A/N: Light-hearted cuteness that Standard Serious Vergil (almost doesn't) deserve. This chapter is basically what came out after I finished reading the manga Love So Life. 

[Daddy's Sick Day]

I pressed the button by the door, hearing the bell chime on the other side. It wasn't surprising that the chime was quickly followed by squeals that came muffled, then noisy stomps of little children running for the door. I couldn't help my own chuckle of amusement as I waited for the door to open.

"Welcome, Sister Miyu!" The twins stood at the door, glee written on their faces as they grinned widely at me, showing me their version of finger hearts. Even though the shape appeared more like circles, the fact that they had remembered the fun of learning how to make heart shapes just from their fingers the day before made me warm on the inside as I smiled back at them.

"Good Morning, Crystal, Winter." I greeted the young ladies. "Have you two been good girls this morning?"

"We have!" Winter jumped up and down, repeating it enthusiastically while her twin sister immediately went on a noisy ramble about how they had listened obediently to their father, and brushed their own teeth. It was just like any other normal day with these pair of twins that were the children that I had been engaged by their father to babysit. Winter was the super-active, enthusiastic one of the twin, but Crystal was definitely more talkative than her sister.

"Girls," The poor ignored father who was actually the one who had opened the door finally put in, "Let Miyu come in before you talk, alright? And we talked about this before; one person talks at a time."

I had seen many types of children before –I currently worked in the kindergarten that Crystal and Winter were currently enrolled in as well, and was in charge of the twins' class there –but I had to admit that Crystal and Winter were the most obedient ones when it came to their father's orders. The twins might not listen to everyone's advice, but their father's words were always followed reverently –which made my job much easier actually since if I really wanted the twins to promise something, all I had to do was to get their father to ask it from them.

"Good Morning, Mr Sparda." I greeted, finally looking up to meet the stark blue eyes of the man. He looked as usual –perhaps a little paler and tired than normal.

"Good Morning, Miyu. Thank you for coming over, as always." My employer answered in the same daily greeting that we had settled into after almost half a year.

"Think nothing of it." I answered according to routine as well, inviting myself into the house since the twin girls had now excitedly run back further into the house –presumably to climb back at the dining table to show off that they were now able to feed themselves.

"You might have to wait a little while today, Miyu. I apologise, but I woke up a little behind time." Mr Sparda answered as I took off my shoes politely while he closed the door behind me.

"It is fine. The girls and I usually reach the kindergarten fifteen minutes early. We have time to spare." I assured, smiling at the polite manners that Mr Sparda always addressed me with.

"Thank you for understanding." Mr Sparda answered again, then overtook me towards the kitchen where I assumed he was going back to the task of making breakfast.

This had long become our routine in our everyday lives –at least since half a year ago.

I, Miyu Fuyugami, had been teaching at the kindergarten for three years when Crystal and Winter Sparda were first enrolled into my class. Treating them like how I treated any other children, the twins didn't pose any big problems; mainly because they were largely intelligent and enthusiastic. Though –as children –they were sometimes a little insensitive, didn't think too much about others or the consequences of their actions before they acted, Crystal and Winter definitely showed much more maturity as compared to their classmate at times.

But of course, there was a limit of maturity that a pair of 5 year olds could reach.

Then, half a year ago, the principal told me that the twin's mother –who I thought was a rather detached mother in the way she didn't seem to want or bother to know about the progress of her children in the kindergarten –had run off with another man. It was the standard love-affair case in which the woman abandoned her family, leaving the poor father with a pair of not-understanding 5 year old girls.

Mr Vergil Sparda had showed some problem at the beginning getting used to things, and I did my best to help the family out by paying special attention to the twins. They were still too young to understand that their mother didn't love them anymore, so we simply found it more convenient at the moment painfully lie to them that their mommy had left on a business trip and couldn't come back for a long time (and still missed them in her heart).

What struck me most remarkable during that time was the fact that Mr Vergil Sparda didn't seem particularly emotionally affected by his wife's departure. I wasn't sure if the couple had any tension prior to the wife's leaving, but the expected anger or heartbreak didn't even write on Mr Sparda's face –not even once at all. As if having already expected things to turn out the way it did, Mr Sparda had worked hard immediately to replace the girls' mother.

Still, a man had to have his limits, and despite how he seemed to do well, my principal had informed me a few weeks after that poor Mr Sparda had put in a request for anyone who would do him a kind favour to babysit the twins after school while he was out to work.

Since I didn't have any engagement after kindergarten every day, I figured that there was little harm in helping the poor man out a bit. And thus began my part-time job with babysitting the twins after kindergarten. My routine included coming down to their place in the morning (since Mr Sparda's place was close to mine) to bring the twins to the kindergarten where I would be their teacher and conduct lessons. After kindergarten ended every day, I would bring them back home, where babysitting would happen until Mr Sparda came back –usually during the evening hours.

