Chapter Text
"What the hell are you doing to that poor child, Cassian?" Nesta said as she walked through the door of their room at Feyre and Rhys' estate. Her mate was sitting on their bed, Nyx laying on his lap looking like he was about to throw up on him.
Feyre and Rhys were currently upstairs sleeping. They haven't been able to rest much since Nyx's birth and neither parent had wanted their child out of their arms for more than a minute. Their exhaustion took hold of them however, and left babysitting duty to the newly mated couple.
Cassian was ecstatic, making silly faces and tickling little Nyx until his shrill laughter filled the room. Though he would never admit it, Nesta could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes at one point or another.
"He doesn't seem to want to go to sleep, apparently." Cassian's eyes were fixed on the baby Illyrian in his lap. "You just love giving your uncle a hard time, don't you?" he added quieter, softly tickling Nyx's little feet, making his tiny face widen in a toothless smile.
Nesta stood in the doorway, watching her mate and nephew together. Her mate.
The term was still so new to her. She still couldn't believe that this male could possibly love her. She doesn't know what she did to deserve him, but she thanks the mother every single day for being blessed to have him.
Leaning against the doorway, she gazed at the pair on the bed. The look of pure love in Cassian's eyes nearly stole the breath right from her lungs. A look that was directed at her too many times to count. Seeing Cassian with Nyx made her heart do somersaults in her chest. She knew, without a doubt that he would be an incredible father one day.
Yes, she thinks with a smile on her face. One day.
A soft gasp pulled her from her thoughts. Looking back at the two, she saw that Nyx had indeed thrown up all over Cassian's shirt. Nyx was being held an arms length away, a devilish smile on his face. The child was only a few weeks old and he's already perfected his father's stupid smirk. This child will certainly be a handful, but Nesta knew without a doubt that there isn't a single thing his parents wouldn't do for him.
Cassian sighed and pivoted towards the doorway where Nesta still stood. He sent her a glare as she bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
She crossed the room, taking a seat on the plush mattress next to him. "You probably deserved that," she chuckled, an unrestrained smile spread across her face. Cassian, however, didn't laugh. She looked over at him to find his gaze locked on her, that adoring look in his eyes once more as he stared at her in awe.
"What?" she whispers, suddenly feeling as if she were out of place.
The corner of Cassian's lips curved upward as he brushed a finger along her jaw. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss to her lips before pulling back to rest his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered, so softly she barely even heard it. Even Nyx was silent as he watched his aunt and uncle with wide eyes.
Nesta felt tears starting to form in her eyes at the sincerity of his words. He had yet to actually say the words out loud to her, but she knew it wasn't the first time he said them. He may not have uttered the words out loud, but she knew he didn't need words to tell her. He says I love you in the way he kisses her. The way he holds her. The way he looks at her.
Blinking back tears, she lays her hand softly against his cheek. His hand comes up to cover hers as he turns his head and places a kiss to the palm of her hand.
Nesta smiles, and looks down at Cassian's ruined shirt. "I love you too, but you really smell," she says, unable to stop her laugh this time.
Cassian looked down, as if just realizing there was vomit on his shirt. Nyx, the little devil, laughed happily, as if he too just saw what he did to his uncle's clothing.
Cassian sighed and shifted to place Nyx in Nesta's arms. She stiffens slightly as her mate carefully hands her the baby wrapped in the midnight blue blanket Elain had made. With his entire family fawning over him, Nesta hasn't yet gotten the chance to hold him.
Nyx babbles happily as he's placed in his aunt's arms, his small fingers playing with the end of her braided hair. His little wings are tucked behind him, and it takes her breath away at how delicate he looks. His wings are so tiny, so fragile that she's afraid to even move lest she accidentally hurt him.
She's still getting used to it – the emptiness. The lack of that dark power. The power that was pure death. It feels as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders once it was gone. Yet holding this child didn't frighten her as much as she expected it to. The reassuring presence of her mate next to her helped ground her. She knew he would always be there for her, reaching out his hand. Knew that every time she was plagued by nightmares in the dead of night, he would be there to wake her, to hold her as he does every night.
Nyx continues to smile and giggle in Nesta's arms as Cassian gets up to change his shirt. She scoots up the large bed and situates them both comfortably amongst the pillows.
Cassian reappears in the room momentarily and plops down on the bed beside his mate and his nephew. He doesn't even try to hide his smile as he wraps an arm around Nesta and places his free hand on hers where it rests on top of Nyx's blanket.
Nyx's chubby fingers wrap around Nesta's and he immediately tries to shove them in his gummy mouth. A laugh bubbles out of her at his attempts and she looks up to find Cassian gazing at them, a look of pure love in his eyes.
Looking back at him, she found that the future, for once, didn't scare her. That she was happy- no, excited to live her life. With her mate, her family and friends.
She leaned her head over to rest on Cassian's shoulder. Though she couldn't see his face, she could feel his smile, his happiness. She felt it down their bond. She felt it in her soul. And as she gazed down at the now sleeping infant in their arms, Cassian's arms wrapped around her, she found that she too was happy. Happier than she had ever been before. And she didn't plan on ever letting this feeling go.