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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Snowflakes

“Mama! Do you see it?!” Towa asked excitedly as she held her mother’s hand as she walked her and Setsuna to school. 

“Oh, my! It’s snowing!” Rin laughed delightedly. “What a perfect way to start December!” 

“Does Papa like snowflakes?” Towa asked curiously. 

“Well, we’ll just have to ask him tonight when he gets home,” Rin said with a smile. 

“Father will be home tonight?” Setsuna asked.

Rin nodded happily. “Yes, his flight from America should be arriving sometime this afternoon. So he may be a little tired tonight, girls.” 

“Papa never gets tired,” Towa said stoutly. 

Rin couldn’t really argue with that point. 

As much as Sesshomaru appreciated some conveniences of the modern world, flight was not one of them. He missed the days where he didn’t have to conceal his demonic powers; days where he could fly freely in the sky. 

It was snowing heavily when he arrived in Tokyo, where Rin was waiting for him in a lovely black peacoat and wearing a lovely smile. Running up to him, she kissed him deeply on the lips, her small right leg kicking up in the air. 

“The girls will be excited to see you,” she said with a smile. “They want to know if you like snow.” 

Amusement glinted in Sesshomaru’s eyes. “Oh? And what did you tell them?” 

“I told them you would tell them tonight,” she giggled, taking his large hand into her smaller one. 

“Papa!” Towa and Setsuna yelled as they ran in the door from school. Sesshomaru easily caught both of them, kissing each of their foreheads. 

“I missed you, Papa!” Towa exclaimed, wrapping her tiny arms tightly around his neck. 

“I missed you too, Father,” Setsuna said in her more subdued voice. 

Rin sat a stack of white copy paper on the table, along with four pairs of scissors. “Girls, I was thinking we could make some snowflakes to decorate our windows. Would you like that?”

“Yes!” Towa and Setsuna both cheered. Grabbing a somewhat confused Sesshomaru’s hands, they led him to the table, where they quickly began cutting designs into the folded white pieces of paper. 

Soon, they had a stack of unique patterned snowflakes: Rin’s were playful and cute; Sesshomaru and Setsuna’s were clear cut and precise, while Towa’s were chaotically designed. 

The girls and Rin taped the snowflakes on the windows, with Sesshomaru helping to hang the snowflakes higher up. 

Finally, they all stood back and admired their masterpiece. 

“It’s beautiful, girls,” Rin praised, running her fingers through their hair. 

“Look!” Setsuna cried out. “It’s snowing again!” 

"So do you like snow, Papa?” Towa looked at him with questioning eyes. 

Sesshomaru’s golden gaze trailed over his wife and two small daughters and the enthralled expressions they had on their faces. 

"Yes,” he said at last. “It’s quite nice.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Gingerbread

“Mama! Look, a gingerbread house!” Towa cried out. It was a few weeks before Christmas, and Rin had taken both Towa and Setsuna with her to the grocery store to do some shopping. 

Rin, who had paused to look at some bags of chocolate chips, smiled affectionately at Towa and Setsuna, who were looking at the gingerbread house display with wonder. 

“It’s so pretty!” Setsuna said in a reverent voice. 

“Can we get it, mama? Please?” Towa asked in a wheedling voice, hugging Rin around her legs. “Please?” 

Rin paused. “I don’t see why not, although you know your Father doesn’t like you two hyped up on sugar.” 

“We won’t eat it!” Towa protested. “It’s too pretty.” 

Rin smiled at her girls in a resigned way. She really couldn’t argue with their logic. The gingerbread house would be too pretty to eat. 

As soon as they arrived home and put the groceries away, Towa and Setsuna immediately grabbed their gingerbread house, making their way to the large dining room table. 

Sesshomaru, who had been working from home that day, came out of his office, looking questioningly at his wife and daughters. 

Rin smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I couldn’t say no to them, Sesshomaru. They made some pretty convincing points.” 

“Rin,” Sesshomaru leaned down to kiss her forehead. “You know how the girls get when they have too much sugar.” He looked disdainfully at the gingerbread house and all of its confections. “That is an abundance of sugar.” 

