Ni-ki was all sharp edges and cold glares, the kind of guy who made people step aside without a word. On the other hand, you were soft-spoken, the quiet storm beside him, wrapped in oversized band tees, ripped jeans, and smudged eyeliner. A matching aesthetic but opposite auras. He was the fire; you were the slow-burning ember.
A tiny, fragile thing wrapped in a black onesie with skull prints nestled against your chest, his tiny fingers curled into your shirt. Your baby boy. Ni-ki’s son. A piece of both of you, somehow softer than either of you ever thought you could be.
Ni-ki leaned against the bedroom doorframe, arms crossed, watching you hum absentmindedly as you swayed with your son. His face was unreadable, but you could tell—he was fighting something.
“Why do you always look at me like that?” you murmured, adjusting your hold on the baby.
Ni-ki scoffed, running a hand through his messy, oreo dyed hair. “Like what?”
Silence. Heavy, uncomfortable, stretching between you both like the night sky.
“I don’t wanna mess him up,” he muttered, barely loud enough to be heard. His jaw clenched. “I don’t wanna mess you up.”
Your heart ached. You stepped forward, gently bouncing your son in your arms. “Ni-ki…”
“I’m not like you,” he continued, voice lower now. “You’ve always been quiet, careful, good. I’m—” He let out a bitter laugh. “I barely know how to be a person, let alone a dad.”
You reached out with your free hand, grabbing his wrist before he could run like he always did. His skin was warm, his pulse quick beneath your fingers. He never got used to how easily you could break through him.
“You’re here,” you whispered, tugging him closer. “That’s enough.”
He exhaled sharply, gaze flickering to your son. His son. Sleeping soundly despite his father’s demons. Ni-ki swallowed hard, hesitating before brushing a finger over the baby’s cheek.
“Yeah?” His voice cracked just slightly.
You nodded, pressing your forehead against his. “Yeah.”
Ni-ki closed his eyes, breathing you in.
Ni-ki never thought he’d be the type to get soft. But here he was, standing in a dimly lit bedroom with you and his son—the two things he swore he’d never deserve.
The baby stirred in your arms, a tiny yawn escaping his lips before he settled again. Ni-ki’s gaze softened, his calloused fingers barely ghosting over the kid’s cheek.
“He looks like you,” he mumbled.
You huffed a quiet laugh. “You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.” His fingers trailed to the baby’s tiny hand, watching it instinctively grasp his pinky. His heart clenched. “But he’s got my attitude, I bet.”
You smiled, leaning into him. “God help us.”
Ni-ki chuckled, his lips brushing against your temple before he sighed, shifting uncomfortably. “I keep thinking I’ll wake up one day, and this—” he gestured vaguely to the quiet life you had built, the warmth of it, the normalcy—“will be gone.”
You frowned, reaching up to cup his face. “Ni-ki.”
He swallowed, dark eyes flickering with something raw. “I don’t know how to be what he needs. What you need.”
Your brows knitted together. “You’re already what we need.”
He shook his head, pulling away slightly. “I grew up thinking love was temporary. That people leave. That no one stays long enough to fix things.” He exhaled, staring at the baby, who still had his pinky in a tight grip. “But you’re still here. He’s here. And I don’t know what to do with that.”
You took his hand, guiding him to sit beside you on the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight, and for a second, he looked smaller. Like the boy he used to be before the world made him sharp.
“Then we’ll figure it out,” you whispered. “Together.”
His throat bobbed. Slowly, he nodded.
The baby squirmed, his tiny face scrunching up before he whined softly. Without thinking, Ni-ki scooped him up, resting him against his chest.
You stared, surprised. “Look at you.”
“Shut up,” he muttered, but there was no bite.
The baby nuzzled into his hoodie, sighing in content.
Ni-ki froze as if the weight of his son had suddenly settled into his soul.
You watched as something shifted in his expression—fear melting into something deeper, something softer. He pressed a hesitant kiss to the baby’s forehead, eyes fluttering shut.
Ni-ki had never felt anything like this—this fragile weight against his chest, small and warm, like something sacred. His son. His actual son.
The baby scrunched his tiny nose, letting out a shaken coo, the sound almost questioning, as if he was asking to be held correctly by his dad. His tiny arms flailed, one hand smacking against Ni-ki’s chest, the other grazing his arm with a surprising amount of strength for someone so tiny.
It was weird. The way his son moved reminded him of Bisco, his dog, whenever he held him like a baby. But this wasn’t just some pet he could cradle for fun. This was a real baby. His baby.
“Uh… what do I do?” he muttered, looking at you in panic.
You chuckled, reaching out to adjust how he held your son. “You support his head more like this.” Your hands guided his, settling the baby into a secure position against Ni-ki’s chest.
The baby whined at first, legs kicking, face scrunched up like he was about to scream—but then, as if realizing this was precisely where he wanted to be, he nuzzled into Ni-ki’s hoodie. A deep sigh left his tiny lips, warm breath against his father’s collarbone.
Ni-ki’s entire body stiffened.
The baby was so close. So tiny.
And he trusted him completely.
“… Oh,” Ni-ki breathed, staring at the little bundle in his arms. “He—he’s just… chilling here.”
You grinned. “Yeah. He likes you.”
The words hit deeper than they should have. Ni-ki’s chest tightened. “You think so?”
“I know so.” You rested a hand on his arm. “Babies can tell when they’re safe.”
Ni-ki had never thought of himself as safe before, not with how he carried himself—grunge hoodies, ripped jeans, sharp glares that kept people away. But looking down at his son, tiny fingers clutching onto the fabric of his hoodie, he realized that this little thing didn’t care about any of that.
Ni-ki swallowed hard, hesitantly lifting a hand to brush his thumb over his son’s round cheek. His skin was soft. Warmer than he expected. A tiny, perfect human.
His son cooed again, snuggling even deeper against him.
Ni-ki let out a slow breath, sinking into the moment.
And for once in his life, he didn’t want to run.