You& me, and our mate

ch 19; like nothing had happened

'

Knuckles wakes slowly up, and at first he doesn't notices the other side of the bed was empty.
It wasn't until when the hand who was searching after the other person, didn't found anyone.
The echidna grunts confused, and blinks the eyes opened while sitting up.
"Mephiles?-..." he rubs the arm over the eyes to get ride of the last of the sleep in the eyes.
When he doesn't gets any answer, he gets up from the bed.
Then he walks out in only black boxers, and walks toward the nursery while yawning.
It must only be around five- or six am...

The tired echidna pushes the half opened door to the nursery, and by doing so, he could see the hedgehog standing next the crib with a shade of orange over him. Which is the outdoor lights who comes through the window, and from the early sun in the dawn.

The hedgehog leans a slightly over the crib, and stares down at the baby.
Knuckles smiles, and let's out a low chuckle, before approaching the other.
"Hey Mephiles-... I think..." he starts saying in hushed voice to not wake Silver up.
The hedgehog exhales shocked, and stands upright where he turns around.
A pair of red eyes stared confused at him.
Which startled Knuckles, and he stopped walking where he also got speechless for a short while.
"... S-shadow?'

Shadow peeks one more down in the crib, before walking over to him.
"... Knux-... That child... Is that..." he starts asking where he thoughtfully furrows the eyebrows.
Knuckles' heart pounds faster, and he almost forgot how to breathe.
He can't remember the last time he either saw, or spoke with him... And  here he stands in front him... Like nothing had happened.
Knuckles gives Shadow a nervous smile.
" Y-yeah-... Mephiles gave birth to my son-... Like three days ago..." he explains.
The bewildered hedgehog nods.
"... Oh-... That-... Explains few things... Like the pain in certain parts on my body..." Shadow clears the throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the time-skip, and the changes with his body. Like the weirdly swollen chest whose nipples were leaking a little with some weird fluid.

The excited echidna grabs Shadow's hand, and pulled him toward him where he kisses him on the lips.
Then he wraps the arms around him.
" Oh gosh-... I have missed you so much-... Mephiles and I were so worried you would never come back..." he whispers with the head over the other's shoulder.
Shadow's heart pounds faster.
"... It's weird-... For me-... It feels as I was here a day ago, or something... But now... The office is remade, and there is a baby in the house... Which means-... I have lost a lot of time... A-and... I can't believe that... It sounds so surreal..."
Knuckles gives him one last squeeze, before letting go of him.
"... But you are here now... And that's the important part... And I ehm-..." he clears the throat a bit nervously.
Shadow raises an eyebrow.
Knuckles smiles unsure.
"... And I have moved in-... You are okay with that?"

The hedgehog is eyeing Knuckles a few seconds, then he smiles where he shrugs.
" I don't mind-... I'm only happy Mephiles and I could agree with a guy... These new things might confuse me a bit... But-... I'm alright with you living here... Besides-..." he says, where he glances over the shoulder at the crib.
"... I might need a lot help with that child... You and Mephiles have got the time to prepare... While I haven't... I don't know anything about babies... And I don't even know his name..." he shrugs, and looks pleading at Knuckles.

Knuckles let's out a low chuckle, and shrugs.
" Don't worry-... I'm sure you will get used with your new life... And his name is Silver..."
Shadow nods.
" Silver-... I like that name..." he says while asking himself his role to the child... Would he count as a parent?... Or he was only an uncle? Or step-dad at the best?
It was so confusing right now-... Especially when it was kinda his body Silver developed in... So, he was kinda pregnant despite he didn't knew, or had the control of the body at the time.

Knuckles takes the other's hand again, and gives him a smile.
" I have an idea-... How about you and I, get back to bed and sleep few more hours?... When you have a baby, you should take every chance you have and sleep..." he suggests, and yanks him a little to walk toward the door.
Shadow shakes the head, and slides the hand out from his.
" I'm not tired-... It's the opposite... It's like I have swallowed down eight-ten cups of coffee... But-... If you want to sleep a little more... I don't mind if you get back to bed, and leave me alone..."
Knuckles' heart pounds nervously. A bit worried the other would be gone if he fell asleep... What if this was just a dream?!
Gosh-... He would be so devastated if this was a dream, and Shadow would be gone again.

