Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s… over now. He still can’t believe it. After a few months of being stuck on this deserted island, Inanimate Insanity Invitational was over!

Silver, of course, was led onto the island by MePhone4’s trickery as well as the 17 other contestants and at first she hated everyone. Well… almost everyone, as his foster mother Tea Kettle was also tricked into playing the host’s games. Of course, when she was eliminated early, she turned to Candle for comfort. After Candle was gone, he found comfort in Nickel, Balloon, and Cabby and eventually they were all buds. And honestly… Third place is not so bad for a newcomer.

So, now that III is over, what was there to do? Would they go to the Hotel? What about Cabby’s prize? MePhone4 did say that he hadn’t figured out a prize during the finale before the committee arrived, but she’s sure Cabby would make it worth it. Worth it for the fighting that happened during these past few months.

Something about his best buds… Nickel, Balloon, and Cabby… they can’t leave her head. Nickel was fairly respectful of him and it made her heart flutter. Cabby was also respectful during the tail end and they understood each other, probably because of the fact that they were newbies, and yet his face flustered when thinking about her. And Balloon was just adorable to her and it made his stomach flip upside down. God, why were they bouncing around in her mind all of the sudden? They were all adamant to him not too long ago!

Maybe she’s just overthinking it. He doesn’t really LOVE them, right? Nickel and Balloon have each other, Cabby’s got Clover, and she’s got Candle; there’s no way in hell they like him like that. In fact, can they all even live together and be together at once? Surely they can’t. That’d be weird.

While she was sulking around at the Pick-Nix table, Silver Spoon noticed Candle had returned sitting beside him. She was looking over at her.

“You alright?” She asked, as Silver slowly turned his head towards her friend.

“Just… thinking about something. Did you and Yin-Yang reconcile?”

“Mhm. We’re doing better now.” She then places a hand on top of his own. “What were you thinking about, anyway?”

“I just… Okay, so you know Nickel, Balloon, and Cabby right?”

“Yeah?”

“They… They’re making me feel weird.”

“How so?”

“They make me fluster up, my heart flutters, my stomach twirls around… I can’t stop thinking about them…” Silver kept rambling on as Candle began to giggle.

“What’s so funny!?” He eventually snapped at her and Candle just went into her full blown laugh, like the one in Episode 6. Silver just frowned and waited until she stopped. She took a moment to catch her breath before finally looking over at her and smiling.

“You’re in love with them, silly!” Silver’s face heats up again and Candle just starts giggling again. After a bit of contemplation, the thought just came over him. She really did love them. Should he just walk up to them and tell them? Isn’t Balloon aromantic? Surely they don’t love her back… at least, not like that…

After a while, he just decides to tell them. Get it off her chest, they probably won’t like him back… So she goes up to Cabby.

“Uh… Greetings, Cabby. Again, congrats on the win,” he says, looking down at her twiddling thumbs. The girl in the wheelchair looked over at him; she made sure to stand in a spot so that she could see him without turning her wheelchair and potentially running over her foot. Trust him; it’s happened twice now.

“Oh, hey Silver! Y’know, third place ain’t so bad for someone like you!” She cheers back, which makes Silver want to stim, but she has to keep composed.

“Yeah, I know… Anyways, um… Can you grab Balloon and Nickel and meet me near the Calm Down Cabana? I have something I should tell you all…” Silver was hesitant on this. What if they all reject him? Oh lord, he feels sick to the stomach. Didn’t help when she felt kinda overwhelmed by the cast congratulating him on his placement, including his Ma, not to mention all of the noise. Don’t get her wrong, he LOVED praise; her disability just makes him overwhelmed VERY easily by it.

Cabby smiles and nods before rolling away. Before she started heading to the beachside near the Calm Down Cabana, he saw Candle giving her a thumbs up out of the corner of his eyes and then falling asleep.

Once she traversed through the forests and plains that eventually found himself at the wooden structure, she sat down on the beach near it and waited. His body slowly rocked back and forth and she messed with the rocks and sand underneath him as she waited.

Soon, he heard footsteps and eventually felt two people sit on opposite sides of her. To the left was Nickel, to the right, Balloon. Cabby wheeled up beside Balloon. Silver had to take a deep breath in order to not feel overwhelmed before speaking.

“So I called you three over here today because of a feeling I’ve been… well, feeling, recently,” he says, twiddling her thumbs again. A blush formed on his face as she looked between Nickel, Balloon, and Cabby. They all seemed to be listening intently.

“I-I… I love you all. And I don’t mean that in a nice, friendly way… More-so… romantic…”

“That’s a lot to take in…” Nickel jokes, causing Balloon to giggle. Cabby looks down at Silver and speaks.

“Do you mean… you want us to be in a polycule?” She asks and Silver couldn’t help but start humming and rocking back and forth. Yes, he wanted that, SO badly. Cabby smirks at her stimming and Nickel and Balloon immediately hug him from both sides. Cabby then frowns comically.

“Where’s my love, huh?” She fake-cries. The three got up and also wrapped her up in a group hug. Silver was now stomping her feet. God, he was so happy…

Surely, nothing big is going to happen within the first year of this relationship…

Right?

Chapter Text

About 7 months later…

Silver Spoon wakes up from his sleep beside Balloon, sitting up soon after. That was when she noticed how shitty he felt. She felt nauseous and his stomach felt bloated. But she still had the energy to get up, so he did, making sure not to wake up her beloved in the process.

After he got dressed, she immediately went down the stairs to sort out books in the library. It is his job in Cabby’s library, after all. Even though she feels like shit, he didn’t want Cabby to have to struggle with putting books on the shelves.

As the morning went on, it felt like Silver was starting to feel better from this nauseous feeling, but still felt bloated in her gut. He soon hears footsteps down the aisle she was in before feeling a tap on his upper back. She whips around to find Candle standing there, a concerned look on her face.

“You alright? You just looked kinda pale…” Her eyes skimmed his body and Silver had to keep quiet.

“I’m fine, Candle. Just a little sick today, but I’m getting better-” She felt Candle take his hands and start dragging him back to the room she shared with Nickel, Balloon, and Cabby.

“C-Candle! I still have to finish putting up those books!” Silver complained.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m gonna make you take the day off, no matter how sick you are. Don’t worry, I’ll put them away myself.” She forces him into the room before shutting the door before he can escape. Silver Spoon was shocked but didn’t understand why she reacted that way. Why would she react in such a way? Before she could even think about it, Balloon came up to him.

“What was that about?” He asks her, and Silver sighs before turning to him.

“I… don’t know. Never seen Candle react like that to me being just a bit paler than usual.” Silver adjusts the collar of his shirt before walking over to the kitchen of the living space.

“Did she tell you to take the day off?” Balloon tilts his head, noticing her being a bit paler than before. Silver stops walking and looks over his shoulder at him.

“... She did. She also told me she’d put away books for me.”

“That’s… weird, but okay. I’ll go tell Cabby what happened,” Balloon said as he walked out of the door. When Silver entered the kitchen, she suddenly had a craving for granola bars. He didn’t even LIKE granola bars, why is she craving them now? Nonetheless, he grabbed the kettle from the cupboards and started to make her daily tea. He always had it twice a day; one to soothe her nerves whenever something like this happens, and one to help him fall asleep. But that interaction felt… weird.

Maybe Candle knows something she doesn’t? He didn’t know what was wrong with herself. Isn’t being a bit paler and nauseous a bit normal when it comes to things like anxiety? If so, why would Candle react like that?

The next morning, at around 5:30 AM, Silver woke up to an overwhelming nausea and she immediately rushed out of bed and to the bathroom to puke into the toilet. Afterwards, he had to take a moment to catch his breath before hearing quick footsteps coming towards her. When he looks up from the toilet bowl, he sees Nickel in the doorway, looking at her with shock before coming over and patting his back.

“You alright?” They asked, and Silver just shook her head. Nickel cleans him up with a wet washcloth and some affection before bringing him back to the bed she shared with Balloon. The redhead was sitting up in bed, looking at Silver with worry. Cabby soon wheels into the room with the same expression plastered onto her face, though it was also written with tiredness.

“Silver’s not feeling too well,” Nickel announces as they rub Silver’s lower back. Silver couldn’t help but stim at the contact; the subtle acts of intimacy always get her.

“Yeahhh, Silver, I think you should rest for today,” Cabby says tiringly as she wheels over to them. “Nickel, can you take over for Silver today?”

“Sure I can, sweetie.”

Silver’s world just kinda faded. Of course, he went back to bed and rested for a while, but when she woke up, he was met with the tough mama Tea Kettle sitting over her bed, seemingly waiting for him to wake up.

“O-oh,” Silver said dazily, sitting up in bed and looking at her foster mother. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hey. Heard from Cabby and Candle that you were sick,” TK says, placing a hand on top of his own. “Can’t let that happen to one of my babies.”

“Mom, I was 8 when you took me and Big Bro in,” she groaned, but not denying his mother’s doting. Tea Kettle chuckled at her whining and ruffled his hair.

“Okay, little guy-”

“I’m not little!” She pouted.

“OooooKAY son, what are those symptoms?” Tea Kettle takes out a notepad and a pen. Silver Spoon felt confused but just decided to spill the tea.

“Well… Obviously, there’s the nausea and the paler skin… There’s also a bloating in my abdomen? And it feels like I’m tired a lot of the time nowadays…” As Tea Kettle writes these down, Silver realizes that she really has a lot of problems. When TK’s finished, she looks him in the eye.

“Stay right here. I’m gonna go grab something that could relate to this.” And Tea Kettle gets up and leaves. Silver starts scrolling on her phone, wondering what it was that his mother wanted to give to her. Was it medicine? Food? Something to give him comfort? She didn’t know. Silver Spoon was just mindlessly watching videos until Tea Kettle came back with a box. It had a branding Silver didn’t recognize until he fully realized what it was and became… flustered, to say the least. It was a pregnancy test.

“Mom, I know you’re trying to help, but are you really sure that I’m- ” Tea Kettle cuts off her foster son, causing her to groan.

“Son, listen. Bloating, nausea, tiredness, pale skin, combined is pretty much pregnancy, plus a few other symptoms like cravings and back pain. So I’m just making sure I’m correct with my assumption.” She shoves the box into his arms, and Silver gently gets up and goes to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He takes out the test, admiring the shape and size of the stick, before reading the instructions carefully.

Silver then sat on the toilet and peed on the test before cleaning up after herself and then setting the test down on the counter and waiting. The box said to wait a few minutes before results show. While waiting, his thoughts began to race.

What’ll my partners think about this? Will they not love me anymore? What’ll Candle think about this? Or Paintbrush? Or whoever else was in the competition that I haven’t met yet? What if I am pregnant? What if I’m not? I hope I’m not. If I was, I think I’d just live in fear for as long as it’ll last…

After a few minutes, she grabs the test and walks out of the bathroom before looking down at it. As he did so, her eyes widened and anxiety flooded into him in a huge wave.

Two lines.

She’s pregnant.

Chapter Text

Candle slowly inhaled and exhaled as she meditated. Her legs were crossed, she was in her usual robe, and she was sitting on her mat. She took her stimulants today and was now patiently waiting for Tea Kettle to come back with some news.

A few candles were spread around the living space, giving her room a fragrance reminiscent of serenity and grace. Her elven ears would twitch at the slightest of sounds, earrings the shape of tears dangling from her pointed lobes, occasionally moving strands of her cascading purple locks. Her purple robe felt like silk to the touch, and the golden binding around her stomach caused most of it to cling onto her voluptuous body, showing off the fact that she’s had an enjoyable life in a very subtle but noticeable way. Most would call out this fashion choice as ‘the perfect way to get catcalled’ or simply ‘too seductive and alluring’, but she didn’t care; as long as she was happy, there was no need to lose weight.

Her ears perk up at the sound of a notification ding from her phone. She takes a moment to take another deep breath and extinguish the candles’ flames with her Inner Flame before uncrossing her legs, getting up, and walking over to the counter she set her phone down on before her meditation began. Her blaze-colored eyes look over to her phone and she picks it up before checking the text message. It was from Tea Kettle, and the message caused her to become surprised.

TK

‘Code red; Silver’s pregnant’

Her eyes widened as she opened up the messaging app by clicking on the notification, rereading the text over and over again. She was only assuming he was pregnant; she didn’t know that Silver actually would be! Though this does raise more questions than answers, it more-so takes her back to a time she… didn’t like recalling.

While it was a fairly happy time for her, it would end up causing a detrimental loss in her life that would probably make even the strongest people cry. She was foolish and the worst part was it only happened a year before she was roped onto Inanimate Insanity for its third season. She had a one-night stand with a famous gambler and later became pregnant with her own child, whom she calls Star. Despite her trying her best to physically and emotionally prepare before he would arrive, it seemed like it wasn’t in the cards for her to actually have a little one, as Star was born with a lung deformity. And despite her prayers, Star died weeks after he was born.

Even though Star was a result of her foolishness, Candle still loved him much better then her mother ever had, and simply put: children dying would jerk some tears out of the mindful one. After he died, Candle started to blame herself, thinking that she wasn’t prepared enough or that she was too foolish to be a mother, and this persisted into the competition, though she kept quiet about it and hid it fairly well behind a calm demeanor.

She still remembers the conversation between her, Tea Kettle, and Test Tube soon after her elimination.

Candle stares down at the reflection in the gloomy water surrounding Indefinite Island. The sea breeze flows through her purple hair and her hand grips onto the dark sand below her as she leans onto her other arm for support and her knees are underneath her. She blinks slowly as she mourns the loss of what could have been. She still wore the purple robes with golden accents, but also had a yellow bandanna around her neck to represent her time on the Thinkers.

Her elven ears perked back as they heard footsteps in the sand getting closer to her, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Test Tube settle down beside her. The green haired girl was wearing a black tank top, revealed by the fact that her white lab coat was unbuttoned around it, and also sweatpants. She seems to have gotten comfortable showing some skin. There was also a pink bandanna on her wrist to show that she was originally on the Pinkers. Candle looks up at the girl.

“Hey, Candle. Heard you were over here thanks to Goo,” Test Tube began, adjusting her glasses before noticing the frown on her face but decided to push on. “How’s TBD?”

“Did Paintbrush not tell you when they were eliminated?” Candle tried to sound emotional in this moment of grief. Test Tube shakes her head and that was the cue for Candle to tell her. “Their name’s Bot now. They’re doing wonderfully, and I’m glad they have found themselves. They also look a bit different…”

Test Tube noticed that Candle’s voice was quieter than usual. Of course, Test Tube KNEW Candle as a quiet, keep-to-herself lady, but something about her voice just felt… different.

“You alright, Candle?” Test Tube asks and Candle takes a breath in shakily before looking away and back at the seawater. The green-haired woman could tell Candle was mourning for something, but for what? She soon heard Candle mumble something that she thought Test Tube wouldn’t hear.

“I don’t think I’m a good mother…”

“You’re a mother?” Test Tube blurted out and Candle whips her head back up to meet Test Tube’s gaze before her face scrunches up and she leans forward and digs her face into her chest, starting to sob. Test Tube tried her best to comfort Candle by running her hand through Candle’s hair. She soon heard footsteps heading their way.

“Is she okay?” Test Tube looked over her shoulder to see Tea Kettle catching her breath, looking worried for Candle.

“Um… No… Surprisingly, Candle’s not doing okay…”

“Well, what’s wrong with her?” Tea Kettle sits down beside the two and Candle looks up at her. She frowns when she realizes that it’s Tea Kettle. The tough mama. The motherly one.

“I… I was just thinking… A-about someone I lost…” Candle began, her voice shaky. She looks up at Test Tube and nods at her, a silent permission for Test Tube to tell TK what she overheard from the mindful one.

“Apparently, Candle is-”

“WAS.”

“... was a mother,” Test Tube corrected herself and Tea Kettle nodded.

“I’m guessing the kid was stillborn?” She asks.

“No, no. Neonatal death,” Candle corrects, which caused the two to frown more than they were before. Tea Kettle wraps her and Test Tube up in a bear-like hug, rubbing Candle’s back.

“Sweetie… It wasn’t your fault… Whatever happened, I’m sure it was just life being unfair… You should know how life is, you’re one of the wisest people I know,” Tea Kettle says comfortingly, which causes Candle to smile for a moment.

“Plus,” Test Tube adds, “being a mother should not be your only way of determining your skills, Candle. I should know that by now. Just because you were born a woman, doesn’t mean you have to have children. If you want children or not, then it’s alright to think about that. If anybody tells you that you won’t be a true woman because you don’t have kids, then they can kiss my-”

“Test Tube,” Tea Kettle reminds wordlessly and Test Tube tones it down a bit as Candle pulls away from her to look at the two of them.

“Look, all I’m trying to say is that you can choose not to have kids, even if you’re a woman, and that being a parent does not equate to your other strengths, such as that Inner Flame you have. Society just has always been misogynistic,” Test Tube summarizes and Candle smiles widely, understanding what she’s saying and taking in the comforting words.

…

Star’s death wasn’t her fault. She was just unlucky back then. And she can try again when she’s ready. But right now, she’s got someone in this competition to root for.

Candle shakes her head from the flashback as reality came back to her and she quickly texted Tea Kettle back.

Candle

‘How is he reacting?’

She was staring at the screen for a while before another text from Tea Kettle popped up and she quickly typed out her reply.

TK

‘Terribly, literally feeling like he’s going to pass out’

Candle

‘OMW, comfort him in the meanwhile’

Candle set her phone down and quickly walked over to her closet and grabbed a random squishmallow. She always had her collection in handy for when someone needed comfort (mostly Silver when she was overwhelmed because… autism). The one she chose was a white velvet cat squishmallow and she soon exited her room and dashed over to the living space Silver shared with his partners.

She slowly entered the room, the squishmallow in her arms, before noticing Silver in her bed, hyperventilating. Tea Kettle was trying to comfort him from the recent news, but Candle knew what could comfort the tall person. She walks over to the other side of her bed and gently taps his shoulder, causing Silver to flip over to see her.

“C-C-Candllle… I-I’m-” She hiccupped, but Candle shushed him to silence.

