Verily Merrily

Evie

“You're not funny, you know I can’t chase you now!” Evie yells after her errant companion, watching with cheeks puffed from exasperation as the dark tip of Micah’s tail disappears around the side of the house. Surely off to cause mischief, keenly aware that Evie has little in her arsenal with which to stop him. Erebos may grow older, but she’ll never be free of having a child around the house. 

Oof, she thinks, and props her hands on her hips in the middle of the pathway to their front door. She’s had the entire walk home to think, to digest, and it still wasn’t enough. Maybe if she stands a little longer in the snow it will sink in? Even if she must look either ominous or ridiculous - or both - standing in her parka in the yard staring into space. 

From the back of the house, Micah chuffs and yowls (not at full volume, Evie has heard that before and would not like to repeat the experience) and Evie sighs as she trudges toward the noise. He’s likely either unearthed one of the Ignatius family members or he’s demanding to be let into the back door or the greenhouse - regardless, she needs to herd the literal cat back into civility. No time for more stewing.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

The Sword had kept close to home today – occupying the dining table with an array of projects from preparations of any incoming, evacuating Stormbreakers, to lines and notes of the attack within the bar that had felled Rhiannon. The latter wasn’t forthcoming, and the former already settled for the moment; so he’d taken to preparing a meal while his mind wandered; the slicing of vegetables easy as his thoughts were occupied every manner of things, from Evie’s impending appointment to Ru’s reappearance, pondering if he should send her a letter or wait for everything else to settle.

The noise at the back door, classic Micah, unfurled a snort, and he shook his head, wiping down his hands and the knife, before heading towards the aperture. Erebos was unlikely to be awakened from his nap by the yowling cat, given how intensely his snowball fight had gone, but Deimos wasn’t going to take the risk. Opening the door, he left it wide enough for the tide jaguar to trundle through. “My liege,” he rumbled to the beast, in genuine fondness, before his eyes flickered back towards Evie, brow arching in his habitual ease. His eyes flicked over her form, another inherent custom; predisposed to ensure her safety and wellbeing in quick glances. Thereafter, he took a breath, steeling himself for something, loosening a brief grin, allowing it to fall into place. “How did it go?”

i rule the stars, not the other way around

Evie

The invitation is all the jaguar needs, squeezing through the moment his blocky head can fit, impatient even as Deimos opens the door - though he purrs loudly and rubs against the man’s knee at the grandiose reception. Evie rounds the corner after him, eyes already rolling even as the faint shadows of dimples kiss into her cheeks to betray her amusement. They deepen as her eyes follow upward to land on her husband’s face, quickly kicking her toes against the steps to release compacted snow from the tread of her boots so she can ascend to kiss him hello.

Closing the door behind her, the Evergreen shrugs out of her outer layers and begins unlacing her boots, nerves churning in her stomach even though they have no place being there. Knowing that doesn’t banish them in the least.

“It went well, Marnie says hi by the way. I swear half the appointment was her complaining that I won’t go back to working there,” she laughs, uncertain where to set her gaze like some sort of nervous schoolgirl. “Good health across the board, aside from the nausea.” The entire reason the Evergreen had booked the appointment - any disinterest in food was cause for concern given her love of it. Not that she hadn’t had other concerns and suspicions. 

Turning to face him, her hands flutter from hair to hips in an aimless urge to find something to busy themselves with before she reaches for him instead. Always the preferred choice. “So I…I asked her to check if it might be something else.” And Evie would bet money that Deimos has been harboring his own suspicions, even if he hadn’t voiced them, just as she hadn’t. They’re married adults who’ve already discussed their plans for the future - it was never exactly off the board, even if they hadn’t been doggedly planning and pursuing the idea. Waiting until he comes to her, Evie sucks in a breath and blows it out noisily. Telling him in the kitchen while snow melts into her socks feels anti-climactic, but he’s her husband. Their son is asleep somewhere in their house. How else would she tell him? Confetti and horns? “And it was. Is? I’m pregnant.” Again. Who’d have thought she’d get to experience this more than once? And though she has heard his thoughts on the matter before, she looks up with nerves alight in her trembling smile, wanting to know if they both share the opinion that this is a good thing. That this is the right time once more.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

