#f!ava

It would be so much better to pretend this never happened. It was a silly question. You’d only been married for six months- you had rushed him on the idea.

At least, that’s what you thought.

Then you felt a warm hand reach from behind you and take your wrist, and you felt his lips touch your fingertips.

“Ava, can I talk to you?”

Slowly, painstakingly, you turned over to see him on his side of the bed, lying there beside you and looking quite concerned.

“I-I wanted to apologize about before. I didn’t-”

“Oh, no, don’t- it was my fault for putting that much pressure on you, all of a sudden. I shouldn’t have asked you about having a baby so soon.”

“What? N-no! It’s not that.” He stopped you quickly, “I was just caught off-guard. It’s not...that I don’t want to start a family with you...I-I just...the idea of us really trying for a baby...a-and actually having one is...it made me feel a bit shy, you know?”

“Not really…” You trailed off, a bit confused. He swallowed down his pride and his embarrassment, enough to explain what he meant.

He was the luckiest man alive being married to you, and the thought of being the father of your child was just too much to bear. He was so excited and elated and filled with love that you’d even want to start a family with him…

He still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

You stared at him, unblinking, for several seconds. Your first response when you recovered was to smack his arm.

Then you kissed him, then you buried your face in his chest to hide your embarrassment, unable to tell him that you thought it was because he didn’t want children and you were horrified of your actions. 

You later apologized for hitting him, and more than made up for it when you started your journey to having a baby later in the evening.

-------------------------

Lukas: He had frozen up when he finally realized the words that had come out of your mouth were real. He didn’t really react, other than his whole body going rigid. 

He had been in the middle of his favorite book, the two of you winding down for the evening, settled into bed, cozy and peaceful…

Then you asked him what he thought about starting a family.

When it took him longer than ten seconds to form a response, you quickly added that it didn’t need to be right away, that he could take all the time he needed to think about it, and you weren’t in any rush to have kids if that wasn’t something he wanted.

You knew that he had been something of an asexual prior to meeting you...intimacy and love weren’t things that he really needed, and he was just fine without it.

Then when he met you, those things had gradually started to change. It was him that proposed to you, for crying out loud. 

And your marriage had been healthy, if not peaceful and sweet, for the one year it had been so far. 

You thought you were jumping the gun on asking when it took him ages and ages to put words together.

“You mean...a baby?”

“W-what else?” You chuckled nervously, looking at him with a lopsided smile. “It’s not a big deal, Lukas- I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I just...thought I’d ask if you might want to consider it, sometime.”

“Well…” He trailed off, the sound of the book closing like an echo in the silence. “It’s not something I haven’t thought about, every now and then. I’ve seen how happy Clive and Mathilda are with their children...and Boey and Mae…”

“But is it something that you want?”

“I do.” He said firm enough that you honestly believed him. You smiled softly, sighing in relief when you saw the sweet smile on Lukas’ lips. 

“I’m glad. But, listen, Lu...it doesn’t have to happen right away. A baby is a lot of responsibility, and it’s a seriously life-changing decision. I want to enjoy the peace I have with you as long as I can.”

“It would be difficult to find some peace with a child around, wouldn’t it?” Lukas mused, sinking back into the pillows. You giggled as you sank down beside him, resting your head on his chest and draping your arm over him.

“There will be many sleepless nights, and our attention will solely be on the baby for a while. Lots of crying and laughing, and that cute baby babble, too.”

“It may not be peaceful,” He yawned, “But...it wouldn’t be a terrible change.”

-------------------------

Python: The first thing he did was laugh.

He thought you were joking.

The two of you had talked at length about how awful children could be. The brats that ran around the capital when you were on patrols were nauseating to watch. They were so whiny, and noisy, and they cried incessantly if the slightest thing went wrong…

You didn’t know why anyone would want such a thing.

At least, that’s what you thought. Then, the longer you were married to your husband (a feat in and of itself), the more you realized how sweet it would be to hear the pitter patter of little feet in the house, and to see a tuft of blue hair bouncing around, following behind Python.

And it may or may not have been a dream you had about six nights in a row.

You explained this to him, and it didn’t take long for the grin to wipe from his face. You told him that you had gone to Tatiana and asked her about the repeating dream.

She very excitedly told you it was definitely a gift from the goddess, a sign that it was time for you to have children. You wanted it deep down, and this was your body’s way of telling you it was baby time.

Python, however, was less convinced.

“You really wanna have a kid? What if it’s like one of those brats that are always runnin’ around the city? You wanna add to that madness?”

