Work Text:
Feferi really didn’t expect to be woken up in the middle of the night by her phone ringing, but hey, there’s a first for everything.
She sluggishly grabs her glasses off of her nightstand to see that Eridan was calling her. Eridan wasn’t one to call, which was the first sign that something was wrong. Secondly, when she picked up the call and sleepily asked “...Eridan? Why’re you calling me this late?”, all she heard from the other end was wails coming from the other; panicked hyperventilating and crying.
That woke her up quickly. “Glub! Okay, Eridan, I’m on my way now. Are you at your hive?” she asked, panicking as she got dressed. Between sobs he whined out an “mhm.”
“Be there soon!” She said, and before she could hang up, he cried out, “No, don’t go!”
She sadly smiled at his response, “I’ll stay on the line bub, okay?” He hummed, still breathing way too fast. She left her hive soon after that, swimming up to the surface to reach Eridan’s shipwreck. Thankfully, he didn’t live too far away.
“I’m here, Eridan, I’m gonna hang up the phone now,” she says loudly as she enters through his doorway, making sure he had heard her. She could hear Eridan hiccup, his crying was still loud and unbearable to hear, but it had calmed down a little.
She finds the little in his room, curled up on the floor. He had a thick blanket wrapped around him, his glasses were slightly askewed on his face, tears tracked down his face. Feferi thought he looked so small, physically and probably mentally.
Definitely mentally, she thinks, as he sticks a thumb into his mouth and begins to chew on it.
“Momma…” he whines, reaching out to her with his free hand.
“Hi, baby, Momma’s here now,” she says, bending down to sit on the floor. She picks him up and sits him in her lap, encasing the little in a warm hug.
He sobs into her shoulder, both out of relief and exhaustion. Feferi holds him tight, letting him cry out all of his big feelings. She began to rock him gently, whispering reassurances into his fins as he wailed to his momma.
After a while, Eridan calms down. He slumps in Feferi’s arms, he had already tired himself out from the nonstop crying. “Is someone sleepy?” she asks, to which Eridan slowly nods.
“What was that all about, hm? Can you tell Momma what’s wrong?” Feferi pressed. She didn’t want to pressure her baby, but she was really concerned to why he was this upset this late at night.
Eridan just shook his head, whining as he buried it into Feferi’s shoulder. She sighs, “That’s okay, bub, you don’t have to tell me.”
She looks over to the clock that was hung on Eridan’s wall, it read 1:23 am. “Are you ready for bed, bub? Or would you like some milk to help?”
Eridan thinks for a moment before mumbling “Milk” around his thumb that he had moved to his mouth. He sucked on it as Feferi moved him to her hip so she could pick up the smaller. Eridan really didn’t weigh anything, so it wasn’t very hard to carry the other troll to the kitchen.
She grabs his baby bottle and fills it with milk, putting it in the microwave for a moment. The bottle was black with purple fish and bubbles covering it, something she thought was so cute and just so Eridan. She tested the milk before handing the bottle back to Eridan, and sure enough, the temperature was perfect. He gratefully accepts his bottle, chewing on the teet as he drank his milk.
“Let’s head back to bed, baby, ok? Momma’s gonna spend the night tonight,” Feferi said. They made their way back to Eridan’s bedroom, and thankfully he had something else they could cuddle on besides his recuperacoon. She couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable that would be. In the corner of the room was an actual bed, home to Eridan’s many blankets and stuffed animals. Most of them were cute sea creatures, all gifted to him by Feferi.
She sits Eridan down on the bed so she can go find his pacifier. His little stuff was hiding somewhere in his room, she just couldn’t remember where!
Eventually, she finds the soother tucked underneath some old research papers, which were littered all over the bedroom. It had a protective cap on it, so she wouldn’t need to leave the room to wash it. Feferi didn’t think Eridan would react very well to her leaving right now.
She makes her way back to the bed, replacing his thumb with the pacifier he probably had been yearning for all night. He gives his Momma a wobbly smile, his arms outreached, silently asking to be held.
She gives in, giving the little one a tight hug before getting into bed, tucking them in and making sure Eridan was comfortable. She carefully takes off his glasses, setting them on the endtable of the bed. She tracts a thumb underneath his eyes, gently wiping away his dried tears. Maybe he would talk about what had happened later, but she didn’t feel like putting any extra stress onto him now. Glub knows he would just start crying again, exhausting himself even more.
For now, they were just going to cuddle and go to bed. She wraps her arms around the little, gently pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Momma loves you, Eridan,” she whispers.
“Love you too…” he mumbles, and soon, he’s fast asleep.