Work Text:
The Onychinus headquarters, normally a bastion of sleek, minimalist design, was currently anything but. Toys littered the floor, a symphony of baby-themed sounds emanated from the nursery, and Sylus, the feared leader of the N109 Zone, was pouting.
His silver hair, usually meticulously styled, was rumpled, and his bright red eyes held a distinct air of… woe. He slumped against the plush velvet sofa, watching as MC, his partner, attempted to salvage a tower of meticulously stacked blocks before Liam, their son, inevitably demolished it once more.
"Sweetie," he began, drawing out the word with dramatic flair, "we haven't had a moment to ourselves in… what feels like eons. Just you and I, kitten, no diapers, no lullabies, no… pureed peas."
MC chuckled, her own hair pulled back in a practical ponytail. She knew Sylus’s dramatic tendencies well and found them rather endearing. Especially when coupled with the undeniable adoration he held for their twin babies.
"I know, I know," she said, ruffling Liam’s hair as he let out a triumphant squeal, smashing the blocks. "It's been a little hectic lately, what with my Deepspace Hunter missions and your business ventures, and these two terrors learning to crawl."
Sylus shuddered at the memory of the last "business venture" – a messy affair involving a rival gang and a particularly grueling shipment of protocore weapons. It was a far cry from romantic evenings.
"So, what do you propose, Miss Hunter? A daring escape to the moon, Romantic dinner and dancing, Even a Spa can work at this point?" Sylus asked, a hopeful glint in his red eyes.
MC bit her lip, a mischievous glint replacing her usual warmth. "Well… I had a thought." She paused for dramatic effect. "Why don’t the twins babysit our twins?"
Sylus's dramatic slump deepened. "Absolutely not," he said, his voice flat. "Luke and Kieran? Left alone with Liam and Adeline? Do you want them raised by a pair of chaotic crow-masked pranksters?" He shuddered again, picturing tiny babies dressed in miniature crow masks, causing mayhem in the zone.
MC giggled, a sound like wind chimes. "Oh, come on, Sylus! They adore the babies. And they're surprisingly good with them. Besides," she added, leaning closer and lowering her voice, "it would be hilarious to see them try and function as responsible adults for a few hours."
Sylus remained unconvinced. Luke and Kieran were his most loyal henchmen, yes, but responsible? They were more likely to teach the babies how to hotwire a car than sing them lullabies.
"Please, Sy?" MC pressed, batting her eyelashes. "Just for one afternoon? We could finally have that romantic dinner we've been talking about, maybe even catch a glimpse of the light show and festival they are doing in Linkon."
He sighed, the argument crumbling under the weight of her imploring look and the promise of a quiet evening. "Fine," he grumbled, "but if I come back and find them teaching out twins to pickpocket, I'm blaming you."
The moment the words left his mouth, a high-pitched whoop echoed through the apartment.
"We heard that, Boss Man! Babysitting duty, here we come!"
Luke and Kieran, the infamous crow-masked twins, burst into the living room, a flurry of black feathers and manic energy. Luke, the taller and more flamboyant of the two, bounded forward, his crow mask tilted at a rakish angle. Kieran, ever the quieter and more grounded brother, followed close behind, a large bag slung over his shoulder.
Sylus instantly regretted his decision. The twins were radiating an almost palpable level of excitement, which, in their case, usually translated to impending chaos.
"We even brought reinforcements!" Luke announced, gesturing to Kieran, who unzipped the bag to reveal an arsenal of brightly colored, noisy toys.
Liam and Adeline, usually wary of strangers, seemed captivated by the twins' energy. Liam gurgled happily, reaching out for a set of jangling keys. Adeline, equally intrigued, clapped her tiny hands.
The sight of his children’s unbridled joy chipped away at Sylus's resistance. "Alright, alright," he conceded. "But I'm trusting you two to behave. No dangerous stunts, no teaching them to gamble, and absolutely no involving them in any… questionable activities."
Luke and Kieran exchanged a barely perceptible glance, their masked faces betraying nothing. "Of course, Boss! Wouldn't dream of it!" Luke said, his voice dripping with faux innocence.
MC placed a reassuring hand on Sylus’s arm. "They'll be fine, Sweetie. Relax. We deserve a night out."
He knew she was right, but as they left the base, the sound of giggling babies and the twins' boisterous laughter echoing behind them, a knot of apprehension tightened in his stomach. He calls Mephisto, sending him back home as his eyes in the sky as well as inside his home.
The light show was spectacular, a breathtaking display of designs and fireworks that painted the night sky in vibrant hues. The restaurant, nestled on a secluded platform overlooking the light show festival, offered unparalleled views and exquisite cuisine. Sylus tried to relax, but the image of Luke and Kieran wreaking havoc with his babies kept intruding.
