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The pair had retired to Ishgard for the winter, as half the Scions refused to let Estinien work any longer than necessary; a pity, after all of the trouble they had gone through to find him.
But the threat of Lunar Bahamut was over, for now, and Tataru had all but shoved him out the door when Y'shtola called him out after noticing his armor no longer fit properly. She hadn't directly spilled it, saying something peculiar about his aether, but the rest of the group could put two and two together and it turned into a small riot that Estinien wanted to jump out the window and run from.
Not to mention the scolding he received from Tataru, Tivar, Alisaie, and Alphinaud for endangering himself by engaging in multiple, heated, and important battles-- but, truth of the matter was, Estinien hadn't known.
Or rather, he knew something changed, but didn't care to get it seen until mere days earlier and had hoped to keep it quiet for a few weeks longer. His whole life had changed since becoming one with Nidhogg and feeling "strange" was a new normal for him that he'd since gotten used to.
Ishgard was safer now, and Aymeric had long since secured a home for Estinien and Sylveret as a thanks for everything they'd done-- and a subtle attempt to coax Estinien back into Ishgard in his own time. It was small and somewhat minimal in a quiet corner of the Firmament, as he hadn't wanted to scare away either dragoon who had, over multiple years combined between them, never settled down longer than a week or two if they could help it.
A fire flickered across from the couch, illuminating the dim living room as the sky grew darker. The soup Estinien had abandoned sat discarded in the kitchen.
Snow piled up in the Firmament now as the sun set, glittering under the street lamps, and muffling the sounds of children playing down the streets. He was so, so uncomfortable, though, not only because of his aching back and round belly, but knowing he was, for all intents and purposes, trapped there. He wanted to go out, continue his journey and promise to the Scions, and stifled his annoyance at having involved Sylveret at all.
Sylveret, the Warrior of Light, savior of Ishgard, his Azure Dragoon companion, who had much more demanding roles than sitting domestically at home and entertaining himself with local odd jobs.
And here Estinien was, contributing nothing for the last few months, fussing over it no matter how often Sylveret, Aymeric, or anyone else told him to just relax.
Estinien rubbed his forehead, crossed his arms, and then leaned back against the couch, adjusting himself so that his hips sat comfortably. If that even meant anything, these days. It barely helped. Where he leaned against the arm rest was a pile of pillows that helped alleviate at least some pressure.
A cold chill blew in as the door opened. He hardly felt it on account of how warm the child made him, but he soon felt ice cold, calloused hands wrap around him and shuddered.
Careful of his horns, Sylveret leaned against Estinien's shoulder and sighed with, Estinien guessed, relief. It was hard to tell with an au ra who looked like the personification of rage itself.
"And what troubles you this time?" Estinien grumbled. "Did the local orphans demand to see more of your Dragoon tricks?"
"I'm not a cold person," Sylveret said. He snuggled even closer, practically laying on top of Estinien. "And you're hotter than a damn oven."
Estinien scoffed.
He didn't say anything, only leaning his head against Sylveret's and taking his hand in his.
The au ra smelled of wood and campfire and spices, so he must have been helping at one of the food booths that day. Sylveret could never sit still for long, finding anything he could do to just be moving around, and their child seemed to take after him, as he soon felt an uncomfortable roll and kick. Sylveret absentmindedly rubbed circles where a knee or foot stuck out.
"It's too warm in here," Estinien said finally. "You may benefit from more blankets and firewood."
"Or just use you!"
"You're worse than a cat!"
Estinien rolled his eyes and shoved Sylveret away, but he didn't keep him away for long. He pushed Sylveret against the other arm rest and wedged himself between the au ra and the back cushions. Sylveret, an enormous man to begin with, was good enough support for Estinien and he draped his arm across Sylveret's chest and laid his head against his shoulder.
When he was comfortable, he sighed contentedly, closing his eyes, and Sylveret wrapped one arm comfortably against his back, rubbing soft circles into his shoulder.
"It's going to be cold tonight," Estinien said in a somewhat teasing tone. He radiated heat that Sylveret happily enjoyed. "May as well stay here."
"You trapped me."
"I did. Now talk to your big, stubborn child so I can sleep."
"Coming from the big, stubborn elezen himself."
"Sylveret!"
He laughed, brushing his fingers through Estinien's hair. "Fine, whatever you want you huge baby."