When they got in that night, Daphne was shivering with exhaustion. She took a quick shower to warm up and wash off any residue from the burst pipes, then curled up in bed, a little dizzy. What a whirlwind of a day. Before they'd left the makeshift lab, Akiyama had informed them that the containment cube was likely to hold for some time and encouraged them both not to worry. Daphne shut her eyes, nuzzling her face into her pillow. Worrying was sort of the thing she did best.
Rin came in and put on his pajamas and turned off the light and got into bed, snuggling up and putting his arms around her. She leaned into his warmth and let her mind go still.
"Busy day," Rin said softly.
"Mm," Daphne agreed.
"You were amazing."
She couldn't help smiling. "Thank you for being there."
"Of course," he said, and she could sense the deeper, "I wouldn't be anywhere else," that lay beneath it, though the words themselves were unspoken. The two of them were quiet for a moment, then Rin spoke again. "We should have a party or something. To tell everyone about the babies."
Practically asleep, Daphne chuckled. "Only if you plan it."
He kissed her forehead. "Okay."
The date was set for a Saturday evening three weeks from then, and Rin went full-party-planner mode getting ready for it. He sent out invitations, ordered decorations, even hired a venue. It was ridiculous, but Daphne was happy to let him have his fun. It had been ages since either of them had simply had a nice time. Or had the security to even consider it.
As the party rolled around, Daphne was visibly pregnant, so the timing worked out. Rin had invited a good deal of coworkers and plenty of friends, most of whom didn't know about the babies in the first place, and Daphne couldn't have kept it a secret any longer.
They told people not to bring gifts, but they did anyway. Luckily the venue was nice enough to bring out an extra table to put them on. Daphne herself sat down with Shura and Shiemi at a table near the center of the room where she could greet people if they came to her, and wouldn't look like she was avoiding company, but also would give off the impression that brief congratulations were all that was needed. She was feeling fine, the morning sickness months having passed, but if she could play the "don't talk to me I'm pregnant" card then damn it she was going to play it. The party was more for Rin than it was for her anyway.
"How are you dealing with not drinking?" Shura asked, knocking back a beer even as she asked the question.
Daphne laughed. "I'm not you."
Shura gave her a hairy scowl, but took another swig. "Ha ha."
"When are you going to tell us if it's a boy or a girl?" Shiemi asked. An uncontrollable grin and slight blush had decorated her face from the moment she'd walked in the room.
"Later," Daphne said. "When everyone is here."
Shiemi squealed and clapped her hands. "Oh, I can't wait!"
"Will you and Yukio stick around after the party is over?" Daphne said. "You too, Shura. Rin and I want to talk to the three of you about something."
Shura and Shiemi exchanged glances, but nodded, Shura polishing off her beer.
Daphne smiled. "Thanks."
Friends, neighbors, colleagues—everybody stopped by their table to say hello and tell Daphne how great she looked. She wanted to punch every single one of them. What was it about being pregnant that made everybody think they had the liberty to call her cute? By the time Rin came and got her so the two of them could go to the front of the room and the silly "gender reveal" box full of balloons, she was ready to head home.
"I don't know why I agreed to this," she chuckled, stretching her back.
Rin just smiled. "Too late now."
Daphne conceded with a nod and an employee handed Rin a microphone as people started to gather.
"If everybody wants to come over here…? Yeah, thanks. That's great, thanks." Rin cleared his throat. "Um—thank you all for coming. We're—um—we're really excited to, um, to share this with you guys and to be parents. It's…kinda overwhelming, but…good. So, so good. So, are you ready?"
Cheers and applause from the party—particularly Shura who stood at the back on top of a chair, pumping her fist and hooting with one hand cupped around her mouth. Daphne shook her head and laughed, then looked at Rin. He looked back and smiled.
"Ready?" he asked.
Daphne nodded. "Ready."
Together they pulled back the piece of tape that was keeping the box closed, and all their friends and neighbors sucked in an anticipatory breath as the flaps opened and the balloons came out. The breath didn't quite turn into cheering, though, when both pink and blue balloons appeared and confused them.
"IS IT TWINS?" Shura shouted.
Rin nodded. "Yeah!"
She burst into tears again and her wailing was covered by a round of applause and celebration from everyone else who rushed forward to take Rin and Daphne into their arms.
After the party had died down and most everyone gone home, Shiemi and Yukio and Shura helped pack up the presents into bundles to carry back to Rin and Daphne's place. It took the five of them to do it, especially since Daphne couldn't carry as much as she normally would. She was carrying two little people who were far more important.
