one plus one is...?

Mateo

"Papà!" Mateo's voice rings out loud and clear from the deck of the Sugartide as it sails over Meadowreach, sending a few High-Land Cows to scattering and casting a dark blob of shadow in the grass a few dozen feet from where his siblings are getting ready to bloom. Mainly he's called out so Remi doesn't assume it's Flora - given that he's borrowed his sister's skyship - but also he kind of just likes to see the herd of cows startle. So sue him. 

Letting down a ladder once the Sugartide is at safe hovering distance, the botanist drops away at the last few rungs to land in the soft, fragrant flowers, stretching his arms high above his head. "Gods, it is a lovely trip up here you know, when it is good weather," he announces, pushing his sunglasses up and into his curls which have been left loose around his shoulders for the occasion. 

"How are things coming? You must tell me everything." And maybe his fathers will have realised already what is becoming increasingly obvious, and they can share the news before Mateo does.

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

The sweep of shadow across the grass is what first draws Remi’s attention, the broad brim of the umbrella above him casting a cool pool of relief against the press of Longheat. He glances up automatically, curls shifting as he tips his head back, and for a fleeting second he assumes it is Flora come to check in on them, the familiar shape of the Sugartide gliding overhead like some indulgent seabird. Pleasant surprise softens his expression almost at once when Mateo’s voice carries across Meadowreach instead, bright and unmistakable, and Remi lifts a hand in greeting, sketchbook balanced easily on his knee.

"Ciao, Mateo," he calls back, the travelling tongue warming the vowels, his smile deepening as his son descends the ladder and drops into the flowers with theatrical flair. He closes the sketchbook with careful fingers before setting it aside, one large hand resting briefly on the pole of the umbrella as if to ensure the shade remains steady over the small, fenced enclosure beside him. "Yes, it is beautiful today," he agrees, gaze sweeping once toward the horizon where the heat makes the air shimmer. "You chose a good morning to visit."

He shifts slightly, gesturing toward the sprout nestled safely within its modest fence, the umbrella angled so that the worst of the sunlight never quite touches the tender green. "We have followed your instructions exactly," he says, pride quiet but unmistakable as he studies the small plant. "shade through the harshest hours, measured watering, no overcrowding of the soil. It looks like it's growing very well to me." His hand drifts absently through his curls before folding across his chest comfortably.

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

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

"If all of King's End were like this, I bet it would lose its spooky reputation," Mateo says with a dimpled grin, strolling through the sea of flowers to his father and the umbrella, tilting his head down at the sketchbook. "I thought that was Dad's pastime," he says with a playful grin. In truth both of his parents are the artistic sort - it's just they choose to express it in different ways at different times. "Have you been sketching some baby pictures?" he asks through a laugh, though he's not entirely joking.

Instead, ducking beneath the umbrella with Remi to plop down in the grass, he settles in to hear of the latest report of the progress their new members of the family are making. And there's nothing quite like hearing of a plant receiving the best possible care, Mateo sighing with clear approval and leaning back on one hand, the other strumming through the flowers without ever plucking them. "I can only agree. I could not have done a better job myself," he agrees readily, shifting a bit closer so he can peep through the picket fence and examine the plant properly.

"...And it growing well is the only thing you have noticed?" he asks gently.

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’s brows lift at that, a quiet huff of amusement leaving him as he settles more comfortably beneath the umbrella. "Oh, if you wait long enough," he says lightly, gesturing vaguely toward the distant grasses with a lazy flick of his fingers, "you will see a spirit or two drift through even here."

At the mention of the sketchbook, he rolls his eyes with exaggerated patience, though the corner of his mouth curves upward. "I have always sketched," he counters mildly. "Your father paints." When Mateo teases about baby pictures, Remi lets out a short, incredulous snort and shakes his head. "No, no. I have been getting an alarming number of requests at the guild for commissioned pieces. I thought I would save myself some time and begin planning them while I am here and Ronin is off."

