This Is Gospel (ShimaxYukio)

46. Remember the Name

Rin blinked as the sound of crying echoed through the room. He couldn't see past his waist; a blue curtain cutting off his view.

"Congratulations Mr. Okumura! You've got a beautiful baby boy."

They held a crying ball of flesh up to his head, but he couldn't pay much attention to it due to the nagging itch in his nose. His eye lids were heavy and it was hard to keep them open.

Just one little nap won't hurt.

#

The doors to the OR bursted open and Bon stood, reaching out to catch Ling when he stumbled trying to follow suit. The doctor was dressed from head to toe in foam green, including a mask and a hood over his head.

"Hello, Mr. Suguro! I've come to tell you that you're little husband has successfully brought a healthy little one into the world!"

The voice sounded oddly familiar.

And how did he know his name?

"Wait a second...Mephisto?"

The gloves came off and the mask and hood followed suit...

Sure enough, it was Mephisto Pheles.

"In the flesh! How have you been, my dear boy?"

Bon's facial expression was on of pure mortification.

"Did you...? No way, you couldn't have..."

"Performed a c-section operation on your husband successfully? Yes, I did."

"Oh God, I'm going to be sick. You're not even a doctor!"

"Blasphemy! I assure you that I have the certification to perform such procedures."

Mephisto caught a glimpse of Shiro and looked around Bon to smiled at his old acquaintance.

"Hello there, Fujimoto!"

"Johan."

Mephisto seemed to flinch at the harsh tone of the man's voice, but held his smile. "You're looking well these days." he said. Shiro grunted at him. "I suppose that you haven't aged a day either, you demon." he hissed. There was a stale silence that followed.

Jesus, talk about tension.

"So, about our baby..." Ling piped up, sort of annoyed at being detoured by all of these people that he didn't know. Mephisto cleared his throat, swinging out his arm dramatically. "Yes, of course! Right this way!"

The flamboyant man lead them down the hall to the nursery and let them inside.

"We were going to wait until Rin was conscious again to name him, but here's your boy...so to speak."

And Lord was this child beautiful.

Amazingly enough, the child had a thick head of black hair. He peeked an eye open and Bon hummed.

"Ling, this kid looks just like you."

Honestly, Ling had been thinking the same thing. He was just too awestruck to voice it.

"Wow." he breathed out, jaw tightening in an attempt to keep his urge to touch the child in check.

"Hey...you okay, buddy?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay I'm just...a little overwhelmed. He's so..."

"Perfect?"

"God, yes..."

A nurse entered a moment later to wheel the baby out to Rin's room and everyone followed. Shima was mildly impressed with how Mugen was kept so in check by a toddler, though he supposed that even brutes like him had soft spots for children.

#

Rin was sitting up in his bed when they came in, hair a disheveled mess and probably still high on drugs.

"Mrs. Suguro, can you hear me?"

"Yes. You're very loud, I would be surprised if everyone on those floor couldn't hear you."

The nurse giggled at the comment. "Good, that means that you're coherent." she said, wheeling the crib next to the bed and scooping the baby out to gently hand it over to Rin. A smile instantly spread across his face, thumb brushing over the baby's cheek.

"Hi baby." he whispered to the infant, rocking him back and forth in his arms. Ling wanted so badly to hold him, but he stayed put next to Bon until he was told otherwise.

"C'mere, you two."

He hobbled over to sit at the chair next to the bed while Bon stood, grinning at the sight. He glanced over at his family, where Yukio was discretely taking candid photos with his phone, and told them to come closer. They surrounded the bed---even Mugen.

"Daddy, I wanna see!"

Aimi was bouncing up and down at her father's side, begging him to hold her up so that she could see. He hoisted her up and sat her on the bed after making her promise to sit still and behave. She nodded vigorously, gripping the arm rest to use as leverage so that she could look at the baby.

"Woooow mommy, he's a pretty baby! You made that?"

"Well, Daddy and Papa helped but yes, I made him and both of you right in my tummy."

Aimi looked over to see that her twin was still sleeping and although she didn't want him to miss out on the excitement, she didn't think it was necessary to wake him. Her eyes drifted over to Ling and she noticed his hands shaking...almost like he didn't know what to do with them.

"I think Papa wants to hold him."

Ling's gaze snapped away from the baby, blush powdering his cheeks.

"I---um...yes, Ai, I would very much like to hold him."

Rin looked over at him with a raised brow. "Why didn't you just say so?" he said, leaning forward to hand the baby to him. He started to object, saying that Rin was entitled to however much time he wanted with the child but Rin insisted that he had the rest of his life to be with the baby and that it was his and Bon's son as well---not just his.

With trembling limbs, Ling cradled the baby at his chest. The baby grabbed his finger with his tiny hands and latched onto it, cooing at him.

Ling felt himself getting ready to cry.

"God, he's beautiful."

"You wanna name him?"

Ling's gaze flashed back at Rin, jaw lowered in shock.

"I-I-I couldn't possibly....I mean it's not my place and I..."

"Ling, you're his father too. If you want, you can name him. It's up to you, honey."

Vision blurred by tears, he looked up at Bon for confirmation that it was okay. A thumb brushed across his cheek to wipe away a tear and Bon smiled at him.

"Go on."

Ling hiccuped, trying to keep his emotions from getting the better of him. He didn't have anyone since his parents died. No siblings. No aunts or uncles. Just him.

And now he was naming his first born son...even if it wasn't really his son.

"Alright then, little one. Your name is Shen Lei. A suitable name for a child with a thundering spirit."