My girl @sadtomatoff asked for Jack holding their baby for this first time. This is pretty close.
Eric wakes to an empty bed, cool sheets beside him. Over the monitor he can hear a soft, lyrical murmur, which must’ve been what woke him. He closes his eyes and just listens to Jack’s quiet, deep voice and a melody he doesn’t recognize.
He listens for a few minutes, but doesn’t hear the baby make a peep.
It’s only been a few days, but he doesn’t think the sight that greets him at their baby’s room will ever get old. Jack is laying flat on the floor with a couple pillows wedged under his neck and back, and their baby is a tiny ball of fabric and a squinchy face sound asleep on his chest. Now that he’s here, he can make out the words Jack is singing on repeat to a tune he seems to have made up.
“Je t'aime ma vie. Je t'aime, mon amour. Je t'aime, mon chouchou. Je t'aime, mon coeur,” over and over.
Eric grabs the baby’s blanket from his bassinet and drapes it over them as he lays down on the floor next to Jack.
“What are you doing down here, baby?” he asks.
“Couldn’t sleep,” says Jack.
Even in the dark it’s easy to see Jack’s sheepish smile.
“Come to bed, babe. Both of you,” he adds, seeing the protest on forming on Jack’s face.
It’s a challenge to get the baby up off of Jack without waking him, but he’s been a champion sleeper so far and tonight is no exception.
Jack cups his hand around the back of Eric’s neck and kisses him so sweetly. This boy, Eric thinks. God, he wishes he knew how he got so lucky. Wishes he could bottle up this feeling, this utter contentment. He’s so full of it sometimes he feels like he could burst.
“I heard you singing to him, but I didn’t know one of the words. What’s shoo shoo?” Eric’s French comprehension has gotten better but his pronunciation will likely always be terrible. He’s definitely not looking forward to the inevitable day when his kid can out-French him.
“Tu es mon chou. Il est mon chouchou.”
Eric pulls Jack back in for another kiss. “We have to pick a name for him at some point, but chouchou is pretty damn cute, Mr. Zimmermann.”