Chapter Text
There was a commotion that took place outside the Congregation of the Knight's Most Heavenly, drawing Ser Aymeric and his second in command, Lucia, from their discussion as doors are brute-forced open. Lucia's first instinct is to draw her steel, and so too did Aymeric reach for his blade, when he sees the silver hair of a dear friend in a right mess.
Handeloup was grasping to catch Estinien by his shirt, while keeping an arm fanned out to fend back the temple knights from taking Estinien's forceful introduction as an act of aggression.
"Ser Aymeric," Estinien projects loudly to the large, echoing room, "Your office. Alone."
In turn, Aymeric quickly obliges, taking his hand from the handle of his sword and sheepishly apologizing to Lucia, "I beg–just a moment," And curtly comes around the table to hurry over to Estinien. The guard keeping post at the door to the offices quickly gives way to let them pass.
Both Estinien and Aymeric walk with quick haste to his quarters, entering the room, Aymeric closes the door behind them, "Please, sit, sit, tell me what is the matter–"
"It took. Aymeric."
He halts as he looks at Estinien, "... I'm... Sorry... I don't know what that entails exactly-"
"You and I, upon my last visit," Estinien hastily explains, "We bedded, and it took."
Aymeric ogles at him. It took. After a confused moment more, Aymeric's eyes widen, "Y... You're with child?"
"Your child," Estinien says so and then looks away, ashamedly.
Aymeric slowly walks past Estinien, having to find the edge of his desk to sit his hip against. He digests the news slowly, and while he's had time prior to know this could become a possibility, he did not brace for the impact the news would really have on him. And each agonizing moment that passes in this silence, Estinien also turns to a window and contemplates escaping through it.
"... It was far too foolish to have done what we did," Estinien seethes through his teeth, "So damn foolish, I... I'm sorry to drag you into this, Ser Aymeric."
"No, Estinien, please."
He turns his head to look back over at Aymeric.
"I plan to stand by my word, every bit of it," He strolls over to Estinien's side, "You are not to bear this burden alone, and you have not caught me in a bind either. I live a much more blessed life than I had many years ago, privileged and with a good standing here in Ishgard."
Estinien scoffs, "And here I am, about to ruin that."
"Not at all," Aymeric insists, "Times are changing here, the people here have become far more tolerant and willing to bend their beliefs to see through the other side of things. After centuries of war and hatred, the people of Ishgard were more than willing to open their hearts and allow peace to be made with dragonkin. And I can happily report, their views on the original conventions of marriage and presentations have started to turn as well."
Estinien frowns, "But to bring a bastard child-"
"As if that's anything new," Aymeric chuckles, "Really now, Estinien... I don't know of a single Ishgardian who has not been made aware anymore of my own bastardhood and now look where I stand. I'm no longer held back by such pretense! And besides," Aymeric takes Estinien's hand, "Should that be a concern of yours... We could ensure that is not the case for this one."
He feels his heart beating loudly in his chest, never did he imagine for himself and Aymeric to ever, in a hundred years, find the time nor means to consider marriage. And with a child to come along no less.
Though, there’s still a hesitance, Estinien wants to keep finding excuses, but nothing reasonable truly comes in opposition. Aymeric was just so willing to yield to anything he had to throw out.
“Estinien?”
He looks at Aymeric, his heart betrays his desire to push back any further when met with those stunning blue eyes, “… I care not to rush this…” He squeezes Aymeric’s hand back, “… I wish only to not burden you too greatly. Should I impose too much, please, by all means—“
Estinien is silenced with a kiss, Aymeric presses their lips together and holds it for as long as both were willing to share in that moment. Once they pull back, Aymeric speaks gently, “You shall never impose enough, my love.”
There was quite a myriad of reactions to come upon the news being broken. It was meant to stay as a totally hush subject, especially with how early it was to discover a pregnancy had taken in the first place. The Scions were the first group to pass the word amongst themselves, as Estinien’s dismissal from the Scion affairs had not gone unnoticed, and when Tataru asked for the reasoning behind it happening, she had a great amount of difficulty keeping quiet about it. Especially when she was far too caught up in the idea of picking up her weaving skills to make some handmade gifts for the little bundle-to-be.
The rest of the Scions were a mix of totally unphased (the Warrior of Light, Y’shtola, Urianger, and Alisae) and bafflingly perplexed (G’raha, Krile, Thancred, and Alphinaud).
