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Fit had been noticing things, specifically about Ramón. His behaviour was… changing. Ramón had always been a sleepy egg, but now he was sleeping even longer, wanting to cut adventuring short to go to sleep earlier. Not only that, his son was also always trying to keep warm, either wrapped up in a blanket, or hanging out in hotter environments. The thing that worried him the most, however, was how much Ramón would want to take his armour off.
It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was worrying. Nonetheless, Ramón was still being Ramón, asking to go to dangerous dungeons, creating amazing machines, and picking flowers to add to his collection.
His worry all came to the forefront one day when Ramón slept in past lunch for the third day in a row. He went to his son’s house, looking to get him out of his bed.
When he got there, he could see Ramón still in his bed, but he was completely under his covers, no white eggshell showing out the top. Opening the door, no movement stirred from the boy in the bed.
“Ramóoooon,” Fit cooed at him, “Como éstas, Ramón.” Ramón still didn’t move, not even a twitch.
Fit moved the blanket, revealing broken eggshell bits underneath the red covers. He gasped, seeing a child in the place of the egg. His brown hair was plastered to his forehead, with a yellow substance he assumed was egg yolk and probably some sweat. He didn’t have any facial hair, obviously, but he did look cold, shivering in the bed.
“Oh, Ramón, my baby boy. You’ve hatched!” Fit was so happy to see that his son was okay, and that he seemed really healthy.
His boy looked up at him with confusion and fear in his bright blue eyes, breaking Fit’s heart. He moved closer to the bed, going slow to not startle Ramón.
“Ramón, you need a bath. You’re soaked, and you look cold,” Fit coaxed gently, grabbing smooth hands with careful affection. Ramón held his hand in a vice grip, Fit’s hand practically swallowing his son’s.
Fit picked up his son with caution, trying to ease him into it. Picking up his own son felt so incredible, he wanted to capture the moment forever. Nothing could describe the feeling of holding his child close to his chest, his boy finally free from his shell.
“Okay, we’re going to go to the little pond beside your house, not the river. The river is nasty,” Fit said with exaggerated disgust, causing Ramón to laugh. Fit lit up at the sound, the first time he’d ever heard his son laugh. Eggs don’t really laugh, but now that his son was hatched he could hear the joyful sound.
They made it to the small pond, really only big enough for two people, and Ramón immediately got in. Despite how much he hated baths, he hated being covered in goo even more.
Fit sat at the edge of the pond, a cloth in hand and a bucket and soap by his side. Ramón pouted, making his dad laugh again. He forgot his dad could see his facial expressions now. He was used to his dad only being able to tell his emotions using body language.
Ramón ducked under the water, making sure to go all the way under, and came back up to see his dad rolling his pant legs up to his knees, removing his socks and boots as well. He didn’t really expect his dad to come in as well, even if it was just up to his calves, but it was a welcome surprise.
His dad pulled Ramón closer to the edge of the pond, so he could reach him. A second cloth was produced, a little more rough in texture, which allowed Ramón to assume that it was for scrubbing the rest of his body. And that was exactly what his dad did, gently relaxing his muscles, removing any yolk or eggshell left on his body.
When that was done, Fit let Ramón swim around for a bit, looking for any wildlife in the man-made pond. Eventually, Fit beckoned Ramón back, and he found his dad pulling the bucket of water closer to himself.
“Okay, I have clean water, Ramón. I need you to tilt your head back, and hold this cloth over your eyes, okay? I don’t want to get water where it doesn’t need to be,” Fit instructed him, Ramón grabbing the cloth from his dad. He laid it over his eyes like he was told, the bright sun being blacked out by the small towel.
He felt warm water touch his skull, and he shivered from the feeling. Now his hair was wet in a nicer way, and he could feel it sticking to the back of his neck.
“Everything okay, Ramón?” Ramón nodded, still holding the cloth to his eyes with both hands.
His dad started rubbing soap into his hair, making sure to get every section, and massaging it into his scalp. Ramón then did something he didn’t expect: his chest started rumbling. Then he started purring.
