♡ 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 𝐱 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒 ♡

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐓 → 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 ✨ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟐 ✨

Maria wheezed out another one of those squeaks from the tossing and turning of her chest that rippled from her feet, the simple sound almost inaudible from the tiny crack in her throat that it was born from being so quiet. She dribbled into a smile, bringing a foot up to nibble on the sock dangling from the end as they seemed just a little too big for her.

Shadow breathed into a chuckle, leaning both arms down across the edge of the crib to catch a better look. He still felt in a daze, like it all seemed to be running so smoothly that it felt impossible there wouldn't be something to stumble this perfect life up ahead. The need to sacrifice himself to save every living creature on the planet again or another accidental death still haunted him...

Himself and (Y/n) had already experienced some cracks in the pristine glass that reflected the blessing of what these children were back to them. As time went on, they repaired themselves more like fractured skin, and a bandaid hid them away as they no longer served such a threat.

Every time Shadow glanced at Maria to see little inhibitor rings of her own strapped to her wrists and ankles it made his heart ache. It was a fear that wouldn't leave him alone until confirmation after their birth that these children would have the same immeasurable capabilities as their father from genetics used to create him still thriving in the family's bloodstream.

It was something he seemed to sense would happen, and made him feel guilty, but Shadow would always remember (Y/n)'s reassuring words from the night he admitted his concerns he begged to not become a reality. They would annihilate these haunting worries whenever he reheard them, soothing himself down...

They'll be fine.

It's not your fault.

The world isn't the same as it was back then.

People have changed, I promise...

He reached his hands bare from gloves down to his daughter, her tiny hand clenching just the fingertip of his own as that was all she could manage. It sent a shiver through each vein of his heart and rippled all the way through his body, those words fixing the breakage as his ring softly clashed with hers to form a tiny tink.

A rhythmic tingle! Shadow ran the ridges of his knuckles across Maria's cheek, her skin fading into the fur to the side of her head feeling as softened as freshened snow. He made sure to keep every touch smooth and gentle, holding back his abilities more than ever before so as not to damage her frail face by even a caress too rough.

Every time he admired her in this way, in tender silence, it would always bring back that one special memory. The memory that began as a mountain to hike with little chance of survival but soon smoothed out into a straightened river easy enough to follow without a stagger. He felt transported back in time, breathing softly to let it play.

Shadow leant his back against the door, the wood feeling all too thick and creaking in response to his every breath. He could feel them quiver in his chest before they escaped, his knees raised slightly with his hands locked at the fingers rubbing the top anxiously.

He couldn't hear anything in the bathroom, the room the door he leant to cutting him off from accessing unless (Y/n) was ready to open it from inside. It seemed like it had been hours, his waist down to his thighs numb from immobility. Shadow kept his eyes closed and hoped to hear something soon.

(Y/n) breathed out a choke from inside the bathroom, the unexpected noise triggering Shadow's garnets ablaze in puzzlement to widen open and for his hands to meet the door to press his ears closer. He listened in, heart pounding inconveniently with hardened thumps through his head and making concentration impossible, (Y/n) taking deep breaths before breaking into a small cry.