Awaiting a verdict was never easy – and he stood between thresholds of wanting to pry further or let her unfurl it on her own, as he placed her coat along the hook. It kept his hands busy, restlessly toying with the fabric until he followed back into the kitchen, listening, head tilting, pondering if there was too much to be deciphered in the middle of the words – nodding along at Marnie’s greetings. “Several people have told me I could not be everywhere,” and he pinpointed a look at her – as if to say it’d be another ‘I told you so’ volley – but if it was her preference to not return to those portions, then so be it. “Same goes for you,” and he wrinkled his nose in return, trying to keep the motions light, should anything come crashing down. They’d figured out a routine and structure regardless.

But Evie seemed to be on edge too, gaze flickering in all directions, which didn’t ease the burden beginning to staccato in his ribs. Her next line gave him adequate pause, and then his suspicions followed suit. The course of those apprehensive emotions to run in those futile seconds would later be discarded wholeheartedly; they’d been in these woods before, though then the exploration had been vastly unknown. The Evergreen not eating, aside from a few other things here and there, had tipped him off on possibilities, but he hadn’t given it voice in case the probabilities veered elsewhere. As she reached for him, he took a long, measured breath, hands clasping around hers in a shared comfort amidst the trepidation.

The moment the news dropped, his eyes widened – and then his massive grin followed suit. Maneuvering his hands to hold her close, prop her on the counter, and then linger towards her face instead, he gently tilted her chin towards him, mouth seeking hers for a long, breathless kiss – pouring every ounce of his devotion, ardor, love, and affection for her into the reverence. She’d have no doubt of his feelings about her, or the matter at hand – even so, when they parted, he leaned his forehead against hers. “That is the best news,” because for all their stress, work, heartache, and scraping of claws and enamel and teeth and grit to forge onward, they’d gotten here again. Erebos had been a testament to their determination, to fight against the odds of overshadowing and overwhelming adversity – and now they stood once more, capable of welcoming new life into the world, making all the wars and suffering worth it. To have these outcomes. To ensure their children were safe and sound.

But he didn’t want to rush into his own excited outset if it wasn’t shared. While plans were ricocheting through his brain, he took another solid breath, eyes piercing into hers. “And you are okay with it?” This time felt guarded, defended, secure, but he didn’t want misgivings on her end.

i rule the stars, not the other way around

Evie

She grins unrepentantly at his pointed stare, only to morph into a pout when the point he’s making neatly double-crosses to apply to her now too. “I have more time than you, technically,” she grumbles lightheartedly, though it’s not entirely true. Homemaking is no vacation even with a devoted husband to share the load - and a lanky plant-son to do the same. Or maybe it doesn’t matter if she’s busy or not because Evie loves every moment she gets to spend with her family after a lifetime living in the nightmarish entrapping that had been the Wordsworth home. 

But those dark reminders are brief at best, largely subconscious, and utterly dispelled with the warmth and weight of Deimos’ hands wrapping around hers the instant she reaches for him. Evie would bet her soul any day on this truth; Deimos will always reach back. 

His reception of the news is an answer unto itself, and the Evergreen’s nerves dispel in a whoosh of laughter as he sweeps her off the floor and onto the counter to be kissed silent. She lets him pour each bright, beautiful feeling into her through their joined lips, chasing away any doubts she may have had that - in hindsight - were rather ridiculous. They had conceived Erebos in a time more fraught than this, and he has been nothing but a gift ever since. A reason to keep living and fighting. Even if they hadn’t shared their openness to another child before, though admittedly not recently or with intentional attempts, Evie should not have worried at all. 

Brow against his, she squeezes his nape where her fingers slide into his hair and smiles brilliantly. “Very okay,” whooshes out like a great sigh, nerves (at least the ones about telling him) finally settling. “I told her not to tell me anything else, just confirmation and general health status. Like we did with Erebos.” The moment Marnie had confirmed it Evie had requested it, doubting their feelings on that front had changed. “But…wow. Gods, it’s real isn’t it? We’re having another baby!” Her voice shakes again but this time with wonder, joy, awe. Life continues to prove her wrong again and again, showing her greater heights of happiness than she could have ever dreamed of as a girl.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

He quirked a brow at her response, not bothering to dig further into the jocular ends of the quarrel. Both had multitudes of duties and all were important – from the region itself, to their home and family – now of which was about to be extended once again.

