As the two made their way through the palace, they passed one room just as the childish laughter of two boys came booming out of it. Sin sighed knowingly and poked his head inside the room. Two boys full of boundless energy raced around the room trying to catch one another.
"You guys! Sit down we're not finished!"
An older boy, no older than 15 ran after them, trying to get them to settle down. The irritated twitch of his eye was evident as scooped one of the boys up and plopped him back into his seat, only for him to get up and run off again as soon as the boy stood to get the other little menace.
Sin felt his head throbbing as he listened to them argue with each other. "I...I don't know how your son deals with them. Honestly. Why couldn't they be more like Kairo? He was so quiet when he was their age." He sighed.
Nikiro chuckled. "You weren't around long enough to see all the times he was being a little imp. Besides, they listen just fine to Dez."
"That's because Dez would eat them alive if they misbehaved with her."
Sin walked further into the room. The two boys beamed as soon as they spotted him. "Dad!"
They ran up to Sin, who scooped them into his arms and hugged him tightly. "How are my little rascals doing hmm? I hope you're behaving and not causing a ruckus as usual."
The boys exchanged a guilty look before walking back over to their seats. Sin looked up at Kairo and smiled. "I hope they haven't been too much trouble."
"It's no problem at all your majesty." Kairo looked between his father with a frown plastered on his face.
"Faustus, Sirius, you be good and listen to Kairo properly okay? He's here to tutor you not goof off."
The louder of the two boys sighed. "But dad! School is boring! Why can't we just skip our lessons today and go play instead?"
Sin sighed. Before he could open his mouth to speak, a chill ran up his spine and silenced him.
"What's this I hear about skipping lessons? I came here to see how you boys were doing but it seems you've been wasting Kairo's time."
Sin spun around to see Dez with her arms crossed standing in the doorway. Sirius poked his brother's arm, holding back laughter. "Oooh, she caught you."
Faustus swatted his arm away and quickly backtracked. "I-It's nothing mom! I was just thinking we could all play some games...afterwards! I'd never skip a lesson with Kairo!"
Faustus looked up at Kairo with stars in his eyes, probably in an attempt to look cute so Kairo would shorten their lesson for the day. Unfortunately for him, his tricks never worked on Kairo.
Dez stepped inside and smooshed her hands onto Faustus and Sirius' heads, messing up their hair. "Good." She crouched down so that just they could hear her. "Y'know, your dad told me not to tell you anything because he wanted to surprise you two but he told me this morning that if you were extra good in your lessons today he would take the both of you out to play in the geyser plains."
The boys lit up, fixing themselves in their chairs, now extra eager to continue their lesson. Satisfied with her work, Dez stood and turned to Sin who wore a relieved expression.
"Ah, what would we do without you."
"Combust probably," she whispered back, punching his arm lightly.
Kairo was hyper-focused on Nikiro's expression during their little exchange. When Nikiro met his gaze, he grimaced, turning away from his father and going back over to the table to sit with the twins. It was Nikiro's turn to frown, his attention flitting between his son and the couple in front of him. Partly out of regret, he turned away, throwing out a brief goodbye before leaving to go to his office. He felt his head throb with the thralls of an oncoming headache and groaned. Though it had been a number of years since news of Dez' pregnancy rolled through Solaria, Nikiro remembered it vividly, as though he had heard it just moments ago.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
|11 Years ago|
The first few months into Sin's reign were hectic, to say the least. It was by no means a smooth transition of power. When Nikiro and Sin had returned from the Nightless City the last thing they expected was the news that Illya had been taken prisoner which meant Sin was now emperor. With little to no time to mourn the loss of his mother, Sin threw himself into his work once again. However, that wasn't the only shocking news to have come about during that time. Not long into Sin's reign, he noticed that Dez was no longer as active as she used to be. Normally she would accompany him during work and help wherever she could, but she had progressively become more withdrawn from him.
One day before the scheduled morning assembly, Sin visited her only to find her violently heaving into a pot, the maids gently rubbing her back as her torso contorted in pain. He quickly ran over and knelt next to her, pulling her hair out of her face.
"Call for the physician quick!"
Dez grabbed onto his hand. "NO!"
He locked eyes with her, mildly frustrated by her refusal. "What do you mean no? You're in pain! You need help!"
Dez opened and closed her mouth like she wanted to say something but decided against it. Sin dismissed the maids and helped her to sit up straight.
"Why don't you want to see the physician?" Sin asked worriedly.
"Sin...I think this is a bigger problem than just me being sick..."
"What do you mean?"
Dez closed her eyes and heaved an exhausted sigh. "...Do you remember that uh...the night we got drunk?"
Sin crinkled his nose. "I think you're going to have to narrow it down a bit more for me."
"...The night we slept together..."
"Oh...yes...I remember."
Suddenly even more concerned with the direction this conversation was going, Sin tensed. He hadn't spoken about that night since it happened because he thought Dez was uncomfortable with it and given that she had never brought it up after, there seemed to be a mutual desire to simply move on from it. The two definitely found each other to be attractive but neither wanted to genuinely pursue things further and so they left it as an unspoken thing of the past. Until Dez began to feel that something was off. Her appetite began to change, she was constantly nauseous and tired. At first, she believed it to be a cold but when the symptoms persisted she began to worry.
"I didn't know how to tell you so I've been putting it off but I think...I think I'm pregnant."
Expecting that to be the case, Sin took a deep breath and reached out, taking her hand in his. Everything he wanted to say to her was inappropriately personal, much too effusive for the kind of relationship they had, which at the moment, was completely shapeless.
Dez could almost hear the gears turning in his head. Smiling, she reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. "What are you thinking?" She whispered.
"...I...have no idea how to put what I'm feeling into words...sorry."
Dez laughed. "Don't think too hard. You'll hurt yourself."
Sin smiled weakly. "How long have you suspected that you might be pregnant."
"Well, I haven't bled in a couple months now. You had so much on your plate, I couldn't bring myself to add more stress."
Sin leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. As much as he struggled to convey his feelings, if there was ever a time he thought he should try his best to do it, it was now. "I'll be honest, the thought of being a father terrifies me. I remember what it was like growing up in uncertain conditions and it scares me to think our child could face that. I know this probably doesn't come as a surprise to you, but I do care for you. I don't know if it's love or if you feel the same but I want to support you, so whatever you chose to do I'll be here."
Dez felt her cheeks heat up. She thought for a moment before taking his hand and putting it over her stomach. "Being a mom scares me too. I know this is probably going to cause quite the scandal...but..." Her voice trailed off until it was barely above a whisper. "I want to have the baby. I've spent so much of my life at sea. Ever since my crew disbanded, ever since coming to Solaria, I've been thinking about what it would be like to just...live life normally...like...what it would be like to have a family and what not. Watching what it was like for Ea to fall in love with Tah Min made me want it more. I don't think I'm quite ready to call it love either and I don't know if this is the right decision but I want to give it a shot."
Sin smiled reassuringly. "Then that's what we'll do. 77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM2HCGwKxr
