one plus one is...?

RONIN

the white knight

Drawing back from the hug and immediately looking quizzical - because any change to their sprout is enough to have him concerned, though he's admittedly a little less on edge with Mateo's reassurances - Ronin follows the botanist's lead as he's directed towards the picket fence. He does glance over his shoulder at Remi with a slightly furrowed brow, assuming his husband already knows what this is all about, but then Mateo is talking and the Knight locks in as if his son is walking him through the steps to CPR.

"...Okay," he begins, quietly fussing with the collar of his shirt and following every gesture Mateo makes towards the plant, right up to the two flowers it is expected to produce. And for a second he looks precisely as clueless as Remi had, starting to shake his head, but then something seems to click in his mind. "...Are the flowers the baby - the babies?" he asks, blue eyes growing comically wide.

He whips around towards the Bastion then, a little pale, a little awed, and shakes his head. "Two?"

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

Remi watches the entire exchange unfold with arms folded loosely across his chest, though the posture does nothing to disguise the fact that he is bracing himself for the inevitable comparison. The moment Ronin’s expression shifts—that visible click of understanding, that widening of blue eyes—Remi exhales sharply and throws both hands up in theatrical exasperation. "Oh, of course," he mutters, casting Mateo a look that is equal parts accusation and begrudging admiration, rolling his eyes as though physically warding off the inevitable I told you so that hovers smugly between them.

But the humour dissolves quickly as Ronin turns toward him, pale and awed and beautifully undone. Remi steps forward at once, hands coming to rest on the Knight’s shoulders, grounding and steady, as though they might both float off otherwise. His own eyes are still bright, still damp at the corners, though the laughter has settled into something warmer and steadier now. "Sì," he says softly, nodding once, firmly. "Two." The word carries weight and wonder in equal measure.

"I was just as surprised as you," he adds quickly, almost defensively, as if this must be made very clear. "I thought—" He gestures vaguely toward the plant with one hand, shrugging in a way that is entirely unconvincing in its attempt at dignity. "I thought that was simply how flowers grow."

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

RONIN

the white knight

"Of course what...?" Ronin blinks as if he's done something wrong, glancing between Mateo and Remi and then the plant - their children - again like any one of them might be able to explain. But he forgets about it almost instantly with the warm weight of Remi's hands on his shoulders, the Knight's attention returning squarely to his husband's handsome face, the tears still threatening at the corners of his eyes, making the green even brighter in the sunshine.

"That is how flowers grow," he blurts immediately through a laugh that's still a little distant with the shock of it, glancing to Mateo with a sheepish grin as if to ask whether that's still correct or if that logic in the world has also disappeared. "Just... not these flowers, I suppose." His laughter is warmer now, even as he blinks quickly to ward off his own tears, and his arms coil around Remi to draw him roughly against his chest.

The force of the hug would likely crush anyone else, but they have long stopped needing to be careful with one another in that way. "Two babies," he mumbles, awed and breathless and delighted. "Gods, that... we have a lot more to do than I thought, don't we?"

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

"Listen, Flora and I have to get our intelligence from somewhere--" Mateo holds up his hands at Remi and doesn't bother to hide his smug, dimpled grin when Ronin seems to connect the dots much more quickly about his new siblings. But there is little time for ribbing and banter, not when his parents are so obviously bowled over by the news, and the botanist has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from also getting choked up about it.

It isn't often he gets to deliver such good news like this, let alone see Remi and Ronin undone in a way that he feels they must have been when he had been born, and it warms him unexpectedly. Clearing his throat and straightening up, he nevertheless knows he ought to get out of here before things take a potentially passionate turn, and so he offers them both a broad smile and nods towards the Sugartide. "I consider my botanist's duty done," he says.

"Congratulations again, though. I am glad it was a good surprise for you both."

i've told you time and time again
i'm not as think as you drunk i am

REMI

the bastion

Darling, you never could scare me
Set me ablaze like you do

Remi rolls his eyes at Mateo with exaggerated exhaustion. The smug grin earns him nothing more than a fond shake of the head before he is abruptly gathered up into Ronin’s arms. The impact would knock the breath from most men, but Remi only laughs as he’s hauled flush against his husband’s chest, the sound bright and unguarded as his hands slide automatically around Ronin’s back. "At least now we do not have to argue about which names we prefer more," he chuckles, nodding against him, his voice muffled slightly by fabric and warmth.

He pulls back just enough to look at Mateo properly, and whatever teasing lingered in his expression softens into something openly, fiercely grateful an full of pride and love. "Grazie, Mateo," he says, the travelling tongue warm and sincere, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder once more. "Davvero."

As Mateo retreats toward the Sugartide, Remi turns back to Ronin with a grin that edges into mischief despite the shine still clinging to his lashes. He presses a kiss to his husband’s cheek, lingering there just long enough for the warmth to settle between them. Lowering his voice, he murmurs near Ronin’s ear, "You do not think it is because we used your duplicate, do you?" The thought makes him huff another laugh, half disbelief and half delight, before he catches Ronin’s hand and tugs him gently—though insistently—down into the grass beside him. The umbrella shifts slightly overhead, but the shade still holds as Remi settles onto his side, propped on one elbow, gaze fixed on the small fenced enclosure.

He exhales slowly, wonder washing through him anew as he reaches out, not to touch, but simply to hover close, as though proximity alone might steady the enormity of it. "Two," he says again, softer now, marvelling openly at the promise contained in so little green.

~FIN

I'd walk over coals in my bare feet
If that gets me closer to you

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!