"Mikleo. Are you and Sorey going somewhere?"
Mikleo froze in place, then half-turned to peer over his shoulder; his expression unreadable. Or as unreadable as a nearly-two-year-old could be, anyway. He mostly looked pouty.
"Go see flowers," he explained. His tone was enough to indicate his steel will on the matter.
He had Sorey hoisted up by the armpits, and was clearly having trouble carrying him along, but he clearly was not about to let that stop either of them from fulfilling their mission. Sorey babbled happily at the sight of Zenrus, and kicked his stubby little legs in his onesie. Zenrus couldn't help but smile back at him – such a happy and energetic child. And getting bigger by the day.
He could remember when Sorey had been small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He could remember when his weak lungs strained and gasped for every breath, when no amount of swaddling and magic-warmed hands could stop his tiny body from shivering. He could remember when his little heart struggled to beat through every long, long night. Zenrus did not want to discount the many efforts of the other Elysians during that stressful time, but in his mind, it was clear that the deciding factor in Sorey making it through those trials was Mikleo's steadfast presence; tucked together in their shared crib, sharing his healing blessing with Sorey, sharing his strength, even when he had so little to spare.
In all his many years of life, Zenrus couldn't remember a time when he'd been happier, or prouder.
"It's Sorey's naptime," Zenrus gently chided. "Remember what we discussed about Sorey needing naps."
Mikleo's brow furrowed, and the pout of his lip only grew deeper. It was always so hard on Mikleo to lose hours of time with Sorey to the basic human need for sleep – even appealing to Mikleo's urges to dote didn't always help when the loneliness got too much. Zenrus hoped that someday Mikleo could be convinced of the luxurious appeal of naps, but for now, anything that got in the way of his various hobbies was completely outside the realm of consideration. And being with Sorey was the chief-most of Mikleo's hobbies. Mikleo tightened his hold on Sorey; hugging him like an oversized doll. Sorey grunted lightly at the squeeze, but clearly wasn't upset at being squished close to his favorite person in his tiny world; even with his nap being interrupted. He stuffed a fist in his mouth to suck, and hummed around it idly.
"He's bored," Mikleo stated. "He wants to go see flowers."
He was a bright, creative boy, and could always think of an excuse. If it wasn't waking Sorey up to carry him off on an adventure, it was waking him up to feed him (Sorey could still stand to gain a few pounds, but this was a bit much), or waking him up to change and bathe him (no matter how clean he was already), or waking him up to show him a picture book or a toy (that he'd seen a thousand times before), or waking him up to try and sing him back to sleep with the old lullabies that he'd heard the other Elysians sing in the Ancient Tongue…
…honestly, it was a blessing in itself that Sorey was such a happy – and more importantly, such a forgiving – baby. Whether it was disrupted naps or superfluous baths or too-tight hugs, there was nothing that Mikleo could do to disrupt Sorey's love for him. Really, if Mikleo wasn't the one carrying him outside, Sorey would probably be speeding after him on all fours, squawking for "Meekwo" all the while.
It was important to have passions in life: love for another, love for the world's wonders. Zenrus could hardly bring himself to discourage any of it. There was still Sorey's sleeping schedule to consider though, so a compromise would have to be made.
"Go fetch Sorey's blankets. We'll go to the meadow and let him sleep a while under the tree shade, while we find some interesting flowers to show him when he wakes up."
Mikleo considered the offer. Sorey removed his fist from his mouth and reached up to pat Mikleo's round cheek with his chubby wet hand. Mikleo was used to being covered in Sorey's sloppy kisses and accepted the treatment without complaint.
"And cool rocks," Mikleo added to the deal.
"That too," Zenrus agreed. "I'll show you the herbs we use to make Sorey's medicine. You can help carry them back and give them to Medea to prepare."
"Pbbblltllttlbb!" Sorey said, clearly not understanding and just wanting to participate.
Mikleo mistook Sorey's comment for an objection, and immediately seized upon the opportunity to take charge of Sorey's care. He lowered Sorey to the ground; settling him on his bottom before letting him go.
"You have to take medicine," Mikleo explained to him firmly. "Else you'll be a little baby forever. Stay here."
Mikleo scurried off for Sorey's blankets, and Sorey immediately dropped into a crawl to pursue him. Zenrus thanked his lucky stars that he was still spry enough to snatch him up before he took off like a shot. Even the younger seraphim in Elysia had a hard time catching Sorey when he was at top crawling speed.
"Meekwo!" Sorey wailed.
His tone was touched by despair, but he quickly calmed down when Zenrus held him close. Zenrus began to rock him, slowly, humming low until Sorey's whimpers trailed off and his eyelids began to droop. Sorey yawned wide, and tucked his forehead against Zenrus' chest. His fingers curled into his robes and held on fast, even as he slipped into the land of dreams.
"He'll be back," Zenrus assured him. It was the simple truth, and an easy thing to promise. "He'll always be there for you. I can already tell."