“I know, I know. But I’ve brought something with me that could help you calm down…” She then hands him the squishmallow and Silver instantly clings onto it, wrapping her body around it and seemingly already starting to calm down. Candle giggles at the sight before starting to comfort him via rubbing her back and trying to ground him. It does work and eventually, she’s calmed down again, not clinging so hard to the squishmallow. Though… it seems Silver’s fairly tired…

He gently closes her eyes and is soon out like a light. Candle giggles again at him, enjoying the sight of her feeling grounded and better, especially after the stressful news of a pregnancy. She gently tucks him under the bedsheets and, for the hell of it, gives Silver a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room, gently closing the door behind her. She then notices Balloon heading her way, seemingly to check on Silver Spoon.

“How is Silver doing?” He asked frantically, before Candle put her index finger to her lips and shushed him.

“She’s taking a nap right now. Had a mental breakdown seemingly from the sickness,” she said half-truthfully, not revealing anything relating to the news in case he wasn’t prepared to tell her partners yet. Balloon nods and Candle lets him enter the room before she starts walking back to her own living quarters.

As she enters her living quarters, she picks up her phone and engages in conversation with Tea Kettle.

Candle

‘Please tell me you grabbed the pregnancy test before you left’

TK

‘I did, don’t worry, I’ve got it in my purse at the moment’

Candle

‘Thank goodness’

‘I’m guessing we wait for Silver to wake up in order to discuss how to tell his partners?’

TK

‘Yeah, sure’

‘Besides, the first trimester can be very tiring, so it’s still benefiting him’

Candle

‘I’m sure we both know that well’

Candle sets her phone down again before returning to her meditation mat. Using her Inner Flame, she reignites her candles before she returns to sitting criss-crossed, hands on her knees, eyes closed, and breathing softly.

And now she waits.

Chapter Text

Silver Spoon stares down at the test, still feeling the shock of it all. She was holding it to his chest. It was the dead of night, and Candle and TK just had a conversation with her about how he’ll reveal this to her partners. He was still fairly anxious, not only because she was revealing pretty big news that will change their lives, but also… There's not that many people on the show that know how to care for someone, let alone a child from infantry to adult. Besides Tea Kettle and Candle, Test Tube is the only other person he knows that has raised a kid before.

She looks back at his phone and unlocks the screen before rereading the conversation between Tea Kettle and Candle.

TK

‘Silver, are you feeling alright?’

Silver Spoon

‘I’ll be fine, just shocked’

Candle

‘Fair, I will say that TK has your test’

TK

‘So that your partners can’t find it and spoil the surprise!’

Silver Spoon

‘I feel like we should discuss how I’ll tell my partners about that’

TK

‘Yeah, let’s do that now’

Candle

‘I mean, there’s many ways to tell someone you’re pregnant’

‘From simply… telling them to more clever ways’

TK

‘Yeah, son, I remember leaving a loaf of bread in the oven once to tell you and Knife I was pregnant with Raspy’

‘You two COULD NOT stop freaking out about the loaf of bread in the oven and I just had to laugh before telling you what was happening, it was hilarious’

Silver Spoon

‘MOM’

TK

‘What? It was funny!’

Candle

‘Well, I went the more simpler route and just told my partner that I was pregnant’

‘Of course, if you’re not that courageous you can just leave a note behind relating to the test results’

Silver Spoon

‘Yeah, I think that’s a more suitable option’

‘Anxiety and all that probably wouldn’t make me be able to full-on tell them’

Candle

‘I can help with wording the message if you need it’

Silver Spoon

‘I’m sure I can figure out a comprehensible sentence on my own’

Silver Spoon

‘Okay, does this sound good?’

‘“About a day ago, I might’ve taken a pregnancy test and it came out positive. You can talk to me about it when I’m awake.” -Silver’

Candle

‘Yeah, I think that’s a good message to send to them’

Silver Spoon

‘I hope they can read small’

‘This is going on a STICKY NOTE!’

Candle

‘I’m sure they can’

Silver Spoon

‘I’m gonna set the test and the sticky note on the bathroom counter and then head to bed’

Candle

‘Okay’

‘I love you /p’

Silver Spoon

‘Love ya too /p’

Silver Spoon presses the power button on her phone to turn the display off before setting the test down beside the note. He then leaves the bathroom, shutting the light off while walking through the doorway, and tucks herself into bed beside a sleeping Balloon. As he slowly drifts off to sleep, she thinks about how his partners will react. Will they react badly? Will they support her? Only way to know was in the morning.

Nickel slowly wakes up to the buzzing of their alarm at 7:30 AM, when they usually get up. He sits up and looks over to see Cabby stirring awake. They reach over and slam down the button on the alarm before watching Cabby get up.

“Do you need help with getting into your wheelchair?” They ask her and she nods. Nickel gets up and goes to grab and put on his prosthetic arm. On the way there, they manage to wake up Balloon.

“Can you help Cabby get into her wheelchair?” Nickel asks.

“Yeah, just give me a moment,” Balloon answers before sitting himself on the edge of his bed and looking over at Silver Spoon, who was still asleep.

“... How much do you want to bet that he’s still sick,” Balloon then asks and Nickel shrugs their shoulders. They both silently decide to not wake Silver, in case she is still sick. Balloon gets up and soon hands him their prosthetic arm. Nickel takes it with their right arm, the one still intact.

“Tell me if you need help putting it on,” Balloon chirps before going into Cabby and Nickel’s bedroom. Nickel sighs before walking into the bathroom and beginning the process of putting on his prosthetic arm. They didn’t even notice the note and pregnancy test on the bathroom counter until they were done.

After moving their joints and fingers, Nickel started to exit the bathroom before noticing the test and the note. They pick up the test and look at the result before grabbing the note and reading it.

“‘About a day ago, I might’ve taken a pregnancy test and it came out positive. You can talk to me when I’m awake.’” Nickel was taken aback as they read the note out loud. Even worse, once they got to the name, they fully realized what was happening and connected the dots in their head. Silver was expecting a child, and they were sick because of it.

Even though they probably should tell their partners about Silver’s morning sickness, Nickel decides to keep the news to themself for now. They sneak into the kitchen and grab a ziploc bag before putting the test and note into it and putting it in their backpack. Nickel always carried that backpack around, only because sometimes his arm can malfunction and it’s nice to have something to keep certain things near them without having to use his right arm to carry it all in case that situation does happen.

When leaving the bathroom, they saw Cabby in her wheelchair and Balloon standing beside her, seemingly waiting for Nickel to get done.

“I assume you didn’t wake up Silver in case he was sick again?” Cabby asked and Nickel only nodded. The three then went into the kitchen to go make their breakfasts for the day. But Nickel was silent for most of the time in their living space. He didn’t want to accidentally reveal what was going on with Silver without her there with them to celebrate or check to make sure he was okay.

Nickel sits down on the couch, tired from work today. It was about 5:35 PM and Silver had just finished making dinner for the four of them. To Nickel’s left was Balloon, who was chatting with Cabby, the latter having positioned herself near the table to eat with them. To their left, Silver who was silently watching the two talk. That question lingered in Nickel’s mind about Silver’s condition and they knew that she was wondering if any of them saw the note, since it disappeared from the bathroom this morning.

Nickel decides it’s time and turns to Silver.

“Hey, Silver?” They speak, and he turns to look over at them. Balloon and Cabby also do the same, curious about him asking their partner.

“What is it, Nickel?” Silver tilts her head, and Nickel can tell his anxiety was barely being hidden behind a shaky smile. Now or never.

“Can you explain to me why there was a note supposedly from you and a positive pregnancy test in the bathroom this morning?” Nickel asks before unloading the contents of his backpack, finding the ziploc bag containing the items and setting them down on the table. Balloon and Cabby looked over the bag in shock before looking at her.

Silver Spoon sighs and he looks away from them, blushing a bit as she speaks.

“... I can. I did take that test during the time where Tea Kettle was caring for me and it… it came out positive. I understand if you three would like to abort the kid or whatever-”

“Whoa, whoa, WHOA. Silver, why would we make you get an abortion? I mean, do you even want to abort the baby?” Balloon was asking the real questions and Cabby just silently watched. Silver meets Balloon’s gaze and his blush intensified.

“W-well… To be honest, not really…”

“Then we won’t,” Cabby answers before quickly asking her another question. “Are you alright, though? Is your morning sickness driving you nuts? Are your cravings delirious?”

“I’m… I’m fine, but… I will say I am very tired…”

“I can tell. The first trimester is very tiring, after all,” Cabby chuckles.

When they were done eating, they decided to let Silver go to bed early and so she did. But before he did, Silver Spoon did tell the three that they can tell everyone whenever they want. While Nickel, Balloon, and Cabby were watching a show, Nickel smirks at a thought.

“Which one of us did you think knocked her up.” Cabby looks over and smirks back.

“Probably Balloon. He’s been getting very cuddly with him these past few months.”

“I’m right here, y’know!” Balloon jokingly snaps at them and they begin to laugh. Balloon just mumbled his iconic “Oh, come on” before joining in on the giggles. It didn’t really matter to the three who got Silver pregnant; they were all going to be parents anyway, so really why should it matter who knocked him up? For now, they just enjoyed the night before the challenges of parenthood or even pregnancy fell upon their shoulders.

Chapter Text

She thought it was another day. Managing the prize she worked hard to win, sorting books, assigning carts to Balloon and Nickel, taking in complaints and asks about her library, all the fun stuff.

Cabby just thought that, when the competition was over, the most work on her shoulders would be busy days in the library. Thankfully, she’s made her library more traversable for most, mostly and simply because of her being bound to a wheelchair. If she could, even for one day, she’d wish to be able to use her legs and to see what others’ lives were like. While yes, Goo and Floory also didn’t have legs, and she did take comfort in them for that unique feature between the three of them, she still wishes she wouldn’t have to need aid. But hey, that’s what her partners were for, not only as three of her partners in both the workplace and within their relationship. They were gentlemen; all three of her boyfriends were. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

But with the reveal of Silver expecting a child, that just put a bit more weight onto her frail body. Oh god, not only does she have to care for the library, which doubles as a living space for the contestants who decided to come over and stay at Paradise Island, but she was also going to be a MOTHER. She almost wished it was a dream, sort-of, but she was glad it wasn’t. In fact, she didn’t really know how to feel, leaving her conflicted with the thought of becoming a mother.

It kept nagging her mind to the point where she almost didn’t notice Bot entering her office and walking over to her desk. She shakes her head and peers down to see her robot friend and smiles.

“Hey Bot,” she greets. “Are you here for Cheer Factory stuff?”

“No, actually,” they responded, their legs extending so that they could sit in one of the chairs across the desk from Cabby.

“Oh, then what are you here for?” Cabby tilts her head, resting it against her intertwined hands. Bot usually came in every week for them to plan the Cheer Factory events on Fridays, with people like Clover, Goo, and Springy to help set up everything by the day. Besides this way to keep the people at the library entertained, Cabby and Bot had a pretty strong bond ever since Cabby helped Bot come out to Test Tube in Episode 14. Bot was loud and proud about Cabby and her poly relationship when they first heard about it, and they haven’t really died down from the excitement since.

“Well, Ma’s coming over! And she’s bringing some people here for a while. Said she needed some of your files for something. They’re at the Calm-Down Cabana right now.”

Cabby’s eyes widened. Test Tube was here? Sure, during the competition, they never had a good relationship with each other, especially after Cabby managed to eliminate Fan. But they made up in the finale, and technically speaking, Test Tube was the one to help get her library by simply voting for her in the finale.

And then a thought came up in her mind. If Bot is the synthetic robot child of Fan’s intellect and Test Tube’s technology… then it wouldn’t be so different to have a potential biological child, would it? Maybe she can ask Test Tube for help.

“Well, I’d say bring her over to the library! I haven’t seen her since this place was finished!” Cabby chirped and Bot nodded before hopping down from their seat and quickly hopping out of the door. Oh god, this was exciting but also scary. What if she was wrong from her previous thought? That having a biological kid is different from an adopted, foster, or synthetic kid, other than who conceived them? She’ll just have to wait and see.

When Test Tube came into the library and was led inside by Bot, Cabby was on the upper balcony, looking down as Bot and Test Tube entered and soon after three other people. The first two people she recognized- they were Fan and Trophy, the latter of which Test Tube had described and even showed in pictures before to her. But the third newcomer was new. A short woman, in a fairly stylist suit, with golden locks overcoming the occasional red and green. And it didn’t seem like Test Tube and Trophy were happy with her being along for the trip.

She started rolling over to the escalator system when she saw Silver stumble out of their living space right in front of her. Immediately, Cabby came to a stop and felt concerned.

“Silver? Are you alright?” She asks, slowly rolling up to him and patting his lower back. She just nodded, his arm wrapped around her stomach as his other hand covered her mouth. Cabby felt bad for the guy; this was his first trimester and she was already struggling.

“Well, what did you want?” Cabby asks him, tilting her head. It took a moment before Silver raises her head and looks at her.

“I just… wanted to see what the fuss was about…” Silver said.

Cabby didn’t realize what was going on until she heard the shouting of a voice within the library.

“WHY IS TACO HERE!?”

Cabby silently motioned for Silver to get out of the way and he stepped back before the sound of wheels started filling the right balcony of the library as she rolled towards the escalator. She made sure her wheels were lined up with the wedges of the steps and she was facing the wall before she firmly gripped the railing and waited for the escalator to take her to the ground floor. After it did, she turned around and rolled up to the blazing Paintbrush, getting in between them and the new woman, who she assumed was Taco.

“What’s going on here?” She asks, confused.

“ SHE’S here! SHE almost stole the million dollars in Season 1!” They bristled.

“Well, I am SORRY FOR THAT! ” Taco howled back before Test Tube pushed the two away from each other, causing Paintbrush’s hair to return to the long tan bristle-like locks they were adorned with.

“Look. She snuck onto our ride and we couldn’t go back. And I thoroughly checked her multiple times along the journey to see if she had anything she could use to hurt any of us, but she didn’t. So you can at least tolerate her presence like I did WITH CAUTION, alright?” Test Tube scolded and Paintbrush’s fists tightened and their face scrunched up before they just turned around and stomped away. Test Tube then sighs and turns to Cabby.

“Sorry about that,” she apologized. “Taco here’s had a… rough history with ‘the veterans’, as you call us.”

“Oh no, you’re fine. I didn’t expect such a visceral reaction like that, though. Though I might have to ask her later about the ‘stealing the million dollars’ thing later.”

Cabby thought she heard a grumbled “Oh, come on” from Taco and she quickly continued on.

“So… Test Tube, I heard you needed some files?” She asks, and Test Tube nods.

“Just some stuff on things like advanced welding. It’ll only be for a few days.” Cabby nods before turning to Fan, Trophy, and Taco.

“Well, make yourselves at home. I’m gonna go consult some of the people here to furnish some free living spaces. Until then, have a look around!” As Cabby rolls away to go find the Cheer Factory, that nagging thought still lingers in her mind. And when she sees Test Tube having a chat with Balloon, she frowns.

You’re gonna ask her later. You have to do it before she leaves, Cabby encourages herself. She then rolls off to go ask the Cheer Factory to furbish some rooms for the guests.

It was late, around 8:30 PM. Everyone was starting to wind down and Cabby should be closing down for the night as well, before heading back to her boyfriends. But she had to tell Test Tube and ask for help with this. So, with a tired and scared sigh, she presses the button on the intercom and speaks into the microphone.

“Can Test Tube come into my office, please?”

Her voice rang out through the intercom, throughout the library. Not even five minutes later, Test Tube bursts into the door, scaring the everloving file out of Cabby as she panted and walked up to Cabby’s desk.

“You… wanted to… see me?” She asks, still panting.

“Whoa, girl, take a moment to catch your breath-”

“I came running over here. What do you need?” Test Tube sits in the office chair across from Cabby.

“Well…” She hesitates for a while. How does she just casually drop a bombshell onto someone? Besides, Silver’s PREGNANT. Test Tube would probably not be able to answer, but… she has to ask.

“... So last night, Silver told us that she was pregnant, and I was wondering if you had any advice considering… y’know, Bot and all that.” Cabby expected Test Tube to not be able to answer, but instead the green-haired girl was shocked.

“He’s WHAT?” Test Tube looked shocked and took over her glasses and rubbed them with her coat before putting them back on. “You’re joking!”

“I’m not. We don’t know… who did it, but she is pregnant, a-and… I was wondering if-”

“I had any advice? Oh yeah, plenty!” Test Tube chirps, smiling now. She leaned forward and began to ramble on and on about many tips that Cabby simply had to write down. She can’t remember all of this stuff; heck, she probably can’t remember what she ate this morning. Memory issues and all that junk; they suck.

Eventually, there was one tip that caught Cabby off guard.

“-and finally, DON’T STRESS YOURSELF OUT. Too much stress can hurt you and your loved ones and cause things like fights to… break out.”

Cabby was surprised by Test Tube’s tiredness and seemingly… nostalgic expression as they just stared at each other. Before, of course, Nickel comes into the office.

“Hey, Cabby, can you, like, go to bed now,” they ask and Cabby nods before she soon feels him grab onto a handle of her wheelchair. Before they leave and head for bed, Cabby closes her file and sighs before turning to Test Tube.

“Thank you for that… Be okay, tonight, alright? You look exhausted emotionally.” Cabby comments and Test Tube just looked at her before she was the one sighing as Cabby was wheeled out of the office by Nickel.

“Yeah, you too…” Once Cabby and Nickel were gone, Test Tube pulled out her phone- made by yours truly- and just… stared at the lock screen. The picture of her and Fan holding onto the egg was taken over… 5 years ago, now? God, had it really been 2 years since they lost Baby Shimmer? They need to go looking for the other egg. The Prime Shimmer did wonder if they knew where the egg was. Her face hardened with determination and she knew that she needed to find that egg before Cobs ever did.

…

“I promise you I’ll find it someday.”

Chapter Text

Silver Spoon slowly stirs from his slumber, blinking her eyes rapidly a few times before he came to her surroundings. He was in bed, trying to get used to her surroundings, before slowly noticing how he was clinging onto Balloon. Literally, you can say she was spooning him (Knee slap!).

