|Timeskip>>|
It was in the middle of the night when Kyōjurō heard the sound of Taiyo crying.
He stirred next to you and groans, before taking a moment to scrub his right eye of sleep, before sitting up.
He had long since gotten use to these late night wake ups, but the initial rush of adrenaline is difficult to deal with.
Carefully, he rolls out of bed, but not before sneaking a brief glance at you to make sure he hadn't disturb your slumber.
Every since you'd retired from being a Demon Slayer, to being a stay at home mom; you'd been so busy cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Taiyo; while Kyōjurō continued his duties as the infamous Flame Hashira.
There were times where he would be gone for weeks on missions to protect humanity.
In addition to this, you'd been helping out at the Butterfly Estate, preparing daily meals and medicine for your Demon Slayer brethren and of course, helping both Shinobu and Ruru aid the wounded.
So, you deserved a well good rest for being such a wonderful, hardworking and dutiful wife.
Today had been somewhat eventful with Kyōjurō telling you about the most recent Hashira meeting at the Ubuyashiki Manor and a brief story about a young boy who had been sent to them carrying a little demon girl on his back, and how everyone protested Kagaya-sama's desires to keep her alive.
The walk from the bedroom to the nursery seemed eternal with fatigue wearing heavy on his limbs, but the moment Kyōjurō steps foot inside the room, he catches sight of the small mahogany crib in the corner of the room.
Kyōjurō immediately felt some of that weariness fade away once his golden and red eyes lands on the wiggling form of his son, now 4 months.
"Hey there, sunny." Kyōjurō says while looking into the crib, taking a second to admire the little miracle that is his son.
It still warmed his heart that this little human before him proved he was a father. Kyōjurō couldn't help but marvel how beautiful his son is; at just 5 months old and already resembled so much of the Flame Pillar as matching golden and red eyes stared up him.
At the sight of his father, Taiyou frantically flail his little limbs as his cries only increases.
Instinctively, Kyōjurō bends down to pick the squirming baby boy up and holds him to his chest as Taiyo's crying settles a bit.
"What's wrong, my son?"
As Kyōjurō goes to adjust his son's position in his arms, that's when he felt the source of the problem.
His diaper.
"Oh, your diaper's full!"
Kyōjurō knew how to take care of this one, since he'd done it before. But it was under the careful supervision of you.
Now, it would be the first time he do it without you to observe his technique, since he felt confident he could do it by himself this time.
He grabs Taiyo's tiny hand, little chubby fingers instantly wrapping around his thumb.
Clearly, it's out of reflex, but it never fail to set Kyōjurō's heart ablaze every time he feels or sees his son's tiny hand grip his much larger one. It sparked an immense amount of love and the desire to protect this precious little being in his arms.
"Don't worry, my son. We'll have you cleaned up in a jiffy!" Kyōjurō tells him and places a gentle kiss onto his son's forehead.
Taiyo hiccups, his matching eyes staring at his father in wonder as his other hand reached up and touched Kyōjurō's hair. Tiny fingernails raked against the red tips of his hair and Kyōjurō smiles at the adorable display.
"Ok, let's do this," He grins and walks over to the changing table.
After gently laying Taiyo down, Kyōjurō gets to work on removing his soiled diaper and cleaning him, before slipping on a fresh one. Once done, he disposes of the dirty diaper into the trash bin and slips Taiyo back into his onesie.
"There..all done!" The Flame Hashira says, before lifting Taiyo up above his head, triumphantly.
Taiyo blinked down at his father, big golden and red eyes staring at this big, happy adult man with both curiosity and amusement, before bringing both his tiny fists up to his toothless mouth and gurgles happily.
"Kyō?" Kyōjurō soon hears the sound of your soft voice in the other room, followed by sheets rustling.
He assumed you'd probably felt the absence of his body next to yours and now you're in the process of wondering where he'd gone?
Kyōjurō holds Taiyo close to him and a tiny yawn escapes the baby boy as he nuzzles against his father's chest. His eyes were starting to flutter close, but Kyōjurō knew the chances of him falling back asleep were minimum, considering he'll start crying and would be wide awake if Kyōjurō dares put him back in his crib.
"How's about we go see mommy, hm?" Kyōjurō suggests, and of course, Taiyo only coos softly.
"Okay," He smiles and kisses his little fist, before heading towards the other bedroom where you were.
"Hey mommy," Kyōjurō says upon entering the room, "sorry to disturb you, my love." He'd apologizes as you sat up, whilst rubbing your left eye of sleep.
Once your vision adjust, you see him holding your son and gave him a questionable look.
"Taiyo was crying, so I went to check on him." He explained, cradling Taiyo in one hand and closing the shoji with the other.
