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Dimitri would never tire of staring at that little face, he decided.
Those rosy, cherubic cheeks. A thin mop of curly brown hair. Eyes that blinked up at him at all hours of the day.
Bahar loved to stare. Now that she had taken more notice of the world around her she was swiftly becoming a beacon of smiles and giggles.
Dimitri watched Bahar rub the sleep from her eyes with the back of her tiny fists, yawning wide.
“My little cub,” he whispered, a finger curling around a particularly long strand of hair. “When you have grown your roar shall shake the Earth, I am certain.”
There was rustling in the bed behind him. “She roars enough at night to keep the both of us up until sunrise, can we not encourage any more, please?”
Dimitri chuckled, turning his head to face his husband. “I did not know you were awake,” he said.
Khalid sat up and wrapped his arms around the both of them, or as much as he was able to as Dimitri was still lying on his side. “She’s a loud feeder,” he teased, pressing a kiss to Dimitri’s temple, then one to Bahar’s little button nose. “And I could not ignore the pull of my husband’s velvety voice in the morning.”
The blond rolled his eyes. “My voice is worn from the war. No velvet left, I’m afraid.”
“Too much roaring?” Khalid asked.
Dimitri could not help his smile. “Exactly.”
The three of them idled in bed a little longer. Dimitri and Khalid shared hushed words to one another while Bahar babbled and beat her fists against her father’s chest. When she began to cry out her hunger, Dimitri relented and let her drink just a little more.
Khalid was the first to leave the bed, dressing up in the simple-but-elegant cloth of an Almyran king on vacation. After all, it was only a peaceful reunion among friends that brought them to their apartment at the Throat this time. There was no need for useless pomp or frivolous layers.
He wore the colors of vast forests and of sands scattered by verdant winds.
Bahar finished her snack in no time, and Khalid busied himself with gussying her up as Dimitri too vacated the bed.
Dimitri liked to dress in loose clothing, starting when he was carrying Bahar for those long nine months. So he draped himself in flowing, light layers the color of the ocean just beyond Almyra’s shores. He had never worn any jewelry before, but he’d gotten his nose pierced for their wedding nearly two years prior and he found that he quite liked how it suited him. (It helped that Khalid did, too.)
The silver ring slipped easily through his nostril, and the feeling was no longer as foreign and odd as it had felt at first.
When he turned back to the bed Khalid had Bahar on her back, bargaining with her to keep still so he could fasten the buttons on the back of her dress.
“Come now, Bahar, work with me here! Don’t you want to look pretty for Auntie El?”
Dimitri smirked, settling down on Khalid’s other sides to help hold her steady. “Papa’s right darling, you have an emperor to impress today!”
Bahar continued to thrash around, but eventually the pair of them managed to get the job done, and all Khalid needed to do was smooth out the frills.
“There,” the King hoisted Bahar off of the bed and onto his hip as he stood. “Now you look like a proper princess!”
Bahar wore colors befitting her name, the pink of blooming lotus with accents of white along the hems. It was bright, just like her spirit, and she had brought no shortage of light into this world with her arrival. She was born just as spring buds burst forth from their chilly winter cells.
“Bahar,” Khalid had whispered that sunny afternoon, just as the sweat was drying on Dimitri’s brow and their baby was bundled safely in their shared embrace. “Spring.”
“Bahar,” The name tumbled easily from Dimitri’s lips, and so he said it again and again, even though his voice was hoarse from labor. “Bahar.”
Dimitri led the way down the hall to a large sitting room. As they neared the room they could hear muffled voices from the other side of the door. It became clear quite quickly that these voices were arguing. Very fervently.
There was a deeper voice and a higher one going back and forth. The more shrill one was louder, while the deeper one seemed to be snapping back. The closer they got to the door, the clearer the situation became.
Even though Dimiri was scared for what lay behind that door, he knew he had to confront whatever domestic fight was happening just beyond. So he turned the doorknob to see a scene that . . . honestly, he should have been expecting.
Felix was not so delicately shoving garland up around the delicate glass chandelier while Hilda watched him from the side.
“Gentle, Felix! You’re not sparring with the thing!” she exclaimed.
Felix scoffed, sending a glare towards the noble woman. “Well you try wrestling with this stuff, it has a mind of its own!”
Hilda threw her hands up dramatically. “Not my problem! Just make it look nice for the baby.”
“A baby won’t care about decorations.”
“Just do it, Felix!” Hilda huffed before turning away from him and locking eyes with the family of three who had just entered.
She squealed in delight at the sight of Bahar, and Khalid was quick to hand over the little princess to the woman’s open arms.
“Sweet little Bahar! Oh I haven’t seen you since you were born!” It was true. Hilda, as though a gift from the Goddess herself, had made the trip to Almyra’s capital to help them out during her birth, and even stayed for a few weeks after. Dimitri felt as if he hadn’t been able to thank her nearly enough for her aid and support, but Hilda had been insistent that being able to hold and spoil Bahar was repayment enough.