And she didn’t want to let go. Or wake Balloon up. So he snuggled closer to Balloon and just stayed there, clinging onto him like a koala to a tree. She smiles and hums as his feet occasionally kick. But eventually, she felt the smaller man stir awake.

“Mmm… Silllveeerrrr…” Balloon groaned as he opened his eyes and noticed the taller man spooning him. Balloon just sighed.

“Silver. What’re you doing…” he tiringly asked.

“Cuddling you. Do you… not like it?” Silver frowned a little as Balloon shifted so that he was looking up at him, his blue eyes starting to sparkle with energy.

“No, no I do, it’s just that I have to get up…” Balloon then tries to escape Silver’s grasp, but the taller one ain’t having it. 

By the time Nickel came in to ask Balloon for his prosthetic arm and for help regarding Cabby, he saw him being wrestled against her. Of course, Silver was being playful because of his hormones acting up, but Nickel still needed some help regarding Cabby. So Nickel broke up the play fight by grabbing Silver’s arm and managing to unlatch it, letting Balloon escape from under her.

“Nickel! I just wanted cuddles from him,” Silver whined.

“I know, but not right now. We gotta get ready for work,” Nickel reassured by Silver still had a pouting expression on his face. Her world just sort-of faded again as Balloon, Cabby, and Nickel got ready for the day. But his world returned when Cabby called out on her way out:

“Don’t forget: Taco’s visiting you today!”

That caught Silver off guard. What did Cabby mean Taco, the person she called ‘an icon’ during the finale, was visiting him? The person who, after getting around to watching the show her brother was on before he applied, she based his entire mask around? Was she seriously here? The thought made Silver unknowingly start stimming. God she loved her, in a #1 fan sense.

So he gently waited for Taco, reading a book and making some tea while doing so. It was at around 11 AM when Taco slowly opened the door and entered pretty hesitantly. Silver looks over at her and smiles, though underneath she was trying to contain his excitement.

“Hello there,” Silver says, bowing her head.

“Hey,” Taco replies before noticing the tea kettle on the stove and she smirks. “Were you trying to make some tea for us?”

“Well… Yeah…” He sighs before watching her lean against the wall. Silver would then push on.

“So, I assume you heard the news, right?”

“Yeah, I did. You doing alright?”

“Uh… Yeahhh…” Silver then frowns. “Nooo…” Taco couldn’t help but chuckle before walking over and meeting her gaze with her own.

“From one Brit to another.”

“Yeahhh, I guess…” He sighs, before looking away from her. “Can you… help me with something?”

“Sure, IF you also help me.”

“Deal.”

“So you know what happened between me and Microphone, right?” She asks and Silver just nods. “Well, I actually want to formally apologize to her, but I know that she’ll just slam the door in my face if I try to do it in person. So what I want you to do is give this letter-” Taco then pulls out a blue envelope from her pocket and hands it to her “-to Microphone the next time you visit Hotel OJ.”

Silver Spoon was surprised. He knew what Taco did to Microphone. But she just nods and grabs the letter from her before setting it in a cupboard. Taco sighs as he turns back to her.

“And what about you, Silver?”

“Well… I’ve just been very clingy towards Balloon this morning and I might’ve made him mad at me because I wasn’t letting him leave bed-”

That got Taco to burst into laughter and Silver just stared at her, unamused. It took a while before Taco spoke again.

“Oh, Silver, that’s just a minor thing about feelings!” She giggles a bit before speaking once more. “I’m sure Balloon wouldn’t mind snuggles after work! You just gotta… wait for him, y’know?”

She sighs. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I was so surprised! He just felt more cuddly and now I fucking messed up. I think.”

Taco thinks before snapping her fingers again. “I don’t think you messed up. I just think he was too in a rush to focus on you. Like I said, I’m sure Balloon wanted your affection. But I assume he’s a busy guy since he supposedly works here. Besides,” she adds, “I’m sure you two WOULD like some… alone time together, right?”

“Wh-what!? N-no, not in THAT sense, considering I’m… y’know, pregnant and all…” He lowers his head and Taco chuckles once more.

“I know. You know damn well I mean just you two sitting there, taking in each other’s presence.” Taco then sighs. “I wish I had a man like that…”

That surprised Silver and she looked at her before hearing the kettle. While he is preparing the tea for the two of them, she decides to voice his inquiries.

“I thought you were bisexual?” Silver asked as she handed a cup to Taco and set the kettle down on the table. The two were now sitting on the couch side-by-side. Taco took a sip of her cup before responding.

“Nah… After what happened with Mic, I thought about it for a while and came to an… interesting conclusion.” Before she went on, she asked him what flavor the tea was. Silver always liked Vanilla Chai, so when she answered her small question with that, Taco smirked.

“We have more in common than you think,” she commented before continuing. “Yeah, turns out I’m achillean.”

“So you’re straight,” Silver blurted.

“Now don’t go blurting out assumptions! I can still date a woman, it’s just… men are handsome, alright?” That got Silver to chuckle. Of course he’d like Taco. She was her #1 idol when he watched Inanimate Insanity before auditioning, and as mentioned before, she formed his own regal persona around Taco’s antics. Though glad she didn’t go into that mask too much anymore, he still appreciated meeting her idol.

Silver was cooking dinner for himself. After Taco left for her own endeavors, she wanted to have some dinner before the others got back from work. Of course, being the stay-at-home parent (they decided it a few days after Test Tube came here with her crew) made his shoulders relax more and she felt appreciated that he was being replaced by Nickel thanks to her condition.

While he was making dinner for herself, he didn’t hear the door open and the footsteps approaching her until it was too late and Balloon wraps his arms around his waist and leans his head on Silver’s shoulder.

“ Hola cariño, ” Balloon whispered into her ear and Silver just chuckled. He may not know Spanish, but she at least knew what hola meant.

“Hi there, dear,” he greets before frowning, remembering their little play fight they had earlier. Balloon notices this and frowns as well.

“What’s wrong?”

“Balloon, I’m sorry for trying to restrain you to bed this morning… even if I was being playful.” Balloon just starts giggling at her apology before kissing his temple, causing Silver to blush and stomp a little.

“I forgive you, you cuchara hormonal. ” He then pulls away before going to sit on the couch for a while. Silver rubs where he kissed her before starting to stomp again. He didn’t care about the food at this point; she had realized that he’d go to the far ends of the world and sacrifice everything just to be with her partners. Especially Balloon. Something tells him that the two have a deeper connection that Cabby and Nickel would eventually understand…

Chapter Text

Normally, Silver Spoon would be PASSED OUT the moment she hit the bed. What can the author say, the first trimester of a pregnancy is tiring as fuck and I don’t have experience. He’d sleep through the whole night without waking up once and therefore always felt more energetic during the work days. But this time, it was different.

She woke up to a dull pain in his abdomen, and her mind immediately started racing. How could he give birth this early? What’s going on? Eventually, she felt the pain stop.

What just happened?

He looks around, very confused. That… That WAS a contraction, was it not? Should she wake up his partners? Should she call someone? Who should he call? Tea Kettle? Candle?

…

Fuck it.

She got up and started walking towards the front door of their living space. He slowly opened it, the door creaking, and she stepped out into the balcony. He watched the moon shining out of the window for a moment before starting to walk down to Candle’s room, her footsteps echoing through the silence.

He went past Bot’s, Springy’s, and Lifering’s doors before finding a door with Candle’s name etched onto the plate. She then gently knocked on the door in Morse code.

And a few moments later, Candle opens the door and lets him in.

“So why are you here, Silver?” She asks as Silver sits down across from her, the kotatsu separating the two as she gives her a cup of warm tea.

“Well, Candle… Um, well, I’ve noticed how there have been… dull pains in my stomach. Am I giving birth this soon?” Silver asked with an earnest fear.

Candle burst out laughing, to Silver’s confusion, after taking a moment to collect herself she said “No, no, I believe those are Braxton Hicks.”

“Pardon?”

“Fake contractions.”

That was more understandable. But he just didn't understand the idea of Braxton Hicks. The fuck do you mean you had to already experience contractions before you actually had the baby? Yes, she does know the pain of things like period cramps, simply because he is transmasculine and had to deal with those before she started taking testosterone, but does he really have to experience contractions BEFORE the 9 month mark?

"Would you like to know a fun fact?" Candle suddenly chimed in, and she shook his head out of her thoughts before turning to Candle.

"Sure."

"Period cramps aren't actually based on if you have a uterus or not."

He tilts her head, silently prompting her to continue on. Candle's ear twitched, a sign she saw the motion.

"I learned it from Clover the other day. It's hormonal based-"

"Because of oxytocin," Silver Spoon suddenly interrupted. Candle was now the one tilting her head and Silver just continued on. "Y'know, 'the cuddle chemical'? It's the whole reason you have labor pains and period cramps. Cabby told me about it the other day."

"Hmm... Interesting," Candle hummed before giggling. "Such a wonderful nickname as well. 'The Cuddle Chemical'. Because you get to cuddle your little one after the pain and emotions subside."

Silver Spoon noticed the little crack in Candle's voice and he grew concerned for her. Was she alright? Is her being pregnant such a sensitive topic to her? He had to know.

"... Sorry to pry, my dear, but I thought I heard a little... tone change in your melodic voice. Is something wrong?" She asked. The purple-haired woman looked down at her tea and took a sip before frowning, her ears perking downwards. That concerned Silver even more. Candle sighed before looking back up at him.

"I was like you once. Young, foolish... gravid."

That shocked Silver, but at the same time it didn't. Of course, everyone was young and foolish... but GRAVID?

"So... You were... pregnant once?"

"Of course I was pregnant once. How'd you think I got these?" She giggles, obviously talking about her breasts. But then she sighs and frowns.

"I... I did have a baby. Or... had. There was this one popular gambler in Cali' that I foolishly fell for. And we... y'know, made love, and he got me pregnant and we thought everything would be fine. But then I lost the kid through a lung deformity a few weeks after they were born. I didn't even really know if they were a boy or a girl.

"After that whole debacle about the baby, me and the gambler sort-of drifted apart. We stayed in contact, but we weren't really lovers anymore. And then... he died, and I thought I would be next. Until I got an invitation."

"... The competition. Was that-"

"Yes. It's why I joined Inanimate Insanity. I wanted to take my mind off of my losses and maybe even make some money out of it."

Silver Spoon frowns as he can tell she was about to cry. She sets his now empty cup down on the kotatsu and gets up before walking over to her side and simply... hugging her from the side. Candle didn't reject the affection, but she did look up at him. When Silver pulled away, she got up and looked over at her.

"I will say, I know that it is not my fault Star died. Test Tube and Tea Kettle helped me reassure that one day, after I was eliminated."

"Of course they did," he comments before chuckling slightly. Of course the two other contestants who have children would comfort her after something like that. She watched as Candle slowly walked over to her mirror and stared at her reflection. That's when Silver noticed the polaroid photo of a buff, black man with red dreads.

"Who's that on your mirror?" He had to ask. Candle seemingly looked at her through the mirror.

"That's a guy I met at the Hotel. Y'know, when Season 2 came to a close," she explained. "His name's Bomb. He works for that greenhouse and botanical garden near Hotel OJ, and is close with the other staff members."

"I see..."

"Though he doesn't speak much."

"And why not?"

"Apparently, from what I've gathered from conversing with OJ, Bomb has Tourette's and is fairly shy about it. So he communicates mostly through sign language and body movement."

Silver Spoon was surprised, but the realization washing over him gave her a little smirk. Candle was clearly falling for the explosive boy. He thought about making a comment about it for a while, before it slipped out of her unrestrained mouth.

"Heh... A fire attracted to a fuse, huh." It was all he had to say for Candle to whip around and give her a pouting glare, an obvious blush covering her face. Silver Spoon just began to chuckle at her reaction. God, he loved how, even though the unrequited feelings inside her were still there, that it hasn't ruined their friendship in the slightest. Sure, the finale left a strain on them for a bit, but they've forgiven each other and set some boundaries in their relationship.

Eventually, he waved goodbye to Candle and went back to her room, slipping into bed beside Balloon and drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Now, normally, if you were close friends with the guy, you would’ve already known about Silver’s pregnancy. But apparently, not.

Paintbrush was currently helping Lightbulb move into their living space. They had decided this when Lightbulb came to the library a few months after the finale. As they set a large box down near the couch, one of the last, Paintbrush feels Lightbulb press against them as they get up.

"Lightbulb..."

"Purr-purr~" Lightbulb cooed and Paintbrush had blushed significantly from just her actions. She was just like that around Paintbrush.

She soon leans back and stands proudly, placing her hands on her hips. "Heh, glad I can always fluster you, Painty," she cooed proudly.

"Yeah, yeah, pussycat. Now come on, let's get unpacking," Paintbrush said in a nonchalant tone but was smirking at her antics as they opened the box.

Soon enough, by the end of the day, they were done unpacking, and were now just cuddling on the couch. While doing so, Paintbrush kept talking about things like Taco, Springy, and... Silver Spoon.

"He's such a royal pain in my ass! She's been policing me about my hair and I hate it! You know how much I care about it, Lightbulb," Paintbrush complained while Lightbulb looked up at them, her head resting on their shoulder.

"Mhm... But at least you two are friends now, right?" She turned her head, causing them to sigh.

"Yeah... We're friends now. But still, he can be."

"Especially since apparently she's expecting now, so those hormones are just gonna make him worse."

That caught Paintbrush off guard. Silver's pregnant? Since when? How did it happen? WHEN did it happen? When did she sleep with one of his partners? Or was it multiple? ... Was that even real?

"Say that again," Paintbrush said slowly, not believing Silver Spoon to be expecting a child.

"Hm? Oh yeah, Silver's pregnant." Lightbulb then beamed a smile at them. "He got knocked up!"

" SINCE WHEN DID SHE GET GAME!? "

"Paintbrush, he literally has three partners."

"Yeah, but like... Cabby's asexual and I dunno about Balloon and Nickel. How did they have sex within a few months of their relationship?"

She just shrugged her shoulders and Paintbrush sighed as Lightbulb dug her head back into the crook of their neck.

"I'm gonna need a moment to think about this," they mutter. Lightbulb was about to get up, possibly to go see Silver Spoon, but they quickly pulled her back down to them.

"Clingy, aren't we?" Lightbulb teased and Paintbrush just blushed.

"Just... Just keep holding me, babe... What do you want for supper?"

"Ooooo..." Lightbulb thought for a moment before answering with shining eyes. "Can we eat rice?"

"Just... rice?"

"Yeah, I noticed some in the freezer out there and became interested."

"Nothing else? No meat, no snacks- I'm surprised you didn't even consider jello."

"Nah, just...rice."

Paintbrush then sighs. "I'm never going to understand you, aren't I."

It was late at night, around 10 PM. Paintbrush was at their drawing desk, tapping their pencil as they think about things going on around the library. They always liked to draw out their thoughts in their drawing journal, so that's what they were doing.

...

Right. Silver's pregnancy.

Were they the last person to know about it? Seemed like so, considering apparently Lightbulb was surprised. How did they, a friend of Silver, didn't know about this until now? They felt frustrated with themself... and so they began to draw.

At first, it was just broad strokes against a new page. Dark and straight, deep... intimidating. And then light swirls to clash with the dark and straight, a sign of Paintbrush's confusion and bafflement with the news. They kept drawing these abstract shapes- dark lines, light swirls, deep zig-zags cutting through the patterns, circles, squares, triangles, the 'gons- A LOT OF SHAPES.

Until they were left with an abstract art detailing their feelings on the news.

They stare at it for a while- it felt like forever, but it was pretty much two minutes- before they simply titled it "I don't know how to feel about Silver's pregnancy" on the back of the page before they closed their drawing journal, put it away so that nobody finds it, and leaned back against their chair, thinking for a while over the news.

That was... completely unexpected. Besides, was Silver okay? Did she want to have the baby? Was he going to abort it or keep it? Were her partners happy? Either way, they soon noticed the time and slowly got up from their drawing station.

And that's when Lightbulb struck again, because she hugged them from behind.

"Heyyy, baby~" She purrs, which caused a blush to start forming on Paintbrush's face.

"Hi, pussycat..." They mumble. "What do you need?"

"Just... Just you~..." Paintbrush watched as Lightbulb dug her head into the crook of Paintbrush's neck- 'her spot', as she called it. Though now, they felt her start to bite down on their neck, and Paintbrush blushed more before pushing her away a bit.

"Hey. No biting until we're in the bedroom together."

"Mmm~..." And she started to drag them towards their bedroom needily. Paintbrush just smirked and let her. They weren't going to deny their partner relief and pleasure, now were they?

"... Make sure we're safe about this," they comment and she just looked up at them before smirking. "Don't want the same thing that happened to Silver happen to us right now, right?"

"Oh we will~"

And they were dragged into their bedroom thanks to Lightbulb.

Chapter Text

Cabby loved being a woman. She loved everything about womanhood really. The empowerment, the looks, the community. Hell, most of the time she would even have moments when she was happy to have a period.

This was not one of those moments, as Cabby has gotten the worst thing in the world: severe period cramps. But luckily, they called in sick for work today.

Cabby laid in bed with her partner, Silver Spoon. Silver’s arms were around Cabby, and Cabby was in the crook of her arm. The two bonded in sharing these uncomfortable parts of life, pregnancy and periods were two sides of similar coins afterall. Cabby had a heating pad and Silver also enjoyed the warmth a bit as the two watched trashy soap operas.

“You’re lucky that you don’t have to go through this for another few months.” Cabby sighed in between episodes.

“I have to give birth in a few months though, which is the most painful thing ever from what I read,” he said. Silver had read plenty of baby books and such, but he was still a bit nervous and wanted to do well at parenting.

"At least you get someone cute out of it," Cabby playfully poked his stomach, before noticing the little bump that was there. "Oh my gosh, Silver. There's a bump.”

Silver looked down to where Cabby's hand was, sure as hell, there was a bump that was just noticeable. Silver felt surges of emotion seeing it, already loving this child fiercely.

Cabby felt similarly, she didn’t know if this child was biologically hers, but it was still her child. They belonged to her partner, and that was what mattered to her.

Nickel sat atop Balloon’s shoulders, dusting the shelf. Today Bot took over for Cabby, and it felt like the original Looney Balloonys again as Bot organized the files how Cabby liked them.