Fit’s hand stopped in his hair for a moment when he started hearing the faint sound. Ramón stopped purring, trying to not let his enjoyment show in his relaxed shoulders and lax posture.
“No, no, you can keep purring, Ramón. If it’s your way of showing you’re happy, then it makes me happy hearing it,” his dad reassured him. Hearing the smile in his dad’s voice, Ramón continued his purrs as his dad rinsed his hair.
Ramón’s hair got cleaned a second time, just to be sure all the goo was gone. And he was enjoying it too, but that was just an added benefit.
As much as Ramón enjoyed his bath, he hated being wet afterwards. Being wet was not enjoyable. Thankfully, his dad pulled him out of the pond, wrapping him up in a towel to dry him off. He got picked up, and he found himself back in his house, where Fit tried to find clothes that would fit him.
While his dad was doing that, Ramón was drying off his hair, getting it tousled in the process. It wasn’t as curly when it was wet, but he knew it would be when it dried.
It was as if someone had seen or heard him looking for children’s clothes, because when he looked outside Ramón‘s door, he found a box with baby clothes labelled “:)”. Fit did not enjoy the implications that the Federation was watching him with his son, but he could worry about that later.
He brought the box inside, leaving it at the foot of Ramón’s bed, sifting through it to find appropriate clothes for the current climate. He found a hoodie, hoping it would help keep Ramón warm enough, because he still looked really cold. There were baggy pants that were definitely too big for him, so he grabbed the shorts that went down to his knees instead. The undergarments he tossed in Ramón’s direction were also a size too big for sure, but it would have to do for now.
“Here, Ramón, change into these. As long as you keep your blanket covering your legs you should stay warm enough.” Ramón nodded, and Fit took that as his cue to turn around to give his son privacy.
When Fit heard a whistle, he turned back around, seeing his son dressed in a hoodie that practically swamped him, and shorts that went down a little past his knees.
“Ramóoooooon, come here,” Fit beckoned to his son, watching Ramón get off the bed, and take shaky steps towards him. It must be a little bit disorienting to not have any extra weight from the eggshell suddenly.
His son reached him, and Fit found that he didn’t even come up to his hip. He wasn’t sure how old Ramón would be in human years, but that didn’t really matter, considering the fact that Ramón was not human. Ramón clung to his leg, wrapping his little arms around him, successfully making Fit’s heart melt.
Fit picked Ramón up once more, this time under his armpits, hoisting him up so he could see him fully. Ramón gave him a funny look, causing Fit to smile at him, which made Ramón smile back. It showed off his son’s sharp teeth, his canines looking pretty pointy for a child to have. Fit also noticed his pointed ears, and the little bumps in his hair that looked awfully symmetrical.
“Oh, Ramón, you look so small. My beautiful baby boy.” Ramón’s face went pink in embarrassment, and Fit laughed, bringing his son into his chest. He made sure Ramón wasn’t uncomfortable, his arms tucked in front of his chest. A purr from Ramón let him know that he was doing everything just right, and it made him happy to know Ramón felt happy.
“You comfy, my boy?” He felt a nod against his chest, and held his son just the slightest bit tighter. The rumble against his chest increased, telling him without words that this was definitely one of Ramón’s happy places.
Fit walked around a bit, noticing that the purrs were going quieter, and that the little puffs of air against his neck were becoming more drawn out and slower. Once a sleepy egg, always a sleepy egg. He kept gently rocking Ramón in his arms, swaying a little bit as he continued in the soothing movements.
He opted to leave all of Ramón’s bathing stuff outside until Ramón was asleep in his bed, which he just remembered was still full of eggshells. Walking towards the dirty bed, Ramón started to stir slightly, but Fit just put a hand on the back of his head, quietly shushing him to go back to sleep. Ramón was happy to comply, letting out a content chirp before his head hit Fit’s shoulder once again.
Using this oppertunity, Fit lifted the sheets and blanket off of his son’s bed, balling them up in the corner to be washed later, and pulled out a clean set of sheets. But he didn’t have a spare blanket. He looked around and spotted his own bed with his blanket on it. It would have to do for now, until he got Ramón’s cleaned again.