Hilda and Felix’s little display had distracted Dimitri so much he hadn’t even noticed the others in the room also doing their part. Marianne and Sylvain were over organizing plates and bowls of various foods on a table, while Ingrid was crouching down by an up-ended chair, supposedly trying to fix one of the legs. The room was decorated with rose hued ornaments and white lace cloths across the tables.
Now that the rest of the people in the room had been alerted to their presence, they all rushed to greet the new arrivals.
Marianne peered over Hilda’s shoulder to smile down at Bahar while Sylvain rushed up to crush Dimitri and Khalid both in a hug.
“Gee, Sylvain, miss us that much?” Khalid choked out.
The Gautier heir gave them one last squeeze before letting go. “Heh, sorry about that. It’s already getting colder up north and Felix has been extra feisty lately.”
“He was being insufferable,” Felix defended himself, tossing the garland up one final time and planting himself down on the red velvet couch below it. “Constantly interrupting my training with some mushy nonsense or other.”
Sylvain flashed him a smirk, sitting down next to the man with his arm around his shoulders. “Can you really blame me for wanting to spend more time with my significant other ?”
Felix rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and pointedly looking away.
Ingrid at last extricated herself from the chair’s clutches and finally set it up right once more. “There,” she dusted off her hands and turned to Dimitri and Khalid. “Your Majesties,” she curtsied low.
Dimitri waved his hand flippantly. “No need for honorifics here, Ingrid. We’re both just very pleased to be able to see our friends again.”
The pegasus knight relaxed her shoulders. “Right, of course. I’m very happy to see you both, and little Bahar as well. She’s really grown quite well, hasn’t she?”
“She has,” Khalid said. “Perhaps she’ll even be as strong as the fearsome Lady Ingrid one day!”
Ingrid flushed a bright red. “Oh, I don’t know about that . . .” she trailed off, always modest in her achievements. But it was exactly that sort of humility that made her so admirable, so strong.
The little babe in question was currently attempting to pull on one of Hilda’s pigtails, but the former warrior quickly yanked them out of reach.
“No no, Bahar! I spend way too much on my hair products for you to be pulling it all out!” Hilda huffed and handed her to Dimitri. “Here, I have to make sure Felix didn’t mess up any of the other decorations.”
“Hey!” Felix rose indignantly from his seat. “I did the best I could!”
“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Hilda replied, prompting a loud chuckle from Sylvain.
Bahar continued babbling away, making grabby hands at a startled Marianne who did her best to respond with similar coos. Not a moment later and the door was opening behind them again to let in a very dressed-up Dorothea.
She was fanning herself with her hand, her other resting at her hip. She startled at the sight of the Almyran royal family. “You guys are already here!”
“Yes we are,” Dimitri narrowed his eyes in concern. “Are you quite alright, Dorothea?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” she stood upright once more. “But I would prepare yourselves if I were you.”
“What?” Khalid asked, but the only answer they received was a mischievous grin from the songstress before she ducked out of the room once more.
Upon her arrival, with her wife Edelgard in tow, it swiftly became clear what they were supposed to have ‘prepared’ for.
Multiple boxes, varying from large to small and all decorated with pastel colors had been hauled up by the two women, and were set in a pile in the middle of the room on the rug.
Dimitri paled. “Ahem, er . . . are these all for . . ?”
“The little princess, yes,” Edelgard flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “Why wouldn’t I want to spoil my precious niece?”
Khalid laughed at the comical sight. “I don’t think she needs all these things. Plus, it’s not even her first birthday yet.”
“Like I said, spoiling,” Edelgard stepped up to where Bahar was thrashing in her father’s arms.
The little bundle calmed at the sight of Edelgard, and Dimitri watched the emperor’s expression soften.
“Hello, little one,” Edelgard began. “How . . . how are you today?”
Dimitri chuckled. Much as she loved Bahar, Edlegard wasn’t the most comfortable around children, and often did not know how to interact with them.
The princess made to reach for a shimmering piece of jewelry at Edelgard’s neck.
“I think she likes your pendant,” Dimitri spoke gently.
“Oh,” Edelgard’s eyes widened. She hesitantly held it up closer for Bahar to stare at, moving it so it jingled lightly. “Do you like shiny things?”
Bahar grinned a toothless grin, and leaned forward in Dimitri’s arms to touch her small fingers to the gold. At this, Edelgard practically beamed . She tried to mask her joy with an obvious cough before backing away, but he could still catch the small smile on her lips that refused to be smothered.