“So, congrats on the baby!” Bot exclaimed to fill the silence.

Balloon nodded. “Yup! I’m really happy about them!” He tapped his fingers happily.

“Silver has been extra cuddly with all of us recently,” Nickel chimed in.

“Yeah, the other day he wouldn’t let me out of bed for quite a while. She was very cute,” Balloon confirmed.

Bot stuck their tongue out at Balloon playfully. “Get your mushy love out of here!”

“My heart, it’s been hurt. Why would you ever not want to hear us gush about our partner.” Nickel placed a prosthetic arm to his eye, as if wiping a tear.

Bot gave him an almost affectionate look, Nickel and Balloon felt like siblings to them. Occasionally annoying ones, but they found it was really nice having a bit of a family group outside their creators.

“He’s your baby mama, not mine.”

Nickel finished dusting the shelves “Well, she’s absolutely amazing, so I don’t see why everyone wouldn’t wanna hear about him.” Nickel disembarked Balloon’s shoulders

That evening, Nickel and Balloon finished their chores and such. The two went to their room, where Cabby and Silver were cuddling and watching their trash TV.

“Hello dears.” Silver looked up at them, smiling.

“Hi Silver, hi Cabby.” Balloon went and sat with the two on the bed, Nickel following.

“Guess what happened!” Cabby’s voice was excited.

Nickel looked over. “What?”

“Silver has a bump!” Cabby exclaimed, and Silver ducked his head a bit, embarrassed.

Balloon placed his hand on Silver’s bump. “Oh–! There it is!”

“Well where else would it be? Under the bed? Next to those files Bot organized?” Nickel said sarcastically.

Balloon rolled his eyes in a playful manner, used to Nickel’s constant sarcasm, and even occasionally getting hits back.

“Alright you two, come over here,” Cabby held out her arms to them in a welcoming gesture. The four got into their usual cuddling position, and Nickel rested his head on Silver’s now visible bump.

Silver eventually convinced Nickel and Balloon to watch his awful soap operas, Nickel yelled at the TV whenever a minor inconvenience appeared and Silver would attempt to defend the choices a bit. It was nice for them to relax together, especially since their time would be taken up by a baby oh so soon.

Chapter Text

Cabby took a breath as she wheeled forward into the kitchen. Nickel, Balloon, and Silver were working to make breakfast for the group and Cabby was still suffering from period cramps. She felt so unnaturally tired, and while the pain has dulled significantly from yesterday, she still was in pain.

“I think I'm going to stay behind for today,” Cabby declared.

“Yeah, that'll work,” Balloon comments, not looking up from his cooking. “Besides, Silver Spoon needs an outfit for the party at Hotel OJ. We're leaving in a Algunos días de todos modos .”

“Yeah, exactly,” Nickel agreed. Cabby didn't understand Spanish, but that was okay.

“So I guess we'll be alone again,” Silver says while giggling. She seemed a bit more excited and whimsical this morning, and Cabby just had to giggle. He was happy today, and she wondered why…

Once Balloon and Nickel left for work, it was just Cabby and Silver Spoon. She had thankfully taken painkillers to adjust her period cramps once more, so the air was fairly content. And then Silver started stimming.

“You alright there? Is the TV too loud?” Cabby was concerned. They were watching the stupid soap opera that Silver liked for some reason, and now she's stimming negatively.

“N-n-no-” Silver stuttered. “I-I just haven't done my make-up…”

Cabby then understood not only why he wasn't happy right now, but also why she was excited earlier. Cabby knew how to make him happy.

“You wanna decide on party clothes right now?”

Silver Spoon stopped and whipped around to face her before smiling broadly and his eyes shining. That's when Cabby started teasing her.

“Oh look, it's the Autism creature-”

“YIPPEE!” Silver suddenly clung onto Cabby in a tight embrace. The disabled woman hugged him back.

The two would begin to wear suitable outfits for them, Silver helping Cabby with her clothes. But so far, nothing had satisfied Silver.

When Cabby rolled over to Silver’s closet to see what would potentially be a good fit for her, she noticed a few dresses hanging on one of the racks, near the corner of the closet. Some poofy, some flowing, but all fairly pretty.

Why would Silver Spoon wear dresses if he considers herself male? And then it hit Cabby.

He was comfortable with being feminine; just not female . That, and the whole reveal a few months before his pregnancy supposedly began when she told his partners about her gender fluidity, gave it away.

Cabby just grabbed a dress (which thank their Creators they were on a lower rack where she didn't need help to reach) before wheeling back over to Silver Spoon. The dress was one of the more flowing ones, and it looked like something he would wear frequently because of the shiny silver silk. It also had a flowering pattern, full of purples and blues.

“I found something that could fit,” she said quietly. Would Silver be mad at her for finding out she wore dresses? Or at least, she assumed Silver did.

Silver looked over and was surprised to find her holding the dress. He quickly grabbed and hastily looked over and felt the dress before looking up at her. Cabby was prepared for a scolding from her.

“Look, I’m sorry I pried-”

“No, Cabby, this is PERFECT!” His eyes were shining again and she looked oh so happy. Even happier than yesterday when the two had realized that he had a bump on his stomach. Her voice was also a bit higher pitch due to not taking testosterone thanks to his pregnancy. Either way, she looked happy.

“Really? Well that’s great!” Cabby smiled as she put her hands on her wheels, prepared to roll out of the room for Silver’s privacy. But instead, Silver gently placed his hands on top of her’s.

“Wait, dear. I want you to stay.”

“I-I mean- I don’t really want to pry into privacy- besides, I am sex-repulsed-”

“I know. I know you are. I probably wouldn’t be your partner if I didn’t respect that.” Silver then sighed. “But I think we should just… talk, for a while. We didn’t really do too much yesterday or today, so we might as well catch up. You’d know I want all of my partners to be at equal status before this kid arrives.”

“Already protective of them, I see?” Cabby teased, and that caused Silver to chuckle.

“I’d rather say him . I am fairly certain it is a boy.” Silver says this as she starts taking off his shirt. As she lifted the shirt over his head and shook her hair abroad, Cabby took in his top scars. They were old and faded, but they looked nice against her pale skin. Cabby’s eyes then trailed down to his stomach, where at just the right angle, she might see a little bump. She just couldn’t help but smile.

Her child, by their relationship, was there. And Silver’s been doing so well.

“I can already tell you’re going to be a good father,” Cabby comments.

“Am I?”

“I mean, you seem eager about your future son or daughter already.”

“... Touche.” She started slipping into the dress, pushing his head through the hole designated for it before her arms. As he looked over at the mirror, staring at her reflection, he suddenly felt a bout of nausea.

Cabby noticed this and quickly wheeled up to her and patted his back.

“You alright?” She asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Silver Spoon shakes her head before once more looking at his reflection. Oh, she just looked gorgeous.

“Yes, this will be perfect for me! Thanks, dear,” Silver cooed while hopping on one foot to the other before he gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked off, still wearing the dress. Cabby just blushed before wheeling over to her room and starting to write in a new file.

It was more-so a personal note, given all that Cabby had done. Tomorrow she’ll be working again and she’ll hand the responsibility of taking care of Silver to Nickel as she starts preparing for the trip. She also notes how Silver’s voice had gotten a bit higher due to the lack of testosterone he was taking and thank goodness he stopped. That would’ve been harmful for the child, she was sure.

The next day, the periwinkle suited woman rolled up to one of the shelves in the library, where Walkie-Talkie was leaning against some books.

“Hey Walkie-Talkie. Can you call everyone for a meeting over the intercom?” Cabby asked. If Walkie-Talkie had a head, she would’ve looked over at her.

“Oh sure!” Cabby nodded at her answer before wheeling onto the backside of the carpet. She heard the announcement over the intercom and soon, everyone within the library walls were near or on the round carpet, looking at her.

She’ll be fine. She remembers her public speaking lessons. She takes a deep breath in, exhales, and speaks.

“Thank you all for coming,” she began. “As you all may know, in about 31 hours, I’ll be leaving to head to the Hotel to deal with some further matters. I am making this announcement to decide who shall go with me and who will be running this library.”

Cabby opens the file with the premade script of who’s going and who’s taking control for the time being. She takes another deep breath, trying to ease the tension in her shoulders.

“Bot, you will run the library until we get back.” She looked up from her folder and Bot gave her a nod. Cabby continued. “If you have any questions about how things run or anything, you can ask Walkie-Talkie. And you have Goo and Clover to help you, I’m sure.”

“I do, and I promise I won’t let this place fall,” Bot vows.

Now for the list.

“Obviously, I’m going to take my partners with me. Not only because Balloon and Nickel have some friends from the Hotel they’d like to see again, but also I want to monitor Silver’s condition closely now that we all know what’s going on with her.

“I’d also like to take Paintbrush, Dr. Fizz, and Groscer. I wanted you all to prepare for the trip ahead of time, so I made final decisions last night. If you can’t go, please tell me or Bot before we leave.”

And the meeting was dismissed. Cabby felt like a weight was off of her shoulders. As everyone scattered once more, Groscer walked up to Cabby.

“You are fairly good at this whole ‘running the library’ thing, Ms. Cabby,” Groscer comments and Cabby just looked up at her from her file.

“Oh, thank you! I genuinely needed that right now, considering…”

“Silver’s pregnancy?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if it helps you out more, I’m sure you can balance both responsibilities somehow, Ms. Cabby. And I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful mother, no matter who the kid belongs to.”

Cabby smiled up at Groscer. She was glad someone she had looked up to for quite a while now actually was encouraging her. Though something felt… off.

“Hey, Groscer?” Cabby suddenly asked and the tall quad-armed woman turned back to the disabled woman.

“Yes, Ms. Cabby?”

“I have… a bit of an idea… relating to the ‘Ms.’ thing,” Cabby whispered. “Can we go to my office where my partners don’t overhear?”

Groscer just nodded her head and the two went into Cabby’s office. The disabled woman knew that she was pretty much for this next step. Something told her that she was prepared. She had a kid on the way.

She can do this.

Chapter Text

Silver Spoon watched the water. She found it oddly calming, waves lapping at the boat hungrily. Cabby was a bit behind them, talking to Nickel and Paintbrush by the food table.

Balloon was writing poetry near the edge of the boat, by the railing. He was more nervous about his poetry book falling than himself.

Silver watched Balloon as he wrote, a strange but not unpleasant feeling in his chest arising. Silver then decided to approach him.

“Hello,” Silver sat next to him.

Balloon looked over at her and smiled, “Hi.”

Silver was happy to silently sit next to Balloon and stay in his presence.

—

Cabby was eating next to Nickel, the two had cut a sandwich in half and were sharing.

“I wonder how the library’s holding up.” Cabby thought out loud.

“Bot’s responsible, they’re taking good care of it, I’m sure.” Nickel responded, wanting to ease his girlfriend’s worries.

“They’ve gone through a lot in the three years since they’ve been built, they’re definitely doing great.” Paintbrush added.

“It’s my library , my prize and joy, I can’t help but worry a bit.” Cabby sighed.

Nickel smirked a bit, about to use his favorite method of helping relieve tension: sarcasm.  “Hm. I wonder what other winner constantly frets over their prize when they have someone else incredibly capable who will keep in check while they relax.” 

Cabby relaxed a bit, Nickel’s familiar sarcasm was quite a good way to relax those he was close to. Paintbrush only rolled their eyes before walking away from the two. Cabby also left Nickel alone, rolling over to Groscer.

“Oh, hello Cabby.” The tall woman turned to Cabby and smiled.

“Hi.”

“Does this relate to current endeavors?”

“Yeah, it does.” Cabby rolled up beside Groscer, keeping her voice low so that her partners didn’t overhear.

“So… about your plan…”

“UGH, I just don’t think I can do both on the same day. Tell them about my identity AND propose, y’know. I think that’ll take way too much confidence and-”

“Cabby. You don’t have to tell them two things at once,” Groscer reassured, placing one of her golden hands on Cabby’s shoulder. “You can always say one when you get the confidence and wait until you gain it for the other.”

“I… I mean, what if they assume one or the other…”

“Well, still make it surprising. Unexpected.” Groscer waited for Cabby to reply, but when she didn’t, she continued. “I feel like telling them about your identity is going to take less confidence than proposing.”

“Y-yeah… but still, it takes a LOT of confidence.”

“Perhaps… you should get help from someone else.” And Groscer walks away from her. Cabby didn’t understand and felt quite frustrated. Why was she leaving her in the dust? She tried not to groan or facepalm, but that’s when a thought struck her.

Paintbrush. Of course!

She rolled off into their direction and was relieved to find them leaning over the railing, not talking to anyone… and in a spot away from their partners. She sighed softly and slowly rolled up to them.

“Well sir, we might have to perform a 14-week ultrasound when we get there,” Dr. Fizz said, looking over Silver’s bump. “Test Tube will help me with that.”

“Oh. Well that’s great,” Silver mumbled. Dr. Fizz only raised an eyebrow.

“Usually people would be excited to get their first ultrasound. You get to hear the kid’s heartbeat, after all.”

And he perked up again. That did sound exciting. She suddenly leaned over, interested.

“Tell me more.”

“I mean… can’t really say until during and after the ultrasound,” Dr. Fizz chuckled, looking up from his clipboard. “Just know that it’ll be exciting. For both you and your partners.”

“Heh… Who’d’ve thought I’d choose to keep this little bugger,” Silver mumbled, looking down at his belly.

“At least I’d help you if you didn’t.”

“True, true…”

“Silver! Come here!” That was Balloon, and Silver just nodded before running over to him, feeling a bit concerned.

“Balloon!?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine, querida ,” Balloon muttered before pointing down into the water. “Look!”

When Silver turned to look into the seawater, at first she didn’t see anything. But then she saw faint outlines and shadows swimming against the water.

“Is that-”

“ Pez. En concreto, peces voladores. ” Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow before Balloon sighed and clarified in English. “Flying fish.”

“Fish can FLY!?”

“These guys can GLIDE.”

“You’re joking,” Silver muttered and Balloon pointed to some of the fish about to take flight. They were leaving a distinct pattern in their wake and Silver soon noticed that it was their tails that were doing this. Finally, he saw the magic; the fish spread their translucent and white fins that looked like wings and glided for a little while.

Immediately, Silver’s eyes shone with obsession. She really wanted to know what other species were out there that were fairly unique. Of course, not all fish could fly or even glide, yet these small little guys can?

“Silver, you alright?” Balloon asked jokingly, patting his back. He looked back over at Balloon.

“Are there any other creatures that break the normal concept?”

“ ¿Qué quieres decir? ” Balloon tilted his head.

“Are there any more… unique creatures I should know about?”

“Oh! Yeah, there’s a lot of creatures! Though I think we should start with the caballito de mar .” Silver didn’t know what he meant and Balloon sighed once more.

“Seahorse?”

And that’s what got Silver to laugh.

Chapter Text

MePhone4 was in front of the line, leading the people from the boat into where the Hotel was. As they passed by the forest the II2 final four went through before the fifthteenth challenge, Balloon kept writing in his book of poetry. Silver looked over his shoulder, watching her boyfriend just writing away.

“Whaddya writing about?” He asked.

“Oh, just trying to write poetry for the fact it’s about to be autumn soon,” Balloon replied. Silver just nodded before gently placing her hand on top of his dominant hand. Balloon looked back up at him and the two shared a smile.

Meanwhile, Nickel made a fake retching sound which caused Paintbrush to chuckle.

“Love, amirite?” Nickel said after, laughing with them.

“Oh nooo, I really wouldn’t like it if I suddenly fell in love!” Paintbrush mocked, putting their right wrist against their forehead as a sign of fake defeat.

Eventually, they made it to the front doors of Hotel OJ. MePhone4 just silently pushed open the doors and stepped aside to allow the contestants inside. Almost every one of the Hotel residents was in the lobby. Including Test Tube.

Test Tube ran forward and met up with Cabby. “There you are!” she said.

“Hey, Test Tube…”

“I knew you’d show up! Come on, it’s party time!” The crowd cheered as they walked in. Silver felt a little subconscious in her dress, but after a bit he got comfortable.

Talking to many new people, it was no wonder that Silver was… confused with the new people, to describe it lightly. Most were boring, and the few who struck her with interest quickly faded. The Cherries were pulling pranks, Soap would always get away from him because apparently she had germs, and Salt would always talk about OJ. Yes, that got annoying quickly, and she wasn’t alone as she could tell her buddy Pepper was also fed up with Salt’s gushing. Seriously, how does she manage to turn every conversation into OJ?

Though one person kept his interest. Of course, Bomb did, but he was hard to communicate with mostly due to his condition, yet she was still respectful and tried his best to understand him. Plus, she wanted to talk to him because… Candle. Another reason to tease his friend.

But the person he was interested in is Knife. Knife already looked like a strong guy. Looking fairly buff and strong, with a scar across his face and cold blue eyes that could stare into your soul. A pair of denim jeans hugging his legs and waist and a seemingly baggy shirt under a black leather jacket. Most noticeable was the spiked collar and the silver short hair.

Normally, when Silver saw this type of person - edgy, punk, someone she shouldn't mess with - he always left them alone, no matter how strong or weak they looked. But the name caught Silver's interest. As in, his name… it sounded familiar.

Silver slowly walked up to Knife, her dress flowing behind him with every step. She then leaned against the wall, trying not to look like he wanted to talk to him.

Knife looked over at Silver after a minute. “Don't think I can get fooled. You wanna talk to me.”

“Yes, I do,” Silver blurted.

“Well, what else would you like to talk about? Perhaps that trip on the ship?” Knife asked, shrugging his shoulders.

“... Why not.” Silver then pushed herself away from the wall. “It was… fair. Not too much happened. We saw flying fish, however.”

“Hmm… The fisher boy told you about that?”

“Balloon? Yeah, he's my partner,” he hissed and she thought he saw Knife’s eyes widen.

“You REALLY Balloon's partner?” Knife asked, tilting his head as he uncrossed his arms.

“Yeah.”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Of course!”

“Did you cuddle him?”

“He cuddles me. My other partners do the same.”