Of course, my services also came at a handsome price that I was surprised to find that Mr Sparda had no problem paying.

"Sister Miyu!" Crystal's calling pulled me out of my internal reverie, and I smiled when the young one beckoned me over to where she was standing on the chair beside her sitting sister. The table was expectedly empty –with the sound of sizzling pan and smell of waffles wafting from the kitchen. "Daddy said the heart-shape fingers looked beautiful yesterday!"

"Did you tell him that you love him as well?" I entertained, because children of their age always loved a little bit of attention placed on them. Still, we had to be careful to not give them too much attention, because doting on them too much sometimes created narcissistic, selfish behaviours.

"I did! I did! I told Daddy I love him out loud. Daddy smiled and said he loved me as well." Crystal jumped up and down again.

"What about you, Winter?" I asked the quieter twin. The younger one usually let her sister do the talking, but she sometimes had really great thoughts that only came out if prompted.

"He loves me as well. Does Sister Miyu also love us?" Winter answered cleverly.

"Of course I do." I answered, bending to drop a small kiss on Winter's cheek before straightening again. "But do you know what will make Daddy and Sister Miyu love you two angels even more?"

"What is it, Sister Miyu?" The look of eager curiosity was almost too innocent. This was one of the reason why I loved children so much –they were like a never-ending ball of energy; always eager to please, eager to be praised and loved.

These two were blissfully kept away from the truth that their mother didn't love them, but it didn't stop them from trying to charm everyone they could come into contact with. Clearly, they have gotten me in their grips, but it didn't mean I couldn't use it to my advantage.

"I will love you two even more if you can dress in your uniforms properly by yourselves." I announced. "Can you do it while Daddy is cooking breakfast?"

There wasn't an easier to way to bribe children than with more love and attention, and soon the girls were scrambling to get back into their room. Following them into their room and making sure that they couldn't make too much of a mess of their neatly-kept wardrobe, the two girls struggled for quite some time putting their clothes on by themselves. Crystal wore her shirt front-to-back two times before getting it right, and Winter put on her skirt sideways without realising it, complaining that it was too tight before I had it adjusted.

Then, once done, we emerged from the room again, just in time to see Mr Sparda putting the last dish on the table.

"Daddy! Look at us, we dressed ourselves today! Everything was done ourselves! Sister Miyu didn't help at all!" Crystal boasted proudly, doing a twirl in front of her father while he entertained her shortly before urging the both of them to their breakfast. Neither of us adults spoke to each other about how I had obviously helped the two girls right their appearance –content to letting them believe that they had done it all by themselves.

"I made a little extra." A plate of pancake appeared in front of me at the table, and I looked up in surprise. "Do have some."

"Thank you." I accepted the kind offer since it was a waste to turn it down. But I had other words to express that did not concern gratitude. "You look a little pale, Mr Sparda. Are you feeling okay?"

"I was caught in the storm yesterday and didn't get a chance to change out of my clothes before the girls dragged me tell them a bedtime story. I was too tired and I fell asleep in the wet clothes, so I might be catching a cold." Mr Sparda answered honestly.

"A colfff, Dadihff?" Crystal asked with her mouth full, specks of chewed pancake flying.

"Crystal, remember what I said about not talking with your mouth full?"

"Sorrifff." The apology was made quickly as the talkative girl went quickly back at her breakfast, leaving us adults in conversation again.

"Would you be taking a rest today, Mr Sparda? Is there work down at the office?" I asked in short concern. I knew Mr Sparda's office to be in Devil May Cry, which was actually run by his brother. I also knew Mr Sparda to be a demon-hunter for a living, but it was honestly nothing for me to fear about, because I knew him to be a very capable man who worked hard for his salary. In fact, you could safely say that Mr Sparda exchanged his blood and sweat for the money to put food on the table daily.

"Unfortunately, my brother has gone missing from the office again. I need to be there." Mr Sparda sighed, shaking his head.

Another cause for pity for Mr Sparda was the fact that he was also burdened by the presence of an apparently 'good-for-nothing and lazy' brother who had opened a demon-hunting office, but tended to run off on his own business, leaving it to Mr Sparda to run the business and take on jobs to keep the office running. I had never met Mr Sparda's associate and brother in real life before, though there wasn't a real need anyway. I was just a babysitter, after all.

Still, a babysitter could always offer a little concern for the single father of the girls that I was currently looking after, so I watched him carefully as I told him, "Please watch over yourself well Mr Sparda."

The replying polite smile meant that my well-wishes were graciously accepted, but they made little difference in the way he had planned to go about the day. I didn't expect otherwise, so I busied myself with hurrying the girls who were taking their time with their breakfast.

I took to small note that Mr Sparda was coughing a little throughout breakfast and made up my mind quickly to insist that the girls start taking Vitamin C tablets to boost their immunity. The cold was definitely going to hit Mr Sparda soon, and it would be rather bad if the girls caught it from their father and passed it to the other children in the kindergarten.

