#telby

Both stood there in nothing but sweatpants and Rhys looked down at himself and laughed. He was clothed identically. Cass raised his mug of coffee in greeting.

“Where’s mine?” Rhys asked, sitting at the bar and letting his head fall into the cool marble.

“Hungover?” Azriel asked, not turning from the stove.

Rhys only lifted his hand in a vulgar gesture. He heard a mug set down in front of him and he reached up and wrapped his hand around it without looking up.

Cass laughed. “Coffee usually only helps if you drink it, Rhysie.”

“I need food first,” he mumbled.

As if on cue, Azriel set a plate piled high with bacon on the island. Rhys’ head snapped up and he grabbed a piece.

Sleepy foot steps had them all turning towards the hall. Lily poked her head around the corner, still clutching her stuffed kitten.

“Good morning, Princess,” Rhys said and she ran over to him, reaching up for him to pull her into his lap. “You’re up early.”

Of his three children, Lillian was the most like her mother, valuing her sleep and never saying no to her afternoon nap. She rubbed her eyes, his violet eyes, and rested her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. “Hungry, daddy.”

Rhys handed her a piece of bacon and she ate it, not moving from where she was nestled against his chest. After a minute, he heard her breathing even out and knew she was back asleep, especially when her little hand pressed against his neck.

He sighed and softly rocked her in his chair. “So,” he asked, taking a sip of his coffee, careful not to let any drip onto his sleeping daughter. “Try to induce labor again last night?”

Cassian just grinned. “No, that was this morning.” Rhysand only laughed and shook his head. “She’s soaking in the bath right now, she said she might actually join us on the boat later, as long as we promise not to go too fast.”

Azriel sat a plate down with dozens of scrambled eggs. “So she’ll come out while the kids are tubing, but not while we’re wakeboarding? Got it.” He laughed.

“Basically,” Cass chuckled. “She brought her camera, I think she wants some new shots of them all.” He looked at Rhys. “Want to finally teach Bennett how to board? Thorn is doing it completely on his own now.”

Rhys took another drink of coffee. “If he wants, sure. He’s seven now, when did you start teaching Thorn?”

Cass smirked. “Five.”

Azriel laughed lightly. “Luna is dying to try, but the girl can barely walk on flat ground without tripping over her own feet.”

Rhys laughed. “Elain is the most graceful woman on the planet, yet somehow you two ended up with the clumsiest one of all the kids. How?”

Azriel shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. We went to the playground with Lucien and his daughter last week and somehow, Luna ended up with a knot on her head from the bar above the slide.” When his brothers said nothing, he added, “The bar is 6 feet above the opening. I have no idea how she managed to get her head that high up.”

They both chuckled and shook their head. “Where’s Elain at? Still asleep?” Rhys asked.

Azriel pointed over his shoulder out the back door. “Morning yoga. Every. Single. Morning.”

Rhys glanced over his shoulder and saw Elain bent over on the mat, yet also reaching for the sky.

Azriel mumbled, taking a drink of his coffee, “If she doesn’t put something else on aside from those tight leggings, we’re trying for baby number 3 again before we go out on the boat.”

Cassian laughed loudly and Lily sat up, looking around, startled. She began to cry.

“No, no, no, Lily Love.” Cass came around the island and took her from her father’s lap. “No tears. Not allowed this weekend.” She stopped crying but sniffled and nodded, rubbing her hands over her eyes. Cass pressed a kiss to her dark head. “Still hungry? Want Uncle Cass to make you a plate?” She nodded and wrapped her little arms around his neck. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Go sit at the table and I’ll bring it over to you.” He set her down and she made her way over to the table. He looked over at his brothers. “Who’s waking up the rest of the kids?”

They all looked at each other. Azriel asked, “Rock, paper, scissors?”

They nodded.

Azriel lost.

————

“They really are just a bunch of grown ass kids, aren’t they?” Nesta asked, sunglasses on, sitting on the back porch with her sisters and a glass of orange juice after breakfast.

Cassian, Rhysand, and Azriel were playing football with the kids- or, against the kids. And they were not showing the kids any mercy.

As Azriel hurdle jumped over John’s head, Elain sighed. He was giggling and chasing his uncle, but the girls saw how close Az’s bare foot was to John’s head. “This entire vacation is a hospital trip in the making.” Lannan was milk drunk and sound sleep on her chest. She patted his butt with her hand as she slowly rocked.

“Any luck with baby number 3?” Feyre winked, taking a sip of her margarita, even though it was 8:15 in the morning. Elain blushed and looked down at her sleeping baby, opening her mouth to answer.

She was cut off by the roaring of loud music and a green boat sped by the house.

Nesta groaned. “I see the Tool still has his lakehouse.”

“Seriously, what are the odds that you’d marry the guy who’s vacation house is next door to your ex’s?” Elain mused, looking back down at Lannan, making sure the roar of the boat hadn’t woken him.

As one, they all looked over at the house “next door”. It was clear that even though they were all grown, Tamlin still used his lakehouse to throw parties. Beer cans littered his backyard and the house wasn’t kept up well.

“Did you know he’s dating Ianthe?”

Feyre spit her drink out at her sister’s words. “How did you hear that?”

Nesta was smirking. “Cass arrested her for public intoxication last week. He was the one to come bail her out. Said he made a big show of kissing her and calling her baby and his light.”

Elain and Feyre glanced at each other and burst into a fit of laughter.

Lannan woke up and started to cry at the sudden sound.

The game stopped at the sound of that little wail and Azriel was instantly running for the porch.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” He took him, resting him against his bare chest, gently bouncing him.

Elain signed. “You’re sweating all over our infant.”

Cassian grinned from the makeshift field below. “Just be glad we’re not making him join the game.”

Elain threw her hands in the air. “He can’t even crawl! He just learned to roll over!”

