Chapter Text
— Skizz —
"We're naming him Leo, huh?" Skizz asks as he packs his bag.
"Yep! Isn't it adorable?" Impulse says proudly, their son strapped to his chest in a cloth as they sleep peacefully. "Is something wrong with that?"
"No, no, I think it's cute." Skizz sighs. "It works perfectly for him."
Impulse sits beside him on their bed, Skizz on instinct leaning against his side as he sighs heavily again.
"Sorry I haven't been carrying my own weight lately." Skizz apologizes gently.
"It's fine, bud." Impulse tries to reassure him, but Skizz can't help but glare back. "Really, it is. I know our first few days with him haven't been the best, but Bdubs and Tango agreed to let us stay with them. We're gonna have help with this."
"Still feels— sorry, I just—"
"Feel like a burden?" Impulse asks as he gently plays with Skizz's hair, pushing it out of his eyes.
"Yeah… I'm not sure what to do, I don't have the energy to do anything."
"Which is why we're going to Bdubs'." Impulse presses kindly. "We'll have people to help with Leo and that means I can look after you. Doesn't that sound nice?"
Skizz can't help but smile, his beloved was always so stubborn and caring when it came to him. Didn't matter what happened, Impulse would still be there looking after Skizz.
He kisses Impulse gently, cupping his cheek before pulling away.
"I love you so much, Dippledop."
"I love you too, Skizz." Impulse purrs back.
A large hand settles on his own as Impulse leans into the touch before kissing his palm.
"C'mon, lets get going."
It takes nearly all day for them to gather everything they need. Several pairs of clothes, baby bottles, whatever onesies they had for Leo. Everything goes into a shulker that Skizz carries as Impulse was more occupied looking after their young son.
Impulse spawns into the nursery while Skizz finds himself sitting in the kitchen with a familiar-unfamiliar face.
The man beside him jumps, squeaking as he does. "Holy shi— hello?"
"Hi, sorry." Skizz laughs as he turns, tilting his head as he does.
The man before him looks so much like Bdubs that it's eerie. Well not a mirror of the other player necessarily, this guy has rounder cheeks and no stubble, but it's fairly close.
"Bdubs' little brother?" Skizz asks. "Sorry, I forgot you're name and it's been a few years."
"Eh, I forgot your name to." He shrugs. "My name's Pungence, you are…"
"Skizzleman, but I go by Skizz."
"Cool name." Pungence laughs. "Bdubs told me people were coming over, but they were in too much of a rush to say who."
He then raises his arms, reaching out for the shulker. "Mind if I help? You look exhausted."
"Thanks, Leo hasn't let me sleep in literal months." Skizz sighs as he gives the box to Pungence.
"Leo? Oh, right! The baby Impulse brought over!" Pungence says as he charges ahead. "Not gonna lie, he scared me pretty bad too, not every day you have a soaked demon at your brother's door."
"It's actually more common than you think." Skizz says with a small chuckle. "You know they're married, right?"
"Yeah, Bdubs wouldn't stop talking about him when they first got married." Pungence stops then, turning to Skizz as he does. "Impulse isn't mistreating my brother, right? I know you and him had a kid and if he cheated—"
"He didn't and Impulse is amazing. The best partner someone could ask for." Skizz answers seamlessly.
"I want you to promise they're not being treated badly." Pungence presses further.
"Pungence, you're talking to the demon's soulmate. He'd never hurt a hair on Bdubs' head unless—"
"Is everything alright out here?" Bdubs asks as they open the nursery door, looking more exhausted than Skizz has ever seen them.
"Nah, everything's good, I was just asking Skizz here something."
"Mhm? Now would ya quit scarin' my guests?" Bdubs sighs as they take the box. "Goodness sakes."
Bdubs nudges Pungence away with their foot, earning them a stuck out tongue before the younger leaves.
"I'm so sorry about him, he's been a nuisance since Doc cheated on me few years ago."
"Wait, Doc cheated on you?" Skizz asks in confusion.
"It's a long story." Bdubs sighs, putting the box down beside the bed where Impulse sits feeding their son formula.