"Thank you for the meal, Daddy!" Winter chimed up with such a lovely smile that even a sick father would love and I hurried the girls back to their playroom to pack their bags. The girls were definitely obedient enough to pack their things by themselves, though Winter tended to bring many extra things that wouldn't be used in school. I spent a short time debating with her that she should not be bringing her teddy bear to school because Mr Bear wouldn't like to be squeezed in the dark and airless place that was her bag, and the obedient child quickly agreed.

We still had some time to spare and thus we did not rush when we came out again. However, what surprised us was the sound of a loud crash that seemed like plates falling to the floor coming from the kitchen. Startled, the girls looked at each other with uncertainty as if trying to decide if they should cry in fear. Thank goodness their father had blessed them with strong guts, because neither shed a single tear as they each gripped tightly to a bit of my long skirt at my both sides. I was their obvious shield from whatever that had made the loud sound and together with unspoken agreement, we inched towards the kitchen.

"Mr Sparda!" I exclaimed when the view of the kitchen came clear enough for me to piece the clues together.

"Daddy!" The girls cried as they rushed out from behind me immediately.

"No, don't come here!" Mr Sparda exclaimed as he looked up with a really pale face, still holding on to the edge of the sink as if it was the only thing keeping his balance and on his untrustworthy-feet. "Miyu, keep them back. There are shards on the floor."

Both girls seemed ignorant about the danger of sharp porcelain shards in front of them, but I kept them back with a strict warning that they shouldn't try to touch the broken pieces before picking my way around the dangerous area to where Mr Sparda had begun trying to get to his knees slowly to clear the mess.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Crystal asked worriedly while Winter looked extremely uncertain with the tears almost brimming in her eyes.

"I'm fine, just stand back and let Daddy clean up the mess he made." Mr Sparda answered with a smile that couldn't even convince an idiot.

"Mr Sparda, leave it. I'll clean it up. You're sick, so go back to rest." I said with stern authority in my voice, my nanny-skills turned on. I had been through taking care many sick children during my days at the kindergarten left by poor parents who had could not afford to take the day off to watch over their young ones.

"I'm fine." Mr Sparda repeated again, but I allowed no protest when I bent down beside him, putting a no-nonsense hand on his forehead –both to feel for his temperature and also to make him realise how hot he probably was through my cold hand. What I felt definitely shocked me; the man was seriously burning up. While he had looked pale all throughout breakfast, I hadn't thought that the fever would reach such temperatures in the span of such a few minutes. Mr Sparda himself had acted rather well throughout breakfast as well –holding small conversations with me and the girls while we ate.

The man had seriously been holding it all back; putting up a strong front that was crumbling since his temperature had climbed.

"Mr Sparda, you aren't fine." I announced with a frown, pulling his hand back from trying to pick the pieces up from the floor. He was definitely much weaker from the sickness, because I didn't expect myself to be able to stop a full-grown man, much less one who worked as a demon hunter, from doing what he wanted through sheer force. "Leave the porcelain and go back to bed."

"Daddy, listen to Sister Miyu! Getting sick must be very painful, so you have to go to bed and take medicine!" Crystal cried out at the doorway to the kitchen where the girls had been instructed to not cross –just in case they forgot about the shards and hurt themselves.

"Yes, Daddy. You must get well quickly." Winter backed her elder sister up, but the younger twin was definitely the more timid between the two of them, because the unshed worried tears were already brimming in her eyes.

"I still have to go to work..." Mr Sparda was clearly dizzy and off-balance in the way he had to hold on to the handles of the cupboard nearby to come back to his feet, weakly trying to shake my hands away.

"You can't go to work in this state." I answered simply, hoping that I sounded as stern as I could. I was used to dealing with the little disobedience and rebellion of 5-7 year olds, so my level of sternness probably didn't work with Mr Sparda at all in the way he seemed to still want to hold on.

"I have to." He paused for a short while to brush his silver-white hair out of his eyes, but that only showed a forehead that was dotted with cold sweat. He wobbled more on his feet before trying to side-step me gingerly, still taking the counter of the kitchen as a guidance for his walk.

"Daddy!" Crystal shouted with a scrunched up nose, and both of us turned in surprise to look at the little girl who rarely exploded like that. Crystal was usually loud and noisy, but she generally didn't shout at her father so rudely. "If you go to work today, Daddy, then I won't go to school!"

The girls might be twins, but the difference in reactions were as big as day and night, because instead of being angry at their father like her sister, Winter burst into tears instead, crying while mumbling something that could generally be made out as "Daddy, don't go work."

Unfortunately, the racket that the girls were making unfortunately was too noisy for a delicate version of their father, and I watched with pity as Mr Sparda sighed heavily while covering his hand over his eyes, pausing to think. I was caught helpless for a short moment, stuck between wanting the girls to quieten down, and wanting Mr Sparda to heed the insistent advice of his own loving daughters.

