Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Born...? Yuuko Edogawa-Poe was born August 9, 20xx, weighing around 3.175 kg (7 lbs) and being 40.64 centimeters (16 inches)."

This data was accompanied by a picture of the baby in question, curled up sleeping in an intricately embroidered blanket. Also in the picture laying directly beside Yuuko was his father, who looked exhausted and, as he usually did, nervous. The family pet (Poe's raccoon, Karl) was also on the bed, inspecting the newborn and trying to decide if he liked him or not. 

This was its own special page in the family album, along with other domestic scenes and, obviously, the couple's wedding photos on the first couple pages. Such a thing would have been too ridiculous and sentimental for the old Ranpo Edogawa, but things had changed considerably. For instance, he had never cared to do chores himself, but he'd began to after he was married. He cooked, too, since that was something he had started to do with Poe. 

Yuuko was a pleasant addition to the family. The only reason Poe was so tired was that the poor baby screamed if he was separated from his father. Ranpo was a little upset about this. It meant he could hardly hold his own kid without him crying for somebody else. 

"Life." That was the ability that allowed a child like this to happen. People who couldn't have children and didn't want to adopt were able to go to the user to the ability "Life". The ability user was actually a very sweet person. She did not judge any of the couples who came to her, no matter who they were. 

Ranpo wasn't exactly sure when he had begun wanting a family like this; he hasn't always cared for kids. But when he had brought the topic of a family up with Poe, and the writer immediately agreed to it, Ranpo was more than willing to go along. So they went to see "Life", just as many other people they knew had. 

Ranpo's coworker Dazai had three kids: Akio, who was five, and the two year old twins Keiji and Setsuko. They looked way more like Chuuya than Dazai, though, and were closer to him, too. Setsuko was almost just a carbon copy of the redhead, except a chaotic toddler. Keiji just cried a lot. 

Tanizaki also had a kid with his boyfriend. It was a little girl named Mariko, and she was hands down the sweetest child alive on the planet. The Agency had just celebrated her first birthday alongside the Port Mafia, since her dad's boyfriend was a member of the Black Lizard. Mariko always smiled and waved to everyone she saw and was just generally a joy to be around. 

Probably the biggest surprise was the announcement of Atsushi's coming child. Ranpo never would have expected that, considering the person Atsushi was married to was Akutagawa. Not that that was a bad thing; they seemed very, very happy together. Ranpo just was under the impression Akutagawa wanted to live with Atsushi and Atsushi alone, not any kids. But it was happening, so... 

There were plenty of people in the Agency who weren't married or that didn't want kids, like Kunikida, Yosano, Fukuzawa, and Naomi. Fukuzawa always said the Agency members were enough of kids for him and he didn't need anyone else. Plus, he had gone to lengths to be able to call Ranpo his legal son, and that meant more to him than anything. 

That being the case, the Agency president visited the Edogawa-Poe household often. Yuuko didn't cry when Fukuzawa held him, which Ranpo was very jealous of. This was his baby! He wanted to hold his own baby without the poor thing screaming. But he supposed it was only time before that would change. 

"Hey, I'll handle Yuuko, you just sleep," Ranpo told his husband. "You look like you got punched in the face, your eye bags are so dark."

Poe sighed. "But Ranpo..."

"Ed... Sweetheart.... You're so tired, you need this. I'll take care of Yuuko, just sleep." He leaned over him and pressed a kiss against his forehead. 

Poe ran a hand through his hair, pulling up his bangs. "Ranpo... Dearest... But what if Yuuko won't go to sleep when you're holding him? I need to. You know that..."

Ranpo frowned. "Don't play that card on me. Go to sleep, Edgar. Now. I'll take over Yuuko, he'll be fine with me. I'll take him out of the room so that he doesn't bother you if he does end up crying, okay? Please, take care of yourself and sleep. I'll make food or something."

"... Thank you, love. I'll try. One last kiss before I travel to the land of slumber?"

His husband scoffed in amusement and pressed another kiss against his forehead, smoothing his hair. "Sleep well, Ed."