Rin had to set his bundle down to open the door, but soon everyone was inside and the presents were deposited in the spare room. He stood and looked at his and Daphne's desks for a moment, at the general mess and the boxes they still hadn't unpacked, the art they had never hung up, the bicycle they had never assembled. It was like they had known—somehow, at the back of their minds—that the room didn't belong to them, that it would be silly to move fully in because more family was coming and they would need a place to sleep. This room belonged to their children now. Soon they'd buy furniture to prove it.
Downstairs, Daphne was brewing tea and Yukio, Shiemi, and Shura were lounging around the living room. Daphne brought the cups and kettle in and took a seat herself, leaving Rin to pour. Once everyone had a cup, Yukio spoke.
"Shiemi said you wanted to talk with the three of us."
Daphne nodded. She shifted a little to get comfortable, then said, "We do."
Everybody waited, including Rin, while Daphne took a sip of her tea. He didn't really know how to explain what they wanted to talk about because what they wanted to talk about had been Daphne's idea in the first place.
"Are you familiar with the concept of godparents?" Daphne asked.
"Only in layman's terms," Yukio replied as Shiemi and Shura shook their heads.
"It's a Christian thing, but it doesn't have to be religious. Basically, godparents are sponsors. They're responsible for the religious education and spiritual upbringing of a newly baptized person—babies, usually—and they play an important role in their life. Like a mentor. Almost a second set of parents, if there are two." Daphne smiled and looked at each of them in turn. "I—we—wanted to ask if you would be willing to be godparents? Not to bring the kids up Christian or anything, but offer extra protection and guidance. As exorcists, but also just as decent human beings." She looked at her lap. "It would mean a lot to me."
The room was quiet. The second Daphne lifted her eyes, Shiemi snatched her hand and held it tight.
"I'd love to."
Yukio nodded, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "So would I."
Of course Shura was blubbering and wiping her eyes, so she couldn't respond, but Rin took that as a yes.
"We were thinking Yukio and Shiemi could be the godparents for the boy, and, Shura, you and Father Michael—Daphne's old priest-teacher-guy—for the girl," he said.
They all nodded again and Shiemi let out a little coo, taking hold of Shura's hand as well. Yukio clapped a hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Another thing," Daphne said. She had a few tears of her own in her eyes, so she blinked them away and cleared her throat before continuing. "We don't know yet if either of them will inherit the blue flame. I…I'd like to find demon swords for each of them, in case they do and it's too strong for their bodies to hold."
"Say no more," Shura put in. "I'll take care of it."
Daphne looked deeply at her, smiling a smile that looked kind of sad. Shura smiled back.
"We'll probably need your help to seal the flame, too," Rin added. "Are you all okay to come to the hospital?"
Shiemi nodded firmly. "I was planning on being there anyway."
The five of them sat in the quiet again for a moment. To Rin, it felt like they were glowing. It was almost hard to believe that three weeks ago they'd trapped that spirit. That that spirit had wanted to possess him and probably could have succeeded. Lately, life had been a mad series of peaks and troughs. He had a feeling it would probably continue—so he was going to enjoy this peak to the fullest.
He held up his cup of tea.
"Kanpai."
Later, when it was dark and Rin and Daphne lay side by side, he nestled close and rested his hands over her belly. She reached down to lace their fingers together and then fell still.
"Daph?" he whispered.
"Hm?" she replied.
"What do you want to call them?"
Daphne drew in a thoughtful breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know," she replied. "What do you want to call them?"
He'd spent a lot of time thinking about it, but he wasn't sure how to bring it up. He didn't know how Daphne would react—if she'd be particular, or not mind much, or whatever—but it felt like a big responsibility, choosing a name that someone would have to carry for the rest of their life. He wanted to do a good job.
"I was thinking…" he started, then needlessly paused. "For the boy I'd really like it if he could be Shiro. After my dad." Swallowing, Rin waited tense.
Daphne turned over a little so she could find his lips and give him a kiss. She smiled, brushing his hair back out of his face.
"Shiro is perfect."
He let out a happy breath of relief, smiling back, smiling wide. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I like it."
"You can name the girl—you should. To keep it fair. You should pick her name."
Daphne laughed. "If you insist."
Rin nodded.
"I'll think about it then."
He scooted closer to give her a kiss as well, then settled back. His mind was so light, he felt like floating away, or maybe so excited he would never fall asleep, but he did, and he slept better than he had in months.