Hiroomi would miss the round belly he'd grown so fond off for the past few months. But now he had something even better to dote on. Sleeping in Akihito's arms was their son. His hair was dark brown that was closer in color to Hiroomi's than to Akihito's blonde. What he did share with his kitsune father was foxy ears atop his head and a fluffy tail.
At the moment, his fingers and toes had nails of a normal human, but Akihito said they could grow into claws with time. Hiroomi looked at the both fondly, seeing nothing but absolute preciousness. But he knew there were those that would look at his family and see abominations.
"You're thinking too much again", Akihito said.
"Sorry", Hiroomi smiled.
Akihito's ear twitched towards the door a moment before it slid open, revealing both of Hiroomi's sisters. Hiroomi smiled at them. Knowing that Akihito was in full protective mode, they stayed by the door, waiting for permission to come closer.
"I think they'd like to meet their nephew", Hiroomi whispered softly.
Akihito had some reservations, shown by how he hesitated and wrapped himself more tightly around their child. But after a moment, he conceded.
"Your sisters still scare me." The first time they'd met, the Nase family had been trying to kill him after all. Akihito put the sleeping babe in Hiroomi's arms and transformed into a fox. He nudged his head against his baby's body and licked Hiroomi's cheek before leaving, going out into the wilderness to hunt. The moment he did, Mitsuki ran into the room.
"He's cute. Too cute to belong to you or that fox", she said.
"I may have to agree with that a little." Their child looked like the greatest blessing ever sent down to this mortal plane. And that was all Akihito. And that was why he was named after his yokai father. The baby would already be carrying the Nase family name. So Hiroomi wanted to make sure Akihito was properly represented in their offspring.
That was how Nase Akito came to be.
Hiroomi was decidely uneducated when it came to yokai child rearing. He was from a distinguished family of exorcists. He knew hoe to rid a place of evil spirits or appease angered deities. He had no idea how to care for one in its infancy. Akihito was only a little better, learning things from his own isolated upbringing. So both were a little surprised when Akito latched onto Akihito's nipple during bath time.
They were more shocked when something came out. As their son filled his belly, Hiroomi inspected the other nipple. In the heat of the bath, Akihito's skin was rosy and glistening. Both men had taken advantage of the warmth before, but now wasn't quite the time with a child present. That didn't stop Hiroomi from massaging Akihito's chest curiously.
"Wh-what are you doing?!", he whispered harshly, not wanting to disturb Akito as he fed.
Hiroomi didn't answer, instead latching his mouth onto the nipple and giving it a suck. Akihito let out a moan most unbecoming and since then Hiroomi was banned from family bath time.
Akito crawled like he was meant to walk on four legs, which Hiroomi found pretty fitting. He began to wonder if his son would go through the normal baby milestones at a regular pace or if he would be crawling like this for much longer. He got his answer when Akito stood on wobbling feet one day, trying to follow after him, calling out in nonsense baby language.
Hiroomi was utterly speechless and rushed from one end of the Nase family complex to the other to find Akihito to share the news. Their's was a strange family, but he was every bit the doting father.
"Come on, you can do it", Akihito encouraged his son.
Akito had been born with ears and a tail, broadcasting to the world his kitsune heritage. But luckily he hadn't needed to venture out into the world often. The land owned by the Nase family was great. And so for the first four years of his life, Akito hadn't known the land beyond it. But he couldn't stay here forever. So he would need to learn what all fox spirits knew to protect themselves from harsh eyes - shapeshifting.
And it would start with making his ears and tail disappear. Akito focused, eyes scrunched closed and tiny hands balled into fists. Suddenly, he felt different, slightly off balance. Akihito caught him so he wouldn't fall forward.
"You did it!", he smiled with praise.
Akito giggled excitedly and seconds later the ears and tail popped out again, but it was fine. He still had plenty of time to learn.
If one traveled out towards the Nase family's land, and avoided the guards, they might spot a lightly colored fox, running through the trees. Sometimes the fox acted as if it understood human speech. And if you were friendly enough, it would eat gently from your hand, like a domesticated pet. If you asked someone in the Nase family, they would say they knew nothing of any fox on their premises.
If one traveled out towards the Nase family's land, and avoided the guards, they might spot a lightly colored fox, followed by a darker, smaller fox. It wasn't quite a baby fox, but not fully grown either. This one was less wary of people and would sometimes go towards them before being pulled back by the elder fox, waiting to make sure it was safe.
If you asked someone in the Nase family, they would say they knew nothing of any foxes on their premises.
"I'm clean already!", eight year old Akito complained to deaf ears.
"You're clean when your father is done grooming you", Hiroomi said, not looking up from his reading.
Akito groaned and pouted. He'd been running around in his human form and had gotten just a bit of dirt on himself. It wasn't even a big deal. But when Akihito had returned, he'd grabbed his son and started grooming him. Akihito was still in his fox form, mind you. So now his whole head was being licked over.
"Consider yourself lucky", Hiroomi said. "Some people consider fox licks to be lucky."
"Well I don't feel lucky", Akito protested more before Akihito was satisfied with his hygiene. Next time he got dirty, he was just going to stay out until it was time for a bath. Those he could handle.
Akihito rubbed Akito's downy ear between his fingers gently as the young boy slept. He'd used up a lot of energy, running all around, both as a fox and a human today. So after dinner and his bath, he fell asleep easily. So Akihito was free to pet him lovingly, which only served to help him fall asleep faster.
"He's almost too good to be true", Akihito said softly.
"I agree", Hiroomi said.
Then their precious miracle let out a sleep fart.
"He gets that from you", Akihito said quickly. "Yokai don't fart."
"Should I call my sisters in and have them disprove that?", Hiroomi asked with a grin.
"Only if you want to be banned from this bedroom." Not that Akihito would ever.
Hiroomi's presence and scent calmed both him and Akito when it was time to sleep. The both of them got quiet and settled down, watching their beloved child sleep, knowing that no matter what came, be it prejudices from the outside world, vengeful demons, or Mitsuki's teasing, they would overcome it all, as a family.