He then picked up Yuuko, who was wide eyed and rolled over on the bed, and carried the little one out of the room. Ranpo took him down the stairs and into one of the what you could call living rooms. The mansion was so big and full of rooms that there was really no main "living room", just s bunch of rooms like one. Poe was loaded, and the extent of his wealth still shocked Ranpo. He was just glad money wasn't a factor in why he married the man. 

"Woah, is Yuuko actually going to be calm for Papa today? Yeah? No crying for Daddy?" the detective could hardly hold back his smile, nor could he force away the baby voice he began to speak in. 

"I'm so damn soft for this kid," he grumbled. "It's almost embarrassing. Not that I'm embarrassed to love him, because I'm not."

This was definitely new for him. Yuuko wasn't even showing signs of fussing, and Poe was nowhere nearby. The joy that came over Ranpo was enough to make a grown man cry. And it did. 

"You feel safe with me now, don't you? You like me?"

Yuuko just stared at him with expressionless green eyes. His eyes were just like Ranpo's, which was part of the reason why Poe could lay down beside the baby and just stare at him affectionately for hours. Ranpo didn't really see himself in the kid, but Poe did. 

"So does that mean you won't scream when I pick you up, huh?" So that's what Ranpo did. And to his utter joy, Yuuko just looked around before cooing and turning his attention to his papa. The baby wrapped his arms around whatever part of Ranpo that he could and rested his head against the man's shoulder. Ranpo stared at him affectionately with the same green eyes that the baby had. 

"Yeah, this is nice. Poe can finally catch a break. You have no idea just how tired you make him, Yuu."

Of course, the little baby had no response to this. He just yawned and began closing his eyes, cuddling up to the man who was holding him. Ranpo rocked back and forth while standing up with Yuuko until the child fell asleep. Once this had been accomplished, he made his way to the nursery to transfer the sleeping Yuuko to his crib. 

His and Poe's room was just connected to it, so it wasn't a long walk to the bed where Poe was still sprawled out on, now fast asleep. Ranpo smiled and settled himself down next to his husband, rolling over so that he was facing him. He reached out and pushed the man's bangs up to study his sleeping face. Even asleep, Poe had to be the most beautiful person that Ranpo had ever laid eyes on. He felt that it was a little cliché to say so, but that was just how he felt. 

"Goodnight, Ed. We've done enough."

Chapter Text

A little five year old redhead boy fidgeted with his bowtie, visibly frowning at the accessory. He gripped it like he was ready to pull it off, but the presence of a bigger redhead, his father, prevented him from pursuing this course of action. So he simply resorted to sulking about it, which didn't change the fact that he still had to wear it. 

"What's the matter, Akio?" Chuuya sighed, kneeling in front of the kid and fixing the buttons on his shirt. "You look like that tie personally wronged you. It's just s tie, buddy."

Akio's brows furrowed. "Dad, do I have to go... Why do we have to go to a wedding... I don't want to!"

"Everyone else is going, and plus, they're Dazai's coworkers. And I thought you liked Mr. Kenji. Don't you want to go to his wedding?"

From another room, a little girl cheered. "Yay! Yay! Mr. Kenji!"

Chuuya chuckled. "Your sister's very enthusiastic about it." Just as he said this, Setsuko ran into the room and twirled around in the pretty blue dress she was wearing. "See how excited she is?"

This did nothing to wipe the frown off Akio's face. "But I'm not a two year old girl, Dad."

Chuuya stood up and patted his son on the head, making sure he was careful not to mess up the kid's hair. "You'll be fine, kiddo. You won't hate it as much once you get there, I assure you. Now, I gotta find out where Keiji and your father went off to. I haven't seen them all morning."

Setsuko blinked with stunning blue eyes that would have made her dress jealous if it were alive. "Keiji... Keiji and Papa... In our room!"

"Thank you, sweetie." Setsuko beamed up at him as he smiled and headed off to the twins' room. 

Dazai was there just as Setsuko had said he was, kneeling in front of Keiji, who sat on the bed crying. He turned to look at Chuuya as he came in, a tired look present on his face. 

"Hey, Keiji," Chuuya murmured, joining Dazai at the child's side. "Keiji, what's the matter? Why are you upset?"

The little boy refused to utter a word in response to Chuuya. He just threw his arms around Dazai's neck and clung to him. Dazai's expression saddened as he hugged the boy back. It wasn't like him to be as emotional as he was now; Chuuya rarely saw this side to him. 

