Stingue Week 2019 Prompt: AU

Home For The Holidays Prompt: Family

May 11, 2020

Chapter 1

Rogue closed his eyes for what felt like only a moment, only to be pulled out of sleep by the soft whining noises of an infant. A short silence fell, and he almost got his hopes up that it was simply sleep talk, but of course, luck wasn't on his side.

The whining repeated louder and more desperate to be heard. When no response was given, it quickly turned into a piercing wail. The staticky video monitor that sat on his nightstand called for his attention, but he stubbornly refused to reach for it yet. Holding his breath, he willed his son to go back to sleep on his own, but instead, the cry was quickly joined by a second one, and Rogue could only groan in frustration. Both twins were up now, and he was still so tired.

The last six months had been hell on his sleep schedule. He and Sting had been happily surprised when they'd heard from Minerva that they were going to have twins. In their excitement, however, they'd failed to consider how challenging that first year would be, especially with Sting just starting his first year of pediatric residency at the hospital.

Rogue decided to let their sons cry for a bit and see if they were able to put themselves back to sleep, but after several minutes had passed with the cries only growing more desperate, he knew it wasn't going to happen. Eyes still shut tightly, he willed his body to move but then felt the bed shift as Sting rolled onto his stomach with a groan, covering his head with a pillow before finally getting up to check on Haku and Kuro.

Rogue smiled in appreciation and snuggled deeper into the covers, content in the knowledge that Sting was taking over. A few moments passed before he heard Sting's sleepy voice come over the monitor.

"What are you little monsters up to? It's not even light out," Sting's voice sounded loud through the monitor, giving Rogue a rather good idea of where he was standing.

The crying stopped instantly, replaced by curious coos as the boys recognized their father's voice.

"Do you need changing?" Sting asked, and as Rogue heard the creak of the floorboards, he knew Sting had picked Haku up out of his crib.

"You have such a beautiful smile, Haku," Sting murmured gently, "Oof, but that diaper has got to go, looks like you were busy. Smells like it too."

Haku giggled as Sting changed his diaper, and Rogue felt his heart swell as he imagined Sting making funny faces at their son. He yawned and fought off the instinctual urge to get up and help. He reminded himself that he took care of them on his own every day, it was good to let Sting help out when he could. The sound of Kuro's displeased wails at being kept waiting rang out. He heard the click of the changing table's safety belt as Sting went to get Kuro.

"You wait right here, Haku, I'll be right back with your brother."

At first, Haku continued to coo happily until he realized Sting wasn't there anymore then he began to wail as well. That decided it. Rogue reached out with his arm and turned the monitor off, muting the noise as much as possible. It wasn't like Sting couldn't handle it on his own.

Rogue tried not to focus on the sounds so he could go back to sleep as soon as possible before it was time to get up and start another day. It didn't take long before those sounds weren't coming from the baby monitor anymore. They traveled through the walls until they reached the bedroom. The mattress dipped next to him, and Rogue felt a weight far too light to be Sting's plop on the bed next to him, followed by another similar weight, before a third, more familiar one filled up the bed.

When Rogue finally lifted his heavy eyelids, he stared right into a pair of wide-open eyes, their bright blue hue twinkling much too happily in the pale moonlight that slipped into the room through a gap between the curtains. A pacifier bobbed up and down rhythmically against chubby cheeks, and from behind it came a delighted hum.

He probably would have melted at the sight if it wasn't the middle of the night, and he didn't suffer from exhaustion as much as he did. Besides, this little hellion and his nearly identical partner in crime, who was waving around his favorite stuffed red dragon, were not supposed to be here right now.

"If you keep doing this, they'll never get used to sleeping in their own room," Rogue objected, even though the damage was already done, "and we'll never get some decent sleep."

Tiny fingers found their way to his face, probing around and tugging at some strands of his hair as if determined to prove that last statement. Rogue gently grabbed them and warded them off before he could be assaulted in thoughtless enthusiasm.

"They're only six months old, babe, there's plenty of time for them to get used to sleeping without us," Sting countered, "The Magnolia Pediatrics Association recommends that babies sleep in their parents' room for the first six to twelve months."

Rogue made a face, thinking of spending another six months sleeping with the twins between them, or in cribs next to their bed. It was convenient to not have to get out of the bedroom to do nighttime baby care, and he absolutely loved sleeping with a tiny warm body curled up in his arms. However, he was far less thrilled about being woken by the involuntary spasms of small fists or the feeling of the soggy end of a suckled on plushie in his face.