“Well, they wouldn’t necessarily be badly behaved- Mathilda’s kids are all perfect.”

“That’s because their parents are the most perfect people on the entire planet.” Python scoffed.

“Mae and Boey’s kids are rowdy, but they do as they’re told, too.”

“After Mae threatens to smack them over the head.”

“What about Zeke’s daughter? She’s so sweet and quiet- don’t you think we could have a kid like that?”

“Baby, have you met me?” He gestured to himself, “I’m about as rowdy as they come- if you think for one second our kid’s not gonna be wild, you’ve got another thing comin’.”

“I suppose so.” You managed to smile at him, though the disappointment was clear in your eyes. “I just thought it was a nice idea. It’s not like I want to have a dozen brats running around, but...I don’t know...one little guy that looked like you but definitely had my nose...it was a cute idea, right?”

“Sure.” He chuckled, “Some blue-haired, wiry little boy with that nose of yours-”

“It’s way better than your nose.”

“I didn’t disagree!” He laughed louder, “I mean, who’d he take after, really? He’d be just like me. I was a serious pain when I was a kid. If my ma was around, she’d tell ya.”

“I’ll bet she didn’t regret raising you, though.”

“Nah. She would go on and on about how proud of me she was whenever she answered my letters. I don’t doubt that the minute I meet my kid for the first time, I’m gonna be nothin’ but proud of’em. ...I-if I ever wanted one, anyways.”

You bit back the grin on your lips. “Of course. It certainly doesn’t sound like you want one, not at all.”

“Good, ‘cos I definitely don’t want one right now!” Python insisted, nudging your shoulder. “You hear me, woman? I don’t want anything to do with a brat, at this particular moment in time.”

“I heard you, dear.”

“As of this exact moment, this period of time, this present day, I do not under any circumstances-”

“I got it, Python, I got it!!” You burst out laughing, playfully pushing your husband away. “We don’t have to have a kid right now!”

And you didn’t.

It happened about six months later, which Python would later comment was exactly when he wanted to have one.

Even though the kid looked exactly like him, the baby absolutely had your temperament. Which was really bad- that little baby girl had him wrapped around her fingers before he knew what happened.

Your hands were pressed over your face as you struggled to suppress your own embarrassed reddening, turned on your side so you could at least pretend to be asleep if he tried to come into the room and talk.

It would be so much better to pretend this never happened. It was a silly question. You’d only been married for six months- you had rushed him on the idea.

At least, that’s what you thought.

Then you felt a warm hand reach from behind you and take your wrist, and you felt his lips touch your fingertips.

“Ava, can I talk to you?”

Slowly, painstakingly, you turned over to see him on his side of the bed, lying there beside you and looking quite concerned.

“I-I wanted to apologize about before. I didn’t-”

“Oh, no, don’t- it was my fault for putting that much pressure on you, all of a sudden. I shouldn’t have asked you about having a baby so soon.”

“What? N-no! It’s not that.” He stopped you quickly, “I was just caught off-guard. It’s not...that I don’t want to start a family with you...I-I just...the idea of us really trying for a baby...a-and actually having one is...it made me feel a bit shy, you know?”

“Not really…” You trailed off, a bit confused. He swallowed down his pride and his embarrassment, enough to explain what he meant.

He was the luckiest man alive being married to you, and the thought of being the father of your child was just too much to bear. He was so excited and elated and filled with love that you’d even want to start a family with him…

He still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

You stared at him, unblinking, for several seconds. Your first response when you recovered was to smack his arm.

Then you kissed him, then you buried your face in his chest to hide your embarrassment, unable to tell him that you thought it was because he didn’t want children and you were horrified of your actions. 

You later apologized for hitting him, and more than made up for it when you started your journey to having a baby later in the evening.

-------------------------

Lukas: He had frozen up when he finally realized the words that had come out of your mouth were real. He didn’t really react, other than his whole body going rigid. 

He had been in the middle of his favorite book, the two of you winding down for the evening, settled into bed, cozy and peaceful…

Then you asked him what he thought about starting a family.

When it took him longer than ten seconds to form a response, you quickly added that it didn’t need to be right away, that he could take all the time he needed to think about it, and you weren’t in any rush to have kids if that wasn’t something he wanted.

You knew that he had been something of an asexual prior to meeting you...intimacy and love weren’t things that he really needed, and he was just fine without it.

Then when he met you, those things had gradually started to change. It was him that proposed to you, for crying out loud. 

