The birds were chirping outside. Nikola snuggled Timmy closer to himself. The baby was sound asleep. Letting out small puffs of air.
The brunette slowly opened his eyes. Now, how was he supposed to get up when the baby wasn't awake?
He yawned. Trying to think of a way to let the little boy sleep some more.
Dimitri opened his eyes, then. He smiled at him, gently running his hand through Nikola's cheek.
"Hey," he murmured, as he leaned in for a kiss.
Timmy babbled out something, but he didn't wake up.
"Hey," Nikola said, as he slowly began to take Timmy off his chest. He needed to be up and running in two hours.
Which meant breakfast had to be made, Timmy's bottle had to be filled, and he had to take a shower.
"You know, we have been busy," Dimitri said, as he took the chain with the two rings from around his neck. "But I wish to ask you something."
Nikola's heart began to beat like a war drum. The rings were small circles of gold. There was some sort of engraving on them, but Nikola couldn't read it.
"Will you, Niki," Dimitri began, as he took one of the rings off the chain. "Make me the happiest vampire in the universe? Will you marry me?"
"Why only the happiest vampire in the universe?" Nikola was buying time. This was a big commitment.
Even though he couldn't imagine himself with someone else, he still wanted to get to know Dimitri better.
The vampire gifted him a cheeky grin.
"Because you are going to be the happiest human in the world, I promise."
Nikola began to blink.
This was so typically Dimitri, that he didn't know what to say.
Timmy chose this moment to open his eyes and look in Nikola's green ones.
Timmy smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. His little tuff of red hair was like cotton candy.
It was so, as if the baby was pleading with him to give him a family. A family that would last.
"Timmy, papa and daddy will always love you," Dimitri said. Nikola smiled when he realized that he was not called "mama". "But if you really need to resort to mind magic, then I have to disappoint you."
The baby let out a giggle.
Nikola couldn't take it anymore. He offered his hand.
The ring fit.
****
Being engaged was strange to Nikola. He already had a child, an adopted one, but his, with Dimitri. He already slept in the same bed with the man. He still stole moments with him.
But now everything was just so… strange.
"When do you want the wedding?" Dimitri asked him, as he fed Timmy his milk formula.
"I don't know," it was a stalling tactic. Everything was happening too fast.
Nikola was more than a little bit nervous.
What if Dimitri woke up one day, and decided that their romance was not to be?
What if he decided he wanted someone without emotional baggage?
A vampire, perhaps?
"How does Christmas sound? A present for Timmy. And it will give you a lot of time to think if me snoring next to you every night is bearable or not?" Dimitri teased, his eyes calm.
"Christmas?" Nikola repeated. He looked at the baby, who was suckling from his bottle. "Sure, let it be Christmas. It is July now, right?"
Dimitri nodded.
"Ok, then," Nikola began to breathe easier. He stood up, only to sway on his feet.
Dimitri placed Timmy down on the bed and steadied him.
"I never imagined that you would react so," Dimitri told him, as he kissed him on the forehead.
"What is your favorite color?" Nikola asked. He was finding it hard to breathe.
"Green, like your eyes," Dimitri told him, as he handed him Timmy.
"Here, why don't you finish feeding him? I am sure that he still has some milk left over in the bottle?"
Nikola took the baby boy. Timmy giggled, swatting him with his hand.
The bottle exchanged hands. Soon, the sound of suckling filled the empty room.
"We can't just continue to live in the inn," Nikola finally said. "If we are to have a family, we have to have a house. Like your cabin!"
Dimitri nodded. He, too, didn't want to stay in the inn for the rest of his stay in this world.
"We can have the goblins build it. We just need to get Guild Master Arnold to approve the project."
"And land. We need farmland," Nikola said, Timmy's weight in his arms grounding him. "Not to mention that we should enroll Timmy in a kindergarten."
Timmy narrowed his eyes. Nikola blinked.
"Just how much does he understand from what we are saying?"
Dimitri chuckled.
"He got all of his mother's memories when he was born. That is something that happens with most coffin births. The mothers want to give the babies some semblance of life because…"
Dimitri didn't want to finish his thoughts. Timmy was a coffin birth. He would understand what he was saying.
The baby began to tear up.
The damage was done.
Dimitri placed a hand over Timmy's chest, letting the weight ground the baby.
"Your mama loved you a lot, Timmy," Dimitri didn't know the woman. But if her ghost had sacrificed itself just so the boy could see the world, even if it was only through memories, before he moved on, then that was true love.
"She would have never left you, if she had the choice," Nikola added.
Timmy spat out the bottle.
There was still milk inside.
"We won't leave you! You will have your uncle Bleda to take care of you!" Dimitri added.
"And when we come back from adventuring, we will bring you gifts!" Nikola added, as Timmy began to whimper.
"Timmy," Dimitri said, as he kissed the baby's head.
"We love you," Nikola finished.
The baby was still whimpering, but he wasn't outright crying.
The two counted it as a win and then began to prepare for the day ahead. It would be more training, more deals, and more projects.
They had to turn Oak's Rest into a town worthy of a title like "Best town to live in."
For Timmy.
Their little heart.