Chapter Text
"I think I've made up my mind," Arthur told his husband, who was sitting down lazily on the couch, watching his favorite French drama. Francis looked at him curiously, lowering the volume on the TV before turning to him.
"It's your decision and your body at ze end of ze day amour, I won't judge your choice one bit."
Arthur muttered an 'I understand' softly. "I think I'll hold off the surgery and get off hormones for a while so we can try for a baby."
Francis' elation was so clearly evident in his eyes, but he wouldn't allow himself to express it to Arthur just yet. "Mon Anglais, are you one hundred percent positive zhat's what you want to do? Please don't feel like you have to just to make me happy, I'll be more zan happy either way. C'est à toi de decider, bèbè," Francis reassured, rubbing his incredible husband's shoulder lightly and lovingly. Arthur nodded and engulfed Francis in a big hug, confirming he was more than willing to do this.
"I love you so much wanker, I hope this works out..."
"Je t'aime aussi mon lapin," Francis told him lovingly. "It won't if we don't start soon." His statement was followed by his classic French wink.
Arthur rolled his eyes as Francis laughed at his reaction. At least he wasn't wrong...
--
Once Arthur was off hormones and started seeing an OBGYN to help monitor him once a pregnancy had hopefully taken place, he'd become pregnant rather quickly. He had been weirdly craving burnt food, and it would send Francis into a near panic attack watching his husband burn food, being a professional chef himself.
Arthur's work was incredibly understanding of his situation and allowed him to begin working from home once his stomach began to show, which was much bigger than Arthur thought it would grow. He was a financial advisor (and prior part time lead guitarist of a band) so he'd end up spending his entire day sitting down in front of his laptop, jumbling numbers and shitty customers in his head.
Before they knew it, it was the fifth month and they'd decided to have the baby's gender revealed to them during Artie's routine ultrasound. Arthur had been nervous as he hoped his stomach being so large was just him gaining a lot of weight and not something bad happening to his baby.
"Do you want it to be a boy or a girl?" Arthur asked Francis while they were on the drive to the office. Francis couldn't deny how weird it was hearing Arthur's voice sounding so feminine recently. It was still sounded male due to Arthur having done voice therapy, but his hormones helped a lot to deepen it up to what he was happy with as well.
"As long as ze're healthy I zon't care personally. What do you think it iz, maman?"
"I'm a dad bloody frog! Just because I'm having them doesn't make me a mom!" Francis snorted and Arthur humpfed in anger.
"Mon lapin is unable to take a joke apparently."
"I'm this close to divorcing you right now," Arthur told him, pinching his fingers close.
"Oh please, you wouldn't survive a day without my cooking now." Arthur didn't comment further, which satisfied Francis. It meant Arthur had let him win this pretend argument.
-
"Hello Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Bonnefoy, it's been a while!" their doctor, who they just called Yao at this point, smiled happily at the two. They smiled back and shook hands before Arthur was pushing up his giant sweatshirt.
"So that's a boy..." Yao confirmed, and immediately Francis and Arthur's faces were shining with joy. They were having a boy!
"Oh, what is that there?" Yao muttered loud enough for Arthur to hear, and immediately fear shot through his entire body. Nonononono, it can't be...
"Look at that!" Yao shouted excitedly, pointing at a screen. "Two!"
"Two... bebes?" Francis immediately asked. Yao nodded.
"Yup! Other guy is a boy as well. He was hiding in there huh... other one was much easier to see."
Arthur spoke up worriedly. "Are they conjoined and that's why we didn't know? Please don't tell me they're conjoined, at least not badly." Yao looked at the sonogram once more to be sure (though he was fairly certain from the first glance).
"Nope! He was just hiding - nothing to worry over. Now, let's set up the next appointment and you can go on and enjoy the rest of your day." Yao got up and concluded the ultrasound and sent the husbands on their way.
—
"Francisss..." Arthur whined as his husband laid in bed next to him. "Your frog babies are going to be the death of me." Francis kissed his whiny husband's cheek lightly before reaching over for the book he'd been working on recently, taking a sip of red wine.
"Who wanted to have the kids again?"
"Ugh... this whole thing has been making me feel disgusting," Arthur rubbed his eye. "I don't feel like a man anymore."
That tore Francis apart. He knew how much Arthur had gone through in his life to become who he truly was. He was bullied relentlessly back in school for being known as the 'weird' kid. He would be lost in his thoughts every day at school, with his imaginary friends rather than focusing on his work. But that wasn't the only thing he was bullied for.
Before the transition, Arthur was Alice, and he absolutely hated being Alice. As Alice, his parents forced him to dress in long dresses and skirts, grow his hair long, and act like a girl. He wasn't a girl, he was a boy! His parents found out, back when Alice was in kindergarten, that he'd told the whole class he was a boy. The teacher made a phone call to his mom, and nonetheless his mom lectured Alice that no, 'she' wasn't a boy and would never be one.
Arthur had began to come out about his gender at 16 to his brothers, who were all loving and accepting of him. Even Allistor, who was a bloody cunt to him usually, gave him a big hug at the news and reassured he loved his baby brother no matter what. When Arthur came out as trans at 18 to his parents, they were livid. They kicked him out immediately, and Arthur had to call Francis, who was his boyfriend at the time, to ask him guilty to stay with him and his parents for a while.
Francis saved his life. He provided him so much love he didn't think was humanly possible for the Frenchman to give to another human, especially considering how annoying he was the majority of the time. He helped him get off his feet and back up, and now 11 years later they were happily married, Arthur nearly fully transitioned, and living in a gorgeous mansion in upstate New York, bought with the intent to raise a family in. He really did wonder sometimes what would've happened to him if Francis had never moved here from Marseille back in France, or if his own family never left London.
Francis enveloped him in a tight hug, whispering, "You're ze toughest, most manly man in ze world mon amour. You are a man, an incredible man, and in a couple more weeks you'll give us ze greatest gifts we will ever get in our lives. Zen once ze doctor lets you, you'll be able to fully become your true self. I believe in you so much, je t'aime tellement." Francis pressed a warm, loving kiss to Arthur's lips, reassuring him that it was all going to be ok.
And it was more than ok.
Two weeks later, on July second, Arthur was on a hospital bed. Their beautiful babies had come at last.
Arthur named the older identical twin while Francis named the younger. Alfred would be his name, Arthur had decided. Francis had already planned what name he'd wanted weeks prior. Matthew.
And just like that, Alfred and Matthew Kirkland-Bonnefoy were coming home with them, to a gorgeous nursery designed by Francis himself. After being settled into the routine of parenthood, and having been back on hormones once he'd been cleared by his doctor, Arthur finally got his surgery. The one he'd longed for for years.
After making his full recovery and being able to walk comfortably again, he had realized how lucky he really was. He was married to his gorgeous French husband, who he'd loved since he was 14 and began to date at 16, and who had been the first person Arthur came out to when Arthur was 15. FrancisHe had two precious boys that he vowed to give the childhood he never had. He was a homeowner, wealthy, and had a high paying job; whilst his husband owned a successful French restaurant in Buffalo. And most importantly, he was finally confident in himself, his body, and his appearance to the world.
Life was good.