The long day inevitably catches up with you. Tucked under a mound of blankets, and with your baby a warm weight against your chest, you alternately rock him and doze, your eyelids slipping shut when your movements still to put the baby down. Your chin hits your chest and you rally awake, fighting against the pull of sleep.

You're startled out of your light sleep when the screen door is pushed open. It's your husband who enters the room, looking more rumpled than you've ever seen him. He appears to have neither showered nor slept; you've seen him frequently visit you and the baby, holding his son for a few, brief seconds before heading back out to supervise and help with the rebuilding of Asakusa.

He looks unbelievably happy and calm. The same way he'd looked on your honeymoon, when you'd stayed at an inn by the beach and stayed out late watching the waves and then spent all night making love.

"The Eighth is leaving," He says, against the softness of your mouth.

Your tone is colored with dismay when you pull away. "Already?"

It hadn't occurred to you that they would be leaving so soon, but you supposed that it was inevitable, given the fact that they too were an official firefighting company, with their own jurisdiction to look out for. Your mind flashes back to the youngest members in the squad, and you wonder if anyone has told them that you've had your baby, or if it had been forgotten in the chaos.

You lean back into the embrace of the pillows, your lips twisted up into a pout. "Before they go, tell them I want to see the kids!"

"The kids?" Beni asks, the barest hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "When did you adopt them?"

"Yesterday. They're really cute." The smile you give him is shy and sheepish, but you can't deny that you've taken a liking to them. "You'd like them too if you just talked to them!"

"I did." Beni snorts, stroking a finger down the baby's cheek; his son stirs, instinctively turning his head towards it. "They're all brats."

Giggles fizz in your stomach. "And you're not?"

You receive a flick to the forehead for that pointed comment, but Beni leaves, presumably to find your children; the three of them linger hesitantly by the door, but gather around you in seconds when you beckon them over, your eyes and smile warm. They stand by the side where the baby is most exposed, entranced by his milk-drunk eyes, pouted mouth, peg of a chin.

"We heard about the baby! It's so cute!"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's so red and squishy looking."

"Yeah," You laugh, slightly confused about which question to respond to first. "I've had the baby. It's a healthy boy."

"He – He kind of looks like Captain Shinmon, doesn't he?"

"Really?"

"I see it! It's the eyes!"

There's a moment of silence as the three of them peer at him. The baby stares back at them disgruntledly. His hand is untucked from the slack fabric of his blanket and waves around in the air. You have to stifle a laugh; it's a familiar stare, one you've seen all too often on your husband's face.

You run a hand through downy dark hair, nestled in the crook of your arm. "Do you want to hold him? I don't mind."

"Can we really?" Tamaki asks, eyeing him longingly.

"Of course. Come here."

You teach her how to position her arms, how to hold the baby so that he's supported and comfortable, as the midwife had done earlier. All the advice you've been given moments after the birth, some of which you've already forgotten because you'd been too drunk with sudden love for your child to take it in.

"Have you thought of any names?" Tamaki asks, humming and swaying. She's a natural already; you might have to invite her back to babysit.

Arthur perks up. "Lancelot is a fine name!"

Shinra can only stare at him. You wonder if your expression is as bewildered as his.

". . . Do you have any better names?" Shinra asks eventually, a question directed at you.

Quietly, very quietly, you say, "Hibachi."

Silence falls like a foot of fresh snow; you find yourself wrapped up in memories of a simpler time, when you and Beni were both younger. Beni had been smaller then. Weaker. And you had been painfully shy, keeping your words locked away deep inside of you – but Beni had been able to tug them out of you anyway.

You return to the present, shaking off the mists of time and memory which had once reclaimed you. "Tamaki, let Arthur have a turn."

Her lips push out into a pout. "What? But I've barely held him!"

"You've been holding him for fifteen minutes, actually . . ." Shinra mumbles, and receives a nasty glare from her.

"Tamaki . . ."

"Okay," She says, and reluctantly hands the baby to Arthur.

Arthur stiffens as soon as Tamaki takes her hands away, as if suddenly coming to the realization that there is a tiny, fragile human being relying on him to keep him alive. His stunned silence brings a smile to your expression and sends giggles fizzing in the pit of your stomach.

"Lift your elbows," Shinra says suddenly, which takes all of you by surprise. "His head needs to be supported."

And it's with no small amount of amazement that you watch as Shinra shifts Arthur's arm into a more agreeable position, only stepping away once he's satisfied.

"Do you have younger siblings, Shinra?" You ask, patting his hand. "I think you know more than I do!"

Shinra's face changes. "I have a younger brother."

Clouds cover his eyes, and you know you've put them there. You're overcome by the sudden urge to hug him, and, beckoning Shinra to step closer, you do.