For as long as Blaze had known him, Silver had always been an overprotective person. Outside naiveté and obviousness, the hedgehog's strong sense of justice and want to make things right were his strongest traits by a wide margin; he'd take far countless burdens upon himself of both miniscule and galactic proportions. Even with the future saved, even though he was now living peacefully in the Sol Dimension, that fire had never truly left his heart. His protective passion had merely been lying dormant, searching out something new to focus upon. Well, starting around three months ago, it'd found its new target.
Blaze the cat, the queen and guardian of the Sol emeralds, was lounging atop a floating couch formed from pure psychic energy; being paraded around the library she'd once freely walked. Silver the hedgehog, the king and co-guardian of those aforementioned emeralds, was pulling book after book from the shelves in search of a tome she'd requested, constantly glancing back to make certain that she was comfortable. Psychic aura had begun to flare in an effort to expedite the process; books were being tugged from shelves, held to his eye, and flung back when they were found to be incorrect.
He was being silly, the feline was more than capable of seeking out the book for herself but, truth be told, she was enjoying this little display. Beads of sweat were gathering upon his brow; Silver had only been searching for ten or fifteen minutes but he was clearly worried that he was taking too long. It wasn't as though they were in a rush and the book was hardly that important, it was just another addition to their ever-growing pile of baby-related literature, but he was seeking it out with the same fervour he'd used to pursue Iblis. This was all so mundane, but Blaze couldn't help taking joy in it.
"Are you sure we're in the right section?" He managed to ask, raking ten books from a shelf only to just as quickly throw them back, "We're getting close to the end."
"It's here somewhere," She cooed, reclining deeper into her floating chair, "I'm certain it was around this section."
That was all the convincing he needed; Silver doubled his efforts immediately. Books from even higher up began to tumble but refused to contact the ground, encased in psychic cyan light. He threw glances in every direction, knowing instinctually when a book was hovering at his side. To put it plainly, the hedgehog was putting far too much effort into a relatively simple task.
The royal library was quiet today, devoid of visiting scholars and legal practitioners, but it'd been that way for a while now. Certain recent events had caused activity within the palace to slow and work-based visitation to greatly diminish. Well, it wasn't as though the childcare section was usually bustling with life (in fact, they'd found it quite dusty upon their first visit) but the more complete calm of their surroundings had made their literature reviews far easier. Nowadays they couldn't leave the palace without someone prying into their lives. It'd been years since life was last like that.
He froze in place, eyes darting twice across a single cover, before it was snatched from the air and presented to her, "Is this the one? The cover's just like you described it."
The hedgehog had produced a tome medium in size, only around one hundred pages long and (if she recalled correctly) filled with pictures. Its cover art depicted an array of cartoon fruit and vegetables tumbling free from an overfull mixing-bowl. Now that she'd seen the title, she immediately recalled her frantic flip-through a month ago; Nutrition and Newborns. This was indeed the book she'd requested.
She didn't take the book immediately; instead, she leant in and beyond his outstretched hand, allowing her lips to weave their way onto his cheek, "Thank you, Silver."
They'd been married for years and had of course performed acts far more intimate than such a tiny kiss, but watching his blush grow in response to her tenderness had rather become one of Blaze's pastimes. As the book left his hand, it came to cup that very cheek while his prior beaming smile transformed into a more crooked, embarrassed, grin. He was still so plainly love-struck; rather recently she'd caught him in the wee hours of the morning, rubbing his wedding band and throwing her supposedly sleeping form all manner of tender glances. They'd been married for years but that reality still seemed to surprise him. Well, given the lives they'd lived, he could hardly blame him for feeling that.
"Do you want me to find anything else, do any others come to mind?" He asked, "I could go back through this section, see if we've missed anything good?"
"Perhaps later, this will do for now," She attempted to quell his eagerness, "Let's take things one book at a time, we've still got a few months after all."
He smiled at that, almost daydreaming as the last books jumped back onto their shelves, "Yeah, just a few more months…" Silver reached up, she quickly took his hand.