Concern for the father, however, won out in the end as I stepped forward again (careful to not step on any stray porcelain shards) and this time took Mr Sparda's arm in a no-nonsense move. Pulling him hard, it was easy to drag his balance away from the counter as he stumbled towards me. I was ready for his weight, however, as I forced us to move away from his support towards the doorway now.

"You heard your daughters, Mr Sparda. You must rest today, because you are in no shape to even make your way to the office, much less work for today." I bossed –the first time I was bossing my own boss around. It was an interesting experience, but my thoughts mostly revolved in concern about my employer's well-being given the way his touch was hot on my fingertips.

Mr Sparda must have known his condition very well, because he didn't insist anymore and took my help as he leaned his weight on me, the both of us making slow progress out of the kitchen. Winter rubbed her tears away quickly once she saw that her father was cooperating, and Crystal stopped shouting and scolding her father. Both girls followed us worriedly all the way to Mr Sparda's bedroom, where he was unceremoniously dumped on his bed. The girls tried their best to climb on the bed to tuck their father back to bed, but only managed to make a mess of his bedsheets instead.

"I'll listen to you this time, Miyu, so please bring the girls to the kindergarten." Mr Sparda said softly, clearly relaxing in the soft embrace of his bed.

"I will, Mr Sparda. Don't worry about them." I promised, taking precious time to convince the girls to get off the bed while I rearranged the sheets enough to pull the covers over their father. The touching scene of both girls watching their father fall to sleep worriedly met me when I returned to the bedroom with some medicine and water. The girls were obedient enough to remain quiet while I left both things on the bedside table since I didn't feel up to calling the poor man back from his precious sleep.

Then, tasking the twins to be extra quiet because their poor father needed the rest, I trusted them to watch over their father in the usual way their father used to watch over them while returning back to the kitchen to clean up the broken dishes as well as wash the remaining ones that had been left in the sink.

"Hurry up a little, Crystal, Winter." I instructed as we hurriedly put on our shoes at the door, my hands full from the girls' schoolbags along with my own. "We're going to be late for school."

"Will Daddy be okay?" Crystal was clearly a little reluctant to leave the house, but it was clear to me that she had made up her mind that a 'promise' had been made that she would go to kindergarten if her father rested –which he did anyway in the end.

"Your Daddy is an adult. He knows how to take care of himself. Don't worry." I reassured once more while herding the both of them quickly out of the apartment.

"Daddy will be okay?" Winter repeated, blowing her nose unceremoniously on the neck of her blouse. If I had the luxury of time, I might have paused to pass her a napkin to wipe away the snot from here nose, but we were late for school.

"He will be okay if the two of you stay obedient and listen to me." I answered, holding the hands of the girls tightly as we began rushing down the road to the school not very far away.

"Okay, Sister Miyu." Both girls promised with determination, and together with the two beautiful Sparda Girls who were clearly reluctant to leave their poor father alone, we hurried the rest of our way to school.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I couldn't blame the two 5 year old girls for forgetting that their father was probably still suffering from a high fever after having a fun day at school. They had initially taken longer than usual to warm up to the daily school activities, but once they were clearly engaged in lessons and playtime, the memory of their father lying sick in bed had clearly been forgotten as I watched the two of them run around, laughing and chattering non-stop with their friends.

I guess it was a good thing that they were still able to enjoy their happiness until the end of another day at school.

"Winter, Crystal," I called to where the two girls were, sharing a book between themselves enthusiastically, taking turns to read the large prints on each page. "Are you packed and ready to leave?"

"Yes! Sister Miyu!" Crystal exclaimed in clear excitement, picking up her bag at her side and running immediately to where I had finished keeping away the materials used for the day. "Let's go!"

"You forgot to push in your chair, Crystal." I reminded. "And it is your turn to return the book to the shelf today. Winter returned the book for you yesterday."

The girl was clearly eager to please given the way she ran quickly back to where she had been sitting, haphazardly throwing the chair back, grabbing the book and throwing it quickly back at the shelf before running back to meet me, where her sister had quietly arrived with her bag after having obediently pushed in her chair without being told. The differences in the two's behaviour had always been a point of amusement for me, but it was nothing too special to comment upon.

Together, we bade farewell to the other staff members at the kindergarten before we left once more, together hand-in-hand.

"Where are we going, Sister Miyu?" Crystal asked for the both of them when I turned them around a corner that was not on our usual route home.

"Your Daddy is sick, remember? Sick people have to eat porridge and get lots of Vitamin C to get better, so we are going to get some ingredients for him." I explained, watching as the remembrance struck them again. The girls clearly loved their father a lot since neither of them complained about the long walk (for their short legs) to the supermarket in the vicinity. In fact, the lovely angels were so understanding of their father's situation that once we arrived at the supermarket, they immediately ran eagerly to get the required ingredients with Winter constantly urging me to "Hurry, because Daddy will be hungry."

