This Is A Part II To This Fic. Without Further Ado...GIRLDAD!Shinji !!!!

This is a part II to this fic. Without further ado...GIRLDAD!Shinji !!!!

A special shout out to @villainsrtasty for the pigtail's idea!

With your daughter taking up space in your home now, your son was going through a clingy phase, making grabby hands and whining for you constantly, desperate to be the baby again. In the past, Shinji would pout and grumble something about your son favoring you over him, complaining that he was such a "momma's boy," and that he was basically chopped liver in comparison, but now that your daughter had been born, she kept Shinji's hands full. He hardly had time to complain about your son's neediness when your daughter was all over him every waking hour, and he loved every second of it.

It was obvious from the beginning that she was meant to have a special relationship with your husband, the daughter he so badly wanted, and now she was here. In a room full of people, her little eyes would dart about, searching for him, a smile spreading on her face only when she found him. She clung to him the same way your son did to you, curling the fabric of his clothes in her tiny fingers or plopping down in his lap with a book in hand, a silent command that he read to her. Shinji did any and everything she requested of him. It made you proud, the way she had him wrapped around her little finger. She hadn't even been able to talk yet and he still always understood exactly what she wanted and got it to her without hesitation, better than even you could. She was so young, so new to the world, and already spoiled, sure to be trouble the older she got. 

There was also Shinji’s protectiveness, and a new special kind that developed, reserved for her and her only. Jokingly, or maybe not so jokingly, when another baby boy shared toys with her and she followed him everywhere he went, Shinji lectured her on the way home, as if she could understand. “No, no boyfriends. Yer mine for life.”

“What do you mean?” You’d tease him. “That’s my little heartbreaker. Her and I are gonna get all done up and go out clubbing when she’s old enough. She’s going to be my party girl partner in crime…”

“No way!” He’d whine. “The both of ya stay home with me. The day some slimeball gets to her and tries to take advantage of my baby girl...” He didn’t need to finish his thought, the hint of the threat in his narrowed eyes. 

“So when some idiot’s approaching her with some corny ass pickup line…?” You side-eyed him, also with no need to finish the thought. 

“If he’s as handsome and charismatic as me, then maybe I’ll consider letting it slide.” He grinned smugly.

On one of the better nights, your son was napping upstairs, and your daughter was wound for sound, giggling wildly as she made attempts to pull your husband's blonde hair into pigtails. The more he made noises of protests and "ouch!"'s, the more amusing she found it. Though it was at the expense of his comfort, her laughter was one of the most beautiful sounds you had ever heard, and you were sure he agreed, hence why he endured the pain. You seared the sound into your brain, pulling your phone out to capture a short video of the moment to keep forever, smiling distantly as you watched her tangle her hands into his bangs. 

"She's kind of hurting me," he chuckled to you. You tucked your phone away and moved to grab her, with other ideas to keep her entertained, but he put a hand up to stop you, looking appalled that you would even think to take her from him. "Not so fast. She thinks it's funny."

You laughed and shook your head, watching as only moments later she tugged on his blonde tufts so hard she jerked his head down. You intervened despite the fact that he'd let her rip his hair out if she so desired. You weren't sure what it was about your husband that made him have such a history of getting beat on by small girls, snickering to yourself as you thought of how funny Hiyori would find your daughter’s antics. 

She tried to pry your hands off of her hips as you pulled her away, but you held tight, pulling her into your chest. "You like hurting Daddy, do you?" You asked her, tickling her stomach and making her giggle again, squirming in your hold.

Meanwhile, Shinji had busied himself with pulling his hair into the ponytails she wanted to see, excitedly showing her the two small sprouts of blonde on the sides of his head when he was done. "You want matching ones, girly?" He offered her, ignoring your teasing giggles as you admired his silly appearance. Anything for his girl. 

She squealed and laughed and climbed into his lap eagerly, turning her little head this way and that as she impatiently awaited for him to style her hair. He gently combed it away from her face with his fingers and gathered what he could into two little pigtails. They were tiny, her hair barely fitting into them, but it was only a matter of time until it'd be longer, and you were certain Shinji would be fashioning it into unique styles for her every day. 

She curiously reached for her head to feel for her father's creation, only to yank them out, grinning proudly and looking for her father's adverse reaction. 

Shinji sighed. "Brat." 

