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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.

               He leaned back in his chair, fingers hooking on the edge of his glasses before tugging them off and lightly tossing them onto the desk in front of him. The same fingers caused phosphenes to dance behind his eyes as he pressed harshly into them, grunting at the sting that came from the dryness that his tear ducts tried to chase away. He wiped the excess away, wondering if it was worth it to continue pressing on for the night and finish the book, hoping that it would be over in time to catch at least a couple hours’ worth of sleep before training in the morning.

               The internal battle over catering to his desires versus his needs was swiftly rectified, the Prince hearing his door creeping open. His head whipped around, hand stretching towards his blade until he saw wide, crimson eyes peering back at him. A sigh escaped his lips as his hand fell, looking to his younger sister, a tired frown tugging at his lips.

               “Kamui? What are you doing up at this hour, little Princess?” He spoke softly, knowing the child’s tendency to spook, considering how she had belted out, not but a few hours earlier, that she thought Xander was ‘scary’. The Prince liked to act as though the outburst hadn’t affected him as much as it did, but he loved his siblings—to know one of them feared him upset him greatly. The child shuffled her feet at the door, looking behind herself into the pitch darkness of the hall leading to his room before stepping in and shutting the door behind her.

               The Prince cocked a brow as the small girl crossed over to him, grasping tightly at the edges of her nightgown as she walked to him. He blinked, seeing the pearly tears that were gathering in her eyes, the little girl keeping her eyes downcast as she came closer. When she finally reached him, she climbed up into his lap, the boy freezing as his sister buried her face into his shoulder with a small hiccup. He wrapped his arms around the girl, lightly stroking her back. He opened his mouth to ask what was troubling her, getting a muffled answer to the question that lie on his lips.

               “I had a bad dream…” Kamui hiccupped, and Xander sighed, giving the tiny Princess a sad smile before standing, walking over to his bed with her and settling down onto it.

               “It’s alright, Kamui. I’ll make sure to keep the nightmares away.” He said softly, trying to console his youngest sister. He expected a demure response, and to hold her until she had lulled herself with hiccups and sniffles to sleep, not for her to wrench away from him, smacking his chin in the process. He whined, bringing a hand up to cup at his face, the girl seeming not to notice that she had hit him in the first place.

               “I knew it!” She exclaimed, face bright despite the tears that still covered her crimson eyes in a pearly sheen. His brow furrowed, giving his sister an odd look.

               “You… I beg your pardon?” He asked, the little girl giving a fierce nod.

               “I knew to come here—‘cause the dreams were scary, but big brother is scary-er! If anyone could keep the baddies away, it’d be you!” She chirped, her mind making sense in the way only a child could, and the declaration stunned him for a moment before his face split into a smile, the Prince giving a hearty chuckle at his sister’s antics.

               “You confuse me sometimes, little Princess…” Xander sighed, shaking his head at Kamui. His heart was soothed some, knowing that Kamui felt safe enough with him to come when a nightmare plagued her sleep. He slid back further onto the bed before leaning back some, meeting his sister’s eye. “Would you like to sleep in here tonight, that way I can keep away the, er… ‘Baddies’?” He asked, giving another small laugh when she nodded her head sharply. She slid off of his lap, flopping onto the bed before turning and grasping his hand as best she could with her small fingers.

               Xander allowed himself to be pulled down, moving away only to shuffle under the thick duvet, the little girl following suit before snuggling up to his side. Kamui pressed her head against his chest, giving a long decompressing sigh before looking up at him.

               “Good night, big brother…” She yawned, closing her eyes with a hand grasping at his night shirt. Xander gave a small hum, leaning down to kiss his little sister’s forehead, sliding an arm over.

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.