“Oh, Sesshomaru-sama, just because you don’t like sugar, doesn’t mean we should deprive the girls,” Rin teased. “Besides, it’s Christmas!” 

Sesshomaru looked slightly placated as he sat down at the table and pulled Rin onto his lap. He gave the twins a leveled look. “You may build the house, but absolutely no eating it tonight.” 

“Finished!” Setsuna exclaimed, wiping her icing covered hands over her overalls. 

Sesshomaru glanced over at the gingerbread house and Rin looked impressed. It was relatively well-put together if one didn’t include the roof caving in. 

“I think we put too much stuff on top,” Towa whispered to Setsuna conspiratorially. Right at that moment, the house collapsed because of the weight of the confections. The girls looked on in horror and even Rin had a small wave of apprehension run through her body. 

Towa and Setsuna both had tears in their eyes as they gazed at their fallen gingerbread house. 

“It…broke.” Towa said tearfully, as Setsuna burst into a fresh set of tears. 

“Girls…” Rin started, but was interrupted as Sesshomaru reached around her to grab a piece of the house, biting into it carefully. 

“It’s delicious,” he told them. “Try some.” 

“B-but you told us we c-couldn’t—” Towa started. 

“Well, I changed my mind,” he said as Rin beamed at him. 

The girls looked at their father in shock, before each of their little hands reached out to grab a piece of gingerbread. 

“It is good,” Setsuna concluded. 

“Yeah!” Towa exclaimed. “Good thing it broke.” 

Rin covered her mouth to hide a giggle before she turned to her husband with an appreciative glance. 

“It really is…good.” he admitted. 

Chapter Text

Lights 

Chapter 3: Lights

“Girls,” Rin said nervously, as she handed each other her twins a string of lights. “I’m almost sure that we have enough lights…”

All throughout the large and fluffed up tree (for Sesshomaru had always chosen the best ), strings of multicolored lights smothered the once proud evergreen tree. The tree was now covered with incandescent blues and purples, multicolored rainbow lights, as well as the standard string of white lights. 

Rin bit the bottom of her lip, trying not to giggle. “What do you think Daddy will say?”

Towa spoke up first. “Daddy will say that Santa Clause needs to reach us.” 

Setsuna nodded earnestly. “Yes, mama. Isn’t Daddy always saying that we must abdicate for ourselves?” 

“Advocate,” Rin corrected gently. 

“Just then, Rin heard the electronic fob key buzz, and she hurried to the foyer to meet her husband, while the girls began haphazardly placing ornaments all over the tree.

“Good evening, Anata,” Rin greeted, reaching on her tiptoes to kiss his warm cheek. “I hope work was enjoyable.”

Sesshomaru sighed. “As well as it could be.” He cast a suspicious look over at the living area. “It’s quiet in here, Rin.”

Rin nodded solemnly. “Too quiet.” She paused before hesitantly adding. “The girls are decorating the tree.”

Taking his wife’s small hand in his, Sesshomaru led her into the living room, where sure enough, the twins had decorated their fluffy green evergreen tree in every strand of colorful light, as well as every ornament in their possession. 

The former Sesshomaru would have scoffed and made them take it all down. 

This Sesshomaru merely nodded, albeit a small one. “At least the neighbors will take notice,” he said, his voice rather mild. 

Rin giggled. “That they will.” She said, looking up at her husband and smiling, as the light of their multi-colored tree glowed in the quickly darkening room. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Shopping

“Look Papa, it’s Santa Claus!” Towa squealed, gripping her father’s large hand tightly as she swung it back and forth. 

“So it is,” he agreed. Though his mind was more on finding his wife the perfect present, not a man dressed as a mythological being. 

Beside him, Setsuna, his more timid child, snuggled closer into the softness of his moko moko. 

“Can we take a picture with him!?” Towa yelled out, jumping up excitedly, causing a few onlookers to look and smile at her enthusiasm. 

“We need to find your mother a present for Christmas,” he reminded Towa. Beside him, Setsuna nodded. “Mother likes pretty jewelry.” 