"You know I always love those kinds of stories." He laughs.
Bdubs smiles in response, shaking their head as they do. "You just like to hear drama."
"And I need a distraction, so spit it out." He pressed lightheartedly.
"Fine, If you insist."
— ❁ – ❁ – ❁ —
— Tango —
Something had been on his mind since Bdubs came to him and Pungence the night before. It bore a hole into him, especially as Skizz took a nap in the nursery and Impulse looked over their baby son.
"So… how long are you staying here for?" Tango asked quietly.
"Not for too long hopefully, just until we can find our footing and Skizz feels better." Impulse answered easily.
"So you're staying a few months then?" He chuckled.
"I— probably… I hope I'm not getting in the way."
"What? No!" Tango yelps as he shakes his head. "I love having you and Skizzleface here, you know I love you both. This just… isn't what I expected."
"Yeah, not what I thought would happen either when I became a dad." Impulse huffs.
They both turn to the crib then, where the demon's angel son wriggles in it. The carvings in the crib brings on a new meaning now, hellfire and living oak, Impulse and Skizz.
"Does he have a name yet?" Tango asks softly.
"Leo, I named him Leo."
"Leo, huh…" Tango scoffs. "Did Bdubs help you with the name or…?"
"I came up with it on my own." Impulse shrugs. "I wanted something happy and calling him Leo felt strong too. Like he has the strength of a lion and could fight anything."
Tango can't help but laugh again, unable to hide it as he holds his chest.
"Is something wrong with naming him Leo?"
"No, no it's just that Leo was one of the names Bdubs was going to call Laika before… well…" Tango drifts off, remembering that night he'd told Bdubs about the name.
It still hurts, of course it does. Non-stop fighting over one thing or another and gods it was so stupid! Tango was stupid and got upset over the smallest things and—
And he'd been pregnant. It wasn't an excuse, just a reason, but it was something…
But it was behind him now, gone and open for a new path forward as he fixed all his cracks and Bdubs' sealed the fractures.
"Tango? Stuck in your head again buddy?" Impulse asks softly, his hand in Tango's now.
"Yeah, sorry." He says quietly. "Still getting over… everything that's happened."
"I know buddy." Impulse murmurs gently, but his attention returns to Leo as they stir again.
"Little guy waking up?" He asks quietly.
"Not really sure, sometimes he moves in his sleep. Kinda like when Skizz was younger. He used to sleep walk when he got stressed." Impulse laughs before murmuring "… Leo's so much like him."
There's a knock on the door that drags Tango's attention away, making him turn to see Bdubs in the doorway holding Laika. She's tucked against them as she's wrapped in several layers to keep her netherborn heat in.
"Is it okay if I steal Tango for a moment?" Bdubs asks quietly.
"Yeah, sure, is something wrong?" Impulse asks as Tango walks to them.
"Not really, Laika is just refusing to sleep… again."
Tango sighs as he takes her, the baby growling as he holds her against his chest. "Hey, now, you're not supposed to be old enough to—"
She hiss and spits at him as he walks back to his and Bdubs' bedroom, more than a little unhappy about it all.
"You know what, I kinda regret having you." He laughs. "All that trouble just to be hissed at by a one week old hatchling?"
Laika's fit quiets as Tango purrs with her against his chest, a careful sort of thing as he turns to Bdubs.
"Has she been spitting at you too?"
"Yeah, I think she got my attitude." Bdubs says with a laugh.
"Or mine, this is pretty aggressive." Tango laughs as he purrs louder. "Think you can warm up her bed for me?"
"Already on it." Bdubs says as they turn on the heating pad.
Tango slowly starts swaying from side to side before walking in circles, watching his daughter as she fights to keep her eyes open. But eventually she gives up her fight, purring as she falls asleep.
He kisses her forehead gently before turning to Bdubs who looks up at him with a soft sort of awe.
"You look so adorable right now." Bdubs says breathlessly.
"Shut up…" Tango playfully snaps back.
"Really, you do! You're so beautiful like this!" Bdubs goes further.
