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It was as normal an evening as any when the winery tycoon slid a glass of grape juice down the bar to the cavalry captain, a simple sign from the redhead that he'd had enough wine for one day.
Well, almost.
"You two still haven't figured out a name for your little boy? I thought Kaeya Jr. had a nice ring to it," the blue haired man pouted, sloshing the beverage around with no intention to actually drink it.
A rather annoyed sigh was returned, the bartender folding his arms. "For the last time, no. I'm not naming my daughter 'Kaeya.'"
"It was merely a suggestion." He sounded amused, though there was never a time he didn't enjoy teasing his adoptive brother. "Is there a reason why you're still insistent that the child is a girl?" He raised an eyebrow, setting the glass back down to get a better look at Diluc's reaction. Before he could reply, there was a bit of humming from beside him, the bard strumming his lyre.
"I would say it's because our Master Diluc already knows they're having a girl. Master Jean asked me to confirm it because I'm famous for predicting the gender of babies." The former anemo archon sounded rather proud of himself, but all Diluc did was snort. Of course Lord Barbatos could find out the gender. It wasn't magic at all.
"I should've known the two of you would spoil things for yourselves. Oh well," Kaeya continued idly, watching Diluc's lip curl into a frown. He could only grin at seeing him grow defensive of his and his wife's reasoning behind finding out everything in advance; he knew the grand master wasn't one for surprises, and was likely paranoid about anticipating whether the baby was a girl or a boy on top of everything else.
"We'd rather be prepared than jump into everything blindly."
"Prepared would be choosing a name before she's here," he teased, earning himself a glare. No matter what he said, it would always have some way of upsetting Diluc, even if only a small bit.
"Whatever," he muttered as he poured out some grape juice for himself, leaning against the side of the bar.
Kaeya relaxed, deciding to quit with poking fun at him for a moment when he noticed his frustration. "Haven't you talked about it? I can't imagine Jean would be eager to put it off."
"We haven't gotten to talk much of it. Even with a lighter workload, she's still drained when she gets home from work. When she does happen to have a little more energy, we don't find a name that seems to fit," he explained, though that seemed to be all he would really say to Kaeya about the situation. Still, it was enough to make the cavalry captain sigh. His way of giving advice was always in a rather blunt manner, which was exactly why his disposition shifted as soon as Diluc finished his comment.
"Master Diluc, Master Diluc," he tsked, sliding out of his seat. "I suppose she'll never have a day to relax and figure out a name if she's never given a little push by her own husband. What a shame," he sighed, giving a smirk when he noted that the bartender already seemed to be in thought and plotting something as he exited Angel's Share.
The next morning, thanks to Kaeya's influence, Diluc had forced his wife to stay home from work. Although she'd initially been hesitant about being away from the knights, he'd successfully convinced her that they would be fine on their own- besides, it wasn't like she would have much of an option to go to work when she'd gotten closer to her due date, or until a little after their daughter was born, anyway. In her eyes, it was a little amusing to see her husband, someone always so adamantly against the Knights of Favonius, admitting that they were competent enough to handle things in Mondstadt in her absence; it touched her that he cared enough about giving her a break that he would put his own concerns aside for the time being.
Nonetheless, whether she was in her office or not, something always had to be on her mind. At that moment, the reason why she was frowning was because she'd hit a wall in thinking about their child once again, her hands folded as she stared out the window. She wasn't upset, just in thought about everything. It'd never crossed her mind how naming a baby could be so difficult, but the idea of picking a permanent first name for their daughter was slightly intimidating. Nothing seemed right, much to her dismay- nothing felt like something she would want their daughter to be named. In a way, she wished to pick a name that would honor their nation, but she didn’t exactly know what that would be.
"Do you need anything?" He'd placed both hands on her shoulders from behind as she'd sat at their dining room table. He rested his chin on her head, an attempt to soothe her as always.
"We're fine," she promised, touching one of his hands briefly. "I was just trying to think of a name for her, but I'm blanking, as always." She was disheartened about the fact that it was already less than two months until she'd be born, but they still couldn't decide on her name. For the most part, it was her uncertainty in comparison to Diluc's- he was the one who usually threw out names, and she was the one to reject them. Suddenly, she no longer felt his touch, causing her to frown and look back to him quickly to see what was going on.
"Come on." Before she could react, he pulled out her chair and helped her to her feet. The blonde let him guide her over to the door, helping her put her shoes on. Even though she tended to be more independent, she had to rely on Diluc the further she got into her pregnancy; that was just how it was, and she'd grown to accept it.
"Where are we headed?" she questioned, intertwining fingers with him when he drew back to his feet and offered his hand. He opened the door to their home and led the way out, rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand.
"Windrise. We haven't been there in a while, have we?" He smiled at her, causing her heart to skip a beat. Archons, he knew exactly what would clear her mind.
"No, not at all," she murmured as they started on the path to their favorite place, glad to hold on tight to him when no one else was watching.
When the two made it to the tree in Windrise, Jean carefully stepped over the roots while holding onto her husband with one arm for support, brushing her fingers over the heart and initials they'd carved into the trunk in their youth.
"I hope she likes it here," the grand master admitted as she gazed up at the branches, removing her hand from the tree to place it on her stomach instead.
"I hope she will," he agreed as she turned back to the statue in front of the tree, the wind blowing through the flowers surrounding them. No matter what, Windrise was their place- as kids, as the knights, even when they'd gotten married. It was their place. He wanted their children to love it just as much as they did.
It wasn't uncommon for the couple to stand in silence as they watched the crystalflies that typically gathered near the big oak tree. Diluc kept his arm around her as they admired the view, breathing in the early summertime air. He caught sight of the Windwheel Asters around them, relaxing slightly. His father used to pick some from near the winery every spring. They only grew in places where the wind was so nourishing and gentle, he'd always said; they were special flowers that only grew in Mondstadt. The sight of them always made Crepus happy, and, by extension, they made Diluc happy.
"Aster."
It was the only word that broke the silence in the air. The redhead tilted his head at the word when it came from his wife's mouth, gazing down at her curiously. She pulled his hand from around her over to her stomach, placing her hand on top of his.
"We should name her Aster," she suggested in a clearer voice, leaning her head against his shoulder. Her voice was warm, and unlike any name they'd tossed around before, she sounded certain of it.
"Aster," he echoed as he felt flutter light movements from their unborn daughter, then pulled Jean closer into his arms. To him, he saw it as just as much of a tribute to Mondstadt as she did. "I like that name."