“Mama likes family togetherness ,” Towa countered. Then, with her ‌strong half demon strength, she led Sesshomaru and Setsuna to the line. 

“Next!” A teenaged elf called in a bored voice. 

“It’s our turn!” Towa called out unnecessarily. “C’mon Setsu.” 

Setsuna shook her head, burying her head deeper into her Father’s moko moko. “Not without Father.” 

Sesshomaru sighed, seeing no other way around it. Turning around, he lifted up Setsuna into his arms and allowed Towa and the teenager who hated her job, to lead them to see the jolly human . 

“Ho, ho, ho!” the mortal chortled. “Have you two been very good girls this year?” 

Towa leapt into the old man’s lap. “Yes! Setsu has been too, but she’s scared of you.” Towa gestured to Sesshomaru. “And that’s our Papa. He’s mostly been good.” She leaned forward and whispered secretly into Santa’s ear. “Papa is looking for a Christmas present for Mama, so he’s a little cranky right now.” 

“Well, how about a nice picture?” 

“Mama would love that!” 

Even Setsuna peeked up from Sesshomaru’s moko moko, her golden eyes wide. 

“Alright!” The elf called. “Everyone together. On the count of three.” 

“Papa!” Towa hissed. “Get on Santa’s lap.” 

Sesshomaru gave his eldest daughter a rather severe look. “No.”

“Mama would love it.” 

“Your mother would love a lot of things.” 

“One…” The elf called out, clearly not paying attention to the spat going on between father and daughter. “Two…”

“Three!” Yelled Towa as she pulled her Father down, so that he was laying across Santa’s lap with Setsuna perched like a little princess on his Moko Moko. 

The once grumpy elf wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. “This picture has made my day.” 

The picture showed Towa sitting in Santa’s lap with a big grin, Sesshomaru laying halfway across Santa’s lap with a large scowl on his face, and Setsuna smiling sweetly at the camera as she rested on top of Sesshomaru’s Moko Moko. 

“Merry Christmas!” The elf giggled. “This picture is free of charge.” 

“Looks like we found mama a gift.” Setsuna quipped, still holding tightly to her Father’s Moko Moko. 

Sesshomaru leveled his oldest with a look “You are grounded for the next fifty years.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Music Concert:

It was the night of Setsuna’s holiday performance, and despite her stoic nature, she was feeling an onslaught of intense nerves. Despite reassurances from her private tutor, her mother, and her sister, she still felt insecurity sting at her heart. 

As she placed her violin in her case, she ran her small hands over the polished wood, trying to steady her increasingly fraying nerves. 

“Setsuna.” 

Setsuna startled slightly at the sound of her Father’s voice. While her Mother and Towa had been vocal in their support of her performance, her Father had been silent. Setsuna didn’t take it to heart, though. Such was the way of her Father; he was a demon of few words. 

“Yes, Father?” she turned to look at him. 

“You will do well.” 

Before Setsuna could form a response, he was already gone, leaving her alone with her thoughts. 

Does he believe in me? 

Father believes in me. 

Setsuna repeated the mantra to herself as she stood behind the curtain, getting ready to walk on the stage of her elementary school. She watched as the act before her took their bow to the audience. With her sharper than normal eyesight, she spotted her parents and Towa in the audience. Her Mother and Towa were politely clapping, while her Father just stared impassively on his face betraying no emotion. 

“I can do this,” she murmured to herself, as the stage manager hurried over to usher her on the stage. Setsuna nodded and made her way on the stage.

Bubbles of anxiety blossomed in her chest as she felt the eyes of hundreds of occupants on her. The stage lights were ridiculously bright and hot, and Setsuna adjusted her violin, careful to keep a strong hold of it in her sweaty hands. 

She heard her accompanying piano begin its introduction, and for one fearful moment, she had forgotten every single note that she had practiced. Her wide eyes flitted across the crowd, falling on her Father. 

Sesshomaru gave her a slight nod, and Setsuna felt an encompassing relief flood her as the memory of notes rushed back into her mind. 

I can do this. Father believes in me. 