"Hmm, is he alright?" You asked as he strove over to you and gently lowers himself onto the futon, sitting next to you.
"Y-yeah, his diaper just needed changing."
Kyōjurō then takes Taiyo tiny fist and waves it in your direction, "say hello to mommy♡" he says, in a tone barely above a whisper.
Taiyo, not reacting, only continues to snuggle against his father; far too soothed by his warmth and beating of his heart to even look at you.
However, as if curious, Taiyo eventually pulled away from his father's chest and glanced at you.
And just like that, the tiny Rengoku quickly begun squirming within his father's hold and started to cry as his little arms reached for you (desperately wanting you to hold him). His face scrunched up as he whines, in a desperate need for his mother.
"Now none of that," you scolded, your tone playful, "you were happy with daddy."
Eventually, you smiled and held your arms out for your baby as Kyōjurō gently hands him to you.
You gave your husband a sympathetic look, inwardly apologizing to him for Taiyo now wanting to be in your embrace instead of his.
Immediately, Taiyo nuzzles against your warmth, whilst tiny hands clenched onto your night gown as he curled into you with his head resting on your chest. Your son was a cuddle bug from the moment he was born.
Kyōjurō lays down and smiles, staring lovingly at the beautiful sight of his wife and child. It'll never failed to ignite the burning flames of the love and joy within his heart to see his family together.
Despite clinging to you, Taiyo continues to cry, little tears streaming down his rosy cheeks as he glances up at you, slapping his little hand on your chest, supposedly demanding food.
Kyōjurō looks down at him, "hmm, do you need help putting him back to sleep?"
"No.. besides he'll fall back asleep after I feed him." You tell him.
With that, Kyōjurō's soul almost leaves him as he watches you slip a single strap of your camisole down to expose your breast and adjust Taiyo in your hold, before bringing your nipple up to his mouth.
Instantly, Taiyo mouth latches onto your breast as he suckles on your breast milk, abruptly stopping his wailing. It would be a few months until you have wean him from your breast milk and switch his diet to other foods and drinks via teaspoon or bottle.
Furthermore, you often feared the struggles your son would face in his life once he grows up.
Who were you to bring a child into a world infested with blood thirsty demons?
How could you possibly make him understand that monsters are real, whereas the tooth fairy and Santa Claus aren't?
But, every time you laid eyes on your son's sweet innocent face, all those worries seemed to disappear. Seeing him and holding him in your arms only made you more determined to keep him safe.
And as for Kyōjurō, you worried for his safety; despite throughout the night you guys made lighthearted conversations, were you'll be intrigued when he tells you all about his ventures of slaying demons.
It frighten you to no end!
Though, it constantly ate away at you whenever he went out on missions, however, you understood completely that it was necessary for him to go and Kyōjurō would always reassured you that everything's going to be okay, and that he'll do everything in his being to keep you both safe.
Everyday, he would curl strong arms around you when you cooked and tell you just how much he loves you. Every night, he would spoon you when you slept together. And every evening, he would lie on top of you, pinning you to the tatami whenever your mind wandered towards those unwanted negative thoughts.
How truly blessed you were to have such kind, loving, and caring husband!
After scrutinized the two of you, Kyōjurō noticed Taiyo's mouth released your nipple as his eyelids started to flutter close. The tiny Rengoku tries to fight it and Kyōjurō can see him struggle to stay awake, but in the end, the Sandman wins the fight.
"Asleep already?" Kyōjurō chuckles.
You lightly pulled your breast from your son's face, to see that he was indeed falling asleep. Little eyelids closed peacefully as Taiyo eventually goes limp against you.
You met Kyōjurō's passionate stare, "he was already half-asleep to begin with."
Seems reasonable enough; with a clean diaper and a full stomach, it was obvious Taiyo would fall back asleep instantly.
"Want him to sleep with us?" He asked you.
"I don't mind, as long as you're okay with it?"
"Fine with me." He grins.
Without a word, you and Kyōjurō made space and gently placed Taiyo in between your bodies. Once you made sure his breathing is evened out and he's in a comfortable enough position, you both laid down, lightly snuggling close to your sleeping son.
"I love you, my Snow Flower♡." Kyōjurō says, staring at you lovingly.
"I love you too, my Burning Flame♡." You smiled.
You both than heard a soft snore escape Taiyo as the baby gave a light twitch in his sleep.
A quiet laugh resonated within Kyōjurō as he leaned and kissed Taiyo on his forehead.
"And I love you also, my little sunshine♡." He says.
With that, you both slowly drifted back to sleep, hearing nothing but the soft snores coming from your baby.