Putting the sheets on with what is essentially a sleeping toddler in your arms was not easy, but Fit couldn’t bring himself to put Ramón down. He got the task done, new sheets fitted to his son’s bed, and he moved his blanket onto Ramón’s newly cleaned bed.
Carefully, he lowered Ramón onto the bed, making sure to rest his head in the middle of his pillow. He pulled the blanket back, then pulled it on top of him, bringing it up to Ramón’s chin. His son’s face pinched together slightly, letting Fit know that he was waking up a bit sooner than he wanted.
Little blue eyes squinted up at him, and Fit’s heart melted all over again. “You can go back to sleep, my boy. It’s okay. I’ve got you,” Fit reassured in a hushed voice, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. Ramón’s features smoothed out, and his son pulled the blanket up to his nose, keeping it there. He noticed that Ramón scrunched the cover up at his face, breathing deeply, and seeming to calm down. He’d have to ask Ramón later if things that smelled like Fit made him calmer.
With his boy in bed, safe and sound asleep, he didn’t really have much else to do. He looked outside the window, and saw that he still left all of his cleaning supplies out there, along with his boots and socks. Quietly, he opened the door, picking up the bucket, two cloths, and the soap he used. He brought them back inside, after having dumped the rest of the water in the bucket. He went back out to grab his boots and socks, deciding to not put them back on, and left them by the door.
When he returned inside, Ramón was still asleep, no sign of discomfort on his face. Seeing his son at peace put Fit at ease, letting himself loosen up a bit. He sat on a chair, still keeping Ramón within his line of sight.
It had been a long day. A long day with a lot of new discoveries. A lot of changes. As an unfinished thought, Fit wondered if any other eggs had hatched, but decided he’d leave that for tomorrow.
To be honest, Fit wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. He hadn’t expected Ramón to hatch, but now that he looked back at the past couple days of behavioural differences, it should have been obvious.
Even if Fit did expect and anticipate Ramón hatching, he could not have anticipated Ramón being that small. He figured the eggs would be average human kid sized, not toddler sized. He’d have to see how small the other now hatched children are before he started fully worrying about his son’s small size.
Even though Fit had his own house, he still slept in Ramón’s. He wanted to keep his son safe while he was going through the changes required for hatching. Now that his son was hatched he still wanted to keep him safe, so he kept his bed in Ramón’s house, not quite sure when he’d move it out. Probably tomorrow or the day after.
Looking outside once again, it seemed much more dark out than before, so he decided to just go to bed. He didn’t care to grab another blanket from his house, instead just opting to curl up on the mattress. He fell asleep almost instantly, clearly tired by the… emotionally eventful day.
In the middle of the night, Ramón sat up, having just woken up for no reason, and he looked around for his dad. He immediately spotted him in his own bed, but without his blanket. As much as Ramón enjoyed using his dad’s blanket, because it smelled like him, he could still share it at least.
Ramón got out of his bed carefully, dragging the blanket behind him. It was too big for him to carry off the ground fully, so he dragged it across the floor to where his dad was sleeping.
Trying his best not to wake his dad up, the newly hatched boy put one corner on what he decided was his side of the bed, then put the other corner on his dad’s side. He made sure the blanket was the right way around, then put the bottom corners in their respectful places.
Admiring his hard work, Ramón got into his dad’s bed with a yawn. He was a little hesitant to snuggle up to his dad, but decided to do it anyway. As soon as Ramón got himself positioned comfortably, his dad turned over, now facing him. Now his dad was wrapping his arms around Ramón, bringing him into his chest.
It was so warm and safe, Ramón didn’t think he’d ever want to leave. So he didn’t think about the fact that he’d probably have to get up in eight hours, he didn’t think about the fact that his siblings probably hatched, he allowed himself to just exist in the comfort of his dad’s arms, in his dad’s bed, under his dad’s blanket.
It smelled like home. It felt like home. Ramón let out a long exhale, slowly falling back into a peaceful sleep. He could feel his dad’s breathing slowing down too, letting him know that his dad was also going to sleep.
He felt safe, and that was all that he really needed: protection. And love. Unconditional love.