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Panda tenderly held the soft, swaddled bundle of fur in his arms. And as he looked down, he knew that he would never, ever, be able to describe the way he felt. Words weren’t available for the immense emotions that flooded him. That flooded him when he set eyes on the baby he was holding. His baby. No, his and Charlie’s baby. Every long-lasting second that passed, he couldn’t bring himself to look at or think about anything other than the child.
Jolene. A name that Panda was unsure about when Charlie first suggested it but had, eventually, one hundred percent grown on him. Even if he wasn't a fan, the name generated so many cute nicknames. The bear personally was a fan of Joey or Jojo.
Tiny in the bear’s big, round arms, she peacefully dozed away. She had light green fur with the smallest tint of blue, almost just like her father. Only, she had all of the signature panda bear markings, much like Panda himself. Her adorably button-sized, cat-like nose and small tuft of lip fur, resembling Charlie’s mustache, gently wiggled and trembled in her sleep. With her soft features and peacefulness, she looked like- and was, in Panda’s mind- an absolute angel. It made up for all of the typical newborn tears. Panda was only as certain about two other things as he was about that- his love for Charlie and his love for his brothers.
As the bear sat there, indulging in every minute that progressed, he began to recognize the full significance of everything. He was a dad now. And not only that, he was a dad with Charlie, the love of his life. They're going to be raising the sweetest little girl together. They have a real family that they both built together. Panda sniffled, getting emotional. When he married Charlie- in fact even when Charlie attempted to raise a nest of snakelets, back when he was still scoping his feelings for the tall man- the prospect of having a family was very present but nothing feels quite like it being a reality. The bear was positive that his husband would be the best parent out there. If the bigfoot could be such a committed, exuberant father to some snakes, he couldn’t even imagine how good of a dad he could be for their daughter. Mental images of him chasing her around, holding her, and making her feel like his little piece of sunshine engendered tears from Panda.
In moments like these, but this one more than any others, it was obvious to Panda just how lucky he was to have someone like Charlie in his life. How someone could ever be so lighthearted and have that much love available to just give out was dumbfounding. Ever since the bear realized he loved the man, he’s been trying to be just as loving to make up for all of the times he’d been terrible to him but it wasn’t possible to be on the same level as Charlie. Panda has been making good strides towards being better but it was still obvious to him that he didn’t deserve someone so bright and sublime.
“Hey, I’m back- aw, Pum’kin, are you crying?” The aforementioned bigfoot settled next to the bear. Panda snuffled.
“I’m just so happy that I have you...and that we have a family…” The bear blubbered.
“Aw, shucks Pum’kin, if you get emotional then I’m gonna start to get emotional!” Charlie sniffed, droplets already forming at the corners of his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Charlie, I just… I love you so much, I’m so lucky to have you. You mean the world to me!”
“You mean the world to me, Panpan!” Charlie wrapped his arms around Panda, giving him a peck on the forehead. “You make me so happy, I can’t believe that you wanted to start a family with me!”
“I can’t believe you wanted to start a family with me!”
The two’s weepy exchange was put to an abrupt stop by little- yet demanding- wails. They looked down to see that they had woken up their once serene daughter. Both nervously laughing, Panda rocked her back to sleep and set her carefully in her crib.
“This is going to be hard work,” the bear stated in an airy, slightly amused tone. “But I certainly couldn’t do it without you, Charlie.”
“And I wouldn’t either without you, Panda.”