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Their week spent in the First had been nothing short of amazing. After the festivities following their ceremony and W'ynter's news for her husband, they'd fallen into bed exhausted and curled up around each other. Spending the next day revisiting the entirety of the Crystarium, as G'raha wanted to check in on every aspect of the city he had taken such loving care of for so long.
After that, she'd been initially surprised to learn that while he was in possession of vast knowledge about the other regions of the First…he'd never actually visited or experienced them firsthand. His connection to the tower had prevented him from leaving it for long enough to explore.
This time, there was nothing holding him back. They spent the rest of the week visiting everywhere they could manage before the necessity of safety called them back to the Crystarium and through the portal home. With goodbyes shared and promises that they would visit again as soon as they could, W'ynter carried his soul back through the passage and to its 'proper' resting place. Gently pressing the ornamented crystal vessel against his chest, she waited the few moments until he took a gasping breath and carnelian eyes snapped open. “There you are… Welcome back home, Raha.”
He’d blinked the cobwebs from his mind and let out a triumphant laugh to find himself safely back in his body here in the Source, the process - in his mind, at least - safely vetted and theoretically able to be used over again in future to facilitate visits to their friends. At least until Y’shtola’s research eventually paid off, as he had little doubt that the talented mage would discover a more mainstream method of travelling between the Source and its reflections.
The delight on his face had been a gift all its own and W’ynter hadn’t been able to keep from bursting out into laughter when he’d suddenly shot straight up in bed. Eyes wide as he blurted out that they needed to share the news of their impending family with the rest of their friends. Of course, and she reassured him that she herself hadn’t breathed a word to anyone, not wanting to spoil the surprise for him or take away from the enjoyment she’d known he would find in sharing such news with them. Only to let out a squeal of surprise as he vaulted out of the bed and scooped her up into his arms. Spinning her around and laughing before they both flopped back onto the bed and she cuddled up against his side to catch her breath. Leaning up to steal a tender kiss and stroke fingers through his hair.
“I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re happy about it. You haven’t stopped smiling since I told you a week ago.”
Nor had he stopped trying to do everything for her, but she kept that thought to herself at the moment. As insufferable as she knew it would become, she didn’t want to dampen his joy in the slightest right now. Their joy, as she was an equal partner in this and the idea of bringing a child into the world that was part of him… well, she honestly didn’t know how she felt about that other than that it belonged firmly on the side of ‘good’ in her mind. Semantics and terminology and specifics she could figure out later, she was happy and they were both safe and here and the world was safe and everything else seemed trivial compared to that.
“We could tell Aymeric and Estinien first, if you like. They’re just down the street, after all. As for the others, we may have to send letters given how spread out everyone is right now, but I don’t doubt we’ll get a flurry of replies.” She stifled a giggle at the thought. “And Tataru will probably end up on our doorstep to redecorate a guest room into a nursery before this week is up. If Aymeric doesn’t get to it first.”
That thought seemed to completely overtake him and his gaze widened as he chewed his lip. “You’re right… we do need a nursery… What colour do we paint it? What do we need for it? I mean, obviously a crib. And toys. And… and a rug, the floor is hard and it gets cold in the mornings and the winters and this is Ishgard, and-”
Laughing, she leaned up and cut him off with a sound kiss. Scratching at the base of one ear and ruffling titian hair before pulling back. “Raha… it’s alright. We have plenty of time to figure out everything we need. To make a nursery and decide on a name, and… whatever else we need before it’s time for the kitten to be here.”
That seemed to satisfy him at the time, and he nodded as he calmed down and W’ynter took the opportunity to snuggle up closer to him with a smile. “We can go tell Estinien and Aymeric later. Aymeric’s in his office anyway this early in the day, so might as well wait until closer to dinnertime. For now, I just want to be here like this. With you.”
G’raha was most definitely alright with that plan, chuckling as he shifted just slightly to pull her closer to him and press a soft kiss to her hair as he wrapped an arm around her. Closing his eyes with a contented sigh before he spoke up again a few moments later. Breaking the peaceful silence with a soft word.
“Thank you…”
While it wasn’t out of character at all for him to be grateful for something - Or to thank her for things that she hardly needed thanks for, for that matter - W’ynter wasn’t sure exactly what had prompted this particular exclamation and so she raised her head to quirk an eyebrow at him in a silent request for more information. Recognizing the expression for what it was, he chuckled softly before he offered up the clarification that she sought.
“For…everything, W’ynter. For…choosing me, I guess. I know I’m hardly the only one you’ve loved, or you the only one who’s held my heart either. But just…that you could have had so many choices. So many who would have given you the world on a silver platter, who would have moved mountains and drained oceans for you…and you chose me to give your heart to. To share your life with. That is… it’s a gift beyond comprehension to me, and every day I wake up and I feel humbled by it. I watch you sleep and I’m…awed by the fact that I’m so lucky that I get to share every day with you. Walk beside you on adventures and share your world. I will never feel worthy of that, and every day I will still thank the Twelve that you saw something in me. That you wanted me. And…now this. Never once did I believe I’d be a father… that I would pass on anything to the next generation. And I was fine with that, I accepted it and never looked back. But now…”
He gently laid his palm against her stomach, blinking obvious emotion from his eyes. "I'm terrified…but at the same time I can't wait. And I'm worried…for both of you…but at the same time I can't wait to do this together with you."
His words were hardly out of character for him, but they still brought a lump to her throat as she placed her hand over his with a gentle squeeze. "I feel the same, Raha. I'm nervous and excited and terrified too, but I know we'll be fine together. And besides…" She leaned up to steal another kiss with a smile. "I did choose someone who would have drained oceans and pulled down stars for me. I chose you, Raha."