He couldn’t stay mad at her for long, an affectionate smile spreading on his lips, gathering her in his arms and pulling her tightly into his chest, tickling her the way you had moments earlier. Even as her flailing arms and legs delivered blows to his body, he remained unfazed, peppering her tiny head and face with loud, dramatic smooches. It was obvious to anyone, but to you most of all, how in love he was. It made you snort, his pigtails and his clinginess and his doting, how someone so dangerous and deadly could also be the goofiest and the softest. It made your heart swell too, the father of your children, and what an amazing father he was. 

On one of the not-so-good nights, it was still evident to you how much and how hard he loved his girls. Sickness frequently paid a visit to your household with the two little germs running rampant, and a particularly vicious flu had struck when Shinji was at his busiest. He managed to avoid the plague, gone for long hours due to the demands of the Soul Society, and you were left to bear the brunt of it. Just as your son’s condition was starting to improve, the virus invaded yours and your daughter’s systems at the same time. 

Feeling deathly ill and weaker than ever, you had no choice but to rise from your bed, to fend off the nausea and fight through the fever and chills to take care of your daughter who was suffering just the same, all while handling your son as well. As a mother, you had learned to make sacrifices for your children’s wellbeing and had grown accustomed to it, but this challenged and broke you down in a way you hadn’t experienced before. It got worse before it got better, and you had no idea how you were managing, sleepwalking through each moment. You couldn’t eat, could hardly sleep, and were constantly on the verge of vomiting and/or collapsing, but you were forced to soldier through it for them, hiding from Shinji just how sick you were knowing that he had his own matters to handle.

He hadn’t returned home until late that night when your daughter was crying incessantly, the poor thing tortured by a slew of symptoms that seemed to not want to go away despite your many remedies, and you were trying but failing not to cry with her. 

Her tiny, fragile body in so much pain, she went back and forth between pushing you away from her and grabbing onto you, wanting to be cuddled, but frustrated that it was not solving all of her problems. Snot and tears shined on her face as she wept intensely. You had become hopeless, sharing both her physical and emotional pain. Shivering, wrapping around her tightly, you sobbed with her, telling her that you were sorry and pressing your lips to her burning forehead. 

If you could, you would take all of her heat, all of her chills, all of her upset stomach, and all of her boogers, even if it meant doubling your own suffering. You’d do it just so you didn’t have to hear the heartbreaking sound of her anguish, of your failure to help her. But alas, you were just as beaten down as her, and simultaneously wishing that you could be her size and her age again, crawling into someone’s lap and having them hold and comfort you and tell you that it would all be okay again soon. 

Shinji walked in on the two of you in hysterics, your son playing with toys nearby, watching the scene unfold from a place of innocent curiosity. Your daughter was wailing so hard, she hadn’t even noticed that her savior had returned. With a deep frown, your husband instantly took her from you, and she melted into him, tucking her runny nose into his robes as he caressed her hair and back, shushing her and cooing to her and rocking her to sleep. 

On cue, your son stumbled over to you, getting into your lap now that your hands were free. You snuggled him into you desperately, your sweet little guy, subduing your sobs so that your sick daughter could have peace. Shinji threw you a concerned look as he did everything he could to console your daughter, not stopping until she was drifting off in his protective embrace, just the medicine she needed.

When there were tiny snores escaping her stuffy nose, he disappeared to ease her into her crib, returning quickly to remedy you next. Your son didn’t make much of a fuss when Shinji pulled him from you, knowing that his mother wasn’t herself right now. Your husband reached for your forehead, brows furrowing as he felt the immense heat radiating from your skin, though he didn’t need to confirm your fever to clock that you were ill. The sight of your pale skin, glassy eyes, and hunched, shaky body were evidence enough. 

“Why didn’t ya call me?” He asked softly, wiping stray tears from your cheeks. In his lap, your son observed, his large round eyes looking up at you as if he wanted an answer too. 

“I didn’t want you to worry,” your voice broke. “I thought I could handle it on my own, but I feel so bad, Shinji.” Tears threatened to spill again, and you didn’t hesitate to curl into his free arm, just as clingy and needy as your daughter had been. “I can’t do this.”

“If I had known you were this sick, I never would have left ya here alone with them,” he said sternly. “You need to rest, sweetheart.”

“Don’t cry, Ma Ma,” your son chimed in. 

It tore through your heart. You reached for him, hugging Shinji with him sandwiched in between. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m okay.”

“Come on.” Your husband gently tugged the back of your shirt before rising, pulling you up with him while he balanced his son in one arm. “Let’s get ya to bed too.”

“But-” you started to protest, throwing your son a worried glance. 

“No buts,” Shinji interjected. “We need a guys night anyway.” He looked towards his son, managing half a grin before placing a hand on your lower back, gently nudging you forward. “C’mon.”

