Alastor's Fading Static Hatred (Radiodust mpreg)

Chapter Forty-Two: Happy Birthday, Dear Mercy

~Angel Dust's point of view~

I put Mercy in a little pink and black dress for her birthday that Rosie had tailored for her, brushing her silky, surprisingly long silver spotted red and black hair into pigtails. I put her little black shoes on her with a smile before she ran elsewhere in the apartment to play with Charlie, who looked like the princess anyone would imagine her to be, but in her own unique way.

Charlie wore a simple, slightly poofy dress that flowed perfectly when she moved with a blazer and a pair of low-heeled, black boots.

I got myself ready for Mercy's birthday celebration downstairs, putting on a beautiful red dress that I could run in and a pair of flat boots that ended before the knee. On went red lipstick and a black smokey eye before I combed my hair and put on a headband so it stayed looking nice.

Alastor was trying his hardest not to scream because he didn't fit anything he wanted to wear, so I helped him make it look like he was wearing his normal red button up shirt under his black maternity sweater with his bow tie.

"I'm so fat..." Al sighed in defeat when he didn't like how it looked.

"No, hey, don't say that, you're still as beautiful as ever. I still love you." I said, kissing his forehead gently. I took the bow tie off him with a sigh, unbuttoning the top button. "There. That's better." I smiled at him before kissing him all over his face.

His eyelids, his bags, his cheekbones, his cheeks, his nose in a few spots, between his eyebrows, on the scar where he was shot when he was alive, his jaw, and, of course, his lips.

"I love you, Strawberry, smile for me." I whispered, trying to get him to smile. His face looked so devoid of life when his smile didn't show up that I proceeded to tickle him.

He laughed as I tickled him, trying to get me to stop as we fell on the bed.

"I won't stop until you smile." I laughed as he continued to try to get me to stop tickling him.

"Okay, okay! I'm smiling, stop tickling me." Al laughed softly. He had his wide smile back on his face but it looked strained. He must be having a really hard time smiling lately.

"Okay, Smiles, let's go downstairs. We gotta see how it's going with the preparations." I helped him off the bed and held his hand as we made our way downstairs with Mercy following us.

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"Happy birthday dear Mercy, happy birthday to you." Our huge found family sang as Mercy sat in her highchair with the cake in front of her. Mercy struggled to figure out what to do about the candles, so Al walked over and explained it to her.

Mercy held up her rubber duck and aimed the hole at the candle after a little bit of thinking and squeezed as hard as she could, putting the candle out. We all applauded and laughed because none of us were really expecting that.

"Smart little girl." Al sighed with a smile on his face.

"That's our daughter." I mumbled in agreement as I wrapped an arm around him.

"Let's go cut her a slice of cake, shall we? This is her first time with anything extremely sweet." Al mumbled as he escaped my arms.

"Al, are you upset right now?" I asked as he sliced the cake. He shook his head as he put the cake on Mercy's tray.

"No, I'm just...stressed and scared of being a failure as a parent." Al said shortly before retreating to the couch in the lobby. I watched him drop his head into his hands and let out a choked sob.

I sat next to him with a sigh, trying to figure out how to make him feel better about everything, choosing to rub his back instead of pulling him into a hug when he didn't want to be hugged.

"You're an awesome parent. You handled everything so well when Mercy was very small and I admire that. You know that I had almost no proper experience and you had to teach me certain things while Mercy was still extremely tiny and not born yet. You have so much patience with Mercy and I." I tried in a reassuring tone. "You managed to juggle this pregnancy, taking care of Mercy, and doing your broadcast every day. I could never. Even though I have four extra arms, two of which are always hidden, I can't multitask to save my life because I have ADHD problems."

"But what if this pregnancy doesn't go as well as when I was pregnant with Mercy?" Alastor asked for the fifth time this month.

"Alastor Aracane-Glass. I keep telling you that it will be alright. This child in your belly is a spunky little thing who refuses to show their gender. If they're that stubborn, they could be fully healthy when they're born, even if they're not as big as Mercy." I said, grabbing Al's face and pinching his cheeks a little bit. "They don't need to be the same fuckin' size at birth." I squeezed his cheeks.

"This is a very uncomfortable position, please let go." Al said after a solid minute of me playing with his cheeks.

"Sorry." I let go, and awkwardly sat there until Mercy ran up to Al and latched onto his leg. The area around her mouth was covered with chocolate frosting, causing me to laugh.

"Da." Mercy said, concerned. I slowly realized that she could feel how people were feeling.

"Oh my god. Mercy's an empath. Holy shit." I said, staring at my little girl as Al took out a handkerchief and wiped her face.

"What do you mean?" Al asked cautiously as Mercy refused to let go of his leg.

"She can feel other people's emotions, Al. I think she felt yours hit her like a sack of bricks when you left the dance hall." I explained.

"Oh." Al looked shocked when he heard that and processed it. Mercy climbed up on the couch and kissed Al on the cheek, like I had taught her.

Instantly a real smile spread across Al's face and he seemed to loosen up a little bit, causing Mercy's concerned expression to leave.

"Maybe she can control serotonin levels..." I noted as my husband and daughter laughed as they made faces at each other.