He watches Mateo settle beside him, feels the shift when his son’s tone dips just slightly. His brows draw together, the humour softening into quiet attention. He leans forward, forearms resting loosely on his knees as he peers through the neat little fence. The plant stands as it always does: steady, green, with two slender stalks branching cleanly from the base, each swelling faintly as if preparing to bud. It looks healthy. Strong. Entirely ordinary in its extraordinariness. Remi studies it for a longer moment, lips pursed, head tilting a fraction as if a different angle might reveal some hidden truth. He shifts his weight, then glances sideways at Mateo before returning his gaze to the sprout.

"It looks like any other plant to me," he admits at last, voice low and thoughtful rather than dismissive. "Why? Is something wrong?"

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

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

"I sense we will be waiting quite some time for that today, based on the herd of cows I sent scattering. You are welcome, by the way," Mateo says with a wink in Remi's direction, and as he adjusts himself to better see the sprout growing within the little fenceline, he does glance curiously over at the Bastion's sketchbook. "Oh, for the guild? You will have to let me know when you are next planning on going to the Grounds. I have not been to the headquarters yet," he says.

He might have asked more about Remi's commissions were it not for, you know, the actual reason he's come to visit. And as his father settles beside him, both of them watching the plant but only one of them seeing the obvious, Mateo waits for him to say it. And when he doesn't, he lets out a breathless laugh. Alright then. 

"Nothing is wrong," he confirms with a kind smile. "Though I do have a confession to make - there is something about this plant that I realised quite a while ago now. I told Flora, and I assumed you would notice as well, which is why I have not said anything. But I realise you are at risk of being underprepared if I do not mention it now." He raises his eyebrows, nodding at the plant, the two stems, the two soon-to-be buds. 

"Pa, that plant is going to give you two flowers."

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 tips his head in acknowledgement, a quiet smile touching his mouth. "Grazie," he replies easily. At the mention of the Grounds, his expression shifts to something thoughtful. "It may be a little while before I go," he admits, glancing briefly toward the horizon as if measuring distances in his mind. "It depends how your father and I find our rhythm once this one is born." A small shrug follows, unbothered but practical. "It would be faster if your sister would allow me to borrow her compass, though I suppose that does not help if you intend to come along with me." Ahh, but they'd figure it out.

The humour fades gently as Mateo’s tone does. Remi’s posture straightens without him fully realizing it, forearms bracing against his knees as he leans forward, gaze sharpening on the plant as though bracing for bad news. When Mateo says nothing is wrong, the tension eases, but only just. Remi listens carefully, eyes moving between the two stems, the swelling buds, the healthy green. He studies them as though he has never seen them before. Two stalks. Two buds. He frowns faintly, head tilting to one side. Plants do this all the time, rarely just growing one bloom.

"So it will be..." he begins slowly, eyes narrowing with concentration, "..stronger?" He glances sideways at Mateo, then back to the sprout, trying to piece together the significance he is clearly meant to understand. It takes him another heartbeat before Mateo’s words finally settle in properly, and even then they do not quite connect. Remi exhales softly, almost puzzled. "I do not understand," he admits at last. "Most plants bloom with more than one flower, don't they? Why would this be—" He stops himself mid-thought, staring again at the twin buds as if willing them to rearrange into a single, simpler answer.

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

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

Mateo softens with that understanding about the impending new routine - especially given how much more he knows about this one than Remi does right now, and he waves it off with an easy smile. "You have commissions to deliver and I do not, so if she will lend you the compass, use it," he tells him earnestly. "The more time you have to be where you need to be, the better, right? I have a ship and a lot of sudden free time." And he'll figure that out later as well, thanks.

For now there's enough figuring out going on for the both of them, and Mateo's expression melts from gently encouraging to utter dumbfoundedness as his father somehow manages to sail spectacularly over the truth of it. "Yes, most plants do," he agrees, resisting the urge to reach out and shake him. "But most plants are not magically grown in a baby garden where the flower is a baby, father." He gestures again to the two stems, eyebrows raising right up into his curls.