After letting him feed you medicine and tuck you in, the last thing you saw before entering a night full of broken sleep, strange dreams, and fevered hallucinations was your husband’s fleeting silhouette, your son on his hip. You never fully woke, but throughout the night, Shinji was in and out of your bed, sometimes with your son, sometimes with your daughter, sometimes with both. When your eyes peeled open again, early in the morning before the sun had even risen, all three of them were tangled in the sheets, your son nuzzled into your chest, and your daughter on the other side of him, poking Shinji awake. 

You jolted upwards at the sight of his sleeping figure, head spinning, sweat clinging to every part of your body, your mind not quite all there at this hour. Your poor son jerked awake at your side, the whole room coming back to consciousness at once.

“Aren’t you late?!” You gasped at your husband. 

“What?” He asked groggily, turning onto his side and wrapping an arm around his daughter in one swift motion. She laughed at him, clearly in higher spirits than she was last night, as he squinted at you.

“For work,” you fretted. “Don’t you need to be at the barracks?”

 “Momo’s gonna take care of things,” he informed you hoarsely, letting his eyes flutter closed again. “I’m staying here today.”

“Oh.” You sunk back down into bed as your son clawed at you, trying to pull you back into your previous position, though you thought there was no way you were going to get back to sleep now, not with how sweaty you were.

“How are ya feeling?” Shinji asked you as his daughter crawled around, attempting to play peekaboo with the blankets. “Cause’ this one seems to be doing better…” He nodded towards her with a lazy smile.

“Better.” You wiped your forehead. “Seems like my fever broke, at least for now.”

“Mmm, that’s good,” he hummed. “My poor girls.” He pouted, launching into a rant. “I’m so sad. Her nose is so stuffy.” He looked to his daughter, his fingers cradling her head. “Do you know how annoying a stuffy nose is? And my baby has to have one? This world can be so cruel!”

“You’re gonna get it next,” you huffed a laugh at his dramatics. “All cozy with her snot all over you.” 

“Nah, I don’t get sick,” he assured with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah.” You rolled your eyes. “We’ll see.”

“Don’t care,” he grumbled. “It’s worth it. I’d do anything for her,” he said seriously.

“I know you would,” you cooed, mindlessly finding your son’s back to rub soothing circles into.

Knowing that Shinji was back now, and you were safe, that you weren’t alone in this, it made your body soften with content, falling back into a drowsy state. Without realizing it, as you soothed your son, you were self-soothing too. With the four of you pressed together soundly, you could relax. You could take care of your little family and allow yourself to be taken care of too.

“Thank you,” you mumbled to your husband as your eyes fell shut again. “For taking care of us, for taking care of me. Thank you for staying.”

He responded, “I love you,” in an explanatory tone, in a way that said I need no thanks, I’m not doing this for thanks. His words from earlier pierced through your head again, “I’d do anything for her.” 

You drifted off again with a smile on your lips, no more strange nightmares to be had when you were surrounded by so much love. “I love you too, Daddy.”

Of course, Shinji did eventually end up getting sick. There was no way of avoiding it, not with how he was glued to you and your daughter until the both of you got better. 

You took care of him with the same tenderness he had, nursing him back to health as you continued to juggle your children with your energy somewhat restored. Your daughter, his little best friend, knew there was something wrong with her father, and as he spent most of the day in bed, she was there with him, snuggling into his chest or pressing a cold cloth to his head with no idea what she was doing but watching you do the same, so it must have been something helpful. She even offered him her comfort stuffed animal, a serious token of affection as she wouldn’t ever allow anyone else to have it. Shinji accepted it graciously, cuddling it tightly when she wasn’t there. You snapped a sneaky picture of him sound asleep, the stuffed creature tucked under his arm, and made it your new home screen wallpaper, your babies already taking up your lock screen. Now you had the whole collection.

When he was better again, heading back to resume his duties as a Captain, your daughter wailed after him, crying for her “Dada,” having been spoiled to have his presence around so much. He himself seemed to be on the verge of tears, apologizing profusely and promising his sweetheart that he’d be back again for her later. You tried to tell her that you’d still be around, but she didn’t seem interested.

You shared an exasperated look with him, knowing that you were going to have to deal with her crying and missing him until she was distracted by something else. “Who’s chopped liver now?” You laughed.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “She’s a Daddy’s girl.”

Indeed, she was, and you knew deep down that there was no other way for your little family to be. 

Tags: @tomitsulikeslemons @eleftheria93