Harsh

♡ trente-quarte ♡

Despite being home and away from the babies, things became better in great amounts. The first week home was hard for Troye, and at times he would simply sit in bed and pump bottles because he couldn't fall asleep. Jacob always would wake if Troye was up, and he'd sit up and click on the bedside lamp so Troye could see what he was doing, and then he himself would either talk softly to his boy to keep Troye's mind off of things, or he'd read.

They visited their babies each day, and during the times when the nurses would ask them to leave the NICU for a bit, Jacob would take Troye out to meet his father for lunch, or they'd go shopping for baby clothes. Upon seeing Dua at the only place Troye liked shopping for baby clothes, the woman both hugged the life out of Troye and scolded him and Jacob for letting her find out about the babies via the newspaper. They apologized, and in return she sent them away dozens of the smallest baby outfits she owned, demanding that they put them on their babies and send her pictures the second they got the chance.

The paparazzi seemed to be completely avoiding them, and Jacob figured it had something to do with the warning he'd had his lawyer send to some of the major companies informing that if Jacob or Troye's name appeared negatively in a magazine or newspaper one more time, that Jacob would take each and every participant in the article wrote and try them in court for libel. During NICU visits, Troye's spirits both lifted and fell depending on the day.

Blaine was doing so well, he'd switched from formula to Troye's milk through his feeding tube. Brielle's progress was a bit slower. For one day about two days after Troye left the hospital she came off the ventilator only to be put right back on it after a few hours when her breathing had become so weak that her lips turned a scary blue. It was an instant that neither Jacob nor Troye liked to think about. But about five days after she officially came off of the ventilator, screeching at the top of her lungs in a way that assured both men that she was indeed okay when it came to air supply.

It was also the first time that they were allowed to hold her. Jacob picked her up first, just as he had with Blaine, and cradled her close as he lowered her down to Troye, crooning to her in the baby tone he had developed the entire way. Even Jacob had cried that time, because it had nearly taken a month, but they were finally getting to hold both of their babies. Both babies no longer squinted around blankly either, but instead would stare deeply at whoever held them. Blaine would even turn his head to hear voices, especially when it was Troye speaking.

Troye held Brielle and Jacob sat beside him with Blaine, and it made them even more eager to finally take their babies home. And luckily enough, the very next day they returned to the hospital only for Hari to already be holding Blaine, completely without a feeding tube, and handing him over to Troye. "It took a month, but he wants to try a new form of eating I believe," Barb declared happily. "He took very graciously to a bottle, so hopefully he does the same to you. Usually they prefer one more strongly over the other. Let's hope he chooses you, hmm?" Troye gaped at her, turning to look for Jacob who was attempting to find a place to set down his laptop case. He had started back up working after the first two weeks, but it was only from his laptop, so he simply took it to the hospital with him and would use it when the babies were sleeping.

It was already September, and Troye still hadn't started back up school, but he and Jacob had discussed it and he was to start mid-October. The Dom was behind Troye in a moment however, his hand settling gently on Troye's lower back and nodding encouragingly, "It'll be alright, sweets, you've been wanting this for quite some time. You always tell me how special it is, how it forms a bond and what not, hmm?" Troye swallowed hard, but he graciously took Blaine into his arms and nuzzled him up close momentarily. Both babies were still so tiny, but they were so soft. Troye loved rubbing his nose against the curly fuzz on their heads or against their soft pink cheeks. They no longer looked like tiny aliens, they had light pink skin that was always warm to the touch, their veins weren't as prominent, and they were slowly but surely putting fat on their fragile little bones.