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The sounds of crying alerted the two half asleep men. Mika was the first to get up, groggily sliding himself out of his cozy bed, and onto the cold, vinyl wood floors. He shuffled his feet over towards the baby’s room, where he slowly opened the door. Kimi was loudly crying inside his crib.
“He must be hungry.”
Carefully, Mika cradled the baby in his arms, rocking Kimi back and forth, but to no avail. Kimi’s wails hadn’t lightened up, so Mika finally knew it was time for breakfast. He carried the infant out of the nursery, and into the kitchen. Mika tiredly looked around the counter, trying to find the baby bottle. He let out a small sigh as he found it in the sink. It hadn’t been washed the previous night.
“Another task. Lucky me…”
Mika adjusted his grip on Kimi as he picked up the soiled bottle. He was quick to wash the leftover formula that clung to the inside. Mika felt a small wave of relief as he heard Kimi’s sobs lighten slightly.
“Did you figure out Isä is making you milk?”
Mika placed the now clean bottle onto the counter. The next thing he needed: baby formula. Kimi wasn’t old enough to have solid foods yet, though both Mika and Michael wished he could eat solids. After grabbing the container of formula, Mika put two scoops of the powder into warm water. He gently shook the bottle, mixing in the formula with the water.
Once he had everything he needed, Mika walked over to the sofa, where he perched Kimi up on his lap, and began to feed him. Just as he suspected, Kimi had started quickly drinking down the bottle. Mika let out a small chuckle.
“You’re gonna choke if you don’t slow down.”
Of course, Kimi didn’t understand what his father was telling him. He probably didn’t even know his own name yet, let alone his dads names.
………
Just as Kimi was finishing up his bottle, Michael had stepped out of the bedroom. He took a look at both Mika and Kimi.
”So is that why you were crying so much?”
Michael moved his head over towards Mika’s, placing a small kiss on the Finn’s hair.
“And how are you, Schatz?”
Mika looked up at the German with a tired expression.
“I want to go back to sleep.”
Michael lowered his head, looking at Kimi. He looked back up at Mika, as if he had an idea.
“I can take care of Kimi if you’re still tired.”
Mika frowned slightly.
”I just don’t want him to be too much, you know? You just woke up, and-”
Michael had cut him off. He placed his hand on Mika’s shoulder, rubbing it gently.
“It’s okay, I promise. You need to rest. I am more than capable of taking care of our son.”
Mika lightly nodded his head.
“Let me finish feeding him first, then I’ll hand him over.”
Michael walked around to the other side of the sofa, taking a seat next to Mika. He watched as the Finn gently patted the baby’s back, making sure there was no gas build up inside of him. Mika planted a small kiss on Kimi’s forehead.
“All done! Are you happy now?”
Kimi smiled at him, letting out a small giggle. With Kimi finally taken care of, Mika hands him over to Michael. He smiled at the infant.
“Hello, Kimi!”
Kimi turned his head, watching as Mika stood up from the sofa. Mika weakly smiled at the baby.
“I’ll see you later!”
Mika gently waved goodbye to Kimi as he walked over to the hallway. Kimi turned his head back over at Michael. Michael lightly poked Kimi’s right cheek.
“You get to watch tv with me while papa’s asleep!”
Michael leaned over, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. Kimi stared at the remote’s buttons. Michael showed Kimi the round ‘power’ button.
”This is the button that turns the television on.”
Michael turned Kimi around, making sure he was facing the television. Kimi stared at the screen, which was playing an episode of The Golden Girls. Michael surfed through the channels, trying to find anything interesting. Kimi was more fascinated by the colors on the screen, rather than what was playing. The German eventually landed on an episode of the Simpsons.
As the show played in the background, Michael noticed Kimi slowly drifting off to sleep. He adjusted his arm, letting Kimi lay his head down on his forearm. Michael gently rubbed his thumb on the side of Kimi’s head as he fell asleep.
………
Mika woke up about an hour later, feeling better than he had earlier. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the light pouring into the bedroom. Carefully, he got out of bed, and back out into the hallway.
Peeking around the corner, he saw Michael, who was still watching the television. Mika made his way over to the sofa, where he spotted the still asleep Kimi. Michael waved at Mika with his free hand. As he took a seat on the other side of the sofa, he returned the wave. Mika spoke up, talking in a tone not much louder than a whisper.
“Did he do okay?”
Michael responded in a similar tone.
“Well, he slept for most of the time. I call that a win.”
Even though their voices were quiet, Kimi still woke up not too long after their talk. His eyes landed on Mika, causing him to cry softly. Mika swiftly picked Kimi up, gently rocking the infant in his arms.
“Did you miss me? Is that why you’re crying?”
Michael stood up, making sure he was standing next to Mika.
”Did I do something wrong? Why is he crying?”
Mika turned his head, smiling at Michael.
“It’s not your fault, kulta. He just missed me.”
Michael felt some of the guilt wash away. He slowly wrapped his arm around Mika’s waist.
“You must be his favorite.”
Mika leaned his head on Michael’s shoulder.
“I’m the one that gave birth, so it’s not too surprising.”
Michael placed a small kiss on Mika’s temple.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
Mika quietly hummed to himself.
“If you didn’t love me, we wouldn’t be here right now, taking care of our baby.”
Michael looked down at Kimi. His tears had stopped, and now he was content. Michael smiled at Kimi, who in return, gave a gummy smile. Michael stiffly chuckled.
“You’re right. He’s almost like a symbol of our love.”
”Kulta, he is a symbol of our love.”