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She slept a lot. Like, a lot. Then again, yeah, babies were supposed to do that. It made every second she opened those piercing, bright blue eyes of hers even more precious. Breathtaking, really. They'd only had her for a few days and yet… this little human was already the light of their lives. She was special, so special. Even without the glowing markings climbing up her tiny arm, over her torso and down her little leg, she was so beautiful. She was theirs.
Just mere days before, the vault hunters had killed him, they had finally killed Handsome Jack, Timothy among them. Scouring his belongings, they'd found his plans to use his child, his own child who happened to be a siren, to charge a vault key. It didn't take them long to find her in his quarters, not expecting to find such a small child kept under maximum security. It was both jarring and made Timothy sick to his stomach to think of what could have happened to her, had Jack been allowed to raise her.
Timothy had volunteered immediately to take her. None of the others really knew what to do with her, and didn't exactly want to become parents. But when he saw her… he felt like it was something he needed to do. Something to regain his sense of self, to forge a new life for himself with his husband. Now that they were finally free from the tyrant.
When he had brought her home just days before, Rhys had been so anxious, so worried about her, her fragility, making sure she was eating enough, waking up during the night for her. Fatherhood had been thrust upon both of them out of the blue, and Rhys had been both stunned and yet full of questions when Timothy had stepped through the door with a tiny siren in his arms. Yet… he had accepted her, and gladly so. He wasn't opposed to the idea of children in the least, even if they'd gained her in an extremely odd fashion. Tim was doing his absolute best to not let his own anxieties show, and every moment he noticed the telltale sign of Rhys worrying, he'd reach for his hand, giving him that warm, reassuring smile. They had this.
Timothy gazed down at their little siren, fast asleep in her cradle. The night life on Promethea was noisy outside, people partying, the sound of vehicles, music in the streets and various buildings, but in their little apartment, the world was muted and calm; a bubble of safety and tranquility for the baby. He rested his palms on the safety railing, just watching her with a softened expression.
She had a tuft of black hair already, one that Timothy was looking forward to being able to braid for her one day. She hadn't shown her siren abilities quite yet, but he had noticed the electricity acting a little bit funny whenever Angel cried or was hungry.
He felt a presence behind him, and before he could react, two arms slipped around his waist from behind. Rhys rested his chin on Tim's shoulder, eyes closed. "Came to check on her too, huh?" he asked, to which Rhys responded with a chuckle.
"Guilty, you caught me," the other admitted. "I was just thinking about her. She's a siren Tim, a god damn siren, and… he was going to just…" They hadn't quite had this sort of talk yet. One day they would have to tell her who Jack had been, and the circumstances they had saved her from. What he was planning to do with his own daughter. The thought of it brought nausea to his stomach, along with anger. Here he was, with absolutely no experience with children or fatherly love before, and yet he was already so fiercely protective of her, as if she'd been theirs from the beginning.
Yet gazing over at Rhys, his husband, the look on his face turned the heated thoughts to peace once more, soothing his mind. They were her parents now. Somehow, the universe had brought them together, even if the circumstances had been life or death. Somehow, this precious little thing was now theirs to cherish and love.
"I know. I… I know, Rhys," he murmured in response, turning to face him. "We both know. Yeah. But… she's safe, Rhys. She's safe here." He paused, before he gazed back down at the baby, watching Rhys lift the sleeping infant from her cradle, holding Angel to his chest.
"But we both know she's also gonna be one cool kid. Cooler than both of her dads," he joked, to which Rhys snorted quietly. "We love you, kiddo… you're the most protected little girl in the entire universe," he whispered, his arms carefully wrapping around both his husband and their daughter.
Angel stirred slightly in her sleep, nestling herself against Rhys' chest, her little mouth forming an O shape as she yawned. She had started to bond with them so seamlessly. Maybe she already sensed, already knew how much they cared for her. Or maybe she already trusted them, maybe something told her that she was safe now. That Jack's plans had been foiled, that he would never bring her harm.
There was a low, muted beep sound coming from Rhys' prosthetic arm, and Rhys shifted Angel into Tim's arms. "Agh, gotta plug the arm in for the night. Battery is almost-" They were interrupted by the sound of Rhys' arm again, the sound that signified that the battery had been refilled. Angel had her palm pressed against it, her tattoos glowing slightly more than usual before she released his arm, snuggling sleepily back into Tim's chest.
Rhys looked at him, mouth agape in shock as he lifted his arm, flexing it. "Did… did she…?" he asked, to which Tim responded with widened eyes. "Yeah I… holy shit. I think she did. Holy friggin SHIT. We do have the coolest kid ever!" Rhys responded by breaking out of his shock into a chuckle, leaning down to press a kiss to the baby's head. Tim grinned, carefully bending to place Angel back in her cradle, where the baby clutched onto her stuffed skag toy.
"Well… well that's new. Maybe her powers involve machines…?" Rhys suggested. "Remember how the lights kept flickering and acting weird when she was crying and hungry the other day?" he pointed out. Tim nodded. "I think you just might be onto something. Either way, that… is gonna be something that we'll have to learn to work with." He stepped back from the cradle, and Rhys' hand found his own, metal fingers lacing together with Timothy's warm ones.
Raising a child was something they both knew wouldn't be easy, regardless of her siren abilities. But it was something they were going to do. Something they would gladly do. "I think... I'm gonna be taking a long break from vault hunting. I'd rather be here. With her. And you," he murmured, giving Rhys' hand a squeeze. Vaults were dangerous and fun, but… Timothy was tired. Tired and longing to settle down, and now he had a family to settle down for.
"We'll never let anyone hurt you, Angel." And that was a promise, a promise to keep.