The warm caress of sunrise daylight had successfully breached the royal bedchamber, arriving to stroke the cheek of a certain purple feline and coax her toward the land of the living. Blaze the Cat, now the queen of Sol, was gently roused from the most restful night she'd had in almost ten weeks. For the first time in months, she felt refreshed; she'd slept undisturbed. Still, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
She nuzzled deeper into her pillow; comfortable in the knowledge that she was still on leave, but her eyes slowly opened when she noticed something was missing. Her husband wasn't in bed beside her; she'd reached across to pull his fluffy form closer only to find the sheets were empty. Suddenly, her good sleep made a lot more sense; it hadn't been down to luck. Silver was off making sure she'd sleep well, he'd probably been working for hours now. While, on one hand, she was sure he'd be glad she was relishing his effort; Blaze knew it was kinder to rise and help him with their task. The hedgehog was trying his hardest to be good at this, he'd been gentle and genuine and helpful for the past ten months, but her responsibility matched his. She'd recovered enough resume returning his selflessness. Blaze was sure that he would protest her efforts, he'd insist that she could have more sleep, but if she didn't start acting now then Blaze was certain she'd get too used to his charity.
With a yawn and a stretch, Blaze managed to pry herself from beneath the covers. She was still a little sore but, all things considered, she felt markedly better than she had the past few weeks. Her old shirts were still much too small of her but she hadn't expected to rapidly revert overnight, besides; Silver's shirts were remarkably comfortable, his taller frame left them more than sufficiently baggy. She did debate whether to change before leaving, walking around in a tie-die teal t-shirt and baggy black shorts wasn't the best look, but Blaze quickly remembered that she wasn't living in the palace anymore. They were on the edge of the grounds, in their new family home. She was allowed to dress improperly, she could roam the halls however she wanted and no one would complain. Reaching for her nightstand, she took a drink of water before grabbing a bobble and pulling her hair into a semi-respectable ponytail. She rolled her neck and arched her back before fully turning and stepping out of bed, greeting the new carpet good morning. She wasn't quite used to it all yet, but she was certain she'd get there.
The royal bedchambers had changed a lot the past months, going from the large room in a castle to a sizeable room within a large (split-level) house. The cyan walls of her palace-bedroom remained but new pictures and posters had been hung up. They were simplistic maps of the islands and historical pieces but, garish as she thought some of them, Blaze knew they'd be important in the long run. Their bookshelves were no longer stacked with historical and political books, the likes Silver had read both before and after becoming king, instead, books on nutrition and what to expect lined the walls.
Blaze made her way from her room to the hall, slowing her pace as she approached the room her partner was surely within. On her way, her eyes caught a picture of Amy and Sonic; a fair few wedding photos had been collaged in a large, multi-windowed, picture frame. She couldn't help musing that it wouldn't be long before they experienced what she has, it'd surely be harder for them to stay pinned down and endure those sleepless nights. Regardless, the pink hedgehog was certain it'd be worth it in the end; just as the purple feline was.
She arrived outside a white, wooden, door; left just slightly askew. More than a little curious, rather than walking in, she pressed her ear to the door. The time traveller was being quiet, clearly trying to be gentle, but she could make out a few sounds. Silver was humming, not quite a song (the noise was too infrequent and gentle for that) but a single, repeated, sound as he gently paced across the room. Beneath his noise though, every so often, Blaze heard gentle mewing and a quiet rumbling.
It was only as she went to enter, being as delicate and quiet as she could, that Blaze heard a slightly louder meow. The sound was quickly muffled by more of Silver's odd humming and a phrase Blaze hadn't expected to hear again, "It's okay little Purrpurr. It's okay, Daddy's here and he's not going anywhere…"
Ever so gently, she pushed her way into the room. Everything was in its place; the cot lay empty in the room's left corner (a mobile of the solar system hanging above), the toy chest sat closed beside it and the room's small fan sat turned off atop a bedside cabinet filled with baby clothes. None of these things held her attention like him though. Silver was stood near the centre of the room, heavy black bags marked the muzzle beneath his eyes and the hedgehog's quills were contorted at all sorts of ludicrous angles. It was clear he'd hardly slept; he'd been far to busy tending the bundle he was carrying. There, in his arms, was their baby; Heather, as they'd recently decided to name her, not Purrpurr as he'd just called her. Sunlight was gently filtering into the room, weaving through the holes in the blinds to bathe the pair in gold.