The cloud of apprehension dispersed thereafter; feelings clear in paramount words and distinctions. Only pulling back to stare at her, he shook his head momentarily, mind immediately lost in a thousand different hazes. Plans and fruitions and calculated efforts all fragmenting into different parallels and webs, each with its own missive – ensuring Evie had whatever she needed, converting one of the guest rooms into another nursery, telling the rest of the Ignatius horde…but first he focused on her, on long breaths and smug grins and realities. His head tilted, the boyish smile lilted just for her, some proud swell of his chest churning on a long breath and easygoing sigh. “Ah. Going to leave it another mystery. What about timeframes?” Erebos had come as more than a surprise, and they’d been a bit late in preparations, so he wasn’t certain if they should be in the dark on that front again.

At her exclamation, his hands wound along her hips, laughing as he pressed his mouth against her cheek, her brow. “After all of this,” in a general sense of the chaos, bedlam, battles, and wars, “I think we deserve the happiness.” Another aspect of growth to the family, of primrose paths and plucking out the thorns. Tracing down the lane of more thoughts, his gaze flickered back to hers, brow arching once again on the inquiry laden within. “How do we want to tell the boys?” Amhran would probably receive it well – after all, he and Erebos had been nearly days apart in arriving in Caido – though very differently. He wasn’t certain on the current youngest though; whether he would lord over being a big brother or wholly indifferent.

i rule the stars, not the other way around

Evie

There is time aplenty for planning and preparation, gods knew she’d been torn between contending with her emotions and with trying to plot out a to-do list just on the journey home. That’s simply who they are. But for now the revelry is foremost in their minds. Evie can scarcely stop smiling. 

“Leafchange, she said. Mid to late - the first break in the chain of Ignatius winter births,” she laughs, wondering idly - in the same way as meaningless fortunes and horoscopes - if it means anything for the child to be. She’d never put any weight on their child, but perhaps if anything it would be a good omen of individuality. 

Pressing eager and preening into each kiss across her face, Evie’s grin gentles into a sentimental smile. “We’ve always deserved it. But perhaps more some times than others.” Amusement writes itself in the pink of her cheeks and the glitter of blue eyes. “Amhran will be easy enough to tell. I’m not really sure about Erebos - he’s old enough to understand the idea at least. Hopefully he’ll take it well given he knows what a sibling is, and doesn’t hate it.” She snorts a laugh, grateful for the fact there’d been no bumps in that particular road. That may mean they’re in for a few now though.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

He laughed; let it flow easy, liberated, free in his chest through the kitchen. Leafchange gave them plenty of time, and somehow not enough; a charitable amount to be done and fostered – shaking his head as he moved his lips to her hairline. “Someone has to be different,” shrugging with the same boyish grin, unbothered by the aspects, more or less amused that this one would come in a season of color and hues, blending into autumn golds, crimsons, and browns; perhaps that signified more.

That they’d always deserved the contentment was another stark reminder of paths traversed and roads overgrown. Difficult to see in those monumental, tempestuous occasions, when they’d been fighting for strength, diligence, and protection for the world around them, rather than just themselves. Those thresholds had been borne again and again and again though, and maybe it made the outcome that much greater. “Fine, you may have that one,” he remarked with another deep rumble of amusement, as if scoring points on a mental tally sheet. 

The other members of the family might’ve had different outlooks though, and so he maneuvered to stare directly at her again, granting another long and slow sigh. “True. He adores Amhran and Amhran tolerates him well.” But Erebos was still a wild card; in many aspects, nor did he want to overwhelm the Raeling with the hordes of energetic Ignatiuses simply because he was an amiable youth. “And there is the matter of announcing to anyone else,” at which he wrinkled his nose; they’d kept both demigod and Erebos under tight wraps – but eventually the word would get out.

i rule the stars, not the other way around

Evie

Her grin is cheeky with agreement. "Exactly. Think that means they'll be a girl too? Double up on the differences?" Gender is the least of her concern - especially as a woman who has spent years devoted to the healing arts - but it would be all the more amusing.

