Snowmen

"Snowman: A roughly human figure made by piling up and shaping snow."

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem is owned by specific parties that gross way more on their yearly income than I. The only thing that I own is the storyline that I construct ever so feebly around the characters. And I suppose I own my conceptualization of Seth/Eirika's child, Ester.

The look on his face was priceless.

Seth could never have imagined the look of abject terror that visited Innes' visage when Eirika walked over and matter-of-factly placed Ester in the man's lap. Innes started to protest, his arms stiffly supporting the baby, but Eirika shook her head and skipped backwards. "Hold her for just a minute - I have to go get the cookies out of the oven before they burn."

As Eirika slipped away to the kitchen, Innes turned a mute plea towards his sister. Tana grinned at him and shook her head as well. Innes' look of despair turned into one of mild disgust as she hugged Ephraim tighter. Watching from the sidelines with camera in hand, Seth noted that Innes didn't even bother to ask Ephraim for assistance.

Innes' expression turned sour when Seth stepped out and took the first 'official' picture.

When he retreated to join his wife in the kitchen, Seth found her leaning against the counter waiting expectantly for him. Eirika grinned and motioned for the camera, and Seth relinquished it with a knowing smile. She passed by the photos of her brother and Tana, and stopped only when she found the absolutely first picture of Innes holding her baby. Seth watched her squint at the tiny LCD screen in silence for a moment before she carefully set the camera down in a clear space between piles of freshly baked cookies.

Seth suddenly found himself with an armful of Eirika, his wife having thrown herself at him and kissed him without warning. Looking down at her beaming face, he couldn't stop the answering smile that graced his lips. "I take it you like it?"

"I love it!" Her voice was an ecstatic whisper. "It's perfect! I can't wait to show Tana!"

At his raised eyebrow, she gave him an impish grin. "It's for his wedding. We're gathering interesting pictures for a scrapbook."

Enlightened, Seth glanced cautiously towards the doorway and dramatically lowered his own voice to a whisper. "Should I take out an extra life insurance policy now?"

Eirika laughed and kissed him again before whirling away out of the kitchen, leaving Seth to 'dispose of the evidence', which he did by returning the camera to a resting place inside of their bedroom. He would wait until after their guests departed to download the pictures to the computer in the study. By the time he finished his side-quest and finally reached the living room, Eirika had 'rescued' Innes from her daughter and taken up residence in the rocking chair. The little girl was gurgling at her mother behind the chubby fist that she kept trying to shove into her mouth, while Innes sat stiffly in his seat, arms crossed and refusing to look at anyone.

Ephraim had wisely refrained from commentary on the situation while Seth was away. Tana had not. "Oh stop pouting Innes! You looked so fatherly holding her!"

"I am most certainly not pouting." Innes took care to enunciate each word of his reply. "I am merely irritated at the childishness that you seem fond of displaying, most often at my expense."

"Oh... speaking of childishness." Tana turned her attention away from her brother to look at her husband. "You said that we were coming over to play in the snow. So why are we still sitting here?"

Ephraim blinked at the sudden attention. "I don't know."

Eirika came to her twin's rescue. "We were waiting until the cookies finished baking."

"Are they all done now?"

At Eirika's nod, Tana cheered and bounced up off of the couch, dragging Ephraim up with her. "Time for snowmen! Innes can watch Ester while the rest of us work."

"What? When did you gain the right to dictate my services as a babysitter?" A bare hint of frost layered Innes' outburst. It was lost on Tana however.

"Well, you can either watch the baby or come outside and help make snowmen." Eirika was quick to point out, a twinkle in her eyes.

Tana grinned evilly at her brother's dismay. "Don't worry Innes; I'm sure that changing diapers isn't beyond your stellar capabilities."

Seth shook his head at the girls' antics while Eirika walked over and set the baby down in the playpen in the corner of the living room. "Don't worry about it too much. Either Eirika or I will come and check on things every so often. If Ester needs anything before then, just come to the door and give us a call."

Innes grimaced, but waved away the other man away. "Go on and have your fun in the snow. I'll stay nice and warm inside."

Seth looked like he wanted to say more, but only cast one last forlorn look at his daughter before trudging after the other aspiring snow architects. When the door finally closed behind them, Innes seemed to relax slightly. He walked over and picked up the baby, frowning as he looked down at her tiny face. "You know, I used to want to marry your mother. I never knew she could be so devious." As he settled himself comfortably on the couch he added, "I hope you take more after your father in temperament."

Ester only gurgled in reply.

AN: Part 1, Snowmen. Sequel to snowfall. Possibly 2 parts.