Azriel was pressing kisses all over their son’s face and his cries were turning into squeals of delight. He lifted him in the air and his giggles only grew louder.

“Daddy,” Livy cried, running for Rhys. “Do me, do me! I wanna fly too!”

Rhys picked Livy up and tossed her over his bare shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“I wanna get in the boat,” Thorn begged. “Can we, dad? Please?”

Cass raised his eyebrows. He looked around the eyes staring up at him, all various shades of blues and browns and hazel.

“First one to go change and be back here with your life jacket on gets to help me drive the boat.”

They scattered in an instant, Thorn and Bennett shoving each other as they ran into the house.

Rhys stood with his hands on his hips and watched. “You just incited mass chaos in one sentence.”

“Literally his favorite thing to do,” Nesta muttered.

Cassian just grinned in triumph.

“I think I’ll come on the boat,” Nesta said. “Ladies?”

“Where’s the infant life jacket?” Elain asked.

Lannan grabbed Azriel’s bottom lip and tugged as he said, “Down by the dock.”

Elain ran a hand down the back of Lannan’s dark head. “Let go of Daddy, baby.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

Feyre and Cassian began howling and Rhys was smirking.

“I hate all of you,” Az muttered, carrying Lannan down the dock to where they’d left the life jackets the night before.

Bennett was the first one out the door and he raced down to the docks, shoving his arms in the holes. “I win, Uncle Cass!”

“Good job, bud! Let me and your dad go get changed. Will you help the little kids when they get down here?”

He nodded and started separating the jackets into sizes. He lifted the biggest one in the air. “Who gets the big one? It’s huge!”

Nesta looked at the maternity life jacket in his hands, then at Feyre and said “I swear, I’ve never hit a kid, but right now, yours is pushing it.”

Feyre just laughed. “He’s not wrong, though.”

Nesta rolled her eyes before slowly rising into standing position and heading down to the dock, snatching the jacket from Bennett.

Bennett just watched his aunt climb into the boat with wide eyes. She took her spot in the seat behind Cassian’s captains chair and put her sunglasses on.

Lily and Livy bounded out of the house hand in hand. They wore matching swimsuits.

Nesta called, “I can’t believe you still make them match. Didn’t they outgrow that at, like, three-years-old?”

Rhys follows behind, holding a bunch of towels in his arms and a cooler. “They do it on their own. We’ve let them pick out their own clothes for about two years.”

Feyre said, “Yeah, so…”

When none of the kids were looking she threw a vulgar gesture her sister’s way. Nesta returned it without even looking up.

Azriel laughed, under his breath, as he strapped Lannan in his life jacket. “Our family is crazy. Yes they are. Mhmmm.”

Lannan giggled, kicking his feet wildly.

“Stop with the baby talk, man,” Rhys said, lifting the cooler up into the boat. “You’re gonna knock Elain up again just with that shit.”

Cassian came out of the house, Luna thrown over one should, John over the other. “Alright, mamas. Your turn to change.”

Nesta shook her head. “If I get in that water, I’ll sink.”

“Come on, Nes.” He sat Luna and John down by Rhys and Az who began buckling them into their life jackets. “It’ll be fun.”

Her tone was clipped as she crosses her arms over her belly. “No. Thank. You.”

He raised a brow. “Fine, no induction later.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’ve never turned me down.”

He shrugged. “Guess you better go get that sexy butt in a suit so I don’t tonight.”

Her brows furrowed. “A baby is going to pop out of me any day now. You did this to me. You’re asking me to get out of this boat, walk all the way back in the house, change my clothes, only to come all the way back here and plant my ass where it’s currently planted?” 

He squatted down in front of her, whispered something in her ear, and Nesta blushed. She glared at him, spit out, “I hate you,” and carefully stepped off of the boat, accepting Rhysand’s hand to balance her. She took off the life jacket, dropped it on the bench on the dock and began to waddle into the house. Walking was no longer an option, only waddling.

Feyre and Elain looked at each other with raised brows, looked at Cassian and followed their sister into the house. The rest of the kids flooded out and were pulling their life jackets on, with Rhysand’s help.

Azriel hopped into the boat, grabbed a couple beers out of the cooler, handing one to Cass and asked, “What did you tell her?”

Cassian’s grin was wicked when he said, “Let’s just say that I know what she likes.”

Azriel blinked. “As a couple, the two of you scare me. I just want you to know that.”

“Keep in mind, there are two mini versions of us running around and there will be a third soon.”

Azriel put the beer to his lips. “God help us all.” They fell into a comfortable silence. “You ready to have a daughter?” Azriel asked.

Cassian glanced over at him. He answered quietly, so none of the kids could hear. “Fuck, no. I’m fucking terrified. Having boys is easy. We’re boys, we know what boys like. Girls, especially an Archeron, are an absolute mystery.”

Azriel gazed lovingly at Luna, who was being chased by Lily and Livy. “I love Lannan, I do. I’m glad I have a boy to carry on the family name, but there is no love like a daddy has for his little girl. She’s my princess, I would do anything for her. Anything.”

The finality of his words had Cassian worried for any boys she may bring home in the future.

“Shit,” he mumbled. 

Azriel just grinned, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

Nesta had finally made it to the back door and basically tumbled inside.

“She really is a lovely pregnant woman,” Azriel said, under his breath.

Cassian chuckled. “No need to lie.” Azriel laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m thoroughly enjoying the daily sex I get in the afternoons, but I’m honestly fucking her as often as I am so she can have Scarlett and won’t be so miserable.”

“How chivalrous of you,” he laughed.

Cassian grinned and went back to getting ready to go out on the water.

_____

“You’ve gotta stand up, bud,” Rhys called from the boat. Bennett was on his 4th try, but it seemed wakeboarding was not in his future. At least not this summer. “Once Uncle Cass starts moving, you’ve gotta twist and stand.”

