Warnings: yaoi, mpreg
Disclaimer: VK and its characters belong to Matsuri Hino
A/N: Thank you all for your continuous support through story/author favorites and alerts, and reviews. They motivate me to keep writing. Enjoy this sweet chapter!
Life 10: Kaname and Zero Plus Eleven
"OWAAAAAA...!"
"OWAAAAAA...!"
"MAMA!" Ichiru shouted as he entered the kitchen and rushed toward the sink where his Mom was washing the dishes. "The octopus are crying!"
Zero laughed as he washed his hands and dried them with the kitchen towel. Bending in front of the boy until their eyes levelled, he gently patted Ichiru's head and smiled.
"You mean oc-tu-plets."
"Yeah, oc-tu-plets."
Both chuckled.
"Shall we check on them then?"
The younger silverette nodded and held the older's hand, leading him upstairs to the octuplets' room.
The Kuran household had never been dull since the arrival of their octuplets. The healthy babies cried and woke up at different times, resulting in restless days and sleepless nights that affected their parents' schedule.
After his one-month paternity leave was over, Zero started working at the Hunters Association four hours a day in the afternoon when Kaname and the babies were taking naps. He mostly worked in the office taking care of paperwork and dealing with hunter business, ocassionally he would go for a local hunt. For the next year he wouldn't accept any mission that would compel him to leave Kaname and their children for more than a day. Though hunting had always been an important part of his life, right now his family was the number one priority. He had more than enough money to pay for eight baby sitters, but Kaname and he chose to care for them together so they wouldn't miss their babies' firsts.
Kaname had been working from home the last two months. He had stopped travelling, business deals were mostly done through the phone. If his presence was required then he would host a business meeting in his home office, which had a separate entrance so that the privacy of his dear family would be protected. When not working, he would take care of the babies and play with the triplets, such as time like this.
Zero opened the door and gave a small laugh as he saw Kaname sitting on the sofa-bed, rocking a crying silver-haired baby girl. His forehead was sweating and a worried expression decorated his face. Rido was sitting next to his right, bottle-feeding an identical silver-haired baby girl. Haruka was next to Kaname's left, playing 'Pat-A-Cake' with a babbly blond-haired baby boy.
"All of you are so adorable," Zero chuckled while walking toward the brunettes.
"Takuma is so cute, Mama," said Haruka with a spark in his eyes. "He's cooing and holding my pinky. See?"
"I can see that. You are a wonderful big brother, Haruka."
Zero stroke Haruka's soft silky hair and kissed his cheek, causing the boy to blush. He felt a tug on his left sleeve and turned his attention to Rido, who was looking at him with puppy eyes.
"I am a wonderful big brother too, Mama. Look how I am bottle-feeding Shizuka."
"You are a wonderful big brother indeed." Zero kissed Rido's forehead, the oldest of the triplets grinned with pride. "You made Maria very happy."
"Oh, this is Maria? How can you tell, Mama?"
"She has a slight curl on her banks and her cheeks are chubby. She is always hungry and drinks her milk very fast. Look at how her tiny lips are sucking the nipple hungrily."
Zero gently tapped Maria's cheeks to proof his statement, the brunette boys nodded.
"WAAAAAA...!"
"WAAAAA...!"
"My Kaname, seems like you are unlucky today," Zero teased his husband and winked playfully.
"So it seems. No matter how much I rock her, Seiren won't stop crying. I already fed her earlier."
"Perhaps she needs to burp?" said Zero as he picked up a white burb cloth and placed it over his left shoulder.
Zero picked up the baby from Kaname's arms and gently positioned her over his shoulder so her belly was touching his shoulder blade. After three firm yet gentle pats on her back she burped and stopped crying, her head was snuggling closely on the back of his shoulder.
"Now Shizuka is happy," Zero held her on his arms, her eyelids were closed and a serene expression decorated her beautiful face.
"She is Shizuka?" Kaname asked with a puzzled look on his face. "She has fine silver hair and purple eyes."
"Both Shizuka and Seiren do, but Seiren's hair has a slight purple hue. Shizuka smiles a lot when she is alert, while Seiren is quieter and likes to sleep." Zero explained patiently while both of them were walking toward the cribs. They stopped in front of an empty crib next to Seiren's and Zero carefully laid Shizuka down.
Kaname observed the two girls, glancing back and forth to study their features. They were so identical, he couldn't tell them apart when they were awake, more so when they were asleep.
"For now I can only rely on their hair color to tell them apart, however, as they grow up I surely can identify them by their personalities," Kaname said with confidence and smiled at Zero.
"I believe you," Zero rubbed Kaname's back and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
The silverette went to the next crib and picked up a baby boy with strawberry-blond hair, lifting him up in the air and looking at him with love.
"Hi Akatsuki, you are such a good boy. Shall I change your diaper?"
Akatsuki cooed when Zero took him to the changing table. His amber eyes were following the movement of the musical mobile over his head while the silverette took off his wet diaper and replaced it with a dry one.
"WAAAA...!"
A whimpering cry broke the short quiet moment as Zero was putting on Akatsuki's pants.
'That must be Yuuki,' thought Zero.
"Kaname, can you pick up Yuuki and change her diaper?" Zero snapped the last button and picked up Akatsuki, carrying him to the sofa-bed where Ichiru was sitting between Rido and Haruka, waiting to play with him.
"Sure," Kaname approached the cribs where two brunette girls were whimpering in their semi-sleep. Their eyes opened halfway, revealing sleepy red-wine eyes.
"Hmm... which one is Yuuki?" Kaname rubbed his chin. "Let see... both have wavy brown hair and red-wine eyes, both their skins are pale with a tint of pink on their cheeks, both are an exact image of myself, and both are wearing pink pajamas. Hmmm..."
Kaname smiled when one of the girls turned to her side.
"You must be Yuuki. You shifted because of your dirty diaper, right?"
He picked her up excitedly, feeling proud for being able to identify her correctly. He took her to the changing table and undressed her pajama pants. The sleepy baby girl gave a piercing cry as Kaname removed her dry diaper.
'Her diaper is clean,' thought Kaname with confused look in his eyes. 'Why did Zero want me to change her diaper?'
"Argghh... Kaname! Why did you wake up Juuri? She was sleeping peacefully."
Zero was suddenly beside him with a desperate look on his face, his hands were pulling his messy hair.
"Now both Yuuki and Juuri are crying."
Zero quickly put her dry diaper back and dressed her up, then joined the triplets on the sofa-bed with Juuri in his arms, rocking her and singing a lullaby until she fell asleep again.
"Now YOU must be Yuuki," Kaname picked up a fussy brunette baby girl and carried her to the changing table. He took off her dirty diaper and wiped her bottom with a wet wipe, then sealed them into the Diaper Genie.
"Coo... coo..." Yuuki cooed happily after Kaname replaced her diaper and pajama pants; her red-wine orbs were sparkling and her legs were actively kicking the air.
The brunette pinched her rosy cheeks gently.
"You are very cute, Yuuki. And I love you."
He kissed her forehead.
"Coo... coo..."
Kaname laughed and held her in his arms, looking at her tenderly while walking toward the sofa-bed and sat next to Zero. He embraced the silverette's slim waist, pulling him close to his chest.
"We are One Happy Big Family," Kaname gave a genuine smile as he was watching the triplets playing with Maria, Takuma, and Akatsuki.
"One Happy Big Family indeed," Zero rested his head on Kaname's shoulder.
"And sweet Senri sleeps through the whole chaos."
The happy parents glanced at the crib on the furthest right. A baby boy with reddish-brown hair was sleeping peacefully, his tiny lips formed a small smile.
To be continued