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Ortho Shroud was the fifth person to hold Pluto. He couldn’t be there for his nephew’s birth, the Charon Op’s had been called due to a particularly dangerous phantom, and as the division's head (and the most indestructible member of S.T.Y.X) he was naturally called to the scene. He’d finally made it back, his cooling fans going off due to his exertion.
Sitting outside Idia’s hospital room were their parents, with both their helmets off. They were both smiling, leaning against each other, and exhausted. Father’s hair was burning brightly and mother’s eyes were still wet.
“Is it okay to go in?” Ortho asked.
“Idia and Silver are probably asleep, but you can check. Just knock lightly.”
Ortho approached the door and knocked softly. Silver cracked the door open. He looked exhausted, his hair was a mess, and he was smiling more than Ortho had ever seen.
“I’m sorry to disturb,” Ortho whispered. “But…um…”
“Come in. They're both asleep.”
Ortho followed Silver into the dark hospital room. Idia was curled up in the bed, facing Pluto’s crib, both giving off a faint glow. Silver sat back in a chair by the door, almost like he was guarding the room.
“Can I hold him?”
“Just be careful.”
Ortho nodded and approached the crib, being careful not to wake his brother or nephew. Pluto was so… small. Admittedly, Ortho didn’t have much experience with babies. They’re not really found on the Isle of Woe. He’d done plenty of research beforehand, but not all the knowledge in Twisted Wonderland could prepare him for just how little newborns truly were.
Besides the doctors and nurses, Idia had been the first person to hold Pluto. He was out of breath and exhausted, hands shaking. A nurse had to support his arms until he managed to steady himself. Objectively, he was kind of ugly; red as a tomato, wrinkly like a prune, and covered in gross birth stuff, but to Idia, there was nothing more beautiful than his wailing son in his arms, nothing more perfect and majestic. Idia pressed his blue lips against the baby’s head, holding him there as he took it all in. He’d been the one to name him.
After Pluto was cleaned and swaddled, the baby was handed to Silver.The former knight’s eyes were blurred with tears, making it a little hard to really see, but he could feel his warmth, his soft skin, the flaming little wisps of hair. Silver sat on the bed beside Idia’s feet, delicately tracing the facial features of his cooing baby. Was this how Lilia had felt, holding Malleus, holding him, holding Sebek? Such an overwhelming feeling of pride, joy, love, and fear? He would bring down the heavens for his little thimble, steal fire from the gods if he was ever cold, discover the secrets of life and death if he was ever sick, bathe the Isle of Woe in red if anyone were to try and hurt him. Lilia would be thrilled, Malleus would be proud, Silver couldn’t wait to see them soon.
Macaria held Pluto first, then Ascalaphus. They both held their grandson with confidence; Macaria making silly faces to get him to make little noises, and Ascalaphus holding his finger out for Pluto to grab.
“He’s a lot less fussy than Idia was.” Ascalaphus joked. Macaria hummed in agreement.
“He must take after Or.”
They both laughed softly and let a gentle quiet fall between them. Pluto gurgled and yawned, snuggling deeper into his blankets, eyelids starting to flutter closed.
“La la?”
“Yes my love?”
“Would you tell me if this is a dream? If these past years have been fake? If this was all just a fantasy I've made up to cope, would you tell me?”
“Macaria-”
“Because sometimes, I’m afraid that I’ll wake up, and Ortho will be dead, and Idia will be barely holding on, and I would’ve gone mad with grief. I’m not sure if I could handle that.”
“Would you truly want to be awoken?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Then if you wish to be awoken, I would wake you up. And if you wish to stay asleep, I would let you slumber. But I know that won’t be necessary. This is real. Our life, our family, our happiness, it’s real.”
“How do you know? How do you never worry?”
“I don’t know how. It’s just something I can feel.”
“Whe hee hee. I never thought I’d see you rely on a feeling like this. Normally you'd be going nuts over a question like that.”
“Oh quiet you.” Ascalaphus laughed, lightly pinching Macaria’s cheek. As the two giggled over each other, Pluto began squirming and fussing, little arms trying to flail around.
“Aww,” Macaria cooed, scooping the baby out of her husband's arms. “Does someone need their daddies? C’mon, let's get you back to Idy.”
That had been a few hours ago. Now, Ortho Shroud stood over Pluto’s crib and gently took him into his arms. He felt as light as a feather, and fit like a puzzle piece in his arms. Ortho could detect warmth coming from Pluto’s porcelain skin and silvery flames upon his head. Ortho carefully poked his chubby cheek, and the baby whined at the sudden feeling of cold metal.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Pluto blinked his periwinkle eyes open as Ortho fretted over him. The little baby gurgled at his uncle, almost like he was curious, and tried to reach out to him.
“Heh heh, look at you. Idy’s going to be pouty about you looking nothing like him. I know he was hoping for a mini-me.” Ortho joked. He could feel tears running down his face, and his face curved into a smile.
Ortho Shroud could probably count on one hand the amount of times in his life he had cried. He didn’t cry the way humans did, his eyes didn’t become puffy, his nose didn’t become blocked up, and his breath didn’t stutter. Yet each time, he felt more human every time he cried.
Ortho Shroud was the fifth person to hold Pluto, and he held him through the night. He held him while sitting beside Idia while he slept, while Silver guarded to door, and while his parents napped together just outside.