As if being guided by an entity outside of herself, Setsuna began to play the melody that she had been practicing for over two months. To her great surprise, it was as if the notes had never left, as she heard the melancholic Christmas songs produced from the meeting of her bow and tight strings.  

Perhaps it gave her even more courage to know that she was playing Papa’s favorite song. Mama loved it too, but she sometimes preferred happy songs; papa loved melancholy. 

Then…it was over. 

There was silence as Setsuna broke apart from her bow and violin, and she stared anxiously at the overlooking audience, their faces one collective, blurred mask. 

Then suddenly, applause broke out. 

She gave a little gasp of surprise, before taking her bow, but not before catching her Father’s eye. He gave her a tiny nod, his lips crooked upward in what could only be a smile. Setsuna grinned at him before making her way backstage. 

The rest of the concert passed by fairly quickly, with Setsuna still reeling from her Father’s warm reaction to her playing. When it was over, Setsuna met her parents and Towa in the lobby of the school. 

Towa rushed forward and gave her an enthusiastic hug. “I knew you could do it, Sis!” 

Rin took her in her arms, kissing the top of her head. “You played wonderfully, Setsuna,” she praised. “It brought tears to my eyes!” 

Setsuna nervously looked at her Father from the safety of her Mother’s arms. “What about you, Father?” she ventured to ask, “what did you think of it?”

Sesshomaru said nothing, and for a brief and fearful moment, Setsuna wondered if she had let him down. Perhaps she had misread him, and—

A warm hand on her cheek made her pause.

“Well done, Setsuna.” 

Setsuna beamed, snuggling her cheek deeper into Sesshomaru's hand. “Thank you, Father.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Christmas Day

“Wanna take a bet?” Rin asked her husband sleepily as she curled deeper into his chest.

Sesshomaru let out a low growl. “What kind of bet, Rin?”

Rin giggled. “Oh? That the girls will be up in about…five minutes?” 

Sesshomaru sat up slightly, his large frame pressed against the plush headboard. “Five minutes?” he repeated, his voice sounding somewhat incredulous. 

Rin nodded. “It’s Christmas morning! They are excited for their presents that Santa Claus…or rather their papa got them.” She paused for a moemnt. “Oh, and I guess his little elf.” 

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at Rin's remark, a faint hint of amusement playing on his lips. "So, you think they'll be awake in five minutes, do you?" he asked, his voice laced with a touch of skepticism.

Rin nodded enthusiastically, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "Absolutely! They've been eagerly waiting for this day. I can almost hear their tiny feet pattering down the hallway already."

Sesshomaru chuckled softly, finding it difficult to resist Rin's playful spirit. "Very well, Rin. I accept your bet. If they're awake within the next five minutes, what shall be the prize?"

Rin pretended to ponder for a moment, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Hmm...how about a day where you do all the house chores without any complaints?"

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that suggestion. "You drive a hard bargain, my Rin,” he laced with an extreme amount of possessiveness. “ But very well, if the girls are indeed awake within the next five minutes, I shall fulfill my end of the bet."

Rin snuggled closer to Sesshomaru, her laughter fading into a contented sigh. "Deal. But if they're not awake, then I owe you a foot massage later."

Sesshomaru's expression softened, and he placed a gentle kiss on Rin's forehead. "Agreed. Let's see who wins this little wager."

And so, Rin and Sesshomaru settled into their cozy bed, waiting in anticipation to see if their daughters would indeed burst into their room, filled with excitement on this special Christmas morning.

“Papa! Mama!” Towa was the first to call out loudly, and sure enough, much to Sesshomaru’s prediction, little fit came pitter pattering down the long hallway to their parents' bedroom. Sesshomaru frowned and Rin couldn’t help but grin at him. 

“I win,” she whispered in his ear, a faint note of seduction coating it. 

As Towa's voice echoed through the hallway, Rin's grin widened, and she turned to Sesshomaru with a playful twinkle in her eyes. "Looks like I won this bet, dear," she said, unable to hide her delight.