Rather than simply float her, it was almost as though they were walking together; he led her back through aisle upon aisle of books to their little workspace. The worn couch and low table rather stood in stark contrast to their surroundings. While the royal library was filled with exquisitely crafted dark-wooden fixtures and floored with a deep emerald carpet, their table was formed of wrought iron and pale driftwood (crafted by Marine the raccoon herself) while the couch had more than a few patches sewn into it but was, mostly, wrapped in a soft red material. Truthfully, getting furniture that better matched their surroundings would have been easy, even if Blaze hadn't been the queen, but the pair rather loved those mismatched pieces. Those out of place furnishings reminded her, and surely him, of their childhood amongst the flames but not the chaos tied to it. This spot reminded Blaze of ramshackle homes made in prior libraries, schoolhouses and musty old churches, their sanctuaries within a dangerous world.
The feline felt herself turn in the air, her hand slipped from his as she was gently lowered onto the couch; his psychic chair dissolved from the bottom up as it made contact with a real one and left sitting on the couch's left side. Silver didn't join her on it though; instead he stood on the far side of the table, concern still plain in his eyes. Knowing what was coming, her mouth curled into a small smile.
"Do you want more pillows or a blanket or…" Silver scrambled for more things to offer. He was trying so hard already, she felt lazy but so very cared for, "Something to eat, a drink…?"
He wanted to help so badly; Blaze felt herself grow softer still. She wanted to give him something to do, "We could take tea and read this together?"
"I'll make a pot of decaf and hurry back," He promised, beginning to turn away, "Are you sure that's all?"
Ah yes, they had to cut back on caffeine… well, only she had to, but he wasn't willing to let her face that alone. She was well beyond vomiting every morning, but cravings still lingered. The mere consideration of her common cravings caused one to spike.
Pinning her gaze to the book and trying to act nonchalant, she posited, "Perhaps a little bit of chocolate."
Silver halted. He reached into his back quills and, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, produced a small, unopened, chocolate bar. Without so much as blinking, he presented it to her.
When he, eventually, noticed her befuddled expression, Silver simply smiled, "It's your most common craving and I don't like leaving you uncomfortable so…"
She felt heat across her face as she gingerly took the bar from him. Her eyes latched onto it, she could feel her tail flailing wildly, "Thank you, Silver…"
Was she really that obvious? Has she had this hankering that often? He interrupted her train of thought to reaffirm, "I'll be as quick as I can, just shout if there's anything else!" Before shooting between a set of bookshelves and towards the door, surrounded by psychic light.
Blaze slowly pulled back the foil and took a bite, but the taste did nothing to dispel her embarrassment. Her royal position had meant that, in this life at least, lots of people had tried to look after her, but none of them did it quite like him. Despite how oblivious Silver was to certain things, the hedgehog could notice the slightest of shifts in her disposition and pick up on things even she didn't truly understand. Apparently, there were differences in the ways she purred and oddities in how her tail flicked but she'd be hard pressed to describe them. She supposed her cravings were far more obvious than those physical quirks, but it still seemed so bizarre.
Having eaten two of the bar's eight total squares, the queen folded closed the wrapper and set it aside. She took up the book and scanned through the contents page: Foreword, Introduction, Nutritional-Timelines, Common-Mistakes, Weaning, Liquid-Foods, Solid-Foods and Additional-Recipes. Flipping through, only glancing, Blaze found that the wording was simple yet detailed, intended to be easily read but simultaneously informative. The illustrations also seemed helpful, they'd seemed rather useless on a cursory glance but, in hindsight, the feline needed all the help she could get with regards to cooking.
Before she could make a true judgement on the book's quality though, the whir of psychic energy re-entered the room. She looked up from her book just in time for him to land in the exact spot she'd last seen him, tea tray in hand and a strong pillar of steam rising from a large pot. His quills had swept back to pin against his head and the sweat on his brow was plain. The kitchen wasn't too far away but he'd plainly rushed, utilising far more of his power than he probably should have. The tea couldn't have had more than a moment to brew; they'd have to leave it for now.
