Sweet Jesus, finally! I'm sorry I haven't updated in two months, but I've been working on my final thesis project because I want to finish it to get a GIANT weight off my shoulders so I can focus on other stuff I want to do, like painting!

Shades of Purple

Chapter 38- Parenthood Pt. II

With most of the marked planets terraformed and under Irken control, the Tallest could return to Irk and take a well-deserved break until the remaining Invaders informed them that they were ready for the Organic Sweep. Purple couldn't be happier about it; this meant he'd get to use all of the new smeet stuff he and Tenn had purchased months ago. As soon as they landed, the first thing he did was to dress Mor in that cute lavender pajama with puffy cloud patterns he liked so much.

Speaking of Mor, he turned out to have daddy's big appetite! This last week alone he had gained a few pounds and grown a few inches. By now, he was already getting the hang of crawling around the floor and exploring the world around him; he wouldn't go too far, though; Mor always came back to Purple's feet and squeak for his attention; the Tallest was more than happy to pick him up and place him on his lap.

Sadly, Tenn didn't seem to share the enthusiasm. She seemed to be the happiest when Mor wasn't around. Though Purple didn't mind this, she was always looking for excuses to leave Mor with him despite the smeet's attempts at getting her attention; her body tensed up and avoided even looking at her son whenever she had no other choice but to hold him as if she didn't want to. She pretty much ignored him when he was inside her pouch, too.

Guess it'd take her some more time to get used to motherhood; she used to be an Irken Invader, after all, and before that she was an Irken Elite. Purple experienced that training too; they were always discouraged from showing things such as 'love' or 'attachment', emotions that can hinder a soldier's performance. Yes, that must be it, she just needs some coaxing.

"Hey, Tenn!" Purple had to raise his voice over Mor's wailing. "Come lend me a hand!"

Tenn pressed a pillow against her lekku, groaning. "What's wrong now?!"

"What does it look like? Mor needs his diaper changed…" Purple sniffed the smeet. "And a bath."

"So?"

"So help me! I can't do everything by myself."

"You've never complained about that before!" Tenn retorted.

"I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that you could do your share! He's your son too, you know!" Tenn merely rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. Purple smirked when she walked past him towards the nursery, barely managing to contain a snicker.

"Shh, there, there, it's okay…" he carefully placed Mor on the changing table, unwrapping the blanket and exposing his little body; having gotten used to Ilk and Rouge's dirty diapers over the years, Purple wasn't bothered by the smell of the dirty diaper anymore. Tenn, on the other hand…

"Sweet irk-!"

"Come on, it isn't that bad. You've changed Rouge's diaper before!"

"I changed him once, that doesn't make me an expert

"No, but it makes it easier. Besides, you haven't bathed him once, my dear." Purple undressed Mor and removed the dirty diaper, sticking out his tongue as he threw it into the garbage chute. "I'll prepare the bathtub, think you could wipe Mor's… crevice meanwhile?"

"If I don't have a choice."

Though his attention was mostly focused on the smeet bathtub, Purple made sure to keep an eye on Tenn in case she needed a hand. There was a look of utter disgust on her face as she wiped Mor's rear and carelessly threw the napkins into the garbage chute. Mor had somewhat calmed down, distracted by Tenn's hands moving over him.

"How long are you going to take with that?!" Tenn cried out.

Purple checked the temperature: 28Cº. "Just a little longer."

"Can't you hurry it up?"

"It's not that simple, one centigrade above the ideal temperature can burn Mor's sensitive skin, I have to be careful about it. Why don't you hold Mor meanwhile?"

"Can't I just leave him there?"

"No, he might get a cold!"

Truthfully, Purple could have warmed up the water a bit faster, but he wanted Tenn to hold Mor for a little longer. So far, she still wasn't getting the hang of doing it properly. It's a good thing he keeps an eye on her or she might unintentionally drop his baby. It took her a few tries to pick him up, and even then she wasn't holding him correctly.

"Try holding him like you held Rouge."

"I never 'held' Rouge perse; he spent most of his time inside the pouch, remember?" Tenn retorted.

Thankfully, the water had already reached the ideal temperature. Purple carefully took Mor from Tenn's arms and carried him to the bathtub. Mor shrieked as soon as the tip of his toes touched the surface, kicking water around. Purple had to lift him and hold him against his chest.

"Oh, right, almost forgot! Tenn, would you mind bringing krazilla?"

"Kra-what?" Tenn repeated.

"It's a green rubber Kral toy. Mor won't go into the water without it."

"Why not give him another one? He's got lots of them."

"Nah, it must be that one specifically. He's picky when it comes to his toys."

Tenn rolled her eyes. "Reminds me of a certain someone."

"Haha, very funny."

"Achoo!"

Purple quickly moved Mor away from Tenn, shielding his little head with the blanket. "Hey, don't sneeze around the smeet!"