Sesshomaru's frown deepened, but there was a flicker of amusement in his gaze. He gracefully rose from the bed, his imposing figure commanding attention as he prepared to fulfill his end of the wager. "Indeed, it seems I underestimated their excitement," he admitted, his voice tinged with mild amusement.

Just as Sesshomaru finished speaking, the bedroom door burst open, and the two younger twin daughters, Towa and Setsuna, rushed in, their faces beaming with joy. "Mama! Papa! It's Christmas!" they exclaimed in unison, their excitement filling the room.

Rin couldn't contain her laughter, thoroughly enjoying the scene unfolding before her. "Well done, girls! Santa Claus certainly delivered, didn't he?" she chimed in, her voice filled with mirth.

Sesshomaru watched his daughters with a mixture of pride and affection, a rare smile gracing his usually composed expression. "Indeed," he replied, his tone gentle. "It seems Santa Claus has been generous this year."

He gave Rin a secretive look, one which the girls paid no mind to. “Both to your mother and myself.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Towa’s Plan

“Setsuna, Moroha, and I are going to stay up until midnight!” Towa declared boldly to her father, who was sitting in his office going over various invoices from his business. Something which Jaken normally did, but the imp had recently requested personal time for the first time in five centuries, which left Sesshomaru doing all of the work.

S omething that he was not fond of. 

“Are you now?” he asked distractedly, his eyes still scanning the various numbers and marking them off of a list. 

“Yes!” she said in a childishly confident voice that Sesshomaru found endearing. “Do you know why?”

Sesshomaru hardly knew what the date was to be honest. Ever since Christmas, most of the days had been a blur. Perhaps it was the twenty-eighth? Twenty-ninth?

It couldn’t have even been the thirtieth.

“Do you know why, Papa?” Towa repeated, her voice laced with what could only be impatience. Something she had perhaps gotten from Rin. 

“Why?” he asked, sitting down his expensive Montblanc pen, looking at his eldest daughter with absolute patience. 

Something that he didn’t afford to just anyone. 

“It’s New Year's Eve!” Towa burst out, as if hardly being able to contain the excitement of it. 

Perhaps he and Rin could have a date night if they pawned the girls off on Inuyasha and Kagome—

Wait. Full stop. 

New Year’s Eve!? But it was only the twenty-eighth! He was sure of it. He scanned his desk calendar, his heart dropping when he saw his neat “X” on the thirtieth.

Shit. 

Well, perhaps the night could be salvaged—

“Are you and Setsuna going over to your Aunt and Uncle’s?” 

Towa shook her head excitedly. “Nope! Mama said Moroha can come over here!”

Sesshomaru’s heart dropped, though he didn’t allow his expression to change. Maybe the girls would tie in early—after all, Towa and Setsuna normally went to bed about eight o’clock—that would grant him and Rin some much needed alone time, and—

“Mama said we can have soda tonight!” Towa exclaimed loudly, effectively breaking any sort of plan that he had to get Rin alone. “Aren’t you excited, Papa?!”

“Ecstatic.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: The Party

“Hey, thanks for taking Moroha,” Inuyasha said to Sesshomaru as he deposited his daughter on the floor beside her cousins, who were currently watching a cartoon with talking cars. 

“It was Rin’s idea,” Sesshomaru replied, still refusing to take credit for an idea that he never would have had in the first place. Though he did not take it out on Rin, he refused to forget the fact that they could have had a New Year's date night had they pawned the girls off on Inuyasha and Kagome. 

“Girls, pizza here,” Rin said, stepping into the room, wearing a comfortable set of yoga pants and a t-shirt from the Tokyo Yokai Association. “Inuyasha, are you sure that you and Kagome don’t want to come over?” 

“Nah,” Inuyasha said shaking his head. “Kags and I have reservations at some French restaurant, Le—somethin’ or another.”

“Le’Efferevecence?” Rin wondered out loud as the loud and cheering twins and Moroha rushed past her. “Girls, don’t run in the house.” 