“I can’t, daddy,” he cried, clutching the handle in front of him tightly.

Rhys sighed, grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head, getting ready to jump into the water and pull his oldest back to the boat. But he heard a splash and when he pulled his shirt off, he saw Thorn swimming out to his cousin.

The girls and the rest of the kids were back at the house, taking naps and getting lunch ready. Rhys, Azriel and Cass were still out on the boat, wakeboarding, letting Thorn have a chance and really opening up the throttle and flying across the water. Luna sat on Azriel’s lap and giggled mostly, not ready to learn how to wakeboard, not wanting to be with the big kids.

Thorn bobbed next to Bennett in the water, quietly talking with his cousin, helping explain to him things that when Rhys or Cass explained just frustrated or confused him more.

Thorn swam back to the boat, climbing out and looking back at Bennett. He gave him a thumbs up, which Bennett nervously returned.

“You ready, bud?” Cass called, glancing between the two boys. Bennett nodded, adjust his grip on the rope’s handle.

“You sure?” Rhys asked, looking at a smirking Thorn. He was so much like his father, genuinely wanting to help, but also full of mischief.

Bennett nodded, once again, as he took a deep, unsteady breath. 

“He’s got it this time,” Thorn assured them all.

Cassian smiled at his son’s all consuming passion for those he loved as he started moving forward.

Rhysand, on the other hand, couldn’t tell if Thorn was being honest or if he knew that they were about to watch another failure unfold. 

Cassian accelerated, gently, careful not to go too fast, and just as he looked over his shoulder to see if Bennett had gotten into standing position, Thorn, Luna, and his brothers were cheering. 

He wasn’t up for long. Bennett soon hit a little wave and flew into the water, but when he broke the surface, he had a huge grin on his face and his little arms were tossed into the air in victory as he bobbed in the water. 

“You sure you don’t wanna try?” Azriel asked Luna.

She shook her head. “No, I want to go play with Lily and Livy. Girl stuff.”

Azriel chuckled. “I see.”

“Wakeboarding is girly, too,” Cassian assured her as Bennett was lifted by his father into the boat. “Just ask Aunt Nesta. She kicks ass on a wakeboard.”

Luna just sighed and looked up at Azriel. “You really need to tell him to watch his mouth.”

When they made their way back into the house, they found the youngest siblings crashed on various parts of the living room, an episode of Paw Patrol long ignored on the tv.

Feyre was scrolling through her phone and looked up when the door opened. She put her finger to her lips, a look in her eye that dared one of them to wake one of the sleeping children.

“Lunch is after impromptu nap time,” she whispered, gesturing to the sleeping children around her. Lily’s head was lying in her lap and John was curled up against her other side. Olive was face down on the floor and Rhysand chuckled softly, as he picked up his daughter. She didn’t stir and he blew Feyre a kiss before carrying her down the hallway towards the room. Cassian instructed Thorn and Bennett to take turns taking a bath and sent the boys off to their task. He collected John from Feyre’s side and pressed a kiss to the top of his head when his son gripped his t-shirt tightly. “Nesta napping?”

Feyre shook her head. “Soaking in the tub.”

“Oh, is she?” He said, raising an eyebrow. “I think I could use a bath, too.”

He turned and headed back towards the room Rhys had just gone to lay Livy down in.

Azriel brushed Luna’s hair back off her face and she looked up at him. “Why don’t you go take a quick nap, too, bug?” She nodded, looking as if she might yawn at any second and climbed the stairs to the second floor. When she was out of earshot, Azriel rubbed between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and sighed. “It’s literally like he forgets that my 6-year-old is standing right here,” he whispered.

Feyre just chuckled and shook her head. She cleared her throat. “Speaking of naps, I’m pretty sure your wife is in there pretending to take one.”

She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Azriel move so quickly.

Feyre laughed, picking up Lily and carrying her down the hallway, alongside everyone else. Once she laid her down next to Olive, she meandered into her and Rhysand’s room. He was in the shower, singing softly to himself - extraordinarily off tune.

Feyre laid back on the bed, listening to her husband showering. Aside from his off key singing and the water running, she couldn’t hear another noise in the house. In that silence, she began to think.

When Rhys got out of the shower, he found Feyre laying on the bed, facing the far wall. He assumed she was asleep, so when he rounded the bed and opened the top drawer of the dresser, he was surprised to look over and find her eyes open.

“Hey,” he said, seeing a look in her eyes that often unnerved him. He sat on the edge of the bed, wearing just his towel. “What’s on your mind?”

Feyre didn’t seem to even notice his near nakedness. “I only got to be pregnant twice.”

An eyebrow raised and Rhys quickly did mental math. “We definitely have three kids, babe.”

“No, I know that,” she said, and he could tell she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes, even as she chuckled. “I mean, I was pregnant and then I had Bennett. And then I was pregnant and had Liv and Lily.” She gnawed on her lip. “Nevermind, don’t worry about it. It’s stupid.”

He rested a gentle hand on her cheek and pulled her lip from between her teeth. “Not a single thing you’ve ever said, done, or thought is stupid.”

Feyre smirked and said, “Not even that time I decided to break into the fraternity house to get your things out of Tamlin’s room?”

He recalled the memory and could still hear the sound of the police sirens as they pulled up in front of the house next door. Feyre came out in handcuffs and it was his quick thinking and sharp tongue that convinced the officers to let her go. It was his charm that convinced her to go out on a date with him for saving her ass.

“Okay, maybe that was a little stupid,” he admitted, laughing. “What is it, baby?”

She sighed and said, “I just see Nesta, as miserable as she is right now, and Elain, trying for another baby, and I just… I liked being pregnant.”

Rhys blinked at her, trying to remember how to use words. “Are you- Feyre, please tell me you aren’t saying you want another.”