"We have to start trying at some point. You have twelve-hour shifts, and neither one of us is getting any sleep," Rogue argued half-heartedly.

"Shh, go back to sleep, I've got them," Sting leaned over to give Rogue a soft kiss, changing the subject before it could turn into an argument. And as the babies shifted away from him and began to climb on his husband with joyous shrieks, Rogue did just that.

When he woke up again, the other side of the bed was empty, but he could smell the reviving scent of freshly brewed coffee as it wafted into his room.

The alarm clock displayed a time that made him want to hide under the warmth of the covers for a few more hours, but he got up anyway. Sting didn't have much time left before he had to head out, and the familiar urge to use the bathroom made sure he didn't stall any longer.

Still sleepy, he yawned and rubbed away at the sandy feeling in his eyes as he trudged into the dining room. The twins were in their high chairs, Kuro intensely focused on drinking from the bottle he was holding up all by himself, while Haku seemed to have given up on that and was diligently trying to pick up cheerios from the tray. Some of them had already landed on the floor, but they were easy to clean up. It was a simple way to keep the little one busy for a while, so Rogue didn't mind in the slightest.

"Morning," Sting greeted, cheerful as ever no matter the ungodly hour. He kissed Rogue's cheek and placed a big mug of coffee, along with a bowl of cereal and milk on the table in front of him. "Right on time for breakfast!"

Rogue sat down next to Haku, already foreseeing what would happen once he ran out of cheerios, and blew some steam off his coffee. He took a tentative first sip to gauge the temperature and then a bigger one when he made sure it was safe.

"Thanks," he smiled into the mug, "did you ever get back to sleep?"

"Nah, but that's okay. I got some quality cuddling time with the monsters instead. They'll probably be asleep by the time I get back tonight, so it's a sacrifice I was willing to make." Sting took a seat next to him with his own breakfast, placing a hand on his thigh and his head on Rogue's shoulder, "I didn't get to cuddle you though."

"Eat," ordered Rogue, softly headbutting him, "you sacrificed sleep, you can't skip breakfast too. I'll still be up when you get back."

"Promise?" Sting grinned at him, his eyes alight with mischief as he moved his hand a little higher up Rogue's thigh before squeezing firmly and settling to eat his breakfast.

Rogue rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile that teased his lips as he thought about the possibility of spending some alone time with Sting. He peered over at the boys, whose faces were already covered in a combination of formula and mushed up Cheerios and then back at Sting, who was wolfing down his breakfast in a bid to have enough time for a shower before work and sighed happily. This might very well be the most perfect moment he could recall in quite a while.

But as often happened, it was over before he had a chance to really enjoy it. Sting looked down at his watch and jumped out of his chair.

"Shit! Gotta jump in the shower, new rotation today, can't afford to be late!"

Rogue tried to remember which rotation Sting was going to be working on now as he stood up from his chair but couldn't remember. He hoped it was one of the good ones, knowing Sting had been itching to have more interaction with patients.

Haku and Kuro began to show signs of restlessness, so Rogue hurried his cleaning efforts, collecting all the dirty dishes and putting them in the sink for later. Grabbing a washcloth, he cleaned the twins' faces quickly, taking them out of their high chairs and placing them on their tummies on the living room floor.

"Alexa, play children's music," Rogue cringed as the saccharin sweet sounds of Wheels on the Bus began to play in the background, but Haku and Kuro both lifted their heads up in wonder as they tried to find the source of the music.

Rogue hurried to get the basket of toys they kept next to their large sectional, reaching in to grab a large blanket with multiple items sewn to it. It was designed to stimulate and help develop an infant's motor development, and it was Haku's favorite toy at the moment.

Kuro had been fascinated by his red dragon plush from the moment he'd received it from his Grandpa Weiss. He took it with him everywhere and put up a fuss if it was ever removed from his chubby hands. Not even Haku was allowed to take it from him. Haku had been gifted a similar blue dragon, but he hadn't really cared much about it yet.

Sting raced out of their bedroom, stopping only to kiss Rogue and tickle the boys' sides gently before kissing the tops of their heads.

"Be good for Daddy!" he chattered at them before grabbing his work bag and waving to Rogue,

"See you tonight!"

"Bye," Rogue managed as the door closed loudly from Sting's over-exuberant efforts. And just like that, Rogue's day had begun. Looking down at his watch, he saw it was only five fifteen in the morning.