I didn't have the heart to tell the sweet girl that her Daddy was probably too busy sleeping to feel hungry, and so pretended to rush a little. The cutest thing that happened during our short shopping trip was the fact that the girls tried to buy some sweets for their father saying that Daddy needed to eat some sweets after having the medicine, because that was what happened to them as well when they were sick. Trying to explain that their father was an adult and didn't need to be bribed into taking his medicine did not work well, and thus I caved in to buy some candy to reward the both of them for being obedient at least.

Still, we made it out of the supermarket rather quickly and with Winter insistently rushing us home so that we could care for her father while Crystal happily sucked on the candy that had been given by the kind cashier to the cute-as-hell girls.

I had to tell Winter a few times to slow down and stay close to me throughout the walk home, with the girl insisting that I -along with her sister -was walking too slow and that Daddy was hungry.

Stopping outside the door just long enough to remember to task the girls to be quiet while their father was sleeping, it was not surprising to see Crystal and Winter dashing into the house -with their bags still on their back -the moment their shoes were off and the door opened. I followed in shortly after them with the bags of groceries, locking the door behind me. First task on the list of things to do was to give my arms a rest as I deposited the groceries in the kitchen. Next was to check on the poor patient and thus I invited myself to my employer's room.

It struck me in surprise when Winter emerged from the bathroom with a small pan of water balanced carefully between her small palms. A small piece of white cloth that turned out to be her handkerchief floated in the water that had been filled innocently to the brim and was currently spilling off the side bit by bit as the young girl swayed side to side while she walked.

"Sister Miyu, you did this for Michael when he was sick!" Winter announced with a proud grin. "Wet handkerchief on head!"

"Good girl." I couldn't help but to praise the smart girl, helping her open the door to her father's room since she didn't have any more hands to do so. Noting down in my mind that I should clean up the trail of water spills from the bathroom silently in my mind, I was met with the sight of lovely Crystal sitting on the bed by her father's side, softly stroking his head while he slept peacefully, almost dead to the world.

The twins were clearly remembering everything that had been done to make them feel better the last time they were down with the fever and were trying to do their best to do the same to their father. I could not resist the grin of amusement at their attempts, though I was rather touched myself.

"Mr Sparda," I called lightly with a small touch on his arm. "Mr Sparda, wake up. It's time for your medicine."

"Ember... I'll be fine. Just watch over the girls." Mr Sparda muttered as he stirred at my soft call. Ember was the name of ex-Mrs Sparda who had run away with her new lover.

"Daddy, wake up." Crystal said insistently. "Mummy is away on a business trip, remember?"

"Ember...?" Mr Sparda muttered. "If you decide that having the girls is too painful for you, then go. I will keep them happy and contented. I will watch over them until they are old enough to care for themselves, so go to him and be happy as well."

I froze a little at those words. Mr Sparda was clearly muttering from his dreams, but the words were most probably what had transpired in real life. The poor man was most probably reliving the day that his wife left him in his illness-riddled dreams.

"Crystal, Winter, I... err... I have to change your Daddy's clothes because he is sweating so much. Can you two go and get me a dry cloth to wipe his sweat away?" I found a quick lie, thankful that the girls hadn't found anything too particularly weird in their father's dream-talk. The twins were eager to help and quickly bounded out the room to my relief.

"Mr Sparda." I called with much more insistence this time, determined to wake him up before he blurted out more secrets in front of the girls. "Mr Sparda, wake up."

This time -thankfully -he did as his eyes opened slowly.

"Miyu." He greeted with a little surprise as if he had been expecting his wife standing by his side. Poor man. "What time is it now?"

"The girls and I just got back from school." I reported. "I'm sorry I had to wake you up like that, but you were dream-talking about your wife in front of the girls. I sent them out to get a cloth for you to wipe your sweat."

"I did?" Mr Sparda was clearly surprised; not that I would have blamed him for being so. People tended to have nightmares and say their true feelings in dream-talk while they were sick and that fact didn't seem to evade Mr Sparda as well. "Ember must have been on my mind."

Since there was no comfortable way for me to continue this conversation about his wife –considering how I was just a kindergarten teacher and the babysitter –I took the chance of his being awake to insist that he drink some water. Mr Sparda was strangely obedient while he was still weak and sick, but I guess his daughters at least had to learn their obedience from somewhere.

Crystal and Winter were quick to come back from getting a cloth, elated that their father was finally awake. Leaving the two to entertain their father –and the other way around –I retreated to the kitchen to begin preparing some porridge for the sick man. I was halfway through cutting some carrots when the girls came bounding into the kitchen again, as if suddenly remembering that I was gone from their father's room.

Both of them pestered me to let them help and the only job I assumed was the safest for them was to wash the vegetables. The two girls entertained themselves at the sink –wasting quite some bit of water –while I set the porridge to cook. It was a quick job making the meal, though Crystal tried to insist putting some sugar into the porridge to make it sweeter because it was too bland upon the taste-test.