Despite this, Silver so very casually set the tray on the table and slunk around to sit beside her, "So, does it look alright? Anything interesting inside?"
"Well, it looks to be half nutritional guide and half cookbook; just like I remembered," She responded, flicking her way back to the start and shifting to hold the manual between them, "I think it's intended for slightly younger parents, but that just means it's thorough and well detailed."
The hedgehog shifted closer still, outer leg brushed outer leg, "So we'll get a few new recipes out of it at the very least."
With that, the pair begun their shared reading session; they quickly worked their way through the foreword and into the meat of the book. Her initial impression was proven correct, as she took in the nutrient-timelines, the information about baby's requirements was handled gently yet informatively. Unfortunately, however, it was at this stage that Blaze noticed a change in her companion's demeanour. The hedgehog wasn't truly looking at the book, rather he was looking through and past it to what lay on the other side; a goofy smile had spread across his muzzle.
Knowing what was distracting him, Blaze rolled her eyes, but her smile grew further, "Go on, get it out of your system so that we can focus properly."
Upturning the book and placing it upon the couch's arm, Blaze gently raised the hem of her blouse. Her belly was revealed, still far from its full size but undeniably substantially grown. The royal baby was well on its way; the pyrokinetic feline was four and a half months pregnant. The father of her unborn child dropped to the carpet and began to tickle and brush his way through her white fur, plainly enamour by the growing form residing within her. Parenthood was so strange but it plainly excited him. Well, it excited them both, but he wasn't literally attached to the baby twenty-four hours per day. He had to make his love known in more sporadic bursts.
They weren't wandering into this blindly; they'd spent almost a year just questioning whether it was right to do. The life of a royal was one embroiled in politics and, even with the threats to their world long gone, the duties of a guardian were a lifelong burden. Working against that notion were their similar histories; Silver could hardly remember his parents and neither of Blaze's had lived beyond her birth, their younger years had been wrung of relaxation by terrifying responsibilities. They'd been thoroughly enticed by even the notion of normalcy tied to parenthood. Their potential to give someone the comfort that they'd lacked had finally pushed them to decide.
Other factors had been considered of course, such as whether or how their inherent abilities would be passed on and the latent additional responsibility that would come with them. Silver's powers were still an anomaly, unknown in origin and genetic nature, while Blaze's had been consistently passed on for generations. Historically, her family's powers had never mixed with another so, even as the baby grew inside her; they had no idea what would happen. It'd all been an almost blind endeavour that had, thankfully, come to bear fruit.
Blaze's eyes closed as she felt his muzzle gently press against the bump and his fingers found her sides, "Hello there, it's just me again."
No response came from the baby bump, of course it didn't, but that didn't stop the hedgehog from listening intently. From her position it was difficult to make out Silver's expression but from the way his ears had slightly flopped forward and the steady beating of his tail, Blaze knew this was exactly what he wanted. Despite the effort he'd gone to searching out that book, Blaze found herself forgetting their task as she looked upon him.
"I hope you're doing okay in there, we won't get to see each other for a while yet but I can't wait," He'd shifted slightly, letting his forehead press against the bump instead, "Your mum is doing wonderfully and I'm trying my best to help. I want things to be perfect when we finally do meet. Things are nicer here than they've ever been and we're doing so much to prepare for you."
Purrs broke past Blaze's lips, their rumbling filling the quiet library. Her hand slowly came to mingle among his quills, gently rearranging them with no real purpose. Perhaps she'd braid them again tonight, their evening routine had rather changed due to their upcoming arrival. Where once they'd simply snuggle their way into bed, their journey to the land of the sleeping now took a few twists and turns. They always tried to do something before bed, considering that they'd soon be so much busier, they wanted to cherish such quiet moments. Massages would be given, books would be read, they'd play chess, watch a movie or she'd simply find herself playing with his fur.
