Sunshine gasps and falls back against the pillows behind him, panting heavily to try and catch his breath after pushing for what felt like the millionth time without making much progress. Hours had passed since Ariel's arrival, but her twin had yet to be born, leaving the pregnant hedgehog feeling as if he was on the verge of passing out.
"...Get...Get her out...Please help M-Molly...Can't lose her..." He begs tiredly, terrified for his baby's wellbeing "D-Don't worry about...Ngh...Me. I need her to...To be o-okay...!" He whimpers before pushing yet again, each desperate attempt growing weaker than the last.
"Don't talk like that, Shadow. Both of you are going to be fine, you just have to hang in there a little bit longer, okay?" Starlight tells his husband as he gently strokes the other hedgehog's head and wipes the sweat off his face with a cold washcloth, "You're so strong, Shads. So strong, I'm proud of you for fighting through this for so long. I promise it'll be over soon, then you can rest with our little girls for as long as you want to."
"...Promise?" Sunshine croaks out tiredly, his voice rough due to overuse. "I promise. You can do this, you've already come so far. Please don't give up now." The blue hedgehog pleads. Sunshine nods and groans softly before taking a few deep breaths to steady himself then pushing with all of his might.
~~~
Sunshine grunts softly and opens his eyes, (had he fainted?) flinching at the sunlight shining in his eyes as the pounding in his ears is replaced by muffled squeaking sounds and voices talking quietly around him.
"Ugh...Sonic? What happened...?" He groans weakly and struggles to sit up before his eyes snap open in alarm "Molly! Where is Molly?! Is she okay?!" The tired hedgehog asks in a panic as he looks around from where he laid in bed, which had been cleaned up while he was sleeping.
"Whoa, whoa, it's okay. Everything is alright, you just passed out and slept for a few hours" Starlight explains as he sits down beside Sunshine with both of the twins sleeping peacefully in his arms, laying them down beside his husband so they could lay between them "You did amazing, Sun. The twins are both safe and healthy as can be and so are you, you're a little bit dehydrated but that's nothing some nice cold water won't easily fix" The blue hedgehog smiles gently as he carefully drapes an arm across the girls to hold Sunshine's hand.
"How are they so tiny? Didn't feel that way on their way out" Sunshine chuckles softly, yawning and smiling down at the slumbering newborns as they rested between their parents.
"I know what you mean, it felt the same way when I had Pandora. It's almost scary how small and fragile they really are after feeling so strong while they're inside you" Starlight smiles lovingly and gently strokes his husband's arm as the darker hedgehog shuts his eyes, finally able to relax his aching body after the ordeal it had been put through.