“Cauldron, no!” She said, a harsh laugh leaving her in a gust. “Of course not, three is more than enough. God, I’m not explaining this well.” She sat up and ran a hand through her hair. “I love the twins, they’re the best surprise I’ve ever been given. But we went from an only child to three. Most women get to be pregnant twice before that happens, but not me.” She ran a hand over her flat stomach. “I just wish I could have gotten to experience it one more time.”

Rhys leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Maybe one day, you can. It’s not like your childbearing years are gone.” He laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he pulled her down to the bed again and wrapped her up in his arms. “Maybe one day, when the twins are a little older, when Bennett is old enough to babysit, we can think about this again. I would never say ‘no’ to growing my family with you. But for now, I’m happy.” He kissed her again. “I’ve got the three most beautiful girls in the world and the best mini me I could ever ask for.”

“I love you,” Feyre mused, closing her eyes and leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. Her hand lingered on his chest where it was resting, while his reached down to grip her hip.

He didn’t break the kiss to tell her he loved her, too. Instead, he took the time to show her.

_______

Lunch went by quickly, as soon as all the littles woke from their naps bright eyed and chipper. With all the newfound energy, Cassian, Azriel, and Rhysand decided to come up with a new game. So, after collecting a series of thick, oversized garbage bags and an unopened bottle of dish soap, they were outside making the world’s longest homemade slip-n-slide down the grassy hill. 

“Okay, as awesome as this looks, it’s going to turn out really bad, isn’t it?” Elain asked from where she, her sisters, and Lannan sat on the porch.

“For the kids? No,” Nesta said, then pointed to the three overgrown children. “For those three? Oh, yeah.” 

“Whose testing this thing out?” Feyre yelled, to the men at the bottom.

Azriel and Rhysand, without hesitation, pointed to Cassian.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Do you know how much that man weighs? He’ll shoot off the bottom of that thing like a cannonball.”

Feyre chuckled. “I’d pay good money to see that.”

“Be careful, Uncle Cass!” Livy shouted.

The children sat, in their swimsuits, in a line next to the slip-n-slide, buzzing with excitement.

Cassian grinned as he jogged to the top of the hill.

The makeshift slide was nice and soapy once Cassian was at the foot of the porch.

“Don’t die,” Nesta sighed. “I’m not raising three kids alone. You die, I’m instantly remarrying without any regret.” 

Cassian looked over his shoulder. “It’s a slip-n-slide, Nes. I’m not jumping out of a plane.” 

Nesta just sat back, humor dancing in her gray-blue eyes. “We’ll see, old man.” 

Cassian frowned, turning his bare, inked back to his wife. “I am not old.”

“Go, dad!” Thorn yelled, as Cassian hesitated.

After taking a bracing breath and shaking his arms out, Cassian started running at the long makeshift tarp. Right before his feet left the ground, Azriel called, “Shit, Cass, STOP!”

But an object in motion stays in motion and there was no slowing him down as he leaped, hit the slick surface, slid, and-.

Skidded to a halt, pulling the garbage bags with him.

Luna cried, “Mommy, Daddy said a bad word!”

But none of the adults were paying attention, all of them, save for Nesta, were on their feet, faces shocked, as they stared at Cassian lying on the grass.

No, Nesta wasn’t staring, Nesta was howling.

“Oh, my god,” she said, trying to breathe. “That was the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

Cassian sat up and glared at the men at the bottom of the hill. He was covered in dirt, grass, and soap; his face, chest and stomach red and splotchy. “Which one of you assholes forgot the water?”

Luna stomped her little foot and said, “Uncle Cass, LANGUAGE!”

Nesta’s laughter began anew and he even heard Elain snicker from behind him.

Feyre was bent over, hardly able to breathe through her laughter.

The only one shaking his head, face in his hands, was Azriel.

Cassian, still sitting in the grass, groaned.

“Poor baby,” Nesta said, tears spilling from her eyes.

Thorn rose to his feet, arms crossed. “Old people shouldn’t slip-n-slide. Now it's ruined!”

It wasn’t. Azriel and Rhysand quickly fixed the issue and the kids were sliding down the hill, having a grand old time, in no time. Even Rhysand and Azriel flew down the hill a few times, followed by a slightly tipsy Feyre.

Cassian, on the other hand, laid on the porch with his pregnant wife.

“You didn’t have to laugh,” he mumbled, head lying on her lap.

“Yes, I did,” she clarified, “because it was hilarious.”

Cassian, despite himself, chuckled. “Not so funny being sore as hell.”

“Don’t let Luna hear you,” Nesta whispered. “She’s been very upset with your language.”

Cassian turned his face and kissed her stomach. “Wanna rub my back?”

“I’m eight months pregnant,” she said. “If anyone's getting rubbed, it's me.”

“Oh, I’ll rub you,” Cassian grinned.

“Oh my god. I’m sitting right here,” Elain said, covering Lannan’s tiny ears. “Do you two have no boundaries?” 

“You can say that all you want, Lainy, but we all know how kinky you and daddy are,” Cassian winked.

Elain’s cheeks turned a dark shade of red. 

“How’s the whole, uh, impregnating thing going?” Cassian asked, closing his eyes and reaching his arm out to rub one of Nesta’s swollen ankles. “Azriel need any tips? I’d say I’m basically a pro at this point, I’m pretty good at it.”

Elain scoffed and cleared her throat. “No, Cass, I think we’re good.”

Nesta ran a hand through his hair and said, “He really is, though. I can prove it.” She gestured to her large stomach.

Cassian, eyes still closed, pressed another kiss to her belly. “Yeah, I can tell him about all the positions I used to get it real deep in there.” He slightly moved his body to demonstrate what he meant. “And I mean, it’ll be in there. I can personally guarantee you’ll be knocked up in four to six weeks.”