He checked his phone. Three hours. It felt like three days.
"Relax, Sylus," MC said, taking his hand. "They're fine. I bet they're having the time of their lives." She leans over and kissed him softly on the lips.
He smiled while kissing her but in the back of his mind wished he shared her optimism.
~Meanwhile~
The opulent living room, usually a testament to Sylus’s refined taste, looked like a Jackson Pollock painting gone horribly wrong. Mashed sweet potato adorned the walls like gruesome orange stalactites. Pureed carrots formed a swirling vortex on the plush rug. Liam, a miniature version of his father, and Adeline, with her mother's bright eyes, gurgled with glee, their tiny hands still clutching chunks of pulverized pear.
Luke, the more chaotic of the crow-masked twins, surveyed the scene with a mixture of amusement and dread. “Oh boy, boss ain’t gonna like this,” he drawled, his voice echoing slightly behind the mask.
Kieran, ever the pragmatist, sighed. “We could blame it on them, if anything,” he countered, gesturing to the two cherubic terrorists with a resigned shrug.
The plan was simple: feed the babies, play with them, put them to bed. Piece of cake, right? Wrong.
It all started innocently enough. Luke, with his boundless energy, decided that feeding time was a perfect opportunity for a little “aerodynamic experimentation.” He lobbed a spoonful of mashed peas across the room, aiming for Adeline’s open mouth. She missed, but the pea hit the wall with a satisfying splat. Liam found this hilarious. Then Adeline got in on the action. Soon, the twins were encouraging the babies to weaponize their food, turning the living room into a high-velocity puree battleground.
Mephisto, was perched on a crystal chandelier, watched the chaos unfold with a beady, unblinking eye and away from getting hit by those interesting colors being slingshot across the room.
"We gotta try to clean this up before boss and his lady come back" Luke complains while Kieran nods "let try and clean up the kitchen first then the living room the mini crows can be last lets just move em over here-"
Liam, in a stroke of genius, managed to smear a handful of strained prunes into Kieran’s mask, rendering him temporarily blind. Luke, in retaliation, tickled Adeline until she squealed with delight.
They managed to....get the kitchen clean in the end.
~Later On That Night~
Sylus openes the door letting Mc inside first before following behind her smirking "i guess everything was fine Mephisto didn't even contact me" he said while walking towards the living room still chatting with Mc.
"We can try- ......." Sylus looked up and his eyes widen slightly at the sight. When they finally reached the living room the scene that greeted them was… well, exactly what Sylus had feared.
The apartment looked like a food fight had erupted in a daycare center. Smears of pureed peas, carrots, and bananas adorned the walls. Toys were scattered everywhere, and the air hung thick with the aroma of… baby food.
Liam was perched on the couch, a mischievous grin on his face....a mini sylus in the making while nomming on a teething biscuit. Adeline, however, was sitting precariously on the coffee table, a half-eaten jar of baby food clutched in her hand.
As Sylus entered, Adeline, recognizing her father, let out a delighted squeal and hurled the contents of the jar directly at his face. Much to Luke and Kieran's dismay.
A splattering mess of lukewarm, orange gloop covered Sylus’s meticulously styled silver hair and dripped down his cheek. Liam, watching the scene unfold, erupted in peals of laughter, pointing a chubby finger at his father.
MC gasped, struggling to suppress a smile. "Oh, dear," she managed, her voice wobbling with suppressed amusement.
Sylus stood frozen, his face a mask of disbelief and… a strange, grudging affection. His right eye twitched, a subtle indication of trying to keep his temper.
“start talking,” he asked, his voice still dangerously calm, “what happened..?”
Luke and Kieran, sensing an opportunity to deflect blame, simultaneously pointed at the twins. “They did it!”
MC raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And I suppose you two were just innocent bystanders?”
“Exactly!” Luke exclaimed with far too much enthusiasm.
Luke and Kieran exchanged a nervous glance. Mephisto, hopped onto Sylus's shoulder and pecked at the food on his hair out of curiosity, adding insult to injury. Earning a low snort from Mc and she quickly covers it with a cough.
"Im going to ask again what did you two do while we was gone.." Sylus voice was an eerie calm.
Luke, the elder twin, shuffled his feet. “Well, boss,” he began, his voice a touch too bright, “they were hungry, and we figured, you know, exploration is a key part of development.”
Kieran, ever the pragmatist, added, “Turns out, exploring the aerodynamics of mashed carrots is a highly engaging activity.”