Her touch caught his attention, the psychic's eyes flickered up to her before returning to her midriff, "The baby's right there, I can practically feel them, but it still doesn't seem real…" Silver mumbled, leaning backwards and into her view, "I never really thought we'd get to…"
Words left unsaid resonated with Blaze's very soul. One hand slipped from the depths of his quills to cup his cheek, "I wake up some mornings and question it myself, it almost seems impossible."
"A-All of it does," He managed to respond, "Even just being here, that weight being off our shoulders, is ridiculous. W-We're safe, we're comfortable, we're together, we're married…"
She could feel his wedding band as he brushed and rubbed the bump, hers was pressed against his muzzle, "I don't regret a single thing, not a single moment."
His eyes shot to meet with hers, "Me neither! I don't at all, I just…" His head slumped into her grasp, seeking out her warmth, "Its been years since we settled, and I thought I had fully settled, but this it's a step even further. This is normal, this is how things were meant to be; so very normal."
She watched his tears begin to well and couldn't help but smile. After all this time, he could still be so insecure, "Parenthood seems normal yet abnormal. We know it in theory and have our assumptions but it's an all-new challenge, a brand-new adventure. No matter how we prepare, I'm certain something will surprise us."
"We can read all we want but…" As tears spilled panic came with them, "If I'm going to be a good dad I need to be even tougher than this," He'd raised the back of his right hand to rub at his eyes, he was trying to hide his expression, "I-I shouldn't be crying, there's nothing to cry about, this is wonderful. I'm meant to be strong…"
"You're still so naïve," Refusing to let her hold be broken, Blaze thumbed away his tears. He managed to resettle in her grasp, "It's just as you said; we were so on saving the future, neither of us thought we'd make it this far. You're allowed to feel like this," She promised, "We went through so much to get here, that's why you feel this way. That and, well, parenthood scares most regular people. We've not lived the normal life we want for them."
"You're going to be wonderful at this," He relaxed back into her touch, "You're smart and strong and warm, you'll do great," He paused, as if unsure whether to ask his next question, "Do you think I'll make a good dad?"
"Silver," She sighed, shifting to cradle his head in her hands, "I've told you before and I'll tell you again, you're going to be a fantastic father. The baby's not even here yet you're trying so hard. I can hardly imagine how caring you'll be when they finally arrive. I doubt you'll put them down for days."
He smiled at that but concern still cut his brow, "I'm so excited but so scared, what if we have to fight again? What if they have to fight," He fretted, leaning deeper into her touch. They'd of course discussed this in the lead up to her pregnancy but, while they'd decided they wanted a child regardless, Blaze had anticipated that worry returning.
"What if we did have to fight again?" She asked, knowing it was best that he finished his train of thought.
"I would, of course I would, but…" He struggled for the right words, "I just really don't want them to. I don't want them to have to do what we've done," Fighting for one's own life was bad enough, the pressure of fighting for whole worlds was terrifying. It was a fact they both knew, first-hand, "I want them to grow up safe and happy and peaceful. I want to be able to look out for them rather than whole universes."
"Well, then you don't have to worry about being a good dad, I know you'll make a great one," She promised, "You want them to be secure and loved, that's what's most important," The queen insisted, "We've done all we can to make sure that they can live peacefully, more than any normal parents could have, even if that wasn't our intent at the time."
He'd slowly gone from kneeling to standing; his right hand had shifted to cover the top of her baby bump and the left had arrived to hold her shoulder. The echoes of his tears remained, but his smile was almost blinding. Slowly but surely, he leaned in and closed his eyes. His forehead met with hers as he began to nuzzle. Without a moment's hesitation, Blaze returned that gentle contact.
