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To be very clear: they had not been trying to get Liz pregnant.
They had, in fact, been trying to get Nerissa pregnant and Willy Wonka'd a little too close to the sun.
When Fauna (because getting Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame to slow. down. enough to go to the doctor was a fool's errand, Shiori didn't trust either civilian doctors who wouldn't know Liz's flame from a five-alarm fire, or anything to do with the Gods, the Organization, or the Cell, and Nerissa was going to walk out a window sans wings if they didn't have a reason for why one of her precious partners was about to be rebranded as the Porcelain Queen, stat) dropped the bomb on the three of them, Liz - bless her Great Exardian soul - had fully disassociated for roughly a minute before snapping back into her body with a flat, "What?".
And that had been that.
The Harbinger of Order, the Leader of Justice: up the duff on accident because her lovers were just that good.
(Shiori had slept on the couch for a week for that one, but in her defense how the flip flop was she supposed to know Justice couldn't take that heat when Gigi Murin existed, huh?)
Surprisingly, no one either cared or dared to ask the question: with three moms in the mix, who was the daddy-o?
Nerissa insisted it was Shiori, Shiori insisted it was Nerissa, Liz put up with it for about a month before finally snapping that if they didn't start acting like equal co-parents, it was going to be her baby and hers alone. That had shut them the beep up, and if their hold on Liz was just a touch too tight to be easy, no one mentioned it.
That wasn't to say that Liz was snapping at them all the time. Au contraire, mon capitan, most days saw her watching in bemusement as Shiori and Nerissa did excellent impressions of knowing what the fuck they were doing.
Then the exhaustion had set in.
3D printing a human was hard work, but it shouldn't have been this hard, and Shiori had nearly puked when Liz voluntarily took herself off active status with Justice.
The trip back to Fauna happened less than a week later.
Kronii (who was strangely knowledgeable around midwifery) had taken one glance at Fauna's exam of Liz before casually suggesting the only thing wrong with her was eating for two instead of three.
("Aw, heck yeah!" Shiori had crowed with a fist pump. "We went BOGO with the pogo!"
"…what the fuck, dude," was the only reply that broke the silence, deadpanned as Kronii stood, deeply disturbed, and Fauna smiled guilelessly.)
Secretly, this had put the question of 'Whoopsie do, who shot the goo' to rest for Shiori, since twins had never happened on any branch of her family and Nerissa's family had triplets if the wind was blowing in the right direction, so chances were they had two little fire demons on the way.
(Nerissa had gone very pale when she joked about it one night when Liz couldn't sleep, and Shiori learned two new things in quick succession: first that she wasn't allowed to suggest fighting their unborn children even if it would help their mother sleep, and second that fire demon was apparently a valid entry in the Punnett square of Liz x Nerissa.)
Fauna had also let them know it was twin boys, which wasn't surprising since two negatives mathematically makes a positive, duh, but maybe should have been when Liz's reaction was legitimately hysterical laughter and Nerissa had taken her turn disassociating at Fauna's.
Which, of course, meant when it was time to finally squeeze out two fresh humans, they collectively ended up with one boy… and one girl.
"I don't know why I'm surprised," Liz murmurs, exhaustion and awe radiating from her in equal measure, "Sod's law, and all that. Suppose I thought they'd give us a bit before pulling a fast one on us."
Their daughter wiggles in her swaddling with a tiny noise, and Shiori can see Liz falling in love in real-time. Next to her, Nerissa hums in agreement, their son tucked against her chest as she stares at him adoringly.
Shiori can't blame them - Niko (Nicholas Malcolm Bloodflame, god that's a mouthful) is adorable with his tiny horns and jet-black hair, and his sister, temporarily unnamed, is equally adorable even without the visible nubs her brother sports (Nerissa swears that's perfectly normal), but more importantly these are their children, and Shiori would give every drop of love in her body for them, to them.
