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It’s nothing like he remembered, and somehow even more than he imagined.
It’s nothing like he remembers, holding his daughter for the first time. He had been handed Ophelia, this beautiful dark haired, hazel eyed screaming little girl when she was six months old. She was small, but had a personality and preferences and a deeply rooted love for her mother. The mother she screamed for, the mother she was never going to see again.
Until, of course, she did.
It’s somehow more than he ever imagined, too.
This tiny, wriggling, wet girl had his heart from the second Persephone shoved her little body into his bare arms. He’s enthralled by her, from the instant he sees her, as incredibly small as she is.
“Was Ophelia this small?” Is the first thing he says, both hands sprawled wide on her body, holding her slippery body against his chest as firmly as he can, not even able to tear his eyes from his baby to look at Eurydice.
Once he does of course, he can’t help but break into a flow of tears as he leans down to kiss her head, tears falling into her hair.
“She was even smaller.”
It’s not something he particularly likes to think about, the milestones and monuments of Ophelia that he missed and cannot get back. Nor the fact that somehow Ophelia was even smaller than this, that his beautiful sweet toddler was once a fragile little baby taken deep into mines of Hadestown.
This one, this new baby in his arms, she is in no way a replacement for the things they missed together. Just a wonderful, wonderful little chance to grow as a family.
It’s late, so much so that Orpheus isn’t even sure what hour it is.
Eurydice is asleep on her side facing him, taking a well deserved rest. She is tucked under many layers of blankets, by Orpheus himself, sleeping for the few hours between their daughter’s inevitable need for her. Ophelia is with Persephone for the night, being returned in the morning to her parents care. For now, it’s just Orpheus awake, back against the wall, holding his new girl.
“Hi, pretty girl, I know you’ve had a long day..” He whispers, kissing her tiny fist as he brings it to his mouth. “You probably wanna sleep with your mama, I know, she’s pretty amazing isn’t she? You’re so lucky to have her. You have no idea what she’s gone through, she’s incredible.”
He takes a moment to look at her. The same full lips of her sister, same nose, too. He’s tempted to count every one of her long eyelashes in his time alone with her. Unlike Ophelia she’s got light brown hair on her head, a sharp contrast to the dark waves of the older girl. His favorite feature of his impossibly perfect daughter, he is unashamed to admit, is the dark vastness of her coffee colored eyes. The same beautiful eyes he falls
In love with day in and day out on his wife.
“I’m going to do better for you, Lydia, than I did for your mama and your sister. The things they’ve gone through...you’ll never have to. I promise. You’ll have the best life Lydia. You have the best mama and the best sister. I promise. I’m going to do better for you, my little love.” He kisses her little head, holding her even closer. “I love you so so much.”
She stirs in his arms, making a little squeak of a noise reminiscent of a barn mouse. Orpheus smiles, taking it as a response when he feels the movement beside him and the sigh of Eurydice who was woken by the nearly imperceptible noise of Lydia. “Orpheus? Why are you awake?”
“I can’t look away from her.” He admits unashamed, hand still running over her little arm. “She’s just everything I ever dreamed of, Rydice. I can’t fail her like I did you and Ophelia-“
She can hear the emotion in his voice, how close he is to breaking his wall. She cuts his words off with her lips on his, a hand cradling his face.
“You didn’t fail us. Yes, Orpheus, we can’t change the past. We can’t go back and not doubt each other. But Orpheus, love,” She tilts his head to meet her eyes, tears coming to her own. “When I needed you most, when Ophelia did, you were there. You didn’t turn away from her, you were there when she, and I, needed you most. You have given us everything. You gave us springtime, you gave our babies a world worth living in. They are safe and warm and so loved. They will never be hungry. Orpheus, you’ve given us everything.”
Orpheus shakes his head, brushing some of her hair from her face. “You gave me everything, Rydice. You gave us our girls . Our babies . You gave me the world. You are everything to me.”
Eurydice leans into him, careful to mind the incredibly new infant between them, as she pulls him back in for another kiss. It is soft, their tired state reflected in the languidly, clumsy movement of their mouths together. Another tiny squeak between them distracts them, pulling Eurydice back to look at the daughter on his chest.
“Oh i’m sorry angel girl.” Eurydice gives a tired laugh, leaning down to place feather light kisses all over Lydia’s face, feeling a flutter in her heart when she squints her eyes open to look at her. She doesn’t have the heart to take her from Orpheus, not after he was robbed of so much with Ophelia.
“They’re lucky girls.” Eurydice whispers, laying her head on his chest so she can continue to dote on her daughter. “To have you as their father.” Her heart is grasped in the same hand that grabs her pointer finger, as Lydia brings it to her mouth to suck on.
“They wouldn’t have me as their father if you weren’t their mother.” He reminds her gently, using his leg to grab the blankets he had tucked around her, to put them back around his little wife’s nearly bare upper body.
“we are all so lucky Orpheus.” She agrees, resting her upper body against his. “We are all so lucky.”