Deimos' concession only keeps the grin affixed, the glow of joy draped around her shoulders since breaking the news now bolstered by smugness. "You spoil me," she coos with a flutter of her lashes, squeezing his hips with her knees from atop the counter.

Barking a laugh at the phrasing of tolerate, the Evergreen removes a hand to recline on it, palm flat to the counter. With it, she shrugs stiffly at the notion of announcing to others. "Truly I don't have anyone to tell these days, and word will get around Halo naturally." The citizens would spread it like wildfire, but Evie's family is long dead, and most of her friends equally lost either to the winds or in broken ties. Maybe Remi and Ronin? And even that is a stretch unfortunately. "So I guess you'll have to do that one alone," she teases, though it holds no weight. If he's inclined to tell people in person she'll of course happily go with him, but he would have to take the lead on that venture.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

Deimos had always been a proponent of a healthy child over all the other nuances – it hadn’t mattered to him when Erebos came, and it would scarcely matter now. They would be loved and cherished no matter the particulars. “We can see what happens and then draw our conclusions,” came as a tease – pressing his lips against her crimson hairline so he was once more touching fire, permitting a long breath to escape and flutter over stray tendrils. Taking in the moment with an indulgent heart and mind speculating, calculating, along the airs of their incoming seasons.

Snorting at the spoiled comment, he lowered his mouth so that teeth lightly grazed her ear, before shifting away intentionally, snagging at a nearby pad of paper, drawing it away from all the other nuances he’d been building. Her comment was somewhat sobering; either that she’d continually lost friends, or that he’d somehow become the social one. He thought about Hadama or Alys, but with everyone gone or busy with their own notions, perhaps the list was shorter than he'd thought.

Ceasing from a frown, he moved back into her orbit, sliding a few names down to send letters or see on a natural occurrence – those like Kiada, Ru, Remi, Ronin, and the like. “Sounds like torture,” he gave with a pout and pretense instead; more so the communal aspects than the information shared. “We could convert one of the guest rooms into another nursery. Erebos would probably enjoy an update to his room as well,” at which he gave an arch to his brow, looking back at her with thoughts and suggestions, inching towards the pragmatics in the interim of contentment.

i rule the stars, not the other way around

Evie

Her smiling agreement turns into a breathless, surprised laugh as he captures her ear in his teeth. "That's the sort of behavior that got us here," she teases with flimsy reprimand, eyes glittering as she plucks at his shirt as he departs as if tempted to bring him back into her orbit to continue with such things. Not as if they have any reason to worry now, right?

He does not linger on the sour note of the fate of her friendships, the discord of an ill-struck key on a piano that nevertheless is swallowed by the grander beauty of the rest of the song. It's something she'd like to change, and perhaps she will - pregnancy is a great way to get people talking. She remembers all the strangers begging to touch her belly when she was pregnant with Erebos. Certainly no shortage of conversation starters there.

"It's why we made sure this house was so big from the start," she agrees with a grin. Gods, will she ever be able to stop? She'd always expected Amalia to be the motherly one of the two of them when they were kids, but now look at her; the Evergreen, happier as a mother than she's ever been in any other role in life. "We can start early, before I get as big as a whale again." An exaggeration thankfully, she'd had a blessedly easy pregnancy with Erebos, but soon enough she'd be restricted in terms of carrying certain weights or doing lengthy work. Might as well get an early start, or she'd go out of her mind simply being forced to watch while Deimos did all the fun decorating and nesting.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

At her breathless interim, he smirked, returning into that grandeur moments later, voice lowering to a distinct rumble against the shell of her ear. “I do not recall you complaining then,” for another tease – though neither of them ever seemed to refuse one another on those siren songs. His breath purposefully lingered along the rise of her cheeks, before he considered her grin, corresponding another low laugh beside hers; the contentment, the order of things, the freedom to enjoy and cajole and surround themselves with what they’d dreamed a far more profound thing again and again. “Might as well fill it then?” he countered with an arch to his brow, though he snorted thereafter, recalling earlier sentiments from their son. “If not with children, likely with animals. Erebos was talking about catching a frost fox again.”