"Hurry! Daddy is super hungry now, Sister Miyu." Crystal was the one to urge this time when I balanced the bowl of steaming porridge on a tray after refusing to allow either of the girls to carry it. While as a kindergarten teacher I encouraged the girls to try helping out at home as best as they could, it was still a good throw away from allowing them to do something dangerous.

It appeared that Mr Sparda had gone back for a nap while Crystal and Winter were in the kitchen, though he was much easier to wake up this time around. The girls climbed on the bed beside him, waiting patiently as I settled the bowl of porridge on the bedside table so as to allow him to help himself to the meal.

"Thank you for the concern, Miyu." Mr Sparda said weakly, and though I was slightly concerned at his current condition, at least he looked slightly better than he had been in the morning while he reached for the bowl.

"No!" Winter cried, grabbing her father's venturing hand desperately to stop him.

"What's wrong, Winter?" Mr Sparda asked with stark surprise.

"Sick people cannot eat by themselves." Winter explained, forcibly pulling her father's hand back, then climbed over him to get on his other side to be closer to the bowl. "Winter will feed you."

"I'll hold the bowl for you, then." I intercepted quickly before the girl could topple the bowl given the way her short arms seemed to strain to even reach it.

"I want! I want to feed Daddy too!" Crystal bounced excitedly, waiting excitedly as I balanced the bowl carefully between my hands, placing the spoon in.

Mr Sparda clearly looked caught between wanting to insist that he could feed himself, and wanting to allow his daughters to do what they wanted with him in this rare chance, and I did my best to give him an encouraging smile as Winter started first. The careful girl –true to her characteristics –took her time making sure that the porridge didn't spill or drip from the side before sending it into her father's awaiting mouth.

The scene was rather beautiful and I truly wished that I could have captured this moment on a camera. Still, the large grin of accomplishment on the little girl's face was a large reward for Mr Sparda's humbling himself to be fed by his own daughter.

"Crystal, remember to blow on the porridge a little before you give it to Daddy. It is quite hot." I reminded the girl whose turn had now come.

Clearly the more enthusiastic but less careful one of the twins, Crystal gave a big blow on the spoonful of porridge that unfortunately splattered it everywhere; even on the covers. Clearly ignoring the fact that she had blown away almost half the amount of porridge on the spoon all over her father's covers and shirt, Crystal followed her sister and fed another half-mouthful to their poor awaiting father. Neither of us complained about the mess that nonchalant Crystal was making as the girls took turns to feed their poor father who was getting more and more porridge with every time that Crystal blew on the spoonful of porridge.

The obviously loving father didn't place any protest at all as he allowed himself to be splattered, but this act was stopped halfway through the bowl by the younger twin.

"Crystal," Winter said in a disapproving voice. "You're making Daddy dirty."

The realization only struck the little girl –who had been in the middle of blowing another half-spoonful away –as she took in the mess around her father. I held my breath for the short moment for realization to strike Crystal, afraid that she would cry in guilt for making a mess. What happened surprised not only me but her father as well, when Crystal immediately transferred her spoon back to the bowl, then turned to me with a sheepish red face.

"Sorry, Sister Miyu. You feed Daddy." Crystal apologised, though the person to apologise wasn't exactly me.

"It's okay, Crystal." Mr Sparda put in pleasantly, clearly not wanting his daughter to lose confidence. "Daddy can change clothes later."

"No, let Sister Miyu feed Daddy, Winter. Sister Miyu fed us last time we were sick; she will be very nice to Daddy." Crystal said, turning to her sister. The advice clearly settled well with the younger twin and I shortly found myself the target of three pairs of eyes –two pair of eagers ones waiting for me to feed their father, and one pair of silent begging to simply go through the meal as soon as possible to save the poor man from being splattered with more porridge.

And even though I was only the babysitter, I guess the princesses' orders had to be followed as I did the rest of the job as quickly as possible, saving Mr Sparda any further embarrassment. It was already good enough that Mr Sparda had put aside his ego to allow his daughters to feed him, and now he was currently being forced to be fed by a stranger of the family like me.

Thankfully, we went through the rest of the bowl in relative peace –and in the girls' satisfaction when Mr Sparda finished the last spoonful. After taking his medicine, and being made to change out of his dirty clothes while I changed the covers on his bed, Mr Sparda understandably went back to bed. The girls and I quickly settled back to our daily routine after I cleaned up everything, though our post-homework activity today was to make a get-well card for their father. It was a good chance for the girls to practice their alphabets and words that they had learnt in school, and I left them to their devices to decorate their cards as they saw fit in their playroom to check on the sick man.

The sheets had been thrown back and were crumpled around Mr Sparda's legs, though he had begun sweating again. I felt for his temperature, a little surprised to find that the medicine didn't have seemed to work too much since his temperature had gotten much higher since lunchtime. Mr Sparda didn't stir much while I untangled the covers from his legs and pulled it over him once more, but what surprised me was a hand chaining my wrist when I tried to leave the room and him to his peaceful sleep once more.