Sesshomaru sighed inwardly. That was his and Rin’s favorite French restaurant. To think that his half-breed brother who couldn’t even pronounce the damn restaurant’s name was going to be eating there instead of him—-

“Yeah,” Inuyasha said. “Hey, Sess, why does it look like you have gas or somethin’?” 

Sesshomaru didn’t even deign his half-brother a response. Instead, he stalked off to the kitchen to oversee his twins and niece eat pizza. Inuyasha gave Rin a puzzled look, who shrugged apologetically. 

“Don’t mind him,” she murmured. “I think he’s upset that I volunteered for us to watch the girls tonight.” 

“Rin, Kags and I will take the girls if you two wanna—” Inuyasha waggled his eyebrows in a Kagome-like fashion, making Rin giggle. 

“No, no, it’s fine! I’ll make it up to him later.” 

“Heh, I’m sure you will,” Inuyasha said, turning to go. “Anyway, happy New Year and all that jazz. If you need us, ya know our numbers.” 

You going, Daddy?” Moroha asked, rushing into the living room with a dripping piece of pepperoni pizza. 

Inuyasha bent down. “Yeah. You be good for Auntie Rin and Uncle Sesshomaru.” 

Moroha gave an inconsequential shrug, before running after Towa who was wielding her father’s PlayStation controller. 

“Have fun,” Rin told him with a grin, grabbing the controller from Towa and directing her and Moroha’s attention to the movie that Setsuna was watching intently. 

Five hours into the little “party” Sesshomaru found that it wasn’t so bad. Rin had made a perch in his lap, which he always found enjoyable, and despite the copious amounts of soda, the girls were winding out of energy by ten o’clock.

“I thought they’d make it,” Rin told him sadly, as she watched all three girls sleep haphazardly on the floor. 

“Mn,” he grunted, kissing the nape of her neck. “They are young. I’m sure they’ll be able to stay awake next year.” 

Rin stroked the stripes on his cheek. “I’m kind of tired,” she laughed, leaning back into his arms. “If I wasn’t immortal, I’d think I was getting old.” 

Sesshomaru lightly kissed the mating mark on her neck. “You definitely aren’t getting old,” he told her. “But you do look rather tired.”

Rin rested her cheek against his chest. “I’m sorry if I ruined any plans that you wanted to have tonight. I saw your face when Inuyasha mentioned Le’Effervescnece.” 

Sesshomaru felt a pang of guilt at Rin’s admission. He’d been so caught up in his plans for the evening that he took little note of Rin’s wants and needs—something that he swore to never do.

“It’s of no consequence,” Sesshomaru told her quietly. “For I just realized something.”

Rin looked up at him curiously. 

“I’m with you and our girls,” he told her, his voice gentle, as his soft golden eyes scanned the sleeping girls on the floor. “That’s all I could ever want, Rin.”

A bright smile broke across Rin’s face. “You know how much I love you?” 

“A lot?” Sesshomaru asked teasingly.

“More than a lot,” Rin said, leaning forward and meeting his lips. “Happy early New Year, my Love.” 

“Happy early New Year, my Rin.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 Boxes:

“Papa! Mama!” Towa came bounding through the house, waving her small arms excitedly, with Setsuna following in pursuit, looking excited, as well.

“Slow down, girl,” Rin laughed. “Your father and I aren’t going anywhere.” She bent down so that she was eye level with the girls. “I’m guessing something exciting happened at school today?”

Sesshomaru merely stood looking down at his girls, one eyebrow slightly raised in what could only be described as curiosity. 

Setsuna nodded her head. “We get to decorate boxes!” 

“For Valimtime’s Day!” Towa yelled out.

“Towa.” Sesshomaru said in a steady voice. “Use your calm voice.” 

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Setsuna explained much more calmly. She looked expectantly at Rin and Sesshomaru. “Mama, Papa will you help us dec’rate?”

“Well, first we need boxes,” Rin smiled. “Do you girls have any empty shoeboxes?” 

“No, mama,” Towa reminded her. “Remember? You made me and Setsuna recycle them.” 

“Hmmm…” Rin placed a hand under her chin. “Give me one minute, girls.” Humming a small tune, she walked down the long hallway to her and Sesshomaru’s bedroom. 