"Twins. This plant is going to deliver twins," he tells him.

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 nods easily at that, the corner of his mouth lifting. " I would like that." There is something quietly pleasing in the thought, father and son crossing paths in the Grounds on purpose rather than by chance.

He turns back to the plant just in time for Mateo to begin very deliberately guiding him toward an understanding he is, quite frankly, not prepared to reach. Remi exhales through his nose, patient, indulgent, entirely unaware that he is the one being dense.

And yet.

When Mateo says the word, when he strips it down to something impossibly simple—twins—Remi blinks. The word seems to hang in the warm air between them, heavier than it has any right to be. His gaze drifts slowly from Mateo to the plant—two stems, two buds—then back to his son. For a moment, he says nothing at all.

His mouth opens, closes. He inhales, and the breath does not quite settle properly in his lungs. The meadow feels suddenly brighter, the sunlight harsher even beneath the umbrella’s shade. "Cosa?" he breathes. "No… non può essere." His eyes return to the plant as though it might rearrange itself into something more manageable. "Noi… è…" His hand lifts halfway, hovering uselessly in the air before falling back to his knee. He swallows, staring at the twin stems as though seeing them for the first time.

"Gemelli?" Slowly, he turns his head back toward Mateo, colour having drained just slightly from his face, though his eyes are wide and bright in a way that is not entirely fear. "Sei sicuro?"

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

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

Mateo merely sits there for a moment in silence, the quietly incredulous (and perhaps a little bit amused) expression remaining on his face, and as his father switches to the travelling tongue he throws his hands up and grins. "Ne sono quasi certo," he tells him, gesturing to the stems and following them with his fingers to where the buds will soon form. "Uno qui," he continues, pointing it out properly for Remi so he can't possibly mistake it for anything else, "e un altro là."

Settling back, he sighs with fond exasperation. "I promise I did not keep it from you for this long on purpose," he says through a laugh. "I really did think you would figure it out on your own. Flora was talking about getting extra of everything, just in case, but we both thought it was better that you knew what you were getting into for sure." 

Reaching out and nudging Remi now, he can't hide the excitement in his smile. "The only thing I cannot tell you is what they will be or if they will be identical, but... congratulations?"

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 follows Mateo’s pointing hand as though he has never seen the plant before in his life. His gaze traces the first stem up to the swelling bud, then shifts—slowly, disbelievingly—to the second. It is not as though they have appeared out of nowhere. He has watched them grow. He has shaded them, watered them, guarded them from harsh light and careless boots. He simply thought, well, that it was one plant, however many blooms it had.

Mateo’s words about Flora drift past him in fragments, something about extra supplies and knowing what they were getting into, but Remi only glances vaguely over his shoulder at the mention of scheming, the sound of his own huff of laughter distant and muffled in his ears. The meadow feels suddenly too large, too bright, the umbrella’s shade no longer quite enough to steady him.

"Oh miei dei.." he breathes under his breath as his hand rakes back through his curls. His fingers stay there for a moment, pressing lightly against his scalp as if to ground himself in something physical and real.

As Mateo nudges him, that small, solid touch seems to anchor him more than anything else has. Remi turns back to his son, and for a heartbeat his expression is still dazed, then it breaks open entirely. A laugh bursts from him, full and unrestrained, the sound escaping before he can contain it. It grows, warm and disbelieving, until it nearly steals his breath, and with it come tears, bright and unashamed at the corners of his eyes. He shakes his head, overwhelmed not with fear but with something far larger and brighter.

"Gemelli!" he repeats, this time with unmistakable wonder, the word ringing out into the meadow as though he needs the grass and sky to hear it too. He looks at Mateo with a grin so wide it feels almost boyish, almost young. "Grazie," he says, voice thick but steadying, reaching out to clasp his son’s shoulder with one large, trembling hand. "For telling me, though..gods, I have no idea how I am going to tell Ronin."