"Hey, hey, I'll be right with you the whole time we're out, so you don't have to be scared of that," Dazai assured his son. 

Keiji tilted his head. "Always?"

"Of course. Always. I'll hold your hand. Now..." He redirected his attention to his husband standing just a bit away. "Are Akio and Setsuko ready to go? And how about you? I know I am."

Chuuya nodded. "We're all ready."

Then, Dazai began chuckling and shaking his head. "Actually, I don't think any of us are really ready for this. I can't believe this day has come. I also can't believe Kenji is getting married before Junichiro!"

The redhead scoffed. "That is a little hard to believe, isn't it? But hey, who knows why neither him nor Tachihara ever popped the question. It's not like it's too late to."

"I'm proud of him. It feels like only yesterday, he was just a kid. Now he's bigger, but... Well, I guess Kenji hasn't changed much at all, has he? He's actually caused other people to change. His soon to be wife, for example? Kyouka... I've never seen her happier than with him."

Chuuya nodded, walking beside Dazai as he led Keiji out of the room. "Yup. He's really good for her."

Upon seeing them, Setsuko ran straight to the door and struggled to open it. Dazai reached it and helped her before leading the family outside and to the car, in which they drove off. The boys were pouting the entire ride while Setsuko looked excitedly out the window. 

"Okay, here we are," Chuuya announced, getting out of the car and opening the door for the kids to get out. 

Keiji refused to step out, and Dazai had to coax him out and hold him tightly before the kid agreed to come with. Setsuko ran ahead of the group, spinning around and searching for seats. The wedding was being held outside, per Kenji's wish. Kyouka agreed to it, not only because it made her partner happy, but because she'd grown fond of the outdoors and of farmland in the years she had been with Kenji. 

"Mari! Mari!" Setsuko cries out, pointing to the little redhead sitting in the grass. She tugged on Chuuya's sleeve and kept pointing. 

"Yes, Setsu, I see her..." Chuuya frowned. "Well, then, where's Tanizaki at? He can't have just left her there alone.*

Setsuko shook her head and pointed again, but Chuuya pushed her hand down gently. "No, don't point, sweetie. Just tell me what you see."

"Naomi!"

Chuuya looked over to see the young woman in question standing close beside her niece. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Setsuko. 

"Alright, so Naomi's there watching her. That's good." He looked back down at his daughter. "Hey, wanna go over and say hi to her?" When Setsuko nodded her agreement, he said, "Okay, let's go."

Chuuya waved as he walked up to Naomi, who only looked up at him once he called out and got her attention. She smiled and waved back, tapping Mariko on the shoulder and nodding toward the girl's friend. 

"Seh!" Mariko called, reaching out as if trying to grab her. In reality, this was just how the little one waved. 

"Ah, if it isn't Chuuya! How has your family been?" Naomi asked politely. 

Chuuya shrugged, holding his daughter's hand while she kept on waving at her friend. "We've been okay, other than the occasional down here and there. It's usually the boys or Osamu having problems, like nightmares or other things. Keiji doesn't like leaving the house and Akio didn't want to come because he hates dressing up. How've you been?"

"Everything's been wonderful, thank you! Mariko is so sweet and cooperative, she makes everything less stressful."

The redheaded man snorted. "Well, Setsu... She's chaos at it's finest, but she's got an appetite for life that her brothers don't, and she's a joy for it."

Just then, a man in a white suit ran up, chuckling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, sorry, there was a mishap that held me up. Michi kinda fell and hurt his hands trying to catch himself, so we went to the bathroom to wash him up. He's okay now."

Naomi frowned. "There you are, big brother! I was wondering what was taking you so long! I almost thought the wedding would start without you!"

Junichiro sighed. "I'm glad it didn't! I wouldn't miss this for the world. I'm so proud of Kenji; I want to be here for him."

Naomi tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, let's go save our seats so Tachihara knows where to sit when he comes."

"Right. Bye, Chuuya! See you guys later!"

Chuuya waved back as the Tanizaki family went away. Then, he and Setsuko joined Dazai and the boys just as it was announced that things would begin soon.