The public’s reaction would have to wait though, as Estinien hoped to carry this as a secret to his grave. Though as the weeks came to pass and he suffered through the worst of it with morning sickness and odd places his body ached and became tender, the one factor he seemed to forget the quickest was the fact he would have a changing form. His belly, often lean with tight abdominal muscles, was now softened from lack of exercise (too fatigued and bedridden somedays with dizzy spells and sickness) and in place of those toned muscles was forming the subtle curve of a bump—starting low below the navel as it slowly fills outward week-by-week.
One evening, the midwife arrived for a check-up with Estinien. Thankfully the morning sickness began to subside, but she was captivated by just how much his body had changed upon her last visit.
Aymeric paces along the hallway outside the bedroom, while it looks as though he’s an anxious father, he actually is far too excited with each new check-up to hear the progress of the child. And it just so happens that during this appointment did his schedule align to allow him to be present at home to take part in this. Though, the midwife’s practices are fairly old-fashioned, Aymeric was sent to stay outside the room while the examination took place.
When the door clicks open, Aymeric pivots on his foot and comes right up as the midwife steps out.
”Alright, you may come in,” She says, as he steps through, “Sit yourself down, you’ll want to be seated for this.”
Aymeric looks from her to Estinien, who was sat on their bed, clothes loose and making his body shapeless. There was a look to Estinien’s face that looks distant. That quickly turns Aymeric hesitant.
”Sit down!” The midwife crones at him, and Aymeric follows by quickly retreating to Estinien’s bedside and sitting by him on the comforter, “… Now then, would you like to tell him, or shall I?”
Aymeric expectantly turns to Estinien, who blinks and comes back to the waking world long enough to respond, “Um… You should.”
The midwife nods, “Fine fine… Ser Aymeric,” she addresses him, “As you may have noticed, your spouse has accumulated quite a considerable amount of weight—“
”Nevermind. I’ll do it.” Estinien intervenes with a light growl, “Aymeric.”
He turns to meet with Estinien’s eyes.
”… I don’t seem to be just bearing one child…” Estinien reaches and takes Aymeric’s hand, placing it on his middle, feeling through the fabric to caress his belly, “But rather… Two children.”
”Tw…” Aymeric’s mouth hesitates to say the word fully, but then he feels a small kick to his palm, “…Twins?”
”Indeed,” The midwife vouches, “Small, yet willing. This will mean that there are more risks to come from a pregnancy involving multiples, but should we go about this in a safe and secure matter, there’s no doubt that we possess the medicine and practice needed to deliver both children healthily.”
Aymeric’s mouth gapes like a fish, and he eventually looks back at Estinien, “T..two of them… We’re to have two…”
“That we are,” Estinien sighs, “… Well? Are we to kiss or not?”
Aymeric’s smile grows as he takes up Estinien’s offer without a second thought, kissing him fervently and passionately, peppering his cheek with several more until he wetly chuckles and leans his forehead to Estinien’s shoulder.
Relief. Pride. Joy. All of that wrapped up together. And Aymeric’s thumb strokes over the soft bump below Estinien’s ribs.
The changing of seasons in Ishgard are rather subtle, the summers tend to see more sunshine, the fall grows cloudier, and the winter fully opens the heavens to several ilms of snow to pile up each day. It takes a considerable amount of work to keep the streets cleared every other hour.
Some evenings, all that can be seen through the window is the ink-black night, with flecks of white to pass by it. At such a late hour, the candles burning low in their holders and the wicks threatening to extinguish in the wax.
Estinien sits in the seat by the window, not the least bit comfortable, but he gives up on comfortability in lieu of watching the hypnotic falling of snow. Though he must have begun to nod off, as he feels a hand gently nudge his shoulder.
Aymeric feels guilty of giving Estinien such a jolt awake, by how he jumps under his touch and looks at him so accusatory, “Now now, it’s only me,” He gently laughs, “I’m sorry, I know you’re tired.”
Giving a gruff sigh, Estinien rubs his eyes, “Don’t be, if I fell asleep here, I would regret it.”
Estinien takes Aymeric’s offered hand, rising to stand and immediately bracing a hand to the sore curve of his back, the weight of his rounded out belly straining once more against his hips which shoot down to his ankles.
They take careful steps together, Estinien grumbling the whole way until reaching his side of the bed.
“You truly mustn’t wait for me,” Aymeric chides as he helps Estinien ease to the bed, “These end of the year ledgers are sure to keep me up to late hours of the night, I don’t expect you to stay up on my account.”
“ I’m not the one trying to stay awake,” Estinien huffs, “ They will keep me up until you finally settle in.”
Aymeric tries to be sympathetic, but it honestly thrills him to know that their own children– twins, dear Halone– were already so particular about having both parents present when it came to sleep.