Today's bath was a bit fuzzier than usual; Purple wasn't sure if it was because Tenn was present, or if Mor was in a bad mood. The point is that he kicked and splashed around the whole time. Purple couldn't tell if he was throwing a sort of tantrum or if he simply wanted to play with his mama. Perhaps the latter, as most of the splashes were directed at her. Admittedly, Purple couldn't resist and ended up splashing her too. Eventually, the bath turned into an all-out splashing war; the only bad thing was that their robes got completely soaked and Tenn now had the beginnings of a cold.

"Big deal, I wasn't even aiming at him."

"Say that to the germs hanging around the air!" Mor seemingly found their argument funny. He let out a happy giggle as he squirmed in his father's arms, reaching out for his mother. "Who's the cutest smeet in the whole universe? Yes, you are!" Purple playfully blew on his son's belly, making him burst into yet another fit of giggles.

Tenn raised an eyebrow. "What were you saying about germs?"

"Don't listen to mommy, she's just jealous that you don't laugh with her."

After finally tucking Mor into the cradle to sleep, Purple made his way to the bathroom to take a long, well-deserved bath. Tenn was already inside the bathtub with the cleansing gel up to her chin, eyes blissfully closed. Purple silently removed his robes and stepped into the warm gel to sit down next to his wife; his lekku twitched as he heard a deep purring sound.

"I've never heard you purring, my dear," he whispered into her lekku. "And I must say you look really hot when you do it."

Tenn blushed deeply as she incorporated herself. "Damn it, I hate it when that happens. I purr without realizing it when I'm in a good mood."

"Did it happen often with Dren?"

"He often teased me about it during our dates."

"I can see why he liked it, you sound almost as cute as Mor!"

"Why the sudden interest in Dren?" Tenn inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Purple shrugged. "Just curious. I mean, he probably knew lots of your 'cuter moments'."

"Cute? I'm an Irken Invader! I'm many things, but cute is not one of-!"

"Tickle monster!"

Purple's fingers flew towards his wife's sides and tickled her playfully. Tenn bit her lip and tensed up, but eventually, she burst out into laughter. Purple laughed alongside her as he continued to look for more 'weak spots'.

"You-! Knock it off AHAHA!"

"Bwahaha, not until you surrender!"

"You evil-! Haha! Fine, I surrender!"

Satisfied, Purple finally let go of his wife but was caught off guard when she lunged at him, sending them both under the gel's surface momentarily as she began a playful, one-sided assault.

"You don't mess with an Irken Invader and live to tell the tale!"

"Former Invader, remember?" Purple teased, laughing as this further provoked Tenn into trying to 'drown' him.

Half-an hour of quarreling and mock fighting later, Purple carried his wife out of the bathroom and gently lay her down on top of the bed. His gaze casually passed over the scar on her abdomen where Mor had been cut out of her; it was almost completely healed, but he could tell it would always be faintly visible up close. Purple couldn't help but wonder how things would have been like if Tenn had given birth naturally; judging by how Lena got when she laid her eggs, and she's far softer than Tenn, he could imagine Tenn cursing him during the whole process.

Part of him did wish that his son had been born naturally, though. He wished that he could have been there with Tenn even if she didn't allow him inside the pillow nest, at least to offer her moral support. He wished that he could have held their egg in his hands, wondering what the little one was doing in there as he caressed and held the outer shell close to his chest, whispering comforting words to him. He wished to have found a squirming, confused little smeet in the incubator one morning, squeaking out for his parents.

Oh, well. Things might have not gone according to plan, but he was glad that everything was alright. His wife was okay and now they had a little bundle of joy of their own.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing, my dear. Just remembering how beautiful you looked with a tiny waist" Purple purred into her lekku, only to receive a playful smack on the shoulder.

"It's your fault that I got fat, remember? You put the smeet inside my body."

"Oh, come on, you loved it…!" Purple trailed off in realization. "... Did you?"

"What do you mean?"

Purple sat on the edge of the bed, back turned on Tenn. "That night when we conceived Mor… before you…" He inhaled deeply as he dug his claws into the mattress. "...Did you enjoy our night together? Or was it all just part of the act?"

Silence. Purple wasn't sure why he brought the topic back up; he had more or less made peace with Tenn, after all. But deep down he just had to know if what happened between them was real; her deceit and escape were already heartbreaking enough, but knowing that he didn't satisfy her in bed would be unbearable.

Purple tensed as he heard his wife taking a deep breath.

"I'm not sure what to think of it. I was still mad at you at that time, and I admit that I was trying to lower your guard to escape," Tenn hesitated briefly before confessing. "But honestly, I think I would be lying if I said that I didn't… genuinely enjoy our sexual intercourse, as much as I'd hate to admit it," Tenn whispered something else faintly.

Purple raised his lekku. "What did you just say?"

Tenn half-suppressed a groan, blushing deeply. "I said that you're good in bed."

