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Everything was fine at the base when Mc had left on her mission, it was a calm day and everything was working out until it was lunch time. Sylus himself, all six-foot-two of him, now sported a vibrant green stain on the shoulder of his tailored black jacket.
"She just… projectile vomited,” Sylus explained to Mephisto who was perched on his desk. His voice, usually a smooth baritone laced with sardonic wit, was laced with a hint of bewildered exasperation. “Right onto my shoulder. Like a tiny, adorable, green-spewing dragon.”
Mephisto, ever the loyal companion, tilted his head and let out a series of caws that Sylus interpreted as either sympathy or amusement. Probably both.
He’d managed the feeding well enough. Liam, his son, had devoured his carrots with gusto, seemingly inheriting his father's healthy appetite for…well, everything. Adeline, however, was proving to be a more…challenging diner... yes like her mother no surprise there. "Well, isn't that just charming," Sylus drawled after patting her back slightly and suddenly felt and heard her "spill her heart" out on his shoulder.
Sylus looked over to the source of the verdant eruption, Adeline, gurgled happily from her playmat, oblivious to her crime. Her brother, Liam, on the adjacent mat, was attempting to eat his toy luckily it was a teething biscuit.
Sylus glanced at the twins, then at the diaper bag looming in the corner like a wanderer filled with unimaginable horrors. That’s when a slight panic set in.
“Luke! Kieran!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the base.
The twin henchmen, instantly recognizable by their matching crow masks, materialized in the doorway, trying and failing to suppress their smirks. “You called, boss?” Luke asked.
"Get me my phone I need to call kitten about something important.." they nod and got his phone from his office and brought it back to him.
His reputation as a ruthless leader, a master strategist, a man who could bring people to their knees with just his stare alone, crumbled to dust in the face of two infants and their… Soiled diapers.
He grabbed his phone, his finger hovering over the call button. “Sweetie,” he began when the connection went through, “I know you’re busy, but how far are you?”
He could practically hear Mc, his deeply missed, wildly competent girlfriend, tense up on the other end. “still searching for the last wanderer Why? Is something wrong?”
“No, no…well, yes. I have to change the twins’ diapers.”
A long pause. Sylus could practically see her rubbing her temples through the comm. Then, a sigh. “Change their diapers, Sylus.” And then, the connection was severed.
He stared at the phone in his hand, a picture of bewildered betrayal. She wasn’t going to help? He was on his own?
Luke and Kieran, who had been discreetly video recording the entire conversation on their phone, burst into laughter.
“Silence!” Sylus roared, though the threat lacked its usual bite. He approached the playmats with the tentative steps of a bomb disposal expert. “Right. Let’s get this over with.” he picked them up walking to the bathroom.
Now came the part he truly dreaded. The changing of the diapers. He'd faced down heavily armed mercenaries with more enthusiasm.
The next fifteen minutes were a blur of baby wipes, baby powder, and increasingly desperate prayers to whatever deity might be listening. Sylus, armed with a pair of gloves and a respirator mask and approached the task with the grim determination.
Luke and Kieran, filming with glee, offered helpful “advice” like, “Maybe try flipping it inside out?” and “Are you sure that’s supposed to be inside out like that?” or asking if he needed a bag whenever they saw their boss gag from the smell even wearing the mask.
“All you guys eat is baby food, ugh,” Sylus mumbled, holding Liam at arm's length after a particularly pungent encounter. He then proceeded to sanitize the surrounding area with enough disinfectant to kill germs in a hospital setting.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, both twins were clean, powdered, and swaddled, their tiny faces radiating innocence after the biohazard they just unleashed. Sylus collapsed onto his velvet-draped bed, placing Liam and Adeline gently on his chest.
“Right,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Storytime.”
He grabbed a brightly colored board book from the nightstand. He cleared his throat and began to read, his voice slowly regaining its usual smoothness.
“Once upon a time, There was-…” It wasn't long before the warmth and the steady rhythm of his voice lulled the twins to sleep. Liam’s tiny hand clutched at his shirt, while Adeline snuggled against his chest. Sylus, his eyes heavy, felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
He'd barely reached the part where the dog chased the cat up a tree before he too succumbed to sleep, the book slipping from his grasp falling with a soft thud to the ground.
Meanwhile, on a different Zone, MC, covered in grime and wielding her duel pistols, wrapped up her mission and was getting ready for the ride home. She pictured Sylus taking care of the twins she couldn't help but giggle before heading back with the rest.
Before heading back home she went to her place to freshen up first then went home to her family.
Back at the Onychinus base, silence reigned in Sylus’s office. Luke and Kieran, still chuckling over their recordings, noticed the abnormally quiet room and cautiously approached. When they entered, they had to pause. They had to compose themselves because what they saw brought a smile to their faces.
Sylus lay on the bed, his silver hair artfully messed, with Liam and Adeline nestled contentedly on his chest. All three were sound asleep, their faces turned towards each other in peaceful repose. It was a picture of domesticity that no one would have ever associated with the feared leader of the N109 Zone.
Knowing that Mc would arrive any moment they made quick haste to let her know and to be silent.
MC arrived soon after, her boots clicking softly on the polished floor “Quiet, Boss lady, quiet!" Kieran hissed. "You gotta see this.” They gestured for her to be quiet, their crow masks bobbing in silent anticipation as Luke and Kieran guided her towards the bedroom.
MC peeked into the room. Her heart melted. The stress of the day vanished, replaced by a wave of affection so strong it nearly brought tears to her eyes.
She watched as the three figures on the bed was asleep so cutely. But soon they stirred, their eyes slowly blinking open. Liam was the first to awake, followed by Adeline, and then Sylus who looked around and his eyes landed on her. Three pairs of eyes stared back, all sleepy and slightly confused at her in perfect unison. It was a sight that was cute for her.
Sylus blinked again, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Sweetie,” he mumbled voice laced with sleep, a smile spreading across his face . “You’re home.”
Liam and Adeline, recognizing their mother, gurgled happily and reached out their tiny hands towards her tiredly.
MC laughed softly, stepping closer to the bed. “Looks like you all had quite the adventure, didn’t you?”
Sylus shuddered dramatically. “Don’t even remind me. But i will say it worked out in the end”
“I’ll take over from here,” MC said, gently taking Adeline and then Liam from Sylus’s chest. “You deserve a medal.”
“Or at least a very strong drink,” Sylus muttered, sitting up and stretching. "Welcome back my beloved."
MC approached him and kissed him softly on the lips. then he went to approach his little ones and kissed them both on the forehead softly.
As MC settled herself beside Sylus, with Liam snuggled in her arms and Adeline giggling at their father, she couldn’t help but smile. Sylus might be a feared leader, a master strategist, and a force to be reckoned with, but in that moment, surrounded by his family, he was just a man who had survived diaper duty. And that, she thought, deserved a whole lot more than just a medal.
.
.
.
.
.
"Sylus...."
"Yes sweetie?"
"Why did you wear a full on mask to change their diapers" *trying not to laugh*
"Love, while you lost your sense of smell I haven't and they don't exactly smell like oranges and roses"
*Snorts*