Chapter Text
Banhammer was feeling quite antsy. He was stuck with nest duty for the day, and he loathed it. Curled up in a tiny nest for several hours was bad enough, but the tiny curled-up ball on his chest would rip his hair out when he tried leaving.
The ball in question was tiny. So incredibly small, that Banhammer couldn't be anything but delicate with her. Flute was about the size of one of his palms, limbs not yet fully formed. Her arms and legs were more like nubs, with no fingers. Banhammer was honestly surprised at how... pathetic the kid on his chest was. She constantly craved warmth and touching, and if she didn't get what she wanted, she'd start screaming at such a frequency that made the warden lightheaded.
"Yer' such a hassle, y'know that? A hassle." He growled at the sleeping mound on his chest. She growled into her own hands, making Banhammer flinch. He wasn't ready to be screamed at again.
Fortunately, Flute fell back asleep. Banhammer let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, bringing up a finger to rub at the fluff covering her body.
In all honesty, Medkit and Banhammer didn't think they were ready for a kid. Medkit didn't even really want a kid at first. It was mainly Windforce who kept nagging the couple into spawning a young imp of their own.
Of course, Medkit hated the idea. But when they finally did spawn an imp?
Flute looked so similar to Medkit that it was almost jarring. She had most of his deer-like traits, except for little frills running down her back from Banhammer. That, her skin color, and her four eyes were the only indicators that she was related to the warden. She was covered in spots all over her back, sides, and face. Her horns- rather, antlers- had yet to grow in, but there was no doubt that it'd be the same light minty-green as her eyes.
Medkit took to her immediately after she was spawned despite his initial reluctance. The ex-doctor didn't tend to be very instinct driven; not after Blackrock stomped it out of him. They'd been attempting to make progress on reviving those urges, but Flute did it all. Suddenly, Medkit went from silence and repressed urges to nest building and constantly bleating at Flute. It was a welcome change, as letting his instincts go itched a scratch buried deep in Medkit's brain.
However, having a kid comes with consequences. They needed to nest her and someone needed to stay with her 24/7 for at least a month. She was a little spawn of Darkheart, always loud and violent unless she was sleeping. Oh, and she can't meet anyone else besides Medkit and Banhammer; not until she has imprinted on them. Meaning they got a lot of impatient texts from Windforce, asking for pictures and updates.
Banhammer snapped out of his thoughts as he felt Flute yawning. She went for a big stretch, before walking to his chest and flopping right down on it.
"Such a lil' thing..." Banhammer hummed, rubbing his dulled claws on Flute's hair. "So small... Yer' gonna help me with the prisoners one day..." He smiled, but instantly regretted his words. There was a pang deep inside his chest, telling him that no, it wasn't safe. It was dangerous and Flute needed to be safe always.
He rumbled in his turmoil, startling Flute from sleep. She squeaked at him, fawn tail straight up. She tried seeing what caused Banhammer to make such a noise, before falling off of him and onto the bed.
And she immediately tried jumping out of the protective blanket walls.
"Gods damn it..." grumbled the warden, grabbing Flute and holding her in his hands. "What ami' gonna do with ya'?"
All he earned was a protesting squeak in response. Her face looked almost identical to the one Medkit made when he was irritated.
"Yer' just like yer' Baba. He's comin' home soon, don't worry."
The front door was opened just moments after Banhammer spoke, punctuated by a groan and approaching footsteps.
"Speak o' the devil."
Medkit opened the door, slipping into the room. "Banlands is too hot to be liveable." He grumbled.
"It's not that bad!"
Medkit grumbled, walking back in and turning on the nearby fan. Banhammer, who had previously been shirtless, hisses and threw himself under a blanket.
"Why are you half-naked?" Medkit hummed, slipping off his cardigan.
"Momma tol' me about skin-on-skin or somethin'. 'Parrently it creates a closer bond with the kiddo."
Medkit just hummed, moving to lie down in the nest. Flute immediately went over to him, squeaking up a storm. Medkit smiled, bringing her closer. The action calmed her down and she started inspecting her Baba.
"Alri', I need to stretch and something to eat so-"
Instead of sitting up, he covered his ears and fell back on the bed. Flute was screeching, but it only seemed to affect him. It felt like it was piercing his skull, but Medkit looked unaffected. If anything, he was amused. Sick bastard.
He only bleated for her to stop after he saw tears in Banhammer's eyes.
"Does it hurt you that bad?"
"Yes!" He hissed. "It hurts really, really, really bad!" Medkit merely chortled in response, scooting closer to Banhammer to kiss him on his forehead.
"She's a menace. A little tyrant."
Flute crawled up to the space in the crook of Medkit's neck.
"Hm, I wonder where she got it from."