“You know, I really don’t like walking up and hearing you say that to my wife, while you’re doing that with your hips.” Azriel’s voice was amused but there was a slight edge to it.

Cassian's eyes shot open and he sat up. “You caught the tail end of a really weird sentence.”

“I’d say so,” Az said, sitting in the spot Elain had offered him by scooting forward in her deck chair. His legs straddled her and she leaned back against him. He rubbed her shoulders softly and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. He looked down at Lannan, asleep against Elain’s chest. “But I think I’m pretty good at what I do.”

“Oh, you are, baby,” she said, twisting to kiss him.

His lips still brushing hers, he breathed, “You mean, daddy.”

“That’s going to haunt me forever, isn’t it?” Elain groaned, just as Feyre slid down the slip-n-slide with her twins, causing a one-man cheering section from Rhysand at the bottom of the hill.

Cassian snorted. “Oh, most definitely.”

Azriel whispered something into her ear that made the color her pink cheeks deepen. 

“Elain!” Rhysand called from the bottom of the hill. “Your turn!”

Elain, shaking off whatever impact Azriel had just left on her ovaries, shook her head. “No way!”

“Come on, mama!” Luna clapped. 

“I’ll go with you, Aunt Lainy,” John offered, running up the stairs and holding out his hand.

Elain sighed, fondly watching her nephew. “Well, I can’t say no to that, can I?”

She handed Lannon to Azriel, who cradled him against his chest, and took John’s hand. The two sat at the top of the hill, hand in hand, and went down the slide.

“You should go down,” Cassian said, looking up at Nesta. “Scarlett will shoot right out of you as soon as you hit the bottom.”

Nesta flicked him on the side of the neck. “Why do you say the things that you say?”

“You’re the one that married him,” Azriel whispered, careful not to wake his son. “You should know better by now.”

Her eyes rolled over to him as she said, “His stupidity amazes me every day, but at least my life is never boring.”

Cassian opened his mouth to jab back at his wife, but his words were cut off by a cry that filled the backyard. All three sets of parents quickly took tally of their children, seeing that they were still playing safely in the water hose.

Elain hollered to Azriel, “Is that Lannan? It sounds like a baby.”

Azriel stood, letting her see the still sleeping infant in his arms. Rhys and Feyre jogged up the hill and met them at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the deck.

“You failed to mention a very important fact when you told us about Ianthe getting arrested,” Feyre said, voice low.

Cassian walked down a few steps until he could see the yard next door. He leaned to get a better view. “What are you talking-?”

Tamlin was standing on the back porch, a plate in one hand, which he sat on the side of the grill and in his arms-.

“Is that a baby?”

Rhysand quickly clasped a hand over his son’s mouth, but his loud question carried over to Tamlin. He looked over at them, catching them all staring. Bennett quickly ran back to where the other kids were still playing. Azriel awkwardly raised his hand to wave, but before he could, Tamlin flipped them the bird and went back inside.

“Aaaand go fuck yourself then,” Azriel mumbled, letting his arm drop back down. “Prick.”

Elain and Nesta quickly looked to Feyre.

“They had a fucking baby?” Nesta asked.

“Language,” Cassian warned.

“Says you of all people,” Azriel mumbled.

“Apparently so,” Feyre said, looking in the direction in which Tamlin disappeared.

Rhysand was watching Feyre.

“That baby will be a damn mess,” Cassian muttered.

Elain’s eyes grew wide. “Cassian.”

Cassian just shrugged, “It’s true.”

Even Azriel had to agree.

“Let’s head inside and start cleaning up for dinner, yeah?” Rhys said, eyes still on Feyre, who had gone unusually quiet.

Cassian nodded and whistled, getting the kids attention. “Last one inside has to lick Uncle Azriel’s foot!”

“Dude,” Az chuckled, but Cassian’s method was effective. The kids all came sprinting towards the house, Livy and John bringing up the rear. It was agreed that since they tied for last, no one would lose, just to be fair.

Thorn thought that was full of shit, which he announced to Bennett as they were making their way towards their room.

“Thorn!” Both Nesta and Cassian said at once.

Good thing Luna didn’t hear, because she would have destroyed him and his use of profanity.

Thorn groaned, as he approached his parents.

“What?” He asked. “It’s true.”

“You can’t swear,” Cassian whispered.

“You swear,” Thorn mumbled back.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Do as your father says, not as he does.”

Thorn groaned, following his cousins inside.

When Nesta looked up, Elain was shaking her head.

“What?” She asked.

“I do not want to know what goes on in your household,” Elain said.

Azriel, infant on his chest, howled.

“You’d be scandalized,” she smirked, and pointed at Cassian. “Watch your mouth in front of him. You know he wants to be just like you.”

“He is just like me,” he said, holding out a hand to steady her.

“Exactly.” She leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “You’ve proven my point. Now if you’ll excuse, all five pounds of this ridiculously huge baby you put in me is sitting on my bladder and I’m about to piss myself.”

Cassian watched her walk in the house and sighed. “God, she’s a peach. How did I get so lucky?”

“Is that a rhetorical question or…?”

Cassian flipped his brother off and Rhys chuckled as they all headed inside.

Everyone got changed into dry, comfy clothes and piled into the living room, deciding to watch a movie before dinner. It wasn’t long before they realized that the sun had tired the kids out, and even some of the others.

Cassian was asleep with one arm draped across the back of the couch, the other wrapped around his firstborn. Thorn was fast asleep, his head resting against Cassian’s chest. Elain was on the other side, her head on the arm of the couch. Luna was snuggled safely in her mother’s arms, under a fluffy blanket. Bennett was asleep in one of the oversized bean bag chairs, while Lily dozed on top of Rhysand, who was stretched out in the recliner. Even Nesta had fallen asleep, her head propped in her hand, John curled up in her lap.