"Ember..." Mr Sparda muttered again as I paused at his bedside, wondering if the man was asleep or awake at this point.

"Mr Sparda?" I asked carefully, but it was rather clear that the man was still mostly-out-of-it considering the way he didn't respond to me. I tried to remove his grip, but it was surprisingly strong for a sick and half-awake man.

"Ember, don't leave." Mr Sparda's half-awake self clearly somehow made me a substitute of his missing wife, because his grip only got tighter when I tried to pry his fingers away. "Don't leave us. The girls need a mother. I can't be their mother as well..."

"Mr Sparda, it's Miyu. I'm not your wife, please wake up." I tried to say, but what took my words –and breath –away was when the hand pulled me down with surprising strength. Losing my balance, my butt crashed down the side of the bed, but what rendered me in a frozen state was when Mr Sparda sat up instead, and pulled his arms around me, hugging me tight.

"Ember, I know I am a difficult man to love. But you changed my life when you came. You gave me the girls, and I continue to love them as much as I do to you. Do not do this; don't leave my side. Don't stop loving us, Ember. We are your family. Don't make anyone else your family..." Mr Sparda didn't seem to realise that he was hugging the completely wrong person adamantly, fighting against my strength as I struggled to remove his arms from around me. The bear hug was strong –true to Mr Sparda being a demon hunter –but I was clearly not the intended recipient of this bear hug.

Yet, despite my desperation to get my employer off me, I found myself blushing up since the last time anyone had hugged me was my ex-boyfriend who had broken up with me near two years ago. To say that my love life was currently dry was a fair statement, but it didn't mean that I was desperate enough to go after my employer who clearly loved his wife enough to be dreaming of her in his sick-riddled dreams.

"Mr Sparda, I'm Miyu!" I tried to hit him gently awake, but gentle movements were seemingly driving his delusions further as he hugged harder, almost squeezing the air out of me by now.

"Don't leave me... Don't leave Crystal and Winter... I still love you." The poor man continued to beg to someone who had long left. This was clearly the release of emotional stress that the man had been keeping away from bay since a little more than half a year ago, and though it made sense that he was finally letting it all out now, the force of the man's feelings still took me by surprise. Those words that were clearly buried deep inside Mr Sparda's being were now being spoken, and I was embarrassed that I –a mere stranger of the family –had to be the one to receive it.

"Don't leave me... Please." Mr Sparda continued to say, but it was clear that the unconsciousness was beginning to drag him under again when his strong arms slowly loosened, and the dream-talk began to fade away. I could only wait for a few minutes more as what was left of Mr Sparda was only his weight as he leaned on me now, his arms losing their shackling power.

Feeling sorry for him now that I knew of his genuine feelings that he couldn't release in front of his daughters, I let him lie down once more, tucking him carefully in the bed before escaping quickly before I could be attacked once more.

My face was still a little red when I returned to tend the girls, but my mind was far away, pitying the suffering of a poor father who still loved the mother of his children very much, but probably couldn't get her back anymore since she had long eloped.

The rest of the day passed as usual, and I left the Sparda House for home when Mr Sparda woke up by himself in the late evening, insisting that he was fine. I offered to house the girls at my place for a day just in case the man accidentally passed the virus to his daughters, but Crystal and Winter -regardless of how much they loved and were attached to me -could not stand the idea of leaving their father's side. Mr Sparda himself insisted that he was fine enough to put the girls to bed, and so I left the house without a second word.

The whole incident of Mr Sparda's hugging me was completely unspoken since the only person who had been conscious at that time had been me. The poor man had said some things that I assumed he wouldn't have said had he been fully conscious and thus it was better to leave things as they were to avoid misunderstandings.

Mr Sparda clearly remembered none of it, and I wasn't going to act otherwise.

________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, I stood once more outside the door ringing the doorbell and waiting patiently while the girls cheered at my arrival. The usual enthusiastic morning greeting once more came, and I looked up with relief to see colour on Mr Sparda's face.

"Good Morning, Miyu. Thank you for coming over once again." Mr Sparda said as usual.

"Good Morning to you too, Mr Sparda. Are you feeling better now?"

"Much better than I was yesterday "Mr Sparda answered confidently. "Thank you for your help yesterday. I received the get-well cards from Crystal and Winter and they were beautiful."

The spoken compliment obviously settled well with the girls in topic as they cheered all over again. Excited as always to meet the new day and learn new things, Crystal and Winter chattered non-stop as they dressed themselves -with my assistance -and packed their bags.

I left then to their own devices for a short while to find Mr Sparda washing the dishes once again in the kitchen.

"Mr Sparda," I called lightly so that I didn't startle him. "I made some honey lemon yesterday after I went home. Please have some and get completely well soon."