"Even when I'm a scruffy mess who hasn't shaved in a week?" Tango scoffs.
"You know I find your stubble handsome." Bdubs says with a lopsided smile. "Maybe you should grow it out?"
"Mhm? Why don't we focus on raising this one before we have another, alright?" He laughs, his tail swaying as he walks to the crib next to the bed.
"You're really thinking about having another?" They laugh as they lean over the crib.
"Considering it, but we'll see in a few years."
He puts Laika into her bed as Bdubs removes the heating pad, she moves for a moment before settling once again with her biggest baby yawn.
"But right now, I think I'm happy with just her." Tango says smoothly.
"Yeah, I think I'm happy with us too." Bdubs muttered beside him.
They lean into his side, a warm feeling overwhelming his chest.
This all still feels like a dream, but it's getting closer to his dream by the day.
— ❁ – ❁ – ❁ —
— Skizz —
It all still feels like a dream, that's what's been echoing inside Skizz's head.
He has a son now, one that was older than he should be but that's another thing. He's a dad now, he has responsibilities, or at least he should.
Thank the gods his partners were so patient with him, looking after Leo without another thought or question when Skizz took as long as he needed to recover from not just the surgery, but everything else.
Skizz wakes up late on the first night, unable to sleep. Leo seems to be sharing a similar story, the infant looking up at his mobile as it turns and turns.
He tries his best to not wake Impulse as he slides out of bed before moving to the beautifully carved crib.
"Hey, buddy." Skizz trills gently. "Can't sleep either?"
Leo looks up at him, not really doing much. They were effectively one week old so he's not really surprised.
Skizz leans down, easily scooping Leo up without any complaint from the baby. Leo starts purring loudly, enough that his little ribs shake from the force of it.
"Missed me, huh?" Skizz asks with a laugh. "I think I missed you too."
Leo's eyes start to flutter shut then, still purring like a motor as Skizz sits in the rocking chair.
He's sitting there for a few minutes simply watching Leo, his little miracle. There's still a tightness in his chest, an unwavering anxiety as he thinks about the future, but this calmness helps—
There's sounds of desperation down the hallway followed by the echoes of a baby's cry, something his instincts call for him to chase after.
So he does, he follows the sobbing into the living room where he sees a tired Tango holding a sobbing Laika.
"C'mon, I fed you already." Tango almost sounds like he's on the edge of stress fueled tears. "I changed you, I did everything! What's wrong?"
He steps up behind Tango, nudging the netherborn with his elbow and earning a terrified yelp before Tango turns on his heels to look at him.
"Oh, hi Skizz." Tango greets quietly.
"Hi, Top." Skizz answers tiredly. "Need some help there?"
"Honestly, yeah…" Tango says as he turns his head down. "Laika's been crying off and on for hours, it's driving me and Bdubs crazy!"
"I can tell." Skizz laughs as he sits on the couch. "C'mon, give her to me."
"Are you sure, you still have Leo?" Tango asks as he tilts his head.
"I'm big enough to hold them both." Skizz rolls his eyes as he speaks. "Give 'er here."
Tango settles the crying infant into Skizz's arm reluctantly, the angel instantly bringing his wing around him as he trills loudly.
Laika fusses for a few more minutes before finally calming down, looking up at both of them as she purrs alongside the others in the room.
"There we go, she just needed someone else for a bit." He says calmly.
Skizz adjusts how he holds the two of them, both steadily sleeping as their chubby cheeks lean against him.
It's only this close than he can see the difference between them, little Laika looking so tiny compared to Leo beside her.
"You almost make them look like twins." Tango jokes tiredly.
"They could be." Skizz says as he glances up.
Tango sits beside him, his tail loosely wrapping around Skizz as he leans his head against the angel's closed wings.
“We could be amazing parents…”
“Maybe…” Tango smiles softly, sighing as the angel leans against him. “Maybe Bdubs is right and we'll be great.”
“In the end.” Skizz murmurs.
The netherborn cups Skizz's cheek before pulling him into a tender kiss.
“In the end, we'll be the greatest.” Tango purrs.