“Let me get undressed,” Aymeric smiles, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to Estinien’s cheek, and giving his swollen belly a pet before stepping away and unbuttoning his shirt.
“Don’t suppose you’ve put more thought into those names, have you?” Aymeric asks.
In response, Estinien grunts annoyedly, “ Hells –absolutely not, at this point I do think I’d prefer if you just came up with something.”
It took less time for Aymeric to strip down to his small clothes and dress in a silk ensemble than it took for Estinien to comfortably position himself in bed. Pillows were shoved around and tucked between his legs, under his belly, against his back–an entire nest of silk cases and feathers.
When Aymeric finally climbs in from the other side, he provides some assistance, pulling pillows from the head of the bed that Estinien can’t reach, and tucking in more tightly the pillows by his hips to help assist in support. And he knew that the job was down once Estinien let out an exhaustive sigh.
“Good?”
“Mm…”
Aymeric rests himself down with his face level to Estinien’s, he usually tries to share this one pillow under his head since by this point, almost all the bed’s pillows are spent trying to secure Estinien into place. Looking down along Estinien’s body, he sees how his arm rests across his heavily pregnant belly, cradling the swell, just before Aymeric pulls the blankets over them both to keep out the winter chill.
From under that blanket, Aymeric’s hand finds Estinien’s fingers interlocking together, and palms both resting as what felt like a small head (or rump, hard to tell really) pressed back against their joined hands.
“... I do believe I might have an idea for names,” Aymeric says, pausing to hear a response, “... Estinien?”
After a few more seconds, Aymeric notices that along with Estinien’s relaxed face, there comes gentle snoring. For later then, Aymeric settles.
It only rains in the summer over Ishgard, for the autumn and winter, it snows. And it snows hard. Which makes for a treacherous jaunt through a blizzard to reach the Borel Estate Manor.
The wait staff run through the home in a panic, there is certainly no shortage of clean towels and boiling hot water, but there is one major element that is lacking here.
The midwife.
It’s a blessing that the heroic Warrior of Light was present for a visit, alongside a young Alphinaud and Tataru, come to see how Estinien was fairing in these last twilight days of his pregnancy. At least, he had not yet reached “to term”, but it was certainly far enough that should the twins arrive then they were to not be in any disposition to live outside the womb.
Throughout the dinner, Estinien had infrequent moments of pressing his hand to the side of his belly and forcing himself to breathe through his nose. Aymeric was the first to notice it, and did not bring attention to it. As the evening drew on, the pain had become increasingly difficult to hide.
Estinien’s pains equally grew with the blustering blizzard outside. The steeping weather was enough to warrant granting their visitors an overnight stay. Though it would be around midnight when a terrible revelation is made.
Trying to settle in to rest, Estinien huffs and pants through consistent rolling pains. He cared a whole lot less about showing his discomfort when in the privacy of his and Aymeric’s bedroom. It was a pain that took his whole belly, his back, and especially his hips as he widens his legs under the blankets for some relief, yet that simply never came.
Aymeric dozes off time and time again, any sound his lover makes alerts him back awake, and he uselessly rubs at his back with no real way to help more than that. The last time he slips to sleep, he wakes to the sound of Estinien giving a sharp groan, and when it comes to pass, he curses quietly.
”A-aymeric…” Estinien gulps, “I… I believe I have w-wet myself.”
His partner is sympathetic—far be it this is the first time it has happened, nor might it be the last—there is a cause for concern that the pains brought on the release of his bladder, but… Surely they could be afforded time to wait until morning sunrise to see the weather calm and get the midwife down there as soon as possible.
As Aymeric sits up, he first lights the bedside candle to give them light to the room, “Alright, just a moment,” He then climbs out of bed, coming around to Estinien’s side. He pulls back the thick blankets and sheets—and typically when this has happened, it was not too much. Usually Estinien could hold back the release of anymore to make it to the privy and handle the rest… But this was a lot more. Much to Estinien’s further embarrassment.
”Oh love,” Aymeric soothes, “Come, let’s see you to the washroom.”
Estinien rises slowly, his body still in fits and aches all over it seems. His belly hung low and heavy, making the shift to sitting upright a challenge in of itself. Thank Aymeric for his merciful patience, cause otherwise Estinien would not be able to stand any of this on his own. He felt like an egg-bound chocobo, lethargic and massive.
As he moves to stand on his feet, he is soon betrayed by yet another pain striking him. With it came a newly defined type of pressure that felt like he was being stabbed from the inside-out. Aymeric catches him before he falls, and has him sit back on the bed as he moans like a dying animal. This wasn’t right. Something was terribly, horribly wrong.
