Work Text:
Loosely inspired by That Would Be Enough from Hamilton.
Prompto had gotten the call from Talcott an hour before that Noct had returned after ten long years and had been in a frenzy, preparing for his journey from your apartment in Lestallum to Hammerhead. You were anxious enough, and it certainly didn’t help that your darling unborn child was kicking in your womb over and over. Perhaps she, too, knew her father was getting ready to leave and was doing everything to stop him.
Your husband had been looking forward to this day ever since you met him several years prior, but it was always a touchy subject for you. Having the love of your life tell you he had to help his friends defeat the greatest evil in all of Eos was never a comforting thought, but ever since you’d slid those rings onto each other’s fingers, and especially since you’d seen those two pink lines months ago, the thought scared you even more than you ever thought possible.
As he scuffled about the apartment, you simply stood around, floating near him with your hand on your large belly, not speaking; you knew if you opened your mouth, you’d protest or sob. Probably both.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Probably like… a week? I don’t know,” he said as he pulled on his boots - the final step before he left the apartment everyday. You wondered why he wasn’t frantic or anxious like he normally was; his voice was uncharacteristically calm, and it was ticking you off.
“Prom?” you finally opened your mouth.
“Yeah, babe?” he stood and stepped in front of you, placing his hands on your shoulders.
“How can you be so okay with this?” you placed your hands firmly on his arms, running them up and down his skin and body anywhere you could, taking him in as if he were vanishing before you now, “You’re so calm, and I’m… I’m so scared,” you whispered, unable to hold back the tears now.
“Baby, baby, shh… ” he pulled you in for an embrace that you immediately tightened as much as you could with your belly in the way, “You’re shaking…”
“I can’t lose you…” you sobbed into his shoulder.
“Honey, that’s not gonna happen,” he rubbed soothing circles into your back as you cried, able to regain your composure after a couple of minutes.
“How do you know everything’s gonna be okay?”
“Cause I have faith in Noct. And Ignis, and Gladio, and myself. We’re gonna do it, I swear,” you felt his shaky hand on your belly.
“Aren’t you scared?”
His chest pushed against you as it filled with air, followed by a heavy sigh.
“Of course I’m scared, baby. It’s just… there are things I have to fight for,” he ran his hand down the small of your back, resting it there with some soothing pressure. At the same time, he used his other hand to gently lift upward at the bottom of your bump, which provided you relief from the weight of your growing daughter. A calming sigh passed your lips.
“When I hold her for the first time, for real, I wanna see the sun shining on her little face. I’ll fight like hell to get the chance.”
“She’s gonna have that Argentum smile, ya know?” you wiped the remaining tears from your eyes, “You have to make sure you see it. You can’t knock me up and then die. It’s not fair,” you said with a small chuckle. As you sniffled, you felt more strong kicking in your womb.
“Here,” you grabbed Prompto’s hand and pressed it to the spot on your belly where it was strongest, “Feel that? She’s saying, ‘ Daddy, don’t go .’”
He smirked, “Is Mommy putting words in your mouth again?” he directed at your belly. A cherub-sized smile bloomed on your lips as you enjoyed your last moments with Prompto before he went headlong into danger.
“Just-” you placed a long kiss on his cheek, “- stay alive, okay? That’s all I’m asking of you.”
Blood pumped through your chest at an increased pace as his calloused hands - the hands that had trained and fought for this day, all the while being the same hands that had loved and touched you for years now, the hands that held you and brought you comfort - caressed your face and wove delicately through the locks on the back of your neck as his lips pressed firmly to yours. Each time you thought he was going to pull away, he locked you into another tender kiss, unable to part with your lips for the better part of a few minutes.
——————
The birth was exhausting. You cried, you cursed, you grunted and groaned and sweat profusely. And you hoped Prompto would be able to shoot his guns properly after how many times you clutched his hand with more force than you ever thought you’d have the power to apply.
After what seemed like an endless battle through the night, there she was; your daughter, cradled in her father’s arms. As your husband held her, staring down at her like she was the universe, the morning sun shone through the window, glowing golden through his hair and casting tiny shadows on your newborn’s tired face.
“This is just how I pictured it,” he mumbled.
Not long after, Gladio, Ignis, and Noct came to visit, all marveling at your daughter, conceived in endless night but born in glorious day.