The sight of the lunchbox surprised him a little, but he smiled in thanks anyway. "You can give the girls some. They need it to build immunity against my virus."

"I've made their share in another container." I brought the other one out of my bag for presentation purposes. "That one is for you."

"Then thank you once again, Miyu. Thank you for being such a kind help to us. The Sparda family is forever indebted to you." The politely formal speech made me blush a little, for I was reminded suddenly by the events that had transpired the day before.

"You don't have to say that, Mr Sparda. I'm just doing my best so that Crystal and Winter can stay happy even while missing a mother figure."

"True, the girls have never had a sad day since you came to help." Mr Sparda agreed.

"Do you intend to remarry, Mr Sparda?" The question that I found myself blurting out had been transpired from the remembrance of the day before. The man clearly still loved his wife, but would he name another woman Mrs Sparda if she agreed to take care of his beloved daughters?

"I have no such intention for now, at least not until the two of them are old enough to take care of themselves. It might be hard to bring them up by myself, but the three of us will just have to learn how to grow up together. I have no intentions to let the girls call another woman their mother just yet." The honest answer surprised me despite how I had expected something along that line.

"I see. Well, for now, you still have me so you don't have to worry so much." I nodded to show that I understood and respected the man's wishes.

The greatest irony came a second after, in which the two girls came running out of their room.

"Mama Miyu!" They shouted eagerly. "We're ready!"

"'Mama' Miyu?" I was faster than Mr Sparda to ask. "Who taught you to call me that?"

"Crystal taught me that." Winter answered, a look of clear worry crossing her face now as if super afraid that they were going to get scolded. "She said if Daddy hugs a woman, she is our Mama. Daddy hugged Sister Miyu yesterday, so today you are our Mama!"

"Hug?" I exclaimed in a pitch that might have been too high to be natural. "Your daddy didn't hug me!"

"We saw it yesterday!" Crystal insisted. "Sister Miyu, we cannot lie, or our noses will grow long!"

Stuck between wanting to hide the truth, but also wanting to continue being their role model by not lying, I froze as a heat quickly took my face. I pressed my hands to my face, turning away from Mr Sparda in an effort to hide it, but the embarrassing thing was that I could feel my ears burning as well –and they were in full view for his silent self.

"Oh no, Sister Miyu, you are red!" Winter exclaimed worriedly, pointing. "Are you sick also?"

"No, I'm not..." I flustered quickly to say to assure the girls, but my reassurance was cut off with a short 'eep' when a strong hand spun me back around, pulling my hands from my face.

"Miyu, did I really?" Mr Sparda demanded, not even needing to continue the rest of the sentence, since his daughters had already made the fact clear.

"It was fine! You were delirious with fever, and you mistook me for your wife! Really, nothing happened!" I protested quickly, shaking my head desperately. I wasn't even sure why I was feeling so embarrassed. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I had been caught by the girls when I thought I could bring the secret to my grave.

And Crystal and Winter had tried to call me their mother!

"I sincerely apologise for everything that I did or said while I was delirious, Miyu." Mr Sparda bowed sincerely.

"Really, it was nothing. You don't have to apologise for anything." I flustered quickly, but the girls clearly didn't understand the situation well when Crystal tugged at my pant leg for attention, eyes of beautifully confused blue glittering up at me.

"So we can't call you Mummy?"

"No!" I answered quickly, then softened my tone when I realised that my exclamation sounded a little harsh. "I'm your Sister Miyu, girls. To become your Mummy means something else entirely."

"But Michael's Mummy always brings him to and from school, and she cooks for him and she helps him with the homework and play with him at home. You do that for us, Sister Miyu." Crystal looked like she was honestly trying hard to understand why she was mistaken.

"Crystal, don't go around calling anyone your Mummy." Mr Sparda cut in as a save, squatting himself in front of his confused baby girls. With one gentle hand on each's head, Mr Sparda looked left and right at the angels that had become the most important people of his life ever since they were born. "The two of you might feel lonely because you don't get to call anyone your Mummy in the future, but it will be fine. You girls will always have me. I won't go anywhere."

"Go somewhere?" Winter asked, clearly not understand the depth of her father's words. "Where are you going, Daddy?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Mr Sparda promised –with a loaded meaning that probably only he and I understood at the moment. "I won't leave the two of you until you girls tire of me. I will always be here with you through all of your days; happy or sad, sick or healthy."

Crystal was clearly only picking up keywords in her father's speech, because she rushed forwards and grabbed her father in a hug, tackling him so that he had to sit down on the floor with his arms instinctively pulled protectively around her.

"Don't be sick, Daddy! You sleep a lot when you are sick!"

"We are worried when you are sick!" Winter added after her sister, following suit as the girls found themselves in their father's protective embrace.

I couldn't help wiping away the touched tears at the corners of my eyes at this scene as Mr Sparda placed a kiss on the top of each of his daughter's head.

"Daddy won't get sick anymore. I won't worry you girls anymore."