Before MC could respond, Adeline, inspired by What she did to her father, hurled a particularly large dollop of apple sauce directly at Luke’s mask. It splattered with remarkable precision, coating the crow’s beak in a sticky orange glaze.
Silence descended upon the room, broken only by Liam’s delighted cackling and clapping.
Luke slowly reached up and wiped the apple sauce from his mask, his voice dangerously low. “Okay,” he said, his voice tinged with a barely suppressed snarl. “That’s war.”
MC stepped forward, placing herself between Luke and the twins. “No one is declaring war on babies, Luke. Not on my watch.” she pouts.
“S-see” Kieran added, “Adeline just hit Luke in the face again isn't that...hilarious.”
“Hilarious?” Sylus repeated but there was something behind it. “You found it hilarious to encourage my children to weaponize their dinner?”
The twins shuffled their feet, their crow masks tilted in what Mc could only interpret as shame. She knew they meant well, but their definition of “fun” was often… unconventional.
“We didn’t mean any harm, Boss,” Luke said, his voice contrite. “We just wanted them to have a good time.”
A strange sound escaped Sylus. A low chuckle, rumbling in his chest. He tried to suppress it, but it was no use. Despite the sticky mess cascading down his face and the burning desire to wring the twins’ necks, he couldn't help but crack a small smile. The sight of his impeccably decorated Base reduced to a sticky, multicolored mess and scattered toys was just too absurd.
Mc couldn’t help but let out her own disbelief laugh, joining in. The tension in the room dissipated, replaced by a sense of shared amusement. She may have secretly took a photo behind his back literally because it was priceless.
“Alright,” Sylus said, shaking his head, a genuine smile playing on his lips. “Alright. I suppose I can't stay mad. But you two,” he pointed at Luke and Kieran, “are on cleanup duty. And no more ‘experiments’ with the children’s food. Understood?”
The twins nodded vigorously, their crow masks bobbing in agreement. "Understood!" They said in unison.
Liam decided to test his biscuit as well and launched a rogue piece of teething biscuit across the room. It sailed through the air and landed squarely on Sylus’s impeccably polished shoes. With a sigh and slight eye twitch He knelt down beside the couch, his silver hair falling across his forehead. “You little rascal,” he murmured to Liam, his voice surprisingly gentle. “Just like your babysitters I see.”
Sylus turned his attention to his daughter, his red eye softening. Adeline, sensing the change in his demeanor, beamed at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Liam gurgled and clapped his hands, a smear of banana covering his small fist.
He walked over to Adeline, wiping the remaining puree from her face. She grabbed his finger with her tiny hand and squeezed it tight. He smiles kissing the top of her head before picking up Liam and doing the same while they both rest against his chest effectively ruining his shirt with their sticky hands.
"You two earned a bath" Sylus said shaking his head while Mc followed along already holding their necessities for the twins bath she did take Liam who happily clings to her.
Sylus stopped in the hallway and turned to MC, took her hand, and led her towards the kitchen instead. “I could use a drink. And perhaps a debriefing on the… artistic skills of our offspring,” he said, a hint of dry humor lacing his tone.
As they walked away, Luke and Kieran stared at each other, their mouths agape behind their crow masks.
“Did… did we just get away with that?” Luke whispered.
Kieran shook his head in disbelief. “I think we just witnessed the impossible. Boss man… entertained by a food fight.”
-
After the twins was in their respective cribs and resting with clean clothes and a fresh face Mc and Sylus was resting on the couch in the living room the fireplace on and keeping them warm. Everything was as it should be and cleaned up nicely like nothing ever happened.
Sylus knew, deep down, that despite the mess and the mayhem, Maybe, just maybe, a little chaos wasn't so bad after all. Even if it did involve being assaulted by pureed carrots. he wouldn't trade these moments for all the romantic evenings or business deals in the world.
After all, life with MC and their babies was never going to be dull, especially with Luke and Kieran around their two older sons from how they behaved tonight.
Sylus leaned down and kissed her, a slow, lingering kiss that spoke of the deep affection they shared. "There is a large margin of improvement they need to do but you was right sweetie"
And as they Sat there, bathed in the soft glow of the fireplace they knew that even amidst the chaos and the occasional food fight, they had created a life, a family, that was more precious than anything else in the N109 Zone. And even Sylus, the formidable ruler of Onychinus, had to admit, it was pretty damn good.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Although Luke and Kieran Thought the chaos might have been contained, but the legend of the Great Puree War of N109 Zone would undoubtedly live on in their memories, a testament to the unpredictable nature of both parenthood and their boss’s surprisingly soft spot for his children. The only question now was, how long before Liam and Adeline started throwing things at dinner parties?