”Estinien?” Aymeric asks with urgency in his voice, “Estinien, breathe for me.”
Estinien pants in an undignified way, heaving in and out breaths forcefully as he clings to Aymeric’s nightshirt.
Aymeric passes a glance to the window, through pitch darkness, large flakes of snow whip by. The sound of the winds told of a more menacing condition outside than what could be seen.
Neither of them wanted to admit it, but Estinien finally speaks as soon as he is not fighting with his own body through these throughs of agony, “A-ymeric…” He wheezes, “T-they’re coming.”
Aymeric numbly nods, rubbing Estinien’s shoulder as he forms his words, “… I’ll get help. I won’t be long.”
Now after having awaken the entire manor, the Warrior of Light was to be accompanied by the young Alphinaud to brave the storm and retrieve the midwife. The bed was stripped and prepped with expert ease by the servants, though a hot bath was also being drawn as an alternative pain relief option. Estinien was coping through the pain just as well as an elk struggles and cries with its leg caught in a hunter’s trap. Unable to escape this pain and yowling loudly to be heard through several halls and floors of the manor.
For Aymeric’s part, he tries his damndest to give Estinien every shred of comfort he can. From holding his hand, to rubbing his back and hips, and even taking a damp towel to cool Estinien’s feverish face while pulling his sweat matted strands of hair from his forehead and cheeks.
It was starting to get desperate as an hour passes, then another. Close to elapsing the third hour, Estinien took to the tub to find it hardly helped as much as promised. The only thing it did was reinforce the bodily urge he felt necessary to fulfill.
”They’re due to arrive any minute now,” Aymeric coaches as he pets back Estinien’s bangs, “Not too much longer, have faith.”
Estinien shakes his head and bellows another groan, “Augh! I can’t wait any longer!”
“I know, my love, you’ve done so well,” Aymeric praises, “Just pant through it.”
Estinien does not have any more patience left in him to keep waiting, as these contractions stack one over the other, and he grips the sides of the tub, and come the next contraction, he bears down—much to Aymeric’s dismay.
”Estinien, don’t—“ Aymeric takes his hand into his own instead, totally helpless in stopping any of this, “You’re not ready—“
”I think I know damn well when I’m ready, Aymeric!!” Estinien snaps back at him, “Now just shut—nnh—shut up and—and—nnhaAHHH!!”
The dawn broke when finally the manor settles, just in time for the morning sunrise to peek through the looming clouds and light the bedroom with a new kind of warmth and energy.
For having gone a full night without sleep, Aymeric was still wide awake. And how could he sleep when all he wanted to do was watch their precious newborns sleep soundly in their shared cot. Both were swaddled in soft wraps, and kept warm with a shared rabbit fur blanket. Both were in perfect health, weighing each 6 pounds for a combined 12 while being carried by Estinien.
Mathis and Margaux. One boy and one girl. From the looks of it, both would have dark hair just like Aymeric, but if the peek of their eyes had anything to say, they carried the same hue of blue closer to Estinien’s. They were practically identical, save for the major difference. The other ways that they could be told apart was Mathis, the first born, had a reddish birthmark on the back of his hand, while Margaux, the second born, had a single freckle on her left floppy ear.
Only such details were noticed from careful inspection, which Aymeric had the privilege of doing when giving them each their first baths.
After being fed and having been held around by various sets of arms, they were tuckered out from their dramatic entrance to the world. And alongside them was Estinien.
At least, Aymeric thought, but he feels a hand nudge his elbow, pulling him from his wistful daydreaming.
”Everything alright?” Aymeric asks, much more apprehensive now to Estinien’s needs.
”Peachy,” Estinien’s voice croaks, “and them?”
Aymeric turns to face Estinien, leaning to kiss his forehead, “Asleep, like little angels.”
Estinien’s head lifts, to try and peer over the edge into the bassinet, he has no reason to doubt Aymeric, it was merely his own curiosity that got him.
”As should you,” Aymeric gently pushes Estinien back against the pillow, “Rest.”
Estinien huffs, “As should you. Considering you were falling asleep before all this.”
Aymeric smiles and settles himself down by Estinien’s side, “I suppose I’ve caught a second wind—“ as he is then interrupted by a yawn.
”Mhm,” Estinien wraps his arms around Aymeric, bringing him in close, and perhaps the closest they’ve managed to be in the better part of 9 months that came to pass, “You’ll want to sleep while you can.”