Sweet nothings were murmured, her hands found his chest fur and soon they were freely kissing. They were gentle and brief kisses, little more than back and forth pecks, but Blaze could feel his heart in every single one. Silver's defensiveness had easily led into softness; while he'd fight ferociously to protect others, he would also handle them with care. Blaze knew that she was going to be the sterner parent, she'd be the one to insist that they get out of bed or do their chores, but she was more than fine with that. It was in her nature, not his. For as defensive as he was, for as much as he wanted things to be just, he'd always been softer than her. Of course he was worried that he'd have to feign hardness, she hoped he'd never have to again.
Wispy words broke the quiet library air. She wanted to reassure him, even if she didn't know what the future held, "We've done so much together; we can do anything together."
"If we can manage something as impossible as this," She felt his hand trace across his midriff, "Th-Then we can do anything."
This intimate session could have lasted hours, perhaps even the rest of the evening, but it was interrupted by something neither of them had expected. As Blaze was leaning in again, the words "You're such a softy" tumbling from her lips, she felt what she could only describe as a small fluttering inside her abdomen. It'd taken a moment to register but by the time the sensation repeated Blaze had realised what it meant. The baby was moving inside her, she'd felt their first touch.
Silver's eyes had opened wide, "Did you feel that?" He half whispered.
No, they had felt their first touch. This was the quickening, the first tangible sign of life.
She managed a nod in response, her purring grew louder still as she shifted her hands from him and to her sides. Silver dropped back to his knees, returning to eye level with her swollen belly. Ever so gently, he returned his second hand to her form just in time for another flutter, "I-Is that what I think it is? They're…"
"Y-Yes, I think they're kicking," She managed to stutter, closing her eyes in an attempt to focus on the sensation.
This was the first real sign, their child's first real impact on their world. It'd been clear that they were there for a handful of months now, but they'd never acted; simply grown and waited. This was entirely new; excitement coursed through Blaze's veins just as it plainly ran through Silver's.
"Hey there little one, I'm sorry. Am I taking up too much of mummy's attention?" He responded to her bump, gently rubbing small circles into her fur, "She's just too lovely, I can't help myself."
Her child's kicks having alleviated thoughts of silliness or feelings of embarrassment, Blaze also began to talk to the baby, "Or is it that I'm taking up too much of daddy's time? Keeping him from playing with you," She felt Silver's eyes upon her and, emboldened, pushed further, "I did marry him you know; I do want to kiss him from time to time. I hope that won't be a problem for you..."
Another flutter drummed within the feline; the unborn child could only be voicing their outraged. A snicker breached Silver's lips and was quickly mirrored on Blaze's own. Soon they were fully laughing; Blaze's hands slipped to the pillows in an attempt to steady herself as Silver finally pulled away from her belly.
When she'd finally recovered, the hedgehog managed to respond, "I think we might have a problem."
"Picking favourites already," The queen jokingly scolded, gently combing through her white fur, "You know, I'm the one carrying you around; he only insists on carrying me because he's scared that you're making it hard for me to walk. Your dad can be so overprotective. He'll go out of his way to solve the smallest of problems, even when there are far more pressing issues," She was almost chiding him, though she was doing so purposefully, "But I like that about him. He'll always look out for you, just like I will."
No further quickening was felt but, in its wake, Blaze couldn't help identifying a tender calmness that had overcome Silver's disposition. He managed to make his way back onto the couch beside her, almost dissolving into the floral material.
Bright yellow eyes collided with her amber set, "Did that really just happen?"
"If it'd only been me here, I don't think I'd have believed it," Blaze admitted, "I'd have told myself it was something else."
He was beaming again but the combined endeavours of overly tending her, talking so deeply and observing the phenomena that was his child's first actions had clearly exhausted him. Reaching just past the book, Blaze drew the chocolate bar and held it out to him. It took no more than a moment for him to understand, lean in and bite off the top square. As Blaze claimed a little more for herself, a blue bioluminescence engulfed the teapot and brought it to pour. The book was flipped open and gentle chatter ballooned to fill their little corner of the library as they shifted ever closer.
They were finally making their own future, no longer struggling to fix other people's problems. Despite how unreal it all seemed, they were more peaceful than they'd ever had before.