“Did you fuck them?” Knife then asked, smirking. Of course, Silver was about to answer when she realized what he asked. A blush overcame his face as she stared at Knife in shock. The shorter man just kept looking at him smugly.

“Almost ran into that,” he proclaims before chuckling and then sighing.

“Yeah, I kinda almost did-”

“So… Polyamory, huh?”

“Y… yeahhh…” Silver says shyly and Knife suddenly offers his fist. She was brought back to their brotherly ‘handshake’ they'd do when leaving school. In which, Knife would have his fist covered by Silver’s hand.

…

Fuck it.

He slams her grip on Knife's hand. He thought she saw the buffer man’s eyes widen and a smirk couldn't help but form on Silver’s face. As she pulled his hand away from the handshake, Knife just kept looking up at her, seemingly in shock.

After what felt like a while, he spoke.

“I haven't seen that in a while.”

“I didn't think you have,” Silver said unintentionally coolly. Knife just kept looking up at him in a shocked and surprised manner before he began to laugh. Silver didn't understand why he was laughing until Knife suddenly pulled her down to his height by the arm and messed up his hair.

“Little bro!”

“I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU WERE BIG BRO!” Silver couldn't help but wrap Knife in a tight hug as he said that. All eyes were on them now as the two brothers hugged it out. Silver felt happy that she figured that out. It had literally been YEARS since they last saw each other. As the two pulled back, Knife sighed.

“How's life been?”

“Nice,” Silver answered. “Found out my gender, found my partners-”

“How did the transition go?”

“It was good. But then I realized I was Genderfluid. Still prefer to not have breasts, though.”

“Figured. Explains why you're in a dress.”

“Hey, it's a good dress!”

“I wasn't berating it, Little Bro.” Silver then noticed how Knife was looking at him, his eyes trailing her body before they landed on his stomach. Silver felt a bit worried. Was the bump that noticeable already?

“I thought you didn’t want to gain weight,” her older brother teased. Silver felt a lot of eyes still watching them. If he was going to announce her pregnancy, he’ll do this right. She takes a deep breath, just like Candle taught him, and speaks.

“I, um… That’s not me overeating.”

“It isn’t?” Knife then tilted his head and crossed his arms. “Well then what is it then?”

Silver Spoon looked over at the crowd, and her anxiety increased. He can’t do this. She can’t tell everyone, even if he wants to. Maybe it’s because of her stupid condition or it’s because this is such a big thing for him or-

Knife placed a hand on her back and Silver looked back over at him. The shorter man smiled at him before leaning over and whispering into her ear.

“You can tell me later if the atmosphere is too pressuring.”

And Knife was right. Silver didn’t have to tell anyone yet about his pregnancy. Besides, it was a very big announcement- she and her partners know how this’ll affect people. And Knife always knew how to care for his Little Bro. Their parents taught him how and why he was different.

Now, usually when you have two brothers who have been fairly rowdy and evil in the past, you’d assume that they probably had a bad upbringing. Well, you’re absolutely wrong. Knife and Silver were raised in a caring household. Their parents love them very much and the two very much wish they could show everyone about their lesbian parents who own a bakery in a popular square of a city.

Silver and Knife actually went to Knife’s Hotel room for privacy, letting the party continue on without more interruptions. As she went into his room, Knife closed the door behind him, again for privacy reasons. Knife’s room was fairly decked out, with various posters from certain rock and metal bands hanging on the walls and a polyamorous flag hanging over his bed. As Silver Spoon sat down on his bed, which had a fittingly dark gray sheet over the mattress, Knife sat beside him and looked over.

“So what didja want to tell me?” Knife had asked, and Silver was gonna sweep him off his feet with her answer. He took another deep breath just like before and revealed the truth.

“I’m expecting a kid.”

Chapter Text

As Silver slowly left Knife’s room, Knife closed the door behind her. He felt a huge weight rise off of her shoulders as he sighed happily. She has told his brother that he was going to be an uncle. Knife felt very shocked but still supported her and his endeavors.

But with the thought of Knife still in her mind, Silver was then reminded of Taco’s letter and quickly went back to the lobby. Once he got there, many of the contestants were simply talking or hanging out. Including Microphone, who was playing a game against Cheesy. Paintbrush was watching over the two and noticed Silver coming back into the lobby.

“Hey man,” they causally greeted and Silver only nodded. Paintbrush then tilted their head.

“Is everything alright?”

“Do you know where Nickel is?” Silver asked, ignoring their question. The blonde nodded before pointing towards where Nickel was. They were in a corner, talking with Balloon and two other people Silver didn't recognize. Then again, she didn't recognize most of the Hotel residents.

Silver walked up behind them and cleared his throat. Nickel looked over their shoulder.

“Silver Spoon!” They greeted and went in for a hug. She begrudgingly accepted.

“Is that your partner?” The plus-sized man spoke up and Silver just looked up at him and was very shocked.

“Yeah, she is,” Balloon clarified. As he turned back to Silver, a teasing smile swept across his face. 

“Surprised you're the same height as him?”

“I- Wh- Shut up!” Silver was fairly flustered and it caused Balloon to chuckle. His other friend, a shorter, but around the same height as Balloon, brunette haired girl, also laughed with him.

Nickel also laughed with them before turning back to Silver. “So why are you here? Did you need something?”

“Um… yeah, my purse,” he muttered and Nickel nodded before grabbing their bag, unzipping the largest pocket, and pulling out Silver’s leather-like purse. She quickly grabbed it and nodded before beginning to walk back to the rooms.

Then he stopped. How the fuck will she know which room is Microphone’s? The only real answer is that he'll have to listen into everyone's rooms just to find her and even then she doesn't know what Mic sounds like. Besides, it's an invasion of privacy! He can't have that.

Sure, she could go find Knife again and talk to him, but what if he gets suspicious? Silver knows his relationship with Taco, and it's oh so bad. He can't just tell him; she already got his relationship with her brother back, he doesn't want to ruin it now.

But perhaps…

Silver Spoon walked back to the lobby and started looking for a specific person. Who she eventually found setting up the dining table for dinner.

OJ.

They had… not the best time working together, but if anyone knows where everyone lives, it's him. The thought of him getting suspicious of why he'd want to find Microphone was pushed down as she walked up to OJ.

“Hello there,” he greeted, causing OJ to turn to Silver.

“Oh, it's you. The one who dethroned ‘the king of Inanimate Insanity’.” OJ crossed his arms, a napkin still in his right hand. “What do you want?”

“I’m looking for Microphone. Knife mentioned her while we were talking in private and I was wondering if you knew where she was?”

OJ tilted his head and Silver thought that that wasn't a good lie. That, or OJ being bitter about how his elimination in III went. But then, OJ sighed.

“She's in her room,” they answered. “Didn't want to come to the party because we've gotten reports of Taco joining Test Tube when she went to the library.”

“She… did. Though I believe she's staying at the library now, so that's a weight off of your shoulders,” she said. OJ's eyes widened.

“Don't tell Cabby I said that,” Silver quickly added.

“... Fine. Microphone’s room is on the second floor, room 204. It should be the second door on your right,” OJ sputtered. Silver nodded before starting to walk back to the rooms before Cabby suddenly came up to him.

“Oh, hey Silver! I was wondering if it was okay to tell the others about-”

“Yeah, yeah it is,” she quickly permitted before running off, clutching his purse. Cabby tilted her head.

“What's got him in a rush?”

“She needed to talk with someone,” OJ simply answered, keeping his mouth shut on what Silver told him as he set down a plate. “Anyways, what did you want to tell me?”

“Oh yeah. Silver’s pregnant.” Cabby's news caused OJ to slam down the glass he was putting down, which thankfully didn't break. They slowly craned their neck in her direction, a bewildered look on his face.

“He’s WHAT!?”

Silver heard the elevator make a little ding! noise before she stepped in, nerves hit him. She was often anxious and had absolutely no idea if Microphone would yell or be angry, or if she’d throw the letter out a window, or if she’d start crying and she’d have to awkwardly comfort him, what if, what if, what if.

The elevator dinged, Silver’s anxiety spiked. It was so soon. Too soon. She wasn’t ready, not yet. His knees felt like they’d collapse, and she grasped to anything he knew could calm her down. He latched onto Taco’s words, and the regret she knew she felt, because he had felt it too in the past. She also tried to use the techniques that Candle taught her, counting the buttons on the panel and quietly whispering the things that were around him. She finally was able to breathe again and stood up, he’d just knock on the door, go: “I was told to deliver this to you!” quickly and sprint.

Silver looked for the door, only shaking a little, and she was tired of walking. He’d have to do a fair bit of exercise after the birth to get used to walking around for more than 10 minutes again. Silver found her hand touching his stomach, she’d often zone out and find himself with a hand on her stomach. Cabby had said it was ‘endearing’ once when she pointed it out to him when they were eating a week ago.

Slowly, Silver walked up to the correct room. Room 204. Microphone’s room. The nerves washed over her once more but he managed to calm down faster this time than when in the elevator. Deep breath in… out…

She knocked on the door and Microphone answered seconds later. The dark-skinned woman looked slightly nervous herself. Neither spoke for a little while, but Silver seemingly got the confidence faster than her.

“... Hi.”

“Hey,” she replied shyly. Silver then just randomly threw the letter at her, her hands barely catching it as he started to speed walk off.

“Ihavealetterfromsomeoneyousuedtoknow, okaybye-”

“Wait.”

Silver stopped and slowly turned towards Microphone, confused. She sighed.

“Is it from Taco.”

“Yes…”

“I swear to fucking god.”

“Look. She told me to give that to you, alright? It isn’t a love letter or anything,” Silver replied, quickly trying to dispel any conflict relating to the letter. Mic just sighed.

“I’ll think about reading it. But she has to know.”

“Know what?” She asked.

“Know that she doesn’t need mine or Pickle’s forgiveness in order to move on. I don’t have to forgive her; she doesn’t need it anyway.”

Silver’s eyes widened. She didn’t think about that when accepting Taco’s offer. Probably because the fanboy in her was screaming internally when she visited him that one time. It was very exciting for her.

“I… didn’t think about that,” Silver admitted. Mic crossed her arms before looking over Silver’s body. He braced for the moment Mic would ask her why a guy was wearing a dress. But instead, a smirk formed on her face.

“Nice dress.” That caused Silver to help and she was about to start stimming.

“Th-thank you.”

“So you’re Knife’s brother, right?”

“Yeah. Silver Spoon.”

“Well, ain’t that interesting.”

“Almost as interesting as me expecting a kid,” Silver flashed and Microphone’s eyes widened. Safe to say she wasn’t expecting that, as the Hotel would then hear a singular loud exclamation coming from her. A halt for even a beat.

“WHAT!?”

Chapter Text

Silver Spoon was once again back in the lobby area. He had told Mic, now she assumed his partners told at least some of the others about her condition.

It felt nice, not feeling like he had to hide it anymore, not having the burden of carrying a message to someone. She sighed out of relief… or he would, had she not gotten pregnant.

Silver heard Dr. Fizz’s words echo through his mind. “Well sir, we might have to perform a 14 week ultrasound when we get there.” Yes, it was time. Time for her first ultrasound. Dear God, a weight suddenly dropped back on his shoulders as those words were replayed in her mind. Though it was easy to admit that Silver had lost track of how far along he was. What was it, 15 weeks now? She’s already about to be halfway done? Man, time flies.

Silver looks around before seeing Cabby talking with Test Tube and Paintbrush. He felt a bit nervous and began to tremble a little. Why was it so hard to walk up and tell them about what Dr. Fizz told her?

Suddenly, his anxiety spiked. Her knees started trembling and his eyes just looked around frantically. She looked paralyzed, like a deer in the headlights. Seriously, for the second time today? Should he blame the stress of the upcoming ultrasound, or her hormones, maybe even his autism?

Whatever was the cause, she slowly began to breathe ragged breaths as he remembered something Candle taught her. He slowly begins naming the people around her, as he had remembered the guest list.

Okay, so Trophy was in the corner talking with Cheesy. Soap was gossiping with Salt and Pepper, Pickle and Knife were gaming, and Yin-Yang and the Cherries were messing around with Bomb. Suitcase, Baseball, Nickel, and Balloon were reminiscing about their time on II, and there's the interaction happening in front of her between Paintbrush, Test Tube, and Cabby. The rest were in their rooms, including Microphone and Tissues, and OJ, Paper, and MePad were working on the dinner table together.

Silver breathed a sigh of relief. He no longer felt frozen in fear. That was actually calming and kind of fun. She'll have to do it again sometime. But for now, he took a deep breath and walked up to Cabby.

Cabby looked up at her as he walked up to her. “Oh, hey Silver,” she greeted.

“Hi.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” Test Tube walked up to Silver and lowered her voice. “Dr. Fizz told me about how we had to do an ultrasound for you.”

“I know,” she whispered back.

“Well? Are you ready?”

“... Yeah, I am.”

“Just know, this WILL reveal the biological parent. I made it do that…”

“Nice, thank you…”

He sees Paintbrush walk away, towards where Balloon, Nickel, Baseball, and Suitcase are still talking. They’re most likely telling Nickel and Balloon that it was time for the ultrasound. Silver’s nerves weren’t exactly calmed, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. In fact, she thought this anxiety was now pleasurable. Finally they’ll know who technically fathered the child, the four of them.

As Silver slowly laid on the hospital-like bed, the nervousness from before was still with him. Balloon, Nickel, and Cabby were nearby, watching her with interest. His two boyfriends were just watching, but Cabby seemed to be writing something down in one of her files and mouthing something. Whatever it was, she still was glad the three were there.

Test Tube walked up to his bedside and looked over at her, pulling a machine beside her. He knew it was the machine that'd display and monitor the ultrasound, but she still felt pretty nervous. Of course he would; it's her first ultrasound.

And when the test began, he calmed her nerves as soon as possible before Test Tube found the fetus. At first, neither Silver nor his partners could see it, but once Test Tube pointed towards it and muttered “There it is”, Silver would begin to clamp and unclamp her hands repeatedly.

That was his son or daughter, curled up and protected from the outside world until the day arrived. Silver Spoon looked very happy. If she could move, he'd be stimming.

“Look at that, Silver,” Nickel spoke, which caused Silver to look over and notice her partners now beside him.

“I'm looking,” she whispered.

“Oh, it's so pretty… I don't want to wait too much now…” Balloon muttered. Test Tube began to chuckle as Cabby kept writing down things on her file.

“What's so funny?” Silver asked, ready to berate Test Tube if it was something he found offensive. Test Tube just laughed louder and that's when Cabby looked up from writing in her file.

“Test Tube, what is it?” Cabby jabbed. When the green-haired lady finally calmed down, she smiled.

“Of course a father wouldn't want to wait for his kid to be born.”

Nickel was confused. So was Balloon. So was Cabby. Silver Spoon looked over at Test Tube and asked “What do you mean?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Test Tube asked, still smiling. “Balloon is the biological father.”

Everyone's eyes widened and they all had the same reaction. Hands clasping something, their faces turning red, and an exclamation just like when OJ and Microphone learned about Silver’s pregnancy.

“WHAT!?”

Balloon slowly walked back into the lobby. His heart was still racing and the news was still fresh in his mind. Nickel was walking beside him, their nerves also activated from the news. Cabby and Silver were in the front, Cabby's hand on Silver's lower back. Nobody spoke.

Cabby looked behind her, at her boyfriends. “I'm going to put Silver Spoon in his room,” she whispered. The two only nodded and as their partners went to their hotel room, Nickel suddenly turned to Balloon.

“You really did do it, man!” They hissed playfully. Balloon just hit Nickel on the shoulder.

“Heh, guess I did,” Balloon chuckled out. Suddenly, they heard a voice beside them.

“Hey guys!”

“Oh, hey Suitcase,” Nickel greeted while running up to her and Baseball. Balloon followed behind.

“We were wondering why you had to leave so early,” Baseball questioned, tilting his head. That caused the thought to return to Balloon.

“Voy a ser padre…”

“What?” Right. Baseball didn't know Spanish. He took it for granted this time, but Nickel placed their robotic hand on his shoulder for comfort. Though, he didn't notice Suitcase's eyes being wide with shock.

She was Mexican. He was Costa Rican. The two were bilingual, Spanish their first language and English their second. But unlike Suitcase, Balloon had a familial reason why he had to learn English, and that was because of his family owning a fishing business and having to talk to mostly people from Canada and the United States. Balloon nodded.

“Puedes decírselo, Maleta. Estoy segura de que lo entenderá.”

Suitcase nodded back before making the motion for Baseball to lean down. Once he did, she whispered into Baseball's ear the news. And the next thing Balloon knew, Baseball was hugging him tightly.

“I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU! OH MY GOD!”

“Hehehe, I know… You can tell the people if you'd like!” Balloon giving his consent is all of what Baseball needed in order for the whole hotel to hear the news.

“BALLOON IS HAVING A KID!”

Yes, that would probably cause some noise complaints against them, but Balloon felt like the world was going faster now. A weight was lifted off of their shoulders. A new instinct seemed to overwhelm him as he thought about the life growing inside of Silver.

It was his. Their son or daughter was his. It was ‘su hijo o hija, su hijo y sangre’ as his father would call him and his siblings when they were born. Another family tradition he will keep with this child. This feeling… It was fatherhood.

…

He couldn't wait to tell his family over in Costa Rica what happened.

Chapter Text

Silver was leaning on Cabby as the two sat on the couch. Despite the summer skies outside, an autumn-themed party was about to begin. Dinner was set, though, so the Hotel residents and their guests got to eat first. Silver did absolutely need something to refresh her and get his energy back, especially when pregnancy was going to take a lot of energy. Not that it hasn’t already.

Silver Spoon sat down beside Balloon and, well since the news was out, they held hands on the table. Some of the others commented on the subtle act, but others just ignored it. Nickel and Cabby sat beside Balloon, and Silver’s left had Paintbrush sitting near their friends.

It felt great. The stress of not having to hide the secret of her condition was gone now; now that pretty much everyone knew, Silver wasn’t shy. Still, he very much didn’t like the commotion. She never did, and he knew why.

As she slowly rocked back and forth as he ate her food, he noticed something and leaned over to Balloon.

“Heh… I don’t think I’m puking anymore,” she muttered.

