Work Text:
Stolas couldn’t help but laugh as Ruby May crawled underneath the blanket he had laid out for her. It was his turn to watch her at the office while the rest of the gang was out on a mission. He had placed it down for her to lay on top of but when she figured out she could go under it, it was like a new adventure for her. She’d crawl under it for a bit before popping out and surprising her birdy babysitter.
“Bah!” Ruby chirped, giggling as Stolas poked her nose.
“I see you~!” he cooed.
Ruby crawled back under and was making her rounds when a sparkling portal opened. Octavia stepped through, amused at the sight of her dad playing with the imp baby. “Hey dad,” she greeted, giving him a hug.
“Hello Octavia dear!” Stolas smiled, hugging her back. “Ruby May was just teaching me a funny game.”
“Oh yeah?” Octavia giggled, sitting on the other side of the blanket while watching Ruby May skitter under the blanket. She let out a laugh as Ruby May popped her head out, gasping in mock surprise at the baby smiling up at her.
“Bah!”
“Hello~!” Octavia cooed, poking her cheek and sending her back under. “You’re right! This is funny!”
“Do you think Miss Millie and Moxxie would enjoy this game with her?” Stolas wondered.
“With them? For sure,” the young teen chuckled. “You could call it…Boop the Baby!”
“I like it!” the prince smiled, scooping up Ruby as she popped out for the last time. “Okay time for your bottle and then a nap.”
The father-daughter duo sat down with Stolas feeding Ruby May and Octavia watching him. “You really are good at this, aren’t you,” she commented.
“Well I knew what to do when you were born,” he told her. “Hooves and horns are new territory for me but it’s basically the same principle. Though I did make Miss Millie laugh when I was trying to make her more comfortable?”
“How?”
Stolas looked down at Ruby May before giving his daughter a sheepish smile. “I tried to make her a nest,” he admitted.
“Oh this should be good,” Octavia teased, grabbing a pillow to hold while her father went into storymode.
{FLASHBACK}
“Fuckin’ dammit…” Millie grumbled, trying to adjust herself on the couch.
“Miss Millie? Are you quite alright?” Stolas fretted.
“Well my ankles feel like they’re weighted and I feel like I’m carryin’ a watermelon in my pants so…I ain’t exactly 100%,” the smaller imp admitted.
“I can’t imagine what that must be like,” the former prince told her, recalling all the complaining Stella did when she was carrying Octavia. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Unless you can remember a skipping time spell, I don’t think so,” she sighed before getting up. “I gotta go pee…again…”
Stolas watched sympathetically as Millie waddled her way to the bathroom, feeling awful for her. Since she was supposed to be taking it easy from field work, the young imp had been spending a lot of time at the office since she didn’t want to stay home bored. She wanted to hear a little bit about the action she was missing out on but the couch wasn’t exactly comfortable to sit on. They couldn’t afford a new couch right now but Stolas wanted to do something for her since she had been so kind to him during his banishment.
“Mm! THAT might work!” he smiled, quickly sending a text to Blitz as ideas started to form in his feathery head.
He might not be able to do much without his powers but he could at least do this.
(...)
“So we’ll wait for the bastard to take his midmorning dump and that’s when we get ‘im!” Blitz grinned.
“Ugh…why do we have to wait until he’s on the toilet?” Moxxie questioned. “Couldn’t we wait until he’s washing his hands or something?”
“The client wants them to die looking like a fool like they made them look when they offed them,” Loona reminded him. “If they want them dying on the crapper, he’ll die on the crapper.”
“Aww giving a bastard an embarrassing way to go? That sounds fun!” Millie whined.
“Sorry, Sis. We’ll bring ya a souvenir,” Sallie May promised, feeling sympathetic for her sister.
Millie watched longingly as Blitz licked his Asmodean Crystal and opened a portal, sending everyone through. Blitz looked back at his bestie before giving her a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, Mills. You’ll be back to kicking ass once Baby-To-Be-Named-Later is here!” he reassured her.
“Thanks B. Send pics of the mission!” she called, sighing a bit before standing up from her seat in the meeting room. She was about to waddle to the couch when Stolas stopped her. “Huh? What’s up?”
“I wanted to show you something. Something I think we’ll make this part of your pregnancy much more bearable,” Stolas told her with a shy smile.
Curious, Millie followed him only to discover the corner of her couch that she’d lounge on during downtime at work was transformed into a cozy paradise. Warm blankets so she wouldn’t get cold, a foot bath for her swollen ankles, a snackbar with all the pregnancy safe snacks she could want (savory and sweet), and a close spot next to the wall for her to charge her phone without having to get up.
“What is this?” Millie asked, a surprised laugh in her voice.
“You always work so hard caring for others. We wanted to do the same for you,” Stolas explained. “This can be your pregnancy nest while the others are doing field work. Moxxie also said he’d make one for you at home as well. Though I’m sure his will be better than mine–”
Millie immediately hugged him, touched from the kind gesture. “Thank you…Stolas…” she smiled, practically choked up from the surprise.
Stolas smiled as he hugged her back. “You’re welcome, my dear,” he replied. “And this will be useful when you lay your baby. Nests are important for the growth of the baby.”
“Huh?” Millie blinked, looking at him in confusion. “Lay my baby? Hun, you do know that imps don’t lay eggs…right?”
“You don’t?” he questioned, equally as confused as she gave him a sympathetic smile.
“Oh hun. I think you need a crash course in female imp biology,” she chuckled, patting the seat next to her nest while she got settled. “Wow this IS comfy!”
{END FLASHBACK}
“Turns out, despite the similarity to reptiles, imps don’t lay eggs,” Stolas chuckled weakly, letting Ruby May grip his finger after she was done with her bottle and he finished burping her.
“Guess I wasn’t the only one confused,” Octavia teased, laughing as Stolas tousled her hair.
“No but I did learn that warmth and comfort are important for the care of anyone growing a child,” he mused. “The time I spent with you in a nest I made for your mother–which she barely used–was wonderful.”
“She didn’t know what she was missing,” the young teen reassured him. “You did a good job. And…I’m glad she appreciated it.”
“Miss Millie is very kind. And I suppose making nests felt…comforting in those months,” he admitted.
Octavia leaned against her dad’s shoulder, lightly stroking a sleepy Ruby May’s hair before looking up at him. “If I’m ever sick or on my time of the month…could we make a nest?” she asked, an almost shyness in her voice.
“I think that would be a great idea,” Stolas nodded, setting Ruby down for her nap before letting himself relax on the couch with his daughter. “Nest building is a good father-daughter activity.”
[END]