want to be immortal or not? If not, just say so and I'll leave."
Rei murmured to Shinji, low enough that neither Lucifer nor Eiro could hear.
He leaned close to his wife, squeezing her hand.
She gave him a smile and nodded slightly.
He nodded as well, giving her a quick, soft kiss before turning back to Lucifer.
"Alright."
"Shinji--"
"We'll do it," he added, giving Eiro a hard glare. Lucifer smiled a little.
"Very well."
"What do we have to do?" Rei asked.
"It's simple, really, and quite painless." A dagger made from pitch black stone appeared in his hand along with a silver goblet. "A little sip of my blood is all you need."
"Well, thats certainly less than sanitary..." Rei smiled slightly.
"Just be glad I'm not turning you into fallen angels; that involves chopping off your wings with this thing." He held up the dagger.
"Shinji...you don't have to do this," Eiro said quietly. His brother smiled slightly.
"I know that. But we want to." After a moment, Eiro nodded, glancing at Lucifer.
"So help me, Lucifer...if you even touch their souls..."
"I know, I know. You'll rip off my wings and shove them down my throat. It's always the same threat." He smiled a little. "Well then, let's get this underway, shall we?" He thrust the goblet into Eiro's hands to hold, poising the dagger above his wrist.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cold wind blew up. Lucifer gasped and leapt backwards just as a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of him.
"Lucifer! What the HELL are you doing?!" Everyone looked up as a young boy with black hair and eyes appeared.
Rei blinked her eyes at him. "Who is this?"
"Miki. What are you doing here?" Lucifer said, a little sneer on his face.
"You know the rules, Lucifer. You aren't allowed to make demons from humans."
"Too bad. They already agreed."
"Wait a moment. What do you mean?"
Miki looked over at the older pair, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me the brother of one of my most prized angels really just agreed to enter a contract with the devil?"
"'Your' most prized angel?"
He pointed over his shoulder at Eiro who's eyes were very wide.
"Who the hell are you?" Shinji demanded. Lucifer laughed a little.
"Isn't it obvious? He's the ruler of heaven."
"But I thought that was God."
"That's who I am," Miki said, rolling his eyes. "Do you really think I could appear in my true form in front of you two? You humans would go blind just from trying to look at me."
"SHE'S like me," Lucifer said. "She likes to go around in a guise so as not to be recognized. Even so, what brings you down from your high cloud, you little twerp?" Miki narrowed his eyes and Lucifer skipped backward as another lightning bolt struck the ground in front of him.
"Watch it, Lucifer, or so help me."
Rei smiled. "I see. What exactly is the problem?"
"The problem is I cannot allow Lucifer to turn two humans into demons. He knows the rules."
"They already agreed to it, Miki. I win," Lucifer said with a scowl. Miki gave him an ironic smile.
"Not if I make them angels, you don't."
"You'd do that?"
"Well I have to, don't I? If I don't, you'll just enter a contract with him and I can't allow that."
"Why not?"
"For one, Lucifer knows he's not supposed to be turning live humans into demons. What he does with the souls in hell...that's his business."
"I see."
"Also...for the brother of one of my angels to be a demon...unthinkable. It will taint my angels."
"'It will taint my angels,'" Lucifer repeated in a mocking tone. He scuttled backwards again to avoid another lightning bolt. "Damnit, Miki! Knock it off!"
"Then keep your damn mouth shut for once."
"He has a point, Lucifer."
"Don't agree with the midgit. That just makes it worse!"
"Lucifer, I'll chain you back to the lake of fire again." Lucifer stuck out his tongue in answer. "So then." He turned his attention to Shinji and Rei. "You two will become angels."
Rei smiled up at Shinji. "Sounds like a good idea."
He squeezed her hand.
"What about our children?"
"Of course they'll become angels as well. I wouldn't just change you two. It'll be up to your children on whether or not they want their partners to be angels as well."
Rei smiled at Shinji again. "I suppose its an idea..."
Shinji glanced at Lucifer then back at Miki.
"Alright. We'll become angels then." Miki smiled and snapped his fingers. A glowing circle suddenly appeared around the couple, exploding in a shower of light. They fell to their knees with small cries of pain as identical silver wings burst from their shoulders. After another few moments, the circle disappeared and the wings remained.