“Papa, you’ll help us dec'rate, right?” Towa demanded. 

“I’ve never decorated anything in my life.” Sesshomaru responded evenly. “Are you sure you just don’t want your mother to go and buy you some pretty boxes?” 

Setsuna looked offended, and Towa looked at her father as if he had grown two heads. “NO! We gots to dec’rate them ourselves!” She pouted. “I can’t let Riku have a better box than me.” 

Sesshomaru’s expression turned dark. “He won’t. My daughters will have the best boxes in the school.” 

“Found them!” Rin called out, carrying two very expensive-looking boxes in. “Sesshomaru, darling, I hope you don’t care that they are your Prada and Gucci shoe boxes?” 

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Glitter

Never before in his life had Sesshomaru ever experienced so much glitter. Glitter of every color—pink, purple, and red–of course, but also random colors such as green and black (Setsuna, bless her little soul, wanted to make the anti-thesis of a Valentine’s Day box). 

“This will make my box stand out more than Hisui’s,” she declared boldly. 

Sesshomaru was not one to argue there. 

It was just at that moment that Rin came out with even more decorations. 

“Mama!” Towa was aghast. “Where did you get all of that?” 

“Oh, you know, around,” Rin said with a twinkle in her brown eyes. 

Setsuna stood up to look into the rather large box that her mother was holding. She let out a squeal, and pulled not one–not two—but rather three bottles of multi-colored glue with sparkles inside. 

Sesshomaru stared. “What is that?” he asked no one in particular. 

“Glitter Glue, Papa!” Setsuna said, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.

Sesshomaru gave a long, distressed look to his wife, who was trying to hide her laugh with a delicate hand. He then looked at his sparkling work pants. 

At least glitter would come out in the wash. 

He hoped.

Chapter Text

Room Dad

“You are absolutely not going today,” Sesshomaru told her sternly on the day of the girls’ classroom party. “You are sick, Rin.” 

“But it’s their first ever Valentine’s Day party,” Rin cried, her face flushed with tears and fever. “Please, Sesshomaru—we need to have pictures of them and all—”

“I’ll call Kagome,” Sesshomaru decided. “She can take the pictures.” 

Rin vehemently shook her head. “No, she doesn’t take them right.”

Sesshomaru sighed, seeing immediately where this was heading. He was about to say no, but that protest immediately died in his throat when he looked at his wife’s sweet, feverish face. “Jaken can cover my calls and email today. Where is your camera?”

“So what brings you here, Sesshomaru?” Kagome asked curiously as Inuyasha helped Moroha take her coat off. Sesshomaru sat down the glittery Valentine’s Day boxes he had been carrying, helping Towa and Setsuna with their own coats. 

“Rin is sick,” he said shortly. 

Inuyasha snorted. “You’re so whipped.” 

Sesshomaru leveled his younger brother with a sharp look. “You are hardly one to talk, Inuyasha” 

“Papa!” Before Inuyasha could form a retort, the twins reappeared, each one of them with a red heart sticker on their cheek. “Look what Miss Shiori gave us.” 

Sesshomaru’s gaze softened ever so slightly at the expectant looks on his daughters’ faces as they gazed up at him with wide, gold eyes. Eyes that were so much like their mother’s…

Maybe this hadn’t been such a terrible idea…Sure, he didn’t necessarily like interacting with children that weren’t his own, but it wasn’t terrible passing out rice crispie treats, or taking plenty of pictures for Rin. 

Until…

“Sesshomaru, can you take Hisui to the bathroom?” Miss Shiori called out. “His parents are sick, too, and he’s not quite potty trained yet.” 

Sesshomaru grit his teeth. It was for Rin , he decided, as the little boy took his hand. This was all for Rin.

**Later that evening**

Rin smiled softly as she drank her honey-laced tea and flipped through the pictures that her husband took that day. Sure, they weren’t perfect, and the girls only posed for one of them, but it was the thought that counted. 

“Do you like them?” Sesshomaru asked her from the doorway. “I know they are not what you are used to.”