“Oh, that’s great! Glad they decided to let your sickness up after a while,” Balloon praised while nuzzling their lover’s cheek. Silver just tapped his feet against the ground a little.

Cabby’s hands, meanwhile, were twiddling a little. She was very happy about Balloon being the biological parent, but she was more-so focused on her coming out to her partners. She was writing her script during the time while they were in Test Tube’s lab, and it felt like today would be the day she had gained the confidence to come out. As she was eating, the thought couldn’t leave her mind.

“Cabby, you alright?” Nickel suddenly asked, putting their prosthetic hand on her shoulder. The woman looked over at him and smiled tiringly.

“Oh… Just a bit tired, but I’m fine otherwise,” she croaked.

“Want me to bring you to your room?”

“Not right now, no…”

“The boat ride back is going to be long and tedious…”

“I still don’t wanna.”

“Alright.” Nickel then went back to eating and Cabby sighed gratefully. Oh, she’s happy she has a partner like Nickel who didn’t need to understand what was going on. Something in her heart was fluttering.

…

She SHOULD tell them.

After the dining part was the dance. Everyone was having a ball. Even OJ and Paper, who everyone knew they were stressed at the whole Hotel running thing, were dancing their worries away!

Cabby sat in a corner and watched her partners. Nickel was once again talking with Baseball and Suitcase, but she was mostly watching Silver Spoon and Balloon. Simply put, they were slow dancing, even when upbeat and energetic music was playing. It felt… out of place, yet it also was Silver’s character. She had shown time and time again that he was very graceful in her moves, and would therefore always lead when slow dancing with a partner. He was very gentle too. Balloon wasn’t the most fantastic dancer, yet with Silver he fell nicely in rhythm.

As Cabby watched the party go on, Silver and Balloon would come up to her.

“Hey guys,” she greeted.

“Are you alright? You’ve been in the corner for a little while.” Balloon tilted his head, while Silver just stayed silent.

Cabby sighed. “I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Will you not get mad at me?”

“Of course not, dearie,” Silver mumbled. Cabby took another breath.

“So before the boat ride, I was thinking about how sometimes I didn't associate with being female. So me and Groscer were looking into it, a-and I found a better label for me.

“I'm Genderdoe. I sometimes feel like a girl, sometimes I feel like I'm something different, but never anything masculine. I am still biromantic, I am still asexual, I am still transfeminine, I am technically Genderfluid except I don't identify with anything masculine.”

“That’s wonderful, honey,” Silver Spoon chirped before walking forward and kissing her on the forehead. Cabby blushed and tried hiding their face between her shoulders. She just giggled in response.

“I’m glad you told us that,” Balloon whispered before tilting his head. “Do you have any pronouns we’d like to call you from now on?”

“She and they, please.”

Balloon just nodded before grabbing Silver’s hand. “C’mon. Let’s continue dancing,” he muttered and Silver only nodded. Right as they got back on the dance floor, a slow song began to play and various residents began to slow dance with each other. Silver grabbed onto Balloon’s shoulders and began leading him through the dance.

One step in front of her foot, two steps back, slowly turning, leading him along… leading the father-to-be along… Balloon moved his hands, perhaps he could dip. That’s what Silver did; she fell behind and Balloon leaned forward, catching him. Quickly, Silver looked up at him and grabbed his shoulders before pulling them into a kiss.

Balloon was surprised but took it as a note that he was doing something right. He slowly started to kiss back when Silver’s tongue slipped into their mouth. That’s when Balloon pulled back, already lost in the air. Silver Spoon just frowned, but it was more so a comedic pout than an actual sad expression.

“Babe, you gotta relieve the hormones,” she whined playfully, which caused Balloon to giggle.

“Yeah, well, not in front of everybody. Don’t think they like us being lovey-dovey.”

“But dear, the HORMONES!”

“Keep it down or I’m stopping this dance.”

“Damn you,” Silver spat at them which caused the two to laugh about it before continuing to dance. Nickel was now watching and smiled as the two had their fun on the dance floor. As they watched their two lovers dance together, MePad suddenly walked up to them.

“Nickel. Can we discuss personal matters?” He asked. They looked back at him and just nodded before being led away by the tall robotic figure. As they left the lobby, Nickel couldn’t help but sneak a glance at their partners, who were having fun at the party. But whatever MePad wanted, it was important, and they knew he didn’t take denial so easily. So, with a sort-of regretful sigh, Nickel left to go talk with the assistant.

Chapter Text

Knife hugged Silver, tighter than expected. He really didn’t want him to leave, now that they had reunited after a long while. As Silver pulled away, Knife looked up at her.

“Take care of yourself, alright?” He asked, still holding onto his hand.

“Of course, big bro. I promise I’ll follow my cravings… no matter how weird they get,” Silver chuckled. The shorter laughed alongside her, enjoying that they were still brothers in arms, even if they were separated for… what, over a decade now?

Knife would just watch as the gang who came from the boat began to leave the Hotel, having said good-bye to everyone. But yet, they had taken MePad along with them. Something about wanting to talk to someone who was at the Hotel. Knife could easily tell that he just wanted to see Taco again, which he had… mixed feelings about.

As he sat down on the couch in the living room, he leaned against his partner Microphone, his head resting on her shoulder and his hand spread out on her thigh. The room was oddly quiet, for such a public place within the Hotel. Then again, it was early in the morning and Knife had to say good-bye to his little sis before he left. The two just wanted to go back to bed with their other partner, but the adrenaline was already starting to catch up to the couple.

Microphone soon paused the game she was playing on the TV, the volume turned down as to not wake anyone else above, and looked over at Knife.

“You doing alright?” She asked. Knife just hummed a little before starting to rub her thigh with his hand. It was subtle, an intimate gesture, one they had done before, but it still felt nice and comfortable.

“Knife, you gotta answer man.”

“I don't gotta answer shit,” he mumbled, which caused Microphone to giggle.

“Yeah you do. Come on, Greaser. Spit it out, you future uncle.”

“DON'T call me Greaser,” he growled, now looking up at her. But he fell silent at the mention of him being a future uncle.

These feelings just start to overwhelm him. He doesn't know what these feelings were, but they felt… protective. Like it's a natural instinct. Sure, he's protective of the people he cares about, including Microphone and Pickle, but this feeling of protection felt different. Something he, or really anyone, could assume to be the feelings one would gain when being an aunt or uncle for the first time.

His eyes softened as he looked back up at Microphone. “Kind of wild that I'm gonna be an uncle, huh?”

“Yeah, I know! Feels disorienting, huh?”

“Yeah… And you're gonna be an auntie~” Knife teased.

“Nuh-uh! I'm not Silver’s sibling!” Microphone chuckled.

“Yeah, but you're his girlfriend-in-law, meaning you'd be an aunt-in-law.”

“Okay, you got me there.”

“Glad to know I'm right,” Knife gruffly laughed out. Microphone joined in on the feeling as she continued to play her game.

For about an hour or so, Knife watched Mic play through the game and helped her out. It was a classic from 2017 - Sonic Mania. More specifically, the Plus version from 2018. Mic was struggling on Flying Battery Zone, Act 2.

“No, go that way,” Knife told her. She moved right.

“No, the other way!”

“I don't know where I'm going!” Microphone laughed out and Knife just chuckled.

“I thought you were good at this game.”

“YEAH. As TAILS. But I'm RAY and flying with him is a load of bullshit!"

Knife nodded. “That’s fair.”

The two transitioned into a comfortable silence, Microphone concentrating while Knife would occasionally shout a direction to go or an item to get. Eventually, Knife heard the subtle footsteps of someone entering the living room. He thought it was OJ, coming down to get to work on breakfast, but to his surprise, he saw Pickle coming into the living room, still in his pajamas and slippers.

“Hey dude, what’s up?” Knife asked, his arm resting on the couch frame as he looked behind him. The green haired guy sat down beside him, while Microphone was still playing the game.

“Ahhh… Nuthin’...” Pickle groaned before noticing what Microphone was playing.

“No, don’t hit the star-shaped thing. That’s a bumper.”

“Seriously?” Mic asked and so she decided to test it by quickly jumping into the bumper as soon as the bossfight began. Sure enough, Ray was pushed in the opposite direction with supposedly the same momentum as when he ran into the bumper, Knuckles following suit.

As Microphone continued with the bossfight, Pickle leaned against Knife and the two talked for a little while, occasionally breaking conversation to cheer Microphone on. But yet the nagging feeling of being a future uncle messed with him. But he noticed how Pickle and Microphone were having fun and simply made a quick image of him caring for his nephew or niece.

…

Hell yeah, he can do this.

Chapter Text

Silver, Balloon, Bot, and Goo sat on one side of the table, while Candle sat on the other. They were about to start their roleplaying session, kinda like D&D. Though, Silver and Candle wanted to make it very special.

They were going to do a gender reveal. They already know what gender the kid was, but they haven’t told anyone else. Until today. They had established a plan and everything. Now hopefully, nothing is sabotaged.

Silver Spoon looked over at Balloon, who was talking with Bot and Goo. He had an arm wrapped protectively around her belly, which was now more round and prominent. Slowly, day by day, he was getting gravid. She could feel movement in there, and every time he did, Silver would start stimming. It was both a fairly intimate but also uncomfortable feeling. Sure, this was her kid and he was bearing it and letting it grow, but even she had to admit that having something alive moving within you felt like something out of a horror or sci-fi movie.

He slowly began rubbing her stomach as Candle spoke, making all attention go to her.

“Now, we shall begin with a bit of the world background.” Candle turned towards a page in her book and began to read. “The land of Shervoska is full of natural beauty. From frost-covered mountains to sunset tides, Shervoska is a land representing peace and love and it could be seen by the prominent fact that the whole world was covered by cherry blossoms. Soulmates are seen with bracelets on every arm, color-coded to reveal their status.”

Bot and Goo were leaning forward in interest while Balloon looked over at Silver and placed a hand on his arm which was over her stomach.

“You alright?” They asked and Silver only nodded.

The campaign began with Balloon’s character in the bar, playing the card game with an NPC. Balloon was winning, when suddenly two characters ruined his game which started a fight. And then Bot and Goo snuck them out of the bar and they met Silver’s character at the square before going to a different tavern.

The moment they opened, they dispersed.

Though Silver couldn’t take his mind off of the gender reveal. What if something goes wrong? What if they get the gender wrong? Really, what if anything she was doing these past five or so months was wrong? Is the child hurt? Maybe it’s already dead? Nono, if it was, he’d be bleeding. And that’s when she has an anxiety attack. One that was worse than the others he endured during pregnancy.

Literally, she was hyperventilating and couldn’t focus on anything. He didn’t even notice the campaign stopping, everyone getting up to comfort her, the hands on his body but nowhere near her stomach, which was a bit comforting. It was like everyone knew that he was panicking over the child.

Eventually, a voice cut through her head. No, it wasn’t Candle. Or Balloon. Or Bot or Goo. It was something he wasn’t expecting.

“Breathe. Everything is alright,” her Golden Glow’s voice rang out in his mind. Her eyes widened, still staring off into space.

He just silently muttered “Why help me? Why help me after what we did in the Finale?”

“Because you are still my host, ” it explained. “I was created to honor your best desires. But even I know when you need me to step in.”

“B-but what if you tell them-”

“I want you to trust me just this once, master. I won’t tell anyone. I am just going to control your mind for a little while until you CAN tell them. Your eyes will glow green and some of you might shine gold, but I will not enter my full form.”

…

“Alright.” It was all she had to say before feeling himself pass out as her Golden Glow took control of his mind during the panic attack. It opened their glowing green eyes to the group standing over them.

“Silver? Are you alright?” Bot was the first to ask. It just nodded, staring at them as they slowly got up.

“Do I need to cancel the session or let you go?” Candle then asked. To which, they responded.

“No.”

Everyone was relieved. In their eyes, Silver Spoon was feeling better and was alright with continuing the session. Even Balloon felt very comforted by the fact that Silver was okay.

But Candle sensed who was really in control of her body, their body. The Golden Glow seemed to sense this, because the two would just stare awkwardly at each other. Or perhaps awkwardly on Candle’s side; it had a stony glare on their face as they sat down.

The session continued and the four even had been involved in a bar fight, to which the Golden Glow utilized the dagger to slash someone in the leg. Somehow, it rolled a Nat 20.

During the bar fight, however, Balloon would rush into a room… only to find a gravid woman also hiding in the room. Balloon’s character felt a bit awkward, but then the woman brought up her situation; not knowing what gender the kid was. Balloon was gullible and didn’t realize it, but Bot and Goo immediately knew what Candle’s plans were.

That’s when Golden Glow was talking with Silver’s subconsciousness again.

“You ready? This is your cue,” it urged. Silver Spoon was surprised at the care in its voice and quickly had to ground himself before saying-

“Yeah, I’m ready to tell them now.”

Slowly, the world came back to Silver. She could see and speak and feel everything again, and while he always could hear the chaos of the players and DM within their session, she was just glad he was in control again.

She looked over at Candle and simply and silently nodded. Candle smirked and nodded back before bringing out the pendulum she had always adorned - a gold chained wire with a coned amethyst dangling at where it connected. She then slowly got up.

That’s when it clicked in Balloon’s head. As Silver gently laid back on the cold floor, the other three were watching intently as Candle sat down beside him.

“As the woman lays down, you hold up your ring which is tied to the string-” Which is supposed to be the pendulum. “-to her swollen belly. After a moment, the pendulum begins to move in a certain direction.” And that’s when the back and forth motion commences. “While you might not be able to tell what the final result is, the woman can tell better than you. ‘Oh, it looks to be a boy,’ she comments. As you soon stand up and untie the string around your ring, she gets up and thanks you.”

“So it’s…”

“It’s a boy.”

Balloon didn’t have any reaction for a moment as they took it in, but then ran up to Silver Spoon and hugged her tightly, feeling like he was going to cry. Before long, though, Balloon looked between them.

“How did you know?” He whimpered. Silver smiled soberly, knowing it might break his heart that they weren’t there to see the result.

“We snuck away to the doctor’s to get the gender just so we could form a surprise,” he explained. “I-I understand you might feel a little upset about the fact you skipped that, but-”

“No, no. That was absolutely worth it. Thank you…”

“You’re welcome, darling.” Silver would give Balloon a kiss on the forehead before the two just sat there, on the cold floor, rubbing each other’s backs. Candle, Bot, and Goo just watched the scene before Goo asked a good question.

“Sooo… Is this where our session ends?”

“Oh, of course,” Candle answered, tilting her head. “Though I’d like to continue this campaign sometime. Maybe within the next few weeks?”

“I’m up for that,” Bot replied. “Maybe the 23rd?”

“Perfect.”

Chapter Text

Silver slowly laid down in bed, her feeling weighted and more sick tonight then normal. Sometimes he had days like this, days where she just felt uncomfortable and shitty. All because of his son nestled in her belly, which was getting heavy.

Balloon sat down beside him, talking to himself in Spanish about how they just finished the nursery, before noticing Silver curled up in bed.

“You’re cute when you do that, y’know?” They teased.

“Shut up,” she groaned and Balloon only chuckled before noticing the tears in his eyes. He recognized when she was having his hormones go crazy from days like these. So Balloon laid beside her and held him close.

“ Ahí, ahí. Todo va a estar bien… ”

“ Je ne pense pas, ” she mumbled.

The two boys giggled together as Cabby and Nickel entered their room.

“I think the nursery is ready now,” Cabby announces, which causes Silver to look up from her cuddling session with Balloon. He smiled.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” Her eyes shone, thinking about their son. Today marked the beginning of the final trimester, which meant they didn’t have to wait long before welcoming their son home.

“I’m sure he will.”

“C-can’t wait… I just want this to end…”

“Well, three more months and you get to meet your little guy~” Nickel chuckled.

“That’s too loooooooong…”

Suddenly, Silver felt something. A small amount of movement within his womb. Was her son moving? As he felt Balloon begin to rub her stomach, a suddenly push against the interior of the womb caused him to suddenly curl up and flip to the other side of the bed, her arms wrapped around his belly.

“Silver?” Cabby was getting concerned. So was Nickel. So was Balloon. But Silver would look back with stars in her eyes and tears streaming down his face.

“He just… kicked…”

“DID HE!?” Nickel suddenly shouted as they jumped into bed, causing Silver and Balloon to yelp. But Nickel didn’t care, as they wrapped their body around Silver Spoon’s. They soon felt another kick.

“Holy shit, he IS kicking…”

“Be careful next time!” Silver scolded them. “You could’ve given him brain damage!”

“Silver, I think the kid’s fine. He’s still kicking, right?” Balloon felt her belly and sure enough, they felt another kick. He smirked before beginning to cuddle the two.

They were like that for a moment before Cabby cleared her throat.

“I’m right here.” She was clearly jealous. The three boys began to snicker and giggle at how jealous she looked, but they all knew it was lighthearted and that she was glad Silver was alright.

Once they all went to bed, Balloon and Silver were giggling to each other about what to name the baby… which caused a bit of a bickering session to commence.

“I think we should name him something like Diego,” he whispered.

“Nuh-uh! Felix is a wonderful name!”

“Alejandro?”

“Nope.”

“Antonio! Leonardo! Carlos!”

“You’re losing this fight by only tossing out names without a given reason.”

“Not even Juan?”

“That’s one ugly name.”

“No! It’s funny where I come from! Ever seen that picture of the horse on the balcony?”

“HOW DO YOU GET A HORSE ON A BALCONY!”

“I didn’t! It’s called a meme for a reason!”

“Well I don’t understand your culture…”

“I’ll make you learn it just like how I made you carry-”

“THAT was accidental. No wait- THIS-” Silver placed a hand on her bump. “-was accidental. But you still caused it!”

“Touche.”

“No use of French around me. It’s touché .”

Balloon would grow tired. Very tired. And he snuggled up to Silver Spoon before falling asleep. Silver just sighed before feeling a bout of sickness starting to form in his throat. Silver didn’t want to move, but she also didn’t want to ruin their bed or Balloon’s pajamas. He knew Balloon liked those PJ’s so much…

But thankfully, her throat stopped tightening. He slowly fell asleep to the sound of the fan overhead circling around. She needed white noise to sleep, and so the fan was always turned on at this time. Before he did succumb to slumber, however, she kissed Balloon on the forehead, silently telling them that he’ll stay with him tonight.