After this, they all crowded around the dining table, taking plates and tasting each and every dish that had been prepared. As an apology for being unable to make it, Mercedes had sent one of her recipes with Ingrid, who passed it onto the kitchen staff. As good as it was, it was unable to match the exact flavor of a pastry made with the healer’s love baked into it.
Dimitri himself mostly stuffed his mouth with glazed meat skewers. His sense of taste, although still quite dull, was becoming stronger by the year he was finding. Or perhaps he had just acclimated so well to the multitude of spices used in Almyran cuisine.
Soon they all sat in a circle around the mountain of gifts. Khalid sat on the ground in front of the couch, Bahar in his lap excitedly waving her arms at the colorful boxes.
“Which one first do you think?” the king asked, letting their daughter grab at whatever present happened to be in front of her.
She chose one of the smaller ones, swathed in sunflower yellow with a white bow on top. When Khalid opened it he revealed a small, stuffed kitten made of white, plush material.
Bahar’s eyes trained on the toy, and she held it closer to her chest when Khalid handed it to her.
“Oh my, what a cute toy!” Marianne exclaimed.
Dorothea leaned against Edelgard’s shoulder. “Isn’t it? Edie here had it custom made! In fact, everything she brought today was commissioned by the finest artisans in Enbarr.”
The emperor looked sheepishly to the side. “Only the best for my niece.”
Dimitri assessed the craftsmanship for himself, immaculate stitching, not to mention the adorable little button eyes. “Well thank you for putting so much thought into it. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it herself when she’s a bit older.”
Bahar fiddled with the kitten’s tail, popping it unceremoniously into her mouth.
“I think she’s appreciating it now too, in her own little way,” Khalid snickered, easing the toy from her mouth, much to Bahar’s disappointment.
They spent the rest of the afternoon opening gifts, conversing, and enjoying the spread of food on the table. Edelgard had gifted Bahar more blankets, plushies, wooden blocks, and lots of other toys too. By the end of it all the princess was well and truly spoiled.
As most of the others helped clean up the mess, Dimitri turned to Felix, who had been mostly silent during the whole thing.
“Would you like to hold her?” he asked.
Felix startled from where he sat, eyebrows shooting up. “What?”
“Bahar. Do you want to hold her for a little while?”
The shorter man looked around the room. “Why me?”
“Just because.” Dimitri shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
Felix scoffed, but settled further into the couch and held open his arms. “Fine. But I’m probably not going to be any good.”
“You’ll be fine,” Dimitri reassured. He took Bahar from his husband’s arms and gently laid her across Felix’s lap.
The swordsman, although stiff, did his best to cradle her as nurturing as he could muster. He scowled down at the bundle in his arms, but Dimitri knew it was not anger in his gaze. No, this was the same expression he wore when practicing a new sword form or stance, one of utmost concentration.
Dimitri smiled. Felix was trying so hard to please Bahar, and it seemed as if all his hard work was worth it, as sure enough the girl’s eyes slid shut, and she stopped fussing completely.
“Oh,” Felix said, voice wavering just the slightest bit.
“Wow, she fell asleep so fast. You must have the magic touch!” Dimitri whispered.
Felix hummed in response, eyes still trained on Bahar’s dozing face.
“She never does that for me,” Khalid lamented from Dimitri’s side.
“I’m usually not so lucky either,” Dimitri agreed.
“Sssh!” Felix hushed them with a glare, dipping his head down to gesture at the sleeping form on his lap.
Khalid covered his mouth with his hand, stifling a laugh. Uncle Felix was nothing if not dutiful and vigilant, it seemed. No one was going to disturb Bahar’s sleep if he had anything to say about it.
So, Dimitri and Khalid slipped away from the couch, choosing instead to fill up glasses with sparkling juice and watch them from afar.
Sylvain leaned further into Felix’s side, soothing his hand along Bahar’s side. He bent his head down to whisper something in Felix’s ear, something that caused Felix to blush and kick his leg in response. Sylvain just laughed it off, continuing to admire how cautious the swordsman was cradling the child. After all, such tenderness was not a trait often associated with the man.
“Do you think he would make a good father?” Khalid gestured to the pair with his glass.
“Felix or Sylvain?”
After pondering for a moment, Khalid shrugged. “Both,” he clarified.
Dimitri stared down into his glass, thinking. “I didn’t think I would be a good father,” he said. “I was scared. Terrified, really. You remember how worried I was when I found out. With my Crest, and my past . . . I was horrified that I might hurt her in some way without intending to, or that I would be doomed to repeat the sins of my own upbringing,”
He looked up from his glass, watching Ingrid as she bent down to gently lay the plush kitten in Bahar’s arms, unable to contain her excited gasp when the child grasped it automatically.