"You cannot have pure white wings because only pure born angels can have such things. Black wings are only held by angels on the border of good and evil, such as Eiro or Sammael. Silver is reserved for humans who are granted angelic status," Miki said. Lucifer snorted.
"You didn't have to do the whole flashy bit with the glowing circle."
"You won't dodge another lightning bolt, Lucifer. Watch it."
"Thank you, Miki..." Rei smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
He grinned boyishly at her.
"You're welcome, Rei-chan."
Rei smiled, then turned to her husband. "You look nice with those wings."
"You don't look too bad yourself." He ran a hand down her cheek. "You look like your ninteen again."
She flushed. "Liar."
"No, I'm not." He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss.
She kissed him back and caressed his face.
"Ug. This is almost sickening to watch." Lucifer's words broke their kiss. When they looked back, they saw that Miki had slipped away and it was just the four of them once more.
"You know, if you don't like it, you CAN leave, Lucifer." Shinji hugged his wife to him.
"I guess I don't have a choice. Can't make you demons now." Lucifer shrugged, his wings disappearing. To everyone's surprise, he didn't sound the least bit upset or disgruntled.
"Lucifer..." Eiro said quietly. "Did you...did you plan this?" The man smiled slightly at him, dipping his head.
"We're even now." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Shinji blinked at his brother. "What did he mean by that?"
Eiro shook his head a little.
"I don't know. Lucifer does things his own way and if you ever try to get him to explain it..." He gestured to the spot where he'd been standing. "He poofs."
Shinji nodded. "Well, I suppose we should finish our walk."
Eiro nodded.
"I'll leave you to it then. Though you might want to put those away." He gestured to their wings.
"Oh...right...how exactly do we do that?"
"Just concentrate."
Rei closed her eyes and after a moment, her wings were gone. "That was easy!"
Shinji mimiked his wife and a second later, his wings too faded.
"Well, that's convienent," he said, smiling.
She smiled and they resumed their walk.
***
"I'm home," Eiro called as he shut the front door behind him.
Kira came out of the kitchen with Himeko. The toddler was covered in green drips. "We need to work on her neatness skills," Kira said with a smile.
"PAPA!" Himeko stretched towards Eiro.
He laughed a little and took her from her mother.
"Nah. She's cuter when she's messy." He blew a raspberry against her cheek, making her shriek and giggle.
Kira laughed a little. "I take it things went well?"
"Shinji and Rei, along with all of our nieces and nephews are angels now."
Kira blinked, then smiled. "Well... Nice to know Miki cares."
Eiro looked at her quickly.
"Wait...you know Miki?"
Kira smiled. "Yes, dear. He actually stopped by to visit me after I had the boys. He was quite happy to see them, you know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked." Kira kissed him lightly on the cheek. "He asked me not to mention it to you then. You were still a little fragile, I think he thought you might get upset and think he was meddling or something."
He opened his mouth to protest then shut it after a second.
"You're right, I probably would have."
"He was as happy as either of us that things had worked out, Eiro. He was especially pleased to see our sons."
"Our sons? Why those two?"
"Because, baka," she hit him lightly on the shoulder. "They were the first children we had for no other reason than love." She smiled softly at him.
"You shouldn't hit me while I'm holding a green gremlin," Eiro said, holding out their giggling daughter.
Kira laughed and took her daughter. "Hey, you. Is it bath time?"
"Bath!" she repeated happily, wiggling in her mother's arms.
Kira laughed and started for the stairs.
Eiro caught her around the waist, kissing her cheek.
"I'll do it," he said, lifting Himeko over her head and setting her on his broad shoulders. "You go relax for a while."
Kira smiled at him, shaking her head. "Alright." She sashayed upstairs to their room.
He watched her go before smiling up at his daughter.
"Come on, gremlin. Bath then bed."
"Bath! No bed!" She giggled.
"Ah, no negotiations on this point, missy." He lifted her off his shoulders, sitting her on the bathroom counter.
"NO BED," she repeat emphatically.
"Himeko," Eiro said in a very serious voice.
She looked up at him with big blue eyes. "Hai, Papa?" She looked so cute and innocent.