Knuckles shakes the head where the dreadlocks stroke over the back and over the shoulders to the chest.
"... Neh-... I might as well stay up... Do you want breakfast?"
At first Shadow wanted to protest, and tell Knuckles shouldn't stay up for him... But he remained silent, and nods instead.
The echidna smiles, and takes Shadow's hand again where they walk out from the nursery and against the kitchen.

***

Knuckles was frying bacon and eggs, when the baby started whimpering.
Shadow's ear twitches from the sound, and he stiffened nervously.
He looks across the kitchen from the chair by the table, and looks pleading at the echidna's back. With the hope Knuckles would rush over to the nursery instead of leaving the task to him...
What was he even supposed to do with the baby?... Would he need to pick him up? ... What if he held him wrongly where the small hoglet's neck snapped?!
Shadow shudders over the thought of accidentally hurting the hoglet... He would never forgive himself if he hurted him, where he then held his lifeless body in the hands.

The whimpers soon increased into a loud crying where the voice cracked with random hiccups.
Knuckles paused few seconds with the cooking.
Then he continued with the food.
"... Shadz-... can you take care of Silver?" He asks while focusing on the food.

Shadow's heart pounds swiftly behind the chest with anxious pounding.
"... O-or-... You can do that-... W-while I finish the breakfast..." he swallows hardly.
Knuckles looks curiously over the shoulder at him, and notices the worry in the other's face.
The echidna sighs.
" Alright-... I take Silver, while you make breakfast..." he agrees, and walks out from the kitchen to get back to the nursery where the baby cries loudly with tears running down along the cheeks to the sides of the face.

When Knuckles has left the kitchen, Shadow exhales in relief and stands up where he walks over to the oven.
Despite he got away for now-... He knew he wouldn't slip away in the future...
It's weird though-... One minute he and Mephiles lived alone in the house-... And from out of nowhere Knuckles moved in, and there is a child as well...
It's really weird-... And he is supposed to join the mess without any saying... Yeah... He loves Knuckles-... But having a child... He isn't sure if he is ready for that... Or if he ever wanted one...

Shadow sighs, and starts placing eggs and bacon on two plates, where he also adds toasts.
Then he places those plates on the table, and turned off the oven.
When cutlery, butter, glasses and orange juice were on the table, Knuckles arrives with Silver in the arms.
Even though the child wasn't crying anymore, he keeps squirming in the arms. Looking a bit impatient.

The hedgehog looks nervously at them.
" S-something wrong?" He asks since Knuckles brought the baby.
The echidna smiles.
" He is hungry-..."Knuckles explains and looks silently at Shadow a few seconds.
Then he shrugs.
"... Can you maybe hold him while I prepare a bottle?" He asks.
Shadow froze.
" Hold him?-... I don't know-... How..." he tells him where he looks rather pale.
Knuckles nods.
" If you are nervous-... You can sit down, and I will just place him in your arms... He won't break... I promise"

Despite Shadow was still unsure of holding the hoglet, he sits nervously down on the chair.
But the nervousness disappeared almost immediately when he got the child in the arms.
Confused Shadow stares down at the white furred hedgehog who stares back at him, before the baby let's out low chuckle with the arms reaching after his face.
Shadow's heart skips a beat from hearing the cute giggling from the child.
And when the baby made bubbles with the saliva where the tongue sticks out a little between the lips, Shadow's heart pounds lovingly for him.
The older hedgehog chuckles, and strokes the hand gently over the child's soft cheek.
The touch got the child's attention, and a pair of golden eyes look asking at him.
Shadow smiles warmly at him while Knuckles prepared the formula.
"... What are you doing?-... Are you playing?" He asks softly with low voice so he wouldn't startle the child.
Instead of answering him, Silver gives him a small smile.
... Okay-... Maybe it wouldn't be wrong having a baby anyway. As long the child was cute as Silver was now. Giggling, smiling and making bubbles with the saliva... Those things were weirdly adorable.

When the bottle was finished, Knuckles hands it over to Shadow who starts feeding Silver with baby formula.
The echidna sits down on the chair across the table, and couldn't stop looking at his boyfriend who feeds the baby.
The life couldn't be more perfect than it was now...
Three men and a baby... That's perfect, in a weird way~