Children were a menace on society.

Before the rest-the long sleep that dwindled all thoughts and buried ripped hearts-he had thought children a wonder that never ceased with their glowing eyes and endless questions. It was a pleasure to stay and watch them try to find the reason the sun rose or why the grass was green.

But then again, he had wished for his own child as well.

After the coffin had been shut and his tears dried, he woke centuries later to a wail of fear. Rido's voice commanding him before he was even aware of the tiny body in his hands. The feet cold and hands unmoving, he wept for what he had taken and lost.

He never talked about that night.

His fear of children turned to an unlikeable disposition towards babies. He was quiet and closed off, even when the current reigning Kurans accepted him with open arms. Their grief masked as kindness which left him wandering the mansions halls in a daze of self-loathing for years.

It was only when Juri was round with a child that he felt a shimmer of life spark in him along with a gnawing fear. Yuki's birth brought anxiety to all those close to Juri. Kaname's hands shook as they placed the child in his reluctant arms.

He immediately grew irritated with the wails.

Kaname avoided her at every turn, excuse after excuse piled up every year on how he needed to be elsewhere in the house. Watching her pitter-patter around left him feeling empty in a gnawing way that reminded him of lost love and a horrible awakening. Though he would never admit that when she followed him around he found it warmed his heart. Or when she napped on the couch, he played with her little feet. How when her tiny face lit up with pure joy he felt a contentedness that almost left him feeling whole.

He would never admit it.

He had almost come to terms with his feelings on children when a surprise pregnancy fell on the small family. Haruka's business at court kept him away for most of it, leaving Kaname to care for his mother figure. He remembered a time during their hiding that they were huddled around the fireplace together during a cold night.

" She's kicking me!" Juri excitedly exclaimed.

"She?" His questioning glance made her laugh.

"Yes! I hope for another girl, won't it keep things lively around here?" She ruffled Yuki's hair affectionately as the little girl smiled.

"I hope you get a son" Juri seemed surprised by this.

"You've thought what the baby will be?"

"...Once or twice." She laughed again.

"Haruka hopes for a boy too, but I want a hoard of daughters to spoil rotten! Besides, Yuki would love a sister. Wouldn't you pumpkin?" She cooed at the little girl, tickling her stomach till she fell into giggling fit. Kaname's lip twitched in amusement.

"You are the mother, so I feel that what you believe it is, is what they'll be" He chuckled at Juri's triumphant smile.

She had been right.

The little bundle had taken a full day to arrive, her wails a welcome sound after hours of Juris frustrated cries. When Haruka handed her to Kaname this time, his hands did not shake. Her tiny face calming the second she was placed in his arms.

And when she cooed before contently falling asleep in his hold, he felt his heart lurch and cried hot tears over her. The emptiness and self imposed punishment for the first son of the Kuran family gave way to a feeling like he could breathe again. His sins of the past still present, but forgiven in a way he didn't believe possible.

It was then that he realized, children were the joy of the earth.