Chapter Text

It was a nice day. October was the month. Cabby, Nickel, Balloon, and Silver Spoon were all walking around the neighborhood, getting some fresh air. It was chilly, so everyone was wearing jackets and sweaters and scarves on their walk. Even Silver, whose stomach is still poking out a good amount even underneath the sweater she was wearing.

Silver looked over at his partners as they made it to a bench. Nickel, Balloon, and Silver sat down on the teal wooded bench while Cabby rolled up to be beside them.

"Oh, how lovely this day is," Silver sighed as she leaned back, an arm around his belly. Balloon and Nickel silently agreed. Today was a nice day.

Cabby, meanwhile, was having an eternal conflict. And it was... similar to last time, when she told her partners that she was Genderdoe. This time, she was concerned about proposing to her three partners. Would they even accept such a thing? This wasn't like coming out, no, this would literally change their entire LIVES ! Sure, they already have something like that happening, but still. 

Can they deal with TWO things that'll change their lives?

Maybe. Maybe not. She was getting too scared to know. Cabby didn't really understand how they could react. Would they accept? Deny? If they did deny, is it because they have enough on their shoulders with Silver's pregnancy or is it simply the wrong time? What if they're not ready? What if-

"Cabby?" Nickel's voice snapped Cabby out of her thoughts. They were looking over in concern, all three of her partners. She sighed and tried covering her stresses up.

"I'm fine, Nickel. Just... stressed about the library."

"Cabby, you know Bot and Goo have the library handled, right?" Balloon then asked. "They managed to at least not burn it down while we were at Hotel OJ."

"R-right! But still, I just... I-I don't want to stress you guys out with my worrying, especially on such a pretty autumn day," Cabby fumbled. "I just..."

"Yeah, it's anxiety," Nickel said sarcastically, but Cabby knew that's just how he comforted others. Always has been sarcasm.

"Cabby, you're not ruining our day by being anxious about your library. Of course, I have felt anxious before about smaller things." Silver then sighed. "But I think you should just... take a deep breath and let the falling leaves calm you. It's something Candle told me to do last week, and I think it could really help you."

As Cabby felt her hands grasp hers, she stared up into Silver's pretty golden eyes. She could just imagine the wedding day, the moment she'd have to hold her partner's hands when saying their vows. She could just... see it all. Her right hand holding Silver's left while her left hand held onto the right hand of Nickel, Balloon in front of her, them all just saying their vows one at a time. Noticeably, Silver's belly wasn't round and gravid; at least she knew the wedding would've happened after the kid was born.

Slowly, she came back to reality as Silver began to guide her through the course.

"Now, breathe in through the noise," he instructed, "and out through the mouth. Don't let go until I tell you to.

"Breathe in..."

Cabby did so, feeling the cool fall air enter her lungs and as told, she kept the breath in.

"Breathe out."

Cabby let go of the breath she was holding when Silver gave her the command. This happened for well over a minute before Silver pulled away, her eyes still sparkling.

"Did it work well, my darling?" He cooed softly. That was the first time in a while Silver used a pet name to refer to the wheelchair-bound woman, and dear god if it didn't make her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Cabby was internally questioning if the reason Silver Spoon felt this way towards her and her partners was because of hormones. But even if it was or wasn't genuine, the love was still there.

"Yeah, it did," Cabby answered, still taken aback by the love in his expression and then felt Silver give her a kiss on the forehead. That was the moment she realized that she could do this.

She might not be able to get on one knee, but she reaches behind her at the pouch containing some of her stuff. Most of the time, it had things like medical aid and files. But this time, there was a small box. Or rather... three.

"I-I hope you don't mind, but there's a question I wanted to ask you three..." Cabby's tension was rising, but there was no turning back. They can see what she's going to ask.

"Yes, Cabby?" All three recipients asked. Balloon tilted his head, Nickel was wondering too, but Silver pretty much knew what she was going to ask. But she wouldn't let Cabby's moment be ruined. He'll let her propose with full intent.

"You three make me one of the happiest persons in the world. I-I really appreciate you three being there for me while I work hard and tirelessly. Even then, you three are therefore my number one priority. So...

"Will you marry me?"

Nickel and Balloon were shocked, but Silver had a large smile. While she cannot speak for all three of them, he knew exactly what her answer would be.

"Of course I'll marry you!" Silver cried. Before attempting to hug the wheelchair-bound woman, he looked over at Balloon and Nickel. They were both smiling after recovering from the shock.

"I agree with her," Nickel muttered.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Balloon cheered. The three would then embrace Cabby in a group hug. Cabby was surprised but quickly took in the love they felt for them and embraced back, as best as she could, of course. All three knew that this was a big commitment to make, yet they also knew that they were all ready to be engaged and married, even with a kid on the way.

That autumn day would forever be special to them as a result of this moment.

Chapter Text

Silver Spoon was awake. She didn't know why. Something was nagging at the back of his brain. But her memory felt so fuzzy, and his mind wasn't clear thanks to the lack of sleep, that she just could not put his finger on what was causing such a thing.

Time just felt so fast. One moment she was discovering he was pregnant, the next she was reuniting with his brother and telling everyone the baby was Balloon's and a boy, and now it was exactly one month away from the due date. Her big day.

It felt so fast that Silver didn't even start questioning himself until now. Out of all the fog that was her sleepless mind, one question managed to shine through it.

Will he be a good parent? Or will her son hate him for her parenting skills? Would he even... like raising Felix?

It just felt so... surreal. Silver Spoon couldn't even think about it clearly. That question just kept popping up in her mind, over and over. Maybe it was just anxiety. Or perhaps it was actually a good question he should be asking. Or maybe it was simply too late to question that. She was exactly a month away from the due date, after all, it was simply too risky to get an abortion. But why would he, after all the planning the four of them did?

This just kept nagging... and nagging... and nagging- It was overwhelming. Silver just wanted to scream out the question, but she knew it was the dead of night, therefore not a good time to do so. So...

He prodded Balloon awake, who was resting comfortably beside her. He slowly felt and watched as her partner stirred awake, blinking his eyes before noticing Silver looking down on them. Balloon smiled and snuggled up to him.

"Heyyy, hun..." Balloon strained out, wrapping their arms around her. "Excited for Thanksgiving coming up?"

"Of course I am," Silver giggled. "I can eat a ton of things, especially since I have a bun in the oven."

"Hehehe, yeahhh..." Balloon then noticed Silver's expression and they started to get worried.

"Silver?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you... alright?"

...

"No." Balloon noticed his sort-of stressed tone and immediately shot up in the bed.

"A-are they...?"

"No, Balloon, calm down," Silver comforted, placing her hands on his arms. "Felix ain't coming yet."

"Then why are you up?"

Silver just frowned. He didn't really want to tell the truth to her partner, yet it just... it felt right to do so. Surely, this was on Balloon's mind too? Maybe even Cabby's and Nickel's minds? About becoming first-time parents in just a month? One month... one more stressful month...

"Silver?" Balloon tilted their head before getting an idea. Even when pregnant, there was always one way she could let out any secrets. Even in the dead of night, this would work on Silver like he was supposed to work that way.

Balloon stepped out of bed, which did cause Silver Spoon to wince in discomfort and sadness. To which, they soon felt Silver's hands wrapping around their arm, keeping him close to their bed.

" S'il te plaît, ne pars pas ," she whimpered anxiously.

"Don't worry, mi amor . I'll be back, I'm just gonna go make something for you." That was all Silver needed to hear, Balloon guessed, as his hands would unclasp their arm. And so, Balloon went off to go make her a nice cup of tea to help calm his nerves.

Balloon didn't care how loud he was when making the tea. He just wanted to make her happy and comfortable, especially in a time when they're in the final stretch before they start parenthood together. As a family. It felt... emotional to them. They had never imagined being a father even once. Mostly because his eldest sister had already accomplished having a family. He faintly remembered meeting their niece for the first time, when he was just 9 years old. He's the second youngest sibling within the group of five, but he still remembers their family.

So Balloon decided, while waiting for the water to boil, that they were finally going to call his family. Sure, it was an hour earlier there, so they were most likely going to bed. While the island was in the middle of the ocean, most, including Balloon, decided that Eastern Standard Time would be their time zone. Sure, Balloon had to get used to getting up an hour later, they were now very used to it.

Hesitantly, he found his father in their contacts and started the call. To their surprise, his dad picked up immediately.

" ¡Globo! ¡Hijo mío! "

" ¡Papá! " Balloon cheered, trying to keep his voice down, to not awake the others.

"How's life on the island?"

"Oh, nothing too bad! Found myself a couple of partners to care for. Currently making tea for one of them."

"Sick?"

"No, Papá , even better... Está embarazada, " Balloon whispered. Suddenly, he heard their father get up and start calling to... supposedly the rest of their family, possibly to tell the news to the family. Balloon just listened as the whole family expressed their approval and he laughed along.

As the water had finished boiling and Balloon was now preparing the tea, he decided to ask a good question to his father.

" ¿Algún consejo? Los necesito un poco, considerando que a mi pareja ya le falta un mes para la fecha prevista de parto. "

" Sí, sí... Aunque siento que el único consejo que necesito dar es asegurarme de que sean amados. Tanto a tu pareja como al bebé. Si amas al niño, entonces eres un buen padre solo por eso. "

And Balloon took that to heart. As he said goodnight to their family, he hung up and quickly went back to Silver with his tea.

"Y... You made tea?" Silver asked, perking up from bed once more.

"Yeah, of course I did. You know how much you like tea," Balloon joked as they handed Silver her cup of chamomile tea. As Silver Spoon drank, that's when Balloon asked what's wrong. The silver-haired boy sighed and set her tea on the bedside drawer before answering.

"I just... I've never done this before... Balloon, will I be a good parent? I-I just- I dunno, I feel like I won't be, even though we've been preparing for so long-"

Balloon stopped him by placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You will be. My father just told me that if you love the child enough, then you're good enough to be a good parent. Besides, we have Cabby and Nickel. And also TK, Candle, maybe even Test Tube! They can give you advice on what to do in certain situations."

"I-I... Well... Alright." Silver Spoon laid back down before feeling Balloon snuggling up to him. As Silver began to be overcome by the comfort of sleep, she swore he began to hear them talking to Felix. But Silver didn't mind. She was reassured, comforted... reminded that they'll do whatever they can to make their son happy.

The last thought Silver had before falling unconscious was related to Felix and how much he would adore her son when he finally would meet him. One more month... of stress... and anticipation.

Chapter Text

The contestants seemed to be fairly passionate about such a weird but beautiful phenomenon. Today is December 21st.

Now normally, you wouldn’t even think about this day. Sure, you might complain that you might be getting out of school by the time night has fallen, but that’s not something you can control. No, no, today is a special day. The winter solstice, also known as ‘The Shortest Day Of The Year’. It is exactly what you think it is. Today, the space Cabby’s library resides is actually at the furthest point tilted away from the sun’s light. Thus, much less day time and much more night.

What else is a coincidence? It has been snowing last night, and therefore about 4 inches of crystalline beauty cover the island… somehow. Ask MePhone4 why it can snow on a tropical island.

Silver stands by one of the large windows of the library. She looks on as Bot and Goo have fun building a snowman to greet those who’d enter the library and somehow, Dr. Fizz and Zoetrope were running around. He’d never really understand why such old people managed to have juvenile fun out in the cold.

God, she hated the cold. It was… well, cold! But even then, he still wanted to go outside and have some fun with friends.

As she looks out the window, Candle walks up behind him and gently taps her shoulder. Silver flinched before noticing his best friend beside her. He smiled, wrapping an arm around her gravid belly.

“How are you fairing this special day?” She asked soothingly.

“Just fine. More tired and agitated, however,” Silver answered.

“I have a suspicion why.” Candle then smirked as she motioned towards his stomach. She just blushed and covered it with his arms.

Silence surrounded the two for a moment before Silver spoke up again.

“I want to go outside, but it's just-”

“Cold?”

“Yes!”

“Hm… Well, we could get you suited up for the cold…”

“Yeah, but it's COLD. And I have cargo with me.”

“I'm sure Felix wouldn't mind.”

Silver just stared daggers at Candle for a moment before sighing and getting up from where she was leaning. As he did so, Felix kicked hard and she winced and held his stomach for a moment. That’s when Candle suddenly frowns.

“Silver, I won’t let you go outside for a while,” she declared.

“Why nooot?” Silver whined.

“Because… Well, isn’t it obvious? You’re on your last few days of pregnancy. The due date is only in a few days… It’s time to tucker down.”

“Does that mean I can’t go in the snow?”

“Yes… But I have a fair idea on how to fulfill your wishes.” She smirks mischievously, but Silver doesn't notice as she lets out a huge yawn. Felix seems to have tuckered him out and she hated it. He hated how her baby dictated when it’s nap time during the past few days. Sure, he knew that these were the last few days of Felix just being in her womb before eventually having to be brought into this world, and sure, he wanted to prepare for such a big event by resting a TON. But she still hated that Felix could just call out to make Silver go to sleep.

“Well… he said it himself,” he groaned. “It’s nap time. Goodnight…”

“Nighty-night, Silver.” As she watched Silver walk back to her room, Candle kept the smirk on her face. She had a grand idea on what to do to make him happy, despite not being allowed to head outside in the snow for today.

She would sneak into her room, many items from storage relating to the winter season in a box. Now, how to decorate his room without waking her up?

Silver would wake up and immediately be struck by the white lights strung across the room. Sitting up, he then noticed white stuff all over the floor and became worried. Did someone mess up their room?

When she stepped on the white stuff, he noticed how soft it was. It made her senses tingle a little bit when he realized that it was fake snow. Along with that realization, it seems she has also realized that someone decorated his room for the winter solstice while she was asleep, and so he began to wonder who would do such a thing. As she thought and thought about who would decorate their room, he put on her slippers and tightened his sleeping robe. Before she could even go outside the room to start the mystery, he suddenly felt dark arms wrap around her and he gasped before hearing a familiar giggle.

“Candle!”

“That’s right, silly goose. I decorated your room for the season! Isn’t it just lovely?” She giggled mischievously.

“I… guess it is,” Silver remarked, staring at the crystalline decoration strewn across the window.

“And just about the time you woke up! The sun’s about to set.” She walked up to the window with the crystalline decoration. “Come, come. I want to show you something special.”

As Silver stood beside her, she watched as the sun began to set over the horizon. And as the ball of plasmic flame fell beneath the horizon, the crystals adorning the window thanks to Candle began to make rainbows across his walls. Her eyes sparkled with interest and excitement, his neurodivergent expression taking over all other feelings for a moment, which got yet another giggle from Candle.

Even when Felix would kick her gut again, Silver still enjoyed the moment. It’s little moments like this that make him appreciate these last few days before her son would finally arrive. Maybe he could experience this beauty too, eventually.

Chapter Text

Silver would’ve normally woke up at around 9:30 AM, especially with a child in his womb and it being past due date. But today, she woke up at around 6:00 AM instead. For good reason, too.

Everyone knew the drill, the tradition of waking up early in the morning for Christmas Day. Sure, it ruined your sleep schedule, but what’s sleep if you’re just too excited to open Christmas presents?

Silver would slowly begin trying to wake up Balloon, who was still asleep beside him. She was persistent, annoying, childish even, but he wanted to open presents. She wanted to open presents with him and Nickel and Cabby and Candle and Taco-

"Silver, please," Balloon groaned as they stirred wake. Silver pulled her hand back like he just burned her hand on the stove or stuck his hand in something sharp and got it poked. As the redhead slowly got up, she trailed behind them like a lost puppy in the rain.

"Silver, what's up with you today?" Balloon then asked him as they slowly started getting out of their pajamas.

“...It’s Christmas and hormones have decided that I’m clingy today.” That was the only real explanation Silver had, his clinginess today was a bit different than normal. It seems as though the clinginess came from the fact that Silver was now past the due date of December 23rd. Any day now, she could begin the process of bringing Felix to the world. Which is why the family decided to try and limit where Silver could go.

He couldn't go outside without guidance, she couldn't do things like work out, and the biggest one was that he couldn't go near the big Christmas tree in the case of her water breaking, which, once again, could happen at any moment in time now.

Silver rolled his eyes as she started to make tea for the entire family. As the kettle was placed on the stove and the water would soon boil, he sat down on the chair and wrapped an arm around her stomach. Another side effect of being past the due date is constant back pain, so he's had to sit down for small intervals.

Balloon just looked up from their phone, concerned. "You alright there, Silver?"

"Fine, I-I just... Feeeliiix..." She just moaned in a bit of a pained tone, which only raised Balloon's concern even more. He bolted out of his seat and towards Silver, scared for their life that this would be the moment his water would break.

"Silver!?"

"I... I'm fine, he just makes me tired... My water isn't breaking yet, don't worry..." She panted some more, already on the verge of yet another panic attack that maybe he was about to give birth! Maybe she was gonna have his water break at the kitchen table! On Christmas day!

"Should I call Test Tube?" Balloon asked urgently, to which Silver shook her head and actually managed to calm down before another panic attack could ensue.

"I... I'm not feeling any pain... I swear..."

Balloon frowned. That didn't sound too convincing. Maybe he was the one who was overreacting. They seemed to not notice the signs of a panic attack now forming within them. They panted, they frantically looked around, they were mumbling in their native language of Spanish things relating to every possible situation where Silver's water would break. Some situations his water broke, and other situations her water was fine up until the last push. Some situations they lose the baby, but most were of a happy ending, even if the kid had any defects or disorders tied to them.

They would snap out of it by a familiar robotic arm placed upon their shoulder, and he looked over to find Nickel and Cabby, staring concerningly at Balloon. The ringing in their ears didn't help with the fact that they were now the one having a panic attack instead of Silver Spoon, yet that still left much for concern and worry.

"Balloon, dude, you alright?" Nickel asked, their head tilting to one side.