And your marriage had been healthy, if not peaceful and sweet, for the one year it had been so far. 

You thought you were jumping the gun on asking when it took him ages and ages to put words together.

“You mean...a baby?”

“W-what else?” You chuckled nervously, looking at him with a lopsided smile. “It’s not a big deal, Lukas- I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I just...thought I’d ask if you might want to consider it, sometime.”

“Well…” He trailed off, the sound of the book closing like an echo in the silence. “It’s not something I haven’t thought about, every now and then. I’ve seen how happy Clive and Mathilda are with their children...and Boey and Mae…”

“But is it something that you want?”

“I do.” He said firm enough that you honestly believed him. You smiled softly, sighing in relief when you saw the sweet smile on Lukas’ lips. 

“I’m glad. But, listen, Lu...it doesn’t have to happen right away. A baby is a lot of responsibility, and it’s a seriously life-changing decision. I want to enjoy the peace I have with you as long as I can.”

“It would be difficult to find some peace with a child around, wouldn’t it?” Lukas mused, sinking back into the pillows. You giggled as you sank down beside him, resting your head on his chest and draping your arm over him.

“There will be many sleepless nights, and our attention will solely be on the baby for a while. Lots of crying and laughing, and that cute baby babble, too.”

“It may not be peaceful,” He yawned, “But...it wouldn’t be a terrible change.”

-------------------------

Python: The first thing he did was laugh.

He thought you were joking.

The two of you had talked at length about how awful children could be. The brats that ran around the capital when you were on patrols were nauseating to watch. They were so whiny, and noisy, and they cried incessantly if the slightest thing went wrong…

You didn’t know why anyone would want such a thing.

At least, that’s what you thought. Then, the longer you were married to your husband (a feat in and of itself), the more you realized how sweet it would be to hear the pitter patter of little feet in the house, and to see a tuft of blue hair bouncing around, following behind Python.

And it may or may not have been a dream you had about six nights in a row.

You explained this to him, and it didn’t take long for the grin to wipe from his face. You told him that you had gone to Tatiana and asked her about the repeating dream.

She very excitedly told you it was definitely a gift from the goddess, a sign that it was time for you to have children. You wanted it deep down, and this was your body’s way of telling you it was baby time.

Python, however, was less convinced.

“You really wanna have a kid? What if it’s like one of those brats that are always runnin’ around the city? You wanna add to that madness?”

“Well, they wouldn’t necessarily be badly behaved- Mathilda’s kids are all perfect.”

“That’s because their parents are the most perfect people on the entire planet.” Python scoffed.

“Mae and Boey’s kids are rowdy, but they do as they’re told, too.”

“After Mae threatens to smack them over the head.”

“What about Zeke’s daughter? She’s so sweet and quiet- don’t you think we could have a kid like that?”

“Baby, have you met me?” He gestured to himself, “I’m about as rowdy as they come- if you think for one second our kid’s not gonna be wild, you’ve got another thing comin’.”

“I suppose so.” You managed to smile at him, though the disappointment was clear in your eyes. “I just thought it was a nice idea. It’s not like I want to have a dozen brats running around, but...I don’t know...one little guy that looked like you but definitely had my nose...it was a cute idea, right?”

“Sure.” He chuckled, “Some blue-haired, wiry little boy with that nose of yours-”

“It’s way better than your nose.”

“I didn’t disagree!” He laughed louder, “I mean, who’d he take after, really? He’d be just like me. I was a serious pain when I was a kid. If my ma was around, she’d tell ya.”

“I’ll bet she didn’t regret raising you, though.”

“Nah. She would go on and on about how proud of me she was whenever she answered my letters. I don’t doubt that the minute I meet my kid for the first time, I’m gonna be nothin’ but proud of’em. ...I-if I ever wanted one, anyways.”

You bit back the grin on your lips. “Of course. It certainly doesn’t sound like you want one, not at all.”

“Good, ‘cos I definitely don’t want one right now!” Python insisted, nudging your shoulder. “You hear me, woman? I don’t want anything to do with a brat, at this particular moment in time.”

“I heard you, dear.”

“As of this exact moment, this period of time, this present day, I do not under any circumstances-”

“I got it, Python, I got it!!” You burst out laughing, playfully pushing your husband away. “We don’t have to have a kid right now!”

And you didn’t.

It happened about six months later, which Python would later comment was exactly when he wanted to have one.

Even though the kid looked exactly like him, the baby absolutely had your temperament. Which was really bad- that little baby girl had him wrapped around her fingers before he knew what happened.