"Yeah, you hear that?" she directs towards Niko, who snuffles deeper into Nerissa's chest. "You get a free pass this one time, but no more tricks, ok? We're your moms and you're not allowed to prank us."
Liz snorts out a laugh while Nerissa smiles, and Shiori was being serious but it's enough that she's made them happy.
Their daughter starts to squirm, some new sensation not vibing, and Liz carefully adjusts her.
"What is it, sweetheart?" she asks quietly, and something that had been empty suddenly fills to the brim with a clench in Shiori's gut at those words.
I love you, she mouths silently, and she's staring at Liz but the sentiment is the same for all of them. I love you so much.
Their daughter settles a bit, deciding to stretch her tiny fingers and yawn, and Shiori watches Liz watch her, unable to tear her gaze away from how effortless it feels for Liz to be a mother. It's because she's staring that she notices the moment Liz freezes, and an indescribable look washes over her face.
Shiori is at her elbow in an instant, hands hovering helplessly as she tries to not let her world fall out underneath her. "Liz? Liz, what's wrong?"
Liz shakes her head, but a quiet sob escapes anyway, and now Nerissa is on-edge as well.
"Elizabeth-"
"Everything's fine," Liz chokes out, and she's smiling, beaming as Shiori struggles to catch up. "Everything is… It's perfect."
Despite Liz's assurances, the tension in the air doesn't dissipate until Liz offers their daughter to Shiori's arms.
"Hold her," Liz cajoles, red eyes shining as she smiles up at Shiori. "Please."
Far be it from Shiori to refuse that request.
Their daughter slides into her arms easily and it's shocking how such a light weight can ground her entire existence.
Baby-round eyes blink up at her for the first time, and her mouth opens to babble about sleeping before something registers and her jaw, instead, falls open in shock.
Their daughter has her eyes.
Not the glowing gold of the Archiver, but the soft brown she was born with, so long replaced she'd forgotten what they looked like until this moment.
Nerissa's eyes are wine-pink, and Liz's sunset red, which means-
"She's mine," she breathes, and from the other side of Liz, Nerissa gasps.
"Oh my god," she whispers, fragile hope undercutting her hushed excitement. "Oh my god. Liz, is she-"
Liz lets out a watery laugh, joyful tears streaming down her face as she places a hand on both of their children. "One from each of you."
Nerissa makes a sound like the air's been knocked out of her, hand flying up to cover her mouth. It's no secret amongst them that since they discovered they were having twins, this exact scenario - one child from Nerissa, one from Shiori - was one of Nerissa's deepest wishes, despite the incredible odds against it happening.
Shiori is trying to keep up, trying to understand. Every possible ending to every possible story locked up in her head, and yet she'd never entertained this particular page ever being written. Not just a child with her blood in their veins - because the Cell had taken and taken and taken until even her desires were a hollow space inside her - but one untouched by her choices.
Their daughter is not an Archiver, and need never be one.
"You have to name her, Shiori," Nerissa insists, and Shiori tries to protest because they'd picked names together, as a family (even if she'd happily suggested names that catered more toward Nerissa and Liz's families than her own), before she's stopped by a hand on her arm.
"Nerissa's right," Liz says quietly, gentle smile on her face and Shiori reaches out to brush a lingering tear track from her cheek. "At least her first name."
Shiori looks down.
Their daughter stares back with those brown eyes, and jet black hair that she can now see tints red along the back and edges. A blend of herself and Liz. Untouched by their pasts. A brand new person made out of love.
A name comes to mind, but Shiori hesitates.
"What about," she starts, licking her lips nervously. "What about Evelyn? Evie for short?"
Nerissa and Liz's faces light up, and something in the room slots into place.
"Niko and Evie," Nerissa tests out carefully, "Nicholas and Evelyn Bloodflame."
Oh. That's it. That's what was missing. That's her children.
"Niko and Evie," Liz echoes, flame on her chest blazing with emotion that can't be contained.
"Hi guys," Shiori whispers, smile curling her lips. "Welcome to the world."