Rin smiled up at him. “They are perfect.” 

Chapter Text

White Day Surprise

“So what are you getting Mama for White Day, Papa?” Towa asked, her golden eyes wide and inquisitive as she ate the birthday cake ice cream that Sesshomaru had bought for her at a little kiosk at the mall. Beside her, Setsuna ate her own cookie dough ice cream out of its cone. Sesshomaru, who had taken the twins to the mall for a new uniform fitting, looked down at them with a slight frown. It was usually Rin who took the twins on such outings; to say that he was out of his element was a massive understatement. 

“You are going to get her something, aren’t you?” Setsuna looked at him with narrowed eyes, and Sesshomaru steadily stared back. 

“Of course I am,” Sesshomaru said shortly, finding it utterly ridiculous to be discussing these matters with children. “Eat your ice cream, Setsuna.” 

“Papa,” wheedled Towa, “are you sure you don’t need our help?” 

“Last time I allowed you two to help me, I ended up across a grown man’s lap. No.” 

Towa pouted, and Setsuna giggled. “Mama has been wanting a new bracelet.”

Sesshomaru took in his breath. Rin rarely wanted anything material. He had to ask. “What kind of bracelet?” 

“You said you didn’t want our help.” Towa said mischievously. 

Sesshomaru grit his teeth. “Towa,” was all he needed to say before his oldest daughter meeped and continued to eat her ice cream. It was Setsuna who spoke up next. 

“Mama said it’s a tennis bracelet,” she told him. “But mama doesn’t play tennis, does she Papa?” 

Sesshomaru eyed the Tiffany’s on the other side of the mall’s flowing water fountain.  “Hurry with your ice cream,” he told the girls, “we have one more stop to go.” 

“Can we get pretzels?” Towa asked. 

Chapter Text

Rin’s Gifts

“This store is pretty,” Setsuna commented as Sesshomaru led them through the nearby Tiffany’s store. “Are you going to get Mama’s present here, Papa?” 

“Yes,” Sesshomaru told them. 

“How can I help you today?” An overly friendly saleswoman asked Sesshomaru. Towa pouted at being ignored. 

“My Papa needs a tennis bracelet for my mama,” she told the saleswoman stoutly. 

“Oooohhh for White Day, huh?” The saleswoman said interestedly. “We have just the thing!”

Sesshomaru, with both of his daughters’ hands, followed the overly cheery saleswoman to a polished glass counter, where thousands of diamonds sparkled up at him. “Is there a price range, Sir?” she asked. 

“No,” he told her. 

“Well,” she said slowly, “if price is no object—we do have a popular bracelet with celebrities.” 

Sesshomaru watched as she took out a silver bracelet encircled by sparkling diamonds. “This is called our Victoria Cluster,” she said, “now the price is a little steep, but—” 

“Price is no object.” Sesshomaru repeated. He eyed the bracelet, imagining it dangling on Rin’s dainty wrist. He pictured Rin wearing only it while they were alone in the bedroom. Sesshomaru swallowed and Towa’s voice broke him out of his salacious imaginings. 

“Papa, why do you have that funny look on your face?” she asked curiously. 

“That bracelet is pretty,” Setsuna told him. “Can we get something for Mama, too?” 

The saleswoman looked as if Christmas had come early. “We have necklaces,” she said. 

“Mama loves necklaces,” Setsuna told the saleswoman. 

Sesshomaru saw no reason the girls couldn’t get their mother a gift, too. As long as it didn’t surpass his gift to their mother. “Pick out a necklace,” he told them.

The girls ooooed and aaahhhed at the sparkling diamond necklaces, finally settling on a diamond butterfly necklace. 

The saleswoman rang them up and placed the bracelet and the necklace in their own velvet boxes. She even tied them with a ribbon. As they left the store, Towa smiled up at her father. “What did Mama get you for Valentine’s Day, anyway?” 

Sesshomaru’s thoughts once again went back to Rin, overcoming her sickness, resting on their bed in a new lingerie set, her beautiful face holding a coy smile. 

“Papa, you’re making that weird face again!”