Feyre looked around the room, taking in her family. She smiled and pressed a kiss to Liv’s head, her little arm wrapped around her waist. She looked over at Nesta and John, how he was clinging to her like his life depended on it.

Once again, she was struck by how differently her pregnancies were from her sisters’. Bennett was an only child. He went from being the only boy to completely outnumbered. He never got to experience life as the baby, something Feyre knew all too well.

John, though, he’d never known anything but being the baby.

She glanced over at Elain, knowing she was about to go through the same situation as Nesta.

Lannan was so young. His little personality was still coming to life in front of them.

She looked over at the youngest member of the family, expecting Az to be asleep as well, but instead was met with his hazel eyes.

“You okay?” He asked, softly rubbing Lannan’s back.

Feyre nodded, looking back over at John. She noted how his little fist was clutching at her shirt, how he tried to be as close to her as he could, yet his head was carefully resting on her round belly. But it wasn’t just John. Nesta's arm was wound tightly around her soon-to-be middle child. It was as if they both were taking advantage of his being the baby for just a little bit longer.

Azriel’s gaze followed Feyre’s.

“His life is about to change completely,” Feyre said, softly. “He’s about to be a big brother, and he’s never been anything but the baby.”

Azriel nodded, a smile on his face. “You’re right, and it’s probably not going to be the smoothest transition for him either. Nesta’s spoiled him a bit.”

Feyre chuckled quietly. “A bit?”

Az shook his head, quiet laughter coming from him. “Okay, a lot. But he’ll be a great big brother. He’ll have an awesome teacher.”

Feyre smiled and looked at Thorn. He’d moved, pulling himself out of Cassian’s grip, and now he was the mirror image of his father, down to the arm draped across the back of the couch.

Feyre shook her head and laughed. Silence settled in the room.

“Feyre?” She glanced up at him. Concern was written across his face. “Are you okay?”

She looked away. Azriel was always too observant for his own good. Of course he’d noticed her change in mood.

Her eyes grew teary, and she wasn’t sure why. “Look at us all. We’ve known you three since we were kids. Rhys used to pull on my ponytail, Nesta used to push Cassian down on the playground, and you and Elain were best friends since preschool. Now look at us. Married, kids.”

“And that makes you sad?” Azriel whispered.

Feyre chuckled, shaking her head. “No, it makes me really happy. But time passes too fast, you know? Just yesterday, Bennett was a baby. My baby, my only baby. Then two more popped out of nowhere, and I love them all so much, Az, but it got really different really quickly. Now, they’re almost four. Bennett is seven. Nesta’s having her third baby. Elain wants to have an entire heard of children.”

Azriel smiled, patting her knee gently. “I never thought I’d have kids, you know.”

Feyre lifted her brow, glancing at him sideways. “Really?”

Azriel shook his head. “My parents were such shit, the entire idea I had of family was miserable.” 

“What changed?”

Azriel’s eyes found Elain, soundly asleep with Luna. He watched her, lovingly. “I fell in love with the most beautiful, gentle woman… She always knew she wanted kids, and I had no doubt that she would be an amazing mother. She was my family. And I wanted to give her all the babies she wanted. Then, we had them...and I’m so in love, Feyre.” 

Feyre laid her head against his broad shoulder. “You’re a great father, Az.”

“And you’re a great mom. A quality that runs in the family.” 

Azriel and Feyre silently watched the rest of the movie, laughing quietly when one of the kids would snore (it was mostly Nesta, honestly) and as the credits were rolling across the screen, she softly woke Olive up and told her to go wake her daddy up.

She did this by climbing up onto the recliner and dropping herself into the small between his body and the armrest.

He woke up with a huff and Azriel and Feyre chuckled. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, clearly trying to decipher what time it is. He carefully extracted his arm from the Lily vice grip she had on it and looked at his watch.

“Shit, it’s only 5:20?” He said, dragging a hand down his face. “We still have to cook dinner.”

Thorn sat up slightly, blinking sleepily. “Dinner?”

My God, Feyre thought, he truly is a tiny version of Cassian.

“Want to help me grill?” Azriel asked, watching Thorn with the same humored expression. 

“No,” Nesta said, adamantly, eyes still shut. “Do not let that child near flame.”

Azriel didn’t protest, even if Thorn instantly pouted. 

Feyre got her Lannan snuggles in as Azriel padded into the kitchen, Thorn sneakily on his heels. 

Cassian and Elain were still knocked out as the kids all got up and began to do their own thing. Nesta moved to the recliner and read her book quietly, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Azriel stuck his head through the door, searching for his wife, not expecting her to still be asleep.

Feyre gently rubbed Lannan’s back as she glanced at the two figures on the couch and then back to Azriel and Nesta. “How much sex do you have? They’re both exhausted!”

Azriel just grinned and walked away, but Nesta snorted. “Do you truly want to know the answer to that question?”

Feyre debated. “No, I really—.”

“The man is a freak,” she went on, turning the page. “Can’t get enough of me.”

Feyre shook her head. “Elain would be appalled of you speaking like this in front of the baby.”

Nesta peeked over her book at Lannan. “Considering his mother refers to his father as daddy, I’m sure he’s heard much worse, no matter how much she denies it.”

“I heard that.” Azriel’s muffled voice carried back to them from the kitchen and they heard the fridge door fall shut.

The two girls started laughing and the sudden noise startled Lannan, who began to cry.

Instantly, Elain was up and moving across the room before she was fully awake and coherent. She slumped back onto the couch and leaned her head on Cassian’s shoulder. “Az, baby, take him, please.” She nudged him.

Cassian, still dozing hard himself, took Lannan and leaned back, settling deeper into the couch and an arm falling around Elain.

Feyre and Nesta once again looked at each and were laughing once again.