“But now, I find myself feeling more complete than ever,” Dimitri continued. “Bahar is . . . a gift. More than a gift, a blessing. I would not trade fatherhood for anything,” He smiled at his husband, feeling his eye tear up despite himself. “To share this feeling with the one I love the most in this world-”
“Okay, okay,” Khalid put his hand on Dimitri’s shoulder, blinking away his own tears. “That’s quite enough of that. I don’t want to sob like I did at our wedding.”
Dimitri laughed at the memory. The poor officiant had to pause the ceremony so Khalid could compose himself enough to say his vows. Although to be fair, Dimitri hadn’t done much better. He’d been so nervous that he’d stumbled over the Almyran passage he’d prepared and made a very humiliating grammar mistake that Tiana would not let him live down since.
“What I mean to say is that, should they choose to raise a child of their own, even despite all that they have gone through . . . I know in my heart that they will do well.”
Khalid nodded sagely, sparing a look at where Felix and Sylvain were still attached by the hip, gazing at Bahar with stars in their eyes.
But of course, like any household with a child, the peace could not last forever. It was only mere minutes later when Bahar began fussing again. Felix tried talking to her- pleading, really, for her to stop but the poor girl was not letting up. So she was passed on to Sylvain, then to Hilda, and at last Edelgard who held Bahar under the arms and nervously shuffled over to her fathers.
“Please,” she begged, and Dimitri had never seen her so distraught. It would’ve been funny had the princess not been crying and screeching her lungs out.
“I’ll take her.” Dimitri held Bahar close to his chest, rubbing along her back.
Khalid took out a handkerchief and wiped some of the drool and snot from her face. “I think our precious little gift here is ready for naptime.”
The visitors cheerfully bid a sniffling Bahar adieu as she was carried back to their suite. Khalid shut the curtains and readied the crib, and when that was done Dimitri made sure that she was fed well. He hummed a simple tune while gently lying her down on her furs, then carefully tucking the stuffed animal back into her embrace.
Dimitri settled onto the edge of the bed, Khalid climbing on and wrapping his arms around him from behind. The king held on tight, nuzzling his nose into the crook of Dimitri’s neck.
The feeling of his husband's heart beat was calming, as it always was. He provided a solid weight at Dimitri’s back, and any stress or exhaustion he might have felt completely melted away.
Suddenly Khalid began chuckling, and he leaned up so he could speak in hushed tones into Dimitri’s ear.
“Did you see how awkward Edelgard was?”
Dimitri sighed. “She is . . . not so accustomed to the company of children, I suppose. But when Bahar is older, she will be a good influence on her.”
Khalid tightened his arms around him. “Of course. I’m sure they’ll get along famously. And once her hair has grown some more we’ll have to have Hilda give us some styling lessons.”
“Oh I’m sure Hilda will have a field day with that.” They shook with laughter at the thought. Of Hilda wrangling her curls into proper ponytails, of Edelgard sharing books with her, of Ingrid taking her for horse rides.
A family. Bahar was going to grow up and learn that she had one big, vibrant, happy family. And Dimitri was going to make sure that she never had to learn to hold a lance before a quill, that she would never have to bury either of her fathers too young, that bloodshed would never be her reality.
Dimitri was going to protect their darling daughter for as long as he could.
Khalid ran his thumb along Dimitri’s chin, easing him from his thoughts. “Everything will be fine,” he soothed, as if reading his husband’s mind.
“I know,” Dimitri turned to face him. “Our love is strong. There is no obstacle we cannot overcome.”
“So sappy,” Khalid teased.
He kissed him slowly. Dimitri could taste the juice on his lips, and just a hint of the sugar cookies he’d eaten earlier. Before he could get carried away, Dimitri lightly pushed his eager husband off with a hand on his chest.
“I’m sure they’re waiting very patiently for our return. We’ll have a maid come in and check on Bahar for us while we’re away,” Dimitri whispered.
“You’re right,” Khalid kissed his cheek then stood from the bed. “I think Hilda was going to reach out the wine now too!” he said with a wink.
“Wine? It’s not even dinner yet.” Dimitri took Khalid’s extended hand as he followed him out of the room, closing the door behind them as quietly as possible.
Khalid swung their joined hands back and forth as they walked, just like they used to when they first began courting back at the Academy. “Well you know how she is. Frankly I’m surprised she waited this long to pop the cork.”
Dimitri smiled, focusing on their matched steps down the hall. “As long as she doesn’t cause a scene like last time, I guess it won’t hurt to indulge.”
“Hopefully Marianne will step in before it gets that bad,” Khalid consoled.
“I’m sure you’re right.”
He felt his face warm, feeling like a teenager again.
He remembered all the times they would rendezvous in the gardens and share tea, or when they would bump knees beneath tables in the library, or even trade kisses behind armor racks.
His skin tingled where they touched. Khalid squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.
“I love you,” Khalid saddled up to his side, speaking in a sing-songy voice.
Dimitri lightly swatted his arm. “I love you too.”