The psychic caught her eye contact as she entered the room, giving her a tired grimace of regret. He called across to her in a hushed tone, "Sorry, did we wake you?"
Blaze closed the gap between them, quietly padding across the carpeted floor, and started to whisper back, "No, you were wonderful Silver. I suppose I've just gotten used to a light sleep."
Her gaze left his eyes, tumbling to the bundle in his arms. Heather was having a rather fitful sleep, wriggling and kicking and mewing almost constantly. Despite her behaviour, Blaze couldn't help thinking that she looked adorable. Her pastel purple fur was still tufty and messy, both filling her ears and flaring from the tips of them, and her tail seemed to have a mind of its own; lashing out and attempting to curl around the back of his hand. She kept reaching out with her stubby little fingers, kneading and tugging at her dad's fluffy with all of her sleeping strength. With every pull, the green symbols on her hands would pulse just a little brighter than the green onesie she wore.
"She's just a little sleep-cranky, I've tried everything," Silver admitted, biting back a yawn. Blaze's eyes returned to his tired face, "Well, when I arrived she needed changing so I dealt with that but, even though she fell back to sleep, she's just been a little…"
The queen had always thought Silver's power was useful, but baby changing had proved to be a natural application of it; saving them both so much disgust. Fatherhood truly suited the white hedgehog, she'd assumed it would but he'd surpassed her expectations. They were both overprotective people, they'd been overprotective of each other, and now that defensiveness was being extended to their child. If she had a problem, no matter how small, he'd spend hours trying to solve it; trying to trick Heather into eating healthier or even just trying to make the baby smile.
Another loud mew sounded, interrupting Blaze's train of thought, and her husband immediately reacted. He leaned down closer to the kitten, bundling her against his chest, and started to hum that strange tone she'd overheard. Now that she was up close though, the guardian could see what he was doing. Silver was pretending to purr to the little kitten, breathing out and letting his lips flutter. Heather's response was almost immediate; the kitten froze for a moment before shifting onto her back, nuzzling the back of her head into his arms and unleashing purrs of her own.
"See little Purrpurr, it's alright. Mamma's here now too," He quickly yet quietly told her, trying to keep up his fake purring.
Was it a little silly? Yes, it undoubtedly was; the face he pulled trying to purr was more than a little ridiculous, but Blaze felt her heart swell. Before she could even realise what she was doing, the motherly feline had started to purr; unleashing a long, rolling, hum from the depths of her chest. Heather's response was immediate, urged on by her mother's own purrs, her rumbling grew far louder; almost sounding like a throaty roar. The tiny feline turned her back to her father and leaned toward Blaze's repeated sound, it was as though she was attempting to synchronise their rumbles.
Blaze reached out a finger and Heather immediately seized it, wielding all the might her stubby fingers would allow. Heat was radiating from the princess' palms, hot enough that even the pyrokinetic could feel. That temperature couldn't compare to the warmth growing in Blaze's chest as she found herself drawing closer and allowing their child to have her way in this feeble tug-of-war.
"I think she wants her Mamma," Silver conceded, unable to hide the slight regret in his voice. The hedgehog clearly wanted to keep watching his little ball of fluff and warmth, but the longer she looked at him the bigger the bags beneath his eyes looked and the clearer his fight against yawning became, "If you're sure you don't want to go back to bed, do you want to…" Blaze nodded, Silver leaned down to their baby, "Alright Purpur, Mamma's going to hold you now. This'll only take a moment."
Ever so gently, Blaze reached into Silver's arms; slipping a hand around and beneath the baby. There was a brief moment of discomfort, a few mews of protest, but as the larger feline resumed her purring the smaller was quelled and quickly found spots to nuzzle and kneed her mother. The tiny, pastel-purple, feline resumed her cacophonous purring. It was no wonder that Silver had come up with such a silly title for their daughter, after all; she was little, purple and constantly purring.
"You keep calling her Purrpurr instead of Heather," Blaze jokingly chided between her purrs, watching as the princess wriggled and nipped.
"Y-Yeah," He sheepishly admitted, absentmindedly stroking the back of the fuzzy feline's head.
She managed to tear her eyes from the bairn to watch her husband squirm, "Do you not like the name Heather, or…?"