Cassian began to rouse and he blinked a few times, seeming to notice he was holding Lannan right about the same time he found his arm around Elain. He looked up at Nesta and his look of genuine confusion had her chuckling.

“What are you doing, babe?” She crooned.

“I don’t, uh — I really have no idea.”

“Our bun is still in the oven,” she clarified. “Not your kid, not your wife.”

Cassian yawned, and shrugged, and closed his eyes, once more. It was Elain, who woke up ten minutes later, who had the audacity to turn a deep shade of red.

She stood quickly, the fluffy blanket falling to the floor, and stumbled over both the floor and her words. “I don’t — That’s not my — Huh?”

Nesta chuckled. “Yours is in the kitchen,” she said, inclining her head towards the kitchen.

Elain nodded her thanks and turned to take Lannan. He woke up as she cradled him in her arms and began to babble up at her.

She cooed to him the whole way into the kitchen where she found Azriel putting a tray of chicken nuggets and fries into the oven. “Who is that?” She asked, turning so Lannan could see Azriel. “Is that daddy? Is that daddy?”

The chubby cheeked baby started to giggle, his hazel eyes sparkling as he looked from his mother to his father.

Elain was grinning, her smile breathtaking, as she turned to gaze up at him as well.

“You are...the most amazing mother.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.

She was blushing when he pulled away, her eyes lined with silver. “Azriel…” she trailed off. Leaning up on her toes, she kissed him again. She still held Lannan to her chest and he began to squirm. “Where did that come from?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to both her forehead and the top of Lannan’s head. “Talking with Feyre during everyone’s naps. I realized I don’t tell you near enough how amazing you are. The best mama I could ever want for my babies.”

He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. His hand reached down and gripped the curve of her ass. She giggled, loving how in love with this man she was.

“Ma… ma…. Mama…”

Elain jerked back, eyes wide open. “Did he...did he just...he said mama. Didn’t he? You heard it, he said mama.”

Azriel’s smile widened. A full fledged smile, that he only saved for a select few. Around Elain, he couldn’t help but letting out that smile. He didn’t bother to tell his wife that Lannan was only babbling, as it had become his favorite activity lately, and his saying mama was definitely a fluke.

Instead, he pulled her closer and took her face in his hands. He kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her lips. “Maybe he wanted to let you know that he thinks you’re an amazing mom, too.” 

He wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek. 

“I love you,” she smiled, “so much.”

“I love you,” he repeated, “so much.”

“Azriel,” she whispered. “How long is that in the oven for?”

He arched an eyebrow, before taking Lannan from her arms and bringing him to Feyre in the living room. When he got back to the kitchen, Elain was already walking up the stairs to their bedroom.

——————

“Uncle Cass?”

Cassian turned from where he was eating at the bar of the kitchen island, towards the table of cousins sitting behind him. “Yes, Luna Bug?”

“Is my mommy sick?”

Feyre choked on the drink she was taking and Nesta sniggered from the other room. Only Rhys was able to keep his composure and keep eating.

“No, baby, she’s not sick,” he said, chuckling. “She needs some sleep, that’s it.”

“Is daddy taking care of her?” she asked.

Cassian nodded, slowly. “Yes, yes he is.”

Elain and Azriel joined them downstairs half an hour later, and Luna had many questions about her mother’s quick nap.

After dinner, once the sun began to set, the boys started a bonfire down by the lake. The littles went to bed, while Thorn, Bennett, and Luna stayed up, making s’mores alongside their parents. 

“So, Thorn,” Feyre asked, breaking a s’more in half and handing it to Bennett. “Are you excited to not only be the ‘big brother’, but the ‘biggest brother’?”

Thorn, who had been laughing with Bennett and already eating his own s’more, paused and swallowed before he answered. “Uh, yeah.”

Feyre smiled at him and began asking Nesta questions about what to do what when she went into labor, but Cassian, who probably should have been taking notes, wasn’t paying attention to his wife’s words. Instead, he was keeping an eye on his son.

Thorn, just like his father, was usually the life of the party; the one cracking jokes and making everyone smile. But now, he sat quietly eating his gooey treat, absentmindedly drawing circles in the sand surrounding the firepit with his feet.

After a few minutes, Cassian stood, announcing he was going up to the house to get another beer. After most in attendance asked for a second as well, Cassian rested a hand on Thorn’s shoulder, startling him from his thoughts. He looked up at his father, with his mother’s eyes, and Cassian could see the emotion that roared inside, just like their stormy hue. “Come walk with me.”

He nodded and stood, tossing what was left if his s’more into the fire.

Instead of walking towards the house though, Cassian led him towards the dock, where the boat still waited for one more day of fun. He walked down the dock, sitting down once they were completely obscured from their families’ eyes, letting his bare feet skim the water’s surface. Thorn awkwardly followed, clearly not sure why they had come over here rather than into the house as they’d planned.

Cassian fished a small box out of his pocket and then there was a flash of a lighter.

Thorn’s eyes went wide and he said, “You smoke?”

Cassian chuckled. “Not normally, no. Only when I’m really stressed or when I’m drinking.” He took a long drag off the cigarette, pausing. “Your mom doesn’t know though.” Cassian looked up at his eldest son and grinned at him. “This is our secret, okay?”

Thorn nodded and came and sat next to him. Rather than letting his feet hang off the edge, he crossed his legs and rested his elbows on his knees, propping his chin in his hands.

“So here’s the deal,” Cassian said, taking another drag on the cigarette and flicking the ash into the water. “I told you a secret and now you have to tell me one.”

Thorn looked up at him. “That’s not fair, I didn’t ask you to tell me you smoked! You just pulled them out and lit one.”

Cassian couldn’t stop his chuckle as he was once again reminded of just how much like himself his son was. “Sucks, doesn’t it? Now fess up, what’s going on? Why’d you shut down when Aunt Feyre asked if you were excited for Scarlett to get here?” He flicked the cigarette into the water, hearing it sizzle as it hits the surface and extinguished.

