Chapter Text
The penthouse felt different the moment Brandon walked in with the baby. Nikolai noticed it instantly, like the air itself shifted before anything else did. He was already standing when the door opened, eyes locking onto the small bundle in Brandon’s arms.
The baby was still tiny, still only a week old, wrapped carefully in a soft blanket. His skin had that warm caramel-brown tone that caught even the dim light of the penthouse in a strange way, like he didn’t belong to shadows or silence. Even the smallest movement made him look unreal, like something delicate the world hadn’t fully decided how to hold yet.
Nikolai stepped forward immediately. “Lotus flower, What the hell.”
Brandon didn’t even hesitate. “Language Niko, and he is a baby"
“okay and Lotus flower what is happening,” Nikolai said, following him as Brandon walked toward the bedroom.
“I don't Know,” Brandon replied simply, like that ended the conversation.
And somehow, it did.
They moved into the bedroom together - their bedroom - the space still too new in some ways, like it hadn’t fully learned it belonged to them yet. Brandon walked in first and carefully lowered the baby onto the center of the bed. The mattress dipped slightly under the weight, and the baby shifted once, a small instinctive movement before settling again.
Nikolai paused at the edge of the room, staring. “…You put him on our bed.”
“Yes,” Brandon said, already adjusting the blanket around him with careful hands.
“That’s insane,” Nikolai muttered, walking closer now anyway.
“It’s safe,” Brandon replied calmly.
“Still insane,” Nikolai insisted, but his voice had already softened without him noticing.
The baby made a faint sound, not quite a cry, just a small reflex noise, and Brandon immediately shifted closer, protective and steady, like his body already knew how to react before his thoughts caught up.
The baby wrapped carefully in a light blanket, small chest rising and falling in the slow, fragile rhythm of something brand new to the world. His skin was a warm caramel-brown tone, soft and glowing even under the dim light of the penthouse, like sunlight or moonlight would make him look almost unreal.
Nikolai watched that for a second, then sat down on the edge of the bed opposite him. He leaned in slightly, studying the baby like he was analyzing something far more important than anything else in the world.
“…I’m observing,” Nikolai said suddenly, very serious. “He looks like… warm light. Like if sunlight got tired and decided to become a baby.”
Brandon glanced at him for a moment, expression unreadable, but he didn’t interrupt.
The baby shifted again, tiny hands curling instinctively, still asleep but alive in that fragile, quiet way that made the whole room feel different.
Nikolai reached for the pillows after a second like it was the most obvious decision in the world. Brandon watched him immediately.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Safety,” Nikolai said instantly, already placing them carefully around the baby.
“He’s already safe,” Brandon replied.
“Safer,” Nikolai corrected without looking up, completely focused now.
Brandon didn’t stop him. Instead, after a pause, he adjusted one of the pillows on the other side, making it more secure. Nikolai noticed but didn’t comment — just kept working like it mattered more than anything else he’d done all day.
When he was done, he leaned back slightly, looking oddly satisfied with his “fortress.”
“…There,” he said. “Protected.”
Brandon exhaled softly, eyes still on the baby. “It’s a bed.”
“It’s a fortified bed,” Nikolai corrected immediately.
That earned the faintest hint of something like amusement from Brandon, though he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he just stayed sitting there, close enough that if the baby moved even slightly, he’d notice.
Nikolai stayed too, quieter now, gaze drifting between Brandon and the small life between them.
“…You really brought him home, lotus flower,” he said after a moment, voice lower than before.
Brandon didn’t look away from the baby. “We brought him home.”
Nikolai glanced at him once, then back at the baby.
And for once, he didn’t argue, didn’t joke, didn’t fill the silence with chaos.
Just nodded slightly.
“…Yeah,” he said softly. “We did.”