“He’s so tiny,” Iri murmurs, our little newborn cradled in his hands as we crowd around him to admire Meer. “I grew a life.” The awe in his voice is everything.
I feel that awe. We created that life. Through every damn obstacle and impossibility, we created that life and Iri’s body grew it for almost two entire years, until he formed a completely viable little human being.
“Perfect,” Daunt murmurs.
“The best thing that’s ever come from an orgasm,” Rhydian says.
Iri snorts. His body shudders as he tries to contain his laughter and not disturb our child.
“Fuck’s sake, Rhyd. That’s not appropriate,” Daunt hisses.
“He doesn’t understand the words,” Rhydian says. “I’m excited for my orgasm to produce one too.”
Iri doesn’t quite contain his giggling this time. He bows his head, his body shaking with silent laughter.
My smile hasn’t left my face since the doctors placed our tiny human on Iri’s chest once they carved him from Iri’s body.
Carved might not give the correct aesthetic, but when I saw the blade of the scalpel and the fucking things they used to hold Iri open to pull our baby out? I will have nightmares. But then they sewed my breedable back up, and there’s this tiny little incision which is impossibly small. I’m flabbergasted that such a tiny hole stretched large enough to pull this baby from.
The doctors even say that it shouldn’t scar since it was such a small, clean cut and there were no complications.
“Honestly,” Daunt mutters. “Can’t allow you around anyone.”
Daunt isn’t fooling any of us, though. His smile has been painted on his face, just as mine has been. Like me, he can’t look away from Iri and Meer. I’m not sure which one he’s more smitten with right now—Iri, who grew this perfect little wonder or Meer himself, who we’ve waited to meet for so damn long.
Iri’s head leans against my shoulder, and he sighs. I kiss him, settling in a little closer. “He’s perfect,” Iri says. He looks up at me, meeting my gaze. His eyes shine with moisture. “I can’t believe we made him, Luken. A perfect combination of you and me.”
“And our nutritious juices to help him grow,” Rhydian says, causing Daunt to pinch him and Iri to laugh.
Rhydian is comic relief, even when we don’t need it. I’m not sure he likes serious moments. They may make him feel uncomfortable. He always breaks them with something that results in our laughter.
“I swear, I’m going to put a muzzle on you,” Daunt warns.
Then again, maybe Rhydian makes the comments he does specifically to get a rise out of Daunt. Rhydian’s smile, which Daunt can’t see, suggests as much. The wink is even more convincing of this hypothesis.
Iri swivels his head to grin at Daunt.
He’s not negating the contributions the rest of our pack made in helping Meer grow. We all know that he’s still harboring disbelief that Meer exists. I think there’s a part of us all that is. We fucked like horny-ass rabbits for ten months, trying to create him. Ten long months.
Granted, we would have been fucking like that, regardless.
Meer will simply never know how very important he is to us. He will never understand just how deep our love for him is.
Hakan gently touches Iri’s face. It’s soft and loving. The way Iri looks up at him makes my heart stutter in my chest.
“You did good, Daddy. So, so good.” He leans forward and presses a kiss to Iri’s forehead. “I’m so proud of you.”
Iri sniffs, blinking away tears that threaten to fall. He carefully hugs Meer to his chest and closes his eyes.
“You’re going to make the best parent,” Rhydian says in a rare, serious, sentimental statement. We know better than to comment on it, though. He’ll just double down on his need to create chaos and laughter.
“I think we all are,” Iri says. “We’re so ready to be dads.”
Our moment alone as a pack is interrupted by a knock on the door. A duo of nurses and a doctor come in.
“How are you feeling, Iri?” Dr. Kirk asks.
Iri nods, a big smile on his face. “Great.”