Thorn once again stared down, this time at the water instead of the sand earlier. “Nothing, I didn’t. I’m excited for her to get here.”

‘Thorn,” he said, turning to him and placing his hand on his shoulder again. “What’s wrong, bud?”

He was floored when Thorn turned to look at him and found tears lining his son’s eyes.

“You’re not going to have time for me anymore,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Cassian only blinked at him for a moment, not understanding. “What?”

A quick intake of breath was the only indication of the fear that he truly felt. “When Mama had Johnnie, I had to go over to Uncle Rhys and Aunt Feyre’s all the time. He’s still a baby and now there’s gonna be another baby.” A little sob broke from him and Cassian felt his heart break as he listened to his firstborn, so much like him that it scared him sometimes.

“Being the oldest is bullshit,” he muttered, wiping angrily at his eyes.

“Yeah,” Cassian agreed, pulling his son into his chest. “It is.”

Cassian was the oldest of four and his parents were shit. So, yes, he knew all too well the difficulties of being the oldest. 

“We’ll still have time together,” Cassian promised. “Newborns need a lot of attention, but we’re a family. Me and mom are going to spend just as much time with you and John. Alright? Just… we may need a little help with Scarlett every now and then. And sometimes, that means going to play mini-golf or going to see a movie with your cousins.”

“I hate mini-golf,” Thorn said into his father’s chest.

Cassian snorted. “Liar. Anyway, Scarlett won’t be a newborn forever. She’s going to get to be Lannan’s age, then you and John can start helping her get into all kinds of trouble.”

Thorn, despite himself, smiled. But, that smile soon faded. “Don’t forget about me. Okay?”

Cassian kissed the top of Thorn’s head. “You’re the oldest, bud. My firstborn. You made me a dad. I love you. Alright? Don’t ever worry that I don’t. Mama does, too. We love you more than you’ll ever know.” 

Thorn nodded, his tears dried up. “Okay.”

“I guess we should go get everyone a drink, huh.”

Thorn nodded. “Don’t tell mom I swore.”

“Oh, I’m definitely telling mom you swore.”

“Then I’m telling her you smoked and threw your cigarette into the lake.”

Cassian and Thorn stared at each other for a long minute.

“Call it even?” Cassian asked.

Thorn grinned, wildly and mischievously, before nodding. “Race you to the house?”

Just a couple of hours later, Rhys and Cassian were carrying their sleeping sons to their room, while Luna explained to Aunt Nesta how girls were smarter than boys and their brains didn’t have to work as hard.

“That’s why I’m not as sleepy as them,” she said, holding her hand as they walked into the house. Azriel chuckled as he headed into their room, to check on Lannan. Finding him fast asleep still, he came back out and Luna was in the middle of pleading a very strong case against going to bed. She even had counter arguments planned for everything Elain said. His wife threw him an exasperated look and he picked Luna up from behind, surprising her and causing her to begin to giggle.

“It’s bed time, Luna Bug,” he said, tossing her over his shoulder and walking back towards their room.

“But I’m not sleepy,” she said, trying to turn her giggle into a whine but failing. 

“If you don’t go to sleep now you’ll be too sleepy to do anything fun with everyone else tomorrow, and you don’t want that, do you?” he asked, as Luna threw her arms around her daddy’s neck. 

“No,” she sighed. “Can I sleep with you and mommy?”

Azriel chuckled, kissing her cheek. “Not tonight. You’ve got your own bed here, and Livy and Lily will be sad if they wake up in the morning and don’t see you in your bunk.”

Luna agreed. “Okay, fine.” 

Elain had already slipped back outside with her sisters as Azriel walked Luna into her bedroom. He could see them all sitting around the fading fire, Elain laughing brightly at something her sisters had said. He was so captivated by her beauty, so blown away by that heart-stopping smile.

He kissed Luna goodnight before tucking her in, then slowly shut the door behind him before making his way downstairs.

Cassian and Rhysand were in the kitchen, having put the boys down in their room.

“I suppose I should grab my pregnant wife and put her to bed,” Cassian said. Yet, he was cracking open another beer and putting the can to his lips.

Rhysand shook his head. “Is it even possible for you to drink too much? When was the last time you’ve been hungover?”

Cassian thought about it, then shrugged. “Don’t remember. High school. Maybe college.”

Azriel laughed before bidding them both goodnight and stepping out onto the back porch.

“Going to bed!” he called to his wife. “Goodnight!”

“That’s a hint to follow him,” Cassian said, stepping out onto the porch behind him, still sipping on his new can of beer. “You know, so you can procreate.” 

The three sisters rose and walked back up the hill, Nesta holding her lower back as she did so.

“We all need to go to bed,” Nesta said, taking the can from her husband. “I’m cutting you off.”

Cassian snatched it back and chugged until the contents were gone. He was sure to lean close to his wife before letting out an obnoxious belch. 

Nesta just blinked and put her palm against his face, pushing him back. “Someone remind me why I let him be the father of my children.”

Elain and Azriel had already slipped away for the night.

“The rest of us wonder that daily,” Rhysand laughed, holding out his hand as he leaned against the doorway. “Come to bed, Feyre, darling?” 

“Of course,” she smiled, intertwining her fingers with his. 

Once they were gone, Cassian sat back on one of the lounge chairs and patted the space in front of him. “Come sit.”

Nesta, rolling her eyes, sat in front of her husband and leaned back against him.

“You smell like beer,” she said, yawning. 

Cassian’s massive, calloused hands were instantly caressing her baby bump. “I can’t tell if you think that’s a bad thing or not.”

She huffed a laugh, looking up at him behind her. “You’re an idiot. I love you.”