dare you to move [birth]

As overjoyed as Maverick was to experience the birth of one pup, knowing that there were still several more to come kept the wolf's heart full and hanging on the edge of excitement. As hooked as he was on watching the first of his children simply existing, Venom's grunts and grimaces of pain as her labors returned his focus onto his mate. He held her close and secure in his strong forearms while the natural process continued for however many more times it would need to until their family had come to completion. It turned out that three more repeats were what was required, as it appeared Maverick had managed to sire four healthy and sizable pups with Venom. As each one was born, Maverick felt his heart swell with greater and greater love for the tiny wolf nuggets now nursing at their mother's belly. There had been three boys and a girl at final count—a trio of sons and a solitary daughter. Their family... Maverick's family. So overwhelmed with emotion was the brute that tears began to well in his eyes, falling silently down furred cheeks while he basked in the love and amazement of having his own real family again.

Venom was finally able to relax, and while the Empress laid her head down on his paws, Maverick began to gently groom her face and head, cleaning away the sweat of the ordeal and giving her wordless affections and praise for the pain she had endured for their family. "You did it, Ven. I'm so proud of you," he whispered into her closest ear, a huge grin plastered on his face. His beloved's words made his ears prick, and then a profound sadness deflated the joy in his heart. Venom's sight... In his excitement for this monumental moment, he had completely forgotten that Venom couldn't see their children. It was very possible that she might never see their children. The dawning of that realization quashed all of his mirth, and though he was still the happiest he had ever been in his entire life, there was a sobered sort of somberness to his response now.

Maverick looked down over the side of Venom's swollen belly to their nursing pups. "Uh... Well, they're all about the same-ish size. We have three boys and a girl. Our girl was the youngest." Bright eyes moved between the puppies, picking them out in the order they had been born. "Our oldest boy is very pale. Lots of white and like silvery-blue, with a dark stripe down his back. Our second is all navy and black, with white specks like stars all over. The third boy... he's, uh, brown for some reason? Really brown with some black. And our girl looks pretty much just like her dad, except she's got her mother's black legs at the back." Maverick breathed a soft sigh, ears folding to his head while he hoped he had done a good enough job describing their children for her. Nothing would ever be able to compare to a mother seeing their children for the first time, and it crushed him to know Venom would never get that special moment. "Their eyes are all still closed. I, uh, can't tell what color their eyes are yet..."

"Venom & Maverick"