And, damnit, even after all these years and many children later...he STILL couldn't resist that look.
"You're too cute," he said, picking her up and giving her a hug.
She giggled. "I wuv you, Papa."
"I love you too, you little gremlin. You learned that look from your mother, didn't you?" He undressed her and plopped her in the tub so she could swim around.
She shook her head. "Not Mama. Aunti Cam!"
"Cam, huh? Well then! Papa will just have to have a talk with her!" He leaned over the side of the tub, kissing his youngest's cheek.
She giggled. For some reason, Himeko had a habit of calling her much older siblings 'uncle' and 'aunti'.
No matter how many times Kira and Eiro explained it to her that her siblings were 'sister' and 'brother', she still insisted on calling them 'uncle' and 'auntie'.
"What kind of shampoo do you want today? Strawberry or orange?"
"Strawberry!" She giggled again.
"Strawberry it is." He kissed her wet cheek before washing her long black hair.
She giggled as she played with her tub toys.
"Silly girl," he said with a smile as he poured water over her head to rinse the soap.
She giggled again.
Eiro laughed and finished bathing her. He lifted her out of the warm water and wrapped her in a large fluffy towel.
"So, what pjs do you want to wear?"
"PRINCESS DRESS!" She grinned at him.
"Princess dress? You want to wear a princess dress to bed?"
"No, I princess! No bed!"
"You're about as spoiled as a princess. And you're going to bed."
"NO BED!"
"Himeko, stop it right this instant," Eiro said, loosing patience.
She pouted and looked down. She glanced up at her father. "Blue bunnies..."
At least he'd gotten her to pick out pajamas.
"Alright. Blue bunnies." He kissed her temple and went to fetch the items. He finished drying her and helped her put them on.
She snuggled into him once she was dressed.
He scooped her up easily and took her to her bed, laying her down.
"I'll read you one story, alright?"
"Froggie Princess?"
"Should have guessed." He smiled and fetched the book, carrying it back.
She beamed at her father and dug through the pile of stuffed animals at the foot of her bed, pulling out a bedraggled frog.
He laughed and slid into bed next to his youngest.
She snuggled into his side. "Read please? With voices."
"Of course." He opened the book and began to read to her in a soft, soothing voice, adding voices where appropriate.
She smiled and slowly drifted off.
Eiro made sure to read to the very end of the book before he gently laid her down, tucking her in.
She murmured in her sleep as she rolled over, her thumb in her mouth. She looked so beautiful, his little girl.
He smiled and gave her temple a light kiss before padding out of the room, making sure to leave the door open just a crack in case she needed them. Once he'd checked on the rest of the chidren, he headed to his own room.
Kira was laying in the bed, eyeglasses perched on her nose. She was wearing a deep red silk slip that had black lace on it.
Eiro stopped when he saw her, his eyes sliding up her body.
"And what's this...?"
She looked up from her book. "What is what?"
He walked over to her, leaning over her to kiss her.
"You look damn sexy in that slip, you know."
She smiled. "This old thing?" She giggled. "Did the munchkin go to sleep okay?"
"Like a rock. I don't think an earthquake could wake her at this point."
"Thats good." Kira smiled at him gently.
"Very good." He pulled away her book, kissing her again.
She laughed against his mouth. "What are you doing?"
"Just having a little fun." He grinned mischievously at her.
She laughed. "Oh really?"
"Really." He kissed down her neck and shoulder. "The glasses are especially sexy..."
She shivered. "Is that so?"
He nodded, his hand sliding down her side to rest on her hip.
Her head fell back as she shivered again.
Eiro smiled a little, peeling the strap of her slip down her arm.
She looked up at him, her eyes dark. "Are you trying to get me naked?"
"Absolutely." He nipped gently at her shoulder.
She made a little noise of pleasure. "I think we need to work harder on you, though."
"Oh? How do you mean?" He peeled down the other strap, kissing the exposed flesh.
Her nimble fingers began to undo his shirt.
He smiled into her skin, pulling off the shirt once it was undone.
Her hands slid over his bare skin. "I love you..."
"I love you too," he murmured in her ear, nibbling lightly on the lobe.
She groaned and her nails dug into his skin lightly.
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