"Say it again!" Purple leaned closer to his wife with a wolfish grin, lekku pointing towards her.

"You're good in bed." She hissed, a bit more annoyed this time.

"I can't hear youuu!"

"Fine, fine, you're good in bed! I enjoyed having sex with you! Happy now?!" Purple laughed and playfully tackled Tenn onto the bed, pulling her close.

"Very much happy, my dear."

Tenn returned the wolfish grin. "You're not such a bad lover, after all." Purple felt a pleasant shiver down his spine as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "For a dork."

His male organ tingled in arousal at the opening. Sadly, he heard a faint whimpering from the cradle. Purple sighed in disappointment as he momentarily left his wife's side to go check on the crib; as he suspected, Mor had squirmed awake, his squeals and whimpers becoming louder. Purple shushed and cooed as he picked him up and carried him to bed.

"What's wrong now?" Tenn inquired with an undercurrent of annoyance and disappointment.

"I'm not sure, but thankfully it isn't his diaper. I think he's hungry, let me check… Aww, he was hungry, weren't you, smeetie-pooh?" Purple lay down next to Tenn, attention fixed on Mor as he bottle-fed him. "Isn't he a cutie?"

"If you say so," Tenn murmured, turning her back on them.

"Hey, you didn't even look at him. Come on, you could lend me a hand! My arms need a break too, you know."

Tenn sighed. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"Here, hold him for a while so I can rest my arms." Purple carefully handed the smeet and the bottle over to Tenn, gently correcting her arms so Mor's head was resting comfortably on top of her chest. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, especially when Mor purred as he recognized his mother's heartbeat. "You two look so cute together!"

"Yeah, right... " Tenn shifted uncomfortably. "He won't throw up on top of me again, will he?"

"Oh, come on, that's part of the fun!"

"Purple." Tenn hissed dangerously. Purple gulped.

"How about this? You bottle feed him and I burp him."

Things settled down after a while. Purple wrapped an arm around his Tenn's shoulders and leaned against her as he watched Mor contently eating. He noted Tenn's shoulders were stiff and rigid and her lekku were flat against her head. He briefly thought she was in an uncomfortable position until he realized that she wasn't even looking at Mor; instead, her gaze was cast sideways and looking for something to distract herself with.

"Try to loosen up a bit. Mor will notice if something's bothering you."

Tenn briefly, looked down at Mor. "He looks fine to me."

"He's relaxed because he's feeding, but once he's done he'll get fussy if he realizes that you're stressed."

"So what do you suggest?"

Purple thought for a moment. "Well, he likes it when you sing to him while eating."

Tenn frowned deeply. "I do not sing." Purple rolled his eyes.

"Not even for your son?"

"It's not like they give you singing or maternity lessons in Invader training."

"That's no excuse. Red trained to be an Invader too and he's got a wonderful voice."

"Red?" Tenn gave him a surprised look. "Red can sing?"

"He surely can. He'd always sing to Ilk and Rouge when they were in their eggs. And you didn't hear him on karaoke night! He and Miyuki often made duets and won." Purple warily looked around the room. "Just don't tell him I told you. He's quite modest about it."

"How about you? Know any songs Mor might like? I don't know any for the reasons I just mentioned."

"Well…" Purple thought for a moment. "There is one I've been singing to him and he seems to like it."

"How about you sing it right now? He's getting fussy."

Tenn motioned down. Mor had finished with the bottle and was squirming uncomfortably, whimpering. As per the agreement, Purple carefully took Mor in his arms and held him close to his chest. He used a PAK-leg to carefully pull Tenn closer into the 'family bundle'; she didn't protest much and leaned in against his shoulder. Once he was sure both were comfortable, Purple sang.

Dream by night,

Wish by day

Love begins this way.

Lovin' starts

When open hearts

Touch and stay.

Sleep for now,

Dreamings how

Lovers' lives are planned.

Future songs and flying dreams,

Hand in hand.

Love it seems

Made flying dreams,

So hearts could soar.

Heaven sent

These dreams were meant

To prove once more,

That love is the key.

Ever strong

Our future song

To sing it must be free.

And love it seems

Made flying dreams

To bring you home to me…

Mor's cries quieted down halfway through the song as he opened his eyes. Purple gingerly stroked his cheek with a finger, wiping some of the tears away. He kept his gaze on Mor as he patted his back until he let out a small burp, then went back to bouncing him. By the time Purple sang the final part of the song, Mor had gone back to sleep, thumb inside his mouth.

"Sweet dreams, Mor." Purple leaned in and planted a kiss on his son's forehead. "There, see? It isn't that hard." No reply. "Tenn?"

A snore to his right caught his attention; Tenn was soundly asleep, her head resting against his shoulder. Instead of rolling his eyes, Purple merely smiled a bit as he shook his head, silently asking the computer to take a picture.

Can anyone guess which song that is?