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

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

"Lucky for you, it is not your first time dealing with twins, mm?" Mateo doesn't try to stop his grin now, though it has tilted away from amused and into genuinely, warmly delighted for his fathers and the new additions to their family. "Though perhaps not so familiar for Dad." Though he has no doubt that the Knight will take to multiple babies like a duck to water. 

Remi's laughter is contagious, and the botanist swears the plant sways a little towards the sound of it, though of course it can only be the warm breeze rippling across the meadow. "You are welcome, Pa. And if you do need anything prepared back in Torchline, let Flora and I know, yes? We would love to help." It takes a village, or so the saying goes.

Resting a warm hand over Remi's, Mateo can't resist a wicked chuckle at the prospect of telling Ronin about the news. "Well," he says, "I can always tell him the same way I told you, if you like. I am quite invested in finding out whether he figures it out before you did." Or if he has to spell it out plainly for the Knight as well. "Is he nearby or has he left to go to New Haven? You could be an audience if you want."

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 lets out a low groan at that, the sound half laugh and half something more complicated, and he tips his head back beneath the umbrella as though appealing to the sky itself. "Ah," he mutters, dragging a hand down over his face before it disappears again into his curls. "Sì, sì." His smile tilts crookedly, affection threaded through it despite the shadow of memory that flickers briefly behind his eyes. Experience, yes, but said twins had each died once already so he wasn't so sure his track record was worth noting.

He exhales and looks back at Mateo, relief and delight winning easily over any ghosts of the past. "I think," he says, laughter still lingering at the edges of his voice, "we are suddenly only half as prepared as I believed we were." He shakes his head, breathless and bright. "Twins." The word still feels impossible, and he cannot quite stop smiling when he says it.

When his son suggests telling Ronin in the same fashion, Remi rolls his eyes with theatrical exasperation, though the amusement is unmistakable. He glances toward the wide stretch of meadow, listening instinctively for the shift of air that would signal a dragon’s return. "He should be back any time now," Remi says, rising slightly from where he sits to scan the horizon. "As a dragon he can get to New Haven and back quite quickly."

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

Father and son will not be waiting for long. Remi might hear the shift in the air at first, but he'll not need to strain to listen too much; accompanied by the beat of enormous wings, the meadow is filled a moment later by the grating roar of a circling dragon. The sound catches somewhere between a shriek and a snarl that has birds scattering and, more importantly, a few High-Land Cows running for cover in the treeline.

Ronin is a pale and glimmering shape in the sky overhead, easily mistaken for a passing cloud from far away, but as the celestial dragon swoops lower, it's unmistakably the Knight coming into land. His roar morphs into something better resembling a chirrup to spot the Bastion and the botanist, and as he shifts back to himself to drop into the nearby flowers, he's already beaming at them in greeting.

"Isn't this a nice surprise?" he calls, strolling up to kiss Remi's cheek and to wrap Mateo in a hug. "I assume it's a social visit anyway, and there's nothing new to report...?" He gestures to the budding plant behind them with an arched brow.

no grave could hold my body down

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Mateo

"I shall take that as a sign for Flora and I to start buying gifts for our new siblings," Mateo says with a dimpled grin - a grin that grows a fraction more mischievous when he gets the green light on trying to steer his other father towards the twins conclusion. "Ah, that is convenient," he begins to say, only for them to be interrupted by the returning dragon himself. Shielding his eyes to watch as Ronin comes in to land (and laughing aloud at the cows on the retreat), he spreads his arms to accept the hug with ready affection.

"There is nothing bad to report," he clarifies, raising his eyebrows obviously at the Knight and tipping a wink to Remi. "Or new, technically. But... listen."

And thus Mateo will subject Ronin to the same walkthrough as he had done with the Bastion, angling him ever so slightly to face the picket fence and the happy little sprout growing within it. The same apology, the same reasoning behind his not saying anything earlier, the same leading remarks about the plant and its two flower buds. "...Do you see what I am saying?"

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