"No, Heather's the perfect name for her. I love it, it's just…" He seemed to struggle for the right words, tiredness was impacting his mind just as it was the rest of his body, "When she starts purring I can't help myself, I have to say it. She's just… my little Purrpurr. My little purple purring kitten…"
Nicknames weren't common between them. They'd tried a few at the very start of their relationship, mostly because they thought they were supposed to, but they'd rather quickly petered out. The only remnant of them was her ever so rarely teasing him, calling him Silvy whenever she knew he was getting hot under the collar. It was surprising that this nickname had stuck so strongly and, of course, it was incredibly naïve; they were supposed to call her Heather so that she'd properly understand what her name was. Using nicknames could confuse her.
Despite this though, regardless of how silly and foolish the term was, as Blaze watched his eyes trail down to their kitten she couldn't help drinking in his expression. He was being so gentle. It wasn't that the hedgehog was incapable of gentleness (far from it, in fact, that softness had been a beacon of hope to her when they lived in crisis city) but she could tell he was trying especially hard to be especially tender. Despite the bags between his eyes, his gaze was so compassionate and warm. Her every movement was so important to him, from the rise and fall of her tiny belly to her sleeping flails to the slight wrinkling of her nose as she unleashed her nasally purrs. His ears would shift in response to her every sound and his smile would briefly strengthen, perfectly timed with the sleeping hum of her purr.
They'd come from a world rife with hardship, him doubly so, and to see him like this, so peaceful and serene, was almost too much for her heart to handle.
Quite unable to help herself, though she'd intended to chastise him a little more, Blaze leaned over the baby between them and planted a kiss on his lips. As she pulled back, still vigorously purring, s phrase she so often uttered fell from her lips, "You're still so naïve…"
Before the gap between them could return, the hedgehog's forehead pressed against hers as he began to gently nuzzle, "And you're so soft…" More yawns tried to breach his lips but he refused to grant them passage, his weary eyes closed but his jaws clamped shut. He quickly wiped his eyes, returning his attention to both her and their baby; gently rubbing beneath the child's chin, "She's just like you."
"Well, she got her fluffiness from somewhere," Blaze reminded him, returning his touch with nuzzles of her own, "She has your eyes too."
He could only affirmatively hum in response, soon resuming his version of a purr. His gentle head rubs slowed to a stop, she heard his breathing slow and watched as his eyes closed again. It wasn't prompted by a yawn this time, just his own tiredness. Silver wasn't a particularly heavy sleeper but the ten weeks since Heather's birth had been tough on them both, it seemed she needed constant affection and didn't much care about their sleep schedules. They'd tried keeping her in their room but it was attention the youngster craved rather than their mere presence. If anything, that'd made her cry out more because they were just out of reach. Naive selflessness was key to Silver's very being but Blaze knew when to put her foot down, he wasn't allowed to work himself ragged; not on her watch.
"I'll look after PurrPurr, you get some more sleep," Before he could whisper in protest, she made a quick addendum, "We're not changing her name but, I suppose, there's no real harm in you calling her that. We'll just have to find other ways to reinforce her name."
"But I promised her I wouldn't leave…" He sleepily protested, eyes opening as he gently swirled one of the many fur tufts that crowned the tiny puss' head.
Regardless of how weak his argument was, the armour around Blaze's heart had been reduced to putty by an adorable show of father-daughter affection and his puppy-dog eyes were piercing her core. A sigh slipped from her lips, breaking her string of purrs for only a second, "Go get a chair and the duvet then, you can stay but I want you to sleep. You look awful."
A yawn finally escaped his lips and sleepy tears filled the corner of his eyes. Despite a deep breath, he managed to roughly sound out; "You look wonderful."
"You're not getting out of it that easily, get going," Blaze insisted before looking down to the swaddle in her arms, "You'll be fine without Daddy for a minute or two, won't you?"
Heather, as if responding to Blaze's words, briefly stirred from her sleep. She blinked tiredly at the pair of them and unleashed a longer, louder, mew (perhaps asking for quiet) before snuggling deeper into her mother's warm arms. Regardless of what the small cat meant, it proved more than sufficient to set him at ease. She watched his smile grow even warmer as he resumed his nuzzling. The hedgehog said his, incredibly temporary, goodbyes; unleashing his poor mimicry of purring with maximum gusto. Blaze couldn't stop herself, she matched his affection; her purr grew to fill the room as a smile overcame her face.
Bathed in the glow of the sunrise and warmed by the bundle between their arms; Blaze hadn't believed that they'd make it this far, that they'd get to live a peaceful life, but she was overjoyed that they finally were. They were finally secure, finally safe to live the life they'd longed for. The little cat in her arms, whether he called her Heather or Purrpurr, would always remind Blaze of that truth.