"Mhm, mhm, f-fine, really! 's just w-w-worried about-"

"Balloon. Deep breaths," Cabby reminded. And so, Balloon began to take many deep breaths just to relieve their panic. While doing so, Silver would prepare the tea for the whole family, trying to maneuver with his pregnant waddle she had started to adorn near the start of the month. When they were all calmed down, Balloon sat down with his cup of tea and began to drink and chat with his partners, even if their voice was still a bit high and squeaky from the aforementioned panic attack.

When the clock struck 7:00 AM, Nickel slowly rose up from their seat and turned to look at his partners.

"It's time we head to the lobby now, right? All of us?" They asked, to which Cabby sat up in shock.

"But what about Silver?"

"Cabby, I appreciate how concerned you are for me," he began. "However, I think I can handle it on my own. If anything happens to me, I'll let one of you know, yes?"

"I mean... That is true..." Cabby then sighed. "Fine. But I swear, if your water breaks-"

"Cabby!"

Balloon was sitting next to Silver. He did not trust that she wouldn't be going into labor today. But that was for fate to decide.

As the presents were handed out, Balloon was given a present from Nickel (Of course he would) and utilizing Test Tube's new beta device, presents from people like Baseball, Suitcase, and even Knife, which was a welcome surprise.

Balloon's first few presents were simply stuff like money and gift cards. But then, Knife's gift was fairly interesting.

As he unwraps the gift, they see...

"A bundle of knives?" They tilted his head, to which Knife chuckled.

"Yeah, so that you could filet your fish a little more efficiently! And also, more knives ain't that much of a problem, right?"

"I mean... you are right. But we don't have a stand to keep them all."

"That's where you're wrong." As if it was staged, Silver opened his present from Knife. And it was a knife block for the knives.

"Oh, that... makes sense," Balloon commented. Knife chuckled again and smirked.

"Enjoy, my friends~"

Silver would get some things beneficial to the baby and/or her. Things like a new soft blanket. But eventually, Silver ran out of presents to unwrap and slowly fell asleep.

While everyone was eating breakfast, Balloon stayed behind to watch over his partner. Something tells him that Silver's body was starting to at least prepare. He was getting more tired, as if to stock up on the energy and finesse to bring Felix into the world. She was also getting hungrier more frequently. And finally, how much his hormones affected her emotions seemed to have dimmed down less than before. At least, less than a few months ago when entering his final trimester.

The moment was calm and quiet. Balloon slowly wrapped himself around Silver's sleeping form and comforted her silently, rubbing his swollen stomach as they did so. They were practically spooning her, and Balloon liked moments like these. He knows that they'll miss them when Silver finally has Felix.

Which was hopefully soon. Balloon didn't think he could handle a session like that.

Chapter Text

Nickel slowly enters the living space, tired out of their mind. They were tired out of their mind, as it had been a tough work day for him. They close the door behind him, dragged their feet to the couch, and collapsed on top of it.

Then, they felt the warm body of Silver Spoon snuggle up to them and Nickel chuckled at the adorable expression on his face.

“Hormones?”

“Mhm…”

“Dudette, you best realize how cuddly you’ve been. I swear, you wouldn’t stop bothering Balloon all morning!” Nickel chuckled once more, tired.

Silver just groaned again before Balloon entered the room. That’s when he perked up.

“I think someone needs to sleep early,” he growled, motioning towards Silver Spoon. The gravid person just frowned at their statement, whimpering a little.

“Don't think I don't notice the bags under your eyes, Silver,” Balloon then smirked. “You need to rest up in case Felix comes along!”

“But… But dinner…” She strained out a whine, which only showed how tired he was more than intended. Balloon smirked before pulling Silver up to him.

“Come on. I'll give them fish tonight.” Balloon looks back at Nickel and Cabby, the latter who just rolled into the living space, and just gives them a thumbs up as they guide Silver to their bed.

Before long, Silver was snuggled in the covers, falling asleep with her arms around his belly. Balloon just chuckled at the sight before leaving a peck on her forehead and then leaving the bedroom, slowly closing the door.

Silver slowly stirred from his sleep, her eyes weakly opening before he shook her head. As he sat up in the bed, she saw Balloon who was resting in a fairly uncomfortable and unpleasant position. Resting on their stomach, arms in many different directions at different angles, a smile on their face… How does the guy not have back pains already?

Silver then felt Felix kick him in the gut, and she had to refrain from whimpering from the pain. He didn't want to wake anybody up, of course! But she still wanted to get up from the bed. So, he did, by sneakily crawling over the sprawled form of Balloon and being careful with how her belly shifted when dropping onto his feet. Balloon shuffled in the sheets a little, causing Silver to think she did wake them up, but then Balloon seemingly went back to dreamland, snoozing away.

He smirked before waddling over to the kitchen. As she looked around in the cupboards and fridge silently, he found that nothing that appealed to her could be instantly eaten. He groaned a bit before closing the fridge and deciding to go see someone else. Perhaps Candle could help her.

He slowly snuck towards the front door and slowly, very carefully, opened the front door. To her relief, the door only creaked a little and he stepped out onto the balcony.

The night was crisp with lukewarm air wafting around the dark library. Silver never would’ve thought about how pretty Cabby’s library was when it was a clear night. The moon, in its waning crescent phase, shined onto her like a spotlight on a stage, trailing over him to track her position. As he stood next to the railing on the balcony, she began to reflect.

Had it already been a while since the competition ended? How was Knife doing, with him apparently being in the Final Two and all of that? How did he even manage to get that far? He just kept thinking about Knife and the other friends close to her family. Sure, pretty much everyone and their mother knew about Felix, but it still worried him about how they would react when actually seeing the little guy for the first time.

Maybe she could talk about this with his partners in the morning. As she leaned back from the railing and turned to go back to his living space to get some shuteye, she felt something gush a little down his leg. Silver gasped as the feeling before she got more of that feeling and he quickly reacted by instantly sitting on the ground, leaning against the railing while one of her arms wrapped around his belly.

Her water had broke!

Dear God, how the fuck did he get into this situation? Well, okay, she did sneak out, but why now of all times for Felix to say “alright, I’m gonna start slipping out!”

Silver was very much panicking. Over a good reason, too; it wasn’t just anxiety taking over his mind, this was literally a moment that she and his partners had been preparing for. For over nine months. And yet, she didn’t feel like he was ready. Maybe she could internally convince Felix to stay for a little longer!

For a moment, it seemed to be just Silver who knew how much distress he was in. But thankfully, a voice took her out of his anxiety attack. As she felt her hand on his shoulder, Silver looked up, tears in her eyes, to find Candle standing over him worryingly.

“Silver? Are you alright?” She gravely asks, trying to keep them both calm but Silver somehow wondered if she knew what was about to happen.

“I-I’m fine… Felix just kicked me a little hard and I had to sit down…” Silver tried to lie.

“Silver. I can sense changes in your body. I can tell your oxytocin levels are rising rapidly.”

“My what.”

“Look. I’m trying to say you’re going into labor, b-but I…”

Right. Star. Silver shook her head and pulled Candle close, rubbing her back soothingly.

“Candle, darling, I understand how you feel about what happened back there,” he began, now trying to be the one to comfort her despite her being the one in more distress. “But that’s in the past now. You can’t change the outcome of that moment. But you can trying helping me get through this. Even if it ends up being the same fate.”

Candle fell silent, a frown still adorning her face. Silver was right. She can’t change the outcome of what happened to Star. But she can change this outcome. Isn’t that what friends are for? Sure, she wasn’t medically trained to be a midwife, but she had experience with childbirth. As Silver stated at her, she then nodded before grabbing his hand and pulling her up to his feet.

“Come with me.”

As she led Silver into her room, she made her lay in her bed. Silver was obviously concerned and asked if she was fine with him possibly ruining the bed. To which she responded, “Who cares? You’re having a baby.”

“Now, you stay right there, Silver,” she continued. “I’m grabbing Dr. Fizz and Paintbrush.”

“Dr. Fizz I understand… but Paintbrush?”

“I’ll be too busy being your pseudo-midwife to tell your partners that you were giving birth. So I might as well get someone to do it for me.”

Silver stared at her for a moment before silently nodding. Candle smiled before turning and walking out the front door, but not before glancing at the pregnant woman one more time.

Chapter Text

Paintbrush exited the room, their eyes wide with surprise and shock. They can’t really believe they had to do this, but apparently Candle and Dr. Fizz were too busy with preparing Silver for the birth that they had to go wake his partners up and tell them that she was going into labor.

As they began walking down the alley with a light in their hand, they felt someone wrap their arms around them. They didn’t even have to look down in order to know who it was.

“Lightbulb, let me go,” they gently commanded and they felt her pull away.

“What? Whyyy? Come on, Painty, don’t ya want cuddles?” She whined.

“No, I got something I need to do.”

“Aw, c’mon, tell me at least.”

“No, because you’re gonna spill it for everyone and the situation will get even worse than it is right now!” They explained, trying not to raise their voice. Despite the pout on her face, Lightbulb just nodded and began walking back to bed.

“We’ll talk about it once I’m done with this, alright?” Paintbrush felt like they just had to reassure their girlfriend. Lightbulb just nodded again, before going in their room and closing the door behind her. They stood there, looking at where she just was for a moment before turning and going to the living space Silver shared with his fiancés.

Balloon slowly woke up and started to feel around Silver’s side of the bed. They wanted to feel her belly one more time before delivery. But he quickly realized that Silver wasn’t in bed, and they bolted up into a sitting position before hopping out of bed.

As Balloon began looking everywhere - the kitchen, the living room, even the bathroom - they simply couldn’t find him. Eventually, they went into Cabby’s and Nickel’s bedroom and woke them up.

“Hey, hey guys,” he said harshly, shaking their shoulders rapidly. “I can’t find Silver.”

“Mmm… Balloon- Wait, what!?” Nickel sat up in bed.

“Yeah, I can’t find her anywhere in the living space.”

“You even checked the bathroom?”

“Yeah!”

“What’s going on?” Cabby croaked as she stirred awake. Balloon and Nickel just look at each other before looking over at her.

When Balloon was done with putting her in her wheelchair and Nickel was done putting his prosthetic arm on, Balloon slowly opened the door to see Paintbrush. The two were surprised to see each other as Nickel and Cabby came up behind them.

“Uhhh… hi.” Balloon awkwardly waved.

“Oh, hey, great timing,” Paintbrush nonchalantly shook their head before crossing their arms. “Why ya awake?”

“Well, we couldn’t find Silver anywhere in the living space.”

“Oh, what a coincidence! I know where he is.”

“You do?” Nickel asks while Cabby rubs her glasses and puts them on.

“Yeah. She’s in Candle’s room.”

“Of course he is,” Balloon sighs before trying to step past Paintbrush. But for some reason, they stopped them. Nickel was now the one pushing away the others, confused on Paintbruah’s behavior.

“Hey, they! What do you think is going on? We just wanna see Silver,” they hissed. Paintbrush just gave them a stony glare before sighing.

“I know you do… but there’s a reason why she’s in Candle’s room. And that same reason is why you can’t visit him at the moment.

“She’s in labor.”

That sentence was what woke the group of fiances up. They were shocked to find out that that was going on. Balloon especially felt the protection overcome them as he thought about Silver being all alone, labor pains racking his body. She needs support.

“How is he doing?” Cabby asked frantically, to which Paintbrush only shrugged.

“Is she alright?” Nickel then asks, which at least got a better answer from them than “I dunno”.

“He's with Candle and Dr. Fizz,” they explained. “They have the situation under control. At least, the last time I checked.”

“...  Can we see her?” Balloon asked rather quietly, to which… Cabby put a hand on his shoulder from behind.

“I'm sure we can once our son is born,” she stated calmly, trying to reassure them. But Balloon still felt very tense and worried for Silver Spoon.

So, for a while, Nickel and Cabby tried to get Balloon's mind off of the birth. They were watching movies and videos, listening to music, and we're cuddling throughout. Minutes felt like hours, however, and it seemed like Balloon’s parental anxiety was only rising.

And then… After over an hour… A gut feeling overcame them as they slowly pushed themselves up from their partners and ran out the front door. He didn't care. He didn't care about how Candle and Dr. Fizz would react, he didn't care that Cabby and Nickel were trying to stop them. All they cared about was Silver Spoon and Felix.

As they get to Candle’s room, they take a deep breath and knock on the door. It wasn't even ten seconds before Dr. Fizz opened the door and smiled.

“Ah, we were wondering if we would look for you,” he smirked. “You can come in now.”

As Balloon trampled into the room, they caught their feet as he stared at the scene in front of him. Dr. Fizz was smiling widely and Candle looked up before stepping away from the bed he occupied. Yet Balloon was still in shock at the sight.

Laying in the bed and holding a bundle of blankets and joy… was Silver Spoon.

Chapter Text

Balloon was staring in complete shock as they went over to the bedside. Silver was fairly tired, as he could tell by the bags under her eyes. But yet, Balloon's eyes drifted to the bundle of blankets.

He was perfect. A mixed skin tone with what they could tell was dark hair, Felix was fairly small. But all newborns are like that, and he knew that Felix will be growing a lot these next few years.

Balloon could cry. In fact, they had tears in their eyes as they sat down on the bedside, staring at the sight of his lover holding Felix close to him.

“He's perfect… He's oh so perfect… Look at him, Balloon…” Silver was ugly crying as she slowly gave the bundle to Balloon, who gently accepted. They didn't want to admit this, but Balloon almost laughed at Silver's expression here. He didn't know why, he just wanted to. But this was a fragile moment- one they may never experience again. As Balloon stares at Felix, he realizes something.

“He's got my nose…”

“Isn't he so perfect…” Silver cried. That's what got a chuckle out of them. Silver faked being offended, but after a moment he let it go. She can't say mad at his partner.

And then came along the people who were still awake. The first pair to enter the room was Nickel and Cabby, who were shocked to find Balloon looking so calm now after supposedly panicking over nothing. As Nickel and Cabby looked at the baby, Felix opened his pristine blue eyes.

“Hey, little dude… It's ya Uncle Nickel…” Nickel cooed at Felix. Cabby chuckled as Felix cooed back at him, making a bit of a rolling noise.

“I think he said hello,” she concurs.

“He recognizes you guys from the womb,” Candle chimed in. “Felix seems to recognize your voices and realized that you two were Uncle Nickel and Auntie Cabby.”

“Oh that's adorable.”

When Cabby would yawn, Nickel decided to bring her back to bed. Just in time for the next duo to enter the room. Which was actually MePad and Taco.

Silver was actually fairly surprised at seeing those two as a duo. But as Taco looked between Balloon and Silver, she sighed.

“How's the tyke doing?” She asked.

“Oh, wonderful…” Silver replied, her voice wracked in tiredness and a bit of leftover pain from the contractions. “Felix just opened his eyes…”

Before Taco could step forward and look into the bundle of blankets to meet the little guy, MePad’s holographic hand gripped onto her shoulder, which got her attention. As she looked up at him, he spoke.

“Proceed with caution, especially around someone who supposedly doesn't trust you,” he reminded before removing his hand. Taco only nodded before sighing once more and walking up to Balloon to peer into the bundle of blankets. When she saw Felix, Silver took notice that her eyes were… surprisingly gentle. Well, it was a new life, and that meant a new chance to change.

But then the most unexpected thing happened. Felix peeked his little arms out of the blanket wrapped around his tiny body and reached up to Taco. He wanted her to hold him. Balloon gently handed Felix to Taco and she slowly accepted. Her eyes were actually shining with tears as she stared at Felix. If MePad had an actual mouth, he'd be smiling at how she was reacting.

“He likes me…” She muttered.

“It seems like he has trusted you enough to hold him,” MePad commented. “I think you're going to do just fine with him… If Balloon doesn't mind, at least.”

Balloon was about to retort, only for Candle to give him a pat on the shoulder, silently telling them to just go with it. After a while, Felix was handed back to Silver before the two left.

As the door closed behind them to give Silver and Balloon some privacy, Taco slowly looked up at MePad, still tearing up. She didn't even have to ask for MePad to simply answer “You did wonderfully”, which caused her to just tightly hug the robot and cry wholesomely into his shoulder. MePad just chuckled before comforting her.

After Felix was fed and Silver decided to just rest his head for a little while, Paintbrush and Lightbulb came in as the last duo. Lightbulb’s eyes were covered by Paintbrush’s hands, however.

“C’mooooon, I wanna see…” She whined, which caused Painty to chuckle.

“You will in a moment.” They slowly uncover her eyes, waiting for her reaction. At first, Lightbulb is confused at the sight, and then her eyes widened and she gasped.

“Did Silver…”

“Yeah, she did,” they whispered to them. Lightbulb gently sat down beside Balloon and stared down at Felix. She was trying so hard to restrain herself and not scare the baby. But both Paintbrush and Balloon could tell it was barely working.

“Hiii, little guyyy…” She finally muttered, her blue eyes shining.

“Yeah, I was feeling the same when I saw him for the first time,” Balloon commented, also staring down at the newborn. Felix was definitely asleep by now, so the two quickly left as soon as they came. As they exited the room, Lightbulb yawned before leaning against Paintbrush.

“Now, about those cuddles,” they gently reminded. To which, Lightbulb intertwined fingers with them.

“Yes, let’s go…”

As Balloon stared down at the sleeping baby, they noticed how Silver was very faintly snoring. It seems sleep had caught up to the new father as quick as it left. Balloon chuckled at the sight before setting Felix gently in Silver’s arms. The mother instinctively curled around the bundle of blankets before smiling in his sleep.

Balloon looked at Candle. “I hope you don’t mind her sleeping with you tonight?” They then asked.

“You’re not going to stay with him?”

“My fiancées need me in bed. I’ll come by to pick her up tomorrow, I promise.”

Candle only nodded before watching as Balloon left the living space to retire to his own. Dr. Fizz would also follow behind them and gently shut the door.

As Candle slipped into bed beside Silver and Felix, she stared at the bundle of blankets and smiled. She helped bring life into the world. It felt so stressful yet so fulfilling to her. She closes her eyes and lays her head down beside Silver’s.

“Thank you…” was all she muttered as a bit of a prayer. To all they’ve lost and gained in life… and to Star himself. It felt like he was watching over this moment, at least. Maybe Candle should discuss this over with Clover. But not right now as she drifts off to rest.

Silver’s parenthood has begun.