Scrawling names down for half a moment, for he had no intent on ignoring his wife for any longer than that, he pondered over the other nuances flickering in between, news and notices of others. “You will not, though I think you prefer watching me do most of the work,” he chided – waiting to see if she balked at the response, intentionally provoking to see if he could get a rise out of her. “I was told Remi and Ronin are expecting as well. Thought we could send them some things.”

i rule the stars, not the other way around

Evie

The crest of her cheek where his teasing breath lands goes all the more pink, contrasting the blue of her eyes while simultaneously fading out the presence of her freckles. To still feel flustered by her husband even after this many years is a thrill unto itself - and a privilege that many married couples take for granted, or lose entirely. “And I never will,” she assures, voice steady with certainty but with a chirp of prim sass, unrepentant in her appreciation for his bedroom talents.

Though if they don’t stop being so enamored with each other, they really will fill their entire house. And they built it with double the necessary rooms before Erebos was even a thought!

Micah chirps excitedly from wherever he bounded off to, making Evie laugh. “If each companion has a designated bed in each bedroom, surely we can maximize space economy. If our children find their rooms crowded because of it, that’s their own fault for bonding.” Of course some bond on accident, others on purpose, but Evie isn’t going to build a barn until one of them comes home with a unicorn or a damn ursur. Besides, she’s too soft-hearted - she’d insist on bringing them inside anyway after a single moment seeing a companion standing out in a barn alone at night. 

Leaning her hands back on the counter, her head falls back dramatically between the cradle of her scapulae, groaning at the ceiling. “Already? Love, I’m at my least breakable now! We’re already past the delicate early stage. I love watching you work, but I’ll bake far too much with idle hands - and then we’ll both get fat.” She pauses, a slow grin starting up as she lifts her head back up to aim it his way. “Actually, nevermind. It’s a great idea, you can share the burden of weight-bearing!”

All fun dissipates as he drops the news of Remi and Ronin, and she gasps while sitting up like she’s been electrocuted, excitement ablaze on her face. “Oh my gods! That’s amazing! We can absolutely send them some of Erebos’ old things from storage! We had so many duplicates we won’t even lose out on anything for our own baby.” Maybe she can deliver it by hand? She hasn’t seen Remi and Ronin in so long. Since the beach demigod spars? And gods she’d been pregnant then too! Fond nostalgia takes over and Evie rests her cheek on her own shoulder, smile partially hidden by it. “Remember how we even ended up with all those duplicates? We over-prepared so much for Erebos. It still feels like it was just yesterday.” But maybe all moms say that.

I see you when you chase the dreams inside your head
and when you laugh and love until the bitter end

Deimos

He laughed, shaking his head as he scrawled out one more name and then placed his focus back upon her, punctuating the rumble with his lips drifting over hers. “Nor will I,” wrinkling his nose, leaving the tease there for her; leaning across the counter again to keep her mercilessly caged between his arms, as more plotting rambled through. “Would you want to go on a date night soon?” Between their constant necessities and attention in Halo, their family, and a myriad of other quandaries each and every day, Deimos truly couldn’t recall the last time they’d had opportunities and moments for themselves or one another. A sobering thought he’d like to extinguish. “Whatever you happen to crave,” offered on a grin, leaving the opportunity and choice up to her.

Micah’s added commentary earned a snort, his head tilting at Evie’s details of space for impending companions. “Fair enough.” Zuriel already had the run of the house, as a unicorn, and considered herself much too prominent and wonderful to ever be situated in a barn. Deimos had to agree, based on how many times she’d saved lives. Belial and Micah had already made themselves a whole assortment of beds. A frost fox would likely be no different, and he couldn’t see Erebos not taking the thing around wherever he went.

“I am too busy to get fat,” as he often reminded her at the chiding, the gaze still fond. Between running amidst the patrols, his own workouts along the barracks, hunting, tracking, fighting, ensuring Halo flourished, and chasing after their son, the food he wolfed down probably still didn’t quite make up for all the deficits. “But I doubt anyone in this house would say no to baking.”

Considering the excitement of Remi and Ronin’s impending child(ren), Deimos granted another smile. “And it is not like I cannot make more.” Shrugging, because he wasn’t bothered by either accord or the sentimentality of baby clothing, he still didn’t mind the thought of overpreparation. Would probably be doing it again. “Nothing wrong with having too many,” for either family, he supposed.

i rule the stars, not the other way around